Cat Core, Chapter 27.

Chapter 27.

Florence held off on any changes for the rest of the day as there were more adventurers waiting to enter. She was glad to see that Korbo’s group had added the healer from the other party, Klaus, with them on their afternoon run. Unlike the first time they had explored her home, Korbo and the group took good care of the vulnerable new member of their party. It allowed the poor guy a chance to earn some experience and coin for better gear before he struck out on his own.

There were another two groups that explored her home that day, both newcomers that were polite and more importantly, cautious in their delves. Korbo’s group made it the farthest that day, clearing the library and enjoying a snack in the kitchen before calling it quits. So far, everyone had been clearing both the bathroom and the sewing room on their way into the home, preventing a surprise attack from behind if they tried to skip them.

To shake things up a bit, she tried to set old Spud as a wandering defender but found her options with the obstinate kitty were limited. He seemed content to wallow in his filthy litter box with Gabsug the goblin as his partner in crime. While the combined pair could be formidable, she hoped that the goblin didn’t try to ride Spud out of their room for just any normal adventuring party. She wanted to keep as many goblin’s alive as she could to throw against any invaders who wished her harm.

“Hey Doug, is it just me or are them there goblins a startin’ to multiply quicker than you said they would,” Florence asked.

“While I generally avoid looking in on the filthy creatures, it does appear that their numbers are improving more quickly than I had predicted. Look, there goes Boss Chuck now,” Doug replied. Florence looked in just as the boss goblin walked up to the poles in the middle of the room and began pulling and grunting. In about five minutes the big leader had pulled himself in half, and unlike the other scrawny goblins, this one was nearly as big as he was.

“Old Chuck just made a super goblin,” Florence said.

“No, I don’t think that would qualify as a super goblin, but it is level two,” Doug replied. Looking closely, Florence could tell the goblin was indeed level two, but without the elite tag that Boss Chuck had. In true goblin form, the new guy started smacking around his smaller kin, taking his choice of bunks as well as anything else that caught his eye.

“Does this mean we’re about to have a goblin population explosion?” Florence asked.

“No, I think things will slow down as they reach the numbers they had previously. Once they attain their normal population count, things will stabilize. At some point, we will need to expand their home or run some adventurers through there to thin the herd, but for now everything looks fine,” Doug told her.

“Well, now that we’re closed for the night, I’m going to get started on leveling up,” Florence said, pulling up her new information for the two of them to peruse.

Florence Valentine

Cat Core Level, 4.

Experience: 96/1500.

Funds: $139/$350.

Defender Expense: $268/350.

Your Champions have been upgraded and the cost has increased from $25 to $50. The dungeon limit for a Champion is one.

You have unlocked Minor Champions. Choose a defender to upgrade to a minor champion. Minor champions require $25 and are much more powerful than a standard defender. The dungeon limit for a Minor Champion is one, at higher levels you will unlock the ability to acquire more of this type of defender.

“Look at that Doug, Chubbs and Zork have gotten an upgrade,” Florence said, looking in on her current champions. The bedroom looked a bit off, the bed was raised up on one side as Chubbs tried to, unsuccessfully, hide under it. Zork was, well, he was invisible. Sure, Florence could see where he was, but any adventurers would be in for a surprise when her little magic kitty champion decided to unleash his power.

“I see, you should perhaps make some alterations to accommodate our newly enhanced champions?” Doug asked. Florence got to work raising the bed up and moving the walls of the room out to give Chubbs more room to work with. Before, the giant fluff ball had been the size of a dog, now he was the size of a lion, a fat, fluffy lion.

“With them a costin’ so much more, they have to be more powerful, right?” Florence asked.

“Yes, while Zork is still the same size, I can tell his mana pool has been greatly enhanced and in addition to his magic missiles, the cat can now project a barrier at will. He magic specialty is force magic and he should give any attackers quite the fright when he first attacks. Of course, his invisibility will be negated once he acts. Our other defenders will also have improved in small ways with our new level,” Doug advised.

“Look at Chubbs go,” Florence said as the huge kitty rolled into a ball and slammed into the dresser, shattering it. Zork followed up with a trio of the magic missiles he could conjure up. The magic attack shattered the remnants of the dresser, but she could fix that without any trouble.

“They should be quite formidable and Chubbs has even picked up a minor regenerative healing ability that will keep him in the fight longer than before,” Doug said. It was a good upgrade, even if the additional cost stuck in her craw a bit.

“What about our minor champion? Who, wait, oh no…” Florence stammered as another system prompt appeared?

Your defender, Spud, has been elevated to Minor Champion.

“That is less than optimal, for some reason the system seems determined to emphasize that particular defender’s individuality,” Doug lamented. As they watched, Spud grew larger and the stench around him was now a visible cloud. Gabsug cheered his newly improved mount, taking the time to climb aboard as the two took a victory lap through the entire home. The other cats greeted Spud, but Florence could tell they were none too happy with the new cloud of stink that followed him around.

“We should see about having his living quarters separated into its own room. It doesn’t do our home any good to have a minor champion that hides away in the goblin hovel,” Doug said.

