Back in the dungeon Doyle and Ally are a bit stunned at the turn around that just happened. The six remaining guys all stumble out of the dungeon, leaving the gruff man behind. Once they are gone Doyle gains back direct control of his monsters despite the one guy still being inside. So after a quick order to the closest assassin vine he turns to Ally.
She shrugs, 'the system does put some limits on what you can do while people are inside but only to a point. He is clearly disabled enough to not count as a threat. Now if he pulled out a health potion or some such and healed up the restrictions would be back in effect but that isn't very likely at this point. Anyway, they might not have provided much but you still have the energy from those four other guys. Use it or lose it!'
Reminded of his now overflowing pool of energy Doyle gets down to spawning more goats starting with the large room and working his way to the entrance. Right as he is about to run out of overflow the gruff man dies providing him a bit more. Still to replace all the goats takes a little more even beyond what he had gotten. He can only sigh at how pitiful that group was. If they had challenged him with a normal-sized party most of them likely would have even struggled with the goats. Still there was loot to process and so he deconstructs everything before checking his system prompts.
{Axe pattern lv4 acquired
Weapon patterns goes from lv3 to lv4
Iron pattern lv1 acquired
Metal upgraded into metal patterns
Deconstruct goes from lv3 to lv6
Boots pattern lv4 acquired
Armor patterns goes from lv3 to lv4
Leather and cloth patterns goes from lv1 to lv5
Wood pattern goes from lv1 to lv2
New soil pattern lv1 acquired
New soil pattern merged with dungeon soil pattern
Pattern Database goes from lv10 to lv11
Five humans defeated - threat level pitiful
Minimal experience gained}
Doyle goes over it and doesn't find anything too shocking. Those new patterns starting out at a greater level makes some sense to him as Earth had a decent level of manufacturing before the end happened. What in the end annoys him though is that last bit. 'Why am I still level zero?'
Ally smirks, 'you have to either kill a lot of people like that or, you know, fight someone who is an actual threat to you? Don't worry about it though. You should focus on getting your skills up so you can purchase the rest of the goat path you want. Any stats you get per level don't boost things retroactively and I have no clue how that works with your monsters.' She gets a faraway look on her face for a moment, 'actually scratch that.'
'I have been informed by a helpful little tutorial screen. Yes, we are apparently still getting them. Wait there's another. Okay, we will keep getting them until they run out. Anyway, your monsters count as having gotten the stat per level boost at the same level you did so yeah. Finish that path before you level. Not that you can prevent levels now that we are likely to be getting visitors but that's life. Anyway, the system tends to react negatively to people who try to grind out skills without leveling.'
Doyle nods his core, 'Sounds reasonable enough. Plus even if it didn't matter for the monsters it would still matter for me. Now you can watch for anyone that seems like they want to pop in for a visit and I will go and putter around the dungeon some.' Doyle sets up a view of the entrance and shifts his attention to what he can change around the place.
First thing he comes up with is an alteration to the kobold room. A few stalactites and stalagmites here and there to provide cover should shake things up. He takes a quick look at the rectangular room with the bushes and shakes his head. There are things he needs before he can complete that.
Beyond that the physical setup of the rooms are good enough as is. Only the kobolds can really take advantage of such niceties so instead he has to focus on other things. Rules already are keeping most things in place but Doyle is certain they can do more.
Then it hits him. If there are bees, he should have some honey. In the center of the rectangular room he grows a stalagmite and then hollows it out. With the addition of a few small holes and one big hole it is ready and he spawns another queen and some workers. As they get to work building their hive, another thought bubbles up, so he shifts to one of the existing hidden hives. Inside it is everything you would expect to find. Bees, larvae, honey, and wax. That last one is what he wants. Doyle deconstructs a chunk of the wax much to the displeasure of the bees but he couldn't care less. With the addition of wax his database skill goes through a major restructuring.
{Wax pattern lv1 acquired
Material patterns lv0 table created
Dungeon soil lv5, leather lv5, cloth lv5, Earth standard air mix lv2, volcanic rock lv2, metal patterns lv2, wood lv2, and wax lv1 moved to material patterns
Material patterns goes from lv0 to lv7
Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.
Dungeon Pattern Database goes from lv11 to lv13}
'I wonder if the monster patterns will eventually go under their own category? It would make sense for that. I probably just don't have enough or the right variety for it at the moment. Oh well, what is important is that it raised my skill two levels even though I only gained a level one pattern. Ally was definitely right that quality is important here. Two levels just from removing a handful of low level patterns is impressive. Though I do have to wonder what it would have been like if I could keep the level five patterns separate. Anyway, I should have over ten points at the moment so a few more should get me enough to finish the path.'
Goal in mind Doyle focuses on just grinding out his skills. First for him to work on is the control skill which is still only level four. He hadn't been using it all that much as until now everything has been more of a matter of creation. There still isn't much he can think of using it for so instead Doyle decides to get artistic with it.
Now he wasn't exactly the best artist around but he had always liked scrollwork with the vines and such. With his dungeon already having somewhat of a vine theme that would make perfect decorative engravings for the place. There is a lot of room to work with so Doyle limits his artist endeavors to the entry room for now.
First around the portal he extends the more jagged edges into swooping curves ending in loops. Off of those loops he extends vines and leaves. Just the most basic kind but soon he is adding flourishes and faded edges to the leaves. After a couple hours he stops. There is more room around the portal that he could work with but what is there should be enough for now. Instead, he focuses on the light source on the ceiling.
Where with the portal he had used curved lines, the light received a much more sharp treatment. Straight lines and acute angles are the name of the game up there. His carvings spread out like a starburst until lines fill a third of the ceiling. There are three more walls to play artist with but it is at this point that he stops. Not because he is done but because Ally is poking him. 'Hey Doyle, hey, did you do that?'
Doyle focuses back on his core room to see what she is going on about. Nothing has changed in the core room itself but rather she is pointing at the display showing the entrance. Not really paying attention Doyle bobbles, 'I just carved some lines around the portal.'
Ally thwonks his core, 'Not the lines, I watched you make them. Rather, the portal is different.' That grabs Doyle's attention and he takes a closer look at the entrance only to be shocked. So far he has seen three styles of portal. Flisle's which was more like an open doorway. The tutorials portal that was just a circle in space and of course his, a jagged tear in reality. At least that is what his portal had been like.
Now however, while the edges are still uneven, they are smooth and flowing. Less like a rip and more like a mirage or the edges of a puddle. In fact, as he looks closer the edges ripple and shift around. Beyond that even the lines he had drawn moved along with these changes. 'Huh, yeah I have no idea what happened to my portal. All I did was some art? Plus whatever is going on has even integrated that as well.'
Ally holds her chin, 'hmm, since your art is the only change that has to be the source. How did you draw the lines anyway? That could be part of what has happened.'
Doyle shifts side to side, 'I just drew them with the control skill. It was the lowest skill I had and so wanted to improve on it.'
