《Core and Guide》Chapter 7 - Eye of Gold
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Boss Room
25 Mana per Boss Room
Dig out a custom room for a specific Monster. Can have (1) per Floor. Cannot be relocated once placed.
Wil did not want to waste any time when his Dungeon was vulnerable to the outside world, so he mentally slammed the Boss room button and watched as his Mana shot down from 30 to 5 in the blink of an eye.
The location he would place the Boss room was between his Alcove tunnel and the newly created tunnel he had between his Core room. In between the two was 50ft of stone he had left available for his Boss room. The moment he had chosen the Boss room option his vision was flooded and chimes began ringing out in his head.
Congratulations! With the addition of a Boss Room, the Core has now created its first official floor. In order to build the final room, please select a Monster to be the First Floor Boss.
Dungeon Boss
The leaders of the Dungeon Monsters, they are the strongest Monsters available for Adventurers to fight. There may only be (1) Boss per Floor.
Evolve a Dungeon Monster
25 MP
Choose a previously created Monster within the Dungeon and elevate it to become a Boss. To choose this option, locate a Monster and name them.
Imbued Lynx
25 MP
A large feline, gifted with incredible speed and unnatural cunning.
As an Imbued Beast, the Monster is granted a slight affinity related to its Dungeon. (Earth, Water, Air) May only have (1) affinity, affinities are chosen at random.
Greater Dungeon Serpent
25 MP
An enhanced version of the Lesser Dungeon Serpent. It is an expert at camouflage and possesses an extremely potent toxin.
Imbued Bear
25 MP
Native to the Ilvan Forest, this bear towers over any man and possesses unnatural strength.
As an Imbued Beast, the Monster is granted a slight affinity related to its Dungeon. (Earth, Water, Air) May only have (1) affinity, affinities are chosen at random.
"Fuck!" Wil screamed out.
Belle looked shocked at him, confused and now worried. "What?! What is it?"
How long are they going to make me wait! This is getting ridiculous.
"Sorry, Sweetheart. I just didn't see an option I was hoping for." He said sadly.
"Is this about the damn Deer again?" She asked with a glare.
"...Yes."
"Deer aren't classified as Lesser Beasts, and they would make a poor Boss choice. That is why you haven't seen any yet."
Wil vehemently disagreed about her assessment of a Deer's capabilities, but that would be something he handled when it came.
"I guess that makes sense. I just really wanted to know what they looked like." He mumbled to himself.
Her eyes softened for a moment and gently patted the top of his Core, "I know, obviously they were just too powerful to be limited to your first floor."
Wil, nearing tears, "Y-yeah, that's probably it."
Belle, now rolling her eyes, "Okay tough guy, how about you pick your new Boss? When you do, the Boss room is going to change automatically. So that will be a nice change of pace. The room changes based on what Boss you pick so pick something you think the Dungeon needs."
"The descriptions of the Boss Monsters seem a little short though, why is that Belle?" He asked.
"Well, when we were choosing your Dungeon Monsters they weren't very complicated. When it comes to Bosses though, they all have multiple traits and almost always look unique. It would take hours to explain the capabilities of each one in detail, so Mr.Blue decided it would be easiest if there was just a brief description." She seemed happy with the reasoning, but to Wil, it just seemed like the creator was being lazy.
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He wouldn't say that out loud though, Mr.Blue might be listening.
The choices available to him were; a large bear, a large snake, or a large cat.
He felt spoiled. Two of the choices weren't even available in lesser form when he was picking Dungeon Monsters, and those two both came with a free affinity.
"Belle, why can't I choose what affinity the Bear or Lynx is imbued with?" He thought that just seemed needlessly petty. He couldn't even choose what magic his Monsters could use?!
"It's because you're a Dungeon, and they are Monsters. Monsters and Two-legs are similar in this regard, their affinity is assigned randomly at birth. Because you are a Nature Dungeon though, the only option for your Monsters is going to be Earth, Water or Air." She was lecturing again. He thought he was finally away from all of that.
It upset him that his Monsters were being compared to the Sentient races, even in a small way like with affinities. It couldn't be helped though, and it eliminated hours of indecision as he tried to decide what his Boss would have.
"Belle, what would you rather have as the first floor Boss? The Bear or the Lynx?" He was feeling cowed at the large decision he had before him, and he wanted the only person he trusted to give him her opinion.
At his question she brightened up and glowed a bright shade of gold, "I think the Bear is going to be the cutest. It's going to have a cute little button nose and I bet its fur will be super soft!"
