Wrath, page 20
Thago wasn’t just taking the attacks idly, however. Unable to see, he started to rear up and slam down, over and over, waves of spikes shooting out from him. Sometimes, he’d send a denser wave of spines towards where he thought one of the attackers was. Other times, he’d just spray them in a circle around the room again.
“Vision clearing!” Fosor warned.
Thago’s tail lashed towards Lavoz, who barely had time to switch back to his barrier spell. He caught the thagomizer inches from his skull. This time the blow had enough force to punch through the magical barrier, and the spike got all the way through to hit Lavoz’s helm. The armor held, but Lavoz was sent stumbling to the side. Thago roared and then whipped his tail - this time at Moa. The rogue lunged forward instead of back, allowing herself to be hit by the fleshy part of the tail instead of risking the spikes again.
“Aggro dopped!” Sara shouted. “I got first pick!” The beam of arcane energy that was pouring from her outstretched hands became a torrent, and in an instant the beam was no longer searing Thago’s scales but digging a shallow trench in his flesh. Thago roared and turned to charge Sara.
“Swap!” Moa shouted, and Sara’s arcane beam winked out of existence. Moa leapt onto Thago’s back, but didn’t repeat the mistake of their last fight. She landed deftly between the spines and sunk the shocking dagger into Thago’s spine. Thago roared and flexed, making the spines collapse inward, but Moa was already moving, nimbly evading the blades.
Thago bellowed and swung towards Moa. If that had been all that he’d done, it would have been a perfect aggro swap. But they hadn’t counted on Thago’s sheer size, or the immense length of his tail. The sudden turn around brought Thago to face Moa, but also caused his tail to scrape across the back wall. The thagomizer struck Sara’s bicep, punching a perfect hole in the muscle. Sara went white from pain, and her expression switched to green when Thago pulled his tail loose.
Before she could cry out, Fosor threw a healing spell her way, the bands of light wrapping around her arm. It must have done something to numb the pain, since Sara barely did more than whimpered, but that arm was now useless.
Meanwhile, Moa sprinted towards Korah. The Primalist couldn’t put aside her rage to follow complex battle plans, but she didn’t need to. Thago charged Moa, which meant Korah had a giant prehistoric monster barreling down on her. Moa dropped into a slide, passing easily under Korah’s legs, and Korah started to charge. She threw her axes again, whipping them around herself in a spiral like before. The unpredictable attack was nasty against smaller foes like raptors. Against Thago, Korah couldn’t miss.
Then Lavoz bellowed again, leaping back into the fray in a single bound. He swapped the energy of his shield back towards his sword. His leap wasn’t aimed at Thago’s back, but at some point further in the room, letting Lavoz drag the energy blade across Thago’s spine. Thago turned to look at Lavoz as he landed, and Lavoz slapped him across the face with his shield. “Come on then!” Lavoz shouted into Thago’s face.
For a moment, Thago looked disbelieving, then surged towards Lavoz, trying to crush the knight under sheer weight.
Fosor gestured, and spears of light formed at the ceiling of the boss room, raining down. Each one was weak individually, but he was aiming them at the earlier wounds on Thago’s hide, taking advantage of the dinosaur’s broken armor.
Thago charged Lavoz. Tira could hear the sound of Lavoz’s femur shattering under Thago’s foot, and the knight screamed in pain. Thago snarled, and then...coughed. Flecks of blood sprayed in Lavoz’s face, and then the accumulated blood loss took hold. Thago slumped to the side, unable to stand upright anymore. Still howling from his broken leg, Lavoz shoved his sword directly into Thago’s eye, finishing off the beast.
Thago’s boss heart exploded, showering the room with coins and shards. Fosor was already moving to start healing Lavoz. “Sara,” Fosor snapped. “Don’t use that arm. I’m going to need what mana I have left to heal this leg.”
“Right,” Sara said. For a moment, everyone was silent as Fosor worked his healing magic, and Lavoz seemed less pained.
“Is he going to heal right?”
Fosor nodded. “Everyone else all right?”
Nods all around.
Fosor stood up and brushed back his hair. “Then why are you looking like death warmed over. We just beat the boss. This is the one time I’m okay with you all celebrating.”
That cut through the remaining tension surrounding the group. Sara whooped and pumped her fist in the air, although she was careful to use her uninjured arm. Korah beamed in pride, brushing some sweaty strands of hair behind her horns, then joined Sara in the more vocal display of triumph. Lavoz flopped back onto the ground, laughing at the ceiling. Moa allowed herself a small smile.
The group got to gathering the loot, and Tira couldn’t help but feel a bit of pride in them as well. They’d done so much better, and it wasn’t just the new powers they’d gained. They’d fought smarter than before. Maybe it was egotistical, but she liked to think the thrashing she gave them last time had something to do with that.
