The Tower in the Shadows

Returning to awareness after my level-up should have been a happy thing, even with the hangover-like effects, but I was still pissed and it made it worse.

"OK. Breathe, calm down and focus."

There was much to do, like checking the level-up effects and finishing the 2nd floor.

“Status screen. Bhaldor.”

Name

Bhaldor

Essence

0%

Race

Dungeon Core

CP

217(300) /2.5 phr

Level

3

Corruption

0%

Floors

3

Health

100%

Mana Stored

Illusion – 21(60) / 0.01 phr.

Shadow – 60(60) / 1.1 phr.

There were only two sections with changes, but they gave me a lot to think about.

"Right, let's see….. The new floor is great, but I have no clue what to do with it yet. The CP amount and regen increased and I'm happy about that. Illusion and Shadow mana also increased. It looks like I have been out for about 50 hours again. 83 CP lost to respawn costs…. do not cry!"

Inspecting my core revealed that it was twice the size of when I first arrived. The specks of pink and grey light were now easily seen motes.

"Good progress. I need to finish the 2nd floor after a dungeon inspection."

Being unaware for fifty hours was a recipe for things going wrong.

"Note to self: check dungeon automatically after each level-up."

Yeah, that was a good habit to get into.

Travelling around the Dungeon took little time and I checked off things from a mental list as I went.

Is the surface building intact? Check.

Larry present? Check.

The external door and shutters are closed and locked. Check. Spring is here now and I feel plants growing up on my exterior walls.

1st floor wasps and traps ready. Check.

Everything was back in place on the floor. I moved down to the 2nd. The last two books were still lying on the ground here.

"To absorb or not to absorb, that is the question…….. what are the titles anyway?"

Looking at them, I discovered an interesting fact. I could not read the language in which they were written!

"Fuck! OK, the answer is absorb. There might be something useful in them."

The first book was absorbed and the information slammed into my mind.

It was an index identifying local plants found in the eastern regions in and around the Shadow Way mountains and their uses. This triggered an alert.

Alert!

Nyralia's Gift seed x1 (Common). They are used to create alchemic compounds for health restoration.

Blue Orchid seed x1 (Common). They are used to create alchemic compounds for mana restoration.

Spring Daisy seed x1 (Common). They are used to create alchemic compounds for stamina restoration.

Moonflower seed x1 (Rare). They are used to create alchemic compounds for regenerative effects.

I knew more than the alert was telling me. The first three are respectable plants sought after by alchemists. They make up the essential elements of many potions, tonics, or whatever the alchemist in question has created. The Moonflower, now that's the money shot—alchemists' hunger for this little baby.

"Score!"

It appears that letting that pixie go had paid me back big time!

"Options! How can I use them?"

The flowers played on my mind as I checked in on the toads and the grass cover platforms. All were doing well, bringing me to the final room, which had its boss. Along the way, I checked the four traps placed on the floor. Looking around, I felt something was missing in the boss's room. The exit door was finished and tested. The boss was sitting on its grassy platform, waiting for action.

"Status screen. 2nd floor guardian."

Name

2nd Floor Guardian

Level/Class

Floor 2 Boss

Race

Greater Toad (Dungeon)

Essence

0%

Health

100/100

Mana

20/20

Stamina

80/80

Corruption

0%

STR

6

6 Damage Base

DEX

3

AGL

4

END

8

VIT

10

PER

4

INT

2

WIL

2

LUCK

2

Skills:

Leap: 1 – 0% (4 meters. END +2 impact damage) Cost: 4 Stamina

Toad Roar: 1 – 0% (10% chance of causing Fear debuff.)

Equipment:

Barb Tongue: Dam 5 + STR Range: 2.5 meters

Perks/Restrictions:

Vulnerable to fire: +2 Fire damage.

"A lot tougher than the others. It has a better range but is vulnerable to fire. Makes sense."

So, what should I add to this room?

……….

"Flowers? No, a flower. But which one and where?"

I created a large flower bed on the other side of the room, away from the entrance next to the exit. It was half a meter wide and deep and ran the length of the room. It was quickly filled with earth and manure, with a broad sprinkling of grass and Nyralia's Gift seeds.

