Lewd dungeon, p.21
Lewd Dungeon, page 21
“With that out of the way, please allow me to introduce Kilyn and Naesara Longshadow, from Bluemountain. Kilyn is a member in good standing of the military of the kingdom of Anfelon, where she acted primarily as a scout and advance guard against the kingdom of Vinastra. Naesara, on the other hand, was a mage in the service of the Vinastran army, prior to the country’s fall. They are also the daughters of the former archmage of Vinastra, so their knowledge of magic is quite advanced, even amongst their people.” He turned and looked to the wings of the stage. “Ladies?”
Miguel stepped back from the podium as the two women walked in, both resplendent with their arms and armor. Kilyn actually interested him more, out of the two. Oh, it wasn’t just about looks, though the leathers the elder sister wore were more to his liking than the mage robes Naesara had on. Both were very pretty, in that way that only magic, and rising to higher Tiers, seemed to make possible. No, Kilyn interested him more because the Arcane Bow was an evolution of his own Ranger class, and a powerful one, if you focused on ranged attacks, as he did.
Oh, he would be lying if he said he wasn’t interested in her as a woman. You would have to have absolutely no interest in women, or have truly abnormal tastes, like the men who lusted after the women who were in excess of three hundred pounds, not to find the sisters attractive. But his main interest in her was… aspirational, more than anything else. She was an example of what was possible, and he hoped that, while she was here, he would be able to delve a little with her, so that he could see her in action, and learn from her.
And, if anything else happened, well, Isadora would welcome someone else to the relationship, so long as she knew she wasn’t getting replaced. Not that she had anything to worry about there. She might have taken the collar he offered her, but she was far from just a commodity that could be thrown away, in his eyes.
“Thank you, Guildmaster Miguel, for that introduction,” Kilyn, obviously not knowing his internal thoughts, said, as she stepped up to the microphone. Only then did he notice the glowing crystal floating by her shoulder, which was matched by one next to her sister. His question about its purpose was quickly answered, however. “Since we are here on an exchange from Bluemountain, where recent political upheavals have caused a renewed interest in the outside galaxy for the first time in generations, I think it fair to say that we, too, are recording this meeting, so that we can share it with our people back home. And yes, these crystals you see are how we’re doing it. You can think of them like your veedeeoh kamerahs, I think they are called?”
That got some smiles, but good natured ones. No one who would heckle the guests had been allowed in the auditorium, after all. “At any rate, this is as good a place to start, when talking about magic items, and their use in the world. People often think, when they hear about Bluemountain’s technological level, that we are lacking in many things. And, while it is true that we lag behind in technological aspects, our extensive use of magic and magical items covers for many of them, at least in concepts. The example of these crystals is proof enough of that.
“However, while the concepts may be able to translate from magic to technology, and back again, with little trouble, there are differences between the two. The first, and most obvious, is dependence upon the System. While I know many of your devices have been ‘reconditioned’ to be included into the System, one of your horseless carriages, what you call ‘cars’, would still work admirably without it. Creating a self-driving carriage, without the System’s guidance or your technology, would require an understanding of the world far beyond what one could achieve in a mortal lifetime.”
“Not impossible, mind you,” Naesara cut in. “Tests run throughout the galactic arm have proven that magic is not eliminated when the System is not present. However, our understanding of magic under the System, and how to harness it and shape it to our ends, is so tied into our views of magic that it takes significant retraining, in conditions outside the System, in order to even touch it, much less do anything with it. A crude example would be learning to move without gravity. You have spent your entire lives under the pull of your native world, yes? Attempting to move in an environment without gravity is extremely disorientating, to say the least, and something that takes training to accomplish with anything approaching grace.”
She paused, and then said, “Take that difficulty, and then multiply it ten thousand-fold, at least. Then account for the fact that, while ‘microgravity’ can be found anywhere in the void of space, when there aren’t other systems in play, areas without the System, where it has been either disrupted or cut off, are extremely rare. Rarer still are those areas where the disruption lasts more than hours, before it is never seen again. Most people only experience life without the system in the instant they engage in certain forms of faster-than-light travel, and, even then, that instant is too fleeting for anyone to actually try and train their abilities in it. Most never even seem to come to the concept, unable to picture even the idea of it, or the need to train in such conditions. To most, that moment is something to be endured, and move past, not something to dive into.”
Kilyn nodded. “In addition to the dependence on the System, there is a matter of scale. Given how the recent war to resolve the issue of Vinastra went, it makes for an excellent example. Forces belonging to the Mesmerizing Cells of the Black Knight dungeon were armed with copies of military equipment you would consider common place, or even slightly outdated, prior to the System coming back to your world. On Bluemountain, they made skeleton warriors capable of launching explosive attacks at ranges that outstripped most mages, allowing the Vinastran troops to be massacred, despite their level and numbers advantage. This was due to scale.
