Day 6…

Aenirus waved goodbye to the 13 brave souls leaving the dungeon on their second expedition out to find more patterns or blueprints for Tier. She was glad she stuck around with Tier as it was way more interesting than just wandering around aimlessly in the wildlands.

Today was a nice day too, Tier barely finished his 2nd floor at the end of the day before which is fast but she heard some dungeons do things faster like one which in legend managed to get to the 6th floor in just a day but… then again Tier kind of put a lot of detail into every nook and cranny so the point is null.

Ruma was… doing something different but Aenirus didn’t paid enough attention to it, Blackie seems to follow Ruma around despite the pseudo wyvern’s attempts at trying to scare the slime off with hissing or even mock attacks ‘of all the people in the dungeon, I would have never thought that those two would get along… well, maybe more of an annoyed older brother whose young sibling always follows’ Aenirus thought about ‘kind of like me back in the day’ she followed through.

Either way, she was glad to see that of all the people she taught, almost all of them can use at least basic cantrips now though they need to experiment themselves on how to best use their spells. The most shocking thing she learned was of the new boss of the second floor… two of them in fact… Most dungeons don’t have gank-bosses, some have them but usually only at post 20th floor levels with a rare post 5th floor gank-boss here and there.

Gank-bosses from what she remembered are… a lot harder to take down than regular bosses as you have to fight two or more creatures in a boss room and all of them are bosses. Of course, some bosses use lesser creatures to help fight against any delvers or invaders but those are uncommon as they take away from the so called boss energy or the boost that a creature will get to make it strong enough to be a boss of the floor it is assigned to.

For example, a threat rank 2 creature if assigned to a 2nd floor will gain about… 6-10 points in threat ranking depending on each individual dungeons, generally how hard the floor is, etc…. Bosses that control lesser creatures get their bonus decreased based on what creatures are present, how compatible the lesser creatures are to the boss, how strong are said creatures, how many creatures there are, etc….

Gank-bosses get the same bonus a regular boss if assigned to that floor will get as a usual boss would. For example, 2 threat rank 3 creatures are assigned to the 2nd floor of a dungeon with a threat rank boost of 8.8, both creatures gain a 4.4 threat rank boost resulting in 2 threat rank 7.4 bosses on the second floor of the dungeon for a whopping 14.8 threat rank boss fight if all of those add up. However, it gets even worse because two creatures can have double the action of one, there is a reason why gank-bosses and bosses with underlings are tougher than regular bosses and that is because of a threat rank multiplier system which increase the total threat rank based on how many enemies are there.

“So, if you add both of their threat rank together to make a 14.2 threat rank boss fight than multiply the number by… 1.25 times… you get a threat rank 18 or something fight… for a floor where the threat rank averages about 10-12 at most” Aenirus explained “So… tell me how this is… not an overpowered boss again Tier?” Aenirus said mockingly, in truth she was just trolling him ‘He’s cute when he panics’ she tries to justify her actions though her point still stands valid.

“Erm…” Tier started but Aenirus cut him off “Also, Mirsk and Marve should know plenty about spells and magic and stuff” Aenirus added “Which isn’t added to the threat rank on creatures that don’t generally use magic so both of them are even deadlier than usual due to the magic for the most part” she added again

“Wait what? How? I haven’t taught them about any magic yet” Tier asked but Marve confirms it “Excuse me father but… we do know how to use magic, I can use level 3 earth spells and level 2 air spells whilst Mirsk can use level 2 fire spells” “Whyyyy?” Tier asked with a confused tone “Because bosses gain any information useful to their function from other creatures which includes combat spellcraft, if you absorbed a magic user, you and all creatures in your dungeon will get a share of that mage’s knowledge” Aenirus beat the advisor to explaining things.

“I… this isn’t good is it?” Tier asked “No it is not” Aenirus agreed “Why is this a not good situation? Isn’t having us be threat level 18 or 20 or whatever better?” Mirsk asked confused “Because it might drive weaker prey out of the area” Marve answered with a spark of knowledge “Bingo, full points for you” Aenirus exclaimed “Also, if you create too strong creature, it might mean people will mistake you for a dungeon that gone Vespershit crazy or one that produce abominations and will come to kill you before you learn to take over the world” she added in a pinch.