Ally nods, 'that might do it. After all the skill might generally be used to shape things but at higher levels, it can do more. You just finished engraving the ceiling so if control is the source maybe there will be a change there as well.'
They both look up and notice a change has happened. Before the light was made up of multiple tiny lights. Now though even Ally can tell it has become one whole. Then Ally facepalms, 'doh, open up your log to see what has happened.'
{Territory control goes from lv3 to lv5
Conceptual reinforcement lv1 acquired
Territory control goes from lv5 to lv7
Conceptual reinforcement goes from lv1 to lv2}
Ally excitedly points at the log, 'There! You got a new skill and it sounds like a good one at that! Whatever happened must have been because of that. Have I told you how to open up a skill description yet? Wait, no I haven't because a tutorial screen just opened up. Anyway, it is easy enough. Just ask the system for a description of the skill. Though don't let what you see limit what you think can be done with a skill. The description it gives is only for the skill at its current level.'
Doyle nods, 'good to know. I guess if I had check deconstruction before I leveled it the description would have said it could only target a sphere?' Ally gives him a thumbs up and smiles. He nods again, 'fair enough. A good reason as any to avoid them when possible. Anyway, [System, give me a description for Conceptual Reinforcement please]?'
{Conceptual Reinforcement lv2
The ability to reinforce and alter the very nature of an object. This skill comes about through a combination of a domain and belief channeled through art. Most often gained by craftsmen who are devout followers of a god while creating representations of said god within a true temple. A rare skill generally kept secret as the crafter only has to be in a domain and believe in what they are crafting. This quirk has resulted in many crafters who have admitted to owning this skill being kidnapped by Devils as it is rarely hard to convince the crafter of their evil.}
'Huh', Doyle tilts to the side, 'well good thing people aren't able to recognize it through the art. I don't feel up to being somehow kidnapped by a devil at the moment.'
Ally turns to him, 'what do you mean people aren't able to recognize it through the art? It doesn't say that anywhere! We need to remove your lines right now. Devils are not to be messed with. In fact, since we have brought it up, never make a deal with a devil. They follow the contract to the T and people who have gotten one over on them are legends for it.'
'Hold up there', Doyle brightens, 'it doesn't say it right out but there are some big clues in the description. First of all it is only a rare skill. From the description most real churches, whatever that is, should have a couple people with this skill hanging around. Second is that it specifically calls out that only the crafters who have admitted to having it get kidnapped. Now if I had to guess there are skills for art and crafting that allow magic to provide some corrections to their work right?' Ally nods her head.
'Good. Likely I got the skill through a shortcut then. My control skill probably has a bit of correction added to it as well and so I skipped having to get a magical art skill high enough first. Plus I'm a dungeon. People expect us to be able to shift around our very structure on a whim so whatever changes come from this skill would be easily explained away. Now what is a real church?'
Ally takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. 'Okay, you're probably right. But never mention this skill out loud. In fact, never mention it unless we are talking over the soul link, you hear me? Anyway, a real church, or really any place of worship, is easy enough to define. If the thing, and no it doesn't have to be a god though that helps, has their domain anchored there. Technically, if you had people worship you in your dungeon, then it would count as a real place of worship. Gods just have an easier time with having decentralized domains. All they have to do is get a spiffy statue made of themselves and fill it with their divine energy. Then when people worship near enough, their faith is gathered.'
Ally lapses into a moment of silence as she finishes her explanation. Then she looks up, 'so you probably have enough points for that path now. What with the new skill and all.' Doyle calls up his status to check.
{Name: Doyle Huxley
Race: Dungeon Core (Strange Caverns)
Soulbond: Ally Huxley
Paths: [18] Dungeon Core II 10/10, Kobold Community 15/15
Level: 0
[6] S[12] A[11] C[14] I[12] W[9] P[5] D[14] K[20] L[16]
World Energy(/R per hour): 836/1000(250)
Skills: Territory Control lv7, Dungeon Rules lv6, Universal Deconstruction lv7, Dungeon Pattern Database lv13, Creation(Energy Powered, Pattern Based) lv7, Conceptual Reinforcement lv2}
'Huh, you would be correct. In fact, I have an extra point to spare. First though, [System, put 17 points into the Goat Supremacy path]'
{17 points applied to Goat Supremacy…
5/20 - You have earned +3 Strength, Goats get +2 Strength/Level
10/20 - You have earned +1 Constitution/Level, Goats get +3 Constitution, and the Path diverges
Goats are hardy creatures with a long history of being kept by sentients. They have risen up to be gods and bowed to devils. Before you now stands a choice. On one side you have a classic goat yet better. This is the mighty creature which in myth has fed newborn gods with both its milk and flesh. Many smaller sentients have gone on to conquer great swaths of land upon the back of these mighty animals. However on the other side is another goat. This one has the flicker of a true mind behind its eyes. While they can give freely of themselves it takes more than just being an animal to truly rise or fall. Choose your path.}
Doyle pauses, 'Uh, Ally, it just gave me a choice? Here look at this.'
Ally reads the message and nods, 'good. I was wondering how long it would take for you to find a diverging path. This one is straight forward which is nice. Some of them can get pretty abstract. All this one means is that you get to choose between more physical goats or more intelligent goats. Likely the smart path will lead you to having some form of goat sentient. This could mean goat people, goatkin, goat folk, satyrs, or any number of strange goat themed beings like a goat based centaur. Not sure about the other exactly but it might focus on either body stats or some sort of adaption like letting them live in a freezing wasteland. Pick whichever you like as neither are putting up any warnings.'
Doyle ponders on the choice for a moment. 'I think I will go with the physical path. While it might be all about strengthening them it also sounds like it could deal with domestication and I already have a pair of goats being led by the kobolds. Plus I have the kobolds in the first place. Maybe later I can get some other awakened monsters but for now I should be good. [System, I choose the classic yet better goat].'
{Path Chosen…
You are their shepherd and they are your flock. Guide them wisely and their very presence will be a great boon to those around you.
15/20 - You have earned +3 Wisdom/Level, Goats get +1 to Body Stats/Level
20/20 - You have earned a reduction of 1 to the cost of goat based monsters, Goats under the command of another monster receive a bonus to Agility equal to half that monsters wisdom score rounded down and capped at the goats base Agility}
Ally whistles, 'well don't expect that with every path. Dang, it even reduces the cost of your already insanely cheap goats. You can fit five more goats into your dungeon with that! Though that agility boost will make your kobold leader all that much more dangerous. It isn't that much of a bonus at the moment. Probably only one or two but once you get a few more stats for your kobolds, it should do some amazing things.'
Doyle nods, 'don't worry. That is beyond anything I expected anyway. Though I guess I should place some goats while I am thinking about it. Lets see, one goat in the entrance on a more permanent basis. A couple more in the vine room. Another in the large goat room, and a single goat with the regular kobolds. Plus add some helmets to those last two goats and we are good. Now do I have anything to spend my remaining point in?'
