Raphael had started improving too, and I raised an eyebrow at him. “Oh, don’t look at me like that.” He chuckled, “I have yet to see any ore worth collecting, and my smithing skill sucked anyway. So I released them. Survival is a much more useful skill, and I was offered improvised and improved alchemy after my little poisoning experiment. I haven’t even heard of improvised alchemy, so I figured that we could use some of the stuff we are gathering to train it up. Survival lets you make improvised weapons like staves, knives are the least expensive magical weapons to purchase, and on the whole, I think this will be a better route for me.”

Huh. I wasn’t used to being a good example. It felt weird. Not bad, but weird. 2 small nature cores, 2 mediums, and 1 large were the haul, and I said “If we find more fire cores, do you want to give them a shot? Maybe you will get lucky and get the ‘swallow hot lava’ achievement?”

Raphael chuckled, “I think, for my sanity, I had better hold off on getting fire resistance. It could be useful for experimenting with alchemy, but I am not ready to put on goggles and a rubber apron just yet.”

Cassie, though, said, “I think, maybe I might like to try it when we aren’t in danger. I work around hot metals all the time. I know it’s more dangerous because I am not an immortal, but I might try a small core at some point. Dwarves are known for getting high fire resistance from working around molten metals, but if I could speed that up I might be able to inflate my smithing skills even more.”

I nodded, “I think it might work better with holy cores, considering your specialty, but I don’t think we would do anyone any favors going after monsters that are considered divine.” New Goal. Come up with a recipe for an internal tea or potion that can give decent temperature resistance.

Cassie nodded very seriously, “Divine cores would be on creatures that are considered linked to the deities or good-aligned. Unicorns, Dragonhorses, and celestials of various sorts. Trying to kill them for their cores would be… bad.”

I nodded and changed the subject, “At any rate, the next creature is supposed to draw down the rest of the might of the dungeon if we start to defeat it. We want to try and finish the Rexus thing before tonight is over so that Raphael can take his break. How long do you think your break will be, Raphael?”

Raphael shrugged, “A minimum of 3 days, but more likely close to a week. I am sorry I cannot be more precise, but I have a family, which means I might be back on after I take care of physical stuff for about eight hours, or I might need to stay out for twenty-four.”

I nodded, “Right. So how should we handle this?”

We discussed the back and forth of various tactics for a while, but in the end, we didn’t know too much about this Megaraptor thing and what else would come after us when it was wounded. Eventually, we decided that the best bet was to reinforce our current defenses and try to lure it out of whatever lair it was in room 4, in hopes that either the next rooms would not hear it when it got badly wounded and cried for help, or that the distance would slow the added monsters down enough that we could finish off the miniboss before they arrived or pick them off in waves.

While the team worked on building up our reinforcements, even more, I dived into my soulspace to try and create a trap capable of damaging a very large lizard.

This should not be nearly as difficult as creating GB. I didn’t need an autonymous golem, although the idea of having little-legged creatures that shoot off magical attacks was very appealing. Mnemosyne looked very happy I was there despite her earlier disgust with my delivery.

“I cannot contact the dungeon sprite. I think… I think the dungeon core ate her.” she said, unfolding for her typical resting spot, the tree crook over the stream.

“Ate her?” I asked, and Mnemosyne nodded. “When a new dungeon core is formed, usually a sprite is drawn to it quickly. New cores are hungry for energy, but the sprite usually starts more powerful and can bond to the core and help guide it. This core is not like the other one, it looks like it formed naturally from a monster core, and its sprite may have waited too long to try and bond. There is a brief window where a hungry core can consume the energy of the sprite if it is wild or starving instead of bonding with it, and this core is insane, filled with rage and all-consuming hatred of everything. That is the mark of a core without a sprite to guide it or help it become more intelligent.”

I nodded, “That’s why it is so simple?”

She nodded, “Yes, the first few rooms are nearly automatic, and can grow larger on their own as they use energy. This core is animalistic, simply using all of its energy to grow as many creatures as possible as it absorbs essence and then sends them out when it gets overcrowded. It has basically no mind left, which is what can happen when you are trapped in a lightless, soundless void without any stimulation except growing power and a constant stream of messages you are incapable of comprehending.”

She sighed and shook her head. “I know it’s useful, but this dungeon is a void of pain for the creature’s soul that is controlling it. If Kalika has any mercy at all in her she will let us drain or destroy the core if we can. Animalistic wild dungeons are common, but with a sprite, they can eventually become powerful sentients, but without one, this thing has no future and is as mindlessly antagonistic as a necromancer’s black pool or chaos pit.”

I nodded slowly, “I will ask her. I cannot guarantee her reply, and I gave my oath not to actively oppose her, but maybe, as a druid, she will consider letting us get rid of it.”

Mnemosyne nodded, “It would be the right thing to do. No other dungeon sprite would even approach a killer dungeon like this, since now it’s powerful enough to instantly absorb any sprite that would be stupid enough to try.”

