A Dungeon’s Survival

Cameron

It was horrible. I could not keep up with the mana drain. I had been fine up until this point, so I hadn't even thought to reconsider my choices, but suddenly, every decision I had made as a Dungeon Core was coming back to bite me, all at once. It was a worst case scenario that culminated into an unsustainable cost that I was struggling just to keep up with.

“No,” my fairy responded to the crisis I found myself in with only annoyance, “I don't want to hear you complain about this. You dug this hole yourself, and I tried to warn you about it, repeatedly. You ignored my warnings, and these are the consequences.”

I thought back to every time my assistant had told me I was making a mistake, my choices were unideal, or that I was going to run into problems with my resources because of them. Countless conversations came to mind, yet I had thought that, since I hadn't run into those problems yet, everything would be fine. Everything was not fine.

I even had a title that doubled my mana regeneration rate active, yet it wasn't enough. One group would file into my first room, kill everything, leave, and be replaced by another before I could even recover from the losses the first had inflicted. The drain might have been manageable had the adventurers just let me reabsorb the bodies like I usually did, but no, they were harvesting them for desirable parts. It wasn't as bad as when the scouts took everything, but it still diminished the mana I could recover by a significant amount.

I hastily pulled up the designs of my monsters. My first room's Shadow Vipers cost me eight DP and twelve mana; the Trentis cost ten and fourteen. Normal iterations of them would cost me eight of both resources and ten respectively. Had I not chosen Unattuned as my monster type, those cost would have been halved to four and five. With this in mind, I frantically ran some numbers in my head.

Two plus three and another three is eight. Okay my Shadow Vipers are still more efficient in terms of the Dungeon Point cost than they would be without my selections, but it's only by two points, and the mana cost is fifty percent worse. Trentis seem to break even on the DP front, but their mana cost isn't much better. Luckily, With Bane of Armies equipped, I'm still in the green, so that's fine.

“I don't know that expression, but you also have to keep in mind that you wasted both a trait and your specialization for that build, so you need to factor in opportunity cost, too. Had you gone with Elite Monsters, like I recommended you to, everything you could summon would have had twenty percent higher stats anyway. That's more than your modifications are doing for most of them, and it would have been free,” my fairy shattered the flimsy argument I had constructed to cope with my choices in one fell swoop.

What about my elites, though? Would another setup have let me get them anywhere near as strong as they are?

“No, probably not. Vie, Pee, and Adraugon are, in all honesty, well beyond anything a tier one Dungeon should have. They could probably keep up with some second-tier monsters as they are, but they're the exception, and the majority of their strength comes from rare achievements that synergize well with your choices anyway. They aren't something that can be replicated on a mass scale, and most importantly, they're awakened and your personal guards, not just some ordinary Dungeon monsters. It doesn't matter how much you bloat their mana cost if you aren't constantly resummoning them. As for your normal monsters, they are your actual resource sinks.”

I flipped through the screens of some of my more heavily modified creatures, specifically the ones in my bog room. Those Shadow Vipers were more than twice as efficient as another Dungeon's would have been in terms of DP cost, unless of course that Dungeon chose Elite Monsters. Compared to that, I wasn't too far ahead, but I was still better off.

In terms of mana, though, I only matched up near evenly with the cost it would take a regular Dungeon to achieve the same stats as mine. Compared to one with Elite Monsters, there was no sugarcoating it. I was behind. Also, monsters with that much investment from another Dungeon would be benefiting from level-up bonuses that mine weren't.

If I had still needed to breath, I would have been hyperventilating. Aside from a select few monsters, mine weren't as strong for my level as I had been under the impression that they were. I couldn't help but to wonder if Fabian had been right all along.

No, I forced the thoughts from my mind, it doesn't matter. Had I gone with another setup, I would never have survived either the bandit raid or that second-tier group. The only reason I'm still alive is because of the choices I've made. My monsters are weak for their cost because I improved their potential rather than level them up. So long as they do level up, they will be stronger for it.

“Cameron, that only works if you do level them up. So far, in the entire Dungeon, how many monsters are above level one? The answer is four, five if you count Vie and Pee separately despite the fact that they share a level.”

That's only because I'm either saving the pooled experience for emergencies or funneling it toward my elites!

“Yes, but does that change anything? You said it yourself. As long as you level up your monsters, they'll be stronger than they otherwise would be, but you aren't doing that. They aren't getting stronger.”

How am I supposed to level them up with the outrageous cost of doing so? It's more efficient for me to just modify them.

