Chapter 109 (Patreon)

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The Creator, Atlantis, The Kalenic Sea

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It was easy to make the changes. I ordered the Children to perform fewer patrols. In the cases where I could, I placed enchantments on the entrances my monsters used to access the main dungeon rooms. They would only allow so many through, and they would only reset half an hour after at least one of those monsters died.

That would only work for those whose breeding grounds were inaccessible, though. Monsters like my new Infernal Serpents bred in isolated Magma Pools. It was simple to add extra rooms beyond them, and where I could, I did so. Monsters like the Phoenix were a bit harder, though. They lived in the canopy of the Third, in nests scattered across the whole floor. 

Hmm. I'll come back to them.

For the Courts, it was even easier. It was as easy as ordering the excess spirits and sprites down to the Eleventh or letting them spread through the rest of the dungeon. Some fire and air spirits found homes on the Ninth, enjoying the heat and winds of the desert. Some earth sprites and golems settled on the Third Peak, providing an additional challenge for the previously too-easy path.

By the time I returned my focus to the Eleventh, Kata had returned to the surface after a quick visit to Huea. 

I returned to the rusting modern port, where my Avatar stood atop the ruined skyscraper. For now, I decided to leave the issue of monsters and traps alone. There were still plenty of buildings and homes to make, with decorations and storytelling to be added throughout. Seeds of future quests. But even that could wait.

There was someone I needed to talk to. 

I looked at the monster core on a stand near my dungeon core. It was far calmer than the last time I had focused on it, and the soul within was likely calmer. That was the hope, at least. I extended a tendril of mana.

Hello, Instincts. It's been a while. 

Go way.

You can speak?!

Yes.

How, though, when you couldn't before?

Learned. Not lot else to do.

'Not a lot,' but never mind that. No. You don't just spontaneously learn English.

Had kn... kno... Knowledge. Just didn't use. Didn't need.

Knowledge you got from me?

Yes.

Okay. Since you can actually talk back now, I want to say something.

Speak.

I Apologize.

...

I'm sorry for leaving you alone here.

Don't care. Upset you Stole Core!

I know. It wasn't my fault I ended up here, but I'm sorry for not working with you more. I didn't realize I wasn't alone until you moved to take over.

How not realize?

Stories from my home made me think I was the dungeon, not an extra soul put into an existing one. Then, after, I didn't spend much time looking at the core itself. I didn't notice your soul behind mine.

...

What now?

Well, you can't come into the core again. There was barely enough room for the two of us here in the first place. Now? Heck no. I've had a few ideas about making you a body.

Body?

Yeah. Something you can use to interact with the world. Remember the skeletons we used when Kata was a prisoner?

Yes. Annoying

They were a bitch to control, yeah. We've learned some new magic since that makes them easier to use. I pushed the memory of my Avatar and the way I controlled it at Instincts. It took the memories and observed them. Something like that, but with bones made of Mithril. I can make it any shape or form you want.

.. Interested.

I thought you might be. But we need to get an agreement in place first. Something like the contract we have with the manabeings. You don't attack or knowingly harm me or my interests, and I'll provide you with a body and the mana to grow stronger.

... Deal.

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The Sixth Floor, The Dungeon, Atlantis

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Isid looked out over the Magma Plains with a frown. She saw the changes to the floor, and she was worried. The changes to the Fifth were understandable, forcing them to explore almost the entire castle before progressing. This floor would place a timer on their exploration, if the creeping nature of the magma lakes held true. It would likely spread to fill all the lower sections of the plains. She also saw what looked like snakes by the edge of the lakes full of earth and fire mana, If the silhouettes were to be believed.

Though these changes were expected, it was the most recent changes to the Fifth which worried her. 

It was too easy; every section of the castle had been a slog before, but the final tower, meant to be full of metal golems, was easier than she'd expected.

"I don't know what you're so worried about, Isid," her infuriatingly calm husband said, the man also looking out over the floor. "We can ask The Voice about the changes to the number of enemies later. For now, you need to focus. We've been here before, but it's not the same. The bats fly in the daylight, and snakes explore the shore. Even the Children have expanded. I can see at least two new Capriccio villages from here." Isid huffed, crossing her arms.

"He's not wrong," Duncan added, the distant man added, having raised a spyglass to his eye. "Those snakes are swimming in the lava, by the way. Their scales might make good heat-resistant armor."

