Youll are early, I grumbled at the group as they stood in the entrance to the forge. You do realize if you kill , you run the risk of this dungeon being destroyed.
I dont know if that would be a huge loss, the paladin chuckled. I gotta be honest, while this is an awfully cool dungeon, there isnt a lot that people are gaining from it. Youre a very interesting boss indeed, so it would be a sha to lose you, but the secrets you hinted at with our guild leader an that were here digging for that more than anything else.
Well, I might have sothing that will change your mind. I produced a Warhamr whose head had been made out of the thick skull of a bear-like creature Vito had sent up for to fight. Raven had contacted him rather easily, though it had taken her a couple of days to get to him. She hadnt encountered anything dangerous, finding evidence of Vito wiping out everything previously within the region.
Vito already had undead minions working for him, and had used them to corral the underground bear-like creature toward the dungeon for the three of us to fight. Along with that, he had sent so materials for to use in the forge.
And what might that be? the paladin asked suspiciously.
Obviously its a weapon, silly, I said sarcastically. That forge behind allows to create very powerful death and eldritch magic-based weapons. Im planning on hiding so of the weaker ones I create throughout the dungeon as drops and beating the guardian of this floor will yield a much more powerful weapon.
Or we could just beat you and take it, the fighter suggested. I could see the hamrhead caught his attention.
Maybe, I agreed. I pulled out my bag of holding and dropped the hamr into it. You have any idea how much I have in here? The odds of you getting that hamr are tiny. After all, Im a Lich, killing might destroy the dungeon, but my soul is going soplace else.
What is this guardian then? the female fire wizard asked. I take it the whole point is for us to face it instead of you to avoid you dying again.
Youve already t it. I smiled, the mostly intact muscles across my face stretching in sothing I doubted was pleasant to look at. But that can wait for now.
Im not sure Olattee will be thrilled by us farming this place for death weapons. Her words said that she thought it was a bad idea, but the paladins tone spoke of sothing else. Though she could likely not use the weapons, not without a lot of magic involved, her friends could.
What more do you want? I demanded.
How about clues about the secrets you ntioned? the paladin suggested.
This is strange. Were negotiating with the dungeon boss for what the loot table will be, the female who wielded the heavy crossbow said, her eyes darting around, no doubt looking for Raven.
I doubted they would find her. Maxwell and Raven were on the floor waiting to back up if needed, but they were hidden behind the pillars farther back.
I can make that work, I agreed with the paladin. I didnt actually have any secrets about Olattee, but perhaps I could use it to my benefit.
One suggestion, friend, the fighter chid in. Maybe move this fight up a floor and make this a hidden area. Not everyone will be satisfied with this result. There are so pretty hard-core blowhards up there.
I locked gazes with the paladin. I did have eyeballs. As my body had developed, the orbs that burned inside my sockets had taken on more details and were less like specs of purple fire. I think you have one of those blowhards with your group.
To my surprise, the paladin flushed slightly. Not really. I just was screwing around.
So youre all just going to ignore my comnt about this being strange? the crossbow wielder said.
No, its strange alright, I said. I can only imagine what its like from your perspective. If back in the day Id had this happen to , Im not quite sure how I wouldve taken it.
Im still not sure, the paladin said, squinting at . Olattee really wants you dead and gone.
Will Olattee ever just leave the fuck alone? I quietly grumbled. Ill tell you what. If I get a binding oath from each of you that you will not cause nor my companions harm, I will give you access to a hidden floor and information about a secret no one else has ever found. That hidden floor is an archive from an age passed that I have hardly begun to explore. Every ti you make it past Chompy, you will get four hours in there. However, you will be bound to keep the archives and what you learn there a secret, along with not using any magic unless you talk with first.
The paladin considered my offer, then the group talked quietly. One question, why do we have to keep the information a secret? I dont like needing your permission.
I sighed. This isnt sothing that can be negotiated. I dont know everything in that archive, but what I do know about the nation that ca before is that they make look like a ray of sunshine. I will not be party to releasing an evil back on to this world because you were too foolish to either keep what you learned to yourself or, the gods forbid, use so horrifying ritual you found down there to sacrifice a kingdom or sothing equally as terrible.
Who the fuck built this place? the paladin whispered.
So crazy Blood Sultanate called Slatar, Maxwell said, coming out from his hiding spot. It was clear we were going to make a deal. Trust , Zeke isnt going to be heavy-handed. I dont bla him for wanting to control what information gets out there. The small amount of reading Ive done from so of the translated stuff is enough for to never want to learn more. Oh, and because he forgot, you also get a translation dictionary.
I nodded and the paladin t my gaze and smiled wide like shed just won so major deal. Little did she know that I didnt really care. In fact, them combing through the archives was like doing research for , because I would have ears listening in to see if they found anything I needed to know.
Its a deal. Now wheres this boss? the paladin asked.
I activated a ritual by pressing a button with the butt of rcy. In the two and a half weeks that had passed I made modifications, this was still the only party who had made it to , but I doubted that would last forever.
The floor opened like an iris in a wide circle and a platform raised. Sitting in the middle of it was the flesh horrora modified, upgraded version. Without a doubt he was now quite a bit more powerful than I was, but in the process of upgrading it, Id infused just enough soul energy that I tied it tightly to the dungeon. The result was that my control over it solidified, while it gained more freedom inside the dungeon itself. It was almost more like a partner now.
The party gasped, and I didnt bla them.
Id rged the hungry horror with my two turrets and added another set of legs and armor plating made from black bone around the joints. It was now the size of an elephant, though shorter.
et Chompy, I said. Ill even read you the description.
