Chapter 155 Dungeon Core: “The Eternal Training Ground”

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I can't believe it but we have reached the start of book 4. Thank you all for all the support. It's wonderful having the opportunity to write stories that so many people enjoy,

I would also like to ask for help. The map I uploaded for the end of book 3, well that is the best I can do. If some of you are interested I would love to see a nicer version of the map.

While I know the name of the fourth book I need help coming up with the name for the third book. If you have an idea please comment it, I am really stuck with this one.

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In a large room shrouded in darkness, a large person sat behind a truly expensive table. The only light in this room was from a large communication crystal. It was so densely packed with runes that the light emitted from this crystal was not as uniform as it usually should be. "What have you learned?" the large person asked the crystal.

There was only the briefest of pauses before a distorted voice came out of the crystal. "It is still not clear how the Pixies lost, but they did lose. The masters did not assume direct control over the dungeon, but they are moving forces there to watch over the dungeon. So, while it's not official, they have tentatively claimed the dungeon."

This news made the large person frown. "It is strange that they do not take direct control. I believe they could do so without us getting involved, and I do not believe that the delvers would be interested in a surface dungeon." There was a longer pause now, but it would only be noticeable to the very strongest beings in this world.

"I believe they're trying to do something new. This dungeon seems to be doing really well, so they do not want to interrupt its progress." For a human, the 'hmmm' that came out of the large person would have just been that, but the entire room rumbled from a simple 'Hmmm' of this person.

Once again, for these beings, the pause the large person made was a long one, but compared to regular humans, it only took a split second.

"In this unnamed age, where everything is so stagnant, perhaps trying new things is the correct move. Tell me, how many of our children are in this dungeon and how are they progressing?" The change of topic was a bit abrupt for the person on the other side of the crystal, but as always, she adapted quickly.

"We only have the two standard agents, but because of what this dungeon offers, there are about thirty of our children currently training in that dungeon. I would also like to add that this dungeon seems especially good for our kind, and I believe that in the next council meeting, one of the major points will be the possibility of bringing more of our young here, as it truly is a perfect place for us. It is unfortunate that this is out of our reach."

At that, the large person let out an angry rumble, which caused the entire room to shake. Somehow the shaking went through the communication crystal to show displeasure to the person on the other side.

"I can trace back my lineage to the First Age, and while the Age of Heroes was not kind to us, we still remain one of the four powers of this world. Nothing is out of reach," the large person said while leaning closer to the crystal.

This action illuminated his face better, revealing a body full of fur and sharp teeth meant for killing. All of a sudden, the intensity this person showed disappeared as he leaned back into the chair.

"Yet the Age of Heroes showed us that being the enemies of all is folly. I can see a better way. We will increase our presence there to make sure that the masters can't claim the dungeon wholly."

There was a moment of pause that would even be long for regular people. "If my gut feeling is right, this should be a perfect training ground for all four powers. We currently have seven neutral dungeons; perhaps it's time for an eighth."

"The pixies, of course, would object, especially if we wanted to raise that kid who is currently ruling that dungeon to join us who shine. But since they were the ones who came out the winners of the last age, all others would be against them, especially in this case."

"We must take our time, yet we can't be too slow; it's almost 50 years until the gathering. Everything must be ready by then. With this new type of dungeon, we will start to gather our strength once again. We, the beasts, one of the four powers of this world, will not fall in this unnamed age. Instead, we will regain our glory and show why we are the oldest remaining power." Those last words contained so much power that the communication crystal cut off from the overload.

Pov Dungeon Core

I was happily making thousands of fish for my new playroom and starting with the detailed work on the dungeon rooms when parts of my mind started alerting me. Quickly, I followed the information given and found myself looking at my entrance hall.

It took me a moment to orient myself, but then I saw the person I was alerted about. For a moment, I didn’t recognize him; this human was so damaged, but then I understood. The bug guy had returned.

Relief washed over me as he finally returned, but I looked at his condition and I was quite worried. The wounds that he carried had traces of powerful skills. If my understanding was correct, getting those healed would take a few fortunes.

He still seemed to have the spark in him, although it was so dim that even I could barely see it. Yet with every step he took, that spark that made him a true adventurer who would dive into danger started to shine a bit brighter.

