Dungeon world 5 a dungeo.., p.17
Dungeon World 5: A Dungeon Core Experience, page 17
Fred regretted not trying to create and integrate a Human Core when he was recovering his territory. He still wasn’t sure if it would have actually worked, but now he wouldn’t really know if it would have succeeded or not. At the time, he was convinced that it was the right choice, since the Core didn’t seem to want to accept it; now, after finding that he could still use Unconverted Mana just as easily as he could when he had a Human body – he wasn’t so sure. Unfortunately, now he was afraid that trying to add it in at this time would cause him to lose even more territory to the surrounding factions.
Fred’s Adventurer spells and Abilities yielded yet another benefit: longer range. Normally, using Power to create something far away was impossible, as he needed to be within visual range to use it. Now, though, his “visual range” included the entire dungeon and territory; therefore, he could, for example, cast a Flamestrike spell at anything he could see. Or use Conjure Object to create an extremely heavy block of metal above the head of an attacking Defender and let it drop. The potential was nearly endless, though it was still limited by how much Unconverted Mana was available. That, and as he no longer had an SDIA implant – and therefore he didn’t have a Dungeon Adventurer Interface – he had to access his memory to shape the spells and abilities he wanted to use.
Also, because he didn’t have a SDIA, Fred found that he couldn’t see anyone else’s, either. That was disappointing, naturally; fortunately, he still had a Dungeon Core Status.
Dungeon Core Status
Fredwynklemossering
Core Faction: Fire-Water-Nature-Earth-Dark-Light-Air
Core Age: 2
Core Structure Level: 28
Fire Mana: 515/515 (65)
Water Mana: 503/503 (65)
Nature Mana: 502/502 (65)
Earth Mana: 509/509 (65)
Dark Mana: 511/511 (65)
Light Mana: 561/561
Air Mana: 561/561
Unconverted (Unusable) Mana: 0
Unconverted Essence: 0
Skills
Master Mana Sight: 100%
Master Territorial Sight: 100%
Master Mana Conversion: 45%
Master Mana Absorption: 15%
Master Core Crystallization: 12%
Master Mana Communication: 5%
Expert Defender Creation: 57%
Expert Mana-formed Object Creation: 46%
Expert Dungeon Core Absorption: 94%
Intermediate Sentient Mana-formed Object Creation: 95%
Intermediate Dungeon Creation: 98%
Intermediate Defense Creation: 95%
Novice Essence Conversion: 13%
Dungeon Information
Maximum Dungeon Rating: S-5th
Current Dungeon Rating: E-9th
Current Mana Upkeep: 65 Fire, 65 Water, 65 Nature, 65 Earth, 65 Dark
Number of Rooms: 42
Number of Defenders: 2 (500 Earth Mana)
Number of Defenses: 87 (500 Fire Mana, 480 Water Mana, 500 Nature Mana, 510 Dark Mana)
Defender/Defense Range Limit: 65000—72000 Mana
Reward Count: 0 Points
Reward Range Limit: 43000—50000 Points
(Consult your Dungeon Creation Menu for more information)
Some other things had changed for the better on his Status, as well. The most prevalent of those was his ascension to the Master Mana Communication skill. Fred could tell it would allow him to Communicate across much longer distances; though, until he completely mastered the skill, it would take a bit of Mana to sustain a conversation with anyone outside of his territory. Not only that, but it wasn’t as limited as it used to be; before, he could only use it to communicate with nearby Dungeon Cores, or with those whom he was deeply connected to, such as Deecy, Chareese, Roady, and Ravenne. Now…well, now he could mentally speak with anybody – Dungeon Core, Shard, or Human.
“I’m so sorry, Eisa, but this was the only way I could see to take control of my territory again.”
