Trash Mountain Dungeon

I decided to choose rust rats, copper roaches, and stonelings, the best of three worlds. While I’m not sure just how beneficial critters will truly be in the long run it was good to have them anyway, they provided a nice bonus for being around and it would make the place livelier. All I need to do now is to create a core room then I'll be done with this first part, so, how about we get things moving?

Acknowledged,

A baseline core room shall be generated to fit the generalized nature of your dungeon based on the core's theme, [Constructs]

Please designate an area to establish the dungeon.

Makes sense I guess, and looking around, there wasn’t much to sway me to put it anywhere specifically, everywhere was either covered in the trash or covered in rocks. Pointing to the floor beneath me, I might as well just choose a spot and move on from there, and with a small ping the immediate area around where I pointed began to change.

Debris faded away, and stone began to warp into a large basin with four columns framing it, creating four archway openings to access the basin. The area just outside of the archways began to absorb the trash and filth, revealing a smooth but unpolished stone, forming another set of walls to encase the inner structure. And finally, with the crack of stone, three statues formed a triangle facing away from the center structure, each of what I presume to be an example of my monsters. One was a hulking creature with a series of magic-looking writing carved around different parts of the body, the second one was a many-armed thing, undoubtedly the biological constructs, and finally the third one, a tall automaton sporting many gears and bolt-like bumps along its body.

Structure Complete,

All requirements fulfilled for core completion,

The core may now begin construction of the dungeon proper as they please.

Awarding completion DP, +10 DP

Once the screen closed out I could feel a tug at my side, a bright glow began to shine from the basin’s center, and with a snap a small sphere of some kind of gem appeared, and despite having never seen it before now, I knew that this was mine, my dungeon core. A surge of emotions began to fill me, happiness, excitement, fear, anticipation, and so many more, I don’t know why I was brought here, but I would become this world’s best damn dungeon there is, one step at a time.

Still high off of my excitement, I began to imagine just what could be, the monsters I could make, the traps that could be designed, oh the possibilities were end-

Notice

Mana flow is disrupted, please unseal the dungeon entrance to allow proper mana flow.

Ah, well, I suppose I was getting ahead of myself then, how exactly do I unseal the dungeon?

To unseal the dungeon, please create an opening that reaches the outside world, the core may build rooms to the outside, or the core may use DP to create a simple tunnel to the outside world.

Pointing to the closest point.

I don’t think I want to spend DP just yet, so I decided that I would build my way to the outside, just about to get started before a valid point floated through my mind, yes I could reach the outside, but what would happen when I did? Some defenders would be in order if I wanted to go out there, while I’m at it I might as well learn how rooms work exactly.

Dungeon Monsters

The core is capable of creating special nodes called "monster nodes" which will create up to a set number of monsters of the chosen type.

The monsters are bound to the dungeon and cannot leave barring monsters with the "roamer" ability.

Any slain or captured monsters will be replaced and the previous monster will either be disconnected or broken down into "loot".

Creating a monster node will create a sustained drain on the core's production, however, singular monsters may be created at a lower cost but will not be replaced automatically and will not benefit from any node bonuses.

Node-created monsters do not use pre-existing materials for self-maintenance, instead a portion of mana will be designated to them.

So I’m not making monsters so much as I am making something that makes the monsters for me?

Indeed.

Nodes allow for the automation of various functions and when altered enough the created monsters can perform various tasks for you automatically, gathering exotic resources that are otherwise difficult or impossible for the core to interact with directly.

Additionally, nodes are far more mana-efficient when compared to direct creation, one node's upkeep cost can be as much as the costs of creating and sustaining a monster created directly.

Monster choice will grow as the core develops.

So direct creation is better for things that are about the same cost as their node version’s cost then?

If that is the interpretation of the core then yes.

Umm, ok, anyway, what about rooms then?

Dungeon Rooms

Dungeons can improve their mana production, storage, defense, and appeal, through the use of rooms.

