AleronKong

Book 7 Chapter 1! FREE for all :)

Added 2017-07-16 21:54:00 +0000 UTC

CHAPTER 1 – Day 141 – Kuborn 31, 0 AoC

The stone around the cave mouth began to shudder. Pieces fell, and Richter feared he had triggered another earthquake. The tremors eased though and the stone of the cave began to flow. It reshaped itself in less than a minute until the opening was a perfect replica of an adder’s open mouth, down to the scales carved into the rock and large fangs hanging down from above. The Dungeon’s eyes glowed a very particular shade of red.

Another prompt appeared in Richter’s vision. After reading it, he forgot about everything else. The loot from the goblin encampment, his skill prompts waiting to be read, and learning about his hundreds of potential new villagers were all things that could wait. Even the Chaos points he had earned that were begging to be spent seemed less important in that moment. Nothing else mattered except what he had read.

Congratulations, Dungeon Master! The Dungeon of Bloody Chaos is born!

The notification had a border the same blood color as the light shining from the caves eyes. No sooner had he read the prompt than an itching began on the inside of his right forearm. Richter ripped his gauntlet off and quickly loosened his bracer. By the time he got it off, the itching had faded. In its place was a tattoo of a hissing gray snake with ruby red eyes. As he looked at it, the image faded. As had happened in the past, he knew instinctually that he could summon the tattoo back whenever he wished.

THOOMMM!

You have received a Mark: Blood and Chaos.

Know this, Dungeon Master! You have provided both an Item of Power and a Harbinger and so have created a new Dungeon in The Land! Blood and Chaotic creatures may now recognize you as one of their own. What this bodes for the future, only time will reveal. Your status as Dungeon Master may also affect your interaction with denizens of the Labyrinth. The boon of your Mark of Blood and Chaos will grow with your Dungeon level. Current Bonus: +1% Constitution. +1% Incidence of Finding Treasure. +1% Yield of Treasure

Richter’s eyes widened. Was this a stackable Mark? The yield wasn’t much right now, but if he could grow the Dungeon to level ten? Level fifty? This could be amazing! He accessed his status page to see his other Marks.

Mark

Effect

Master of the Mist Village

You are now the Master of the Mist Village. You may now unlock the Powers of your Domain. Your Mark will give you access to various

Blood Oath of Vengeance

You have sworn a Blood Oath. You have sworn to avenge the attack on your village and to kill the ones responsible. You were given one year to fulfill this Oath. Failure to do so will cause a drop of 1 Charisma per week until fulfilled. You have 405 days remaining.

Forge of Heavens

Your attacks will have +10% damage to spell barriers. This bonus will increase as the level of your Forge increases.

Dragonkin

You are now considered dragonkin. This may drastically change how some races respond to you, for good or ill. The reaction may be instinctual as few will be able to detect the change simply based on your physical form. The full ramifications for this may never be known, but the following changes have taken place immediately: Strength +5. Constitution +5. Fire resistance +5%. Fire magic +5%.

Adventurer

You may now enter the Labyrinth

Blood and Chaos

Blood and Chaotic creatures may now recognize you as one of their own. What this bodes for the future, only time will reveal. Your status as Dungeon Master may also affect your interaction with denizens of the Labyrinth. The boon of your Mark of Blood and Chaos will grow with your Dungeon level. Current Bonus: +1% Constitution. +1% Incidence of Finding Treasure. +1% Yield of Treasure

Richter grinned, retying his bracer back into place. Even though he had just gotten the Dungeon, he was already itching to level it up! The fact that he had no idea how to actually do that was only a minor concern in his opinion. The bonus to Constitution was small now, but could potentially be huge if it grew with the Dungeon. The increased treasure was also nothing to sneeze at. Despite everything that had happened since coming to The Land, he still had a gamer’s love of awesome loot.

The next prompts possessed the same red border as the first one.

Dungeon Master, at present time, two primary capabilities have been unlocked.

One, you control access to this Dungeon. Any and all may enter the Entrance Chamber, but proceeding into the Dungeon proper from this entrance is at your discretion.

Two, if called upon by the Dungeon, you and your strike squad can choose to enter the Dungeon as Defenders. As a Defender, you will be immune to all direct attacks by the Dungeon or its creatures, but you will not be able to retrieve any treasure, resources or experience from the Dungeon or its creatures.

His brow wrinkled. Why the hell would he want to defend the Dungeon? Richter was pretty sure he was just going to try and avoid being eaten by whatever the hell was down there. It seemed like he was being continually encouraged to make the damn thing stronger. He still didn’t know why Hisako had convinced him to give up his beloved pet adder. She had been absolutely sure though that he should offer up the strongest monster he could though to be the Dungeon’s Harbinger. He had assumed it was another way of saying “dungeon boss.”

