A Dungeon’s Survival

Connie

Finally, I sighed internally as my invaders-turned-visitors made their way out through the secondary entrance I'd carved into my boss room.

That had been more than enough excitement for one day, but somehow, we'd done it. Vie and Pee had disposed of the Ice Mage, who, luckily, the rest of the group didn't seem to care too much about. Adraugon had overseen and seemingly participated in the death of the Onikuma, all while still allowing the bear monster the room it needed to come just short of killing Fable for us. Meanwhile, the rest of my elites had dealt a serious blow to Sean. Even if he had managed to survive the rest of his fight with Prism and the endless stream of potions raining down on him from above, it wouldn't have mattered, not while we still had our trump up our sleeves.

In the end, it was only Cudgel whose situation had been left unresolved, and even he'd ended up with my precious snakes' venom flowing through his veins, slowly ravaging his body from the inside. By no means was it a clean victory on our part, but I was confident we'd ended things in a position where we could've finished the group off if we'd needed to, yet in spite of that, I'd found another way. In the end, the reluctance I'd felt toward killing the other Hero had paid off, and as a result, I'd actually managed to secure something that'd so far alluded me during my time in this world: allies.

How beneficial the ties I'd established with the group would turn out to be, I couldn't say, but having even just a single set of allies out there in the real world was a huge step up for me. I wasn't holding my breath, thinking there'd be no more issues with the Adventurers Guild in store for me, but if the mage could really do as she'd said and get the order for my destruction canceled, it would be a massive burden off my metaphorical shoulders. Add in the fact that there was now an actual, mortal Hero who could poke around and investigate things regarding Dungeons out there, and I definitely felt like I'd managed to resolve things in the best way possible. There was only one problem.

No chance I'm telling the fairies about this; that's for sure, I thought offhandedly as I shifted gears and forced myself to take in the damage that'd been done to my Dungeon; it was extensive.

Aside from some ice, my first room no longer consisted of anything other than rubble. Ash, embers, and the charred remnants of what I could only assume to be Ivan's body were all that remained of my second room. As for my bog, I was going to need to drain the whole thing if I was ever going to get that failed alchemical gunk out of the water. Also, I was going to need to completely redo the mud underneath it, or maybe not. I hadn't yet decided whether or not I wanted to make the patches of quicksand equivalent I'd set up there a permanent feature of the room.

That wasn't the end of it, though. On top of all of that, the path to my boss room was still filled with chopped, overgrown plants that would need to be removed, and the terrain within it had been torn apart until it was completely unrecognizable by the bear. The only room that had come out of things roughly intact was my final one, and even it, rushed and incomplete as I'd been forced to make it, was going to need an absurd amount of work done before it was ready for everyday use. Without a doubt, I had my work cut out for me.

Hey, Archie, I directed my thoughts toward my trusted advisor as the extent of my workload set in, not that I needed to since he was still actively holding my core, I know you must be feeling as exhausted as I am–probably more so since mine is only mental–but by any chance, could I get you to take me back to my core room? Oh, and also to congratulate and thank the unbound Trentis for me? They did good work, and Stein isn't exactly around to do it.

“It would be my honor, mistress,” he answered without a moment of hesitation, “It would also put my heart at ease to get you to a safer location.”

Thanks, Archie. I'm lucky to have you. I mean it. I have no clue how this place would stay afloat without you.

“You're words are too kind, mistress.”

I sent him feelings of gratitude as he carried me to the hidden pathway in question, and as he did, I found myself wanting nothing more than to curl up into a ball, which was ironic since, technically, I already was one, and to forget about my worries for a time. As per usual, though, I knew that wasn't an option or, at least, not a good one. With the shambles my Dungeon was in, it was going to take me ages to get it back into a workable state, and while I could put some of that off for a time, using my current lack of mana as an excuse, there was something else I couldn't justify delaying for any longer. I needed to thoroughly examine all of the notifications I'd gotten.

