System Escape, page 16
Yup, that's the first threshold, he thought. Always something a little odd when you pass those. More with the physical than the mental though.
Before pulling up his updated character sheet, his finished out the old notifications. The only other one that interested him was:
System Message:
For clearing another dungeon, then destroying it and claiming the core you have earned the enhanced title: Dungeon Destroyer (upgraded). Title bonuses are cumulative unless otherwise indicated.
Dungeon Destroyer (upgraded): Word of your exploits is spreading, especially among the dungeon dwellers. When in a dungeon you will gain +15% to attack and defense. In addition, loot from dungeons will be slightly enhanced.
Also, dungeon dwellers will be automatically hostile towards you regardless of their normal reactions. A Dungeon Master defending their dungeon against you will gain +15% to their attack rating.
You have gained Renown: +3, for enhancing a title.
+50,000 experience for destroying a dungeon.
“Wow, that dungeon was worth a lot more than the first one,” Marc said.
“And you're surprised by that?” Jeff asked. “This one was way harder than the first one.”
“He's got a point, Marc,” Felicia said.
“I didn't argue it, I was just surprised is all,” Marc said. “Less Renown on this one though, so that's good. Well, not really good, since it means my Renown is still going up, but better than getting more.”
Jeff just shook his head.
“That'll be my next goal. Now I got a level before you, next I need to get my combined Notoriety and Renown over yours,” he said, nodding.
Jeff seems mostly over his earlier attitude, Marc thought, probably because he got to stab Professor Bey and found out that he managed to get to level thirteen before I did.
“I picked up a new spell,” Marc said. “I need to check it out, it's called Dragon's Teeth.”
“Cool, I bet it's a summon,” Todd said. “I mean, in all the lore I've found, Dragon's Teeth summon things.”
“I'll find out,” Marc said.
Help Dragon's Teeth, he thought.
Dragon's Teeth:
This defensive spell is used for mobile protection. When cast, the spell summons one armored warrior per level in the spell possessed by the caster. This warrior may be instructed to defend anyone, but defaults to protecting the caster. Any damage taken by the protected individual will be transferred to the Dragon's Teeth warrior, while it lives. The warriors summoned will only attack those attacking the person they are assigned to defend. Each warrior's level is the caster's level/2, rounded up. The warriors summoned will remain for thirty minutes or until slain.
Marc grinned and shared the screen out to those in the room.
“Damn, I'm impressed that the System cribs stuff from our mythologies and game lore,” Todd said.
Jeff raised his eyebrow quizzically.
“Dragon's Teeth, you know the old Greek legend?” Todd said. “Jason and Cadmus using the Dragon's Teeth?”
Jeff shrugged.
“Long story, maybe later, or I can recommend a book for you to read about it,” Todd said. “Now, we were going to split up the loot?”
That got Jeff's attention better than any old legend ever could and soon enough everyone was piling stuff on the tables of the unoccupied classroom they'd taken over for this. They'd already unloaded all the catfish in the kitchens, to the astounded stares of the cooks.
Marc faded back a bit after unloading, wanting a look at his new stats.
Stats, he thought.