In Richter’s opinion, a Dungeon full of guinea pigs sounded a lot better than fighting “the unseen killer,” as the shale adder was often called. The damn thing was twenty feet long and could blend perfectly with its surroundings. Most of its prey never even saw it before they died. If that wasn’t creepy and terrifying enough, his former pet had somehow been imbued with Chaotic magic. It meant that magic coursed through its very being. And not just any magic! It wasn’t imbued with one of the Basic Elements, or even a Deeper Magic like Blood or Thought. Chaotic magic was a Higher Energy. Richer hadn’t even encountered another creature that was imbued with a Higher Energy except, well, himself.

He had gone along with her recommendation, though, because she hadn’t led him wrong yet. He looked over at his short, red-haired ally. The Hearth Mother was still examining the newly changed Dungeon mouth, so he turned his attention back to the other prompts awaiting his attention.

Know This! As Master of a Dungeon, you are now tied to it. Having built it upon your Place of Power has benefits. You have learned a new spell!

Congratulations! You have learned the spell: Dungeon Transport. You may now instantly transport to any accessed transport sphere in the Dungeon of Bloody Chaos. Must be cast within the domain of its village. This is a spell of your settlement. Cost: 100 mana. Duration: Instant. Range: 5 feet. Cast Time: 8 seconds. Cooldown: N/A.

Did he just get a Summon Home spell? The Dungeon was already showing its worth. It had always been a fear of his that if his village was attacked again, he would be too far away to help. Now, as long as he was within the ten-mile radius of his domain, he could get back instantly. It wasn’t perfect. If he was brought back to the Dungeon, that meant he would be summoned outside of his village walls for instance, but still, it brought a great ease to his heart. He wasn’t sure what a “transport sphere” was, but he had no doubt he’d figure it out. More notifications were waiting on him.

Know This! You have claimed a Dungeon upon a Place of Power. This will have consequences, both immediate and far reaching. Embrace your role as Dungeon Master to harness this power and avoid pitfalls. As 2 Powers have currently been unlocked, your Dungeon will generate +200% more Dungeon Points each day.

Know This! The choices of Harbinger and Item of Power directly affect the growth of your Dungeon. Foolish are those who fear pain and so avoid the path to power. The class of your choices determine the Dungeon Points generated each day.

A color coded list popped up in his vision.

Common = 1

Uncommon = 2

Unusual = 3

Scarce = 5

Rare = 7

Epic = 10

Mythic = 13

Legendary = 16

Relic = 20

Artifact = 25

The class of your Item of Power is Artifact! The class of the Chaotic Bloodstone awards 25 Dungeon Points per day.

Your Item of Power is Unique in The Land! +3 Dungeon Points for using such an item.

Your Item of Power uses Chaos Magic! +5 Dungeon Points for choosing an Item that can utilize a Higher Energy.

Richter stopped for a moment. Artifact? The Chaotic Bloodstone was artifact? The vein in his forehead began to throb. When he had initially examined it, the class had been relic. That was impressive enough, but now it was artifact! He didn’t even know if there was a higher class of item in The Land. The list he was looking at stopped at “Artifact,” but that might just be because it listed up to what his Item of Power was. He ground his teeth. He had had an artifact in his hands and a fucking hole in the ground had eaten it!

Shaking his head in irritation, he went back

Your Harbinger is an Epic creature! The class of the Chaotic Reptile awards 10 Dungeon Points per day.

Your Harbinger is Unique in The Land! +3 Dungeon Points for having such a creature.

Your Harbinger uses Chaos Magic! +5 Dungeon Points for choosing a creature that can utilize a Higher Energy.

The Dungeon of Bloody Chaos generates 153 DP’s per day.

Know This! The two Powers you have awakened, Life and Air, can be made manifest by your Dungeon in many ways. Danger and Reward are close bedfellows. Guard well your life.

Know This! As Dungeon Master, your abilities affect the Dungeon. Your Harbinger is a Reptile Beast; as such, your Dungeon would normally be populated by Reptile Beasts. Your Limitless ability has extended this monster type to include all Beasts and Animals. More options may be possible in the future. Examine your Dungeon screen for more information.

Dungeon screen? There was a new icon in the corner of his vision. Wasting no time, Richter selected it. The image was a miniature version of the cave mouth, a stylized snake’s head with glowing red eyes.

Dungeon Name

Dungeon of Bloody Chaos

Monster Type

Beasts (All) and Animals (All)

Rooms

Entrance Chamber

Level

Dungeon Points

153/day

Current Reserved Total: 0

Available Resources

None

Available Loot

None

To say that the screen was bare bones was an understatement. Luckily, his next prompt held some hope.