With another tired and reluctant heave of nonexistent air, I brought the messages to the forefront of my mind. There were a lot there for a single kill, but that only made sense with what I'd already gleaned from skimming through them. Logically, I started from the beginning.

[An Onikuma (Level 43) has died in your Dungeon! You have gained 2,629,324 experience.]

It was truly an absurd number. That wasn't what confused me the most about it, though. Instead, that was the fact that it didn't add up, not even when taking my next notifications into account.

[Adraugon (Level 16) has gained 430,169 experience!]

[Adraugon has gained 8 levels!]

[An advancement bonus is available for Adraugon (Level 20)!]

[Adraugon (Level 24) has reached their level cap and are unable to gain any more experience for the time being! 985,623 experience has been added to your Horned Draco experience pool.]

With the tiny dragon also getting far greater gains from that death than I could've anticipated, I had to seriously wonder what exactly had happened while I'd been too busy to watch. Still, his earnings barely accounted for even half of mine. The rest had to have come from somewhere else.

Obviously, Fable would've earned a large chunk of experience from the kill, too, but with how low of a level Adraugon was comparatively, I couldn't imagine her having gotten more from it than him, even if she had contributed significantly more to the fight than he had. Add on the fact that I received far less experience from delvers killing things than I did from my monsters, and it was clear there had to have been somewhere else the experience was coming from. Where that might've been, though, I had no idea. It was something I was going to have piece together later, once I got the full story from Adraugon that is, but for now, I wrote it off as a mystery and moved on.

As for what those notifications meant for the little dragon, it was all interesting, but it wasn't anything I needed to worry myself about, at least not yet. So far, the little menace hadn't bugged me for upgrades, so I could worry about the details of our pact later. The experience he'd earned but hadn't received, likewise, wasn't something I had to concern myself with for the time being, not until I also hit the second tier; though, with the absolutely massive experience payout I'd gotten, I couldn't help but to feel like that time might not actually be too far off.

[Achievement gained: Regional Lord Slayer!]

Then, came the single achievement I'd gotten. I wasn't entirely sure what a regional lord was, but Fable had also mentioned it a handful of times in regards to the bear monster. Regardless of just what that it meant, though, the implications were obvious. The Onikuma had been far more dangerous than I'd believed it to be.

[Achievement: Regional Lord Slayer

Description: A regional lord has died within your Dungeon.

Reward: All monsters gain +1% to all stats! The regional lord's base species has also been unlocked as a monster for you, and the experience reward for the kill has been doubled.]

Percentage bonuses across the board weren't common, but I had gotten quite a few similar rewards by this point. The same was true of the doubled experience. With the monster unlock added on too, though, it was a hefty reward. As for the monster itself …

[Arctodus Cub

Level: 1

Cost: 60 DP

Health: 70 (100)

Stamina: 70 (100)

Mana: 80 (140)

Stats: FORT 14 (20), VIT 12 (19), STR 14 (21), END 14 (20), SOUL 8 (14), MIND 6 (12), WILL 8 (16), COM 12 (18), DEX 6 (12), AGI 10 (16)

Skills: None

Abilities: Tough Hide

Description: A monstrous bear cub that is as large as it is powerful. This solitary predator uses its impressive bulk to back up its territorial nature.

Upgrades: Professional Amateur (+1 to every stat), A Walk in the Park (+5% to DEX and WILL), Too Close for Comfort (+1 to every stat), Deathtrap (+1% to every stat), Forceful Eviction (+1 to STR), Toxic (+1 to VIT), Kill Zone (+1 to every stat), Mass Grave (+1 to every stat), Raid (+1 to every stat), Great Raid (+1 to every stat), Generalist (+1% to every stat), Grand Raid (+1% to every stat), Regional Lord Slayer (+1% to every stat)]

The ursine beast was no Onikuma, but equipped with an ability that reduced its physical damage taken by five percent, there was no denying that it was a powerful monster. It was, however, nearly twice as expensive as my Plated Gators, and even its ability was just an inferior version of their Scale Plating. Still, that wasn't enough for me to write them off completely. The Onikuma, which had presumably been an evolved form of the Arctodus Cub, was a testament to the creatures' potential, after all. For that reason, regardless of what I ended up doing with the unlock, it was undeniably a welcome gain, though not as welcome as what my next notification brought me.

