Day 3, Evening

 

After the battle, the collection and distribution of the spoils began. I welcome the new information shared with me by Crimson as it allowed me to explore many more opportunities in the future. I thought to myself. Maybe if I ever became an adventurer and decided to tour the world outside then I could just buy some cores from the guild then just funnel them back into the dungeon to create some super monsters.

 

Of course this is all an absurd dream at the moment. I am still a level 1 noob dungeon master, slightly stronger than the average pesky novice travellers. Oh but there’s a plus side now since I finally learnt a magical skill. It’s not a super powerful skill but if you think about it with my absurd mana levels and then I don’t have to hit anyone with quality, I can swamp and bog them down with quantity. Ahh yes, numbers are good which is what I’m lacking at the moment.

 

Now you’re gonna ask, with the number of monsters I’ve defeated and the monsters of kills my allies helped accumulate then how far away am I from taking that big step?

 

The answer is not far. But really… It actually is quite far.

 

I stare at that figure - A whooping 3 digits of disparity. Look at that monstrosity.

[You are 392/500 EXP towards the next level]

 

Shocking to say at the least. Let me summarise my findings, and let me just say this is an estimation of these goblin’s true worth.

 

Firstly, A normal goblin should only be 11-14 EXP. By normal goblin I mean those level 3 ones. If we were to talk about the shoddy level 2 ones they’d only be worth 5-6 EXP.

 

If we looked at the Goblin scout then they’re slightly better, I would say they’re worth 18 - 23 EXP. Not bad in number - With a job they’re definitely more efficient and worth more in the system.

 

The archer didn't put up much of a fight but if you think about it. It’s whole strength is range and getting others to stop the enemy dealers. I’m not your common fodder character so I got rid of him pretty quickly. I would prize him at 24 - 29 EXP depending on their abilities.

 

Now onwards to the goblin warrior, the strongest of the bunch so far, maybe 33-38 EXP would be a good estimate?

I think comparatively when placed against the kobolds there is nothing they can really shine in at the base levels. Maybe there are differences when ‘real’ evolutions come into play but I don’t know much about that yet.

 

Well that’s enough rambling for today. Anyway Crimson pumped out another level 2 goblin this evening. It’s a boy. Congrats.

 

…

 

“Not bad, we’ve got 330DP. Your total amount to date is 850, which is short of 1000.”

 

“Do you evolve again at 1000 or something? Why are you so excited?”

 

I really wondered if it would be so easy. 500 to 1000 seems like a really short divide for a tier by the way.

 

“Of course not. I just feel like things are finally coming along is that something to be happy about? With more DP I can have more fun!”

 

I stared at this greedy little mistress. I wanna reap the benefits as well you know?

 

“Ahh so it’s like that, can I also have fun with the DP?”

 

“You may not! Anyway are there any more skills that you have unlocked after that battle?”

 

“Yeah I’ve unlocked [Stone Bullet] and [Mana Recovery 1]”

 

“Anything else? I feel like you’ve done a lot.”

 

I thought to myself. There did seem to be a few different things that appeared that I overlooked. Actually there were a lot of things.

 

“[Command] rose to 3. [Sword Proficiency] didn’t level up unfortunately. I thought there would be a few buffs due to my successful plots and schemes but nope.”

 

“And?”

 

“And I have this looming Goblin Shaman Curse and another looming question mark of ‘assimilation rate’. It doesn’t bode too well for me.”

 

“Do you feel any after effects?”

 

I pause and cycle the energy in my body to see if there is anything specifically different about me. But I truly can’t find anything.

 

“No, not yet I guess.”

 

“???”

 

…

 

Day 4, Midday

 

No threat of monsters even with Mr Vengeful Beacon Slime going full blast. I would like to think it's a good sign but I’m actually rather worried instead.

 

It’s the 4th day already and the number of our staff grows. It will grow in the future as well. I promised myself. I begin to do a headcount of the subordinates currently in my midst.

 

A common level 3 goblin with a flint blade. A level 4 goblin rogue with a short dagger, another level 4 goblin archer but this guy is kinda blind. Anyway we’ve equipped him with a bow, so surely he has some combat use.

 

I look to the other side, there’s a level 2 goblin I can’t say much for him but he sticks around the kobold a lot like a newborn foal. The kobold is past the midway mark to level 6, well he was already past the midway mark originally so he’s getting closer. He’s actually quite strong now that I think about it. Maybe I should try to evolve him or gather some cores and see how he goes?

 

“Kobold come here.”

 

The kobold listens to my commands and follows diligently across. I wanted to observe him a little closer. How much effort did I have to put into this guy to make him stronger?

 

[Kobold(?) >> ?? requires 15 I Cores, 5 H Cores and 2 G Cores]

 

“Wow, that's a lot. I think?”

