Valknar
patreon
Chapter 133
🕑 Added 2025-05-06 17:26:02 +0000 UTCAuthors note - The chapter is early as I am away tomorrow.
The Dungeon had repaired the doors, signalling its victory.
The city was not taking that as a given. The Dungeon's aura had been scanned several times to ensure the energies within were the same and stable. All reports were positive, and the city let out a breath they were collectively holding.
Ranus was forced to face the cost in lives as the Dungeon was inspected.
Averance and Doltum had returned, reporting the destruction of the pack survivors. Several more were wounded, but nothing like what had happened on the wall.
The wall was where the cost had been the highest. Thirty-seven deaths. Twenty among the Watch and adventurers made up the rest. Many of the wounded were infected, but they had all been treated, and it was reported that none were risking the spreading of the plague. They would all be free from the Temple of Ilinia soon.
Still, all the deaths weighed heavily on him.
He knew it was part of being the Lord of this land, but his conscience still did not let him rest easy with this knowledge.
The death dues have been approved and will be sent to the families of those who died in service to the city. This exhausted the silver he had built up, as he used it to treat the infected and kill those fully taken. He was even forced to dip into his platinum reserve. Ultimately, he felt no regrets doing this, as those who had died had earned what little he could give them.
A strange quiet had settled over the city after the battle.
Everyone was collectively saying to themselves that the storm had come, and we had weathered it. But in their hearts, they knew that the storm would come again and again. Such was life, with both its wonder and brutality.
The celebration victories did not start until the night. Along with the victory came the development from their actions and the ability to walk along their Paths. Many were drunk and celebrating being alive and the advancements they had made. If they were honest, most would be celebrating a combination of the two.
Several days later, the city had returned to a sense of normality.
It felt like he was the only one who had not.
Ranus sat at his desk, looking at the reports and messages he needed to handle, and felt nothing.
He had not been working to his usual level, and the amount of vellum and paper in front of him had only increased.
The door to the room suddenly flew open, and he jumped slightly in surprise.
Averance swept into the room, quickly followed by an apologising Naru. The other woman ignored his receptionist and strode straight over to the desk, sitting across from him.
“It's alright, Naru,” Ranus told the flustered woman. She calmed at his words and nodded, leaving the room, but she gave the other woman a dirty look as she closed the door.
“How can I help you today, High Guild Master Averance?” He asked the strange woman sitting across from him.
“I am here to give you a message, " she told him, looking at him with her strange violet eyes, which always unsettled him a bit.
“Which is?” He asked after a few moments of her not continuing.
“Stop the pity party you're in and get your bloody job done.”
“Err…. I'm sorry, what?” Ranus blinked several times, trying to understand her words.
“Exactly what I said. Everyone sees that you're having a pity party for yourself after the battle. Stop it and get back to work.” She was not sarcastic or aggressive; her tone was calm but sounded a bit bored.
“I believe that is somewhat insulting to my position, High Guild Master Averance,” Ranus replied, slightly flustered and insulted by her words.
“Boy, I'm older than you. I've seen more battles and terrible days than you've seen months in your lifetime. You did well. You never hid from your responsibilities and prepared your city for what was coming. If you hadn't, the death toll would have been far worse, so get out of your pity party and get back to work.” With that, she got up and walked straight out of the room. She left the door wide open as she exited the building.
Her words cut through the fog of negativity in his mind. He was annoyed at her but realised she was telling him the truth. He had nothing else to do, so he got back to work.
## ## ## ## ##
“Werewolf Abomination.”
That is what attacked my dungeon, using the pack of non-twisted werewolves to attack the city to cover its assault. That spoke of intelligence and the ability to plan. From what I could see of the designs, the werewolf part came up with these. I doubted the goat devised a strategy, though the man could have. Thinking back over the battle, I wasn't sure if he was even aware or conscious of what was happening; he was acting on instinct.
It was a werewolf that was merged with a man and a goat.
How? I had absolutely no idea.
When it died, I gained the ability to create werewolves. I had also gained the ability to create abominations.
But that was not all.
This abomination had an ability which I had also gained: regeneration.
I had looked into this ability quite extensively over the last few days. It was what had driven the abomination forward through injuries that should have killed it. Its stats were less than Krags's, and he should have won that fight. It was this ability that allowed it to overcome him in the end.
How it works is very simple. The more damage the creature with the ability takes, the more stamina it burns to heal itself. There was, however, a downside: if their stamina is exhausted, the healing starts to cause damage instead. This was a double-edged sword of an ability; as if used on a creature with great stamina, it would keep them in a battle for much longer. But if the fight lasted too long, the ability would ultimately be what killed it.
This ability was what the steam coming off the abomination's body was while it was fighting. The thicker the steam, the more the ability worked and drained the stamina of the attacker.
I had been thinking about integrating this new ability into my plans.
