DungeonCultist

Dungeon Item Shop - Chapter 124: Staying ahead

Fresh stands with her hands against the stone railing, feeling the cold evening air which has been absorbed into the rock, run up her fingers. Her damp eyes stare out over the infinite expanse that is visible from here, wandering over the endless forest that seems to stretch on like a boundless sea, as it vanishes over the distant horizon together with the setting sun that lowers to hide down just beyond it.

Today was another successful day in the dungeon. They had cleared an...

Chapter 270

As I rise up towards the next floor, I hear something exciting. A whistling. But it’s not a whistling born of pursed lips, of soft flesh blowing wind as if to project a kiss. It’s not the whistling of a hard wind, shearing against a sharp rock. It’s a smooth, heavier whistling. Like music. Like a flute. As I climb, I feel my foot tapping against the stones, I feel my knees buckling a little as I bob up and down to the jaunty little tune. What a nice song. It actually has a melody, what ...

Dungeon Item Shop - Chapter 123: All together

They had gotten to floor six of the new dungeon on their first outing before they returned to the adventurer’s guild where they ate their fill of greasy bar-food. Fresh made sure to tip the little fairy woman generously. But she isn’t sure if she is doing her a favor or not, as the fairy has to make multiple trips to get her coins. Despite their expenses, they seem to have made a small profit today and the four of them head inside of their room to fall asleep on their new bed-rolls. The s...

Chapter 269

The raging inferno towers all around me, as the jungle burns in the heart of the firestorm. I run through the thick, wet foliage that hisses loudly as the scorching heat licks against it. Mud and black-water splash beneath my metal boots as I push on through the dense canopy, trying to fight my way forward. The wet dirt grips my boots and sucks them in, as if hands were trying to pull me back down into the river of the dead from which I crawl.

Shoo-shoo, lost souls! Shoo-shoo...

Early Version Story - Chapter 2

[New Passive] {Wormblood}

Your body constantly regenerates itself at a rapid pace through an extremely intensive, calorically expensive process.

[New Passive] {Blue Shimmer}

Thanks to the mold in your eyes, they are particularly strong in dark environments and allow you to see what others do not.

He lurches forward, clawing himself free from the heap of ancient debris and mildew that buries h...

Dungeon Item Shop - Chapter 122: The truth is...

The air is filled with a resonating whistling which stems from the strange creatures ahead of them. They resemble the small kobolds from the higher floors, but they are larger and their bodies are permeated with shards of the crystals all around them. The fluff of the exterior of their forms is noticeably thicker in the places that it remains, much like a sheep’s wool. They build a tight circle as they hold hands and dance in a ring around the giant, flat-topped crystal in the center of the...

Chapter 268

There is a heavy scraping sound as the ‘man’ pulls the plane over the surface of the sandstone sculpture. Coarse shavings fall to the ground and I stare at him as he moves his leathery, gray arms back and forth, running the plane over the body of the unfinished sphinx over and over. The sharp scraping sound flows out in a consistent pattern, like the heaving of a heavy breast gasping for air, like the blow of a forge bellows fueling a smoldering inferno inside. The undead craftsman looks ...

Dungeon Item Shop - Poll 7

Should Fresh come clean to Basil and Shamrock about her being cursed? Or is it better to maybe not bring it up just now, while things are still so turbulent? =)

Dungeon Item Shop - Chapter 121: All in all

“I think it looks nice!” says Fresh excitedly as they all stand together just outside of the house that Jubilee had pointed out to them. They are inside the mountain tunnel by the dungeon. Water of the stream which runs from the dungeon gate towards the entrance of the city flows a few steps past the tightly closed door of the building. The building juts out halfway, as if it were carved from the inside of the mountain from one solid piece. Fresh walks up to one of the two large windows o...

Chapter 267

Why am I bad? I try really hard, you know? The shaft of the lance strikes against my head as I knock on my cranium with it, perhaps a little harder than I should. The dull thudding sound rings out, echoing around the empty void that is filled with nothing but chains and dead meat. I work really hard. But I’m still bad. Is that why I’m here on my own? I look around the void, searching for any signs of life. Who told me that? And why? What did I do? And why am I sure that I believe it? Why ...

