The Tower in the Shadows

Gran and his team had passed through the newly established fourth floor twenty days earlier. I had spent the last twenty days thinking and taking a few actions.

"Twenty per cent on my corruption and thirty on essence."

I was losing one point of corruption every day. I still felt crappy, but I was getting better. There was an iron-grade group running my Dungeon. They were on the third in the second room, fighting the three boars within. They had killed the first boar and then skinned and harvested more of the boar's meat.

They were not handling the others well. They had been using their skills and spells extensively throughout the fight. One boar was down and the other two were wounded, but the Adventures were just as battered. They were going to win this fight, but they were not going any further today.

I had questions to answer and decisions to make and with no spare CP, I had time. During this quiet time, I planned what I would do next.

My first issue was with mana. I can create mana stones that will give me additional storage and, most importantly, regeneration. However, I have not yet made them, so I did not know the cost/benefit ratio. Storage was the other reason why I had none yet. Where would I put them so Adventures could not take advantage of a five-finger discount?

Digging again through my option menus and wiki, I found a possible answer, but it was one I had been avoiding: a core room. This would solve a few of my problems but create more.

Core Room.

At the heart of a Dungeon is the Core Room. Here, the Core presides over its domain and manages its resources. Located on the deepest floor of the Dungeon, reaching can be seen as an achievement on its own. The core room can take any shape the Core desires and is where Adventures may come to speak to the Core if granted permission. There are many advantages to having a core room.

"So many problems with this."

What problems? The Adventures will know my location. They will quickly notice that I am not a typical Core, which will invite more trouble. Plus, how will I even communicate with them?

The part of the explanation that says, "The core room can take any shape the Core desires", still makes me think about a core room. I might be able to work with this. Several crazy ideas had been floating around my head…. or Core.

"What if I make the stairwell room at the bottom of my stairs the core room?"

Why? My reasoning was simple: it was the one room that the Adventures would always ignore. Why would anything of interest be located here? It's just a stairwell between floors.

The fact that they had yet to discover me was a good sign that the idea could work. Only a divine blessed fairy had found my location. My Core had been moved from the third to the fourth and was safely tucked away in the central pillar once again.

"Could this work?"

I have thought about it for five days and nights, today being the sixth. I had to make a decision……..

"Screw it! I need more mana in the long run. I will need to take the chance."

I looked over my wiki again, even if I did not need to decide what to do. It was one of the few sections that was not short on information. I focused on the bottom of the stairwell. It was one of the few things I could do with Adventures present in my Dungeon. Alright, here we go!

"Assign as Core room."

I felt something shifting inside of me. An alert appeared, which I opened.

"Open alert."

Alert!

Please confirm that this is the room you wish to assign as the Dungeon core room. (Note: this cannot be changed until level ten!)

Yes or No?

"Yes."

Suddenly, the room around me felt different. It was weird. It felt like it was part of my Core and the Dungeon. It was an experience I had a hard time defining.

Another alert: I am so surprised!

"Open alert."

Alert!

Congratulations, your core room has been established!

This is an important set for all Dungeon Cores!

The following benefits are now yours to enjoy.

1 – When established, the core room must be located on the lowest Dungeon floor and can be moved there at no cost.

2 – Fifty CP points have been permanently assigned to your Core pool.

3—Your core room holds your Core. As an extra layer of protection, you can create a unique minion to defend it.

Grow strong, young Core, and challenge all who come!

I read the alert message several times before dismissing it.

Checking my status sheet… yep, the additional CP was there.

I stayed calm, no epic rants. I have things to do and new things to think about.

…….

No ranting! No ranting!

I think about the room. With this established as my core room, I had new options regarding mana stones.

"I will place them around my Core. But first, I will need to create one."

Opening my menus, I navigate to the necessary options. Tonight, I will be experimenting!

With that out of the way, let's move on to the next issue: Dungeon-level difficulty.

Gran's team had noted the marked increase in the threat that the floors were showing as I made them. This was against my original plan, so I will need to reign in my enthusiasm for creating each floor from now on. Slow increments in danger was the new order of business.

"Well, that sucks."

Now, on to the next part: minions. I have nothing new to use. Well, that's not true. I have the Mountain Ogre, but at forty CP per ogre, that was a no-go right now for so many reasons.

I could put two on the next floor, but that would defeat the point of managing my floor's lethality.

Puck had been misbehaving recently. Several groups had gotten a brief glimpse of him, causing rumours of an unknown monster. Several were now actively searching for him. This was forcing me to keep an eye on him when adventurers were around.

"Ssssoooo…."

I had no idea of what to do just yet.

I noticed that the team on the third had killed the last boar and was retreating up the stairs.

"Should see one or two more teams before the miners come in."

The routine was well established and teams went through the day with the miners marking the last group.

This led me to contemplate the last thing… well, it was more of a revelation.

I had been thinking about the slave women who were brought into my Dungeon. In most Iseki/levelling stories, people were judged on their strength level or class, creating a certain balance between the sexes. The more I thought about it, the more I realised this was a fundamental misconception. Most writers envisioned a world where anyone could rise based on how hard they worked or were committed to levelling. There were terrible people, but the just ones balanced them out.

The truth is that the monsters with human faces were likelier to out-level the weak, making abusing them all the easier.

I could not fully explain why, but this made me sad.