“I can’t really fault you for all of this, I should’ve paid more attention or told you much earlier but… it’s in the past, changing it can cause a lot of problems especially for Mirsk and Marve and so the best thing to do is just to improvise” Aenirus said “Okay, I think I get it now… I never asked this but why do I want people to come here again? Is it the same reason why I’m subconsciously putting loot at certain places?” Tier asked.

“Dungeons grow quickly for the first 5 floors but then start to slow down to a snail’s crawl unless you somehow get a constant source of mana and all dungeons subconsciously wanted to grow so… I’m guessing your instincts as a dungeon core are acting up” Aenirus explained.

“Hmm… alright I know how to fix this, only one of you two start on the platform with the other coming in later once the one on the platform is bloodied, this should make it more fair” Tier ordered “Also, if the delvers run away or give up, let them and warn them as well but if they disrespect your mercy than… no mercy” Tier added as well “Yes father, your word is law” both of the bosses said in unison before Marve went back to the rest room in the north.

“I mean only when people are near” Tier added again “Sorry about that” Marve said with drooped ears “I apologize” Mirsk added “I really need to give you two some more social training so go and start socializing with the other creatures… actually let me spawn some more of your kind so you can socialize better” Tier then went and spawned 4 more modified lesser maned kanids in the north room, none of them are bosses but they are in another room so they don’t count as underlings or anything.

Aenirus watched as the two bosses went to greet their new brothers and sisters and start some kind of event or something before going out to socialize with others in the dungeon “I think that’s an amazing idea, both the socializing aspect and the second one only enters when the first one was bloodied” Aenirus praised Tier “Why do you want the dungeon to be fair anyways?” Aenirus added “Because I want to actually enjoy myself in this new life of mine, if I surround myself with strong bosses or creatures with extremely one-sided features… I will be bored as a garbage can, also some unknown force inside of me object to making things unfair” Tier answered honestly.

“That seems like a good idea, why do you provide multiple paths in both floors?” she asked another question “So different people can proceed, I think it is nice to have multiple routes to go through other than simply combat, you can be peaceful or violent, smart or dumb, flexible or a one-trick pony, I want my dungeon to be a kind of… jack-of-traits kind of dungeon, violence shouldn’t be the only answer” Tier answered firmly “Is that something you made since you realized I prefer diplomacy to combat?” Aenirus asked with a bit of selfish intent.

“Kind of, more of a feeling than anything else, I also told all the creatures in my dungeon to challenge or attack or kill people to their desire, so people can get through my dungeon via many different ways” Tier stated “I think I like your dungeon, you remind me of another dungeon in Ravic city, a place where all is welcome home to the pacifist dungeon” she told him.

“Okay, my turn to ask questions now, what is the pacifist dungeon?” Tier asked intrigued “Oh, it’s a really nice place to be, none of the creatures there are aggressive, puzzles are fun, it’s more like an adventure from a children’s book where no one actually dies but with fun challenges everywhere, I’ve been in it as well” Aenirus happily recalled “Tell me about it” Tier requested in a friendly curious manner “It’s a long story so, I was in Ravic city this one time…”

Aenirus and Tier talked about various things for a long time, they talked about stories, legends, etc… as they waited for the expedition to return…

Kirja’s POV…

Everything seemed to be very good, the grass seemed watery from last night’s water falling event thing yet the ball of fire is high in the sky. I learned a lot of words from wonderful big sis Aenirus, she taught me a lot of things including a bit about magic, MAGIC! I can use a bit of magic now! A few spells here and there but mostly cantrips. My best spell was a level 3 one that create a spinning… thingy that can cut things in half, I also have light bullets, orbs of poison, etc…

We spotted a village earlier last expedition, seemed important but not accessible last time due to the range limit the core placed on us. I love my new extended family, we went on a unit, fought some stuff whilst I stay in the back unfortunately, picked some things out, I even caught a few critters WITHOUT KILLING ANY OF THEM! My hunting skills are better than those of my original kind who can only kill, now I can catch whilst not killing! Muahahaha!