Dungeon Item Shop - Chapter 120: Long term goals

“Jubilee! Jubilee!” yells Fresh excitedly, as she runs up to her friend, seeing them standing in the road together with Shamrock, who she also says an excited hello to. “Look at all of the stuff we found!” says Fresh as she turns around to show Jubilee the full bag on her back. Basil catches up, panting as she too has her own overflowing bag on her back, but also two of the three bedrolls, as Fresh was unable to carry anything else.

Jubilee nods to her, looking over a...

Chapter 266

There’s nowhere to go but up!

Well, I mean, I could also just go back down. Or left. Or right. Or uh… sideways at an angle. But you know what I mean. I’m trying to foster an encouraging environment for everyone to grow up in, okay? I am brother, it is…

Wait.

I stop and scratch my head as I stand there. I don’t have any siblings. Do I?

Standing on the staircase, I look around at the emptiness that surrounds me. Dunge...

Chapter 119: Shopping Spree

“Look! Look over here!” shouts Fresh excitedly as she tugs on Basil’s hand, dragging the priestess behind her as they make their way through the new city. Several hours had passed since she had woken up on her own and gone wandering, by the time she returned the others were awake and ready to set out as well. It makes Fresh a little nervous, but for the first time they are splitting up. Jubilee told her not to be a baby and she tried her best, but she still felt really anxious about it ...

Chapter 265

Who am I?

I take a step back, my eyes are wide with fear and disgust as the thing that reaches, reaches. Give them back. I take a step back, moving away from the encroacher as its meaty tendrils slap all around, as it feels the stones trying to sense the vibrations from my beating heart. What are you? I take another step back and fall over. I fall down onto the ice behind me, as my foot slips over the edge of the channel. The ice cracks as my heavy armor falls down against it...

TANGO Heavy - Chapter 27: Cooking

“Okay. Draw the knife down along its stomach,” says Tango, pointing to the small carcass that the girl hovers over. Its head lays at an awkward angle, as its broken neck no longer holds it in place correctly.

“Like this?” asks Pen, pressing the sharpened rock down along its stomach.

“Harder. Bears have thick skin,” says the man. Pen presses down harder. The stone moves, piercing through the animal’s fur as it sinks into its chest. “Now keep it...

Dungeon Item Shop - Chapter 118: Bathwater

“You’re doing good so far,” says the voice of the fountain. Fresh looks around as she floats in the black-water. Is she?

“Everything went wrong. It was really close,” argues the girl as she floats as a disembodied presence in the light-less ocean. The fountain yawns loudly, not too bothered by her statement. She feels the water surge around her as a presence shifts and moves nearby, the current pressing all around her sides as it flows around her bodiless form in a ...

Chapter 264

The purple reflection that refracts around the crackling ice stares up at me, its visage distorting in all manner of strange contortions. I call for the stranger, but they don’t respond, perhaps having sunken too deeply beneath the ice to be saved. The prismatic shimmering of the crystals which fill the floor bounds off of the sleek ice, bounds off of a single aquamarine, slimy body behind me and casts a green silhouette onto the ice as it projects through her. Green is the color of envy, y...

Dungeon Item Shop - Chapter 117: Welcome to the West

“Wow…” lets out Fresh in silent wonder, as they cross through the precipice of the gate. The giant entry-way towers above them. Its crystal-lit shadow envelops them whole as they cross the boundary, as if the aura of a dungeon portal were swallowing them.

Despite it being dusk outside, the streets are still very busy which is an unusual sight for her. In the northern city, the roads cleared very quickly as soon as the sun vanished. But here, the giant prismatic crystals...

Chapter 263

A gentle stream of water runs down the rock, splashing quietly as it strikes down against the stones below and as I walk, I graze my fingers along the surface of the wall, feeling the gentle trickle drip over and between my fingers, as it follows its solitary journey down to the darkness below. Safe travels, water.

The water doesn’t respond. But that’s okay. It doesn’t need to, I understand, water. Go. Be free. We’ll meet again one day and you can talk to me then, if ...

Dungeon Item Shop - Chapter 116: Go West

They seem to have reached a plateau of sorts here on the other side of the bridge. The thin mountain road quickly widens out further and further as it presses inward towards the heart of the mountains. The gray and lifeless harshness which was all around them on the lower rung, seems to be entirely out of sight now as the grassy knoll here is filled with dark and rich green tones. The grass is tall and plentiful. It is as if they were in the forest again and further along the road, the space ...

