When she reasoned that she had her thoughts in order, she told Bruce about the dungeon, the Dungeon Core, and his job to protect it. He seemed receptive to what she had told him and to cut off any more rambling conversations she asked him what he needed as far as a Guardian Room went.
“I need space, lots and lots of space! I know it’s hard to tell, but I’m a little overweight. I’d feel a lot more comfortable with a large empty room that I can move freely around in. Although I like the look of the temple, I can’t use it properly. You are so awesome for doing this for little ol’ me! Thank you so much! Let me know if there is anything else I can do!”
With a speed she didn’t know she had, Krista started to remove all of the former Guardians’ décor including the massive temple complex. She wanted to move on to something else and get away from the chipper chatterbox in the room – it was just too creepy hearing that voice coming from all those different mouths. Once everything was gone, she looked toward Bruce again and found that he was wandering around his new place. He was obviously happy with it since as he walked he made weird chirping sounds. She quickly told him that if he needed anything in the future to let her know and she would warn him if any intruders were heading in his direction.
Moving back to Devin, Krista found him wandering through the third level watching a group of players struggling through the Orc Village. She asked him to exit from there, so they could talk without alerting the players and he made his way out the exit. Devin asked about the new Guardian and she went on to explain about his personality and the horrifyingly disturbing way he spoke to her. She also told him that it looked likely that he would hold up his end of the position and seemed like a formidable foe. Krista asked him if he wanted to formally meet Bruce – while also letting him know that it wasn’t required. He promptly declined, and he seemed relieved when had an out. Apparently, Bruce looked and smelled so bad that it would actually be a benefit when players came calling.
Next on the agenda, Krista wanted to find more out about the different benefits that had unlocked when the Dungeon Core was returned. She asked Carl, the former dungeon admin, if he had any new information about the NPC’s and Buildings. The last time she had accessed the menu, the resources that were needed to purchase them were so astronomical that she would never have the ability to use them. She was hoping that this time was different.
The NPC and Building prices have been fixed. Whereas before they were in the millions of points, they are now much more affordable. The buildings you can create can be placed outside of the dungeon and each NPC can be hired to operate these buildings. The only downside is that you will need to expand your territory in order to place them outside of the dungeon.
“That at least sounds better – how do we expand the dungeon territory?”
The only way to expand your dungeon territory is for your DUMB to find, defeat, and claim another dungeon. This will then incorporate that dungeon into your territory and enable access to the immediate vicinity surrounding the entrance to each dungeon. Only then would you be able to place building outside of the dungeon.
In anticipation of your next question, the DUMB must complete the dungeon alone – meaning they cannot be in a party to do so. Only by defeating the Dungeon Boss can the dungeon be fully claimed. You would then take over control from the resident AI in charge of the dungeon and you can run it just as you would this one. Fortunately, there is only one Dungeon Core, so you would not have to guard one there as well – although I cannot claim to know what “The AI” will do in the future.
Additionally, every mob in the claimed dungeon will be usable in your first dungeon and vice versa.
Imagining the possibilities, Krista thanked Carl and turned to Devin who was looking excited. “Did you hear all of that? Do you remember seeing any other dungeons around nearby?”
“When I was looking for more monsters for the new floor before…you know…I saw a dungeon further up the mountain that was inaccessible at the time. I’m not sure what it is or what level the mobs are inside, but I can find out – let me speak to my guild and see what they have to say,” Devin responded.
Although she was happy that he had some outside help, she was still miffed that he had found some friends outside of their “circle”. She didn’t let him know about her dislike about this circumstance and instead told him that it was a good idea and to let her know if he needed anything. “Oh, and one more thing – I think I have enough resources to spare to unlock the Dual Class upgrade for you – so you can use two different classes at the same time. Talk with your friends and see if they have any ideas for a character build.”
She watched him walk away, heading for the teleporter in the staging room that led back to the entrance. Now that they weren’t in any danger of dying, she thought again about what she wanted to do for that new floor she was going to make…
Chapter 11
Devin teleported back to the entrance and cautiously looked around for any incoming players before heading outside. He had tried to use the guild chat but for some reason it wouldn’t work inside of the dungeon. It must be some sort of change that was implemented when the Dungeon Core event started. As soon as he walked outside, he was flooded by messages in the guild chat. Some of them asked after him and asked if he had gotten back to the dungeon safely. These were answered by Strang3r and Gahbriyelle, who had watched him enter the dungeon, and told them that indeed Devin had made it back safe. It also seemed that the three-hour lockout period had expired only a couple of minutes ago for most of the players who were involved in the “distraction”.
After catching everyone up on the events of the last couple of hours, including the new Guardian, he told them about the changes in the dungeon. The fact that the level cap would increase every two days would be a problem in the future if they didn’t figure out a solution soon.