…

Anyways, going to village! It may be abandoned but I hope they have some good things to eat or a book to read! I love reading the two books Aenirus let Tier recreate, if we find more books than that would be best! Maybe a picture book or a fairytale? Who knows…

…

It been a while now, Kaide the angry brother sent the two fluffy Vespers Batra with one of the others which has a name that I can’t remember or is nameless to scout out the village down to all the buildings as well. They have been gone for a bit, should be back soon, maybe they got picked off by a avikari or worse, I always hunt in the tall grass to avoid flying dangers, what if the… oh they’re back now!

“alright, what do you have for us… no screeching or anything so we’re clear for now, let’s move on before something comes up” Kaide ordered causing everyone else including me to get up or uncoil in my case and head out in the direction of the village. Hraeta or whatever the small fang wielding kobold’s name was went first with Kaide since those two have the scout? Class? I hope I also get a class soon, big sis Aenirus told us one time that classes are a system so that non feral creatures have a chance against more feral monstrous foes whilst giving bigger stronger sapient creatures like dragons a bigger advantage if they aren’t lazing around all day.

Wait… food feelers are feeling something funky, I turn my peepers to a direction only to find… a green slime hopping towards the group about 30ft away, I hiss to let the other notice it “nice find Kirja” one of the kobolds… forgot his name… Galdra? Complimented me “want me to blow it up?” Taika suggested “eh, you blew up the last one missy, let the serpent blew this one to smitherins” the kobold with a funny accent Verk suggested “sure, the village seemed clear along with the fact that you level stuff up faster with actions in… action” Kaide agreed whilst Taika just shrugged.

I GET APPROVAL TO DO MAGIC STUFF!!! This is the best day ever… I should do a light spell! I focus my mind, focus on manipulating the mana from the environment to channel it into a spell before deciding what spell I want in a split second. I weave the spell, imagine a bolt of light flying towards the slime at the speed of light whilst spinning rapidly and as the light starts to form, I focus a bit more to increase the power of the spinning Bolt of Light a bit more… before releasing it!

The spinning Bolt of Light traveled the now 23ft distance in an instance hitting the slime square in the chest splitting the slime alongside its crystal core in half before flying off to hit a tree leaving a 2-inch deep gash on the tree’s bark… THAT FELT AMAZING!!! I hiss out in excitement and joy.

“woah, you have been practicing hard my friend, is that a level three spell?” Taika asked with curious eyes whilst I nodded vigorously “you should refrain from doing that too much though, it took a good bit of mana from the environment, had a long 6 second casting time unlike the shorter second or no casting time spells you are used to and… seemed to be too powerful of a spell for such a simple slime” Aenirus gave some tips which I hungrily ate up.

So that new spell I just learned should be used sparingly against opponents that are worth using it on… that is amazing information… oh we are now at eh edge of the walled village… my excitement is high… I hope there is nothing there but if there is… it will not survive. I keep my peepers up, ready my tongue sense used for finding prey and slither alongside the group as we start our trek into the village… I will keep them safe, I love them lots and lots…

…

Aenirus has started wandering around the dungeon once more, to her the dungeon was a pretty nice place, the denizens are nice, Tier the core was not a murderous feral thing, the design of the first floor actually makes sense, she loved a lot of things about the dungeon and she was learning a lot about the beginning states of a dungeon.

“so… you guys spawn and already know about your roles, what you are supposed to do and a lot of the knowledge on how to do it?” Aenirus asked a kobold from the second floor “uhmmm… yesssss…?” he answered nervously “it is a fascinating fact isn’t it?” she added another one “yeah…” the kobold agreed.

