Imperious, Chapter 024 - Vault and Conquest (Patreon)

It stood head and shoulders above her, a hulking shape wrought of dark gray metal. It didn’t have a face, rather a grim looking helmet with four wide slots filled with shadow. Its oversized shoulders were slanted forward, giving it a barbaric look in its deactivated posture. Thick metal arms ended in a pair of powerful hands with jointed fingers. It looked like a brutalist-style suit of armor straight out of a fantasy game rather than something practical. Small spikes jutted from its shoulders, knuckles, and even from the tips of its wide feet. 

Anna reached up and touched its chest, “Wow…” She breathed and used identify.

Raging Golem Chassis of the Tyrants Guardian (Epic-Grade)
A golem chassis created to serve as the guardian for a Tyrant. This extremely durable golem chassis is fitted with jointed limbs allowing it to make use of martial skills that are imbued into its core. It is suited for sustained melee combat. This chassis can make use of a guardian core up to level 50, after which the core will stop gaining experience and the chassis will either need to be exchanged or upgraded.

Anna read the description and learned a little more about how golems worked. It would seem that a golem core actually could level up like a living thing, but it needed its body swapped out now and then. Cores could also be infused with skills, she had no idea how to do that, but it was a thing apparently. She scratched her head, something else bothering her about the brutal looking thing standing in front of her. “You are definitely not the old man’s style,” She thought ruefully, considering the ‘aesthetic’ of the golem that had been the guardian of the dungeon.

Maybe the ‘improved rewards’ meant that the system actually generated this big guy. It would make sense, given the name of the thing. Definitely giving it a proper name, I’m not calling it that. She snorted and glanced down at the core in her hand, it thrummed with that buzzing inner heartbeat. She’d read how to do this but it still felt a little melodramatic. She held out the core to the chest of the golem and, scratching her nose with embarrassment, said; “I Anna Flitt, awaken you, golem. Stand and heed me.”

The core leaped from her hand and crashed into the chest of the golem, phasing through the metallic surface as if it weren’t even there. A few moments passed and she could faintly hear sounds as if a jet engine was starting up before the monstrous thing jerked and a low hiss rasped out from the helmet-head. It shuddered, rising to its full height that turned out to be closer to nine feet rather than the hunched over eight. The slits in its head burned to life with an angry red-orange flame and it flexed its powerful hands before standing at attention.

“Happy birthday,” She said with a wild grin, looking it up and down as she took a step back to appreciate it. “I’m going to call you Rook.”

Rook, Tyrants Raging Guardian, Level 1 (Epic Core / Epic Chassis)
HP: 450/450 | SP: 270/270 | MT: 0/234
STR: 30 | AGI: 18 | INT: 10
VIT: 30 | END: 18 | WIL: 10
AWA: 11 | INS: 10 | PRE: 22

Skills: Brutal Strikes (Uncommon-Base), Gaze Ray (Epic-Base), Tyrannical Rage (Epic-Base)

Anna was taken aback, What the fuck is with this things stats? She barked out a laugh, “Holy shit! You are a beast big guy!” She said, shaking her head. She tried to focus on the skills to get an idea of what they could do but nothing popped up. She figured the first two were from the original design, the boss guardian wasn’t exactly subtle in its attacks and it was pretty sweet that it could use the eye beam thing. Tyrannical Rage was odd. It definitely wasn’t part of the original design. Did it come with the chassis or was her heritage somehow involved.

Probably, she mused and stepped a few paces away to give the big fella some space, “Rook.” It stood a bit straighter and turned its head to look her way in acknowledgement. It didn’t speak, but its attention on her was clear. “Go stand in the workshop for now.”

It immediately took a heavy step forward, its body still seeming a little unwieldy. Maybe it had to get used to it. Either way it started walking forward at a lumbering pace before coming to a stop in the dead center of the warehouse before standing still again. She smirked at it and nodded to herself before rubbing her hands together and getting to the other goodies in the room. As she did, her thoughts began to wander to going back outside. She’d lost track of time while in here, enjoying the solitude and the single-minded pursuit of her new profession.

Her eyes hardened as she stopped in front of a pile of iron-looking coins set into a stone shelf immediately to her right after the spot where Rook had been standing. She reached for them and they vanished.

