With a casual stroll Cmyk made his way down the staircase, through the trap chamber to the gardens. He quite enjoyed that part of the day. There was nothing like a few hours of calm and serenity among the underground fields and orchards now that the gardens were in full bloom. Of course, it helped that the dungeon dedicated vast amounts of energy to the gardens, making sure they were in near perpetual bloom. The plants ranged from common to exotic, the exotic ones being only for decoration. Cmyk had no idea why the dungeon had them, since no one else was allowed down here. Not that the minion minded. This meant he had all that much more calm to enjoy his hobby. Lately a new set of gardens were added beneath the usual ones: fast-growing wheat. Not that Theo or anyone else ate the stuff. The reason for that sudden addition was the one thing that had become in high demand—straw. With the dungeon buying everything out in the area, the prices had risen to the roof to the point that farmers were unwilling to sell, especially with news of an approaching fleet of airships. As a result, the dungeon had resolved the problem by creating a staw source of its own.

“Cmyk.” Spok appeared in front of him. The spirit guide had gotten quite bossy since she had obtained an avatar. Although, her approach was markedly much better than the dungeon’s. “Once you’re finished here, could you give a message to the Earl’s son?” She handed the minion a sealed scroll. “The boy seems to be ignoring everything I send using magic, so I have no choice but to rely on you.”

Cmyk looked at the scroll, then at Spok and shrugged.

“Splendid.” The woman disappeared once more, probably teleporting to another part of the dungeon, which lately had become a large part of the city. For someone who claimed to want a calm, quiet life Theo had definitely done a lot of expanding in the last few days. Then again, Cmyk was hardly one to talk. His days had become quite busy. Every morning he’d tend to the gardens, gather some apples and carrots for Maximilian, hop to Peris’ temple to clean it up—having a chat with people along the way. On the way back, he’d accept a free apple from Wanda, after which he’d be dragged by Ulf and his other adventure buddies to one of the taverns, where he’d spend the day until evening. Then, he’d go back and enjoy a nice ten-hour nap and start everything all over again.

A finely crafted two handed sword on his shoulder, Cmyk went to the wheat garden and started reaping. The dungeon had constructed a scythe for the task, but Cmyk had found that his premium sword did a much better job. Today tended to be a particularly successful day—it was the day that the glowing stalks of wheat would turn into hay. That was another of the dungeon’s innovations. Being stingy, Theo had created a separating room in which the grain was separated from the chaff and stored away. Meanwhile chaff was then placed in an aging contraption where it was made into first-grade premium quality glowing hay. The special thing about that was that it created glowing gold coins, which both Cmyk and his creator agreed were a lot more fascinating than common gold.

“Cmyk!” the dungeon shouted. “Forget what you’re doing and buy me some glass!”

The minion paused. Straightening straight, he waited for a few seconds, then tilted his head. If nothing else, he was fully aware that Spok was the one who usually dealt with purchasing materials.

“Don’t give me that!” Theo grumbled. “I’m the dungeon here, so if I want glass, no one can say otherwise!”

In truth, there had been a minor argument between the dungeon and the spirit guide recently. It was supposed to be a secret, but with things echoing throughout the main building, it was difficult for the minion not to notice. In fact, it would hardly be surprising if the slimes weren’t aware of it at this point. The creatures were rather annoying, moving about the tunnels as they wished. Twice, one had attempted to invade the gardens, and because of Theo’s orders that no slime was to be harmed, Cmyk had to carry the slippery critters out and into one of the distant tunnels.

The root of the argument was the dungeon’s obsession with creating an observatory. Spok had argued that one was hardly necessary at this point, especially with all the other important buildings required. Normally, the dungeon would get its way, but since Spok had been dealing with the intricacies of day-to-day management, she had flat out refused to do anything else extravagant until the basic defenses—such as ballista towers, wall improvements, and energy generators—were completed. Thus, the dungeon was left with the option to have to do things on its own.

“Look, Cmyk, just go to the local alchemist and get me some glass,” Theo said. “I’ll take care of the rest. Also, get what you like from there. I’ve made you a new room to store your trinkets.”

This sounded quite appealing. Sheathing his sword, Cmyk gathered what he had reaped, piled it on the cover of the underground field, then slowly made his way back to his room. Putting on his town clothes, he then left the main building.