“I don’t believe that, Fred. There had to have been another way,” the Earth Shard lamented, gently stroking his Core at the same time. Although Fred could not experience that intimacy physically, it seemed to make Eisa happy, and didn’t really interfere with what he was doing elsewhere in the dungeon. “Couldn’t you have just waited until…you know…”
It took him a moment to comprehend what she was saying, but based on their relationship lately, as well as his promise to spend more alone time with her, it was fairly obvious. “I think…no, I know…that if we had done that, I probably wouldn’t have had the courage to sacrifice myself in the way I needed to. I hope you can understand what I had to do to save, not just you and the Core Power Guild, but everyone in Allroads. And, if we manage to survive the next few weeks, this could end up saving the entire world.”
“I…understand that. But my world won’t be the same without you in it.”
An ache of sorrow and longing for the woman sobbing onto his Core stabbed deep into his non-existent heart; he might not be able to physically feel anything, but that didn’t mean he didn’t have emotions. It’s amazing, actually; even without being able to hold each other, to touch one another physically, this love I’m feeling must’ve been what my parents felt for each other. It had to have been: Otherwise, they wouldn’t have disobeyed their factions and hid out far to the north, away from anyone and anything.
In that moment, Fred felt like he would give up everything, just to be somewhere safe alone with Eisa. Theoretically, he could see himself accomplishing, if he put his mind to it. Unfortunately, his leaving would nearly guarantee that no one else in Allroads would survive. There was so much more responsibility on his figurative shoulders than his parents had when they left, so it wasn’t really a good option for him. Being selfish like that would cause so much irreparable damage that it was silly to even consider it.
“Do you think you’ll ever have…a body again?” she finally asked, her sobbing tapering off as she attempted to compose herself.
Now that was a good question. “Honestly, I have no idea. The fact that I was already a half Human/half Dungeon Core means that it could be possible to become that way again. I haven’t a clue how to go about that, though; I don’t want you to get your hopes up. Rest assured: As soon as we’ve survived the coming days, I shall explore what is possible. I certainly don’t want to spend the rest of my life with you as a floating Dungeon Core, if I can help it.”
That seemed to mollify her a little, and as she wiped her tears away, she said, “You do that, Fred. Now, I better go and start replacing some of my Defenders throughout the dungeon. How long did you say we have until the next wave gets here?”
Fred was originally thinking that the Fire faction would arrive with Dark in about six hours, but they seemed to slow down rather than speed up. Now, three hours into fixing up his dungeon to prepare for them, it appeared as though it was going to be a little less than ten hours before they broke through to his dungeon entrance. It was perplexing, but he wasn’t going to complain, since it gave him some additional time to reinforce what Defenses he already had, with perhaps some time to create new ones.
Creating new Defenses was rendered much easier by the last major change that had occurred when he had become a full-fledged Dungeon Core. For the first time in his short life, Fred was able to absorb the ambient Mana drifting up from the Convergence; no longer did he have to rely on the deaths of foreign Defenders or the slow accumulation of converted Mana to refill his elemental Cores. The best part of it was that, when a Core was full, most of the Mana that he absorbed over his maximum was released into the room as Unconverted Mana; there was a small portion of the absorbed, ambient Mana that helped to increase that maximum gradually, though it seemed to progress more slowly than what he was used to during his previous Conversion process.
“I think we have at least eight hours before we’re invaded again – though be prepared to speed up your work, if they change their digging speed again on us again,” Fred told her, relieved that she seemed to be mostly recovered from the crushing heartache of losing him to his form of a Dungeon Core. “Oh, and I’ll be creating some more rooms after the Oven, as well as feeding you some more Mana.” She already knew about the change in his ambient Mana absorption, though he had been concentrating on using it to complete his dungeon instead of improving his Shards. Now that nearly everything was back to the way it needed to be, he could afford to start the enhancement process again, even while he constructed a few more rooms.
“I’ll take whatever personal…attention…I can get from you,” Eisa said, before giving him a smirk as she left his Core Room. “I don’t even mind if you occasionally send a little more Mana my way than normal.”