"Really?! Gimmie!" "Hey, that's mine!" "Oh, you're right, they are swimming in the magma. Very Interesting!" Isid ignored Duncan and Harald as they bickered over the spyglass, turning to face the other parties in their group. 

"Get out your Capriccio-wool cloaks. We'll be on this floor longer than I expected. Suppose the decrease in difficulty has been applied across the whole dungeon. In that case, we might make it further than expected today."

"Maybe to the Drake-kin?" Paetor asked, clipping his cloak to his pauldrons.

"Probably," Isid answered. "We don't know how much the mines have changed. We've seen new monsters, layouts, and hazards on both the Fifth and just from this glance of the Sixth. We can assume the Seventh is the same."

Isid glanced at Haythem and Bertram, finding them just as she'd expected, quietly donning their cloaks. They moved with quiet focus, checking each other's armor and potion belts. After Flasa had died, the two kept to themselves more. As expected, they had emerged from the invasion more powerful, the light in their cores an order of magnitude brighter. From what she could tell, that had been focused on their perception and toughness. It was in the thickness and color of the mana in their skin and the way their eyes twitched at any movement. She would bet their other senses were just as just as acute.

Once they were prepared, the group descended the steep path to reach the plains. By Isid's judgment, they had roughly an hour until the magma filled the lowest parts of the plains. Two things could happen then; either the lava stayed at that level, and it had been triggered by their entrance into the floor, or it would act like a tide, retreating to allow them to continue. Only time will tell.

For now, though, they approached the edge of the magma. There, they fought a group of those snakes. To Isid's sight, they were beautiful. The earth and fire mana in their bodies mingled and flowed in intricate patterns. Their scales were tough but hardened more against the heat of the magma than impacts, and they were vulnerable to blunt impact just as much as any snake. After collecting the bodies and placing them in a spatial bag designed for the task, they had to flee the rising magma.

They fought a familiar roving group of manabeings slightly more skilled than Isid remembered. It was not enough to be dangerous, but she noted that they were learning.

When the magma finally rose to its full height, the party was on a section of uneven and rocky terrain. Soon after, the Bats descended, no doubt noticing they were trapped there. They fought off a few waves of the things, Duncan certainly earning his share as he picked them off before they could even reach the group of guilders. While losing the hides to the magma was regrettable, they had harvested plenty from the bats who'd foolishly landed already.

It took another hour for the magma to begin to lower, letting the parties leave. The map may have to be altered to account for the changes in terrain and the magma tide. They'd definitely highlight raised sections parties could use to wait out the tide.

They eventually reached the crack in the cavern wall, guarded by manabeings and holding the tunnel to the next floor. The fight was the same as the last time, featuring the same liquid-metal Guardian and its golem guards. While the others might not have been able to tell, Isid remembered the shape and flow of these particular manabeings. They were more challenging, to be sure, but more was needed to overcome the group of guilders than a little more strength.

Reaching the entrance to the Seventh confirmed Isid's worst fears. As soon as they entered the cavern with the four pillars, a cloud of dust and the sound of collapsing rock burst from the single mine entrance, filling the cavern with dust and coughing guilders.

A little into the collapsed cave, they found only one of the paths remained unblocked. With no choice, they followed that path... to another crossroads where only one path was still viable.

"Not another Maze!" "I suppose we were due for one; the Sixth was quite open." "Doesn't mean I'm happy about it." 

The first ambush was unexpected; a couple of earth manabeings had disguised themselves against the collapsed rocks on a blocked path, and when they came close, the beings attacked. The sound of shifting earth behind them alerted them that more were behind.

They were trapped. Good. Isid had some tension to blow off.

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Baby Dungeon, Near The Holy City, Theona

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Akio blinked, finding himself somewhere... else.

He couldn't describe where he was, only that it wasn't the cave. The only thing around was a floating gemstone, no longer in his hand, by a dozen meters away. There was no bear, no Sophie, no Bruce. He looked down at himself, finding he still possessed a body. With nothing else to do, Akio walked towards the floating gem. 

He reached out and touched the gem and felt... something. Fear, Terror. But they weren't his feelings. The only other thing around was the gem. Was it the dungeon core?

"Hey, hey. It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you. Are you the core?"

The feelings calmed to unease, though it kept the undercurrent of fear.