Marcus Aurelius Cavanaugh
Class: Arcane Bulwark/(hidden class English Major)
Titles: Hero, Land Baron (upgraded), Dungeon Destroyer (upgraded)
Renown: 36
Level: 13
Experience: 70,824/512,000
Health: 1339
Mana: 1170 (+10)
Stamina: 1326 (+12)
Endurance: 28 (+7)
Body: 13.0 (Strength:11, Constitution: 17, Agility: 11)
Mind: 14.0 (14.6) ((Intelligence: 21, Willpower: 8(+2), Aptitude: 13)
Social: 6.7 (7.0) (Charisma: 10(+1), Personality: 5, Allure: 5)
+5% Mana Regeneration
+10% Armor
Skills:
Short Spear (melee weapon)(3)
Shield Bash (3)
Research (3)
Analyze (creature) (2)
Mana Manipulation (12)
Meditation (5)
Creative Writing (2)
Scribe (2) (+2)
Shield Mastery (2)
Short Swords (2)
Short Spear (thrown weapon)(1)
Analyze (item) (3)
Technical Writing (1)
E.S.L. (1)
Long Swords (2)
Leather Working (8)
Maces (1)
Firearms (1)
Calligraphy (1)
Spells:
Mana Dart (9)
Arcane Armor (3)
Phantom Shield (2)
Crenelate (2)
Curse of Weakness (3)
Fireball (4)
Blessing of Strength (3)
Stand Fast (2)
Water Jet (2)
Identify (1)
Lightning Flash (4)
Anti-Magic Shield (2)
Flamethrower (2)
Lightning Bolt (2)
Cleanse (2)
Wind Stream (5)
Earthen Wall (1)
Dragon's Teeth (1)
Marc was ready to kick himself. The extra mana would've made getting out a lot easier when he had to make the ice bridge quickly, it might even have saved a mana potion or two. He made another mental note to stop ignoring his notifications just because he was in dangerous locations, and hoped he'd remember and follow through with it, unlike his previous attempts.
At least the System wasn't nagging me about it this time, he thought.
He'd chimed in on voting for what items went to what people while he was examining his character sheet, but there really wasn't anything he wanted or needed that was any better than he already had. In the end Marc ended up with several of the Mahjong style tiles, the Frost Bolt, Fire Bolt, and Night Vision ones. He also got a few potions, several books and scrolls from the underwater chest, and the Water Breathing necklace. After seeing how it worked, the rest of the group, plus the add-ons from the Uni Safe Zone, just weren't as interested in it as they might've been otherwise. Marc also got a whole horde of coins, although most were copper and silver, not gold.
“Alright,” Marc said. “We've got another dungeon that we need to check out, but maybe a day or two off first?”
Todd nodded fervently.
“I got some new spells that I'd like to work on before going back in,” he said.
Marc hadn't even been thinking that Todd was still in the room. He'd been vaguely thinking that it would be just his own party going into the next dungeon. Now that Todd had spoken up though, Marc decided that it might not be too bad for Todd to go with them. Since he was partial holder of this Safe Zone, making sure he had some levels to back him up would be a good thing.
“Okay then, everyone agreed? Two days off, we'll go into the other dungeon on the third day from now.”
“I'll tell Chris and Derrick,” Todd said. “I'm sure they'll be willing though. I'm pretty sure they each got at least two levels out of that last one.”
As Todd left the room to go find the other two, Marc found that he wasn't the only one that had been mentally excluding the other group.
“Assuming they can get over the way we had to flee the other dungeon, they'll be willing,” Jeff said.
Wait, if I'm thinking along the same lines as Jeff, does that make me an asshole too? Marc thought.
* * *
The days passed quickly and Marc had noticed there was a lot less fighting going on out in what had once been the city. He spent some time watching from the walls and noticed something curious. There were still a bunch of goblins and hobgoblins around, but nowhere near the numbers there were when they first arrived. On the other hand, he saw exactly zero of the tentacled creatures from the other dungeon out there, and when he asked around he found out that they'd never attacked the humans.
The tentacled creatures had come out and taken out entire squads of the goblins and hobgoblins, dragging their corpses back into the dungeon the tentacled creatures had come from, but no-one reported them as attacking humans at all.
Now, during the two days they were taking for a break, he spent some time watching the remaining dungeon.
The Dungeon of the Elder Gods, as Jeff termed it, he thought.
That dungeon had a number of the tentacled creatures guarding the walls. They'd also been throwing goblin and hobgoblin corpses out over the wall. Tied up with something that looked like a strong seaweed, the corpses simply dangled there, in plain view of the Uni Safe Zone and Marc had to wonder what they were supposed to represent. He was discussing it with Felicia the afternoon before the day they were going into the other dungeon.