Guild Chat:
DUMB: So, there is a way to expand our dungeon territory, thereby increasing our ability to use some of our other resources. But I have to find, defeat, and claim another dungeon in order to do this. There is a dungeon near the top of the same mountain our current dungeon is located. Does anyone have any information about it?
Domn3r: If I remember correctly, it is a fire-themed dungeon with Dragonkin and a Flame Dragon at the end as the Dungeon Boss. I remember running it with a group when we were all around level 20.
DUMB: Thanks! And if I were to try to defeat it all by myself, what class would you recommend? Keep in mind that I’m only level 30.
Sh1fty: Why would you want to do it by yourself? I can have a few guildies come help you get through it with no trouble.
DUMB: I appreciate the help, but the rules say that I must do it by myself.
EyesHlzU: Does it say you have to defeat every monster or just the Dungeon Boss?
DUMB: Uh…well, now that I think of it I only have to defeat the Dungeon Boss.
Sh1fty: That settles it – I’m sending you some help with the rest of the dungeon so that you are fresh for the boss. Domn3r, are you and your crew still near there?
Domn3r: We sure are, we were finishing a quest not too far from there. We can be there in about an hour or so.
System Message: De4thfrmbeh1nd has come online
DUMB: That would be awesome – thanks for the help! What class do you think I should choose? I can choose any of the basic classes and can alter the stats from there.
De4thfrmbeh1nd: What?!?! That’s so unfair – seems like a cheat to me. By the way, great job getting the Core back to the dungeon. Our distraction worked even better than I had planned. We had everyone almost in a free-for-all in that clearing.
Sh1fty: It was a glorious slaughter – from what I could see before a couple stray arrows took me out.
De4thfrmbeh1nd: The forums are blowing up with accusations flying all over the place and everyone is still looking for the “Dungeon Core” I dropped. Since no one has come forward saying they have it they are searching the battlefield and accosting
all the players heading in and out of the area. Fortunately, most of the backlash toward Reckless that I was expecting is instead being directed toward Divine Truth.
DUMB: Nice – I can’t thank you all enough for what you have done for Krista and I. If it wasn’t for all your help, we probably wouldn’t be here today.
Sh1fty: No problem kiddo – I haven’t had that much fun in ages.
De4thfrmbeh1nd: Same here.
EyesHlzU: Ditto.
DUMB: So anyway, does anyone have any suggestions for my class? Actually, I should say “classes” because Krista just unlocked an upgrade giving me access to two classes at the same time.
Sh1fty: Bullshit! That’s not fair – how do I become a DUMB like you? To be able to change your class or classes anytime you want is game-breaking. You’re one lucky son of a bitch…well except for your little logoff problem – sorry about that.
After this, there were lots of helpful suggestions concerning his mix of classes that he could choose and more outbursts of “unfair” as more people learned about his ability to change classes whenever he wanted to. These last made him smile as he read them, thinking that maybe he didn’t have it so bad here. Even remembering that Krista and he were here permanently didn’t diminish his joy at reading how they thought he was “OP” or “overpowered”. He’d have to remember to tell Krista that – and to thank her for upgrading him.
Eventually, the consensus they guild arrived at for his dual class was a mixture of an Archer and a Druid. The thought behind this was to be agile enough to avoid attacks while casting or firing arrows from long-range. There was no way he going to be able to go toe-to-toe with Dungeon Boss – even with damage mitigation it was close to impossible to finish it off without a healer. The only hope was to stay away long enough to damage it from range and the Druid had enough buffs to help with healing and resistance if he did end up getting hit a couple of times.
After making his decision, he headed back into the dungeon to have Krista respawn him near the entrance so that he could make his changes to his class. He figured he needed to balance his Wisdom and Agility stats for his character to work – normally he just dumped the majority of his stat points into one attribute. He also needed to add a little bit to Intelligence so that he had a large enough mana pool to cast the spells he needed to. And he needed Constitution for a boost in his health points so that he didn’t die in one hit. The one thing he didn’t really need was Strength, fortunately, but finding the right balance was going to be difficult. Eventually, with help from Krista who was able to provide him some non-typical Archer and Druid gear – and the addition of a new race that had been added while he was away – he figured out his stat point allocation with the equipment bonuses.
