Trash Mountain Dungeon

I decided to choose the mechanical enhancement, which I would use on the spiders that guard my front door, what had resulted from it though, was both great and bad. The spiders themselves had gained the power to control metal albeit not well, and they used that power to control their puppets, this gave them better control over them and allowed the spiders to use the full weight of their puppets without risking their strings. Additionally, a pleasant surprise was that I had gained not one but two new blueprints from it all, the first was the previously mentioned [Ferrofluid lake], a trap that used the funny metal fluid that responds to magnetic fields, and an evolved spider monster call the [Rust Trapper] a large but delicate monster that used metal string it produced to form various traps or better enable existing ones.

The great from this was self-evident then, an upgrade to my front line and two new blueprints to include in my plans, but this also came with problems from outside the dungeon. The army that had set shop some distance outside my dungeon was making quick progress on establishing a solid camp for themselves, felling trees and clearing rocks for their operation. Furthermore, they had also begun to send teams to the first floor, for what purpose I couldn't tell, they spoke little and did little, but thankfully my first floor proved more dangerous than they could handle seeing as most left all black and blue, with the deepest any of them getting to being the golem room before turning tail when a shifty fellow nearly got his arm ripped off. Despite the intrusions though, I was benefiting from their efforts, I was gaining mana and even a couple of DP, at an unusually high rate compared to the last few weeks.

This, of course, led to the current problem I'm facing, how do I address the situation, with only a few mech-hounds left and two solid lines for defense, the best I could do was turtle down and weather anything they threw at me, this brought me to the choice of what unique monster to use, the elite, despite being uncontrollable, could provide a non-static variable in my defense despite the lack of control I would have over it. The loot goblin would lure people into dangerous situations, possibly even distract them from the true threat within the rooms, but if it was killed then the invaders could gain a significant power boost. Finally, the merchant, this option presents an opportunity for diplomacy as well as trade, of course, I could always use its poisoned selection to kill any representative they bring, maybe their leader if I'm lucky, or I could use their helpful selection to form a real partnership with these people.

Another thing to consider is my near completion of the requirements for level three of my core, another level would mean another floor of protection and production, I learned of this just yesterday while looking over the daily goings on of the dungeon and the army outside.

Level 3 Core Requirements

Build 10 Rooms (10/10)

Place a structure in every current room (1/1)

Acquire and spend two unique points/exotic materials (1/2) *

Create a mixed monster room (1/1)

Kill or aid a sentient being (349/1)

*Other unique points/items/materials exist but will only be displayed when discovered.

Most of the requirements were very easy, but the three things that drew my attention the most were that more 'points' I guess I could call them existed out there in the world, points or materials that I could use to my benefit, with the problem being that I had no easy way of getting them to me or me to them. The other issue was that I had killed a sentient being, which given the numbers pointed toward the Greebles being the sentients, was a dubious statement I'd say, but the fact of the matter is that the system considers them smart enough to be classified as sentient. Now I wasn't about to sympathize with the little buggers, they attacked my home and I had them killed for it, with some help, but it will make things significantly more complex and, uncomfortable if I have to actively be killing people to get further. But it said to kill or aid, so it's thankfully not a one-or-the-other situation if the system asks me for higher numbers next time, I could choose how to deal with people next time.

Thinking back to the first level up and the rewards, the resource increases along with the wormhole room acting as a supplemental source made affording almost everything I would need a breeze to buy, the biggest limiting factor being that I had only so many rooms to work with and limited slots within those rooms. Additionally, I was able to unlock my ratkin with the level-up, a crucial monster in my defenses, and likely in the far future, it was entirely possible I could get something just as good if not better, costs notwithstanding. Who knows what I could unlock next, not even factoring in how my unique monster could further enable more experimentation with rooms and monsters, even if I couldn't control it the elite could prove vital, and the loot goblin could give my forces the leeway to dominate every intrusion, or maybe even the merchant could help me get some good shit from the outside.