{Points: 1
Class: Dungeon Core II 10/10
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
Completed: Kobold Community 15/15, Goat Supremacy 20/20
Started [0/3]:
Available: Dungeon Core III 10/100, Vine Warper 0/15, Kin Slayer 0/100, Voidborn 0/250}
Ally glances over, 'looks like the answer is no. In fact, the goat herder path is gone as well which is kind of sad. It would probably have some synergy with supremacy. You probably need to do more things or possibly level up the patterns more? You have goat at level nine so something might become available at ten.'
Doyle closes all the screens, 'true enough. Though I think the next path I go down will deal with my assassin vines unless something else interesting pops up. They are being a bit neglected at the moment and the sooner I get something for them the better.'
Doyle's words seem to remind Ally of something and she mumbles under her breath and tap the air a few times. 'Okay, while that might be a good way to go, it might not be the best. What you just said got me thinking. Dungeon cores are very unique in the Multiverse but other people can travel similar paths. What I just thought of was those who focus on monster taming.'
'I had to double check but they can get paths that boost their monsters in a similar way to that last bonus from goat supremacy. A temporary boost to stats that lasts only as long as the monster is under their orders. Thing is it comes in two flavors. The specific and the general. What your goat path provided was a scaling and potentially quite hefty bonus to goats, specifically. The general paths on the other hand will tend to give limited boosts to everything.'
'I bet if you either advance down your class some more or do some other more general work with your monsters similar options will show up. Your focus on goats and kobolds is a decent idea. Goats are your go to at the moment and kobolds have a lot of potential. Plus with your supremacy path you need someone to lead the goats anyway. Assassin vines are powerful but not that versatile. While the points seem to just be rolling in at the moment that won't last. That combined with when you get more monsters means you can't specialize everything. Even just a single plus one a level to strength across all your monsters will eventually be worth much more than even plus five per level to your assassin vine's strength.'
Doyle's glow fluctuates for a moment as he absorbs what she just said. 'Garrr, you're right. I probably just need to put in place some more general rules for my monsters or something. The vines are cool but they don't really defend me enough anyway. Any point I spend on them would get more return spent on the kobolds or goats and who knows what else I will get. Plus we already have seen some more general rewards. The cost reduction wasn't to goats but goat based summons.'
Ally nods, 'good catch on that one. In fact, we can get a bit more out of that little snippet than just it being general. I think if you had gone the other path you might have gotten even more general rewards. This also means you aren't cut off entirely from stuff like goat folk. Rather, you will just have to get them yourself rather than have the system assist you.'
At this point they don't really have much else new to add and for the next hour or so they speculate on it. As that winds down Ally glances over at the screen showing the entrance and lets out a yip. 'Doyle I think you might want to take a look out our front door. Something is going on in the towns!'
Doyle looks over as well and is shocked. Great plumes of smoke are rising from both towns and not the clean smoke of a wood fire. Rather it is the nasty black choking smoke you get when plastic and other nasty things are all burned together. 'Well, I guess that one guy stirred up some trouble?'
Ally shakes her head, 'I don't know if this is a good or bad thing. Those towns are burning and there is nothing we can do about. Hopefully the forest doesn't catch fire.'
Doyle's core dims, 'Eugh, a forest fire so close would not be good at all. Who knows what it might drive out of the deeper parts. Plus those guys over there are sort of my customers at the moment. It would set us back quite a bit if they all died.'
Ally settles down on his core to watch. 'It was somewhat inevitable. I have seen enough petty tyrants come about right after the system hits. Some just take to violence and bullying more than others. Never ends well for them of course. Everyone is on an equal footing after the tutorial so their scare tactics only work so long before either a hero takes vengeance or mob justice. Going by the flames this is probably an example of that second one.'
Doyle's core sparkles, 'look on the bright side, we might get an actual dungeon town a lot sooner rather than later. Far as I can tell a dungeon is a much surer and safer bet than the forest when it comes to food.'
Tilting her head down Ally sighs, 'well you're more ready to be a dungeon core than I am apparently to be a dungeon companion. After having to take care of so many messes like this it hurts me to see it happen just outside our home.'
Doyle bobbles, 'There is a saying for this sort of thing. You have to break some eggs if you want to make an omelet. The tyrants had to be taken care of for people to have a better life. All that would have happened if they weren't taken out is people wouldn't be able to level enough to stay safe in the new world. I bet you have seen more than enough places that have fallen to some horde of monsters only for the leader to be the only one that escapes.'
'If they build a town around us that would be the omelet. Sure that nasty hard shell is gone but everyone gets tougher by facing my monsters. A town where everyone is level ten has a better chance of survival than one where the ruler is level 20 and everyone else level one.'
Laying back on his core Ally sighs again, 'you're right. Much more than you would believe. But still it hurts me to see them go through the pain. Worse yet, even when I was out helping with this kind of thing there was nothing I could do then either. This is just one of those things people have to experience to realize how the world works. Having someone swoop in and fix what ails them doesn't make them appreciate how bad the world is now. Until you get a few truly powerful organizations set up and a couple individuals with enough power to matter on a galactic scale nothing is really safe.'
Doyle nods, 'Telling someone the stove is hot will never be remembered as well as actually touching the stove. Though thinking about the potential town it looks all that closer to being a reality. If you squint, you should be able to just make out a gathering of people between the two towns. They are closer to us than the forest or anywhere else of importance so will probably head this way. At the very least we will likely have a temporary camp around us for a while.'
Doyle pauses for a moment before continuing. 'Though speaking of a dungeon town that brings up a question I have had at the back of my mind. Is there anyway to see what is around me? As it is, we are quite restricted by only being able to see through my portal.'
Ally recognizes that he is just trying to change the topic to cheer her up but it is a legitimate question. So legitimate in fact that there is a tutorial pop up for her to read. After glancing over it she nods to herself, 'so once again, you're different. Most dungeons have more sense of their area because they actually are there. A dungeon in a tree can see from any part of the tree for instance.'
'You, however don't technically control any territory on earth. Your portal is just an opening that things can pass through to get into your dungeon. This is both easy and hard to deal with. Wait long enough and you will be able to form more portals and control them. That is a way off though so your only current option is to spread your territory out into the world a little. Just the vaguest film over your portal will do. However, that will make it much harder and possibly painful if you ever have to move or adjust this specific portal.'
'An analogy is you only opened the door, not stepped through it. What I am suggesting is like poking your finger through. Given time you can pull your finger back in with you then close the door. However, in an emergency you might just find your finger slammed in the door, maybe even losing said finger.'
Doyle's core cringes, 'eugh, well that's a pleasant thought. Still, it isn't like I can do anything with the portal at the moment so I might as well look.' He focuses on the portal and feels around. The divide between his and not his is much starker than even when his territory was still stuck in his core room.
With some effort though Doyle can just barely expand his territory through the portal and his world opens up. He goes from being like a horse with blinders on to a full spherical view. Below him the grass grows to just below his portal. The forest to the left sweeps around coming behind him right up to the small rise he is on. Next to the more hills climb higher until you start to question if they should instead be called mountains but never quite reaching that point. To the right of the one town he can now see a stream or small river is flowing.