She remembered to trigger the healing wave when they walked out of the room, patching up the remaining injuries on Sara and Moa. Fosor looked shocked, but nodded slowly. “I think,” he said to Lavoz, “we can safely say this dungeon isn’t erratic.”
“Yeah,” Lavoz said. “I’ll second that on you report to the guild. It’s not erratic. It’s just…”
“Primeval,” Sara piped up when Lavoz paused to grope for the word.
Lavoz nodded. “Primeval. Exactly.”
“Agreed,” Fosor said. “And one more thing to add to your celebration - doing this erratic survey with me meets your quest requirement. Welcome to the guild.”
They were cheering, but Tira was turning her attention back to her dungeon, already losing interest in the chatter. She created one of the Wireless Headsets to add to her personal hoard. It wouldn’t work as loot, but she had one now, and it was her first unique item. Oddly enough the item name was neon green, which Pierre explained was because magitech items used a different color scheme than normal items. Since she was unlikely to encounter more in the future, it didn’t matter. It was just a curiosity.
Even though she had lost, Tira was in a fairly good mood as the group left the dungeon. They exclaimed in excitement when the healing spell activated after they left the room, and even Fosor looked a bit relieved that had been in place. For Tira, it was a defeat, yes, but...she could still take an odd pride in how the group was doing. She wanted some more adventurers of that quality coming into her depths.
Which meant she had to start working on better loot.
For now, though, she focused on rebuilding for the next group.
Chapter 26
Over the next few days, a new routine emerged. Groups would come into her dungeon right at the crack of dawn, and she’d have groups going through pretty much constantly until dark. It got to the point where she couldn’t watch every group closely - she’d spend all day watching adventurers and doing nothing else.
Fortunately, Zeke leading the raptors meant that room took care of itself entirely. He’d been disappointed at his death, and determined to grow stronger. To Tira’s delight, that was happening quickly. Zeke would push the raptors to adapt new tactics, and was quick to learn how different groups' abilities worked. He even ranked up a couple of times himself from kills, allowing him to unlock new abilities.
One was a shapeshifting skill that let him take the form of any dromaeosaurs Tira had unlocked. Right now that only let him switch between velociraptor and microraptor, but Zeke seemed to enjoy the ability to glide offered by the smaller form. The other was a denser version of his spray of sparks, turning a distracting ability into something that could do real damage.
Of the groups that came through, only two more groups managed to down Thago. Compared to before, at least half the groups managed to make it all the way to the boss room. Some groups would back out before engaging the boss, satisfied with the progress they’d made so far. Others would still engage the boss, but would run at the first sign of trouble. Five groups in total stood their ground. Two of those were the victors. The other three were grim reminders of how dangerous Thago could be.
The two pre-boss combat rooms seemed to be roughly equal in terms of difficulty, although if a group came in while Zeke was eating or resting, they’d find the first room much easier. Party wipes were much more rare than they had been when Tira had first opened, owing in part to the higher quality of adventurers coming through and the diminished toxicity of her second room. However, groups that came through and left with decreased numbers were common enough to keep Tira’s progression happening at a nice pace.
“It’ll slow down when you hit Copper,” Pierre cautioned her. “Even if the survival rate of your dungeon doesn’t change...well, Tin deaths don’t reward as much experience to a Copper dungeon.”
“Well, yes, but Copper and above die less frequently,” Pierre said. “For the most part, the ones that behave foolishly are weeded out during the Tin ranks.”
Tira took a moment to pull up her stats.
Name: Tira, Silken Champion
Theme: Dinosaurs
Contained Entities: Acekorah, [UNKNOWN]
Tier: Tin
Rank: Eight
Mana: 85 / 85
Regeneration: 10 / Hour
Regen Bonus for Upkeep: 0 / 9
Command: 116 / 120
Contracts: 0 / [ERROR]
Area of Influence: [View]
Dungeon Map: [View]
Rooms | Mobs | Upgrades
Since she didn’t want to change her dungeon difficulty, Tira had been using the excess mana to rotate fighters in her Arena. Right now, she had two packs of raptors engaging in a miniature war, darting about with their claws and talons flashing. It was exhilarating and seemed to keep Zeke entertained when he watched, but as far as mutations...nothing so far, but Tira held out hope.
Right now, it was night. Zeke was passed out in his nest with a couple other raptors he’d brought back there to form what Tira could only think of as a cuddle pile. Not that she’d ever tell the proud little Servitor that was what she thought. He was fine with being cute - such as booping various mobs, or riding on an arco’s back in microraptor form while laughing with unabashed delight - but if she acknowledged it, he’d start preening and acting affronted.
