The Dungeon Core

It didn’t take her long to find the ‘Core’.

The main stair case leading up to the second floor had a passage way built into it that lead down into the caves. It was but one of many, but this seemed to be the most 'official' path. Most the way was stone tiles and walls, but cracked here and there in places to show off the raw soil or rock beyond. Once she reached the caves, the layout was about the same, looking like a dungeon in the first few rooms but the further out it was from the core the more natural the caves looked.

The core itself was in the third room she found, behind a heavy set of doors and two of her Armors. Her guards easily let her, and Mira who had caught up after tasking others to start gathering supplies for the trip, walk past them. The large doors Lyn opened herself, quite easily in fact as they felt completely weightless. To anyone else, it would feel like heavy boulders.

Inside was a glowing red stone, or perhaps crystal, that was floating a few feet off the ground, right above a series of runes, though they were somewhat worn away. Lyn walked around the rough faced crystal, her hand tracing along the surface. Having only woken up to a world of magic and monsters a few hours ago, she could still feel the magic of this object and the connection it had to her.

“We saw this before the doors were replaced but your armors haven’t allowed anyone to get near it…., my I ask what it is My Lady?” Mira asked from her position. She hadn’t moved from where she stood near the door.

“My…. Core. My Dungeon Core I believe.” Lyn breathed out as she inspected the object, “This is where I can easily influence my Dungeon… which at this point is the entire Keep. Though…, I can’t do much with it right now.”

Mira didn’t seem to see it but a sort of ‘menu’ had opened in front of Lyn when she touched the Core. The words were just as readable to her as the book had been, listing several options such as ‘add room,’ ‘expand room,’ ‘change monsters,’ and so on. Her Dungeon would expand itself over time but she could direct it to certain aspects or speed up the process by spending her EXP.

“I really am in a game world huh.” She thought to herself as she flipped through the options.

Lyn had only played a handful of games in her old life but knew a bit, enough to know EXP and Perks. She’d built up some from killing the bandits and simply resting. A boon from her ‘Pure Land’ perk she had gained from that Angel fellow…, Ariel if she recalled the name right. Still, it was a small drop in the bucket, not enough to level anything outright.

But she could afford to spend some of that on her Dungeon if she wished to speed up some of the processes. She did however lack any Perks to give her Dungeon but that might come with actual levels, or killing other Dungeon Masters. Taking the power of another to fuel your own abilities; that felt like it would be something that happened here.

Right now, using the EXP to add rooms wasn’t useful, nor were the different rooms she could add. Most of them seemed like trap rooms or the like. Nothing like a forge or storage. Well, she could just make a new room and leave it blank but…, she could just get her Armors to dig a new room out anyway if storage was all she wanted.

Speaking of monsters…, that menu was held interesting ideas but completely useless. Honestly, they had their uses, and she had a decent selection, but the problem was… appearances.

• -Skeleton
• -Zombie
• -Shade
• -Armor
• -Ghoul

Of those, three of those would put off the humans by their appearances and actions, namely the ghouls and zombies. Skeletons might be easier but she was sure they wouldn’t like those either. And with how awkward the entire set up was, Lyn didn’t want to rub the humans the wrong way. Wouldn't do to scare some of the younger humans with decaying flesh.

That left her the Armors…, and Shadows.

She had an understanding of Armors already; Strong, average skilled, High defenses but low actual HP which meant they crumpled if their weakness was targeted. So she didn't need to go over them too much. Though it looked like she could promote or evolve them into different specialization. An Armor wielding essentially a ballista sounded useful.

Shadows on the other hand were just that, shadows. They were terribly weak Undead but their ethereal nature allowed them to move in ways that her bulkier Armors couldn’t. And while they had less HP and Defense than her armors, a Shadow had all sorts of resistances to damage. Short of 'True damage' or Magic, they could take a LOT of punishment as it would be heavily blunted.

They also seemed to be the ‘base’ form of Ethereal Undead, which would lead her towards other monsters like Ghosts. But she couldn’t access any… higher grades of monsters or any ‘evolutions’ so right now it was good to know, but unable to use at this time.

Thoughts of ghost maids and butlers were enticing though; she could maybe get the humans on board with that if they were more presentable. She'd float the idea towards them later. For now, the most usable info she gained from coming down here was checking the monsters, and a check of her stats.

There was a limit to how many monsters she could manage with her Dungeon, and she hit that limit with her Armors. But it seemed like she could bring a few with her away from the keep without any trouble, so long as her minions stayed within a good range of her... probably about the same distance as what would count as her Dungeon. Which was good due to the problem with her stats once she left the Keep.

Between her Dungeon Master and Pure Land buffs, she was sitting at something like over 1000% stat increase so long as she was inside her keep. Granted this was towards her Primary and Secondary starts; her Parameters wouldn’t increase. In short; things like her Attack and Agility would see a large increase and even stats like her accuracy and Crit ability would see a sharp jump. Even a basic spell would be as if she was casting it ten levels or so higher. However, her Parameters or ‘resources’ wouldn’t increase to match.

If she had, for example 300 Hit Points, she wouldn’t see an increase to that. Nor her Magic, Energy, or ‘Blood’ resources. It was akin to a battery suddenly becoming far, FAR more efficient; you could get far more value out of the energy inside, but it still had its base level of energy. It didn’t suddenly just start storing more.

But this meant, away from her Keep she’d be at a noticeable disadvantage. That is probably why she was able to just completely delete those bandits from the face of the earth, even while half asleep. Though she was at ‘Lv1’, Lyn was sporting stats in the hundreds. In a fight at her base, it would take someone extremely powerful to put her down, a skilled warrior that could take advantage of her inexperience, or someone that could nullify her abilities…, could a Hero do that?

