Chapter 13 - Calming the “evil spirit”

The attacking group of dwarfs split up into multiple squads. This was to make micromanagement easier for them.

Individual squads now made their way through my dungeon. Clearing large areas of any monsters and then calling a special banishment squad. They were there to banish the influence of the evil spirit on the environment.

Though I could not feel anything once the squad started exorcising my domain. Contrary to their intent they even strengthened my influence. I analyzed why the reason for my influence over the are growing but didn’t come to a satisfying solution. I could only conspire that it had to do something with the number of animals dying in my domain.

I came to this conclusion after comparing the effects of various banishments on my domain. Those that had been conducted in more prominent areas were especially effective, easing me of any unnoticed controlling difficulty.

Though especially the area where the novice dwarf squad died was eased massively.

After my analysis, I again took a look at the dwarfs’ advance. Their front-most squads were already engaged in a fight with the entanglomination. The battle was relatively short, the dwarfs overpowered and over-brained the monster. Already having gotten information from the expert dwarf squad, that had dived my dungeon first.

Having missed the effectiveness of my traps I went through my memories of them. The first traps were the most fatal. The unexpecting dwarfs strolled through my domain, not all too careful, knowing that nothing in my first zone could hurt them at all. They were quite surprised once some of them walked in the traps.

Relatively to the zone’s difficulty, the traps were quite fatal. This was so to balance out that they were able to be avoided or disarmed completely. Sadly, even though the traps’ high possible damage, no intruder died from them in the first zone.

The pitfalls did their job of impaling some of the dwarfs but were unable to kill any of them. But some surely were out of the fight for the coming future. The rockfall traps proved mostly inefficient. The dwarfs’ natural stubbornness, thick-headedness, and helmet provided the necessary strength to overcome the trap. The stones harmlessly bonked of the dwarfs’ heads and fell to the floor, only the rubble made the journey more difficult.

In the second zone, the traps were quite more effective. The pitfalls were deeper and proved able to kill one dwarf and injure a dozen others. Rockfalls were similarly useless but the rolling boulder and slide trap were quite effective.

The large boulders squished only two dwarfs, but the other rocks were able to block paths or injure even more. At the top, the slime trap was an absolute anathema for the dwarves. With their short legs and stocky build, they slipped on the trap and squiggled around on the ground.

This was one of the funniest scenes I had ever seen. I couldn't stop watching the little people trying to stand up again and again, just to fall down seconds later.

After I had a look at the effectiveness of my traps the dwarfs were just making their way into the triangle challenges. They split up into three groups and challenged each cave in specially outfitted formations.

They were quick to defeat the challenge-guardians and made their way further into my dungeon, into an unexplored area. Meanwhile, I once again looked over the traps I had designed.

The more extreme traps had the results I expected. The new traps though were interesting to watch in action. Ice spikes fell down from the ceiling trying to, for naught, impale a stubborn dwarf. While the rising water level, together with the ice spikes’ mess created a stressful battle for the intruders.

Though last, but definitely not least, was the trap combo within the slimy rivers. Even more so than before the dwarfs slipped on the slime traps. But now instead of being able to stand up again and continue forth after some while, they were trapped. The dwarfs were stuck to the ground unable to get up without help from someone else.

Some of the intruders were now even fuming. Their faces beet red, while they fruitlessly scrambled to get free. Their squad members, having defeated the zones defenders, were rolling around outside the trap. Loud laughter filled the cave, and the trapped victims grew red in embarrassment.

I had to stop my enjoyment of the trapped dwarves to watch the intruders battle against my fourth zone. My new and improved zone was proving to be very effective. The more extreme environment, combined with the traps was unsurprisingly wonderful.

The squads were overwhelmed with a large number of defenders and had to group up. Though even then the geysers and ice crystal hails increased the number of injured greatly. Adding to my already known traps, especially the slime trap - cliff combo were the avalanches.

They took full squads of dwarfs into the depths of the rising river. The intruders‘ numbers were going down rapidly. This was because the environment was absolutely unfitting for them.

Dwarfs belonged into the deep tunnels of the depth or beneath. Not in an environment of ice-cold cliffs colliding with boiling and raging rivers. They were burly and stocky, not the necessary agile and dextrous needed for this environment.

Nonetheless, the intruders continued on. Their overpowering strength and quite high numbers allowed them to further intrude on my domain.

Reaching the zone of my alpha guardian were only two-thirds of the originally send forces. One-third of them had either perished inside my dungeon or were fatally wounded, unable to fight anymore.

Quite a lot of the remaining fighters were wounded, but still able to fight, more or less. In my fifth zone, they were met by the ever-changing and chaotic environment. They carefully made their way through the zone, cautious of any traps or enemies.

After a while, they sighted my alpha guardian. The peak tier 3, solar bear reeled up on its hind legs and greeted them with a thundering roar. The steaming breath convinced the dwarfs that this was the final challenge before they would reach the evil spirit's core.

The battle was fierce and took a lot of the dwarfs' squads. Even though the bear was “only” peek tier 3, the position as alpha guardian, the special environment, and the rare sun/fire affinity strengthened it massively.

Continuing on was half the fighting force that had entered my dungeon. All of them were suffering injuries in various stages. I wanted to talk them out of continuing on, not wanting to risk them maybe reaching the end.