By that river a much smaller group of people has gathered around a rough dock. Likely built in the last week. Doyle can't quite make out if there is a boat there or not but he assumes there either is or will be soon. 'Well, that's quite the view', and he turns back to Ally.
'Why yes I'm sure it is', and she glares at him, 'how about you give me a look? I know you got lost in it there but the waiting wore thin ten minutes ago.'
Doyle's core sinks down, 'Ooh augh, sorry?' And Doyle opens up a number of screens to show the full panoramic view.
Ally rolls her eyes, 'you better be mister. This is a lovely view and it would be a shame to keep it all to yourself. Though back to business I am glad they have a river. Though I would be careful about those guys gathered at the dock. To have people starving despite being right next to such prime fishing real estate means it was locked down hard. Those people gathered there are probably the remaining thugs.'
'I doubt they have a leader anymore. Mobs don't tend to stop until they put those types down. Especially when in a town that size there has to be at least a few people with some form of tracking skill. My guess is those are the opportunistic types who joined just for the benefits while keeping a packed bag under their bed to leave at a moment's notice. Likely the lot of them will leave for greener pastures now that the towns are being burned down.'
'If most of the thugs are leeches than those guys are the rats. The ship is sinking and so off they go. Though no matter how much I hate their type these specific rats are probably good for us. Until now those two towns have probably been separated from the world at large. After all it is hard to control a population that thinks they have a choice. Now though with those guys heading... Oh and there's a ship taking off so that just proves it.'
'Anyway, as I was saying, with them leaving others will hear about this place and of course us. Word of mouth will be an important factor for us until someone gets one of the many mass communication methods up and running. Your world was tech based so likely some magitech communicator. Magic makes radio waves a little uncertain for communication but someone always finds a way around that'
Doyle wobbles back and forth, 'fair enough. Though I think the bigger group is now heading our way. The last group through was weak but I have to assume not everyone is. What can I do to prevent being bum rushed by a ton of people at once?'
Ally shrugs, 'rules, rules, and more rules. Later on you will have better options but the biggest thing protecting you at the moment is that the system punishes people for killing newborn dungeons. My advice is to put in a rule where the more adventurers involved in killing a monster the lower a chance there is for loot to drop. Don't make it too low though. Just enough that it is noticeable.'
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Doyle tilts to the side as he thinks about it for a moment. 'That is a decent rule though I probably have to set the invader count. Wouldn't want someone to bring a ton of people in with them and killing them only to reap the rewards. If I understand how the loot system works the more energy, the monsters get the more likely it so that would be a valid tactic.'
Ally's eyes open wide, 'oh yeah, that is a good catch there and it would work. You won't be able to completely stop abuse like that as someone could just run the dungeon after a sacrificial team enters and dies. Maybe just have rewards be held for the day and release them the next at a random time.'
Doyle nods, 'that would work better. We can probably revisit this at a later date when we have more options. For now, though that should be good enough. Then again, I bet once the dungeon is bigger that sort of thing won't be as noticeable. Anyway, our visitors are almost here so let's focus on them for the moment.' Both him and Ally turn to watch the displays.
A ragged group of about a hundred people can be seen just a stone's throw away now. Most people have burnt clothes or soot on them and a few are nursing serious injuries. Overall, the only part of the group that looks fine are the small contingent of children who nonetheless look quite dour.
As they get closer to the portal, a few of the adults stay back with the kids while the rest cautiously approach with a variety of items which if generous could be described as clubs. Only a few carry actual weapons. They surround the portal and wait. After a good ten minutes though most of the group relaxes and head off to the children leaving only about ten.
Of those ten, seven of them take up guard positions around the edge while the remaining three enter the dungeon. They kill the first goat quickly enough, leaving behind a decent chunk of meat. As if it has lifted a burden from their shoulders the three start to laugh. They grab the meat and leave.
Outside when the three reappear with meat cheers ring out. People start to cry from joy and exhaustion, many of them collapsing to the soft grass unable to hold themselves up. The person who took point on entering the dungeon lifts up the meat and shouts out, "Jim spoke the truth! This dungeon can feed us! Beyond that we met a goat, one of its monsters, right in the first room. The dungeon has restocked itself and do you know what that means? That means no one is left from those horrible gangs! WE ARE FREE!"
The whole crowd yells out as one and afterwards a silence falls over them. More and more people end up on the ground until only the ten strongest remain standing. The leader, for that must be who he is nods to the others before turning back to the people. "Rest! We will take care of guard duty for tonight. Tomorrow though be ready for some hard work. Both towns have been reduced to ashes along with half of our numbers. Some of us will have to stomach going back to bury the dead."
"The rest? Well, we need to build a new town, a new hope! From what I managed to learn in the tutorial, dungeons are an excellent place to build around. Never having to worry about food or water is an important part of modern life. We had that stripped away by the apocalypse but now we can take it back!"
There is some more cheering but for the most part people don't have the energy left to do anything except sleep. The ten heroes of the town split into two groups, one stays by the dungeon portal and the other splits off to guard the group as a whole.
Back in the dungeon Ally is clapping, 'Bravo! Bravo! An excellent speech sir. Doyle, that is exactly the man this group needs. It doesn't matter if he turns out to be just as evil as whoever had been in charge back in the towns. His ability to raise them up will work wonders for our dungeon. I bet within the next couple days they will have some temporary homes set up and after that start cycling people through the dungeon.'
'I just hope they don't send any kids in. Awkward when that happens. While places without a system that wouldn't change anything unless you cared to do something about it. Under almost one hundred percent of the systems out there, including this one, children get a few nice protections and dungeons are a part of it. They drag one of those brats in here and we will feel the need to protect it. Especially from horrible adults who don't realize what a bad idea it is to bring children into dungeons.'
'You're an awakened sentient so we can probably pawn the kid off onto one of those ten hero types out there at least. Non-sentient dungeons just bring the child to their core and an automatic response teleports them to the nearest authority set up to take care of such things. Normally not too much of a problem but I doubt anywhere on earth has such a place yet.'
'Would be pretty hard on the kid to be suddenly whisked away to another world and leave us in a pickle. Few people know exactly what happens as overall we try to make sure people aren't using dungeons as a safe place to dump children so the locals tend to assume the worst. After all, what would you think if anytime a kid went into the local dungeon anyone with them is viciously attacked and the kid never seen again.'
Doyle glows darkly, 'I would think the dungeon liked to eat kids. Is there any kind of thing in place to circumvent that instinct? Taking the kids is all well and good if some crazy parents thinks they are going to power level the child but entirely another thing if a town gets pushed into the dungeon by raiders.'
Ally grimaces, 'you're it? Honestly, some of the unawakened dungeons are worse at thinking than a good calculator.'
Doyle sighs, 'Well hopefully they aren't idiots... Yeah that isn't going to happen. Here's to hoping they aren't that brand of idiot. Though I guess the question now is when they will next enter.'
