7
Settling in
Once the trolls were added to the dungeon and the invasion had ended in earnest, the goblins in stasis all reappeared in their beds completely undisturbed. I quickly added a pair of beds for Tessa and Terry, which they both gushed over, having only slept in caves on the ground or nests of crudely skinned animal hides. The growing zombie horde settled down into something resembling sleep, and I stepped outside to interrogate Lilith.
“I have a few questions.”
“Right, do this in the construction interface so we can be completely sure no one listens.”
That was a good idea; the construction interface stopped time so no one could hear me ‘talk' even though it was in zombie moans—no one except Lilith. I promptly complied.
“First, that suggestion was a good one; keep making those, please.”
I waited a moment, but Lilith didn't respond.
"Second, why did you suggest turning the trolls into zombies?”
“What do you mean?” She sounded truly confused at the question.
“I mean, I had to all but force you to allow the goblins to join the dungeon, but you brought up the trolls turning to zombies and joining on your own. Why do you hate the goblins but not trolls?”
I waited through the silence that followed; we had all the time in the world after all.
Finally, Lilith answered, “I don't know. It's strange… Goblins disgust me, even now. I know you are trying to help them, and I agree with your reasons, but... I can't help but hate them.”
“Before you said it was because they weren't clean, but the trolls seem, um, less hygienic.”
“I know alright, I know that... but I can't explain it. Goblins just disgust me.”
I would shrug if I had shoulders in the construction mode; this might end up being a problem in the future, but at least everyone was aware of it, and we could deal with it when the problem was higher on the urgency list. Time to shelve that.
“Fine, what about this vanishing chest problem?”
“Vanishing what now?”
“The vanishing chest. During the invasion, there was a chest in the bunk room, but when I went to add the trolls’ beds, there was no chest.”
“Do you mean the boss chest?”
“… maybe? What’s a boss chest?”
“Ahh, yeah, you wouldn't know. If there is no chest designated as the boss chest in the boss room or a treasure room, then one is created when an invasion starts.
If an invader opens the chest, the invasion is lost. The invasion is only lost when the chest is opened or the boss falls. Loot for the chest is randomly created based on the value of the dungeon, and if it is taken, then you lose the value of the item in mana coins.”
"Wait... so I would die if a troll took whatever was in that chest?”
“No, you would lose the invasion and be on the hook for whatever was in the chest. It might be a way to safely lose invasions without dying and losing the crown.”
“How many mana coins are we talking about? What if I don't have enough?”
“That is listed in the dungeon stat window; I told you before about that; take a look yourself at the bottom of your vision."
Sure enough, there were small numbers at the bottom of my vision that I hadn't paid attention to yet. As I looked, they expanded into a window.
Dungeon Stats
Floors: 1/1
Rooms: 2/2
Maximum boss level: 3/2
Maximum minion level: 3/1
Invasions defeated: 4
Dungeon name: Dungeon #32476
Dungeon type: Undead
Dungeon level: 1
Dungeon tier: cave
Dungeon danger rank: 30213
Dungeon popularity rank: n/a
Boss chest projected value: 3 silver
“Right… So what happens if they loot the boss chest and I can't afford the mana coins?”
“The dungeon is destroyed, and you are forced to work as a minion in a higher-tier dungeon until you pay the debt, then you’ll be allowed to die.”
Wow… I needed to protect that thing at all costs.
“Ok then, so what did you say the tier-up requirements were?”
“At this point, you only need to defeat one more invasion, and you’ll tier up.”
“And you don’t know what is unlocked at the next tier, which is...”
“The next tier is a Nest, and no, I should remember when you unlock the tier, as well as how to unlock the next one, but, until then, you know everything I know.”
I somehow doubted that, but that should be enough for the time being. Since I was already in the construction interface, I added some more things to the bunk room that I figured would be helpful: chests, individual weapon racks for favored weapons, and some tools as well as clothes, some large enough for trolls and some small enough for goblins.
Then I dug around a bit before finding the water table. I wasn't sure how well it would work as I only vaguely knew how they were built or how long it would last. But the construction interface made digging a well trivially easy, and since it was open to the outside, it didn’t count as a room.
I had been ready to include the well as part of a room, or even put the idea off and make it a room of its own if necessary, but if leaving the top open made it count as terrain rather than a room, then I wouldn't look into that gift horse's mouth.
Zombies didn't need water to live, and the blood and dismembered body parts had disintegrated when the loot conversion took place, but water would be useful for lots of things, not the least of which was cleaning regular dirt and grime.
