Redo of a Dungeon Core - Chapter 1

“To start with, there are three ways to summon a creature. The first way is to just summon it like normal. To do this, you open the summon tab and select the creature you want to summon. All Dungeon Masters start with a few basic monsters and a few basic critters. Each creature has its own assigned cost that must be paid to summon the monster.

The second way to summon a creature is to summon a spawner. A creature’s spawner cost is 10 times the base summoning cost of that creature. However, a spawner creature will respawn after an amount of time has passed after its death. This saves us xp in the long run. Well, xp and time, since you won’t have to go through and summon a new monster every time one is killed. One thing of note is that a spawner creature cannot leave the floor they were summoned on, nor can they leave the dungeon at all.

The third way is to summon the creature as sapient. A base summon will summon a non-intelligent version of that creature. This is what the majority of summons are: stupid and ready to die defending the dungeon. If you summon a creature as sapient, it will be granted intelligence equal to yours or mine. Again though, this comes at a 10 times upcharge. Intelligent monsters have their uses though. They work great for hunting parties, even as just party leaders to unintelligent monsters.”

-Teachings of Elder Dungeon Master Bartholomew to newborn Dungeon Masters

Dungeon Core #78 (Mathew) has been destroyed.

“That’s the third one this year!” I yelled, angrily dismissing the notification.

I stomped across my room, pulling a spear out of the wall and returning to my spot. I chucked it at the target, managing to hit it in the same hole as the last. I had picked up spear throwing as a hobby to pass the time, and I was getting rather good at it.

“Elder Bartholomew, if I may be so bold. These newer generation dungeon masters haven’t been up to par for the last 30 years. We have had high turnover for core numbers for quite a while, this isn’t new, nor something to become so upset over.”

I turned toward the girl who spoke. She was a beast person of the Bunny variety. She was one of the ones who I summoned myself in the early days. If she weren’t at such a high level, I would have used her as my new target.

“You don’t think I know that? I’m saying it’s a waste! They don’t make dungeon masters like they used to. To think the last great generation was only a measly 30 years ago. Hell, the Masters I’ve trained are the only ones who make it past their first decade anymore. I could do this all over again with a damn elemental handicap and only starter 10,000 XP! Yet these bastards are going out in the world at almost level 15 and 5 times as much starter XP. It’s a complete waste!”

I summoned a second spear from my storage and chucked it at the target. It hit so hard that it split the first one in half.

“By the gods,” I whispered to myself, “I could do so much better.”

Are you sure?

“OF COURSE I’M SURE!” I shouted. How dare someone question my credentials?! “I’m the third oldest dungeon master alive! I’ve trained hundreds of Dungeon Masters who have survived for hundreds of years each! More than half of the surviving Masters currently out in the world have been trained by me! I can survive with – no, I can THRIVE with mere Goblins as my damn starter monster! I don’t need the fancy training these babes are getting. I don’t need their levels. I can start again and build an even better dungeon from scratch!”

Again I ask, are you sure? I can make that possible. Your dungeon has been run by pure automation for the last 300 years. I can let you start again, making a new dungeon in a new place. But I will have to put some restrictions on you as a result.

I stared at the notification, only now realizing it wasn’t my summoned bunny girl who questioned me. If it was the system itself who was questioning my capabilities, then this was much more serious. I took a deep breath and measured my words carefully, as they would decide my fate if I chose to accept the challenge.

“What restrictions would be placed on me?” I needed to know how screwed I would be if I chose to accept. If it wasn’t too bad, then I would definitely be starting anew. This life was getting boring.

For starters, you would only have access to base Goblins and up to two Goblin variants. You claim that’s all you would need, so that’s what it will be. Other monster blueprints will be available for purchase through the system, as always.

I nodded my head. I could make do with that. It was less than ideal, but this was also a challenge set by the system. There was guaranteed to be perks with the restrictions. If I can handle recreating a dungeon from scratch with only goblins, then I would be set.

These ‘perks’ as you call it will be revealed after you agree.

I kept nodding my head. I guess it made sense that all the information would be given after I agreed or disagreed.

“What other restrictions will be placed on me? Also, will I be given any starter critters?”

The main restrictions placed on rebirth are that you will be elementally stripped, bearing no primary element for the entirety of your new life, and that you will only have 5,000 starter xp.

Being elementally stripped can be both an obstacle and a boon. If I had a primary element, then system purchases regarding that element would be given a 50% discount. On the flip side, purchases of the opposing element would be charged at double the rate. If I were elementally stripped, then I would be given neither discount nor upcharge in costs. I guess I’ll have to see how this goes.

The real struggle will be the starting xp. When I first started as a Dungeon Master, I was given 20,000 xp to start with. The newbies these days are given 90,000 xp, and they’re still dying like crazy. If I choose this new challenge, then it will be a great struggle to start off. But once I get my legs under me and everything under control, I should be perfectly fine. It will be hard at first, but I just need my xp farm to get going.

“How about my starting critter? I’d like to bring my rabbits with me, if possible, please.”

You can either be given two random starter critters, or you can select one specific starter critter.

Damn. If I have a chance at getting a high-level critter to start with, like diamond beetles or golden geese, then I should probably go with them. They were great at attracting delvers and provided me with many easy kills in my middling years. I think I have to go with them, to be honest. I really want my rabbit xp farm given how fast they reproduce, but the chance at rare critters is just too much to give up. If it came down to it though, I could always buy the critters from the system store.

“I’ll choose the two random critters then. Is there anything else I need to do or know before I am given this new opportunity?”

You need to select two goblin variants and select your Dungeon Master replacement from among your servants.

