A Dungeon’s Survival

Cameron

[You have absorbed 1 Fine Leather Bag! Absorb 19 more to unlock this item.]

[You have absorbed 1 unit of Ink! Absorb 19 more units to unlock this item.]

[You have absorbed 2 Quills! Absorb 18 more to unlock this item.]

[You have absorbed 20 Fine Pages! Fine Page has been unlocked as an item for you.]

[You have absorbed 4 units of Light Magic Infused Water! Light Magic Infused Water has been unlocked as an item for you.]

One thing was for sure. That guy wasn't getting his bag back. It's contents were more mundane than I might have hoped them to be, but still, even if he kept his more interesting stuff elsewhere, I was happy with what I had gotten out of the Horned Dracos' attack. Two unlocks and progress on three new ones in one go wasn't bad by any measure. It was only a shame he didn't have a rug stashed away in there. With how out of place the rest of the pack's contents were in a Dungeon, I probably wouldn't have found it too surprising if he did. Alas, my dream of opening up a rug emporium would have to wait. I chuckled internally at the thought.

Huh, I wonder if the solitude's finally getting to me.

I gave a mental shrug and put those thoughts aside as I moved my attention to something more pressing: the items I hadn't absorbed. I was actually more excited for them than my other gains. There were three objects in question, and I had no clue what the guy had been doing with any of them in a Dungeon. Then again, maybe he was planning on doing some light reading while he wasn't too busy mapping out the place. The three items were books, after all.

Now that I think about it, aren't adventurers supposed to be the ones looting Dungeons, not the other way around?

“Dungeon Cores usually get their loot from dead delvers, but looting the living never hurts. That is unless you anger the wrong people. Then, it absolutely can,” Fabian chimed in helpfully.

Well, they're still waiting for their swordsman to get back, and I think that alchemist will be busy looking for his bag for a while, so we shouldn't need to worry about the rest moving on for a bit. Let's see what we've got!

As I said that, Vie and Pee slithered back into my core room with the plundered books in their mouths. Excited, I called Archie into the room since he was the only one who could effectively turn the pages and handle the texts.

First up, we've got …

I paused in confusion. The small leather-bound book had no discernible text on its cover and was bound with a cord. That piqued my interest.

Could you untie it, Archie?

“Why, certainly, mistress!”

He went to untie the knot holding the book shut, and nothing. I watched as he tugged on and tilted his head at the binding in confusion. I offered to walk him through it, but he declined, stating that he would rather figure it out on his own. After that, he did struggle for a minute, but he eventually got it. Once he did, I instructed him to flip it open to a random page and put my System-granted knowledge of the local language to the test.

' 21-9-7162,' I directed my thoughts to the others as I began, 'I don't feel like I'm cut out for adventuring. It seems like I panic constantly in combat and am always making a fool of myself. Still, I must trudge forward on this path for the sake of my master. After all he's done for me, I owe him at least that much. There's also the fact that, this way, I actually get to spend time with the beautiful and always-composed Autumn, something wonderful that I can't imagine being the case under any other circumstances, but sometimes, I'm unsure whether it is a blessing or a curse.

'Just today, I managed to stumble and fall in the middle of combat. Dan ended up having to save me. I already know he's not going to let me live this one down. Worse, Autumn had a perfect view of my embarrassing blunder. At least, I think I may have redeemed myself slightly in the way I managed to poison the monstrous wolf after. Oh, I forgot to mention, the monster we were fighting was a Grave Wolf. They really are a curious species that the guide doesn't do justice in the way that they …'

I stopped reading around then out of secondhand embarrassment for the guy and general disinterest. It was a diary. I did not feel comfortable reading it, but I also knew it could prove a treasure trove of information, so I would have to at some point. I decided not to worry about that until later.

Ahem, Archie, could you bring out the next one?

It, thankfully, was something far less personal. The words emblazoned on the front read, “Aspearian's Guide to Common First-Tier Monsters.”

Oh, this could be useful.

Surprisingly, it was something that made sense for the alchemist to have on him. A monster encyclopedia could be used to identify anything new that he wasn't familiar with.

Well, this is mine now. Don't worry Fabian, I'm sure it won't replace you, I teased.

“I'd be more than a little concerned if a mere book could replace me.”

I sent him a mental shrug and moved on. It was time to look at the last of the three. It read, “Adventurers Through the Ages.”

Is this a history book or fiction?

“It's a history book, obviously. Would you pick up a book titled, 'Bakers Through the Ages,' and think it's fiction?”

I guess that makes sense. It just sounds like something that would be a fantasy book in my old world.

Satisfied now that I knew what my haul contained, I had Archie move the books aside and turned my attention back to the antics of my delvers. Lawrence, crestfallen, had seemingly given up on recovering his things, and the human named Lance had returned from stealing the corpses of my monsters. They were stepping into the bend in my Dungeon that obscured the bog. It would be the first time they saw what was up ahead.