The floor boss looked on with no interest in the changes to its room.

"Right. Should be growing in a few days."

Watching the two young men who entered my 1st floor, I realised something had been forgotten. There was no light! I could see everything in perfect detail, but I was remiss because they could not.

"How to remedy this?"

I could have torches around each floor lit, but it would be costly for CP to replace them constantly. I could be evil and leave the floors as they are and have them stumble around in the dark.

"Leave them for the moment."

The second floor is finished. Now I have to start planning the third. Since I had nothing to populate, I absorbed the last book.

## ## ## ## ##

"So, in this world, the Gods are organised into a pyramid-like structure. They are organised into five tiers."

Larry was in the entry room rafters, doing his best to ignore me. The pain of the info dump was gone and I was dealing with what I knew now.

"Oda is the God of Balance like he told me and head of the Pantheon, but he is also the guardian of time. Making him the only tier one." He turned around and showed me his back, but I continued. "Remember that boy asking Tan to save him? Well, it turns out that Tan is the God of the Sea. This makes sense as he was a sailor that he would call on the God of the Sea for protection."

Larry's ears twitch, but still, he ignores me. I opened the main door again and had the wine lure/trap set up again.

"Nyralia is the Goddess of Nature. According to the books I absorbed, the flower I planted was a gift from her to the world's population. She is in the second tier."

He started scratching an ear but was still lying with his back to me.

"Remember those two weirdos with the pixie? Well, they spoke about Hylonia's kiss. This is tied to the God/Goddess Hylonia, who holds the mantles of pleasures, selflessness and excess…… Shit! I forgot to tell you about mantles! Gods can die or step down and their mantle/mantles are up for grabs. So, anyone can ascend to divinity if their level is high enough."

Larry was not interested, but I was, so I kept going.

"Hylonia is in the fourth tier. The description differs but is mainly that of a male with female attributes or traits….."

Larry suddenly perked up and got onto his hunches. His ears are twitching and he is tense.

"What do you hear?"

My attention changed and focused on the open door. What has he noticed? I could not see beyond the doorway, as everything was distorted and monochromatic. But I could see that something was there—not several things.

Thankfully, it did not take too long to find out what was out there as one entered my entry room.

Alert!

A Black Boar has entered your Dungeon.

The boar was big, rough and mean-looking. It was sniffing around, snorting as it inspected things. Pigs and boars are excellent scavengers, so it is looking for food. It heavily outmasses all my minions but the 2nd-floor guardian. Its hide looks tough and several scars are long on its back. The two tusks protruding from its mouth look like they can do some nasty damage.

I want one!

"How the hell are we going to deal with you?"

Larry was looking over the room and checking out the intruder. I wondered about sending him in. No, that will be a disaster. He turned in my direction with a look that said, "Don't even think about it!".

The boar was sniffing and grunting around the table. The wine and plate were on it and I think that is what attracted it into the room. It spent a few seconds more sniffing but then moved on. OK, not that.

The door leading to the tower base and the stairwell down was open. The boar was slowly moving in its direction now, sniffing everything that caught its attention.

"What are you looking for?"

It looked up and sniffed the air and began moving with more vigour and purpose. It passed the doorway and started down the stairs. I went with it. It had caught the scent of something and was following it. Larry opted to remain where he was.

We passed the first floor and went straight down to the second. The boar moved down the corridor to the door that led from the boss's room. Here, it stopped, sniffing and clawing at the ground under the reinforced wooden door. Reviewing the contents of the room, I had only one idea.

"The flowers?"

Several had grown and flowered faster than the grass, checking on the room's flower tray. I counted eight in total. The boar was getting agitated by the sound of it as the stone was not relenting. Then silence.

"That can't be good."

Bang!

"What the hell?"

The boar had taken several steps back and rammed the door!

It trotted back and charged again.

Bang!

The door rattled from the impact. The guardian turned around to face the other door, attracted by the noise. The boar was pulling back again. This time, it went further than before….right into the first room and fell backwards into the water. It was not deep, but the two toads were not impressed.