“That's the entire problem with the setup you went for. It has potential, but you can't tap into it. Everything you chose chews through both your DP and mana, and even if you break even or come out ahead in the first of those two areas, you'll still end up behind in the other.”

Then, I just need to play to my strengths, right? I have things in the works. If I can improve the efficiency of my experience farm, I can level my monsters up without having to spend DP and mana on it. I have access to monsters of all types, and I can give my monsters abilities they couldn't naturally get.

Fabian gave me the telepathic equivalent of a blank stare.

“Maybe that experience farm could help with your mana expenditure going forward, but how are you planning on improving it? The last time I checked, it still costs you mana, mana that you aren't going to have as much of going forward because you're a Dungeon Core. People are going to delve your Dungeon unless it proves to be too dangerous and not profitable enough; then, they'll kill you, instead.

“As for your other capabilities, so what? You say you have access to monster of all types, but you don't. You could, but you insist on only using plants and reptiles in spite of that. That's all you have: plants and reptiles.

“Then, there's Aspect Extraction. You spent one of your only trait slots on it, but what have you done with it? Throughout this entire Dungeon, Vie and Pee are the only ones with Necrotic Venom, an ability that they haven't even made use of. Other than that, the only aspect you have is Velocity Transference. It works great on Adraugon; I'll give you that, but that's the only monster in this Dungeon that even has it. The other Horned Dracos did, at least, up until you stopped using them because you couldn't afford their cost anymore!

“Cameron, I'm trying to help you here. I've been trying from the start, but you need to understand what you've done to yourself. There's no changing the choices you've already made, so let's stop arguing. Instead, what are we going to do to fix this?”

His words were like a splash of cold water on my face. I hadn't been doing things perfectly so far. That needed to change. I had three problems to address. I just needed to figure out how I was going to do so.

Okay, I finally said, I can't increase the efficiency of my experience farm without more resources to work with. I can't give out more aspects without a higher DP cap, and I need a larger variety in order to make use of them. I can't get any monsters without leveling up, and most importantly, I need mana. I don't know how long this is going to keep up for everyday, but if I'm getting this many delvers, I desperately need more mana, or I won't be able to afford to do anything besides just reset my Dungeon over and over again.

Fabian sighed as he sat up against a wall in his little block house. He didn't say anything for a while, but eventually, he spoke in a soft tone, “Okay, I have a few ideas.”

What? I jumped at the chance to fix the mess I'd gotten myself into.

“I can't solve your mana issues. You'll have to find a way to do that yourself by reworking your designs once you level up. That needs to be your focus for right now: leveling up as a Dungeon. What you said about not being able to get more aspects to use without leveling up, isn't exactly true, though. There is a way.”

Wait, there is? What is it?

He grimaced.

“Do you remember how you asked me to bring you back a monster through the Fey Realm to use as your familiar?”

Yeah, of course I do, but where are you going with this?

“You also know how you can absorb items and replicate them, right?”

Yes.

“Well, you haven't been able to do this since we're in an area without many monsters, but the same holds true for them. If you could absorb a bunch of the same species, you could unlock and either use them as monsters or strip them of their abilities in the form of aspects. I could potentially lure some back here through the Fey Realm for you to use, but that's not something I could do on my own.

“I'm not a fighter; I'd need help, and as it stands, Prism is the only one who could come with me, but unlike our bond, they wouldn't be able to communicate with you once they're out there. You'd need to have them obey me and trust that I'd get them back safely, and I can't entirely guarantee that. If they die, you can just respawn them, but there's a real risk, no matter how small it might be, of them getting lost. If that happens, there's little either of us could do about it. Still, I think it's our best option at the moment. Would you be open to this?”

The thought of losing the little blob was terrifying to me, but this was an idea I had to be open to. I trusted Fabian, and his idea solved some of my biggest problems.

Okay, I gave him my answer after some deliberation, Let me get them up to level five, first. That way, they can protect both you and themselves, and then, you can take them out to lure in monsters. After that, I'll spend every last drop of mana I can to hasten my leveling.

“We have a plan, then.”

Yeah, we do. Also, thank you, not just for bringing me back to my senses, also, for coming up with this plan and going through with it. I know you didn't like the idea the last time I suggested it, so I appreciate you being willing to do it, and I'm sorry. I can see the problems with the route I chose now. I still think there's potential in it, but you were right when you pointed out the flaws. I just didn't listen. I'm sorry for that.

He cracked a smile at my words and said, “So long as you realize it and agree to listen to me in the future, it's fine. I don't expect you to do what I say all the time, but when I tell you that you're making a mistake, please, at least, hear me out.”

Okay. I will.