Next day around noon we find four people gathered next to the portal in the middle of an argument.
The shortest person in the group sighs as she rubbed her temples, "I know our fearless leader suggested we should do a quick run but we don't really know what is in there."
A man with what could technically be called a mace but most would just admit it was a pole with a clump of concrete on the end of it rolls his eyes. "Well duh, we don't know what's in there, we haven't been yet. Never will too if'n we keep standing here arguing. Ace suggested it partly as an exploratory mission anyway. Plus I know you enjoyed having that bit of meat in last night's stew. You can't fool me Jan."
Jan shakes her head, "You actually believe his name is Ace? My bet is he just went and changed it the first chance he got. A bit on the nose too. Then again, I would believe his name more than yours Mr. Jack Hammer."
The other girl in the group steps in at this point. "Now you can just shut up Jan. Just because he isn't interested in you doesn't mean you get to assume his sexuality. And Jack here really is called that. I knew his family since before the end. When their family migrated their last name was different and the customs officer mistranslated it something bad. As for his first name? That's all on his parents."
Jan rolls her eyes, "Oh so Ruby decides to step in and defend their names."
Ruby snorts, "Hell yeah I changed my name. Maybe everyone else has some sort of special connection to who they are from before. Not me, my family never liked me and the feeling was mutual. All I ever cared about was my geology studies and rubies always attracted me the most. Seemed like a fine name to start over after the end. Though Jack showing up was a bit unexpected."
The last remaining member of the party sighs and crosses her arms, "All of yah just shut up wouldja? Ace wants this place figured out and is too polite to order us around despite being the leader. Jan, you're only around because we need a healer on the first go around at least. If you weren't the highest leveled healer, you wouldn't even be one of us ten founders. The other two might still be level one but at least they aren't so argumentative. And just for the record my name wasn't Sammy originally either so get off your high horse. The system gave everyone a chance to change their name and some of us took it. Now get a move on everyone!"
Sammy grabs Jan by the collar of her robe and drags her through the portal. Ruby and Jack stand there in shock for a moment but soon follow. They didn't take long to follow but what greets them on the other side is a dead goat. Sammy's shield has a new dent to it and her sword newly blooded, so how it happened isn't hard to guess. Off to the side they spot Jan crumpled against the wall in fear.
Jack raises an eyebrow, "Welp, I guess we know why you didn't want to come."
This comment galvanizes Jan and she stands up in a huff, "I was just knocked over when that barbarian pushed me away."
Sammy rolls her eyes, "And no thanks for saving your hide from an unnecessary injury. Plus if any of us would be a barbarian it would be Jack over there. Seriously Jack, did you rip that pole out of the ground yourself or something?"
Jack scratches the back of his head, "I needed a big mace and those thugs had sold all our old weapons to the system shop. They even had the nerve to close the shop when we came for them so we couldn't get anything back. Going to suck not having that available."
Sammy claps her hands, "Okay folks, we can work out our problems when not in a murder pit. I didn't want to mention it yesterday but from what little the team before told us that goats shouldn't have been here. They reported that this room was completely clear of anything besides some horned rabbits. Now there were a couple rabbits but they escaped into the tunnel over there."
"Basically, what I am trying to say is we don't know what we might find. The tutorial guide I had said new dungeons should always have three monsters and we only know of two here, goats and kobolds."
Jan dusts herself off and scowls, "Maybe we just got a special needs dungeon?"
Ruby slaps her knee and laughs, "Well it would fit since we already have a healer going with that theme. But my guess is either the dungeon has some sort of super buff last boss type thing going on or an ambush predator that the last group got lucky with and missed."
Jack throws his hands up, "We won't find out just standing here. Now I wouldn't mind leading but you seem to enjoy being in front Sammy."
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She rolls her eyes, "And that has nothing to do with being the only one here going sword and board. Whatever, onward! That last goat didn't drop any meat and I am feeling hungry."
Sammy heads down the twisting hallway closely followed by the other three. At the last bend she holds up her hand to stop them. With a peak around the corner she nods to herself, "Okay, looks like the next room does only have three goats as reported. That is both good and bad. Good, because our info isn't all wrong. Bad because that means the first goat was new and not just one that wandered from here. Anyway, let's go!" And Sammy walked right out into the room.
The three goats charge at her but a side step with a light shove of her shield knocks one of them into the other two. The goats land in a pile and Jack takes the chance to do an overhead swing of his mace squashing all three to death. Blood is splashed all around and Jan squeaks as it gets on her.
A few moments later the bodies fade away including the blood splatters, leaving behind two chunks of meat. Jack smiles, "nice! Two drops is a decent haul." And he takes out a plastic bag and packs away the meat.
While he is taking care of that and Jan is freaking out Sammy takes the chance to look into the next room. It is empty but she can see the next place after is filled with vines. Turning back to the others she shrugs, "even if the monsters have changed it looks like the layout hasn't. The vine room is up ahead. Though as the guide pointed out, when the terrain seems to change for no reason, look for the reason. I bet that room is where the mystery monster is."
Jack nods as he picks Jan up off the floor, "seems likely."
Ruby steps into the next room, "let me take a crack at it." And she throws a hand up in the air. In the palm of that hand a small spark of fire appears. From that small spark it grows into a boiling ball of fire and she tosses it into the vine filled room. The ball hits a vine and instead of exploding it splashes. The flame splatters all over the nearby vines which start to smoke and sputter. These vines catch and the fire spreads. Ruby pumps her fist in the air, "Hell yeah!"
This excitement doesn't last long though as while the area hit by the spell burns the fire stops spreading. The vines are just too moist to catch. Soon enough the spell runs out of juice and even the vines that had been splattered start to go out. Jan watching this sneers, "well that definitely helped."
Jack, who was still holding her up, lets go and Jan tumbles to the floor again. He stretches and yawns, "Welp, guess we have to do this the hard way. I think we should stick to one side of the room."
Sammy shrugs, "sounds like as good a plan as any. I'll go first again, Jan you're in the middle." And once again she heads off without waiting for the others. Jack shrugs and grabs Jan again as he heads off. Ruby stands there for a moment but with a little hustle on her part catches up. No way is she going to end up at the back of the party.
Sammy's choice of following the far wall soon brings them to one of the assassin vines. She even manages to step on it before noticing the monsters. When the vine tries to pull back, she reacts and stomps down. A swing of her sword is enough to lop off that limb causing the monster to flail all of its other vines in pain.
Then she gets knocked into the center of the mass. A goat having charged out from under a small bush, taking her by surprise. The vines wrap around her and start to squeeze. Jack drops Jan once again and swings out with his mace, flattening the goat.
Ruby traces a line in the air and a thin ribbon of flame takes form before slicing forward. The ribbon of fire isn't the most sturdy construct, only able to cut through a single vine before parts of it start to fade. That is enough though as the flame is able to lop off a few of the vines holding Sammy's sword arm in place.
