Chapter 438

“Feels a little cramped, huh?” James said the words as they made their way into the heart of the mountain, and the entrance to his dungeon. They’d decided to do a run of the dungeon, first and foremost, before they checked out the dungeon town. With time limited before players began arriving, the trio had agreed the first matter of business, was leveling up. Though, James knew that was a weak defense for their actions. The truth of the matter was they all just wanted to finally adventure together.

“Yeah, what type of dick makes such a narrow hallway serve as the start of a dungeon?” Steve didn’t’ miss a beat. “Like, seriously. The mining area at the start seems promising for a dungeon design, but then bam, narrow ass corridor, and strange wooden door.” Steve chuckled. “Man, the AI really was lacking at the start of this, huh?”

James shot Steve a quick look, refusing to give the man the acknowledgement he knew Steve was looking for. The developer loved poking fun at, quite frankly, anything he could. And while it was all lighthearted, James had to admit, all things considered, he should have done a better job early on. Then again, there was so much going on, and he’d been thrown into the dungeon core role without any forewarning, and a freaking time limit before players were going to arrive. So logically, if the very beginning of his dungeon was a little rough, it made sense. And, all that really mattered, was that he continued to learn, and further improve his dungeon design and such, as they went on.

“I wonder what type of mobs this dungeon will have.” Rue, didn’t seem the least bit worried about feeding into Steve’s statement. “What do you guys think? Slimes? Goblins? Little dwarves wearing mushroom hats?”

“Those would be gnomes.” Steve corrected. “Could you imagine that? A gnome dungeon? Think they’d ride on badgers?”

“I think the two of you are having way too much fun.” James said, a grin plastered on his face. Their mood was infectious, and he placed a hand on the door, trying to steady his breathing. He knew what would come next.

“This is just the foreplay.” Rue said with a chuckle. “Now stop teasing, and lets begin our first dungeon dive. The moment you finish summoning your Djinn, we can fully start, and I can give you my, special bond.”

James didn’t like the emphasis she put on that bit, and he wondered just what the Cleric had in mind. He had a guess, from what he knew of the class, but he was hoping he was mistaken. He wasn’t about to be anyone’s blood bank. No way, no how.

“I just wanted to make sure you two were ready.” He pushed the door open, and he couldn’t help but feel his eyes grow wide. He’d seen this floor so much, he could draw it perfectly from memory. He knew ever bit of this dungeon, and yet, seeing it from this point of view, seeing it as an adventurer, for the first ever time, was special. He stood there, unmoving, as he took in the sounds, the smells, even the moist, warm air that seemed somewhat heavy, that flowed past him. The dungeon, the floor, felt alive.

“Baaaa.” The sound pulled James from his fixation, and knowing what was coming next, he dove out of the way. James knew about the pitfall trap just before the door, as well as the sacrificial lamb he’d placed at the bottom of that pitfall trap.

“Think fast.” Was all James heard next, as Rue shoved Steve forward. The developer stumbled, cussed, and fell into the pitfall trap, his curses turning to startled screams, followed by an explosion, and laughter. At Steve’s level 20, the level 10 mob didn’t have the firepower to kill the tank. Especially considering the game had given all three of them basic, level 20 gear for their classes. Still, Steve did take a chunk of damage, and James knew the debuff on him would continue to eat away at his health, until its timer ran out, or Rue cleansed him.

“I am so not donating to your shrine now.” Steve said as he pulled himself, still covered in fluff and blood, from the pit. “Gods know I don’t need luck from such a twisted goddess.”

Rue laughed as her hands glowed red, and a moment later Steve was completely healed.

“We don’t have a rogue,” Rue said with a shrug, “so I figured we needed you to face tank the trap.”

“I’ll keep that in mind the next time you draw aggro.” Steve retorted, and the two of them laughed. James, only partially listened, as he scanned the area for any immediate threats. With the trap gone, along with the sacrificial lamb, it seemed relatively safe. Meaning, now was the perfect time, for James to finally see what his class could do. Now, was the time, to summon his Djinn.

“It’s cool if I do a DPS Djinn, right?” James said, his eyes pulling up his summon menu as he spoke. Just like Steve had told him, he had to first choose what class type of Djinn he wanted, and from there, the elemental type. Since their party already had a healer, and an off tank, DPS was the ideal option. But he was wondering if he should roll his pet as a tank, to not only help Steve out, but also, ensure his own survivability.

“Worst case scenario, it dies, and you choose something tankier. Not gonna help you on this one man. I’m looking forward to watching you learn your class.” Steve had a good point. Just as James loved watching people explore his dungeon, Steve, as a developer for the game, likely took some pleasure in watching the secrets and such be discovered in the game. Steve also took great pleasure in watching others stumble and fall prey to some of those very same secrets. So, really, as long as they were playing, James had a feeling Steve was going to have fun, no matter what.

“Alright,” James selected DPS, and immediately, the elemental affinity option came up. “Next up, elemental type…” He looked over the options, pleasantly surprised at what he could pick from. James had figured, considering his knowledge of mythology, that the Djinn would have four options. Fire, water, wind, and earth. While, unoriginal, it was pretty standard. However, instead of four options, there were seven options in total. In addition to the four basic elements, there was celestial, demonic, and dark. So, on top of the basic elements, James got a choice between something potentially divine, like an angel, something devilish, like a demon, or the dark route, which he knew was undead.

Had he been a normal warlock, his companion would have automatically been demonic. Now though, he had choices. And, given his Archon appearance, no matter what he picked, would sort of fit. Sure, he had a monstrous appearance to his character, but his very species was elemental in nature as well. Not that such things really mattered. It was a game, after all. But, James disliked doing things that were too outlandish when he gamed in immersion. If something was, too illogical, it often felt like it cheapened his immersion feel.

James held a hand out towards the ground, steadying his breathing once more as he prepared himself. Choosing demonic felt cliché, and dark felt a little off too. Both those bases, in James’s mind, were already covered by Rue, the Vampire Cleric of the Blood. That meant he had the four basic elements to choose from, or celestial. As much as he was leaning towards Celestial, he knew it could potentially backfire. Especially if the mob had a personality that made it, unwilling to some degree, to work alongside Rue.

With that decided, it came down to which element James felt would work best as a DPS. Fire and wind were his two choices, and after some deliberation, and more than a little meta game knowledge considering the floors of his dungeon, he made his choice. While it would be at a slight disadvantage on his first floor, it didn’t matter. In James’s mind, the best option, given all he knew about the dungeon, and his party, was a fire Djinn.

He made his decision, mentally selected the option, and watched as a summoning circle appeared on the ground before him. A moment later, a figure of fire, his very own Djinn, appeared.