I watched my Dungeon Points fall from sixty to forty-two as I respawned my Trenti and Shadow Viper. I would have been down by an even twenty, but I decided to remove the falling rock trap I had previously set. It hadn't gone off while the alchemist was in my Dungeon, so while I hadn't entirely decided against using it, its value in terms of fending off powerful enemies had diminished in my incorporeal eyes.
"Are you just going to summon normal ones?" Fabian asked, "What was the point of going with that specialization and those traits, then?"
On the topic of eyes, I wished I had them still, so I could have rolled them.
Not having a physical body hadn't impacted me as badly as I would have expected. I was already used to physical limitations, and my experience as a Dungeon Core wasn't vastly different from using a computer, so it could have been worse. My situation still sucked, though.
The inconveniences of not having a real body, I could deal with most of that. What really bothered me was my inability to properly express myself. That, out of all of the inconveniences being stuffed in a magic rock entailed, was my biggest gripe.
Of course, I'm going to use that stuff, but I'm not going to throw it around all willy-nilly, I forced my thoughts back on track.
The reason I couldn't use that stuff too generously was because it was expensive, not that I would admit that to Fabian. I could tell that I would never hear the end of it if I did. Instead I gave another reasoning that held some truth.
Not overusing it will make it more impactful. It'll help catch people off guard.
"Right. Anyway, you're not just going with the same setup, are you?"
I think I will for the most part.
I was happy to change the topic away from my choices.
It didn't work against an overpowered wizard, but–
"Alchemist. It was an alchemist. An actual wizard would have been far more dangerous."
Okay, an overpowered alchemist, happy? The point is, I want to leave the basic design simple and have the actually dangerous stuff hidden way. That way, it's there when I need it and out of sight when I don't.
"That isn't a bad strategy."
See, my plan is sound. Now, could you explain levels again, for my monsters specifically?
"Okay, they start off at the lowest level for their tier. For you, that's level one for everything. You can either pay double their price to summon one of a higher level, or they can level up from killing the mortal races and monsters not from your Dungeon. When they die, eighty percent of their experience not from DP will be added to a pool. You can later use that pool to level up other monsters of the same species."
Got it.
Using DP to level my monsters seemed like a short-term investment that would pay itself back with interest if they killed any adventurers. There were two problems with that, though. First, spending DP that way seemed inefficient at my current level. More importantly, I still didn't like the idea of killing adventurers for resources. I would do what I needed to, but I wasn't going to go out of my way on that front.
Instead, I opted to make an elite monster with my other tools to handle emergencies. My choice made, I summoned another Shadow Viper and gave it the Necrotic Venom aspect.
[DP: 29 / 60]
It was stronger than a normal Shadow Viper, but I still doubted it would be able to do much. To remedy that, I went to make my next improvement on it. I activated my Monster Customization specialization, and I felt no different.
Hey, Fabian, the Aspect Extraction trait just prompted me with a menu, but how do I use Monster Customization?
"Focus on the changes you want to make to the monster. It's kind of like using your mana to dig out stone to expand the Dungeon."
I went to do as he instructed before realizing that I didn't know what I even wanted to do. I mean, I did, but I wasn't sure how to accomplish it.
You said their stats will change to reflect my modifications, right?
"Yes. Accept what you have, and you will be able to view the new status before finalizing the changes."
That seems simple enough, but how would you recommend increasing its vitality? That is what VIT stands for, right?
Instead of giving me an immediate answer, he blinked at me. I could faintly feel the cogs in his head turning for a moment before he said, "You don't know what stats do."
That is correct.
"How? You already knew about Dungeons, fairies, monsters, and adventurers, but you don't know about stats?"
To be fair, in the video–er–stories where they appeared in my world, what they did was kind of arbitrary. Sometimes they would do one thing, and sometimes they'd do another.
"We are going over stats later, for sure, but to give you a simplified answer for now, fortitude vitality, and endurance affect something's durability and stamina. Strength and soul are related to physical and magical power respectively. Mind, willpower, and composure affect something's magic in different ways, and dexterity and agility relate to speed and bodily control.
"Since you asked about vitality specifically, it primarily affects the recovery of health and stamina. To physically improve it, you would want to strengthen its heart and increase the mana density in both its heart and blood."
His answer made sense, but I immediately ran into a problem.
I think I would need to increase its heart size for that, but there wouldn't be enough room.
"Then, increase its size as a whole, first. See, even for something that simple, the steps add up, and they all cost DP. That is why it was such a bad idea to go this route."
Ignoring his added jab, I mentally pulled on the snake in all directions. An ethereal outline marked my changes.
Now, that's cool.
I focused on the heart and a projection of it formed above the snake. I willed it to be stronger, and it shifted almost imperceptibly, beating harder. Then, I realized, I would also need to stretch out the veins slightly to allow more blood to flow through. After doing that, I willed there to be more mana in its heart and blood, like I had been advised to. I didn't know what I was actually doing, but it felt right. After that, I checked the results of my modifications.
[Cost: 8 → 12 (17) DP]
[Stats: FORT 2 → 4 (5), VIT 4 → 8 (9), STR 7 → 8 (9), END 2 → 3 (4), SOUL 8 → 9 (10), MIND 4 (5), WILL 8 (9), COM 12 (13), DEX 12 → 11 (12), AGI 14 (15)]
It was definitely more expensive, but it wasn't as bad as I had been expecting from Fabians reactions. For a cost of four DP, I could more or less double its vitality and increase a bunch of other stats too. It made me curious
How many stat points would it get if I just leveled it up?
"I believe it's six for a Shadow Viper: one point each in dexterity and agility and four for you to allocate however you want."