Sword now freed, she is able to slice herself the rest of the way out. Once she is away Jack takes his chance and pulps the center of mass with his concrete mace. Now dead the monster loses grip of the ceiling and falls to the floor.
Sammy stretches her arms, "well that hurt. I could hear my bones creaking from that. Anymore and something would have broken! Thanks for saving Ruby. Anyway, could you give me a bit of healing Jan?"
Jan rolls her eyes, "You aren't bleeding so live with it."
Sammy sighs, "Well yah just a little you know what. Fine, if you want to play that way we can play that way. Just be sure that you aren't going to join our team again."
Jack rubs the bridge of his nose, "That is a bit rude Sammy. Plus you don't have the authority to kick her out." Jan sneers at Sammy when she hears that but her face goes slack with Jacks follow up. He shakes his head, "That would be my job. Jan, you aren't going to be in our team again. Anyway, look at that! The vine monster dropped some berries for us. A bit of fruit to add variety to our diet isn't a bad thing. Though the next team who comes through will need a scout of some sort. I can definitely see why the guides had us going in groups of six."
Ruby nods, "Yeah, with the four of us we have a good number of roles covered but what we lack has already shown itself to be important. I wish Jim wasn't such a loner. Be nice if he would join us over here instead of staying inside his forest. He could be the mysterious eleventh member of the ten founders. Still can't believe the system recognizes that nonsense."
Sammy shrugs, "Paths are just weird. Half of them seem cookie cutter and the other half are totally out there. Doesn't help that everyone and their mother that knows about them has the same song and dance about them. Don't share them even with your own mother or whatever person they think you might spill the beans to. Nevermind the fact that to know all they do about them means someone shared at some point. Plus I don't see how people knowing us ten have a path for saving the towns would do anything."
Behind Sammy Jan grimaces at the mention of the path but nobody notices. At the same time off in the forest Jim feels a shudder go up his spine and he mutters to himself how he is glad he didn't share the fact he got the founders path as well.
After a moment's rest the party gathers back up and continues down the vine room. Forewarned is forearmed and so they easily spot the next vine assassin. What they almost don't spot are the three little goats hidden nearby. Though almost in this case just means Jan being splattered by goat's blood as Sammy spins around and decapitates it before it can charge.
At the back of the party Ruby waves her hand behind her and a ribbon of fire streams out behind her. Taking care of two more goats in a much cleaner fashion. Honestly, it looks like the only person truly taken by surprise is Jan. The shared look when her back is turned wouldn't disabuse any onlookers from this notion either.
Two more pieces of meat go into Jack's pack and the group continues on past the second assassin vine. Jan grumbles a bit about how they should, "just kill the thing", but the others disagree with her opinion.
As Sammy puts it, "we're only here to check the place out and get some food. A bunch of grapes isn't worth the risk." And so they make it to the first room in goat row. At least that is what the previous group had called it. Nevermind that from a certain gem's point of view it would be more appropriate to call it a column, goat row it was.
The first room only has a couple of goats which they kill easily enough and they store away another bit of meat. Then Sammy gets rammed in the back as the goat from the next room charges in. She isn't hurt much except for her pride. "Stupid gosh darn grarr damn goat! Stay in your own room yah walking piece of dinnah." And she rounds on it, dropping her sword and shield, then grabs the goat by its neck. "Now yah going to be a nice goat and take a little nap fah all time." She flexes her hands and with a sickening snap the goat flops over.
Jack leans back with his eyes opening wide and whistles, "well now, overreacting much? It's just a goat like any other."
Ruby cuffs him on the back of the head, "She doesn't look very happy so if I were you I would zip it. We don't want to have to explain how you got a black eye because last time I checked, this dungeon doesn't seem to have any stairs to fall down."
Sammy shakes her head and snaps out of it, "That's not a funny joke Ruby. I knew someone that had a friend who kept falling down the stairs and it isn't a laughing matter. As for the goat? Just took me by surprise and I reacted a little harshly. We were going to kill it anyway."
Jan stands off to the side and rolls her eyes. "Idiots, everyone get back on your feet so we can finish this up as soon as possible. At this point I just want out of here."
The rest of the group ignores her complaint as they get themselves back under control first before continuing. Once they do move on, they find the next room empty. Jack shrugs at this discovery, "well it was to be expected. Though the fact the goat from here came and attacked us differs from the report. When Jim and the weaklings came through here, it had just cowered in the corner waiting to die."
Ruby nods, "just another thing to report when we get out. Who knows, maybe the goats in all four rooms can move around a little."
Sammy agrees with this idea but instead of adding to the conversation heads off to the next room. Jack just shakes his head, "you know we should stick together?"
In the next room they can hear the fight starting as she yells back, "Well then what are you doing back there? Come on over, got some more fun ahead!" Of course by the time everyone has reached the next room both goats have already died.
"Lucky me!" Sammy smiles, "both my goats here dropped a piece of meat. Maybe I should just solo the rest of this dungeon?"
Jack snorts, "You and I both know the next room should have three goats in it and you can't manage that many enemies at once, even if they are just goats. If you want, though, we can let you try. After all Jan hasn't wanted to do anything yet so a real injury might force some magic to happen."
Jan glares at him, "Nothing has needed my assistance yet!"
Sammy puts her hands on her hips, "Oh yeah? I am going to have some serious bruising if I don't see one of our other two healers. Plus you would think that any excuse to use your skills would be appreciated. Levels are nice and all but without the skills and paths to back it up the number is hollow."
Jan turns her glare on Sammy, "Don't tell me how to live my life! I had enough of that before this mess and I won't deal with it now."
Ruby comes between them, "woah now! She isn't trying to order you around but her point still stands. Skills are the key to a good life now."
Jan just clams up and turns away from the group in a huff. Tired of the nonsense Sammy grabs Jack and drags him into the next room. The three goats there hardly stand a chance with her tanking the hits and Jack squashing them one by one.
"Well, that's sad,'' Jack mutters, "only one piece of meat from these three goats gruff."
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Sammy shrugs, "random drops are random. The kobolds might be our best chance for anything fancy though I do have to wonder where the rabbits are."
Ruby shakes her head, "who knows. The previous group only found them in the first room so maybe they were just critters from outside."
Jan humphs, "with our luck that probably is what happened or they lied. Don't trust them as far as I can throw them."
Sammy raises an eyebrow, "well I can throw them pretty far nowadays so I trust them. No reason for them to lie about something like that. The goats are already enough to get our attention. Adding on some rabbits wouldn't have changed much. Plus they had the meat in nice little chunks just like the dungeon is dropping the goat meat."
Jack nods, "If anything the condition the meat was in is enough of a tipoff. We might have just gotten unlucky. Maybe the rabbits roamed around and happened to be in the entrance room when the others showed up. I bet there are probably some rabbit burrows hidden around that they all have retreated to. We aren't exactly sneaking around after all."
Jan rolls her eyes, "well then we can just send in all our thieves to sneak around stealing the meat."