“Is it a threat?” he asked. “I mean, is it a 'this is what we do to invaders' type of message? They don't attack people though, so...”
Felicia shrugged.
“I don't know. I think we should approach carefully tomorrow though. We may well find out the meaning of it before we go in there.”
“Maybe I'm just overthinking it?” Marc said. “I mean, it's a dungeon, run by a spawn, right? I might be reading too much into it. Maybe they're just aging their food or something?”
Felicia shuddered at the thought.
“Enough of that. Let's go relax for one more night before we have to go back into a dungeon, okay?”
“Alright,” Marc said. “Should we get a movie?”
Although Marc had suggested the massive movie setup to Todd for his Safe Zone, Todd hadn't done it. Marc still had his tablet, though, and could do digital purchases with it, so they were all set for anything they wanted to watch. Todd had, on the other hand, taken Marc's suggestion about the recycling machine and for the past couple of days, there'd been two teams out there, one working on each of the destroyed dungeons. They were pulling in resources at a rapid rate so even with a team of adventurers guarding each group, which was necessary since there had been multiple attacks, it was well worth it.
When morning came the group planning on entering the dungeon gathered in the cafeteria. They ate breakfast as they planned and once they were finished eating, Marc led them out of the Safe Zone and approached the remaining dungeon in the area.
Jeff had his bow out, Chris and Rob had pilums ready, and Todd and Ella were ready with spells as they approached the gates.
“Just say the word and we'll light 'em up,” Jeff said.
“Hold on. You'd think there'd be something attacking us already. I'm sure they know where we're headed,” Marc said.
One of the creatures manning the wall walked over to a goblin on a seaweed rope and started jiggling it.
“Is that a threat or what?” Marc asked. “I just don't know. Alright, time for me to channel my inner Jeff and do something stupid.”
“Hey!” Jeff said, but Marc continued as though he hadn't been interrupted.
“Everyone stay here. Like Jeff said, be ready to light them up, but only if they attack me. Otherwise come up to join me if they don't,” Marc said.
“Marc,” Felicia said. “You promised not to do things like this any more.”
“I don't actually think I'm risking anything,” he said. “I think we're missing something here and I want to find out what before we commit to this.”
She shook her head and gave him a kiss.
“Well, I'm going to ream you a new one if you're wrong and they attack you,” she said.
“I didn't know you were into pegging, Marc,” Jeff said.
Marc sighed.
“There Jeff, now we're even,” he said. “Be serious for a moment, would you?”
“You started it by saying I do stupid things all the time.”
Silence dropped and the look on Jeff's face as he slowly turned and saw everyone there, including the new adds from the Uni Safe Zone, staring at him in disbelief was enough to set Marc to chuckling.
While everyone was distracted, staring at Jeff, Marc walked forward towards the gates, still laughing. His laughter cut off abruptly as he got closer and the gates swung open, seemingly of their own accord.
* * *
Marc stopped and looked back to the group. Now they were all staring at him, and the gates. Jeff smirked and made a little shooing motion towards the gates.
Yeah, sure, egg me on now that it looks more dangerous, Marc thought.
Instead of proceeding forward, Marc waved the rest of the group forward. He was interested in seeing if the gates would swing back shut when they got closer, but they stayed wide open, if not looking inviting, then at least inviting entrance.
The group slowly moved forward and as soon as Marc was inside the gates he looked to either side. There was one of the tentacled creatures on each side of the gate and it looked like they weren't very happy with him. There was no expression to read, but that's the feeling he got.
System message:
You have now entered the Ocean's Deep Dungeon. Increase your power levels by destroying dungeon spawns or through other means. Good Luck!
Shouldn't these things be attacking us? Marc thought. I thought all dungeon creatures were supposed to be hostile to us now with the Dungeon Destroyer title.
Marc threw out an Analyze and the result offered a possible explanation.
Squidspawn – Extreme Dislike
Race – mutated squid/humanoid spawn cross
Level – 8
Commonality – Unique to Ocean's Deep dungeon.