“You see, just because a magic exists, does not mean that everyone can use it. Even some magic items require a certain level of proficiency to use. A blade, or one of your guns, however, can be used by anyone capable of physically wielding it. Their skill level or their abilities matter only in determining how much damage they can do. The ‘mortars’ used by the Black Knight’s troops were usable by any skeletal warrior, and could be used rapidly, so long as there was ammunition to throw at them, with no worrying about the warriors depleting their mana, or that of their items, or their dungeon. This allowed for more warriors to use more weapons, which was obviously a problem for the Vinastran army’s survival.”
Naesara took up the narrative again. “Those numbers exceeded what Vinastran mages could bring to bear. Even if they had been equipped with magic items that replicated the effect of the mortars, they would not have been able to turn the tide. Making the mortars, and their launchers, even without a dungeon’s aid, could be left to machines, either automated, or running under the guidance of untrained or lightly trained laborers. Making a staff capable of shooting off a Fireball spell is the work of a woodworker to make the staff, and an enchanter to imbue the magic into it, and takes a good deal of time and resources to create.
“This, then, is the other way that scale comes into play when comparing magic to technology. Technology can be built by technology, but magic must be crafted by enchanters and artificers. I understand that this line becomes blurred, somewhat, when you talk about enchanting ready-made items, or dealing with artificers and magitech engineers, who combine the two, but it works for now.”
Naesara took a breath. “Now, Guildmaster Miguel tells us that you have a suitable understanding of the basic attack and defensive magics, as well as basic healing spells, so we will skip over those things, and talk about some of the common support magics. Starting with support rituals, which require only materials and time to pull off, but can be done by anyone who follows the proper steps, even if they are not a mage. While these rituals may not be of any use in a direct fight, they can be extremely effective at keeping you and your party alive, which is a good thing, last I heard.”
Chapter 307 – Bad News
“Well, that was certainly informative,” Miguel said, once they were out of the auditorium, and in the Miami Guildmaster’s office. His former office. The presentation, with the following question and answer session, had lasted almost two hours, but no one was begrudging the time. This was all entirely new material that they were learning, or new uses of things they already knew, which was just as important.
“Yes,” nodded Bethany Johnston, the head of the Miami Guild. “Using ritual magics to draw out and cure diseases and poisons, or ones to increase the body’s HP regeneration temporarily are powerful enough. Sure, there are potions and spells that do the same thing, faster, but having the option to do it without needing to spend the mana or carry around consumables is a game changer. To say nothing of that Lifeward ritual!”
Kilyn chuckled. “Yes, most adventurers love hearing about that ritual. While it isn’t an ‘instant win’ kind of ability, the Lifeward has saved many adventurers’ lives on Bluemountain.”
Miguel nodded, since that much was obvious. The Lifeward ritual put a magical seal on the recipient of the ritual. It took four hours to cast, which wasn’t ideal, but lasted until it was triggered, which was nice. While under the Lifeward, the first attack that would reduce someone to 0 HP or less would instead leave them at 1 HP and ending any ‘bleed’ or similar ongoing damage effects, while making them immune to any damage for ten seconds, but would render them unconscious for one minute per point of damage it blocked, or until the person received magical healing.
That meant that someone under a Lifeward could survive one fatal blow, and just be knocked out, giving a healer time to revive them. However, it only protected against that single attack. If they fell into a pool of acid, or were currently on fire, or even just got bitten by a rat, that first point of damage would push them to zero, and they’d die. It was fully possible for someone under a Lifeward to be saved from the killing blow, only to succumb to damage once their ten seconds of immunity were up.
More importantly, the Lifeward only protected against damage to HP. There were attacks, curses, poisons, and other nastiness that damaged or drained a person’s attributes, usually temporarily, but there were permanent ones, as well. Reducing any attribute to zero was bad, but if your CON went down, so did your HP, both your maximum value, and your current HP. Which meant that someone under a Lifeward could still die if CON damage reduced their HP to zero, or if their CON itself reached zero. And that didn’t count things like suffocation or drowning, which didn’t actually deal HP damage.
Still, just having that ability to take one fatal blow without dying, on top of the other protections different classes could manage, was huge. Some of those instant death traps in different dungeons would be at least a bit more survivable. While there were only a few of those in the upper floors of the Forbidden Chambers dungeon, the debilitating effects of some of the nonfatal traps made the few truly dangerous traps far more threatening than they normally would be.
“I am surprised that your world hadn’t already uncovered something like this,” Naesara said. “The information is available in the System Shop, after all. The actual cost of the information was negligible, compared to the cost of resurrection magic.”
Miguel sighed. “Sadly, that is a case of us being so far out of the loop that we didn’t know what we didn’t know. Now that we know something like that is possible, I’m sure that people will be scouring the System Shop, looking for leads, even if only so they can make some money providing services. Much of the medical technology we have is proving useless, or at least having reduced efficacy, against System-based threats.”