So. She’d been saving her upgrade points. Enough groups had dropped or died carrying uncommon items in her depths for her to provide a better quality of loot, though she was still tempted by the upgrades that would let her make her own. Still, she hadn’t wanted to spend it without the wisp’s input.
Pierre nodded. “You’re rather close. Go ahead and pull up the list, if it wouldn’t be too much trouble?”
Tira had gotten adept at navigating the menu.
“Not at all. There will likely be one more this Tier. You’ll see an explosion of new options through Copper, Bronze, and Silver. After that, you’ll find new ones more rare, and you’ll instead be creating complex mob hearts to spawn new variants, working on adapting your mobs to new rooms, as well as adding those that arise from mutation.”
Open Air Zone: Your influence extends to the surface above your dungeon, allowing you to create limited structures on the surface, but only within your Pylon’s area of influence. Mobs can walk on the surface, but only within your Pylon’s area of influence. 0 Upgrade Points. Prerequisite: Containing Entity Greater than 50 Million Years old. Special: Tin Capstone.
Elemental Affinity: You gain an affinity for an element of your choice. Eliminates increased command cost for mobs made with an elemental heart of your chosen element, and increases your ability to create elemental traps. Magic gear created from your chosen element has a ten percent chance to randomly upgrade to Rare. 0 Upgrade Points Special: Tin Capstone.
Master of your Domain: You can provide bonuses to any sapient being that voluntarily lives within your depths, and form a humanoid body around your core that can be used to communicate and interact with them. This body cannot persist outside your area of influence. 0 Upgrade Points. Special: Tin Capstone.
Minion Lord: You gain a humanoid mob suitable to your dungeon type. These mobs can equip gear like adventurers. 0 Upgrade Points. Special: Tin Capstone.
[ERROR]: Legacy System Integration: Attempt to integrate legacy system components into your dungeon structure. Unpredictable results. 0 Upgrade Points. Special: T1n C45t0n3.
Seeing the error message prompted Tira to check on the Summoning Gate. The status still read “Locked.”
Tira said.
“I am...very glad to hear that.” Pierre shook his head, tearing his eyes away from the Legacy System Integration option. “Most dungeons choose Elemental Affinity. The benefits of the added elemental mobs are hefty, and they can provide better loot, making their interior more appealing. Plus, it unlocks some powerful options later in your advancement. Master of your Domain, on the other hand, I would recommend against.”
“Because the only worthwhile ability it unlocks is Dark Lord.” Pierre shuddered. “I’m sure you’ve heard of them. Ancient evils-”
“That is...certainly a reason not to take the Dark Lord path,” Pierre said.
“Most of that tree’s abilities are geared towards making that goal easier, but technically it is not required.” Pierre cocked his head. “Are you seriously considering it?”
Pierre scowled and shook his head. “It’s a terrible ability. You’re far better off just picking some evolution chamber upgrades until you unlock that room. Then you can create a humanoid mob - and you still have the ability to selectively apply mutations to create things that are humanoids. The only worthwhile ability comes at Bronze. There your humanoid mobs can take on hero abilities. But they’re capped at Copper, and there other unlocks you can get to simulate that better.”
“Not necessarily. The Open Air zone is...certainly unique. It is a gamble, however. You can’t see the further abilities down the tree, and I don’t know what they are. However...I can see advantages to having your influence in the air above your dungeon. Sounds like it lets you do some of what Citadel Cores are capable of.”
Pierre nodded. “Specialized dungeon cores that can summon armies and, instead of living beneath the ground, create towers that become full fortresses around themselves. Sometimes they are mistaken for Dark Lords, but they do not take on a humanoid form.”
“Well...if the Open Air zone works the way it sounds, you could do more than see. You could live part of it.”
Tira considered.
Something had just entered Tira’s dungeon. This time of night, no one should be coming in. And when she turned her attention to the invader, it was not a delver. It wasn’t even a human. The creature was no bigger than one of her raptors, and was shaped a bit like a monkey, but red and hairless and with two goat-like horns stretching from its skull. Two bat wings, too small to support its weight, jutted from its back. From its nameplate, the creature was named Glek.
Then Tira saw what was in Glek’s hands, and her interest in the creature evaporated. He was clutching it against his chest.
“Please. Help.” Glek’s voice warbled, and it held up its hands to show its precious burden. “Help. Please. I don’t know what to do.”
Tira drew in her vision to make sure Pierre could see too. He stiffened when he saw what Glek was holding.
A shattered crystal, and the broken body of a wisp.
“Please help?”
Chapter 27
“Yes,” Pierre said, his lips a thin line. “A core that has been shattered, and the body of one of my people. I shall go communicate with this Glek.”
