Castaway core a litrpg f.., p.21
Castaway Core: A LitRPG Fantasy Dungeon, page 21
“Oh, for Gods sake! Just speak out!” Boulder bellowed, ruining his ambiance. The spymaster continued his speech - only a bit disgruntled.
“As you wish…” He sighed. “These ruins…-”
“What ruins?”
“These ruins!” Peter shouted with annoyance, pointing at the ground. “The ruins that we’re standing on right now!” He recollected himself, his tone stabilizing. “They were once a part of the Henrik Waltzer castle.”
“The Immortal Blademaster?” Asked Lone Mountain with a strange emotion.
“Yes. The same who was hailed as the strongest sword of the Old Empire.”
“The Magi-Tech Empire?” Boulder asked foolishly.
“No…” Peter face-palmed. “A short history lesson. These lands were once considered a part of the Empire - a human nation battling the Corruption to the north. It was two times as big as the current Geinard Kingdom lands. To tell the truth, they often battled with our forces and their neighbors - the Dwarven Meritocracy.”
“Booooring.”
“Give me a moment. Both of these nations are now defunct, completely destroyed by the Corruption, the survivors fleeing into our and Dwarven Holds territories. Anyway - these lands were said to be lost to humanity and yet we’re now standing above the castle dungeons. Most importantly down there we may encounter artifacts of the past era - replicated by the dungeon!”
“Oh! More loot is good!”
“Shut it, you barbarian!” Peter was getting really salty over the Boulder's constant interruptions. “Anyway - the first room seems like it was excavated by the dungeon and used as a safe room. As usual. It’s a large construction with solid walls and strange sources of light hanging from the ceiling. The floor is covered in sand, so we need to watch our footing.”
“Anything else?” Asked Agnes.
“I prepared the torches and everybody has their weapons ready. Charles, sir? Do you need time to prepare?”
I shook my head in denial. While it was true that my duties were mostly administrative I didn’t forget that we were in the middle of hostile territory. I was clad in heavy leather armor and wore light boots with hardened soles. The Order customary helmet adorned my head, complete with a sole artifact in my possession - a small necklace with a fiery ruby. It had an ability to amplify the magical fire.
It was also - to my shame - a gift from my fiance. A fact that she didn’t allow me to forget all my life.
“Then we’re ready. Let’s move!” With an order from Agnes, we moved towards the dungeon proper.
The entrance was already strange - the oval hole in the ground looked like somebody carbonized the earth, creating lava-like growth around it. As a fire mage, I was all too familiar with powers capable of such destruction. And yet to have a dungeon which could summon them in its infancy made me uneasy.
We descended slowly, with Tinna as our scout, Boulder, and Agnes walking just behind her. Me, Eve and Peter were in the middle, while Lone Mountain was guarding our backs.
It took us a minute to enter the first room and suddenly I understood why Peter was so excited.
A few silvery chandeliers were hanging from the ceiling!
They emanated strange, cold light, unlike anything I’ve seen before. Truly artifacts of the Immortal Blademaster. Probably priceless too.
My party, however, kept their eyes on the ground level. Not breaking the formation we advanced with a full concentration. Soon a black hole opened up in the wall - a shift from the bricks into a carved rock.
The rogue stopped, tilting her head.
“What do you see, Tinna?” Asked Agnes with a strained voice. It was good to hear that I wasn’t the only one to feel tense.
“There are strange marks on the floor, my lady.” The little scout answered, tousling her braids. “It’s like somebody was dragging mighty heavy weapon on the floor. See this groove? There are four of them, perfectly made. What kind of an animal or monster could do such a thing?” She trembled, her childish face scrunched in anxiety.
“That can’t be all.”
“Yes. There is this… constant noise. An iron striking the rock.” Tinna gulped nervously. “And it’s getting closer, my lady.”
“Shit.” Boulder mumbled under his nose, his tower shield and mace barely fitting in the tunnel.
“We move forward. Lone Mountain, change positions with Boulder, you have greater reach and mobility if it comes to fighting.” Anges ordered, while her head swiveled around, searching for prey. “Let’s move. I would prefer less cramped surroundings.”
The tunnels were a mess of intersecting roads and dead ends. As we advanced the bare rock was slowly covered with lichen and vines. The air grew drier and staler the longer we walked.
Somehow we nearly managed to find the exit… just before the boss monster found us instead.
At first, we heard only what Tinna described - a noise. With time it grew so loud that even our ears noticed it.
Then it came - a strange amalgamation of metal and death. It looked like a mad mage decided that his axes needed to move on their own - and granted them life. The four halberd-like appendages were used as a crutch to haul its obese main, fleshy body. Countless tentacles extended from the middle of its mass, seemingly fused with the surrounding metal. Two more small blades were stuck in a horizontal position near its center, acting as arms.
Very sharp arms.
The whole thing pulsated with unholy energy, while the metal it was composed of bent unnaturally.
The abomination saw our team and screeched in delight - a hunter noticing its prey. It raised the two middle “legs” and rushed forward, ends of its blades leaving new scars on the floor.