Fred was finally catching on to what she was meaning by that, especially as she associated it with more intimate matters. He didn’t deign to respond to her other than a brief chuckle through his Mana Communication, because he didn’t want to mention that he was going to be doing the same with his other Shards. It was going to be highly beneficial to their development, because most of them were just on the verge of increasing their Shard Level, which always seemed to come with a significant strength boost. I’m just glad that I can see all of their Shard Statuses now, he thought, grateful that had also changed for the better due to his Mana Communication skill increasing.
Enthused, he began a continuous regimen, sending each of his Shards 50 Mana at a time, in 10-minute increments, matching its rate of regeneration; though, he occasionally upped that amount to Eisa, as she wished. The first time he did it he had to warn Roady and Ravenne, because they had no idea what he was doing; the others were used to it by then, and they eagerly awaited his Mana infusions. Once an hour, they would all stop by his Core Room, and they would exchange even more Mana, in a rapid transfer of nearly 500 Mana within a couple of minutes, but then they would each resume their individual projects, while Fred sent his concentration elsewhere.
Right now, immediately after The Oven room, there was just a long tunnel leading to the Guild barracks and some bedrooms, including his Core Room. There was plenty of room to add more to his dungeon, fortunately, because he had made sure to leave enough space to include more defensive room in the future. It was his plan to create two more rooms for his new Shards to take advantage of their unique abilities; while Roady and Ravenne had already been helpful during the last attack, if there had been a specific place, tailored toward their specialties, Fred could only imagine how effective they might be. Especially when he was able to place his own new Light- and Air-based Defenses and Defenders inside.
To get started, he expanded the first section of tunnel to create a relatively large rectangular room, with the slightly longer, 150-foot side perpendicular with the tunnel itself, making it essentially wider than it was long. He did this for a specific purpose, because the entrance was in one corner, and the exit was in the opposite corner; that wouldn’t normally mean much, but getting to the exit was going to be much harder than just walking the distance.
Using his Conjure Object Adventurer Ability, he converted about 100 units of Unconverted Mana into 1,000 Power with an Earthen color to it; as Fred had observed in Ravenne even before he had become an official “Dungeon Core”, the exchange rate between Mana and Power was much more favorable for Power than the other way around. It was almost as though Power was more diluted in substance, which could account for how Humans were able to use it so proficiently, whereas a normal Adventurer would likely be ripped apart by the sheer power of Mana, were they to wield it casually.
Fred used this Power to create large blocks of stone throughout the room, creating a variation of a maze that was similar to the one in The Oven – and yet, oh so different. From the start, he essentially created passageways that were the same height and width as the connecting tunnels throughout his dungeon – but then he made them change in elevation. For instance, the first section traveled approximately 20 feet before coming to a stairway that led, at a ninety-degree angle, to the left; from there, it continued another dozen feet before it led to some stairs leading down – and then it turned left again.
Fred made the twists of this pathway meander through the room, turning in circles and going over and under each other, as well as creating a couple of dead ends which would cause one to have to retrace their steps. Overall, it wasn’t that difficult, and he thought that just about anyone would be able to progress through it within a minute, if they hurried. Naturally, that was before he added some changes to make it unique.
With the stone created externally, rather than as part of the dungeon, it was vulnerable to being destroyed – as had been seen when Chareese’s room was destroyed by the Emerald Dragons. While, technically, he could’ve made the meandering pathways as part of his dungeon from the beginning, he found that the upkeep required to maintain them would be almost as much as the rest of the dungeon. He couldn’t afford to give up that much maximum Mana to maintain what was going to be a room for Roady and his Light-based attributes.
To protect the stone, Fred turned to something he had seen in the Allroads Governmental prison above his dungeon: Magisteel. At least, that was what Chareese called the ultra-durable and extremely strong metal from which the cells were made, and that was precisely what he needed. He remembered that it was horrendously expensive, in terms of Unconverted Mana, to create the metal: When he had used his Mana-formed Object Creation skill to Create a bar, which had essentially sealed the doorway while they made their escape, it had required over 8,000 UM alone.