Cooling myself, I still needed to get to that point, first and foremost I would need to address the unique monster option, how exactly do I create one, is it like normal?

Partially, a unique monster requires a unique point to be made, however, no other resources or requirements exist as the unique monster will be produced by the system.

So you'll make an actual monster then, willing to share that list?

For the price of 1 DP

Rather greedy for a probably divine intelligence, sigh, just take my money.

Horned Rat "Roaming Elite"

A shard of an idea, this mystical ratkin blurs the lines between science, engineering, and plague as it wanders the halls of the dungeon, ever vigilant for foes.

Cannot Be directly controlled.

Can be directly communicated with.

Unlocks the [Biomech Critters] pack, unlocking multiple mixed biological and mechanical critters.

Uses mechanical weaponry and plague sorcery.

Ratkin upgrades apply to this monster.

Sp88D Bot "Loot Goblin"

A small automaton that carries a pack full of rare treasures, it can reach impressive speeds and only gets faster the deeper into the dungeon it gets.

Has an assortment of agility and evasion-focused abilities.

Unlocks the [Tinfoil Critters] pack, granting multiple mechanical critters.

The items carried will change based on what the rarest non-crystal item is.

Mechanical monster upgrades apply to this monster.

Super Mart "Merchant"

A small mercantile alcove that can provide either banes or boons. Their inventory is adjustable as well as the prices. Capable of communication with any intelligent creature. They are capable of buying things from invaders, at a mostly fair price.

The merchant itself will be a doppelganger.

Their items cannot be stolen unless affected by unique abilities.

Immune to most forms of damage but is incapable of fighting back.

The 'shop' can be placed in any connecting area of the dungeon, the area will be expanded accordingly to accommodate them.

Receives no upgrades.

I'm not entirely convinced the point was well spent, but it is starting to turn the gears in my head. Despite the odd familiarity of the [Horned Rat], it was a strong choice that also gave me more critters to work with on top of being really strong sounding. The [sp88d bot] was iffy in my opinion but I was open to the idea, as my dungeon got deeper and more dangerous the use of a monster luring greedy people further in was appealing, if rather bloody, the biggest downside seemed to be that it might attract the wrong crowd to me. Finally, the [Super Mart] was more interesting than I thought, it didn't need a room to be made and it was a combo, both a storefront and the merchant to tend to it, and depending on how it would present itself the banes could be useful, for me that is not for them, also assuming we could even convince idiots to buy probably dangerous stuff.

My thinking was interrupted though, I could hear loud marching outside the dungeon, and a look showed me that something important was going on outside, the soldiers I had been checking on the past few days were in full uniform and armor, leather freshly treated and those with metal armor had it polished to a near-shine. Once they finished assembling a small group walked forward, the soldiers lined up in formation to their left and right, it was the demon guy and his brother, along with some other wizard-looking people, ahead of them a mousey-looking fellow with a scroll began speaking.

"A message to the unnamed dungeon from his grace, heir to the great Nightingale family, Arthur Nightingale."

He pauses for a moment, then continues.

"We the men and women of the Nightingales have been tasked by the lord of these lands to secure the new dungeon, however, as you have exhibited, and we have discovered, you have reached full personhood, and thus we are willing to parlay with you in light of your aid of Edward Night, we ask that you provide a conduit through which we may commune, the lord Arthur and his chosen entourage will enter your demesne and speak with your representative. The lord and his chosen shall enter your domain tomorrow morning after they have broken their fast."

Closing his scroll, he began to, silently, pant at his long-winded message.

The camp then slowly returned to their usual state of daily tasks and duties, the so-named lord Arthur and Edward the demon guy quietly conversed where they were before returning to wherever they were usually.

This changed things and made them significantly more complex. I'm not sure how they figured out that I was smarter than your average magic crystal ball, but now that they did it would lead to the bane of my and many others' lives, politics. So now I have to consider that on top of all my other concerns, for both the unique and all my future choices. Well, I know my options and I have the variables laid out, just what will I choose to do?