Then I returned to the first room, which was a mess. The gore was gone, but the rock had become many tiny rocks, and dust covered every surface. I set about cleaning. I was disappointed to find out that, while material from the rocks raised my held material gauge, it also cost mana coins to absorb the rock and more yet to replace it. Even restoring the rope that Gale had sliced cost coins.
After cleaning the mess, I noticed another problem.
“Hey Lilith, what happens if a dungeon wall or floor, or even ceiling is breached?”
“Nothing happens on its own. I suppose invaders could join the invasion if they bashed through a wall or they could run away the same way.”
"Right. That makes sense.”
That must be at least one of the ways that invaders could'retreat' as the post-invasion result screen claimed. Dungeons weren’t invulnerable, and I was staring at proof.
The rock had hit the floor hard, with only trolls to pad the impact. I didn't really think about what the walls were made of, but I could make them out of whatever I imagined, and I hadn't imagined some invulnerable super stone—just regular stone. The rock had sent a spider web of cracks through the thick stone of the floor.
I had a few options for repairs, and nothing would take effect until I confirmed, so I tried a few. First I tried imagining a supermaterial that couldn't be harmed in any way.
Error: Material doesn't exist
Alright, no dice there. Next, I tried to imagine the toughest material I could think of.
Error: Material types not unlocked for use
Missing material types: Diamond
Forcibly unlock material types?
Cost: 5 Gold
Ok, that wasn't going to happen anytime soon. Before, when I unlocked the torch materials, it had only cost 5 tin, but then I had to place the material, which was far ‘heavier' than dirt and wildly more expensive. Thinking of the equivalent cost in weight and mana coins for trying to build a diamond wall made me vaguely nauseous. Then I tried some other materials that I wasn't sure existed.
If Mithril was a thing, then why not other fantasy materials?
The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
Error: Material doesn't exist
Error: Material doesn't exist
Error: Material types not unlocked for use
Missing material types: Adamantite
Forcibly unlock material types?
Cost: 39 Gold
Error: Material doesn't exist
Error: Material types not unlocked for use
Missing material types: Magisteel
Forcibly unlock material types?
Cost: 87 Silver
Error: Material doesn't exist
Interesting, but not immediately useful. Before I moved on I tried one more as a joke, but it actually worked.
Missing material types: Unobtainium
Forcibly unlock material types?
Cost: 10,000 Mithril
That was a touch frightening; time to move on. I mended the cracks in the floor of the first room and double-checked that the rock trap was properly reset. Then I looked over the entire dungeon; it still wasn't much, but as time went on, this was becoming more and more of a home, and my weird zombie horde continued to grow.
Before confirming I remembered something that Lilith had said, I should be able to make a chest and mark it as the boss chest; that way it wouldn't just randomly appear and trip me when an invasion started.
After a bit more trial and error, I had made the smallest, most discreet ‘chest' I could manage and still link it as the boss chest. Under a fake, removable block in one of the walls of the boss room, was a small box that was fused with the floor preventing it from being carried away. On the top of the box was my best attempt at a combination lock. I had worked out a set of dials that had to be turned to the correct position for the box to open.
The dungeon somehow knew and spat out errors any time the boss chest was unreachable, impossible to open, too small, too large, or even in a position where I could make it impossible to reach. I’d had high hopes for the ‘push the boss chest into a hundred-foot-deep pit’ plan, but only so much rule-bending was tolerated.
Finally, I confirmed the renovations and winced at the cost. I was back down to just a single copper and ten tin… but that didn’t seem right. I had mana coins coming and going in a hurry all day, but I was short from where I should be.
“Hey Lilith, one more question.”
The dungeon crown sighed, tired of my antics for the day, “What now?”
“Why am I short... umm... twenty-eight tin?”
“You're not short; it's after midnight, and the minion's pay has been automatically taken.”
“Oh alright,” that still seemed off, but it wasn't much, and I probably just did my math wrong, “What do monsters use money for anyway?”
“Ask them; I don't know everything, and you're bothering me.”
I rolled my eyes; it wasn’t like the crown had a lot going on, but it wasn't worth arguing over. The monsters had all settled in, and I wasn't about to wake them, so I made my way to my own bed to make a second attempt at rest for the night.
I was shocked to not have been shocked awake. It turned out that while zombies didn't exactly sleep, there was something else they did do. After resting for a while, I had slipped into a blank-minded, unmoving state. I would call it sleep, but if I thought back, I could remember any given moment as I stared blankly at the ceiling; it had all just seemed to pass more quickly. My best approximation of a description would be ‘waking sleep.' Maybe this was what torpor felt like.