There was no way he’d be able to afford that expense for long; his new knowledge about the nature of Mana led him to believe that he was simply doing it wrong. To create the powerful metal, he should’ve been using Earth Mana, instead, since it was suited for that purpose already. Therefore, Fred pulled out five units of the brown-colored substance from his Core, spreading it very thinly over the first section of his multi-elevation maze. When it was in place, he used his Mana-formed Item Creation Skill to turn it into Magisteel; not just any old metal, however, but Magisteel that was shiny – like a mirror.
When the nearly paper-thin sheet of mirror-like Magisteel was in place, the five units of Earth Mana enough for the entire 20-foot section, Fred tested it out with a few Defenders that had fairly powerful attacks. The stone’s metal coating worked perfectly, with only the slightest of scratches despite being slammed into by a Golden Sphinx at full speed, or one of Regnark’s Pit Fiends. There was no real way to test whether it would hold up against an Emerald Dragon or other powerful Defender without expending a lot of Mana, of course; given what he had seen so far of the results, even if the Magisteel was damaged by something, it would take a long time to smash the room apart – longer than it would take to get through the maze normally.
With that test a success, he covered the rest of the room with the thin, mirrored Magisteel, until looking at everything from a perspective from the inside of the passageways was difficult. The mirrors covering every surface were disorienting and highly confusing, and trying to see where the correct route was located was difficult, even when it was right next to where a potential invader was standing. Granted, many of the potential invading Defenders were probably going to have some innate senses that could allow them to travel through the dungeon and sort of “home in” on his Core; therefore, Fred didn’t think that it would confuse too many of them. That wasn’t necessarily the purpose behind the mirrors, though; it was mainly just a set up for the next phase of his construction.
Chapter 16
Blinding Flash (Base Cost: 10 Light Mana)
Prism Spike (Base Cost: 15 Light Mana)
Focused Beam (Base Cost: 60 Light Mana)
Fred had three different Light-based blueprints he had the potential to use in the room, so he looked at each of them individually. Blinding Flash was exactly what it sounded like; a brief flash of light would occur when the Defense was triggered, doing a very small amount of Light-based damage to anything near it. Most beings near the triggered Flash would shrug off the Defense, but eyes were particularly susceptible to Light-based damage; enough damage would blind an individual, either temporarily or permanently (though healing usually took care of blindness, luckily).
The second Defense was the Prism Spike, which was a colorfully glowing prism of what appeared to be some sort of hard, clear-ish crystal; the prisms varied in height and size, depending on how much Light Mana was used in their construction, and they tapered to a very sharp point that looked deadly enough to pierce through just about anything. Unfortunately, a few quick tests proved that the hard, clear-ish crystal was a bit delicate, and that it would break apart if hit with anything but bare flesh; armor, stone, and even hard scales would withstand being punctured and would shatter the prisms quite swiftly. Fred wasn’t sure if he would be using them, because there was a good chance they would be ineffective against many of the invaders that were likely to come.
The last was a Focused Beam Defense, which – along with the Blinding Flash – was what he was the most excited about. The Beam was what he had seen in the Light dungeon from which he had acquired the element, though it hadn’t been very effective against such powerful Adventurers in the form of Roady and Elder Hood. He was hoping that it would be different here, mainly because the Defenders they would see weren’t likely to take the same precautions as Adventurers.
Essentially, the Focused Beam created a straight, small-diameter shaft of concentrated white Light, which did large amounts of Light damage to anything passing through its field. It was so concentrated that it even burnt flesh, hide, or hair with which it came into contact, despite there not being any Fire Mana involved. Normally, it would just project in a line towards a wall, where it could be avoided if you knew where it was; in his mirrored passageways, though, the Focused Beam would reflect and bounce down entire sections of the maze, creating an obstacle course through which it was extremely difficult to navigate safely.