So long as she stayed low, perhaps a Hero wouldn’t randomly come here. But she couldn’t just hide in her Keep, not while the people in her care needed aid. And even away from her Keep, she was more than likely the strongest of the group. She had to lead whatever supply run was to be done for that reason.

“Mira. There’s something I need to tell you before we leave.”

“What is it My Lady?” Mira tilted her head a bit.

“My Keep and my Dungeon are vital components to my strength. I am confident I can make or establish another should it come to that. However, if I am away from them, my power will be far lower than what you saw.”

Lyn paused to turn back to her Captain and walked towards her. She slowly reached out and took her hand.

“I ask for your aid in my travels. But understand, I might not be able to protect you as much as you think I can. Still, I ask this of you; will you assist me?”

She had to know how loyal she was, or at least see how far her abilities would ‘push’ Mira. She watched as her Captain took a knee, holding her Lady’s hand in hers. She looked up at Lyn with a smile and a sparkle in her eye.

“You saved and gave me life once more. I would follow you to the ends of the earth, My Lady.” She made a show of kissing the back of Lyn’s hand.

“Thank you. I hope to reward your devotion to me some day.” She took her hand back and bade Mira to stand once more, “Come we have much to prepare.”

“Are you sure this will work? I mean, I would hate for something to go wrong with you, My Lady…”

“It will be easier for me than you.” Lyn said as she inspected the ropes once more.

She and Mira would be heading out this night to at least get a lay of the land, and perhaps make some headway towards one of the problems the Keep was facing. However, they lacked horses to make this trip easier. So, they had to make due with what they had.

And what they had were Armors.

Three Armors would be coming with them, in some of the more complete armor they had left. They still had to fill some areas with cloth padding but from a distance the trio would look like tall armored warriors than possessed armor stands. Their ability to carry wasn’t great from what testing they had done, but they could host a long crate on their back without too much issue. And while they couldn't carry much more than a human, they would never tire either.

Two would carry a normal crate, the other a crate who’s inside was lined with stuffed cloth and leather; a make shift coffin for Lyn should things take too long and the sun came up. She wasn’t sure how effective it would be, but it should last her long enough to get into better shade. A crate was selected instead of her actual coffin to try and mask that fact from any prying eyes.

Besides that preparation, Lyn took little with her as she was beyond most mortal needs. She took rations and water, just in case and mainly for Mira in case things went wrong. Mira loaded up on a travel pack and had taken two of the last healing potions in the Keep, just in case. With her gambeson armor and sword, she was about as geared as she could be. The armors were also geared, each one having a large heavy axe at their side.

All the weapons had been looted from Bandits that Lyn had slain at the start of this. Their protective gear was…, ripped to shreds, so only their weapons were usable along with some of their supplies like potions. Herself, Lyn had declined to take a weapon. Even away from her Stat buffs, she should be strong enough to fight someone with her fists, claws, and magic. The defenders at the Keep could use every weapons they had on hand, just in case.

“Are you sure you don’t require more guards?” Isabel asked as she walked with them towards the drawbridge.

“I’m honestly not sure. A smaller group would be easier to move about but a larger group would get more things done. However, as much as I am open to working with you, I’m not foolish enough to completely trust you all just yet.” Lyn declined to look back at the maid, “That is why most Armors will remain here to make sure I have a Keep to return to, one way or another.”

“You however Isabel, as I mentioned before have earned my trust to a degree.” She paused to look at the woman as she stopped in front of the bridge, “So I have already made sure you can command my remaining minions till I return.”

The older woman gave a sideways glance towards one of the Armors next to Lyn and gave a mix of a laugh and a sigh.

“I suppose you’re going to allow this old woman a chance to ‘hang herself to dry’ by not telling me just what commands they will obey.”

“You are a wise woman aren’t you. I had a feeling you’d be quick on the uptake.”

Both women gave the other a knowing smirk. In this way Isabel would have a bit of leverage in making the others fall in line if it came to it, but without knowing how far that permission went, she or more likely someone trying to **** her, would be in for a shock if the Armors ignored or went ‘berserk’ at the command.

“Awake for less than a day and already having contingencies.” Isabel gave a weak shake of her head, “You seem to be settling into your role.”

“I prefer to call it, using every card I have.”

“I will decline to play against you at a table then.” Isabel gave a curtsy towards Lyn, “I will strive to keep everything as is until your return My Lady. Happy..., would hunting be the preferred term?”

“Hunting... sounds good. Or perhaps...., a Moonlit Walk?”

She signaled towards Mira who signaled the few men working the winch. The old bridge slowly creaked down until with a 'thud' it was level with the ground on the other side of the gap. She was a little worried that the wood wouldn't take the weight of the Armors, but beyond a few sounds, the wood held firm. Once they were across and started to walk the winding path down the mountain, the bridge started to raise back up.

Lyn took out a scroll from the bag hung over her shoulder, unfurling the map. It showed the nearby area, along with a few points of interest the 'council' had told her about. They'd only have enough time this night to check one, perhaps two if they pushed it before the sun came up. It was just figuring out which one to go for. At worst, they would just go attempt to grab some lumber, but that would be such a small thing to go get after all this.

Encounter Table(d20)

• 1-4: Tackle the Food Problem.
• 5-8: Medicine would be best, go collecting herbs
• 9-12: Go see about Mary's tools for clothing
• 13-16: We should find those missing hunters first
• 17-20: Something else; perhaps an Ambush?