“Aw,” Flur complained loudly, “I hate water! It's so hard to move around in, and it takes forever to get dry! Oh, also watch your steps, guys. I see a massive reptile swimming around toward the back.”

“And, you didn't lead with that?” Lance asked.

“Of course not. I've got my priorities, and as a rogue, stable footing is one of them.”

“Right.”

“Well, anyway, if there are new monsters, it is likely the Dungeon got stronger from all the bandits attacking. Keep an eye out for another one. They often come in pairs. Also, there's probably going to be a second static monster, possibly that strange Trenti I told you all about.”

That gave me pause to consider. I still wanted to appear weaker than I actually was, and that meant figuring out how strong I should pretend to be. According to Fabian, the inner workings of Dungeons weren't fully understood by people, but even if they didn't know enough to attribute many of our changes to us being living beings with levels, they knew enough to understand that we grew in increments, and us getting two monster and an awakening slot every five levels was a commonly observed occurrence.

Level ten it is.

There wasn't any hiding that I was at least that strong, but they didn't need to know I had three more levels than that. I was also going to have to be mindful about putting new perks on full display going forward. Those, too, could be used to measure my growth. Those were problems for later, though, and I had a group to watch.

“Dan,” Flur called out, “I want you using your spear to check the ground as we advance. We don't want to lose our footing or get attacked by underwater monsters. Lance, follow directly behind him and take up the role of primary tank. Autumn, Lizard-Bait, you're our attackers. Take up position side by side in the middle. I'll keep an eye out from our rear. I can see best, but I'm not so useful here. Argh, System provide! I swear if this turns into a water Dungeon …”

Huh, if that's an adventurer's reaction to water, maybe I should flood my core room, but Vie, Pee, and Archie would have a hard time moving around in it, then. Hmm, well, it's something to think about.

“It could be an effective measure,” Fabian offered, “but adventurers really do hate excessive water in Dungeons. If you do decide to go that route, I wouldn't recommend flooding more than just your core room.”

That resonated with me. Everyone hated water levels in video games, and they didn't even require actually getting wet or any of the inconveniences real water provided.

I'm definitely going to consider that.

As I discussed the matter with Fabian, the group progressed into my third room. They moved slowly and carefully. It wasn't a bad methodology. It was far superior to the way the bandits had recklessly charged in, if nothing else, and even if Flur seemed to hate it, she was well equipped to deal with the challenges the area provided.

“Movement at three o'clock,” she called, and an arrow shot off in that direction.

The projectile found its way straight into a Shadow Viper, ripping through it but not causing a fatal injury. Another viper used that distraction as an opportunity to strike from the opposite side. A blade cut it in two a moment later.

“That's odd,” the swordsman commented.

“What is?”

“It looks different from the one in the first room.”

“Huh, you're right. Did the System refer to it as a Shadow Viper, a static monster, or something else?”

“It's a normal Shadow Viper.”

“What level is it?”

“One.”

“That might actually answer a few questions.”

“Uh,” Lawrence chimed in as he echoed my own confusion at their conversation, “I'm lost. What are you talking about?”

“Let's turn back and get the body outside first. This isn't the kind of place where it's good to talk.”

They did just that, and I waited intently for the explanation.

Any clue what she's on about, Fabe?

“I have a few guesses, but it would probably be best to just listen to her rather than speculate.”

I couldn't argue with that, so I waited. It didn't take long.

“So, every Dungeon is different. We're all clear on that, right?” Flur clapped as she began, “Good. Now, that isn't exactly true. There are some similarities between them, like how they develop. None of us are experts on that, so up until now, the Dungeon's been a bit of a mystery with its ridiculous level one monsters, but this snake changes things. The branch head gave us some things to look out for, and variant monsters were one of them.

“Now that we've found one, we can assume it's a mutation type Dungeon. Different monsters can mutate separately here and more than in other Dungeons. That does a bit to explain how level one monsters can even be this strong, but it still doesn't make much sense to me. Basically, expect anything going forward.”

So, they know about specializations?

“To some extent,” Fabian confirmed, “Traits and Dungeon achievements aren't fully understood by them, though, and that has managed to confuse matters whenever they've tried to uncover the inner workings of Dungeons. I'm honestly surprised they hadn't realized out you have Monster Customization already.”

So, does this change anything?

“Not really. If anything, them figuring it out is likely to appease the guild some, so it's a good thing. They might be more on guard for things they wouldn't ordinarily expect, but with how cautious they've been already, I don't expect much of a change there. Maybe they'll be less wary of traps? It's hard to say.”

I can work with that. Maybe I should avoid using too many traps in most of my Dungeon and instead save them for guarding my core?

“I wouldn't recommend that. You turned away from focusing on traps when you chose your initial traits. Anyone that gets to you is going to be too strong for any traps you have access to to make much of a difference. It would be a waste of DP.”

Fair enough.

I'd give it some more thought, but the group was moving forward once more.