CH17

Day 18

I tapped a fiddle with my foot under the torchlight of the banquet hall. Kegs of clotted blood lined the long tables beside the dissolving bodies of servants and guests alike. Roasted meat was piled high on the table covered in blood like it was a sauce. Expensive silverware with rabbit skulls lining the handles with fur-like etchings in the metal sat in a pile as I debated whether to loot them or not. Their table, a long granite monstrosity, was polished to perfection and begging for me to steal. After a moment of looking around, the fiddle at my feet was too much of a distraction.

The instrument was light in my hands. I had some lessons, but they never kept my interest. Cherry red wood shining under torchlight made me want to change that, if only for something to do that wasn't training and killing. I made a show of inspecting the fiddle and kept my eyes glued firmly on the instrument's reflective surface.

Appearing to let my guard down would surely draw out the enemies I know are waiting to try and ambush me.

Perhaps what I needed was a little less lightning. I raised my hand and pushed forward with my open palm. Wind rushed from my action, blowing out candles, blasting away tablecloths, and extinguishing torches. Blackness filled my vision as the wind continued to rush around me.

I touched the bow to the fiddle and tried to play, only to release a horrible screeching sound. A string popped, cutting my face and splashing blood on the beautiful instrument.

My hand raised, and the wind stilled in the room. Gestures helped control my skill far more than I thought possible. I hadn't tried words yet to go along with them, but for anything complicated, they were the way to go. Hand signs might be something to look into at a later date. Communication with my skills helped them unleash their full potential.

Through the calm of my wind, I could feel a gathering of chimera with bows on the balcony above the banquet hall. I dropped the broken fiddle and pulled free my new chainsword. Oblivion Alpha was one incredible weapon.

I powered on the moment I drew it, and its motor was nearly silent. Arrows flew as I dove under the balcony. I felt the impact after I made my way out of the line of fire. In the kitchen, I ripped the arrows out while I heard the monsters above me.

Wings beat against the ground as they communicated while I pulled the arrows free. Armor would have been a good idea. Before, I thought it would weigh me down and make me slower. When I yanked a barbed arrow out of my behind with a chunk of flesh attached, I changed my mind. Blood flowed profusely down my leg, making my pants stick to me.

Regeneration was doing its job, but I would need to eat soon. Lost flesh had to come from somewhere.

A monster dropped on the floor, and I stepped forward, gathering wind in a windup before thrusting my palm out. Gale force winds rushed forward, and the chimera gripped its head as the wind ripped it off its many feet. The fancy silverware I had coveted before followed the monster and tore into it. At the same time, the beast slammed into the silver wire wall.

The wind was getting easier to control, and I wasn't losing as much stamina from it any longer. While the first monster bled out, the others dove after it and began ripping it apart. I felt them in the dark rip and tare until the fallen chimera was no more.

With the arrows that restricted my movement gone, there was no reason to hold back. I stepped out into the darkness with the chimera duel-wielding chainswords. My first blow took a chimera at the join where its bow was held. A massive, multi-jointed limb fell before my next strike took the monster's head.

My feet barely touched the ground as powerful gusts leaped from my every move while Crow Step kept me light. I stabbed another chimera through the chest and let its blood and entrails blast out away from my body. At the same time, my other chainsword cleaved halfway through a monster's neck, leaving it to choke on its own blood as my chainswords continued to devastate the monster.

When they too were no more I relit one of the torches with a lighter from my bag. The room lit up, revealing dissolving bodies that looked more like mosquitoes than rabbits. I had a good haul so far. 5 skill shards, and it was time to level up my class.

I used my experience points gained from selling crops and leveled up to 10.

Exhaustion became a fleeting concept as my endurance increased to 34, and my body felt better than ever. Some of the scars on my arm from a wolf bite vanished, and my skin felt a little tighter and smoother. 10 points in Vitality really was impressive. I didn't know how many more years I might live, but it was quite a few.

Ping!

New Skill 

Dungeon Management lvl1 

Description: Any dungeon found on the user's land is subject to the user's adjustment and alteration either in or outside the dungeon. While at first the user can only alter a dungeon slightly by adding new items. As the manager, the user's desires play a role in the dungeon's evolution. At higher levels, the dungeon will pay rent in drops or, in some cases, credit to the user. 

Recalculating: The user has greatly altered this dungeon's evolution path and succeeded in adjusting the dungeon without a skill. Skill Experience has been awarded. 

Dungeon Management lvl18

 Description: Dungeons on the user's property can be claimed by touching the dungeon core and managed directly at skill level 50.

That skill was everything I hoped for and more. With it, my path forward was assured. All I had to do was get to 32 more levels in Dungeon Management, and I could add a corn drop by the bushel if I wanted to. That way, I could get rid of my fields and build more defenses to protect my gold mine.

I had to kill Tony Graves not only to get Gwen back but to protect my investment. That was madness, and I cackled at the thought until my voice echoed off the walls above the rustle of wind.

My every step was a light breeze, almost imperceptible, with only two Fell Wind-based skills. Using those skills constantly with synergy they had worked well for me. I could see them reaching the high 60s in a year or sooner if I learned more about the skills. Anticipating that would surely keep me from going insane.