“Yeah,” Bethany grumbled. “There are more than a few people who have come out of Lord Kuronoth’s dungeon only to learn, later, that their birth control pills, or even IUDs, aren’t as effective as they used to be. And that’s not counting the special cases, like with the monsters. It has caused more than a bit of paperwork, I promise you.”
Kilyn nodded. “A common trouble with adventurers, whether they go into a succubus dungeon or not. You are spending a lot of time in dangerous situations, after all, so it isn’t uncommon for teammates to seek companionship, especially after a tough battle. Hells, even the army had its issues with such things, despite regulations trying to minimize fraternization in the ranks. Those stolen moments often have lasting complications, despite precautions. There are very few things under the system which offer full immunity to basic life functions like that, after all.”
“The risks can be managed, of course,” Naesara smiled. “Aside from enchanted gear that can keep those things from happening, there are potions that partners can take to reduce the chances of accidents, though the exact blend depends on their race, and anatomy. Women often get them in a bundle along with potions to manage their normal cycle, as blood can, unfortunately, be used in some nasty rituals to bypass someone’s defenses, if you know how.”
Miguel nodded. “Yes, there have been a couple cases of blood being used in rituals, before people realized that they needed to take steps to break the magical connection. None of them were local, thankfully, and they were quickly caught, but it still put people on edge. Luckily, your Lord has decided that such measures are ‘tacky’ and ‘unfun’.”
Bethany chuckled. “Well, I am sure Lord Kuronoth would use whatever he had at his disposal if the dungeon were truly threatened, but for those who sign the contract, he wishes the experience to be tough, but fair. Unfortunately, even the enchantments against pregnancy, which normally work regardless of race, even if they have enhancements, like the lizardfolk hunter on the first floor, fail against the creatures which implant others with their spawn, like Captain Hentai, or the Seeder Bushes. Which makes cleansing potions and spells more important.”
“I’m just glad that most of the dungeons aren’t like this one. The only one in the US that looks to be quite so nasty is the Freedomland dungeon down on the Mexican border in Texas. But that one is just very deadly, rather than insidious, like the Forbidden Chambers.”
“Really?” Kilyn perked up. “How deadly is it? And in what ways is it deadly?”
“Well, I haven’t been, myself, but according to the Houston branch of the Guild, the dungeon has kobolds as the main monster type. While they aren’t the most imposing of fighters, they apparently are clever as hell when it comes to making traps, and are vicious fuckers, to boot.”
“Ah, yes,” the Arcane Bow nodded. “Kobold dungeons tend to be like that, at least for younger adventurers. Once you get past a certain level of experience, physical traps become more of a hindrance than a threat, unless they incorporate special materials, or are somehow enhanced. Which is why Tier 2 dungeons usually rely on more powerful monsters, or magical traps, than mechanical ones.”
“Well, apparently this one is a bitch and a half, even to people on the cusp of Tier 2. Part of the problem is that the dungeon is deliberately made so that there are large portions where humans are simply too tall to move around upright. Makes what would otherwise be a dangerous, but survivable trap into something much worse. Especially since there are also ambushes and attacks from concealed positions. The whole place is a nightmare, for different reasons than the Forbidden Chambers.”
“Is it really so terrible?”
“Worse, actually. Out of the seven hundred guild members who have gone in since we became aware of the dungeon, two hundred have been wounded to the point where they needed major magical care to recover, and over thirty are dead. Would likely be worse if the dungeon monsters weren’t mostly using melee weapons. Probably is worse, since we know some immigrants have gotten caught up in it.”
“That… is far worse than I would expect,” Naesara frowned. “And you say that this is mostly due to the traps and tactics the kobolds use?”
“Yeah, they’re some nasty shits. To the point where the Houston guild worked with the police to block off access to the property, and put up wards trying to warn people away. So, the damn thing dug a second entrance tunnel underneath the river, and came up on the Mexican side! Damn thing is feeding off migrants who are trying to come into the country while skirting around immigration laws.”
“That is not normal,” Kilyn confirmed. “In fact, such behaviors on Bluemountain would have the dungeon declared rogue, and an extermination force sent out, to end the dungeon’s threat. If the dungeon is acting like that, it may start sending its monsters out into the surrounding area purposefully, which could spread untold trouble, especially if they retain their trapmaking and ambush skills once away from the dungeon’s control.”
“Oh, there are certainly people who want to do just that,” Bethany said. “Unfortunately, there are some debates, within the guild and in the courts, about what, exactly can be done. With Lord Kuronoth making it known that dungeons are either sapient, or can grow to be sapient, it is calling into question what rights and protections they might have, under the law. Not just in the US, either. Other national guilds and their countries have been having similar discussions, with no consensus, yet.”
“She’s right,” Miguel sighed. “Until the dungeon actually breaks its boundaries, and sends its monsters into the world, I don’t know if we’ll actually get permission from the various governments to actually allow us to kill it. No one wants to be ‘that guy’ that starts off something that is going to create a terrible precedent. Everyone is hoping that someone else will do something stupid, first, so that blame can eventually be put on them.”