Character Status
Race:
Troll
Level:
30
Class:
Archer/Druid
Experience:
3000/3000
Strength:
5
Physical Damage:
1005
Magical Damage:
260
Constitution:
124
Physical Resistance:
652
Magical Resistance:
790
Agility:
360
Health Points:
1240
Mana Points:
1300
Intelligence:
130
Health Regeneration:
372.0 per min
Mana Regeneration:
1185.0 per min
Wisdom:
395
Block:
0
Critical/Dodge Chance:
36.0%
Skills:
Flurry I, Ice Arrow III, Sidestep I, Entangling Roots I, Nature’s Boon III, Deathly Chill IV, Freezing Rain III
Upgrades:
Lure, Dual Class
His gear gave him some increases in his Agility and Wisdom so that he was able to concentrate on putting his available points into Constitution and Intelligence. That meant he was balanced enough to take advantage of all that the classes he chose had to offer.
The skills and spells that he had to choose from were almost overwhelming – he’d never had so many choices on where to spend his skill points. He had to narrow down his selections based on just the fight he was heading toward – the Flame Dragon Dungeon Boss. Since fire was the primary attribute to the dungeon, he wanted to be able to counter that with its opposite element.
Flurry I
(Archer Class Skill)
Fire multiple arrows at once at a single target, doing physical damage
Number of arrows:
3
Physical Damage:
10 per arrow
Cooldown:
60.0 seconds
Ice Arrow III
Fire an arrow doing additional Water-based elemental damage to a single target, with a chance to stun
Magical Damage:
150
Stun Chance:
10.0%
Cooldown:
30.0 seconds
Sidestep I
Sidestep to move out of the way of an incoming ranged projectile or targeted spell. Will be used automatically.
Cooldown:
120.0 seconds
Entangling Roots I
(Druid Class Skill)
Cause roots to rise from the ground under a target, trapping them in place for a limited time
Magical Damage:
0
Duration:
15.0 seconds
Casting Time:
1.0 seconds
Mana Cost:
15
Nature’s Boon III
The power of nature engulfs a target, regenerating health points per tick for a limited time
Healing per Tick:
50
Tick Interval:
3.0 seconds
Duration:
60.0 seconds
Casting Time:
2.0 seconds
Mana Cost:
160
Deathly Chill IV
Invoke the power of the cold arctic weather to reduce the Water-based magical resistance on all enemies within a certain distance for a limited time
Resistance Decreased:
70%
Duration:
180.0 seconds
Casting Time:
1.0 seconds
Area of effect:
50 feet out starting from caster’s position
Mana Cost:
120
Freezing Rain III
Summon an average-sized freezing rainstorm over a designated area for a short duration. Does Water-based elemental damage.
Magical Damage:
110 per second
Duration:
10.0 seconds
Area Diameter:
20.0 feet
Casting Time:
1.5 seconds
Mana Cost:
400
When he had respawned, equipped his gear, and checked to make sure everything was set up to his liking, Devin asked Krista to wish him luck and headed outside of the dungeon. As he walked, he kept almost tripping as he had to get used to the new race that he had chosen. The average Troll used by player characters was about nine feet tall, as big around as a good-sized horse, and had small tree trunks for legs. He had chosen the Troll because of the additional +25% physical damage and resistances – now he was beginning to regret it. He felt like a big, lumbering house as he trudged out of the entrance and made his way toward the forest outside.
As he started moving faster, his higher Agility stat kicked in and he was able to move more fluidly amongst the trees – dodging and weaving through the trunks with ease. Despite his size, his Agility more than made up for his bulk – of course, he was still a giant target. When fighting, he figured he would be able to execute a dodge easily – whether or not his whole body moved
out of the way was a different matter.
Taking out his bow that he had received from Krista, Devin decided to make sure he could use it with his big fat fingers. As he nocked his first arrow, his whole hand engulfed the string and arrow until he couldn’t even see it – this isn’t good. He tried to fire it at a tree about 20 feet away and as it released the string caught on another one of his fingers and the shot went awry. He set another one on the string and tried again – with little better result.
Krista frequently called him stubborn and didn’t know when to stop trying something that wasn’t working and do something else. She was probably right, as Devin continued to practice shooting arrow after arrow toward the same trunk he had been trying to hit at first for about 20 minutes. His stubbornness paid off as he figured out how to hold it and fire it with relatively good accuracy. Glad that he didn’t have to change his race, he headed toward the mountain path that led up to the dungeon he had found so long ago.
Chapter 12
Domn3r followed his group as they approached the destination where they were supposed to meet Devin. As they turned the last corner blocking the view of the dungeon, they all stopped abruptly when they saw a giant, nine-foot tall Troll holding a bow waiting near the entrance. Trolls were an uncommon sight around these parts, where primarily Light-based races held sway. Domn3r had only actually seen two his entire time playing Glendaria Awakens and it was just recently during the battle in the clearing between all the guilds.
Dungeon Guild: A LitRPG Dungeon Core Adventure (Glendaria Awakens Trilogy Book 3) Page 7