“hmmm… I do wonder where the expedition went though…” She pondered subconsciously “oh, they went to check out an abandoned village or whatever” Tier went to answer “I… do not remember an abandoned village anywhere nearby… there are a lot in the wildlands from failed settlement attempts but… never one this close” Aenirus pondered as the kobold that was having a conversation with her stealthily sneaked out.

“really? They said it was in the South East in a bend connecting two different flowing rivers” Tier added to the statement “okay… that’s a really big problem since I got here from that direction” Aenirus pointed out “what if it’s a ruin?” she suggested.

“what’s a ruin?” Tier asked “I know what the word means but this doesn’t seem like a decaying structure or ancient thing” he added “a ruin is a result of the corrupted mana in the air” Aenirus answered sternly “the corrupted mana would sometimes create creatures out of thin air like that of a dungeon but the created creature is completely random from age to sentience level to skills, stats, species, even extinct species or species before the shattering though that is very rare.

These beings that are created from thin air but not from the dungeon are called mimic, doppelgangers, duplicates, copiers, there are many different names for them but the most common name is imposters” she added now a bit worried “they are way more aggressive than regular creatures even going out of their way to attack creatures with a symbiotic relationship with them and they especially spawn in ruins” that last bit came out with a bit of fear.

“To sum it up ruins are… randomly generated places in the world whether deep underground, above ground, in the sky or so on…” Aenirus explains “they are very dangerous places with the mimics guarding them ranging from things like giant varmilleons to extinct ancient pre-shattering powerful beings such as elder dragons.

Usually, if left alone for long enough these mimics and ruins would dissipate as the corrupted mana couldn’t keep them apart but in places where mana can be purified like near a dungeon or place with a lot of bipeds or sapients… they become real enough to exist outright in the world” Aenirus added.

“think of them like mini dungeon, they are a randomized location that can appear anywhere with any type of enemies, loot, traps, etc…” Aenirus continues “you can either fight a giant and get poop all or fight a slime and get an artifact of a weapon though many of these things are generated alongside one another so those two examples above or null…” she gave out examples.

“whatever, you need to call them back!” Aenirus shouted worriedly “why? Even if it was a dangerous place, I told them to scout it out so they would leave if there was even a hint of danger and they can all respawn afterwards” Tier thought about it “I mean… I guess your right… they… no mimics spawning inside ruins cannot leave the ruins at all… I still want to go check up on them though, they might be trapped there for a long time” Aenirus put her foo-err… paw down.

“I’m a bit worried too but like you said before… I don’t understand the exact words but the meaning so I will say with my own words… let them learn by themselves” Tier said “but… for a compromise… I’ll lend you Ruma to fly you there and I myself can get a view of the village as well” he added to a relieved Aenirus “thanks… I guess I got a little too attached to some of them” Aenirus said skittishly “we all do… I look to them like they are my children… not really… actually I guess it’s similar since I’m creating them… but not really… but I do care for them” Tier fumbled with words for a bit.

Aenirus made good time running towards the dungeon as Tier ordered Ruma to go towards the entrance.

“Ruma, I know you have wings which you’ve never used before so go use them and go towards the East until y… you know what, I’ll let Aenirus guide you” Tier ordered the wyvern who only grunted in agreement “I never got to ride something that can fly before… I would enjoy this but we kind of got a situation going around” Aenirus said as she hopped onto the wyvern’s back as Ruma was readying to fly at the entrance.

Ruma never flew before, being created as a monitor yet he had the instincts and knowledge on how to fly already in his head. It was a bit… scary to try something new for once which he had never done before and if he failed… that would be a disaster for Aenirus depending on where he failed. With all of that in mind, he did a few experimental test flaps before running to pick up some speed and then finally with a strong flap of his wings managed to take off.

The sky… seemed natural for him… the rushing air… the blueness of it all… the powerful sensation he felt and the telltale signs of the fire of passion burning bright after a spark has been ignited… it felt like this was what he was made for and for the first time he felt like crying… what was that he was hearing in his head? Was that… *whack* “RUMA YOU FUCKING IDIOT EAST IS THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION, YOU’RE GOING WEST, STOP DAYDREAMING!!!” Tier mentally screamed at the wyvern after Aenirus slapped him hard on the head.