Most of the rest of the dungeon had already risen and began exploring my late-night changes. Geoff was trying on my different attempts at armor, Gale was playing with Terry and a squirrel with a ball that I had made for the younger minions, and Tessa was making use of a broom to sweep dust I hadn't noticed. All in all, the dungeon felt alive despite being occupied entirely by undead creatures. It felt… right.
Wait… Gale, Terry, and a squirrel playing with a ball?
“What's that?” I asked the tiny goblin.
“That's my friend; I named her Princess Acorn.”
The squirrel princess chattered angrily at Gale, and I took a closer look.
Name: Squirrely McSquirrel
Classification: Unknown Critter
Race: Squirrel
Level: 0
It was the same squirrel from before! Was the damn thing following me? Better question: how was it inside the dungeon? I quickly checked the door. None of the goblins were in stasis, but it shouldn't be possible for something living to enter without tripping the invasion warning. The door remained open.
The squirrel wasn't an invader then, but how was it inside the dungeon? Was it because it was a ‘Critter'? That didn't seem right; my sample size was admittedly limited, but so far anything alive was counted as an invader. Was it the level zero? That seemed more plausible, but also presented the possibility of someone with way too much time on their hands training a bunch of level zero rats or something to sneak into a dungeon and steal whatever loot wasn't nailed down.
Between that and the possibility of digging through a wall to bypass whatever traps a dungeon laid, it seemed like I didn't have a monopoly on exploiting loopholes.
Squirrely McSquirrel eyed the crown on my head, and I briefly wondered if he might be able to run a squirrel dungeon if he had found it first. Then I wondered what a squirrel dungeon would look like. Some sort of giant tree with storerooms for nuts?
I had to stifle a laugh when the staredown was broken by Gale, who sent the ball they had been playing with into the squirrel, completely blindsiding it and sending him sprawling. Gale desperately apologized to the ‘princess’ which infuriated the male squirrel even more, and he angrily chattered at the girl.
After walking around and taking in all of the different activities for a time I started to form a plan for the near future.
The trolls would likely notice their missing companions, and soon more would show up. Geoff hadn't counted the trolls that raided the goblin village, but the five that showed up were clearly only the tip of the iceberg. I needed to build some more defenses and scout out the trolls to find out their numbers at the very least. I wasn't able to leave the area of influence around the dungeon though, and it didn't take long to find that the influence only stretched a short distance beyond the original clearing.
One of the goblins would need to scout the trolls for me. I called Geoff over and explained the situation, and he nodded his understanding.
“That's not a problem,” Geoff grinned and ran off, quickly returning with another goblin in tow.
Name: Gabriel Livingston
Classification: Dungeon #32476 Monster
Race: Goblin Zombie
Level: 3
Gabriel seemed to have forgone the janky armor I had made, instead wearing a selection of simple brown clothing. The lack of armor seemed to be a sacrifice made at the altar of grace. Gabriel moved like a cat on the hunt.
Geoff gestured to the dangerous-looking goblin, “If you want a scout, Gabe is your goblin. He might not match a troll in a fight, but if there is anyone in this forest that can keep up with him, then I haven’t met them.”
I could believe it; even without seeing Gabriel in action, I could tell he was only ever a moment away from explosive movement. It made me wonder how Geoff and I had managed to catch and turn him; maybe we had been lucky and he was one of the ones that was trampled in the panic.
“So, do you know where the trolls come from?” I asked Gabriel.
The goblin shook his head, “No, not exactly. I know the direction, but not exactly where.”
Gabriel spoke as quietly as he moved and clipped his words off as if to try catching them before they escaped.
I shrugged, “Good enough, can you get eyes on their camp and bring me back a count and a better idea of where they are?”
“Yes.”
I wasn’t so sure about this plan, but we needed information more than anything.
“Take what you need and come back before dark.” I thought for a moment before adding, “If you can bait a weak monster or animal to follow you back here, that would be ideal.”
Gabriel didn't ask questions and didn't gather any supplies beyond what he carried; he just slunk off into the forest, where I immediately lost track of him.
Dungeon Minion detected leaving area of influence
Dungeon wave event started
Maximum cumulative level of minions in dungeon wave: 3
Cumulative level of minions in wave: 3
It was unfortunate that Gabriel maxed out the wave event, but I had known it would happen. I wanted to send a scout to spy on the trolls and then another goblin to bait an easy invasion so I could tier up, but Gabriel would have to serve the dual purpose.
That left me with two trolls and seven goblins to spend the day with without any real objective.