Rooms may grant a benefit to defending monsters, enable the use of various traps, and aid in generating appeal through the repeated visitation of challengers.

Rooms do not need to be sustained but require a large amount of mana to be created.

Rooms must be navigable by challengers to be considered valid.

Invalid rooms will be denied.

The core is limited to a certain amount of rooms per floor, starting at five rooms the core will be able to create an additional 5 rooms per floor gained.

Rooms will initially be empty but can be altered with a function.

Rooms have a size limit based on the contents of the room, a large function room will be made larger, and a small function room will be smaller.

Room choices will open up as the core develops.

Rooms may be combined to form bigger spaces, any structures placed within these expanded rooms may unlock more complex structures.

Neat, and while the limit to the number of rooms I can have is, annoying, I can work with it, hopefully. Turning to the nearest point it mentioned, I began to carve room after room, creating four decently-sized rooms going from the core room to the surface with the fifth room stemming off from the room in front of the core, not taking as much mana as I thought it would have, each of the rooms only cost about 10 mana but I assume the actual heavy costs from making the rooms actually do something.

Speaking of the rooms, each of them was perfectly identical, each a perfect square with more smooth unpolished stone walls, floors, and ceiling. But it was the farthest room that caught my attention, just outside of the room was a white winter mountainside, with a large forest just below and beyond the entrance.

I couldn’t see much in the distance and while the dungeon wouldn’t let me leave I could still see that it was a bright and beautiful landscape just outside, I continued to admire this new world I was now a part of before I got a new message.

Attention

Core has breached the surface and will now produce mana at the standard rate, +9 mana production.

Total production: 10 per hour, 2400, storage 60/100.

Well, that wasn’t too bad I-

Warning

Regional mana density and leyline flow have been altered to conform to the newborn dungeon, this has led to the creation of several "mana-crazed" entities that are now heading for the dungeon core.

Prepare Defenses Immediately

Invaders will arrive in approximately: 10 hours

System, what monsters are available to me?

Gathering choices...

Displaying choices available to [Beginner Constructs 1]

Clockworker

A simple and easy-to-maintain construct, capable of performing a variety of tasks aside from those involving magic.

Can use [Self-repair]

Comprised of many materials and parts.

Creation cost: 15 mana, 1 pound of scrap per 24 hours

Node cost:

45 mana,

4 mana taken from production

Creates: 4 clockworkers

Inferior Golems

Most magic constructs are just some type of golem, this one is no different. Formed from ambient magic and cast-off materials this construct can accomplish few tasks but can do those that it can quickly.

The type of golem is standardized to the dungeon type.

Current type: Rough Copper

Creation Cost: 5 mana, 1 rock per 24 hours.

Node Cost:

30 mana,

5 mana taken from production,

Creates: 10 Inferior Golems

Skeletal Mover

A low-level arachnid monster that uses webbing to manipulate skeletons or similarly structured items. The mover can imitate the lower levels of swordsmanship and archery.

When not provided an existing frame to attach to, the mover will spawn with a simple rock puppet suit.

Can use [Skeletal Puppetry]

Creation Cost: 10 mana without puppet, 5 mana with puppet, 1 pound or gallon of food per 24 hours.

Node Cost:

55 mana,

6 mana taken from production,

Creates: 3 Skeletal Movers

One choice from each type then, hmm, all of them were pricey but useful, nonetheless. The clockworker could do a bunch of things on top of combat even if it wasn’t the best at it, and it could fix itself as well making it a far better option in the long run, helped that I already had to consider it from before. The golems were interesting in that there would be more of them, and they would be made from metal, and while rough copper doesn’t fill me with the most confidence, some metal might be better than no metal. And the final choice, the skeletal mover, was rather creepy to me, I wasn’t afraid of spiders too much but a giant one that controls a puppet and can use a sword and bow was pretty creepy to me, but for those very reasons it could be better than the others, the problem was that it was more expensive overall, and the only source of food I had so far was the rats I hadn’t made any of yet.

I had time to consider them, but a choice would need to come, fast.