Are they not hostile because they aren't completely spawns? It still shows extreme dislike as the reaction to us though, so I'm just not sure, he thought.
As Jeff entered the dungeon proper, one of the Squidspawns let loose a squeal that sounded almost like a growl and started to step forward, only to be forcefully stopped by something Marc couldn't see.
There's his damned reaction penalty almost getting us in the shit again, Marc thought.
The remaining Squidspawn gestured fluidly with a tentacle, waving the party forward to the building that stood in the center of the dungeon compound. Marc hesitantly followed, a Lightning Bolt on the tip of his tongue.
When the Squidspawn opened the door, Marc froze. The inside of the building was much larger than it should be, massive even, and the scent of brackish water wafted out from inside. The room was truly huge and seemed to be split between swamp, with streams running through it, and relatively heavy forest, although capped at about thirty feet for height since, although the room was larger on the inside, the height expansion was only about fifteen feet over the actual fifteen foot height of the building.
“Where's my sonic screwdriver when I need it?” Todd asked, his voice slightly unsteady.
The comment had the desired result on at least a few of the party, who chuckled lightly.
Marc looked around and saw their guard/guide moving along the wall. He quickly followed, the rest of the group in tow. The guard led the way to a door labeled 'Emergency Exit' and opened it, revealing a set of stairs going down. It immediately stepped through the doorway, gesturing for them to follow, without turning around.
“Look at the bright side? At least we don't have to fight our way down this time?” Jeff said.
Marc shook his head and stepped onto the stairs.
The base of the stairs led out onto a sand dune, also right next to a wall. Marc looked around, the area looking slightly familiar, then he shuddered.
“Guys, take this area and make all these sand dunes and stunted trees and growth into a forest. Look familiar then?” he asked.
The lake he saw left no doubt in his mind that he'd been in this dungeon level recently, although now the scent of salt water filled the air and there were waves on the lake, almost as though it were an ocean. The tiny island out in the middle of the lake sealed the deal for him, he was sure this was the level that had been transferred out of the dungeon they'd destroyed, but that it had modifications made to it, maybe to fit better in this dungeon instead of the old one.
The Squidspawn was almost out of sight along the wall so Marc sped up, trying to catch up. He was just in time to see the guard/guide open another door and start down another set of stairs.
As Marc was walking down the stairs, he heard Todd speaking excitedly from behind him.
“I'm telling you, I saw fins out there. There are sharks in that lake now, if it's even still a lake.”
This set of stairs finished and the Squidspawn opened the door without going through, holding it open and gesturing for Marc to pass through.
He paused for a moment, suspicious, but a look through the door showed a smaller chamber than the other two had been. This one was maybe the size of a football field. The stone of the chamber was jagged where it wasn't covered with water. The majority of the floor was covered with water though, leaving only a narrow strip right inside the door, perhaps ten feet out from the wall the door was in and stretching fifty feet from side to side.
He stepped in, glancing at the water. It seemed only a few inches deep where it started, but the water was clear enough that he could see it dropping off quickly. He also saw a disturbance in the water, quickly growing closer. The light that permeated the room was nearly as bright as daylight, so he could easily see the entirety of the chamber.
He moved to the side to allow the rest of the group in. They were all in before the disturbance in the water approached closely enough to have to slow. When it did, a head breached the water. At the first sight of what was coming out of the water, he pulled his gladius out, holding it loosely in his hand.
Marc blinked, several times, trying to clarify what he was seeing.
Walking out of the water was a creature that had Marc's mind twisting. It looked humanoid, mostly, but the torso was the green and brown of a hobgoblin. Atop the torso was a head, but the head looked like it was made from the body of an octopus, even down to four tentacles dangling from what would be the chin, making a pseudo beard. The arms and legs were just as disturbing as the head. They were tentacles, but there was something vaguely resembling hands and feet attached to the ends of them.