[Title gained: Boundless Power!]

[Title: Boundless Power

Description: An individual a full rank above you has died in your Dungeon.

Effects: While this title is equipped, the holder's monsters benefit from +10% to all stats. Upon receiving this title, the holder may be offered better traits. Additionally, the experience reward for the kill has been doubled.]

It was a direct upgrade to my Limitless title, and between it and the Regional Lord Slayer achievement I'd gotten, it went a long way toward explaining why the bear had netted me as much experience as it had. A three or four times multiplier, depending on how the bonuses stacked, was nothing to look down on. There wasn't much more to think about with it, though, so with that out of the way, I was turned my attention toward my final notification, the one that had nearly caused me some serious problems.

[Vie and Pee (Level 24) were slain! 2,264 experience gained.]

I definitely should've read those notifications when I got them, I thought to myself as I internalized just how wrong things could've gone because of that.

I didn't fault my precious snakes for their loss. They had taken down one second tier individual on their own and had managed to keep another busy for a significant amount of time. Even in their defeat, they'd managed to leave the surviving giant in a state that would've spelled his end had the rest of us been able to stall him for long enough. I did, however, blame myself for not noticing their loss sooner.

Regardless of my ability to split my concentration and focus on multiple tasks at once, the fact remained that I was only a single person–er, Dungeon Core. It was an inescapable weakness of mine. I could only do so much at once.

Briefly, I wondered if that was something fairies normally helped their cores with, reviewing their notifications for them when they were too preoccupied to do so themselves. I also wondered if that was something else I could find a way to outsource to some of my monsters. I had already been seeking council from them in place of Fabian, after all. Something like that didn't seem too far off from what I'd already been doing. It also sounded like something that would be right up Archie's and Loot's alleys.

Obviously, Archie had been too preoccupied for that at the time, and Loot had insisted on me temporarily severing my bond with her to give Prism a better fighting chance, so neither would've been viable options to send my notifications to for review in the middle of that mess. Still, I felt as though the idea had merit and would likely explore it further in the future. As for right now, though, it, like so many other things, could wait.

I had much to do, but none of it was anything I wanted to rush haphazardly. Fixing my Dungeon, selecting my level-up rewards, and growing stronger to better protect my loved ones, all of those things were important tasks that needed time be done properly. With that being the case and with my backlog of notifications now properly reviewed, that left me with the real, daunting question of where was the best place to begin. Before I could come to answer, though, the System prompted me with one final message.

[Achievement gained: Interesting Conclusion!]

Huh?

“What is it, mistress?” Archie asked as I confusedly stared at the words.

An achievement, I answered, but I didn't do anything? I'm not sure why I just got it.

“Well, what is it?”

At his prompting, I focused on the achievement, and more details became visible.

[Achievement: Interesting Conclusion

Description: Against all odds, you did! You survived the Onikuma and a party of level 30s, one of which was a Hero, but more importantly, you did so in an interesting way. Good job!

Reward: You have gained 198,683 experience! I will be keeping a close eye on you. Try not to bore me. ~Twelve.]

Huh, I repeated, this time more out of surprise than confusion, I mean, I guess it makes sense that the Custodians can just give people achievements, but one hundred ninety-eight thousand six hundred eighty-three experience? That is an oddly specific number.

It didn't take long for me to piece things together, though.

[Experience to next level: 3,114,999 / 324,000

Level up?

Yes / No]

This is going to leave me a single point short of a level up, isn't it?