Ruby glares at her, "rogues Jan, they're called rogues. A thief is someone who steals stuff. A rogue is a person skilled in sneaking and trap detection."
Jan rolls her eyes again, "Whatever, just because you're friends with a lock monkey doesn't change the truth. Where else would they get the skills?"
Ruby's glare intensifies, "he was a locksmith. His job was to help people get open things when they forget their keys inside or some such. He has even had the police use his services."
Jan is about to speak up again but Sammy yells, "Off to the next room! Hear it is a doozy!" And she charges off closely followed by Jack. Ruby takes one final look at Jan before she follows them. Jan just scoffs and saunters off after them.
In the next room the party is finally having a legitimate hard time. Unlike they had heard there were six goats in the room, not five. Plus they are all wearing helmets which the other groups had completely failed to mention. The goats could use their fancy headgear as well.
Most of Sammy's slashes were getting blocked by the metal horn guards. Only Jack was having any luck with his concrete mace having already knocked one goat out. Now though three of the five goats have focused him down forcing him to dodge instead of attack.
Ruby joining the battle helps some but her fire ribbon attack proves less than able to get through the helmet as well. It leaves a nasty burn mark on the helmet but that is about it. Jan just stands back and laughs.
Still despite their troubles this stalemate with the goats doesn't last that long. It just takes one good shot from Ruby across a goat's eye to swing the battle in their favor. That goat screams in pain which opens it up to an attack from Sammy which finishes the job.
Sammy does take an attack in return but she was ready for it. While metal covered goat horns to the side aren't comfortable she soldiers through the pain and rams her shield in the last goat attacking her.
To her other side Jack winds up and swings his concrete mace around in a low sweep knocking the two goats on him over. This lets Ruby slash out with her fire ribbon spell and gut them both. With only two goats remaining the fight wraps up quickly.
Enemies finished Jack props himself up with his mace, "whew, that was something. Lucky us though, each of them dropped some meat. Now the question is do we want to fight the kobolds? Also Jan, heal Sammy."
Jan scoffs, "it's just a bruise."
Jack levels a stare at her, "Jan, heal Sammy"
She stares right back but can't hold it. With a pout and a sigh she mumbles, "[Minor Heal]", and when she touches Sammy a small burst of white light can be seen. Sammy stretches and smiles, "Wow, you actually can heal. It's like nothing ever happened!"
Jack nods, "Good, now once again, should we face the kobolds?"
Ruby shrugs, "We should at least take a look. The goats were already enough of a challenge so I would like to pass on any greater challenge. Especially with only the four of us."
Sammy stretches some more, "yeah. We don't really have any info on them except they are there. Let me go take a peek." And she walks through the rectangular room. One look at the kobolds though sends her right back to the group. "Well mah vote is resoundingly no."
Jack stands up and picks up his mace, slinging it over his shoulder. "I don't mind one way or another but how about you tell us what you saw?"
Sammy scratches her head, "You know how these goats had helmets? Well, the kobolds are even better geared. Plus I saw a glimpse of a couple at the back in robes. If the tutorial has taught me anything, robes mean magic. There are only five of them but that means they still outnumber us and they have a goat with them. Honestly, we have grabbed enough food on this trip to make the soup bearable tonight. Tomorrow we can run a few groups through up until maybe the room before this one just fine."
Ruby shrugs, "sounds like a decent plan. Maybe if we leave some of the food scraps in tonight, there might be more things to harvest. Clover is edible but I would prefer some more classic food stuff. Plus herbs mixed with magic might get us some interesting results. My guide said it wasn't likely for us to find any mystical herbs this early on but the dungeon might get around that."
The rest of the group, even Jan, agrees to leave and they start to make their way back out of the dungeon. As they move around the assassin vine Ruby glances at it and ponders for a moment. "You know what? I bet the berries from it might have a more mystical use than just being food. Is there anyone with alchemy knowledge among the survivors?"
They all think about her question until Jack speaks up. "I know the forest town had a guy who knew plants. Don't know if he survived the chaos but that is a good enough place to start." Everyone but Jan agrees to look into it as they leave the dungeon.
Outside a couple of regular guys are standing guard and they turn to the group with weapons raised. Once they notice who it is though they drop their weapons and cheer. Jack rolls his eyes but humors them and opens his pack, showing all the meat they had gotten on the trip. Not far off in the distance, a group of people are setting up some basic fences but they drop what they are doing to join in on the celebration. With that it doesn't take long for the news to spread through the rest of the camp. It takes Ace personally showing up and requesting everyone get back to work before things calm down and the meat can be handed off to the two people who have cooking skills.
Well, that was a successful run!' Doyle brightens, 'I know we sort of talked about how the people coming through from the tutorial being different but I was still worried. While the party dynamics there left something to be desired, the group was competent. We might not get many deaths at first while it is just the locals but I think in the long run even the first floor can get a couple people.'
Ally rubs the back of her head, 'yeah I didn't go into who would be sent through from the tutorial did I? Well better late than never. Anyone that was given the option to test us out will have been the cream of the crop. Compared to other worlds they would match the children of merchants in power. Good skills that are well leveled before they start leveling. Not quite the best but not what you would find regularly.'
Doyle nods, 'good to know. Anyway, I don't think I need to change up much right now. The goats can be a threat, especially that last room of them.'
He is about to say something else but he can detect something going through his portal. They both look over and notice a small grocery bag of stuff laying on the ground of the empty entrance room.
That empty bit kicks Doyle in the head, 'oh right, need to refill the dungeon. Those guys gave me a bit of energy overflow so I better use it before I lose it. Besides that they mentioned a plan to leave some goods so I guess that would be it.' Doyle spawns some goats and an assassin vine before he deconstructs the bag. 'Now lets see what the logs says.'
{Minimal experience gained
Blackberry pattern lv0 derived from dehydrated blackberries
Blueberry pattern lv0 derived from dehydrated blueberries
Strawberry pattern lv0 derived from dehydrated strawberries
Raspberry pattern lv0 derived from dehydrated raspberries
Blackberry, blueberry, and raspberry patterns merged into shrubbery pattern
Shrubbery pattern goes from lv2 to lv4
Shrubbery gains ability to grow berries
Bread pattern lv1 acquired
Wheat pattern lv0 derived from bread pattern
Waste plastic pattern analyzed and discarded
Sugar pattern lv0 derived from candied lemon
Lemon pattern lv0 derived from candied lemon
Pepper pattern lv1 acquired
Mint pattern lv0 derived from dried mint
Sage pattern lv0 derived from dried sage
Rosemary pattern lv0 derived from dried rosemary
Tea pattern lv0 derived from tea leaves
Lavender pattern lv0 derived from dried lavender
Peppermint pattern lv0 derived from peppermint essential oil
Aloe vera pattern lv0 derived from Aloe beverage
Pepper, mint, sage, rosemary, tea, lavender, peppermint, and aloe patterns merged into herb pattern lv3
Olive pattern lv0 derived from olive oil
Bread, wheat, sugar, salt, olive, strawberry, and herb patterns merged into food patterns lv3
Deconstruction goes from lv7 to lv8}
Ally whistles, 'Well that's a few herbs there. Sad that we had to derive the patterns from most of it. Then again, not much fresh stuff sticks around after the restructuring that happens. Either it gets destroyed or animals end up eating it. Still it was enough to up your deconstruction which is nice.'