I tried to come up with something for them to do for a while but came up blank. Tessa ended up breaking me out of my thoughts.
“Mr. Rob, I would like to set up jobs for the minions; is that ok with you?”
Was she offering to solve my problem on her own?
“Uh sure, call everyone over and... I’ll watch and... offer suggestions?”
Tessa smiled knowingly; the sight was very discomforting as the troll's wide mouth stretched even further beyond what seemed possible. Soon the goblins and Terry were all grouped up in front of Tessa and myself, awaiting their tasks.
Tessa was an impressive leader. She quickly worked out each of the minions' capabilities and interests. The ‘jobs' she gave them were mostly busy work, but in the future, this might be a necessary foundation to build off. There was no telling how large and complex the dungeon might get, and having experienced workers couldn't be a bad thing.
Geoff was appointed leader of the goblins and chief advisor. Having an advisor seemed extraneous with only ten minions, but Tessa explained that it would be smart to have an advisor from each different species of monster, and it might not be important at ten minions but a thousand would be impossible to manage on my own. For the time being, Geoff would supervise the other goblins and act as a liaison that the other goblins would be more comfortable talking to and making suggestions to.
Gina was appointed dungeon doctor. In the tribe, before they had been raided, Gina was the healer. For goblins, that only meant knowing how to clean and wrap wounds, but that was one hell of a step up from the average. I had seen a goblin accidentally cut their hand on one of my poorly made weapons. The goblin decided to take care of the wound themselves and literally rubbed dirt on it. I would have stepped in, but as a zombie, they shouldn’t be in danger of getting infections.
Gregory became the smith. Tessa had extracted a promise from me to make a proper forge according to Gregory's specifications once we had the rooms available. Everyone was tired of using my crappy weapons, and apparently, even this goblin without magic dungeon powers could do a better job.
Gerald looked as young as Gale but was given a job all the same. He became head of entertainment. The minions were mostly locked up within the dungeon territory and had little to nothing to occupy themselves, so Tessa decided, and I agreed, that we should have someone actively coming up with interesting things for them to do to pass the time.
Gabriel was absent, but Gabrielle spoke up for her brother, and it was decided that the pair of them would be hunters and scouts. Zombies didn't need food, and I could make clothes that satisfied all the basic requirements of being clothing, namely covering the body and keeping bugs and dirt off. That being said, it would be cheaper for me if the goblins could supply their clothes as well as weapons. Not to mention I intended to recruit monsters other than zombies at some point, and they would need food, probably.
Gary became a trainer. When Tessa mentioned training, I asked how monsters leveled in the first place. If it were a game, we should all have gained some levels from fighting the trolls, but not a single level had been gained. Tessa explained that monsters could level by expending mana coins, and the reason no one had leveled yet was two-fold. The dungeon had a max minion level, but every one of the minions already met or exceeded that maximum, and so wouldn't be able to level until the dungeon did, and the cost to level was high even at level one. The trainer job was more of a traditional trainer. Gary would be expected to make sure everyone knew how to fight, which was not something levels alone could do.
Gale was the goblin I was most interested in, and her job assignment did not disappoint. She became the trap master. She was to spend her time thinking up and either building or drawing up plans for me to build traps. It was known that traps were a thing in the dungeon and that things like our rockfall didn't count for various reasons. So she would be working on traps that were classified as traps for when they were unlocked, but also traps that didn't count as traps. Even when the traps were unlocked, it was likely that they would be restricted in some way, like everything else was, so it would be useful to have a selection of non-trap traps even then.
Terry was given the job of janitor. I was skeptical of this job's usefulness more than any other, but Tessa had been a superhero when it came to delegation, and I didn't dare challenge her decision when it came to her son. Terry would be responsible for day-to-day cleaning, as well as fetching water from the well and generally being helpful to the others as best he could.
Tessa herself was going to be in a manager/monster-resources/supervisor/advisor/mother role for the dungeon. Based on what she had told me, trolls were very social creatures, and she had been in a similar role with her tribe before her memories went foggy.
That reminded me of the strangeness surrounding the trolls and their memories. It was another thing on the list of things to be wary of and investigate if possible.
The next crisis was at least polite enough to wait until we had finished our big employment meeting. As we dispersed to take on our various jobs, a message popped up.
Dungeon wave complete
Calculating results…
Adventurers slain: 0
Monsters slain: 0
Damage taken: 50
Damage dealt: 13
Minions slain: 1
Loot lost: Low-quality clothing, Low-quality knife
Loot gained: none
Wave duration: 3:01:17
Wave penalty: 20 tin
Loot value: none
Gabriel died?