‘oh... OH SHIT!’ Ruma mentally thought of as he did a U-Turn as quick as possible than realizing that as he was daydreaming… he already flew a few miles off course “Thank You” Tier annoyingly thanked him loudly “it’s alright, we all discover things that make us go to a happy place all the time but… I think you should hurry up” Aenirus chided him a bit in an understanding tone… Ruma felt bad and embarrassed… ‘Ruma you fucking idiot’ he resented himself as he make haste towards the village in the distance that he could barely make out.

Back to the expedition…

Things were… how should I say it… going to shit? Nah… Snafu? Too tame… ABSOLUTELY FUBAR! Yeah… that seems about right. The expedition was having a really bad time in the village and things went from 0 to 100 really quickly.

Kaide was currently in a pile of wood that used to be boxes with half of his sword the hilt part still in his hand, Taika with a broken right arm was finding that all her support has… evaporated, Verk has… disappeared somewhere, Hraeta was bleeding from a few dozen places at once and is quickly flagging, one of the monitor lost a lot of blood, the other lost its entire tail, Galdra one of the kobolds was the only one still healthy for some reason, the other three kobolds Par, Barmas and Meena were bloodied or unconscious or more likely dead, Batra is probably dead and the other Vesper has also disappeared alongside Verk.

*Record Scratching* *Freeze Frame* yup… that’s me Kirja right there flying through the battlefield with both fangs broken off as I was tossed by a big hot chunky… masculine? Thingy there that was currently beating its meat on Galdra… you might be wondering how I got into this situation… I would be happy to share since this will give me time to strategize and hopefully not die to the shards of broken wood near Kaide … we have to go to the very beginning… when we first arrived at the not so abandoned village…

…

A half an hour earlier…

…

The expedition has arrived at the wall surrounding the village “well… do anyone see any entrance or anything?” Meena asked the others “nah” “nope” *shakes head* etc… were some of the responses “okay, the area should be clear based on the observations of the Vespers, so split up into three teams of 4, 5, 4 and start searching for an entrance” Kaide ordered the team.

After a while… approximately 10 seconds… they realized that the only place where there is a functioning wall was facing towards the west or east so they enter the village from the south “anyone getting weird feelings about the place?” Taika asked nervously as she clenched her spear/spell focus tighter “nah… yah just paranoid missy” Verk answered nonchalantly “actually I do” Kaide answered.

“well that’s just great because so do I” Hraeta announced, Kirja nodded as well “so let me get this… people who are mainly casters and the only two with the scout class including myself are getting weird feelings from this place… group up in a tight formation, it might be something, it might be nothing” Kaide made his decision to be safe.

The team was now moving very slowly checking on all corners as they moved into the village after the walls “so… we never really got to finish that conversation in the mudroom” Taika teasingly said at Verk in a quiet almost whisper like voice “what conversation?” Hraeta joined in way too loud “quiet people, we’re in a potentially dangerous area here” Kaide told them leading from the front “sorry” Hraeta apologized “what conversation?” she followed up in a still too loud of a voice causing Kaide to mutter “nevermind” before continuing on.

“what conversation?” Verk asked seeming to have forgotten about that one “we’re talking about crushes and stuff and Verk here does not like any of the females not me, you, Meena or Barmas” Taika explained “really… are you sure it’s not because he’s Ace?” Hraeta asked knowing what Taika mean “I… good point…” Taika admitted “to be honest I have no idea” Verk admitted.

“hmmm… so are you really sure that you are not interested in anyone?” Taika asked “nay… sorry missy but I do na like any of ya females” Verk countered though if he had sweat glands there woud be some sweat on his head “Verk… your charisma is kanidshit, you won’t be getting away from this” Taika added “I have no idea what ya are suggesting” Verk raised his voice a bit

“you three in the back shut up also Hraeta get up here at once” Kaide ordered sternly before going back to his duty of making sure everything ahead is safe and Hraeta went up to Kaide “so… are you… you know?” Taika asked quietly “…maybe…” he answered nervously face going a bit red “oh… you like one of the guys don’t you?” she asked very quietly just in case as Verk nodded nervously though he is full red this time.