Wil couldn't physically move, but he felt his Core wobble to the side of his podium at the absurdity of her answer. He wasn't angry, but frustrated might be a good word. "Belle, I want you to answer seriously! This is a really big decision and I want to know which one you think will be the strongest."
She just looked at him and scrunched up her face. "Wil quit being so hard-headed." She giggled at her joke for an unnecessarily long time. "All of your Boss Monsters were each worth 25 MP, so naturally they are all going to be as strong as each other. It comes down to personal preference, and what you think will fit best in your Dungeon."
She took a deep breath and continued, "Just because I didn't give a reason does not mean I don't think the Imbued Bear will be your best choice."
"So...the Bear?" He asked.
"Yep." She flew over to his Core and laid atop it, kicking her feet playfully in the air.
He wasn't going to admit it to her, but the Bear was what he was leaning towards, to begin with. Most of the Monsters in his Dungeon at the moment were focused on sneak attacks and not direct confrontation. It would be a good change of pace to have a veritable pile of muscle and teeth as the final Boss of his first floor. If the Adventurers were constantly looking over their shoulders for a surprise ambush then all the better.
"Alright! Imbued Bear it is." He announced to nobody in particular.
"Perfect! Just focus on your Boss room and choose the Bear, then watch the magic happen." She was giggling with excitement, and it was infectious.
Wil focused his attention on the space between his Core room and the Alcove tunnel. He watched in fascination as the large area between began to be hollowed out without him having to do any of the work.
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The room that was being carved out was turning into a miniature biome before his eyes. He watched as it stretched to be over 50ft long, connecting to the Alcove tunnel and the tunnel to his Core room perfectly. Then it stretched even further in the other directions, extending up to 75ft away. The ceiling was raised to the height of 30ft. The corners of the room, Wil was interested to see, were sloping up and away, creating a seamless connection between the walls and ceiling.
The end result was a large rectangular room with curved corners. At the moment the room was just a mess of empty and blank stone, but even before he could finish appreciating the shape of the room it began to warp again.
This time, he watched as rolling hills appeared across the ground, made of packed dirt and large stones spaced out at random intervals. These hills began to sprout small grass stalks all across the top, and soon he had a beautiful field of bright green and yellow grass covering his new Boss room with large stones poking over the top. Not long after he watched as his signature Mana-Lights began to dot the ceiling. Once the light was in place it seemed to shine brighter than normal and created artificial sunlight all across the Boss room. The lights he had in his other rooms had a similar effect, but not nearly as stunning as it was in this room.
He didn't understand how a large field of grass constituted a Boss room, but then more changes warped across the room. I should really just be quiet and watch to the end.
Trees of all shapes and sizes began to sprout at an unnatural rate along the edges of the room. Large Oak trees thick around as the Silverbark appeared, accompanied by smaller and more numerous bushes around the bases of each tree. Not just Oak Trees appeared however, there were also a few Spruce and a couple that Belle said looked like Walnut Trees.
Wil was ecstatic, he finally had more plants to work with! Not to mention with this addition he now looked like a respectable Nature Dungeon. The Trees all ringed the outside of the grass fields, leaving an empty grove in the middle. The final touch seemed to be a larger hill appearing in the center of the grove. In the center of the Hill, facing away from the entrance to the room by the Alcove tunnel, a large cave mouth appeared.
A cave in a cave.
The cave stretched halfway up the hill but then continued from the ground. The result was a cave mouth that was 20ft wide, reaching up from the ground and into the unnaturally large hill. The hole in the ground seemed to yawn and stretch deep into the earth.
He wasn't sure what the point of what amounted to a giant hole in the ground accomplished until he heard an earth shaking roar.
Every single Monster in the Dungeon heard the pronouncement and responded in kind. The Troop began hooting and hollering in excitement. The howlers let out their own earsplitting cry, and the Spinebacks who were resting underneath them curled into a ball. The Dungeon Serpents responded by slithering into the Alcove Room to take a look at the new arrival.
Wil was beginning to feel nervous that his new Boss would never come out of its hole until he saw a massive snout poke out from the cave.
Belle nearly fainted on the spot at the sight of its not-so-little nose.
What came after the nose was the mouth though, and the mouth was what made Wil almost faint. It seemed the Bear had a slight dental issue, as multiple fangs poked out from the top and bottom of its snout. The fangs were well over 6" long and put even the female Monkey's claws to shame.
After the mouth, came the rest of its head. For the first time Wil got a good look at the face of his new Boss, and he was impressed. The fur on its head seemed unnaturally tough and was a deep golden-brown similar to the Monkeys of the Troop.