You have acquired 2,000 Iron Coins

Her fingers rubbed together absently over the spot where they’d disappeared. Still got all the factions waiting for me out there, some of them don’t even know I exist. She thought grimly, Except for the devils of course. Her expression darkened even more. That bitch thought she could put a collar on me. I still haven’t forgotten my promise. She thought as the heat in her veins started to rise to the surface again. Not the flames of ambition that had driven her during her profession work. No, the indignant rage of what she’d recognized as a monarch, her rage, rage she’d never felt in her entire life yet felt so natural to her.

She moved to the next spot on the shelves. There were a few tokens there. They were hexagonal unlike the card-shaped ones that she crafted.

Uncommon Common Armor Token (Uncommon-Grade)
Crushing this token will provide you with a single piece of equipment relevant to the quest that was completed to acquire it or relevant to your existing skill set if a more suitable piece of equipment exists.

There was a single armor token and two others.

Uncommon Equipment Upgrade Token (Uncommon-Grade)
Crushing this token over a piece of equipment will forcibly upgrade it to an uncommon rarity. This may even allow a mundane piece of equipment to be integrated and upgraded all the way to Uncommon, though perhaps with unforeseen results.

She took both of them up and thumbed the engraved surface. The engraving was so complicated and microscopic that Analyze practically laughed at her for even trying. One for my mace and one for a gun. She paused and glanced over her shoulder at the stairs leading up to the boss room. I should go repair mom’s gun, I don’t know if I’ll keep using it though. A pistol doesn’t exactly fit me. I need something with a shorter range and more damage potential.

She rubbed her neck, Maybe a shotgun or something that uses big slugs? She thought and snorted, Fucking hand cannon, yeah. She grinned, imagining the looks on the devils faces when a magical shotgun went off at point blank range. I wonder if I can engrave shells? She thought as she pocketed the four tokens and made her way over to the next spot. It wasn’t so much of a shelf as it was a weapon rack.

“That’s a big axe,” She grunted as she looked the two items available over, “And is that a fucking hook?”

The first item was indeed a large dark-steel axe with a serrated head and a short handle half as long as she was tall. The blade looked terribly sharp.

Raging Guardians Battleaxe (Rare-Grade)
A battle-axe fit for a bringer of carnage. This heavy weapon has an added effect of causing heat-based damage to wounds and can be used to start fires. Heat damage caused by this weapon does not assist in cauterization of wounds. Strength Requirement: 30

Tyrants Ruthless Hook and Chain (Rare-Grade)
A long heavy chain ending in a barbed hook. This mid-ranged weapon has an added stunning effect built into the barb, the chain can increase in length to a maximum of double with an expenditure of mana. Strength Requirement: 30, Agility Requirement: 15

Anna didn’t even think twice, she knew exactly who these were for. She turned back to the door, “Rook! Come get your toys!” She shouted.

The noisy thumping of Rooks feet against the stone floor preceded the giant entering the room and approaching her. She stepped aside and gestured to the two weapons that it picked up, one in each hand. It examined the two weapons and a low huff of steam escaped its helmet. He must be pretty happy with them. She thought before sending it back to the workshop with a gesture. There were more things to look at here. 

There were several boxes of plates that would be great to replace her consumables as she used them and experiment in the future. She was pleased with the addition to her resources and left them there until she could figure out a way to carry them. After that there was a mannequin fitted with a hooded set of black robes. She reached out and touched the thick velvety fabric, rubbing it between her fingers. “Oh these are nice.”

Cowled Robes of the Engraver (Uncommon-Grade)
These hooded robes are made with a stealth-based engraver in mind. While the hood is lifted over the head they provide a basic passive stealth effect while standing still and a blurring effect while moving. The robes possess a self-repair function and have been designed with mobility and comfort in mind.

She wanted to change into them right away. The light colored robes she’d gotten as part of her starting gear as a caster definitely didn’t help when she was reducing her presence to remain stealthy. These would help a great deal when she wanted to keep a low profile. She pulled her hand away and went to the last item in the vault. It was set in a place of prominence at the very back, on a podium and resting on a pillow. It was a single, pencil-thin golden wristband that seemed to taper now and then giving it a wave-like appearance. 