 

[Additional requirement - Level 9]

 

“That’s really far.”

 

One can hope though. I only have good feelings for this Kobold. This guy has never betrayed me, we’ve been through thick and thin. A whole 4 days. It’s unthinkable really.

 

I began realizing that there were a lot of question marks everytime I wanted to do an evolution, firstly it felt like my knowledge base of the amount of monster and monster types was too shallow as I hadn’t experienced them or created them yet. Also there was the level disparity of the dungeon and I in quality goods creation, then we had to factor in my horrid luck as a final modifier too so Crimson and I just had to be super careful.

 

“Well not really, we have been careful with lots of things. Actually there were a lot of accidents instead.”

 

I chuckled. I wonder how many more chuckles I would get in this journey. Hopefully a few, hopefully enough to stay satisfied.

 

…

 

Day 4, Evening

 

Nothing outstanding happened, there’s nothing for me to report, it feels like a short respite that was truly needed to be honest. The goblin are getting accustomed to each other and are planning out battle formations but with their low intel they’re not getting very far. I feel like controlling them is the best and efficient method but I wanna see if they can grow if I leave them to their own devices.

 

The curious case of Scotty, our mascot of death and enforcer of tribulation is going strong. I didn’t mention him beforehand because he wasn’t there, afterall he can’t even move. This fat towering ‘flashlight’ is as imposing as ever and I really hope he would stop. I apologise mr slime, I was wrong.

 

Crimson, she is a core but takes on the form of an elegant and beautiful girl with hawk like eyes that are painted in the same colors of her dress. She would have received an A+ grading from me if only she didn’t ruin it with her dreadful personality and bouts of tantrums. Actually if she could move about and fight that would be a terrifying prospect. Have you seen husbands go home to their angry wives with frying pans ready? Yikes…

 

Stocktake. Let’s just say even though we’ve only gone through a few battles we’ve got some good loot still. There are some medicine balms that can help regen hp and we even have some grown in room 2 which was in the empty small room before. So +1 Small Herb! Yes!

 

Weapons. We have lots of weapons, the currently equipped ones are the better ones but the ones lying about aren’t exactly unusable, they’re just bad. The majority are swords since they are the dominant weapon in any fantasy world. I have an old spear lying around as well but there are no monsters with any strong suits for it. I looked towards the new goblin but my hopes were limited. I mean the spear is double its size. What can a midget do with such a big stick haha.

…

 

[2 Rewards have been given. These rewards have been delayed by the system]

 

“Ohhhh more rewards I wonder what they were for. Any rewards are good rewards.”

 

I thought to myself. My memory is foggy. I don’t remember anything that would warrant rewards, I really couldn’t, maybe the peacetime has gotten to me. I also thought, why now of all times?

 

[The rewards for the following achievement: ‘Exploiting the Dungeon Core to make a landslide’ have arrived]

 

Ohohoho I thought to myself, ‘Yes, Yes this is truly worthy to be called an achievement’, but if Crimson knew she would rustle me up.

 

[You have obtained Quake Stone (Broken)]

 

[A note has arrived]

 

“Hey it’s me, your boy Nyarlorn! Hahaha how ya doing kiddo. Anyhoo I thought it was pretty interesting how you bent the rules and caused a ruckus so I thought I create a ruckus inside your ruckus to make a ruckus of the situation ya feel my drift? Anyway I could’ve sworn I gave you the full thing but Dungeon Express quality service must be declining these days… Well anyway cya nerd.”

 

I bent my neck, I wanted to fall over - I’m almost inclined 90 degrees, how is that humanly possible.

 

[Quake Stone]

 

A powerful stone that would be fought over by magi and small skirmishes would be waged. Even by infusing a small amount of power one could use ‘Quake’ a tier 3 AOE spell that would demolish small scale parties and small monster habitations.

 

The piece you have is broken - in fact it is only a fragment. I’m not sure what use there is with it at the moment.

 

“This guy is truly out to create a ruckus. One could say he thrives in the chaos.”

 

[Reward for uncommon monster creation]

 

[Tortoise monster strain unlocked]

“Ohhhhh, this one isn’t that bad to be honest. I like this!”

 

As I mention this it’s also time for our daily summon. I look at Crimson.I’m actually hoping for a turtle. They might be viewed as usually by the system but not by me. After all even with my horrid luck I’m sure I can exploit it.

 

[A monster has been summoned]

 

“What! Why is it this useless creature.”

 

I could hear Crimson yell. I know she doesn’t like slow creatures, she doesn’t like the goblins either, actually she doesn’t like anything. She’s only amicable with the kobold.

 

[Smol Turtle has been identified]

 

“...”

 

“...”