I smiled, “You know, I have no idea how to destroy a core. Are you ready to talk me through it?” and at her ready nod, I started messing with the small cores I had available. In this case, I was going to try poison cores because I had more small ones, and I didn’t want to burn out the entire miniature valley we were setting reinforcements in by using a fire core.

After messing around with materials a little, I came to the conclusion that the easiest way to set up a magical trap was to surround a small core with a shell of simple black carbon and etch the knots for [push] and [channel] into the outer casing connected to the core’s energy with a limiter. A small [animation] and [push] knot would allow me to give an [animation] command, allowing me to set either a timer, if I needed to throw it, or a trigger, such as the proximity of any moving creature other than me.

At first, I thought this was too simple and was looking for a way Murhpy’s law could make the things not work until Mnemosyne set me straight. “Remember that, by spell terms, you are sacrificing an incredibly valuable item, a monster core, to be completely drained and more or less destroyed each time you activate it. You have sacrificed an enormous amount of magical efficiency for ease of use, and that matters. Not to mention that at the level you are fighting, a wizard or other spellcaster would have a large number of incredibly damaging spells at their disposal that they can use repeatedly. This sort of thing is a kobold specialty, and all of your skills, abilities and even the fact that you are a channeler is geared towards doing exactly this.”

She smiled brightly and tucked her hair behind her ear. “Looking for what can go wrong is a good habit, but I think in this case you are acting like a warrior that is hunting for ways his shield could split. I don’t know your magic well, but these poison bombs should work.”

I nodded. The carbon shells were not very mana-intensive to make, and I had spent an hour carving them, but in the end, I had six poison bombs and two fire bombs for emergencies. I hadn’t used any nature or water cores, because I had no idea what pushing water or nature would do, and I had a time limit. It would be neat to be able to fill a hole with water or make a big chunk of forest grow more quickly, but not very useful in a fight.

When I came out of my space, I was impressed with what had been accomplished in my absence. A nearly 6-foot uneven wall or pile of boulders with a gap small enough for Raphael or Kalika to edge through stretched across the 20-foot wide tunnel mouth, topped by a number of wooden stakes that had been sharpened into points. Along each side and in front of the boulders were my earlier animation-triggered sapling traps, and we looked like we were ready to go.

When I showed off my new creation, Raphael winced at the value of each bomb. I shrugged and said, “If it keeps us alive it’s worth the cost. How much do you think a magical item that resurrects someone would cost?”

“Probably more than I could even dream of owning,” he answered simply. “I get it, I just keep thinking small scale, like how much food it could buy.”

I grinned at him, “You are in a whole new tax bracket now, buddy. Think of it as an investment, like the valuable food we eat for buffs or the healing cream. We are using money to make money. If these bombs can weaken or help us take out dozens of monsters, how many more cores might they drop, what are their hides and meat worth, and the experience from defeating them… how much do you think getting power leveled might cost?”

He nodded, “Right. Embrace the sunk cost fallacy.” he chuckled a little, “Can anyone use them or just you?”

“Right now, I need to thread a bit of animation mana into each one to activate them, but I already have an idea of how to make them work for anyone, given enough time to work out the knots. I am not sure I want to set up an assembly line for high-intensity munitions, though, and setting each of these up for someone else would cost me experience points. I can already imagine how much it would suck if someone pickpocket me and grabbed a bunch of preset poison bombs they could sell to assassins or saboteurs.”

Raphael nodded at that and Cassie and I set off. I was going to try and sneak into the Raptor’s lair and get his attention with my sling, and then run once I caught its eye. Cassie would wait by the entrance with Bear, who could run much faster than anyone in the party, and pick me up and carry me back towards the fortifications. Meanwhile, Kalika was setting up a special short-term druid spell around the fortification called acid traps, and we would use my [observe] to thread our way through the hour-duration spells and get back undercover. There was enough space between Kalika’s spelltraps and the fortifications to get into a melee with the creature if it was necessary, and we would have defenses to retreat behind if it called a horde of additional monsters in its death throes.

The cave where the monster awaited was much smaller than the little valleys we had been traveling through, and when I peeked around the corner from the tunnel, it spotted me instantly. The cave where it lay was very.. cave-like, with occasional streams of oddly colored sunlight coming from cracks in the roof lighting the 30-foot room. It looked like a 15-foot tall red-skinned version of a tyrannosaurus with slightly longer arms and wicked bone blades where a middle finger would be, and even with my camouflage and stealth, it stopped chewing on what looked like a Swamp drake and instantly focused on my stealthed form the moment I caught sight of it.

The thing instantly leaped to its feet with a nearly eardrum-shattering roar and started charging me. I never even got a chance to use my sling before I was running as fast as my legs would carry me. I was fast, and trying to dodge in case it had a way of striking, but the 20 foot tall was enough to keep it from pouncing at me, I guess, and I grabbed Cassie’s hand as I ran by, her bear kicking into full speed as we crossed the short forest.