“I don’t know why… I mean… I never… it’s complicated” Verk muttered to himself whilst panicking “it’s alright, we’re basically siblings spawned at the same time, I’ll support you wherever possible” Taika calmed him down a bit “I’m scared though… I know Kaide wouldn’t care sine he’s kind of bad with pillow talk stuff but what about the others, what if Tier and Aenirus distrust me for my weird feelings towards males of all fucking things” Verk said pessimistically “trust the rest, it’s not going to kill you, also Tier seems to be very against inequality… also that accent is fake isn’t it” Taika asked again.

“…what? definitely nah” he answered “it sure fucking is you broke it like multiple times whlst you are panicking” Taika pointed out “can we go back to talking about who we want ta sleep with again… oi was very comfortable talking about that more than this” Verk suggested “not until you tell me about that accent of yours” Taika teased a bit too loudly.

“FOR THE LAST FUCKING TIME I TOLD YOU GUYS FROM THE BACK T-BEHIND!” Kaide shouted as he spun around with an annoyed expression to instantly grabbing his short spear he had on hand hurling it back almost hitting three others but managing to hit the thing charging at the back of the group from the remnants of a house square in the dome.

The thing he hit in the head wad… thin… to the point where there was only skin and bones with a round humanoidish head with a too wide jaw showing rows of uneven teeth with two black holes as eyes. The thing was very gaunt with too long limbs ending in long claws standing bipedal with a plantigrade setup and having no tail. Its skin was wiry, taut, full of many disgusting features and the most striking part was that it was extremely pale with a light blue tint.

As soon as it went down from a javelin through its skull, Kaide turned around towards one of the two Vespers “didn’t I tell you two to scout out the village down to each individual house?” he asked with a very calm expression which would cause the Vespers to sweat buckets if it had had sweat glands as they both nodded “you didn’t check the houses didn’t you?” another pair of nods sealed the deal.

“alright people, we have faulty intel which means we backtrack back an… we’re surrounded aren’t we” Kaide’s order was cut off as he observed where they were. The group was in the middle of the village where the village square would be as it is a big circle about 50ft wide and they were right in the middle where a tree used to be.

“boss, there are a dozen more of those things you just killed coming from the North and West!” Hraeta shouted out contacts from her side as they hastily get to a battle formation “fuck, same number from the south and east mates as well but one of the ten have a green bulge to them” Parl called out calmly as Kaide was observing the same things coming but with one that has a few bulgy protrusions that looked green instead of pale blue.

A scream can be heard from the south as one of those things seemingly a bit beefier than the others charged after screaming directly at Kaide as he went to a stance. His sword set up perfectly perpendicular to the horizontal ground to the right of his body with left leg stretched out forward and eyes locked directly towards the thing charging at him. At the last second, he activated his fleet foot skill stepping his right leg towards the left whilst spinning his left leg stepping just out of the way of the charging thing as he decapitated it with a single swing of his sword without any arts or anything as its body still having momentum slides forward for about 15ft.

…

“if any of you fuckers want the same fate as this guy here” Kaide said as he kicked the severed head onto his waiting left hand “than come get some, I dare you” he said coldly as he threw the head towards a perfect arc slamming into the green ball of acid or whatever shot from the thing with the green protrusions ‘…I seriously hope that was good enough to impress the others to fighting and backing me up… no way those creepy scary fuckers will back off’ he thought as he watched them for a few seconds.

This resulted in all of the things to start charging against the team “well, so much for intimidation” Kaide added sourly before going back to a stance though a different one for throwing instead as he catches a javelin thrown to him by one of the others as they started raining as much firepower against the things as possible before the lines clash and the fight fully commences and so too does literally everyone else in the group as they know this will be their hardest battle yet outside of the dungeon.

…

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