Doyle nods, 'yep. Kind of them to provide me with all of this foodstuff. Of course it was for a selfish reason but that doesn't change what it does for me. Most important though at the moment is those berries as they will let me finish my rectangular room. I always meant for it to be a berry garden. A little sad that they are level zero but that's life.'
Ally shakes her head, 'while that is nice it is by far the most important part. While a few mushrooms would be excellent we can wait on that. For now, those herbs will be an amazing help for us. Remember what I told you about the horn on our rabbits picking up effects from mystical herbs? Well, the first step towards mystical herbs are regular herbs. I advise you don't plant all of them though. Rather pick a couple so they can be leveled up quicker. Do any of them feel important to you?'
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'Hmm', Doyle's core dims as he thinks on it. 'Sage is obviously first on the list. I like it as a herb and I know it has some decent mystical meaning behind it. Aloe might not be something I was hot on eating but I love the plant. Plus even without magic it does wonders for a burn. Saved me a lot of pain that one summer. I had got my hair shaved really short and my head sunburned something fierce. Finally, I think I will plant an olive tree in the kobold room. I love olive oil when cooking and it has heavy connections to protection and the gods.'
Ally raises an eyebrow, 'well that is an eclectic collection of herbs. I was expecting tea and mint to be honest. But yeah, the olive tree is good. That was going to be a suggestion of mine no matter what you chose. After all, gods will be a bit more active now that magic is a thing. While we are sort of beyond that stuff given our unique circumstances the people out there will probably get into it hardcore. That and a magic circle drawn in olive oil will provide a weak defense against outside influences even without the olives being magical. But yeah, you have a good spread there.'
Doyle takes a glance around his dungeon. 'Okay, like I said, an olive tree in the kobold room. Back left corner will do. Sage likes drier soil so can I, hmm. [Dungeon Rule, keep three sage bushes on the first floor, replacing harvested bushes with regular shrubbery and changing a new random shrub to be sage].'
He glances around the floor and notices one bush ended up in the vine room. 'Well, that isn't quite what I wanted. Also, now that I look at it there should always be one in the big goat room. [Dungeon Rule, don't place sage in the vine room, the entrance room, or a room that already contains sage except in the big goat room]. [Dungeon Rule, always keep at least one sage bush in the big goat room].' Doyle checks again and the vine room bush is now in the large goat room like he wanted.
'Good, that will let people gather some earlier but to get it all will have to go through some risk. Though if I ever get a mystical variant, I should probably keep it to the last few rooms of the dungeon. Now where to put the aloe? It is another plant that isn't too fond of wetter soil. In fact, they like a similar environment but I don't want the vine room empty of tempting prizes. Hey Ally, do I have to care too much about the actual requirements for my plants to grow? I want to stick the aloe in my vine room but it is a bit too moist for them.'
Ally glances up from a book she had pulled out at some point. 'Oh, uh… Hey tutorial screen, how convenient of you to show up. Let's see what it says. I know that you can plant things in the wrong places for them but I don't know what that does. Hmm, okay it looks like the closer the plant is to its preferred habitat the better the harvesting results will be. Your sage bushes should allow anyone to just pick a few sprigs and a person with a harvesting skill might even get fifty percent of it before it wilts away.'
'Placing your aloe in a damp room will mean most people without the skill for it won't get anything. They will pick a leaf and it will wilt in their hands before disappearing. With a skill someone should be able to pick a few leaves. Even then though the unfavorable placement will mean you are likely to only see them grow to houseplant sized. Not the forearm sized leaves you can get from a properly raised plant.'
Doyle nods, 'that actually works out perfectly for me. The sage can be my more general herb, the olives are my fancy harvest, and the aloe a specialty harvest. [Dungeon Rules, randomly keep three aloe plants in the vine room with at least one before all the assassin vines and one after them].' He checks on their placement and nods. 'This should be decent enough. Now what else to do while I wait?'
While Doyle ponders other changes to make Jim is exploring deep into the forest. Until now he had kept to the outer regions. Out there he was only finding some horned rabbits, fanged deer, the occasional slime, and even normal critters.
Jim wasn't in a rush to level up, preferring to work on his skills but his tracking skill had plateaued. Combined with his herb skill not having raised at all since he raided the grocery store meant he needed more fertile territory. That and a dash of danger to add a bonus to skill growth was just what the deeper forest would provide him.
He had just seen what the system called an ironside boar and he was now backtracking its path. While he had faith in his archery skill, his stone-tipped arrows did not fill him with confidence. Instead, his plan was to see what it had been doing.
Jim didn't have a trap skill but his herb skill contained the knowledge that magical beasts tend to hang out around them. He hoped that this boar had just visited some sort of mystical herb so he could train the skill. As he creeps through the trees, he can see other animals. A deer with crystal antlers, some rats that seem to sink into the shadows, and a couple of ducks with horns for some reason.
Those are all ignored. To change his target now would just be throwing away his work. Sure he knows this might just be the sunk cost fallacy rearing its ugly head, but the current tracks aren't heading deeper into the forest so he would keep to it.
Jim's perseverance was soon rewarded as he finds an area at the base of an oak tree that the boar had torn up. Most of what had been there was gone but with a little rummaging around he was able to find some shredded mushroom pieces. With great care he picks out each shred. Whatever had been here before had to have been giant as far as mushrooms go.
With the pieces secured in his pack Jim retreats to the outer forest and heads toward his closest campsite, a small nook on top of a broad tree. On the way he picks up a rabbit for dinner and a couple of sprigs of various edible plants, always careful to leave enough to let them regrow.
On top of his tree Jim pulls out one of the mushroom pieces. With some concentration he can tell it had been torn apart long enough ago any world energy it once contained had been lost. He expected this outcome though it made identifying it harder. From the placement he assumed it was an armillaria mushroom. Edible, though it was a sign that that oak was dying from root rot.
What was more important to him was how mystical it was when alive and the skill gains. Jim takes the smallest piece and rubs it on the back of his hand then waits. After time passes and his skin doesn't react, he moves on. Jim takes another piece and touches it to his tongue. The sweet and nutty flavor points towards his guess of the species being correct. A few test chews of the piece show it to be slightly crunchy.
Along with that though there was the slightest hint of green. Not the color but that is the closest he can get to describing it. The power is gone but scars of its presence remain. While he hasn't personally experienced it yet the information given by his skill tells him all he needs to know. The mushroom had contained more world energy than others but it had only been directed at growth. Only useful as a generic energy source and not a good one at that. It was however just what he needed to push his herb skill to the next level.