“Easy. I choose her.” I pointed my finger to the bunny girl who had been standing nearby during my impromptu conversation with the almighty system. It was at this moment that I realized that she, along with all of time, seemed to be temporarily frozen. I looked around my room and saw that the floating dust particles that were stirred up from regular activity were frozen in place along with a few splinters from the torn-up wall just hanging in the air.

Replacement has been selected. Please choose Goblin variants, and rebirth will be commenced.

“Can I get a list of variants that I can choose from? I am unfamiliar with goblins variants, given I have little experience with them.”

I was then provided with a disappointingly short list to choose from, but I still looked through it with immense enthusiasm. These choices I made will end up being the monsters to protect my life, so I needed to choose wisely. As I browsed, I asked another important question.

“Where will I be located? That will play a large part in choosing what variants I choose.”

Locational information has been deemed classified.

I continued looking at the short list in disappointment. If I knew what terrain I would be facing, then I could at least make an educated guess at what sort of variants I would need to overcome these challenges.

Please choose two Goblin Variants

·       Goblin Miner

·       Goblin Trapper

·       Goblin Scout

·       Goblin Pugilist

·       Goblin Assassin

I could immediately ignore the miner and trapper variants.

I could see taking miner if I knew I would be in a mountainous area, but I had no clue where I would be, and they would be useless to me outside of that. I could also see taking the trapper if I were to be in a heavily forested area, but again, I knew nothing of where I would be.

As it stood with the information I was given, I think my best bet would be to take the scout variant since they would be vital for bringing in information, and taking the assassin variant since they would be useful in any terrain in taking out intruders.

The goblin pugilist was a close contender over assassin, but I could also see the base goblin doing well as fodder. They would have been great in most situations, including as a potential boss, but I wanted the assassins as I think they will be better for decreasing numbers of large intruding parties faster.

Having made my decision, I vocalized my choices to the system.

“I choose the assassin and the scout variants.”

All decisions have been made. Initializing Dungeon Master Rebirth. Calm your mind and please hold.

I stilled my mind and readied myself for some sort of teleportation or portal to be opened. The next thing I knew, I blacked out. When I next opened my eyes, I was laying in the middle of a forest and immediately regretted not grabbing goblin trappers.

Initialization of Dungeon Master protocols complete. You will be given a new name and will no longer be allowed to associate with your previous dungeon. You are now being assigned a random name.

Welcome, Dungeon Master Corrin, to your new dungeon.

I skimmed through the notifications, keeping an eye out for one in particular.

Ah, here it is.

As a new dungeon, you will be given a 1-hour discount period where all purchases will be half off. Please use your time wisely, as if your dungeon core is not placed by the end of the 1-hour period, your existence will be terminated.

I immediately closed the system notifications and opened my status.

Name: Corrin

Level: 0 (Unplaced Core. 59:58)

XP: 5,000

Maintenance: 0/day

Personal

Observe

Build

Summon

I quickly went to the build tab and selected a new room. I then entered Observer mode and felt my body enter an astral projection like state. I then used this ability to fly up a little and select the area I wanted to claim as my first room.

All around me lay a, ordinary, old forest. The canopy and lower vegetation were exceptionally thick, but other than that, it was just a normal forest. I looked to the north and saw that the trees started to thin out some but that the opposite was true for the south. Over to the west was a large clearing though, so I moved there.

The clearing was oddly circular, about 300 feet in diameter. I used the observer mode skills given to superimpose a square over the clearing, claiming the entire area as my first room, including some forested corners as well. I confirmed my choice and left the observer mode. I was never a fan of it and preferred to see everything happen in person.

I walked to the center of the clearing, going back to the build tab. There was an option to purchase buildings, which I selected and looked through the various options given to me. Most of them were far outside my current price range, so I stuck with a basic shack.

The structure was little more than 4 walls, a roof, and a lockable door. Inside was a small bed barely large enough for a grown human, a table with two chairs, and a rickety looking shelf. Being dungeon structures, they were nigh invincible, but it all looked like it could collapse in any second. Once inside, I summoned my core and placed it on the bed, but under the yellow tinted pillow. I would go about moving it eventually, but this will do for now. I exited the shack and locked the door, keeping the key in my hand as I continued my work.

Once back outside, I entered building mode again. I thumbed through the variety of walls available and settled on a basic palisade. There were cheaper options, but this was the cheapest that lacked any holes or gaps in it. I then created a circular wall around the shack, giving it about 50 feet of room on every side. Once the palisade was about to overlap, I moved it in a bit to form a hallway. I continued the hallway for about 30 feet, and adjusted the ground in the hallway to make a minor ramp. At the end was a 5-foot drop that an intruder would have to jump down from. It wasn’t enough to be lethal, as environmental hazards of this level rarely were, but it would be enough to keep small critters inside, which was its main purpose.

Now that the base was set up, I exited the palisade and opened the summon tab. I wanted to summon my critters first, but I knew it would be better to summon monsters that were actually defensible.

In each of the four corners of my first room where the forest was still in full force, I summoned 4 base goblin spawners and 1 goblin scout. Where the base goblins were equipped with only a large loincloth, the goblin scouts came equipped with patchy leather chest armor, a bow, and a small quiver full of arrows. I would wait until the discount period was over before I looked closer than that though.

After the corners were full stocked, I summoned a pair of goblin assassins in opposing corners. The assassins were covered in black paint and blended in well with the shadows. The weapons they had were crude daggers with chips in the blades. I ordered them to prowl around the edge of my dungeon and kill anything they saw. With that done, I looked at my xp and saw that I was over half way through my starter amount.

I went back to my shack and thought about what to do next.

I think that will do for my monsters for now. If I keep running through xp like this, I’ll end up dead in no time. I need to slow down. There’s still too much to be done before I run out of time for the starter discount.