Though I didn’t, fearing them getting even more upset by me “controlling” one of them. To my luck, they turned around once they were a bit into my sixth and last zone.

The environment was not meant for even the hardy dwarfs. And the numerous traps and strong monsters quickly showed their might and barred their teeth. Though the straw that broke the camel's back was one tragic death of their own.

A tier 3 dwarf, at the front, put his foot where it didn’t belong. I had, in the stress of outfitting my dungeon with enough traps created a horror for everything living.

Once the dwarf put his full weight on the foot, it began. The dwarf's shoe was quick to catch fire, from the hot stone and a boulder was making its way down the staircase further up. In a quick lunge, the dwarf flung himself away from the hot stone, just as a stream of pressurized lava was shot forth from the hot stone.

Unfortunately, the dwarf landed on another trigger. From three different directions things, meant to kill, were making their way towards him. Arrows from the right, stalactites from the ceiling, and a lavafall from the top right. The intruder looked around hectically, though he was too late.

Together with a large rumble, from an avalanche, making its way down on him, he was impaled, punched through, and burnt at the same time. Seconds later the avalanche hit and buried the intruder.

Once the dust had set down the dwarves stood there. Mouths open, eyes wide staring at the scene that had unfolded before them. Though their decision was now carved in stone.

They fled the scene. Ontop the calming rubble hundreds of monsters howled, barred, or screeched at them. Behind them, the lava lake was slowly rising, threatening to drown them all.

I was relieved that the dwarfs’ had finally left my domain. I was able to scare them off, except the occasional scoundrel. Delving the first cavern of my first zone, in a ritual of the dwarfs’ youngsters to become a man.

Following the unsuccessful exorcism of my domain, the dwarfs created a protective seal around my entrance. To fight off any and all evil spirits trying to enlargen their influence.

I let the dwarfs bee, only observing them and learning from them. They were slowly increasing their cavern’s size, the large number of babies was necessitating this. The large number of injured veterans were searching for something to do. Forming different areas to practice their crafts. Especially the mining areas were quite prominent in the village

This was also what bore the idea I was currently working on. I wanted the dwarfs to again dive my dungeon, enabling me to advance faster and learn more. But I didn’t want for the dwarfs to attack me again, risking my core.

So I was going to provide something they needed. Which would then provide the dwarfs with a reason for not killing me later on, when they had grown more powerful.

Over one week I worked out the right look, balance, and difficulty of my new incentive. In the end, I was finally finished with crafting my own little mines or veins.

I placed them in some of my zones. The veins' rarity and purity rising the deeper someone got into my domain. This was to encourage them to take risks, so they would not all stay in the safe first zone.

The first zone held a small and impure copper vein, making its way through some of the side caverns. In the second zone, the copper veins were far purer and more numerous. A new resource could be found within the third zone. There copper and coal veins made their way through the three different caves.

The fourth zone held the very needed iron ore. Though it was difficult to mine, being embedded on the sides of the cliffs. The iron in these zones even changed to acclimate to the two different manas. Some of the veins were now naturally colder or hotter.

In the fifth zone, there was not an underwater mine. Besides the exit in the lake, there was the entrance to the mineshaft. There pure iron of the fire attribute and even the rare imbued iron could be mined.

In my last zone iron, copper, and coal veins were easily accessible along the ramp to the top. Though bellow the lake there was imbued fire iron or even heavy coal. After a while, some of the melting, imbued fire iron, was mixing with the heavy coal resulting in a new material. I named it blazing steel, an extremely robust and heavy metal nearly impossible to melt.

With the last zone finished I had to only wait for one of the youngsters, using my dungeon as a test of courage, to report the new veins.

I waited and waited, a month was already over when a prominent candidate finally entered my domain. It was the apprentice of one of the masters working in the mining profession. He wanted to prove his might to the girl he loved by diving into my dungeon.

The youngster made his way into my dungeon and instead of immediately retreating like everyone else explored a bit further. He was intrigued by the fantastical environment until he came upon one of the copper veins.

His, for his age, experienced eye quickly caught the peculiar color of the wall. After the inspection, he took a sample and returned to the village. The young boy had to courage to report his findings and his unallowed entrance into the dungeon.

While at first, the elders were furious they were calmed down by the elder responsible for metalwork. He inspected the ore and quickly summarised it to be copper.

After this, the boy was able to impress his love and the dwarfs were discussing the ore the scoundrel found. After a bit of back and forth, they agreed to make a mining expedition inside my dungeon.

They took all precautions and entered my domain. At first very careful, but after seeing the abundance of the copper ore they quickly went hyper mode. Their natural love for metalwork quickly convinced them of the “evil spirits” good intentions.

The elder responsible for the divine drew up a convincing speech about the “evil spirit” being sorry for his evil deeds and after a thorough punishment of the gods he now wants to work in solemn with the village. Metalwork and mining flourished in the village with the now good spirit of the cave slowly restocking the veins after they were mined.

I too was happy. The dwarves were finally again delving into my dungeon in search of more veins, cultivation, or monster drops. And I was able to kill off the uncautious or weak to further my development.

Everyone was happy, as it should be in the symbiotic relationship between dungeons and sentient races. Though not everything can remain like this forever, how sad it may be!!!!!