The irises of its eyes were the color of Belles aura. A gorgeous gold that pierced the dark and shone with unnatural intelligence and strength. It had a powerfully built head that was as wide as some of the trees in the room. The Bear's ears were moving in a constant swivel motion to assess its surroundings, as well as look for potential prey.
As the rest of the Boss came out of hiding, Wil knew he had made the correct choice. Standing in front of the cave was a Beast that towered at 9ft in height, and at least 6ft across. Belle had told him most Bear's have a layer of fat on their body at all times, but this one seemed like nothing but muscle. He was mesmerized as he watched the different muscles under its skin ripple and contort as it moved.
The fur on its body was the same as on the head, except he noticed that the longer hairs on its back were closer to spines than hair. The hide looked tough and near impossible to pierce with anything but the sharpest tool.
Once the new Boss began walking around, he noticed the claws marking the soft earth every time it stepped. They weren't as long as he had expected but were thick enough to gouge enormous furrows in the dirt as large as a man's closed fist.
The new Boss had one more surprise in store for Wil, though. As soon as he watched the beast's claws dig into the ground, the furrows and tracks instantly sealed and repaired themselves.
"Belle!? Why is my dirt fixing itself? Can I do that with the other rooms?!" He was amazed at the idea of a feature he had never seen until just now.
"No silly, that must be its affinity." She giggled at his enthusiasm.
"If I had to guess, the Boss got an Earth affinity. That means it has slight control over the ground and is granted additional defense. It also means increased resistance to Earth attacks." Wil nearly did faint this time.
It was everything he could have ever asked for in a Boss.
"So...if it wanted to, it could just hide in the Forest as Adventurers poked around its cave. Then sneak up on them without anybody even noticing it, because there were no tracks?!" His voice was getting feverish at all the different tactics he could see his new boss taking.
She just smiled and flew out of the Core room to go welcome their new guardian.
Wil was elated, but he knew he needed to add one finishing touch to the new Boss room. He went to the entrance Adventurers would use when they entered from the Dungeon, and placed a large Silverbark door across the 6ft tall and 6ft wide opening.
The door was a rich brown and had silver specks all across the wood, as an homage to his new Boss he did his best to carve a set of eyes into the center of the door. He placed a few of the small gems he had absorbed earlier into the sockets, and soon a pair of golden eyes were staring down at any who would try to open the door. For handles, he decided to go a little overboard and purchased pure silver. He also used silver as the outline for the door. He wanted Adventurers to know they were about to face the Boss.
With the door done, he went to where the entrance to his Core room was, since it branched off directly from the Boss room, he added another Silverbark door between it. It was not nearly as intricate as the other but would keep any Two-legs from escaping the room before his Boss got a chance to attack.
Boss. His Boss needed a name. He focused his attention back to the Bear and was surprised to see the majority of his Dungeon Monsters surrounding it, all offering a welcome to their new friend.
The Bear was, according to Belle, a male. How she had time to check that was strange to him until he realized he had spent over an hour decorating a single door.
He focused on the Bear, and with an unnecessary amount of grandiose said, "Welcome to our Dungeon, soon we are going to be attacked by Sentients who want to take what we have. That's why you're here, you will be our final line of defense. Our strongest. Protect us with your life, and we will protect you." At this, the Bear roared in agreement and got up on its hind legs. The previously 9ft tall bear was now towering closer to 16ft and slammed down into the ground. This sent a wave of earth rolling across the field of grass. All the Monsters cheered at the display of power and bowed to the new Boss.
"As our last defender, you will be known as Grizzly!" A little uninspired, but the name just fit the Beast too well.
Grizzly roared once more and bowed its massive head towards the Core room.
After a few more hours of Monster acquainting and general partying, the Boss excused itself back to the cave it called home for some shut-eye. The Boss room was in perpetual artificial sunlight, but the Cave was as dark as...a cave.
All of the other Dungeon Monsters returned to their previous rooms.
Belle came back to the Core room and settled atop her Silverbark bed, "Grizzly is just such a cutie, did you know he can make walls of dirt and stone with just a press of his paw? Did you see his paws?! They were so soft and fluffy I couldn't believe it."
She was having the time of her life, and Wil was grateful he had chosen such a good Boss. He was mostly happy that what he had gotten was a strong Monster though. He knew Adventurers would have a really tough time fighting something like Grizzly when, before, all they had to contend with were snakes and monkeys.
Wil felt ready. He knew he could never fully prepare for what the Sentients would bring, but he now knew his Dungeon could handle the F rank Adventurers.
I'm ready! Bring it on Two-legs!
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