“Incoming!” Agnes shouted, while running forward, my heart nearly stopping at her reckless actions. “Intercept!” She ordered while avoiding the deadly blade and bouncing out of the wall, circumventing the monster.
“Huuuuuuuuungh!” Lone Mountain grunted as the beast ax was blocked by her shield. She retaliated with her spear, but only the sparks flew from the spearhead hitting the monster, leaving no lasting damage.
“Earth Armor.” Peter didn’t waste any time adding a buff to our frontliner. Lone Mountain was instantly covered with a layer of glittering bronze, indicating the effect. “I can’t turn the earth to mud here!” He yelled. “The rock is too sturdy, not to mention the dungeon influence!”
I was not far behind him, chantlessly sending my Fire Shield to form over the warrior’s body. The abomination hissed as it’s attack triggered the response, the flame dancing uselessly on its bloated frame.
Seeing this I hesitated. My spells allowed for great destruction, but in these cramped quarters, it would end with collateral damage. And I wasn’t a great fan of getting scolded by my fiance…
Thankfully I wasn’t alone. Eve, our healer had another thing up her sleeve.
“Cover your eyes!” She shouted, garnering the monster’s attention. “Oh, light come to my aid and blind my enemies. Gather upon my palm! Blinding Flash!” As her chant ended our eyes were safely closed. All of us understood what she was doing.
Not counting the monster.
It screeched again - this time in pain as its small red eyes were blasted with light and promptly blinded. This stopped it for a moment.
It was long enough to get my powers ready.
“Firebolts incoming! Make way!” I shouted, this time remembering to warn the surroundings about what was going to happen.
Mana gathered in my chest, flowing towards the left hand. I must do it just like the teacher demonstrated. First, gather mana, turn to the left, prepare to throw like a javelin. My body automatically moved, curling up like a tense spring. Then prepare right-hand mana. And pump enough for the left to fire again. Acquire target.
Aaaaaaaaaand… bounce!
With an inner shout, I threw the Firebolt gathered in my palm, letting the force of the attack turn me around - just in time to gather another mana projectile. The twirl ended and I stopped, right hand at the ready.
*boom*
The first Firebolt impacted the enemy and another was on its way. Soon the third one impacted the creature. All perfectly hitting the same spot.
It screeched even louder than before, reeling in pain.
I was in the zone. My fire burned brighter and more lively than ever.
Power.
It was the ultimate drug.
Until a shout woke me up.
“Undead are coming from behind!” Eve screamed her attunement to light clearly allowing her to sense the abominations. Agnes reacted immediately.
“Boulder, guard the back. Tinna - try to help him.” I almost forgot about our new rogue. She was hiding between two frontlines, covering in the darkness. Well... nobody could blame her considering she was only the fourth level.
They both nodded and the girl prepared some throwing knives. Not very effective against undead, but considering the space taken by Boulder there wasn’t more she could do. Rogues weren’t known for their ranged weaponry.
After my shots, the meaty parts of the abomination bore clear signs of the burns. The damage was being done. We just needed to keep it up.
Just as I was celebrating the victory two groups of beings emerged from behind our backs. If not for Eve warning I would classify them as golems. The black armor covered most of their humanoid bodies, leaving only parts of their head exposed. The malevolent light of their eyes and blighted skin, however, revealed their true nature. Undead - the enemy of all living. Even the Fallen tribes weren’t able to secure peace with these creations of Corruption.
Armed with maces and shields they were clearly a melee class monsters, moving in coordinated groups and soundlessly charging towards Boulder and the girl.
What happened afterward I could only describe as ridiculous.
The half-orc lifted his tower shield and turned it sideways. That was an acceptable solution as it blocked the whole tunnel and the undead usually didn’t know how to jump.
Then he lifted the two-handed mace and attacked horizontally with it! The few enemy vanguards were squashed against the wall with an audible crack. This side should be safe - I thought prematurely.
Except nobody thought that an undead armed with a freaking artifact would appear! It used the wind-up time from Boulder attack to close the gap and ran forward, waving his weapon. Normally I would just laugh at it, but the mace it carried clearly was blessed with some kind of power.
Within a second it landed a hit and Boulder grunted as blue lightning danced and clearly dealt damage.
“M-magic?!” He shouted, while in pain.
“Don’t move!” I answered while turning back and pelting the creature with Firebolts. Tinna joined my assault and soon the assailant squirmed in place, only to lifelessly fall on the ground a moment later.
The rest of its companions were still attacking, however.
So the battle continued.
***
Uno
I watched as the adventurers dispatched my minions and the Decapitator. They were stronger than anyone who arrived at my dungeon. I should tread carefully… but! But!
They had so many mages!
So many cores!
So many things to experiment on!
Something in me stirred and I found myself using the same strategy as before - sending the metal abomination after them and then flanking. It felt strangely comfortable to try repeating the earlier battle with adventurers.
This time however it didn’t end as I expected.
My forces were defeated.
But at least I was able to hear an interesting exchange.
“Anges! These are artifact weapons! On the first floor!” A red-haired man shouted excitedly while cradling a Cracking Mace close to his chest. The woman he spoke to frowned, trying to escape her healer's iron grip.