So, eight Dungeon Points could buy six stat points, or I could get eight for four? I thought you said this way would be more expensive.
"It is. You're already paying twice as much as you should be for the monster. Then, you are paying five DP for an ability and another four for six stat points. Had you gone with a normal pair of monster types, you wouldn't have those bonuses, but you'd be starting out at a cost of four. You would have been able to instead buy the monster and three levels for a total of sixteen points, helping to get it closer to its evolution. That might not matter now, but it will later. You also would have benefited from ten more stat points then you are currently getting for the cost of one less Dungeon Point. If you actually wanted to level what you have there up after this, you'd be paying seventeen points for one level."
When you put it like that …
The fact that he managed to throw all those numbers at me from the top of his head both impressed and intimidated me. Also, I was starting to see his point. Maybe it wasn't as good of a deal as I had initially thought, but I was determined to see my choice through to the end, not that I could change it even if I wanted to.
Steeling myself, I prepared to confirm the changes when another idea hit me. I pulled up both of the snake's venom effects, and if I could have, I would have smiled.
[Effect: Applies a poison that deals a base damage of 2 + (VIT) per minute to target. This poison can stack up to 10 times.]
[Effect: Applies a poison that reduces all forms of healing by 20% x (VIT) - Target's (FORT) and (VIT). This poison can stack up to 5 times.]
Yes! I mentally cheered.
Not only did they both scale off of vitality, they also stacked. This was how I was going to make my choices work for me.
With a surge of joy, and before I could ask myself if I should rather than if I could, I made an adjustment to my modifications. Then, I pulled up the new status and thought, Huh, that's odd.
[Cost: 8 → 17 (22) DP]
[Mana: 80 → 90 (100), 0 → 90 (100)]
[Stats: FORT 2 → 4 (5), VIT 4 → 8 (9), STR 7 → 8 (9), END 2 → 3 (4), SOUL 8 → 9 (10), SOUL 0 → 9 (10), MIND 4 (5), MIND 0 → 4 (5), WILL 8 (9), WILL 0 → 8 (9), COM 12 (13), COM 0 → 12 (13), DEX 12 → 11 (12), AGI 14 (15)]
Hey, Fabe, what do you make of this?
"Did you just call me Fabe?"
Yeah, it's a nickname, less of a mouthful. Do you not like it?
"Fabe, huh? It has a nice ring to it."
Good, anyway, the stats, what do you make of them?
"It looks like your monster developed a second consciousness. Did you add another head or something?"
Yeah, I figured that since the venoms stack with each bite, two heads would make them stack twice as fast.
"There are records of that working, but it's a little expensive, don't you think?"
Maybe, but I think it's worth it. The cost might be high, but I'd like to see you try to get these kind of effects with normal types.
He raised his finger and opened his mouth as though he was about to argue my point. Then, he froze, blinked, and whispering in surprise, "That could actually work."
His approval brought me validation and joy.
Perfect! Now, I just need one more elite monster.
I confirmed the changes and went to check my remaining Dungeon Points when I got an different message.
[Achievement gained: Two Heads are Better Than One!]
[Achievement: Two Heads are Better Than One
Description: One of your monsters has grown an additional head.
Reward: The monster has gained one basic ability native to Aberration type monsters that suits it!]
I sent the message to my fairy and asked, Did you know about this achievement?
"No, I didn't. It's a little obscure, and I don't have every achievement memorized. I'll be sure to read up on achievements that could be useful to you the next time I get a chance, though."
Excited, I went to check the ability, but I found that it wasn't listed on the Shadow Viper page.
Where is it?
"Oh, that achievement gave the ability to a single monster, not the entire species. That also means it will be gone once it dies, so it isn't that good. If you want to check it, bring up the monster's personal status."
I did, and I found what I was looking for.
[Ability: Mutant Surge
Description: You draw on the corrupted mana within to temporarily boost your stats for a short time. You suffer backlash afterward.
Effect: All stats gain +20% for thirty seconds. Afterward, they decrease by 20% for 5 minutes.]
Now, that is good. Do the skills go off of vitality at the time of use?
"Yes, and it will be good until it dies. It's best not to rely on stuff like that much. Unless you use a awakening slot on it, you'll lose it eventually."
What's an awakening slot?
"Every five levels, you can awaken a monster, giving it sentience and self-awareness. Even if an awakened monster dies, you can bring it back, and they don't lose their levels or anything. Awakening this one would mean it would need to survive until you reach level five, though. That isn't likely."
Right then and there, I decided the little two-headed snake would be my first awakened monster. I would keep it alive.
I think I'll call you … Vie and Pee.
"Don't name them. It will make it harder on you when they die."
Sticks tongue out.
"Did you just say, 'sticks tongue out'?"
Maybe. It's not like I can actually do it.
"Anyway, you were about to make another strong monster, right?"
My attention brought back to the task at had, I summoned up a menu.
[DP: 20 / 60]
I still had as many Dungeon Points as I had started with, and I didn't plan to go as all-in with my second elite.
I'm thinking that I'll just give one of those magic staffs to a Trenti. They just take mana and time to make, not Dungeon Points, right?
"That is how it works."
Content, I decided that I would do that later.
Hey, Fabian, do you have any ideas?
"You actually want my opinion, now?"
Yeah, I do feel a bit bad for constantly ignoring your advice. I have a couple of ideas still, but they require a lot of digging. Save me ten points for my Trenti, and I'm all ears.
His expression twisted into a devious grin.
"I might not have known about that last achievement, but let me teach you the requirements for one that's particularly useful early on."