Dakota Krout - Dungeon Born (The Divine Dungeon Book 1)

Frank nodded and calmly began listing his thoughts on the matter, “There are a lot of reasons someone would kill you. For now just the income you are going to receive will be enough for some. You will also soon gain political enemies, as you will receive a vote on any matters pertaining to the growth or destruction of this dungeon. If you stay at the fishy rank, they may kill you out of hand just to get you out of the way.” Dale had paled as he realized the accuracy of each implied threat, so Frank paused to let him think and absorb the information for a moment.

“If you accept my terms, I will also admit you into the Guild directly, which will give you good people to turn to for advice or help. You will have a perfect dungeon to train in without having to fear traitors in your party; with us beside you, you will have a unified front against people who try to take advantage of you.”

Dale didn’t know what to say, and his mouth opened and closed a few times.

“Of course,” Frank nonchalantly continued, “You will have to obey our laws, but they are very straightforward. Oh, and after the first five years you will return to five percent income, beyond what you personally make of course. This continues until your death, at which point any heirs you produce will split the income.”

Still no words were passing Dale’s lips.

Frank decided to roll out the heavy hitter, as casually as possible. “One more thing, if you reach the Mage rank of cultivation, B-rank that is, your natural lifespan tends to jump into the hundreds of years. Unless killed, you won’t die for a very long time. At the Saint rank, or S-rank, we have been unable to determine the natural lifespan. It is just too long for anyone but another Saint to measure.” Frank finished, letting the temptation flow.

Dale finally found his voice, “I… Wow! Of course I accept! Yes, and thank you sir!”

Frank grinned at Dale’s newfound exuberance. “Excellent! And no more calling me ‘sir’. I work for a living. It is ‘Frank’ when we are alone with our Guild, or ‘Guild Master’ around strangers. We will get you outfitted tomorrow, and start your training right away. Report to me at first light.”

It had been about two months since the group had last left my area, when Dani told me people were gathering above. I had made few improvements since then, mostly cosmetic, no new rooms. The Mobs, at least, were more interesting than they had been.

The rabbits’ population had exploded, the best part being that they were all under my control. Since I had created their parents, even these new creatures were ‘Dungeon Born’, meaning they were given life through my power as a dungeon. Their living in me generated plenty of Essence, which I constantly gathered a significant amount passively. Enough Essence, in fact, that my plants were near obsolete as an energy source, but still grown to feed the rabbits.

That reminds me, a minor yet entertaining war had occurred as the rabbits ate the plants and the shrooms tried to rescue them. Due to this civil war, I had imprinted on both subsets that they were not to fight each other, and the rabbits would need to eat from certain areas. They started getting along far better, albeit uneasily, when I forced the arrangement. The different groups moved to being on friendly terms when the mushrooms found that rabbit feces are excellent fertilizer.

I had, of course, evolved the rabbits. Their natural pattern put them in F-rank two, and I was able to increase the average Mob to F-rank five. I was still stuck in F-rank eight myself, but was hoping for a breakthrough soon. With so much varied life, the Essence in the rooms became denser, as the amount produced was more than I was able to consume and cultivate on a daily basis. Not only was this good for the creatures living in me, as it helped them grow, but Dani assured me that dungeoneers would be ecstatic as well.

Evolving the rabbits had greatly benefitted them, they now had far stronger muscles in their bodies, and a stronger skeletal frame to match. When their bones ossified to accommodate their new system, a smooth nub of bone had also grown on their skulls, I had originally assumed this was the start of a horn, but it never seemed to develop past a nub. The reason for this growth soon became apparent. No longer timid creatures, they competed for food and mates by sprinting at their adversary, jumping and head-butting them with their bone nub. When they jumped, their bodies grew rigid as they braced for impact, and their bone nubs cracked into their opponent. The first to fall unconscious lost the right to the mate or feeding ground they were after. I had named them “Bashers”, and I thought they were adorable.

I hadn’t been able to develop a new Boss, and I was now out of spare Essence to experiment without becoming dangerously low on power for a few weeks. Being that my current Boss was at the maximum ranking I could create, it was not that I could make a stronger one, though I was hoping that I could make a mobile one. Directing a few of the Bashers into the Boss room to help him during the fights, I settled in to wait for some easy prey. I was as prepared as I could be.

Dale slept poorly that night, as the excitement the next day would hold plagued his dreams. He awoke before dawn, and broke his fast with some leftover foodstuff. When the rest of the small tent city began to rouse, he went to the main Guild tent to await the Guild Master, still gnawing on some tough yet filling jerky.

“Oh, good you’re punctual. I was going to have my boys douse you with a bucket of water if you were still sleeping!” Frank laughed jovially.

“Ha…?” Dale chuckled, petering off as he saw the serious looks and slowly shaking heads from the working staff that were being directed at him warningly.

“Well, let’s get started. I have a tutor for you to help catch you up on the basics. Did you bring any money with you?” Frank looked at him questioningly. When Dale shook his head, silently cursing his stupidity, Frank continued, “No matter, we’ll put it on your credit. I know you will be good for it after all! Our agreement was only for standard equipment, but I’d prefer to give you armor that you will be able to use for a longer time. If we do that though, you will need to pay the difference, is that reasonable?” Frank waited for Dale to nod, almost imperceptible as his eyes wandered over all of the treasures displayed just in the tent they were standing in. “Great! I will cover the cost of repairs for you when you need them. You’ll pay us for the equipment over time then, but the tutor is on me, as per our agreement.”

They moved into a storeroom, and started looking at the available equipment. The prices attached to them made Dale choke a bit, but Frank efficiently moved along the rows pointing at armor for the staff on duty to bring them. A full set of plate armor was eventually gathered by the leader, before they moved into an armory to find a good weapon to use.

“Every swung a sword before?” At the expected negative, Frank grunted and moved on, “Axe?” No trees on the mountain, only around the base. “Bow?” Wouldn’t be able to use it in plate armor. “War mace it is. Maybe a Morningstar.” He mused, tossing a few ideas around. “I’d start you with a spear, but in a confined space like a dungeon that is more of a, shall we say, liability.”

Deciding on a Morningstar, Frank turned on Dale and demandingly grilled him, “You know how to use one of these?” It was essentially a stick with a spiked metal ball at the top.