“Let’s see if he’ll go for a new home,” Florence said. With the additional defender expense, she planned to add a couple of new rooms to her home, the final addition would be Spud’s new place, should he accept it. With the minor champion upgrade, her defender expense was now at two-hundred and eighty-three dollars, giving her a little to work with for the extra pair of rooms she envisioned.

The placement of the new rooms was a bit of a problem. She didn’t have enough defender expense to do the upstairs like she wanted, so came up with a bit of a compromise. She worked and tweaked her designs until she had something she liked.

Her first change was to add a new mandatory room after the hallway. This would be her laundry room. Inside were several baskets of laundry, some sheets and things hanging up to dry and an old-fashioned washboard. She had tried to make a washing machine, but the fool system this world ran on kept changing it. She would have Doug come up with a trap, and they would place defenders after she finished her other work.

The hallway retained the optional link to the Home for Unwanted Goblins, allowing her to throw that obstacle at hostile invaders. Spud’s litter box trap remained in there, and she almost decided to remove it until she realized the goblins were having a disgustingly good time playing in that nasty trap. At least they seemed immune to its effects, it weren’t going to do her any good to have half of them goblins keel over from her own traps.

After the new laundry room, adventurers had a new choice to make, allowing them to continue through her home, or take a side door. The side door led from the laundry room into her newly created garage. This room frustrated her once again, she had really wanted to create her Buick, but instead she could only make an old worn-out wagon in there. Going with the theme, she sprinkled straw over the concrete floor and created several hiding places for her new minor champion to strike from. The room would make a great spot for Doug to place any of the disgusting litter box traps he wanted to, which might also lure Spud inside.

To help motivate her new kitty champ, she created a secret passage from one of the garage cabinets into the goblin room. That way, Spud could visit his friends and still report for duty when adventurers were inside. Unlike her normal defenders, she couldn’t set Spud to wander after adventurers passed him by. Doug told her it was due to him being a champion template, they couldn’t leave their assigned room once adventurers entered. Luckily, he would be able to move from wherever he was in the home to his assigned place when adventurers approached. She really didn’t want her kitties stuck in place when there were no visitors. The little babies liked to socialize when they had the chance.

“Hey Doug, I just want to confirm that it’ll be okay for us to place traps in the room with our minor champion,” Florence asked.

“Well, adding additional defenders is considered bad form, at least until we’re much higher level. Traps, well, those are perfectly acceptable and in many cases are expected, given that the minor champion encounter is supposed to be a difficult challenge. New adventurers typically work their way up the chain, starting with only clearing the first one or two rooms and then moving on to challenge the minor champion. The minor champion will have enhanced rewards, up a tier from your normal setting, and defeating him will allow the party to start acquiring the upgraded gear needed to challenge the final champion,” Doug advised.

“Good, I’ll set you loose on my new rooms once I’m done, then we’ll get to do the absolute best thing in the world, make new kitties,” Florence said.

“Yes, and don’t forget that I won our bet and have the pleasure of naming the first few new additions to our home,” Doug reminded her.

“Fine, a bet’s a bet, and I won’t go back on my word. I’m not like Dorothy Wilkins who lost that bet with Helga at the senior center over that game of bridge. Do you know what Helga did to get back at her?” Florence asked, losing herself in old memories. They were precious reminders of who she was, and she weren’t going to let them slip away so easy when the popped into her mind.

“I really don’t want to hear it, Florence,” Doug replied, turning his attention back to Kyo the robo kitty, which, for some reason, he was obsessed with.

The other new room she created was set between the library and the kitchen. This room became a game room. She never had one in her old home, but she remembered seeing them in magazines and whatnot. A couple of round tables with chairs were set up inside, as well as a pair of comfortable couches with a large coffee table that held various board games. One of the round tables was set up like someone had been in the middle of a poker game with cards, poker chips and the whole nine yards. The other round table had a genuine roulette wheel on it, she would let Doug design a trap for it, but she also had a few ideas about how to use it.

She looked over her new home reviewing the layout to confirm it still had the homey feel she wanted. The front lawn opened into the living room which led to the hallway. The hallway had options to go to the sewing room, bathroom, or adventurers could just move further into her home, skipping the two optional rooms. The hall would also link to the Home for Unwanted Goblins if she wished. If the goblin path was closed the hall now opened into the laundry room which had a side door leading to the garage and her minor champion.

While the side door led to the garage, the main path of the dungeon led to the library and from there, into the newly created game room. After that, adventurers would be offered a chance to rest in the kitchen before tackling the remainder of the dungeon. After the kitchen, they would face the dining room as a warmup to the master bedroom and the pair of champions that waited there to give adventurers their final challenge. She was up to fourteen rooms in total and despite the somewhat crazy layout, Florence believed it had retained its homey feel.

“We’re ready for kitty time, Doug. How many do you figure we should place in our new rooms?” Florence asked.

“We need to vary the challenge up a bit so perhaps a full mage room in the laundry? A trio of casters can be a real challenge if the party doesn’t react to the threat quickly. If they dawdle, the mages will really put the hurt on them. For our game room, perhaps we get a bit creative? How about combining a trap and the defenders into one of the games?” Doug asked.