## ## ## ## ##

"Lord Goldwind." Ranus nodded his head to the speaker as they acknowledged him. He did this so many times a day now he stopped even thinking about it. He was being shown to Comus's laboratory. The town was still a buzz with the discovery of what was on the fourth floor. Woodland had been able to contain the knowledge at first, but someone on the council leaked it.

He opened the door and walked into the room. Woodland and Comus were waiting for him. He closed the door behind him.

"Still angry?" He asked Elian. The look on her face told him she was.

"When I find out who talked, they will regret it."

"Do we know of any issues related to the word getting out?" He chose not to ask about that issue further.

"Spring is going to be a rough season." Comus spoke.

"What have you heard?"

"We all know about the next wave of people gathering at Tyboon planning on coming." They both Ranus and Elian nodded. "Well, that is just the tip of what is coming from what I have heard."

"How bad?" Ranus grimaced.

"Well, the other churches are coming. They did not make it before the snows, as you know. The new Adventure groups and other regional powers. The weather is holding them at bay." This they both knew. "Well, the higher-ups in the Guilds are taking an increased interest, and so are the major human and non-human nations."

This changed things. Since the folly, humanity has been seen as a weakened race and was being preyed on more. Interest from them was a dangerous thing to the new community. The threat from the human ones was just as dire.

"Is there anything else about the new floor?" Ranus needed to change the subject.

"Nothing. Comus wants samples of the webbing and spiders as soon as possible, but the second-floor boss will be first and recovered today, along with the flowers in the boss room. Then we move to the third floor next week. Then the fourth." Elian said. Ranus nodded. Things were moving along well on that front, at least.

"Any worries of fools trying to explore the fourth?"

"For the moment, no. The sight of Gran's team coming out as battered as they were has had a sobering effect on most of the younger Adventurers for now."

"How are they?"

"They will need another week or even two, but they are planning another run at the fourth floor already." Elian smiled faintly at the thought of the team. "The floor boss embarrassed them a bit and they want to address that."

"Then you are standing by with your assessment of the floor and its boss." Ranus asked.

"Yes. The surprise of its attack is what worked most against Gran's team. Next time, they will be better prepared and should gain victory faster."

Ranus remembered the sight of the group and their battered state and hoped she was right.

"Well then, on to other matters…."

## ## ## ## ##

Spring was slowly coming to the Shadow Falls mountains. Forces were moving around the continent and world. A new Dungeon was one thing, but the reports coming from it were another entirely—questions with too few answers.

The weather was holding the hordes back, but one local power had the resources to push ahead and reach the small town in the mountains along the treacherous river. A magically enchanted river barge was making its way through the winter storms. The river watchers soon spotted it and reported it.

The one local power Ranus Goldwind secretly hoped would never come. Ostrul.

## ## ## ## ##

The sudden pounding at the door stopped the conversation dead.

"What is it!" Comus yelled.

"Urgent message for Lord Goldwind!" Came the reply through the door. Ranus turned and opened it.

"Well?" He asked. The messenger was red-faced and breathing hard.

"M'lord! Ship coming from the south flying Ostrul's symbol!"

The reaction to that statement was like Ranus diving head first into the river naked. He took a moment to respond.

"Thank you. I will be there shortly. Please take word to Jontar at the Shadow Rest tavern. I will need his large back room for a meeting." The messenger turned and left.

"Ilinia's mercy! Ostrul!" Woodland muttered loudly. Ranus was in total agreement. Today was now a very bad day.

"We are close to the City of Slavers, so a visit was only a matter of time." Comus was as unhappy as the others.

"Well, it seems my day has gotten longer and less pleasant." Ranus said, his shoulders slumping slightly. "Excuse me."

He left the room and walked from the laboratory back to the Guild entrance. He collected his winter outer layers and put them on. The cold air hit him hard in his face, even with no wind. He walked towards the temporary piers, noting the lack of people around. Ostrul had that effect on most.

The pier crew was set up and ready to start work; for the moment, they were huddled around a brazier. They were waiting for his permission for the boat to be unloaded. He had a standing order that no one may enter with large amounts of goods without permission. The gangplank was down and one man was standing off the boat, waiting for him.

At the sight of his approach, he returned to the boat.

This gave Ranus a chance to look over the boat. It was a large and wide river traveller. It would not handle the smaller waterways but was a heavy load mover on the wider ones. He noted the conversion work for it to carry passengers.

Three men came off the boat. Two were guards and the third was the one who would do the talking. He was dressed in much more expensive furs and had jewellery on display.

He approached with a smile, presenting the look of a friendly and courteous fellow.

"Greetings. Are you here to lead us to Lord Goldwind's presence?" His voice was rich and smooth, like that of a skilled trader or diplomat.

"In a manner of speaking, for I am Lord Goldwind." Ranus knew the game that would be played; he had played it many times before. The man looked surprised and bowed to him.

"A thousand apologies, Lord Goldwind. We would have been better prepared if we had known you would greet us in person! I am your humble servant and representative of the sublime city of Ostrul, one Halor Vac."

"I greet you, Halor Vac. Please follow me to a place that is warmer than here." Ranus kept his face and tone polite. Inside, he wanted to throw this man into the river.

"That would be greatly appreciated."

Ranus turned and walked from the piers back into the town. They approached the largest tavern and entered.