He eventually reached the gateway, but I still didn’t know what I could do to help him. When he started to pick destinations, a crazy idea came to me. This would be unprecedented, and something my advisors would definitely complain about, but a few of those advisors would not be here today if the bug guy hadn't brought their original patterns into this dungeon.

Just before he was about to choose, I made a new destination appear. To my absolute delight, he immediately picked it and stepped through to someplace he has never been. He looked around in wonderment, confused about his surroundings as it didn't look like the dungeon. Everyone who was in the square looked at him in absolute confusion, and some even prepared to attack but I stopped them by telling them who this person was.

Immediately, one of them went up to the bug guy and shook his remaining hand. "Thank you for bringing my ancestor's pattern to father." There was a momentary pause as I gave him instructions, and the look of awe got even deeper.

"The father instructed me to take you to the healing compound. Please follow me." However, the bug guy didn’t follow as he was completely surprised and overwhelmed by what was happening.

"I’m sure all will be explained soon enough. But when I’m referring to the father, perhaps a better descriptor would be that I am referring to this dungeon."

That made the bug guy's eyes go wide and he once again looked around, this time not in confusion but in awe. While they were taking him to the healing compound, I needed to make some offers.

He had done so much for me that it would be rude not to try to heal him. The problem was that I couldn’t heal him myself; he wasn’t a part of me and that was something nothing could change.

 I had the best healers working here, but the very best were only monsters of the patterns taken from real geniuses. What I needed most were two individuals: one a shaman healer and another an ant champion, who was the strongest healer in my dungeon.

I quickly made them offers; it was nice to see that they felt comfortable enough with me that they were willing to negotiate their pay with me. If only they knew how much I was willing to give them. Fortunately, things didn't get too out of control and their local economies shouldn't be affected too badly with the influx of resources they both will get. Immediately, I teleported them over.

The academy was built for adventure races, but in each department, there are buildings meant for more unusual creatures just in case. The look on the bug guy's face, when he was greeted by a huge orc and an ant the size of a wolf, was way too entertaining. "What? How... You look like... there are so many differences, not just the size."

"If you are talking about the pattern I originate from then you are correct, I am quite changed. It is a pleasure to meet you. While my ancestral pattern was one of the first our father had many of my closest friends are only here because you brought their ancestral patterns. I thank you deeply for what you have done," the ant healer communicated while giving a courtly bow.

"Enough with the niceties. We have a patient to heal," the orc said in his gruff voice. The ant healer agreed immediately, extending her antennae and starting to guide the bug guy towards an examination room. He was completely frozen but he never took his eyes off the ant. When they finally reached the examination room, he snapped out of the daze he was in.

"Wait, what? Heal me? It would be way too expensive to do so. And I have a lot of new bugs, let me get them." He started to remove the bags, and for the first time, I sensed how much life was in them. "I’m sorry, but a lot of the books have gotten damaged and I kinda lost my writing hand so I haven’t had the opportunity to rewrite them. Hopefully, someone can help me..."

The orc shaman put his hand on the bug guy's shoulder to stop him from rambling. "From what I can sense from those bags, you have gone well above what anyone would have expected. Take a moment to relax. You will have all the time in the world to write as many books as you want when you have your arm back. Now lie on the table so we can start fixing you."

He kinda deflated, looked around, and tears started to fall from his eyes. He was gently guided to the table, and while they kept him talking, it was about simple things that would relax him while they started to work. I decided to wait until he was healed before I started to absorb the new patterns. I kinda felt that he deserved to be there when he was completely healed.

When I expected it to cost multiple fortunes to heal him, even I seemed to lowball the figure. Because of the skills and how they had damaged him, my healers needed a lot of different kinds of resources.

If they were to try to do this on their own, it would have taken years, perhaps decades, to gather all the resources required. I simply focused a lot of my mana generation on making all the resources required that I didn’t already have in large enough quantities in my dungeon.

It took them four days and a literal mountain full of gold in mana to fix the damage that had been done to his body. He was unconscious for most of the procedure. When he finally opened his eyes, they were filled with tears when he could once again feel his leg and arm and wasn't in pain.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," he continued to say to everyone. Absolutely all of the healers were completely exhausted, but when they heard the strong voice coming from a previously broken body, all of them had the same smile every healer gets when they know they had changed that person's life for the better.