“Just what I was a thinkin’. That roulette wheel is just asking for a trap. What did you have in mind?” Florence asked.

“Why don’t we hide the defenders in here. The adventurers can place a bet on the wheel for a chance to win a reward chest, the riskier the bet, the higher the reward. With the risk level determining how many defenders are unleashed if they lose. I think the wheel itself lends itself to a spinning blade trap. As far as the number of defenders, why not go with anywhere from one to four depending on their bet?” Doug offered.

Florence thought that was a good number. She set about creating various hiding spaces for her kitties. There were over a dozen spaces, which would allow the defenders to rotate to different spots in order to keep the adventurers guessing. Now she needed to create her new defenders for the game room. Ten dollars poured out of her core as the newest member of the family appeared. The cat was another fluffy tabby that Florene selected as a brawler since the cat sure did look the part.

“Nicely done, now for a proper name. Don’t worry Florence I shall endeavor to choose a name from your own world. I don’t want to risk you butchering the name with a woefully inadequate nickname like you did with poor Obiluxnerance. Hmm, this one seems like an Astrid, yes, her name is Astrid,” Doug said. The new baby tromped around the game room, testing out all the hidey holes that Florence had made for her. She pushed cash into the next kitty, this one was chunky like Astrid was, only he was orange with a hint of white in his fur.

“Oh, another brawler, I see. I think you will be Jurgen,” Doug said, naming the new kitty. Jurgen joined Astrid in their explorations, even jumping on the tables to knock over the cards, chips and even the roulette ball. Why did cats feel the need to knock things over?

“Not bad so far, Doug, they’re almost normal names. Ready for another?” Florence asked as she created a third kitty for the room, this one was going to be a commando cat. A lean and sleek tabby appeared, she did dearly love the coloring on them tabbies, just like little tigers.

“Oh, let’s go with something even Florence might enjoy for this little lady. I think you will be called Clementine,” Doug said, naming the third defender for the room.

“Why that’s actually a great name, Doug. For doing so well, I’ll even let you name another,” Florence said. It was a lot of defenders, but the adventurers making it this far would have a chance to rest up in the kitchen before they took on Zork and Chubbs. Another ten dollars spent on a mage kitty, this one was a small, white and gold mixed breed cat. She looked dainty, but Florence could see the little darling was something called an enhancement mage that would make all the other kitties a bit more deadly.

“This lovely little one shall be called Milk Tea, I think it fits her well,” Doug said.

“Eh, kind of weird but not your worst one,” Florence said. Milk Tea ran to check out the room with her brothers and sisters. Florence knew they would eventually head out to meet the others and explore the rest of their home, but they knew this would be their place during a delve. Florence and Doug spent some time perfecting the link between the roulette wheel, the trap hidden inside it, and the kitties releasing from their hiding spots. They both had fun fixing up the room, so Florence didn’t mind the time they spent on it.

“I think the game room is dialed in. Let’s make two mage kitties for the laundry room, then we’ll have just enough defender expense left over for two more traps. You can have free reign on the traps, so long as there aren’t any slimes involved,” Florence said. She shifted her focus to the laundry room, curious to see how the adventurers would deal with a pair of caster kitties. Another ten dollars left her with small, black shorthaired kitty with the ability to use fire magic.

“This one will be Arya. Did you want the honors with our last little kitty?” Florence asked. She created their last cat, well, it was the last until they reached level five. This one was a fluffy white furball. It looked like a grown-up version of Doug and it was precious.

“This cat shall be named Quirigua!” Doug pronounced.

“No, you went with another weirdo name, and you were on such roll earlier,” Florence lamented. Her frustration was calmed a bit when the kitty accepted the nickname of Q.

“Quirigua is based on your own world’s Mayan history, it’s an important archaeological site,” Doug argued.

“I don’t care about no Mayan archaeology thingy; this is a cute cuddly kitty not some hole in the ground with old stuff that people dig up. Thankfully, little Q here doesn’t mind her nickname, does she,” Florence cooed to her newest addition. The cat accepted her nickname and ran off to find a spot for a nap in the laundry room.

“I’ll still call her by her full name, but her magic type is interesting, she’s a summoner,” Doug said. It was true, she had a fire chucking cat and a summoner to conjure up other beasties to fight for them. She would be interested to see how the adventurers did against the pair.

Doug skulked off to design some traps. They had spent $345 of her defender expense, leaving her assistant with enough money to place two more traps. He decided on a sandbox trap in the garage, it would be right inside the doorway, causing any adventurers to have to carefully step around it, leaving the party vulnerable to Spud’s attacks.

The other trap was placed inside the laundry room. Several lines of hanging clothes were strewn about the room and Doug picked out several lines that adventurers would have to pass through to get at the kitty defenders. The normal string holding up the laundry was replaced with thin wire that was razor sharp. Inattentive adventurers would charge right in, slicing themselves to pieces and giving the mage cats more time to cast spells. He also spent the rest of the night working with her on the older traps, finding alternate sites for them so that he could mix things up and not become predictable. When the adventurers next entered their home, they were going to be in for some surprises.