CONQUEST: The Dungeon Core Gambit Book One (SAMPLE)

Chapter 3

The dungeon core awoke. To his surprise, there was a LOT of empty space around him now. However, he felt his core was still embedded in the rocks, untouched. Jessica!

Displaying an unexpected burst of speed, the small faery zoomed right up to him. "You called, master?" The helper offered a mischievous smile and a curtsy.

How long was I asleep?

"Maybe ten hours?"

What! You should have woke me up!

"But master! You never asked me to! And I didn't want to upset you by disturbing your sleep." Jessica looked down timidly at her forefingers, which were touching lightly. She didn't like to upset him. A dungeon core and a dungeon faery had a harmonious relationship similar to a marriage. She was making too many mistakes already!

Markos sighed. I apologize. I should have asked you to set an alarm for me. Anyway, please give me an update.

"Aye-aye, sir!" Jessica saluted and opened the UI. It showed:

Name: Markos Turloch

Class: Dungeon Core, Level 2

Experience: 1,000/3,000

Helper: Jessica, Dungeon Faery

Health: 600/600

Mana: 145/600

Domain: 1,000 square feet, 1,000 units available

Minions: 0/1

Keeper Abilities: Convert raw materials, Create walls

"Congratulations on reaching Level 2!" The faery clapped her hands enthusiastically.

Markos reviewed the screen carefully. The dungeon core took note of "0/1" next to Minions. What does the "1" to the right of "Minions" mean?

"You get one minion for every two Levels you possess. Because you reached Level 2, you can create and control 1 minion. But since minions can cost a lot of mana to create, I suggest that you delay creating a minion for now."

Markos looked at his paltry 600 mana pool and agreed. Why do I need 2,000 experience points to reach Level 3?

"Because the Gods believe you should overcome greater challenges to advance further," Jessica replied.

Markos rolled his eyes metaphysically. He did not encounter any Gods when his soul left Earth and arrived in this new world, whatever it was called. Frankly, he was chagrined at learning the existence of Gods here. But this was a line of inquiry for another day. So if I understand your rationale correctly, I will need 3,000 XP to reach Level 4 and then 4,000 XP to hit Level 5?

"Correct!" Jessica nodded happily. "Master, you are so smart!" she praised him.

The dungeon core was worried. He was still defenseless and a sitting duck if anyone discovered his core. Markos was hoping level advancement would be easy. Apparently, the Gods of this world had a different philosophy. But he had no time to worry about the unfairness of the advancement system. Instead, he had to focus on what he could do to defend himself. Can I use the 1,000 units of raw material to build my dungeon right now?

"You sure can!" his helper nodded enthusiastically. She was dying to create something with the raw material. She held her hands together. "Should we start building the walls now?" she asked.

Before I give you the order, I have a few questions. How do I decide where to put up the walls? And how do I change the dungeon if I don't like it?

His faery nodded. "These are very good questions, master. Normally, I would create the design and submit it to you for approval via our mental link. You can then review my design and offer any revisions you like. Once the walls are built, you can deconstruct them back into raw materials at any time and then make another dungeon."

Does it cost mana to deconstruct a wall?

"Yes, it does. Initially, it would cost 1 mana to deconstruct 1 square foot of a wall. But as your level increases, the cost will be reduced."

But the penalty for making a bad dungeon is still too high! Right now, my limited mana pool is turning into a bottleneck in creating my dungeon.

"Master, you can convert your health into mana on a 1-to-1 basis."

Markos wished he could facepalm. You didn't tell me this before!

"Oops! I forgot!" The faery hit herself on the head.

What's the rate of health regeneration?

"Like mana, it's also 1 health per minute."

How fast can I create my dungeon?

"It's instantaneous," she smiled.

Seriously?

"Yup!" Jessica nodded.

Wow! That's good to know. So I could basically bank my raw materials and simply create walls whenever intruders appear.

The faery shook her head. "While that's true, your senses aren't very sharp and you can't see very far because you lack eyes. By the time you see an adventurer standing before you, it may be too late to create walls to protect yourself."

Can't I simply make a wall appear on top of the adventurer and kill him?

Jessica shook her head again. "No. The spot where you create a dungeon wall cannot be occupied by a living creature. The Gods have forbidden this."

Damn it! Markos wished he had a human body so that he could slam a fist on the table. Or at least snap his fingers. He looked at his UI again. The first thing he needed to do was to increase his mana pool. At this juncture, there was no getting around exchanging health for mana. But he needed to ask something related first. Will I feel pain if I convert my health to mana?

The helper gave the core an apologetic look. "I don't know, master."

Markos did a metaphysical eye roll. Let's just do it. Please convert 200 health.

"Yes, sir!" the faery saluted.

Markos immediately felt a pounding headache. Fortunately, the pain was tolerable. Seeing the question on Jessica's face, the dungeon core responded. Yes, it hurts.

"Sorry."

It's fine. I want to create a wall to protect my core and block it from view. But I also want to spend only the minimal amount of raw materials in doing so. What do you suggest?

Jessica tilted her head from side to side. "Hmm. Probably the most basic thing you could do is to create a thick wall directly in front of you. I think six feet should cover your core nicely."

If I do that, wouldn't my eyesight be blocked?

The faery giggled. "I'm sorry, master. I didn't mean to laugh at you. Since you are a dungeon core, you don't have eyes to see anything. Instead, you see through the detection of life energy. So you can still see perfectly fine even with a wall in front of your core."

Life energy? What if an undead appears in my dungeon? How will I detect it?

"Undead carry un-life energy, which you can still detect just fine," she reassured him.

Okay. Please go ahead and create a six feet wall in front of me. After that, I want you to continue converting the rocks into the raw materials in allotments of 100 units. Also, whenever my health is completely regenerated, I want you to convert 200 health to mana. Hopefully, I will be asleep when that happens and I won't feel the pain again. If any creature invades my dungeon, please wake me up immediately. Should I repeat my order?

"Not necessary, master!" Jessica saluted. The faery flew away.

Alone again, Markos took another nap.