As the boar got back to its feet, they attacked. Their tongues began slamming into the boar. Bars appear above them. The fight was on!

The boar turned and charged the closest toad. The water proved little impediment. It slammed into the toad with its tusks ripping through its body. My poor minion's red health bar drains frighteningly fast.

"Shit!"

The second toad leapt at the boar from the raised area, colliding and knocking it over. The green bar was decreasing. Its companion was dead. The toad was on top of the boar, using its weight to hold its head in the water. The boar had other ideas and was thrashing about throwing the toad off it. As soon as it was on its feet, my other minion was dispatched with a brutal attack.

The fight was over, but it took the boar a few seconds to realise it. It snorted and stomped around. It stopped and began sniffing the air again. Climbing out, it charged the door again.

Bang!

Then again.

Bang!

And again. And again.

This went on for a good five minutes. The door was giving way as the boar relentlessly pummelled it. There was blood on the door and boar's face now. The floor boss just sat there and watched it all happen. As did I. The sheer unrelenting pig headiness was both impressive and shocking at the same time. The pun was not intentional.

The lower half of the door ultimately gave way. The boar crashed through and fell straight into the water again. Metal parts of the door cut it more as it forced its way through. My floor boss engaged it. It did not move as its tongue was well within reach. Injuries were all across its back and legs.

The boar got back to its feet after a barrage of tongue strikes. The boar's hide was tough and it was taking the punishment. The boar charged my toad, jumping up onto the platform.

"Shit, not again!"

The boss had other ideas as it leapt and collided with the boar as it landed. The boar fell back into the water, but the red and green bars fell on my toad. The tongue was quickly back in action.

Clambering back to its feet, the boar was annoyed, sounding grunting. More injuries were slowly being added to its body. Blood was leaking into the water, discolouring it slowly.

This was intense!

The boar attacked again, but my toad had a height advantage.

The tongue and tusks were used to trade blows. The red bar was falling fast. My boss leapt again right on top of the boar, knocking it down with its weight. The boar was struggling, being drowned under the boss. It managed to knock it off and both needed to get back into position to attack. The combatants were both looking worse for wear.

"Come on!"

The boar was staggering. Two more tongue strikes landed before the boar rallied and attacked again. My boss leapt up and came down onto the boar. The boar collided with my boss as its tongue wrapped around its neck. The boss's red health bar emptied and it died. But it was still latched on to the boar and its weight dragged it down into the water. The boar thrashed about, unable to escape the tongue and dead weight.

I watched as it struggled, getting weaker from slowly being drowned.

Alert!

A Black Boar has died in your Dungeon.

Essence Gained!

Creature Design Gained – Black Boar.

"Bloody Hell! That was close."

My Dungeon began resetting—the door I had to replace. Everything was back in place in less than five minutes. I locked the entry room door, not wanting to attract any more boars.

"Let's see Daddy's new toy..... Wait, no. I will build the third floor first. Yes, plan that and match the boars to it."

Right planning mode. Another environmental change, I think. But what?

First things first, build the stairwell down.

My CP level was nearly full so that I could get to work. Starting to expand downwards but stopped.

"Hang on, why am I still shaping my aura? It should be safe now, as I am nowhere near the surface."

Pushing my aura out without moulding it to the planned room was easy. I covered ground faster without the additional cost of using the skill. My aura expanded out and down until it reached a point where I could not expand down any further.

"Must be the floor limit."

That was the only thing that came to mind. Feeling around the limit, I did not notice anything. Well, here comes the stairwell. Its construction netted me something new as I absorbed a large vein of something.

Materials Absorbed:

Stone – Granite (common)

Quartz (uncommon)

"Ooh! Two for one."

I have no idea what to do with these just yet. Back to expanding.

I was travelling out in all the cardinal directions until I reached the rough size of the floor I wanted.

"Time to make some rooms!"

There are no corridors on this floor. As for the environment, I am thinking of grasslands. There was a lot of unused space on the first floor, but it showed me that I could make large areas.

The stairwell was created, and the room was opened shortly after. Making sure that the air currents kept the essence moving around, I got Larry to transport my core to its new hiding place and got to work.