"It's okay; I'm not going to hurt you," Akio comforted. The emotions calmed further, and he became more curious. It was just his luck that the thing couldn't talk. Jinasa did say the thing was a baby. It's probably not old enough to talk.

"Do you know where we are?" Akio asked. The gemstone shone briefly, and a feeling of certainty filled him. "You do? Alright."

He looked around. What was it that Jinasa said to do if they touched the core?

"I, uh, Claim this dungeon? I guess?"

The fabric of reality around Akio pulsed, and the gemstone's emotions became muted. 

And

Everything

Faded

Away

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"-kio! Akio!" a voice called, louder and louder with each repetition. After a short struggle, Akio was able to open his heavy eyelids. The first thing he saw was Sophie's face, concern in her eyes turning to relief. "Akio! Oh, thank god, you're alright!"

...

Was he being hugged or laid on?

"You okay there, mate? You kinda collapsed a few hours ago," Bruce said, moving into view. What little of the teen Akio could see through the black hair over his face, anyway.

"I collapsed? Wait, a few hours? I was only out for like a minute, tops!" Akio exclaimed, attempting to sit up and failing. Sophie was still lying on him, and he was still heavily armored.

"Yup. You just fell to the ground when you pulled the gem from the wall. Couldn't wake you up. Guard-Captain Heliat and Jinasa said it was normal, but we were still worried. You are alright, right?"

"Yeah, I feel fine. What happened to the bear?" Akio asked, trying to look around.

"It, like, froze as soon as you touched the gem," Bruce explained, waving at the mound of brown fur in the middle of the room. "Easy to kill it after that. It had a smaller core than that glowing fox did." He held up the small core with the same blue glow as the core. Akio tried to raise his arm to see the dungeon core but couldn't. It was pinned.

"Um, Sophie. I need to get up."

There was a pause, and then Sophie disappeared into shadow, appearing across the cave turned away from him.

He blinked, then brought up his hand.

The Dungeon Core in his hand. It was a cushion cut. It was still lit with magic; if he concentrated, he could feel the muted emotions within. It was far smaller than his fist, about the size of a bottlecap.

"Well done, Young Akio!" Guard-Captain Heliat called, approaching the two teens as Akio stood. "You availed yourself well in that fight. Don't worry about taking that blow; the strength, size, and endurance to power through such a blow will come in time. You've claimed the core?"

"I guess?" Akio said, looking down at the core again. "What do I do with it?"

"Well, there isn't much point putting it back." Jinasa reasoned, looking around. "This dungeon is tiny, and spending the time and resources needed to make it worth a damn would take far too much time. Forget how much time it would take away from your training. Your other option is to have a weapon or armor made, then use the dungeon core in place of a mana core for the enchantment."

"Does that make the enchantment better?" Sophie asked. Akio blinked, turning to the girl. She pointedly didn't look at him, focusing instead on her mentor.

"Much better," Jinasa answered. "Dungeon cores, unlike mana cores, are still alive. They can still grow, and the equipment made with them will grow stronger with time. Enchantments, the material they're made of, etcetera. You need to use smaller cores like that one for it, though. Use one too smart, and you might find your weapon betrays you. That's the origin of most cursed items, in fact."

"Wouldn't all items made with dungeon cores eventually become cursed?" Sophie muttered, staring at the core in Akio's hand with distrust.

"You'd think so, but so long as you maintain and treat them well, these items can pass through generations, serving bloodlines in whatever role they have," Jinasa explained. She then pointed at Akio's mentor. "Heliat's armor is one such item."

"Indeed!" Heliat boasted, gently tapping a gauntlet to his armored chest with a fond smile. "Twenty generations, now. This armor was crafted for an ancient Hero, my ancestor, who was summoned using the same Ritual that summoned you. Only, it was just him. He gathered companions from the most powerful guilders on Theona. Eventually, he defeated a powerful mage using a dungeon to craft an army of monsters he called Demons. I have yet to see this armor take a single scratch!"

Akio looked at the gleaming silver armor in a new light. It may take time to become as powerful as that... but...

He raised the core to his eye and stared deep into the point of light at its center. Something Jinasa said about the dungeon cores stuck with him. They were alive. This was a living being, just a different form of life. He remembered its curiosity.

"Well, buddy? What do you think?" He thought, trying to push the thought at the gem.

He felt something. 

Determination

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