Chapter 262

I tap my finger against the body of the large, glassy crystal that lies atop the work-bench. A sharp ring echoes out all around me, as the sound reverberates around the empty room of the tomb. Gazing down, I look at the heap of bones that lies slumped over a table, the collection held only roughly together by the cloth robe that it wears. This must be where the skeleton-casters originate from in our dungeon. Neat.

I tap the skull, hoping that it too will make a sound. It does...

Dungeon Item Shop - Chapter 115: Mountain Road

Fresh clutches herself, wrapping her arms tightly around her body as she shudders. The shaking of her body triggered by the cold wind which rushes past her. The surprisingly frigid gale tosses her matted hair against her neck as it surges all around them. The current strangely twists in the air as it passes them in an odd spiraling motion, as if they were at the center of a whirlpool. As if one body of wind was crashing and cascading down the surface of the mountain, as yet another stream see...

Chapter 261

I’m a little bit scared of tomorrow, you know?

Pushing through the wheat-field that sways, billowing in the gentle breeze of the kind summer wind that is trapped beneath the surface of the world together with me. The breath of life filling the empty cavern as it constantly tries to surge and stream out towards the exit, as if it were showing me the way towards tomorrow. As if it were trying to take me with it.

But I’m a little bit scared of going.

<...

Dungeon Item Shop - Chapter 114: Adventure

The night comes to an end and once again they set off, marching towards the west in a loose grouping. Fresh does her best to stay in the front, not wanting to be the one to slow them down as they push through the forest. Despite everything, spirits seemed to be higher now than the days before. Perhaps now that all of them have had the time to recover somewhat from the shock of their hasty exit from the northern city, or perhaps now that they were coming together more and more as a party capab...

Chapter 260

What is your secret little egg? I tap my fingers against the surface of the shell, pressing my ear to the side as I listen to the noise coming from inside. A wet hand swipes at my own, pushing it away to stop my tap, tap tapping. Sticking my tongue out, I flick it at her, taking the time to smell the air, as a hiss leaves my throat. Ssss~

Egg.

Carrying the egg in my free arm, I walk casually up the staircase. There’s no need to rush after all. The dungeon s...

Dungeon Item Shop - Poll 6

Fresh has been dabbling more and more into cooking and brewing actual food rather than just potions. Should they consider selling food/drinks at their new location? (Assuming they arrive alive) Or should they just stick to 'traditional' item shop items? =)

Dungeon Item Shop - Chapter 113: The zest of life

The rest of the night had passed without anything of note happening. Basil and Shamrock sat around the fire, eating their soup out of glass bowls, one of them clearly feeling much more awkward about it than the other, who simply poured it into his helmet. Fresh and Jubilee sat on the side, a tree separating them. Fresh didn’t want Jubilee to have to eat alone, so she left the fire too, to sit with them.

The soup is very filling and hearty, carrying with it a deep and surpri...

Chapter 259

“Wow! Will you look at that!” I mutter in awe of the giant egg that sits before me. Lifting a finger, I gently poke the shell. It’s an odd mixture of firm, but pliant. Like a soft rock. A sweltering heat rages all around us, but it’s kind of nice. It’s not like… lava hot. It’s just, I dunno, hot-hot. You know?

The slime and I look around floor forty-one, getting a feel for the landscape. It’s a hatchery of sorts. If I had to guess, this is a dragon’s egg. Yo...

Dungeon Item Shop - Chapter 112: Salty

The four of them stare out over the giant lake. The distant shore is still visible from this side of the water, but only barely so. Only the blackened silhouette of the far off tree-line gives credence to its presence. If not for them, Fresh would be sure that the lake simply goes on forever. The moon is full tonight and it shines brightly above their heads, together with the many full, hanging stars that fill the night-sky. The celestial bodies seem to weigh unusually heavy tonight, as if th...

Chapter 258

The blade of the lance scratches over the stones as I finish drawing my ‘X’ in the grid in the lowest square in the middle. 

 -  -  -

O  -  -

-  X  -

The slime thinks for a second, her goo wobbling around as she looks at the playing field that we have carved into the rock from different angles, trying to get an overview. She lifts her hand, pointing to the middle right corner. I lift the lance, drawing t...