“Yes, and there was also a boss in the first room, you know? Ordinary people would get slaughtered by this combination.”
“Oh, come on! It’s clear that ol’ Immortal Blademaster had a hidden cache! And that the dungeon had a taste of it.” The smile on the man's face grew even wider. “We need to send the message to the Kingdom immediately! This place must be preserved!”
“Only after we scout some more. I have a strange feeling. Like we’re being watched.”
“By who? Maybe you mean these rats from above?”
“Maybe, Charles. And don’t forget that Lunars will probably preach their piece. Am I good now, Eve?” She turned her attention to the elven healer.
“Yes, Princess.” The girl wearing white armor nodded, walking towards the slightly greenish man. He reminded me of the guy who burned so well.
This was an informational conversation.
So… not everybody wants to kill me.
Some only prefer enslavement…
Oh, joy.
Chapter 31
Uno
These invaders seemed much stronger than the earlier batch. Their coordination, training and overall competence level trumped the weak attempts that sentients made before.
If they continued their unimpeded advance my first floor would get conquered in no time. The only minion even remotely able to keep up with them was the Guardian, while the inhabitants of the other rooms would hardly pose a challenge.
It was unacceptable, especially seeing how desired my Crackling maces were. An item that I classified as a consumable given to not very bright undead was being considered a priceless relic. And yet anything easily accessible was bound to get more and more mundane. I had to make them work for it.
Wait.
How did I go from killing them to making some kind of a trial?
Something was seriously wrong.
My thoughts…
Gah.
Anyway the level of desire the red-haired man displayed suggested that they were rare and powerful weapons on the surface.
How?
Was the knowledge of the human race not enough to craft things like these? Impossible. I saw the magical necklace he was wearing. But then most of the party was wearing only mundane weapons and armor. Hardy and all that, but not in slightest bit enchanted.
Only their leader, Agnes and small thief called Tinna were in possession of an “artifact” as it was called by the fire mage. And that was supposedly a powerful party led by a member of royalty.
Their inability to produce magic trinkets was even more unthinkable, considering that mages didn’t seem to be that rare. At least according to my perception, which true - may have been skewed, because as a dungeon the percent of magically gifted guests was bound to be higher. Still, the ones using the mana during battle should be able to craft various items, right?
Not that I was complaining. This deficit raised the possibility of snatching a few of them… After all, I had already mastered the field autopsies. My artificial wire-arms were able to process bodies in pretty much every single part of my domain, as long as there weren't any sentients nearby. Quite fast too.
Back to the present, though!
The team delving in my dungeon had to be stopped right now - and I had just an idea how to do it! I had to send my second-floor creations up, in order to bolster both numbers and strength of my current forces… but it was doable! Especially since some of the new minions were especially interesting! Like, for example - Lebirs of the exploding kind.
Yup!
I made exploding undead!
Or Lebir Exploders, according to the System.
They were even dumber than their brethren, but still intelligent enough to follow basic orders, like “run there” and “use this stick”.
The stick in question was a rod-like artifact capable of stunning enemies and sometimes even spewing out lightning, which jumped from one foe to another. Not like these dumb undead were using it this way. Nope. It was only a way for them to “spark the fuse” since they wore large sheets of energized, volatile metal. This made them easily visible, with their blue “sashes” worn like a piece of clothing, reaching from their arms to the waist.
While I was in the right mood an Electrified version of the basic abomination was also made. The System called them Electro-Touched Lebirs. They were also armed with Electric Sticks, but unlike their suicidal brothers, they were actually trained in their use. In the process of their creation, their bodies gained resistance to electricity, saving them from the fate of being struck by their own weapons. I still haven’t tested them in a real battle, but I had a really good feeling about their performance.
Both of these creatures used a rather large amount of Anima. In the beginning, I wasn’t worried at all, thinking it would refill in time and a limited amount did. The rest however disappeared, making me a bit more apprehensive about using it. While I could circumvent many problems with it there was a feeling of unease and unexpected results when doing so. As such I decided to mostly work with what I’ve got, reaching for this wondrous power only from necessity.
Continuing this train of thought I had converted the two second floor rooms into what I could only call a factory. For the locals, it would be similar to the manufacturing workshop, since most of the process was still being done by hand, not real machines. These were hands of the Lebirs though, so the mechanical part was debatable.
The System even recognized my specially modified undead, with elongated fingers and larger eyes, as a new species, made especially for this type of work. Craft-Lebirs they were called - an innately slow and careful race. I also didn’t use the Anima!
Much.
Anyway - in the factory rooms my creations were gathering the energized metal into plain iron balls and fitting them at the end of a nearly two and a half meter long wooden rods. In the point of contact was a sparker feed from a small, Devourer made battery. When a wielder of this weapon hit something the sparker would come to life and the resulting explosion should take care of the enemies, showering them with iron shrapnel.
There were also hand-held versions and mines being made. Of course the former was a Lebir exclusive as I had no need to actually waste my living minions in a suicidal charge. The latter worked because of simple gravity because the sparker was used as a detonator.
