CONQUEST: The Dungeon Core Gambit Book One (SAMPLE)

Chapter 4

Markos regained his consciousness and uttered one word mentally: Jessica!

The summoned faery's wings fluttered like a butterfly. She passed through the stone wall and appeared before the dungeon core. "Yes, master?"

How long did I sleep?

The helper touched her chin with a finger. "Maybe 30 hours?"

What! Why didn't you wake me?

"Master, your specific instruction was to wake you immediately if any creature invades your dungeon. Fortunately, that hasn't happened yet and I decided to let you sleep longer," she explained.

Biting back his retort, Markos summoned the UI to get an update:

Name: Markos Turloch

Class: Dungeon Core, Level 3

Experience: 4,630/6,000

Helper: Jessica, Dungeon Faery

Health: 600/800

Mana: 545/800

Domain: 4,600 square feet, 4,584 units available

Minions: 0/1

Keeper Abilities: Convert raw materials,

Create walls, Befriend creatures

Markos tried to scratch the back of his head but remembered that he no longer had limbs. While he was pleased that he had gained a level during his sleep, he was also disappointed at the fact that it took him 30 hours to do. There had to be a way to increase his dungeon level faster! Markos pushed the thought aside and focused on something else. Can you explain why I have 4,630 XP right now?

"Certainly," Jessica nodded. "When you fell asleep, you had 1,000 XP. You gained 30 XP from creating six square feet of wall, or 5 XP per unit of a wall created. You were asleep for 30 hours. That generated 1,800 each in mana and health. I used them to convert 3,600 units of raw materials and that resulted in 3,600 XP. And this was enough to advance to Level 3. Congratulations!" The faery applauded.

The dungeon core listened carefully to the explanation. Something she mentioned caught his attention! Hold on a moment. I get 5 XP for every square foot of wall I create?

"That's correct!" the helper nodded enthusiastically.

HAHAHAHAHAHA! The dungeon core started laughing like a maniac. This was fantastic! The former human smelled a cheat in the system! With great effort, Markos suppressed his laughter. Do I gain any experience from the deconstruction of a wall?

"Nope," Jessica shook her head.

No matter. Markos realized that by continuously converting his surroundings into raw materials and then building walls, he could easily gain experience and increase his level. The only bottleneck was his mana pool. Is there another source of energy I could use besides my health or mana to power my dungeon keeper abilities?

"Sure!" the faery nodded. "If there is a lava flow or geothermal heating vent or underground stream nearby, you could tap into it for energy in place of mana."

Is there anything like that nearby?

The helper closed her eyes for a moment and then reopened them. "Not that I could tell," Jessica replied with a soft shake of her head.

We've been digging our surroundings for the raw materials. Have we been digging laterally on the same plane?

"Yes," she nodded.