The werewolf design was quite decent. Individually, they were dangerous, but working as a pack, they were far more lethal. I was committed to the following two floors and my plans for them. After that, we will wait and see.
As to the abomination.
I was strangely unsettled by this. I could take parts and abilities from any of my minions and integrate them into my designs to make new ones to inhabit my floors. This was very similar and yet so much more disturbing.
How it worked was I took millions that had been created and then triggered disability to create an abomination and merge them, and see what happens. No thought and no planning, slap them together and hope for the best.
In theory, I could end up with a complete disaster or possibly the most dangerous monster ever created in the dungeon.
Looking over the ability to create abominations again, my feelings turned to disgust. I was pretty proud of what I had made and how I created them; this was just a cheap knockoff of everything I had done.
Yet looking at it more…. I could not ignore how similar it was to what I did.
Was how I create minions the same as the other dungeon cores in this world?
It was not like I could phone up and ask another dungeon core about that.
Oda had made sure I was cut off from all sources of information outside of what I could scavenge or steal.
I drifted around my dungeon, thinking.
Suddenly, a thought came to me, and I stopped.
Maybe I did have a way to try to find out—time to experiment.
## ## ## ## ##
Ranus was working well now. There was still a lot of work, but he was getting through it.
He was reading a report on getting silver fast back into the economy to prevent financial problems.
He sensed something disrupting his reading. It was a nagging feeling of something demanding attention, but he wasn't sure what it was. He tried to ignore it, but it was getting more insistent, forcing him to think about what was causing it.
After a few moments, he realised it was coming from his inner pocket. He opened his outer jacket, reached in, and pulled out a black speaking crystal. He was shocked to realise this crystal was attracting his attention because the Core on the other side was attempting to contact him for the first time.
He reached out with his mana and connected to the crystal.
“Hello?” He asked hesitantly.
“Finally!” The familiar voice came from the crystal. “I'm calling to call in part of the debt you owe me.”
Ranus tensed up, afraid of what would be asked of him.
“What are you looking for?” In some ways, it was a simple question; in others, it was far more loaded. He was starting to dread the answer.
“Right about that. What I'm going to ask for is a bit…. Odd. If you can't find what I need, I'll accept your attempt as part of the debt paid.” The voice on the other end of the crystal was uncertain, and Ranus was now confused as he had never heard it to be uncertain before.
“I understand. What is it you need?” Ranus had a small bloom of hope in his chest that it would be so preposterous that he would make an honest attempt at finding it, but would have to report failure.
“Alright, what I need is to understand how other dungeons create the monsters that inhabit their floors.”
Ranus was struck silent by shock and confusion. He had expected many things from the dungeon, but never this: precious gems, magic items, or even more books, but this was something else.
“I am not even sure how to find the knowledge you seek.” He spoke honestly as he had no idea.
“I've been thinking about that. The Adventurer’s Guild is your best bet, or you can go ask that bunch you work for, Astraus.” The voice on the other end gave him some suggestions.
“Yes, errr…. both good ideas.” Ranus was unsure of what even to ask. “This might take me a little time.”
“Of course. Let me know when you find out anything. Toodles!” With that strange word, the connection was cut.
Ranus slumped back in his chair, looking at the crystal in his hand. He wondered if Rickle was around and decided to have some fun at his expense. Many were calling the God of Luck, the Prankster God, nowadays.
He stood there for a few minutes, thinking about honouring the request as part of his debt. He knew that the core was right, and he would have to see both groups he had named to see what they knew. He did not know what they would draw from the request or any of the consequences that might come from it.
Sighing, he stood up and walked to the door.
Outside, Naru was at her desk, diligently working, controlling those trying to gain access to him and organising the reports and other documents that were placed on his desk.
“Naru, I need to go out. Something important has just been communicated to me, and I must deal with it.” She looked up and nodded to him from her desk. Ranus had always appreciated her no-nonsense focus on her role.
The day outside was pleasant and warm. Stepping out, the two Watch members assigned to protect him took flanking positions as he walked into the crowds. Those who knew him quickly stepped aside as he started to make his way to the Adventurer’s Guild. He had chosen to start here as it would be the least problematic of the two places you would have to go today.
It was only a short distance to the Guild building, and he walked up to the doors. Adventurers were hanging around, coming in and exiting, but most got out of the way as he approached. He walked into the room and up to one of the reception desks, where his guards waited outside. The receptionist saw him coming and stood immediately, indicating that he should follow her.
She took him to the next floor and the office, where he knew he would find Elian. She knocked on the door and announced his presence to the room's occupants, and he was quickly ushered in.
He found himself sitting in the chair facing Elian across her desk. Averance and Albrot were also in the room, and they seemed eager to see what he had come for.
“The Core of the Dungeon has just contacted me. As part of my debt to it, it has asked me to go out and seek knowledge related to it.” The other three in the room reacted differently, but he carried on. “What has been requested is quite strange and is the following…..”