Evolved Arcane Megaraptor (Elite) Very Deadly- level 20 equivalent

These creatures have been warped by wild magic into deadly predators, capable of tangling with and hunting all but the most dangerous of prey. In beast terms, they are not terribly smart, are untameable, and have no special attacks. The wicked array of brutal weapons on all four limbs as well as a tail and mouth, their speed, and dexterity mean they don’t need any special attacks.

This Megaraptor has advanced beyond its native abilities and is much stronger and more dangerous than its unevolved kin. It is much larger and stronger than an unevolved Arcane megaraptor and can call other, lesser raptors to its aid.

We could feel every pounding footstep it took behind us, and I looked back to watch it exit the cave. It took three steps and then leaped, and I swatted Cassie’s shoulder to get her to turn, her frantic motion shifting Bear to the side and barely missing the monster’s landing and subsequent attempt to snap at us. Its mouth was more elongated than a Rex, and while it probably wasn’t big enough to snap up Cassie in one gulp, it could certainly put a terrible hurting with those wickedly long and vicious teeth on anything it caught, not to mention it was using those forearm blades like a praying mantis, they stretched out longer than it’s mouth when they were fully extended for a pounce.

“Cassie, can you tank that thing?” I cried in between the creature’s screams. She nodded. “I think so, although I don’t know how well my shield will hold up if the fight goes too long. It looks incredibly strong.”

We had to dodge one more time as the thing was a bit faster than we were before we got back to the improvised citadel. It screamed again when a large mist of something, Kalika’s trap, enfolded its left leg and limped a little as it snapped at the barricade, but it could not jump over it because of the tunnel overhang.

“It can call smaller versions of itself, and they are high jumpers!” I yelled as I passed to the other side of the barricade, sending an instruction to GB to stand up. Several feathered shafts sprouted from the Raptor’s throat as Shiana took advantage of her new ammo to shoot a multi-arrow, and the things sunk deeply into its armored hide as they struck, before all but one vanished as her magic expired.

Cassie turned back at the barrier and charged Bear at the damaged leg as she slapped her hammer against her shield, calling the thing’s attention to her. The bear slammed into its leg, making the entire monster stumble sideways at its charging force, joined by a loud crack from Cassie’s hammer impacting the acid-weakened leg.

Kalika was mumbling something again that I could not understand, although it did include the draconic words for ‘vines’ and ‘strangle’ that I caught, and huge vines erupted from the earth, lashing at the beast’s legs and wrapping around its torso. It struggled, snapping several of the vines, and I knew that the stranglehold would not last long, but Raphael, both swords in his hands since his claws were probably too short to damage the thing through its armor went flying from the top of the barricade. He used his double attack fade thing, but this time he used it thoughtfully as it shot him, straight line, into the raptor’s shoulder, both swords plunging deeply into its flesh as he used them for handholds to climb the thing.

We might not have been an army, but our unconventional tactics were extremely effective against an individual opponent like this. It swept one of its long arm claws at the barricade and the other one started ripping the entangling vines off of it, and then lashed down at Cassie several times with its mouth. She managed to block it, mostly, but caught a wicked gash on her arm, right through her armor. It picked her up by her shield and she got a good snash on its snout, leaving a huge dent and smashed teeth behind, as it flung its head, sending her flying behind it.

I gave a silent command to GB, and it took three steps, turned, and lifted its arms, bathing the entire right side and undamaged right leg, away from Raphael clinging to its left shoulder, in a column of fire from its hands. I put a half-power limiter on it, but even with that limiter, after a few moments, GB’s paws had melted, dribbling bronze onto the ground and wrecking its targeting knots.

The monster’s screams had intensified, and back at the tunnel leading to its room, I saw foliage waving as something started coming for us from that direction. Another arrow struck the monster in the throat, bursting as Shiana used her explosive arrow ability, and the creature was silenced as its throat was ruptured. It was not dead yet, but it soon would be, but the damage was already done.

I ran back past the creature, giving GB the order to engage and pummel the Raptor as best as it was able, and grabbed Cassie’s armor. Her eyes, open and dazed, blinked at me as I dragged her by her pauldron, and she tried to murmur something as I pulled her back through the opening of the barrier.

I looked down at cassie once we were behind cover, GB sort of ineffectually splashing its molten arms against the dying Raptor, which was fallen over on its side and thrashing weakly, trying to claw at its throat where Shiana’s armor-piercing explosive had pulped inside of its armor.

Cassie was dazed, and breathing shallowly, and I was utterly grateful for both her armor and that ugly bronze helmet that now had a huge dent from her impact with the ground. Kalika stepped forward, and I could see more of that green leaking from her fingers as she triggered a heal, one which I joined with my regeneration on the big gash in her arm.

Raphael was back on the barrier shouting about "Friggin incoming!", and Shiana was gritting her teeth, a grim expression on her face as she launched arrow after arrow over the barricade. I hated to do it, but I was needed on the wall, and I scrambled up to see what she was shooting at, leaving Kalika to help Cassie back to her feet.

Halfway through the lightly forested semi-valley was a wave of scaled flesh and teeth.