What could I do to the dungeon to alter its evolution in a meaningful way? Big plays seemed to level my Dungeon Management skill the best. Adding two different types of weapons and a few new monsters changed dungeon drops, added chimera monsters, and altered the dungeon's appearance. That was a big play, no matter how I looked at it. So, what could I do to change the dungeon more?

I climbed the dungeon to the next level and slaughtered everything in my path. Bloody viscera covered the silver thread walls as I passed by enemies as silent as a ghost. 17 crows had boosted my attributes to the extreme thanks to Crow Father I, but the buffs faded after 10 minutes, forcing me to make more kills to refresh them. Different monsters gave different attributes; a few of the minstrels I killed actually gave charisma instead of something useful.

What use did I have for charisma with no one to talk to? If I didn't have a dungeon to fight through, I would have purchased an AI friend to help keep me sane. I was half tempted to open a conversation with the rabbit chimera mid-boss.

I was literally farming her for another uncommon skill shard. Still, I was certain she had some memory of our last battle. That was probably why the castle wasn't being crushed with telekinesis.

My mind fell back on what I could do to alter the dungeon in a meaningful way. Perhaps what the dungeon needed to bring it to the next level was a theme to tie everything together. After a theme, perhaps a story like a mad doctor trying to find the secrets of immortality, cultists trying to bring a powerful demon-type monster into the world, or maybe a legend about a weapon that's a sword and a chainsaw.

How would I go about causing the last one? It felt so abstract, and it was hard to gauge a dungeon's intelligence and focus. As they grow larger, it's more difficult for them to pay attention to little details, which was why themes and storylines were so important. More importantly, if I have an impact on them, my skill will level.

My appearance on the roof caused the rabbit chimera floating above the castle to sigh. Her brown, furred, almost human face twitched when she saw me.

"It feels like we've battled once before in another life. Who are you, stranger, and why have you slaughtered my subjects?" The rabbit chimera asked.

I held up Oblivion Alpha. "I am no one, just a wielder of an incredible weapon." The curved teeth of my chainsword spun until they became an almost invisible edge. My blade dug into the roof, setting off sparks when it met the silver string that made up the roof. I felt the comforting hum from the chainsword's handle and pulled my other blade free.

The rabbit looked surprised when I tossed it to her. "Defend yourself and avenge your subjects. I don't understand how you can stand fighting unarmed when such amazing weapons are around." I said.

She held the chainsword I killed her with before with sad eyes before activating the weapon.

"Why would you give your opponent a weapon I don't understand?"

"How else can we dance without the hum of chainswords and the whistle of the wind. Fighting in silence is boring." I said.

What in the 6 kaiju was I doing? I didn't have a plan; this was all improvisation. I developed a sort of goal based on what I wanted this dungeon to turn into based on what I saw from the castle. Subconsciously I must have thought about how it was best to gain the dungeon's attention. If I were a dungeon without an extreme obsession with micromanagement, I would be bored once things started running smoothly. Any change from the norm would get my attention. A conversation between a mid-boss and an adventurer would get some interest. An adventurer arming one of my monsters with a drop from my own dungeon would be a red flag. My talk about dance, the hum of chainswords, and the whistle of the wind was to narrow down to what got me in the dungeon or at least point the dungeon in that direction.

I wanted a completed Oblivion and maybe more chainswords with fancy names and designs. A theme around chainsword combat and Fell Wind would benefit my build the most. The dungeon was on my land, so I was going to farm exactly what I wanted from it.

My goal from this point forward was to give the dungeon a show and express to it exactly how much I love using chainswords and wielding Fell Wind. Those weren't a theme, not really, but they would narrow things down and make it easier for a theme to develop. Musical and theatrical battles weren't really themes either; they were more special effects. Perhaps the theme could be taking two old tools and breathing new life by combining them into something new. That would be incredible a dungeon with a theme of crafting new things by taking traits from two things. I could imagine the theme being reproduction or inheritance. Maybe adding innovation without restraint leads to disaster. Like, have this be a simple medieval floor, and the further floors become more advanced before eventually falling into a rotten world stuck on making ever greater chainswords but never growing in any other perceivable ways. Like when society is stuck sometimes it needs to be burned down so something new can grow.

I blocked a swing from the rabbit chimera backed by telekinesis and tons of speed. The teeth of our weapons ground against each other, spitting out sparks, and she was so much better when fighting with a weapon. Her large, fluffy rabbit feet moved, and her telekinesis took her away as she spun as we fought, revealing a little puffy cotton tail. I stopped her blade from cutting my head off at the last moment and kicked her to the edge of the roof.

My body twisted in the Gemini Waltz, waving through the air.

Her body was frail, but backed by telekinesis, she might as well have weighed as much as an elephant-type monster. My ankle and thigh throbbed from the blow, and my cheeks ached from smiling so much.

"What are you so happy about?"

"Would you leave this place with me and be my companion?" I asked.

Her head cocked to the side as my chainsword passed by her head.

"What?" The wind picked up around the castle from out dance.