To expand the information available, assign a Dungeon Keeper.

Congratulations! You have discovered a new Job for your village: Dungeon Keeper.

Richter tried to assign the Job to himself, but the answer was a resounding “Nyet!”

You do not possess the qualifications to become a Dungeon Keeper. Choose someone worthy!

Kinda a dickish way to say no, Richter thought to himself. He just shook his head though and dismissed the prompt. It had been worth a try. He accessed the next prompt with a red border.

Know This! The capabilities of your Dungeon are legion, but it can only manifest that which has been discovered, offered or taken. Place items and resources in the Well of Offering to increase the possible rewards of your Dungeon.

Richter looked around, but the only thing outside of the Dungeon was the black spike with the golden ball on top. This “Well of Offering” had to be inside. He was about to tell Hisako that it was time to venture in, but then he caught the look on her face. She was positively apprehensive. The sprite just kept staring at the entrance to the cave. Richter examined the yawning snake mouth that was the portal to the Dungeon. When he had first seen it, the tunnel entrance had just looked like a dark opening in the earth. Now, it was almost like a gigantic monster was going to swallow them all. He could well understand why she might be feeling some hesitation.

Still, there was no other choice. He would have to venture into the snake’s mouth sooner or later, so it might as well be sooner. Richter wouldn’t allow anyone else to risk their lives doing something he wasn’t willing to do himself. He walked up to the Hearth Mother.

“I’m going inside, Hisako. You may come with me if you like. I hope you do, but I understand if you want to stay outside.”

She looked down the hill they were standing on. Only minutes had passed since they had both sent everyone else away. The village guards and sprite warriors were still helping the newly released prisoners through the village walls. Their already slow pace was worsened by the large trench that surrounded the sections of the village not protected by the northern cliffs. There were only three passages across moat, and it was taking time to usher hundreds of people across.

Hisako looked back at him and said, “I want to accompany you. I wanted to suggest that we enter myself, but for some reason I just feel hesitant. It took me a moment to realize what was happening, but I believe I am being enchanted. Hold one moment.” She started casting a spell and golden light surrounded her hand. After speaking several words of Power, the light flared and then went out. Her back straightened immediately. The hesitant tone left her voice, and she exclaimed, “Much better. This Dungeon is casting a Doubt effect on any who would approach it.”

Richter frowned. He didn’t feel any fear or doubt. The Dungeon looked a bit intimidating, but in the same way dating an NBA player’s ex-girlfriend was intimidating. He was still going in there. He was about to ask her to explain, but he decided to just check his combat log first.

Richter has resisted Doubt. As Dungeon Master, you have full immunity to the external defenses of the Dungeon.

He hadn’t even known! Already he had discovered a third perk of being a Dungeon Master. “I seem to be immune to it,” Richter said.

Hisako gazed at the Dungeon mouth consideringly, “This newest addition to your village is already proving itself deadly. Dungeons desire to consume those who enter them. A Fear effect would drive away its prey, but Doubt is far more insidious. Adventurers would still enter, but the enchantment placed on the entrance would most likely nestle in their hearts. At a critical moment, it might make them hesitate. In battle, a moment of doubt can trigger the eternity of death.”

Richter grew worried, “Does this mean anyone that enters will have to deal with this effect?” He had little idea exactly what the implications of being the Master of a Dungeon were, but if Hisako’s initial excitement had been any indication, it was a very good thing. Still, it was also clear that the Dungeon was dangerous. Power was great and all, but he wasn’t willing to sacrifice his village to get it. He had already been hesitant to let anyone in, but if the entrance gave everyone the Doubt debuff then he might need to make it off limits completely.

Hisako shrugged, “I have made myself immune from the effect, but it is still there. You may be able to do something about it through your position as Dungeon master. We may also learn more by exploring.” She squared her shoulders and said firmly, “Let us find out.” With that, she marched into the snake’s mouth. Richter blinked once at the strong-willed woman, and then hurried to catch up.

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I hope ya’ll enjoyed Chapter 4!

I wanted Book 7 out at the end of the month, but life and work intervened.

I'm happy to tell you Book 7 will be my LONGEST book by a good margin :)

Though, as usual, I hope you love it so much that it FEELS crazy short lol

That's relativity folks!

I'm hoping and praying to have it out by the end of the month

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Stuff you might want to know, I'm doing a SMITE, Paladins, Clash of Clans and League of Legends giveaway this month.

If you're interested you can find it here

https://www.litrpg.com/litrpg-contest/

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