Fancy, I wonder what it-

Gilded Wristlet (Rare-Grade)
This golden wristlet possesses untapped potential buried deep beneath the surface and beyond its engravings. Created to be worn by a conqueror on the path of domination, wearing allows access to a connected pocket space for storage. Bonus when worn: +10 Presence, +5 Strength, +5 Intellect.

Her first item with a bonus to stats baked in, on top of that it had a storage space in it! She immediately put it on and felt a charge wash through her body as the bonus stats took hold. She twisted it on her wrist thoughtfully, it was an odd feeling, like there was somewhere within the item. She couldn’t quite explain it but when she concentrated a bit harder she could distinctly feel a space with very familiar dimensions that already had items inside of it. Her money for one thing. The moment she thought about it she heard a loud clattering to her right and turned to see a pile of coins appear in the vault. She looked down at the wristlet and could sense the robes inside as well. 

A direct connection to the interior of the vault, that’s amazing. She thought and glanced towards the warehouse, Welp, better get busy then.

She spent the next hour dragging everything of value from material components and cores to her hand crafted consumable plates, to the contents of her sad little duffle bag. Everything went onto shelves and she could feel the stock inside the wristlet increase, ready to be drawn into her hand at a moments notice. It was a shame it was too small to store the massive block of marble upstairs. She honestly had no idea what to do with it. She wanted to use it to make a golem but that seemed way outside of her options now. It was especially a bummer since she didn’t know if she could come back to this place later, though the access to the vault hinted otherwise to her.

She cheekily tried to store Rook in the vault and that turned out to be a no-go. She couldn’t just hide him in the vault and then take him out whenever she wanted to. He wasn’t an item anymore.

Still, the haul was immensely satisfying and worth all the effort she’d put into this place. With nothing more to do she took the time to go up to the boss room and at least scrounge together the broken bits of her mothers gun and cast repair item on it before storing it in her new inventory. After that, all she could do was return to the workshop and try to figure out how to leave. There wasn’t anything in the vault that indicated a path out so she went to the podium where she’d placed the core to complete the quest. She wasn’t sure when it happened, but the empty slot on the podium had been replaced with a stone tablet similar to the one she’d used to enter.

Dungeon Conquered, hidden quest complete.

Conquered?

By completing the hidden quest of this dungeon, you have laid claim to it as your dominion. The resources within this dungeon are yours and you may return as you see fit. Entry to this dungeon is now locked to all except those you grant permission to. Upon your death a new quest to gain control of the dungeon will be generated with reduced rewards as the legacy within the dungeon has been claimed.

New Titles Earned!

Dungeon Integrator I (Uncommon)
You have completed a dungeon on a newly integrated world. +5 to all stats.

Solo Dungeon Runner I (Uncommon)
You have completed a solo dungeon. +5 to all stats.

Dungeon Conqueror I (Rare)
You have conquered a dungeon and claimed it as your domain. +1% to all stats.

Are you ready to exit the dungeon? You will be returned to the position where you entered. Yes/No

The rush of feeling that washed through her body was way more than she’d expected. The final rewards being permanent boosts to her stats that sent a jolt through her body and her mind reeling for a few seconds. She leaned on the podium and coughed, all of her senses buzzing until her brain caught up with the new sensations. She pulled away from the podium and looked down at her hands and flexed her scarred fingers. Well shit, okay then. She glanced back at the notifications, I literally conquered the dungeon. She looked around at the workshop and smiled at it, it did feel more like a home now that she thought about it. Maybe I’ll move in.

For now, she had other priorities. The final notification had driven home something she hadn’t considered. They knew where I disappeared and they probably know how dungeons work better than I do. They’ll be waiting. She looked at Rook who stood at the ready and her lips thinned into a line as she reached into her inventory with her mind. She thought about pulling out her armor and new robes, expecting to have to put them on herself but found her gauntlets firmly set on her arms, her boots on her feet, her breastplate in place and the new robes flowing around her arms.

I still have the equipment token to use, might as well upgrade my mace too. She scowled at the podium, thinking of the devils likely on the other side. Her nostrils flared and her blood boiled. Just a few more minutes. You’re in for one hell of a surprise when I get back.