The confusion over reading a description was imdiately clear. I just smiled. It was all part of the plan.
Chompy
Greater Undead Eldritch Abomination
Level: 105
Originally Created by: Ezekiel Vernizac
This was once a simple flesh golem construct created by a Lich. It was given the ability to consu its prey and grow in strength by absorbing the death cores along with their bio matter. Its power began to outstrip its creator, and in order to lessen the threat of rebellion from his creation, the Lich bound his creation to this dungeon.
Now more powerful than its original creator, this creature is the final boss of this dungeon. Defeating it will result in a powerful weapon gifted to the victors by the Lich, forged on the Deathforge of the Eldritch Tranquil Soul.
It has a ravenous hunger that drives it to consu all it can. Its claws leave behind a deadly poison, and it has been further modified with heavy armor plates and powerful auto turrets.
I left out the parts about its weaknesses and strengths, along with what the poison could do. No point in ruining all the surprises.
Before you have your fun, can I get your nas and oaths? I dont want you dying and not being bound by the oath, I asked in a jovial toneId gotten everything I wanted. As you know, my na is Ezekiel, you t Raven, shes the werecat, and then theres Maxwell, Im sure youll co across him more later.
Im Ezra, the paladin said.
Im Tucker, the fighter said.
Im Tiffany, the wizard said.
I am Scott, the mage said.
And Im Susan, the sniper said.
I got each of their oathsan ability that actually bound soone to follow the agreent. It was both a function of the ga chanics and sothing NPCs could do if they had access to soul energy. They werent done very often, because it often implied a level of distrust. Which was fine in this situation, since neither side had any reason to trust each other.
Wait, you owe us another secret about this place, Ezra said.
I guess youll just have to ask about that if you survive. I turned my back and walked away, giving a ntal order to Chompy.
I didnt watch the fight, heading back to my forge to resu the project Id left there. Maxwell and Raven stayed to watch, though they wouldnt interfere. Chompy was also receiving several bonuses from the dungeon due to its status as a boss.
Raven was taking notes about ways I could improve Chompy, after all, he was to be my primary stand in and as the guardian, and I wanted him to be as hard to kill as possible. If he died, it would take energy to bring him back, quite a bit of both dungeon energy and my own power. But he was worth it.
The battle was brutal, and flashes of magic and explosions constantly lit up the hall. I glanced over at one point and could see the bulk of Chompy had taken quite a beating. His turrets were broken off, and two legs no longer worked. I couldnt see what was going on with the players though, so I went back to work.
Forging with rituals is similar to using regular forging skills. I had a specialized hamr covered in glyphs, a set of high precision chisels made of bone, and several other smithing tools for working the forge.
The sounds of battle finally died down, and Maxwell and Raven left shortly after. I was near complete with the dagger I was working on, so I stayed focused on that. It wasnt anything incredible, but it would pack a punch. Labored breaths ca from behind , and I looked over to see the fighter staggering up the last set of stairs. The power of the forge was clearly weighing on him, along with several nasty wounds that seeped black fluid.
Ill be with you in a mont, dont die, I said, refocusing on my dagger.
By the ti I was finished, the fighter was on deaths door. Deciding to show a little rcy, I shrouded him in a protection that warded off the power of the forge. I also moved from wound to wound and either pulled out the magic, or destroyed the flesh still infected so it would no longer spread. I then fed him a health potion. Sorry for the delay, its hard to stop when youre working with a ritual forge.
Tucker took a mont to gather his wits as the pain faded, though admittedly the pain was less for him than it wouldve been for an NPC due to the interference of the ga systems. That thing was a lot stronger than last ti, Tucker grumbled. If you had been in the fight, we wouldve never won.
I know, I assured him, sitting down on the steps next to him. But that isnt my goal. I mostly want to be left alone to grow in power and practice my own craft.
You are the strangest dungeon boss, Tucker said.
Im likely the only dungeon boss, if you can even call that, of my kind.
No, there are plenty of Lichs as dungeon bosses, Tucker said.
Thats not what I an, I said as I produced the hamr. This particular one, I dont know how useful it will be in this ziggurat since its death-based, but if you ever get an eldritch one from , it will be a little bit more useful. Eldritch is just trickier to work with.
Tucker took the hamr and read over its stats. Ill be honest, I dont rember what they were, that was rely one of many weapons I created on that forge.
Regardless, this is a very impressive weapon, Tucker said as he slipped it into his own spatial storage device. I might just sell it. But uh, what do you an that wasnt what you ant?
If you ever get a weapon for that you want soul bound, I can make that a stronger bond than you could normally do, I said before pausing, trying to debate if or how I could answer his question.
You are definitely different than any other Lich Ive heard of.
There is a very good reason for that, I said. In all honesty, I dont think youll believe if I tell you, but lets just say Im neither NPC, immortal, or a bound soul. Bound soul is the term NPCs often used for players, and Immortals referred to a very special group of players. If you dont mind, I dont want to send you down to the archive just yet. I need to make so changes first. Just to protect my sanctuary a little bit. I know the oath makes it so I can trust you. But still, it is my ho.
Thats fine, I dont want to do research on my own anyways. Thanks for the healing potion. He stood and began to leave, but then stopped. What was the other secret?
I was wondering if youd rember, I chuckled. Lets put it this way, theres a hidden sanctuary floor between the sixth and seventh floors. Where the stairs are on the outside. I warn you, the boss protecting that and keeping it is more powerful than Chompy when within the sanctuary. In order to protect sanctuary floors dungeons often allowed for the guardians for that floor to be massively amplified when upon that floor.
Cool, Tucker smiled. Well make sure we find that.
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