The town was exceptionally full of people. The approaching fleet had given birth to waves of gossip, not to mention that many people from the nearby villages had come here, hoping to have a better chance should the worst come to pass. Cmyk, of course, ignored all that and made his way to the Earl’s castle. Although it was the dungeon who urged him to go out, Spok’s requests were always the first ones to be followed.

Several dozen people greeted the minion as he passed by. Used to his stoic silence, they returned to their daily chores and gossip.

“Good day, sir Mik,” the guard at the castle’s entrance said. Like many who had difficulty pronouncing Cmyk’s name, he had assumed that the first letter stood for an abbreviation for “champion.” After all, the crazy baron himself had called Cmyk his champion, so it had to be true. “What brings you here today?”

With an emotionless glance, the minion handed the guard the scroll Spok had given him.

“Ah.” The guard looked at the scroll, examining the seal. “Official business, eh? Well, don’t worry, I’ll give it to the kid. Between you and me, he’s a bit lost without his father. I mean, the old Roswind is a good ruler and all, but he tends to be a bit… lacking when it comes to his family. Not that it’s my business, but I think the lad could use a firm hand to show him the ropes. You being a champion and all, I reckon you’d be perfect to become the local something like a mentor.”

Unsure how to react, Cmyk just nodded.

“Thought so too, eh?” The guard grinned. “That’s what I like about you—always one of action. Since it’s not official or anything, I can’t make any promises, but I’ll ask a few questions, tell Sir Ribbons that you’re considering it. Alright?”

Cmyk nodded again, then turned around and left. There were a lot of things left to be done, and not too much time.

The temple or Peris was quite full as he passed by. Five times the normal amount of people had gathered, sending prayers for blessings towards the goddess. Sneaking by with the discretion of a rockstar, Cmyk made his way to the only alchemist shop in Rosewind. The place was small, with heavily reinforced walls and narrow windows. It was a shop without a sign or emblem, frequented almost exclusively by adventurers in need of healing salves and other potions. That was how Cmyk had found out about it and—very much to his misfortune—shared the information with the dungeon after accepting a potion vial of an exceptionally high quality of glass.

Opening the door, the minion turned sideways, then squeezed in.

“Yes?” An old man peeked above a counter full of weird devices and multicolored potions. “Ah, Cmyk. Been a while. How are you?”

With the grace of a careful elephant in a China shop, the minion took a few half steps forward.

“Marvelous!” Being one who dealt with adventurers on a frequent basis—and hearing them drag on about their missions—the old alchemist was one who admired silence. As such, Cmyk was his favorite customer. “Fancy any fast growth potions? I just made a new match. It’s quite in demand with this mysterious fleet approaching.”

The minion shook his head.

“Ah, well. Maybe another time,” the shopkeeper said, disappointed. “Maybe I can—”

“What we need is some of your glass,” a floating eyeball said. Neither Cmyk nor the shopkeeper had any idea when and how it had appeared. Neither of them seemed particularly concerned about it, though.

“Ah.” The alchemist nodded. “Baron d’Argent, I presume?”

“In a manner of speaking,” Theo replied. “As you know, I have been made responsible for the city’s defenses.”

The alchemist sighed, his idlily of silence ruined. It was as obvious that the eyeball was dying to go into details just as much as the shopkeeper wanted to avoid them. Cmyk sensed it too, for he popped the eyeball almost instantly. Alas, the action was foreseen by the dungeon for moments later, a new floating eyeball appeared.

“Ahem.” It glared at Cmyk. “As I was saying. I’d like some of your exceptional glass.”

“Why?” the shopkeeper asked.

“I’m making an observatory and for that, I need—”

“Why do you want to buy it from me? You’re a mage. You’ve already mage half a dozen buildings on your own, as well as changed the entire town wall. The previous one looked better, by the way.”

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” Theo grumbled. “As for why, my glass making skills are marginally inferior.”

That was an outright lie. While everything the dungeon made looked quite well, possibly even magnificent, to the normal person. It was mostly an illusion. Compared to the alchemist’s work, his glass couldn’t even be called fully transparent.

“I want to be able to see the airships as far away as possible,” the eyeball said. “Just name your price.”

“Ten pieces of gold,” the alchemist said without hesitation.

“For a lens?!”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I’ll make the observatory piece. It’s clear that some airhaid like you won’t be able to pull it off. I’ll just be wasting my skill making components that you mess up. Give me the gold, the dimensions of the tower, and you’ll have it ready in a week.”

“That might be a bit—”

“For twenty gold, you can have it done in a few days.”

“How much will fifty get me?”

“For fifty, I’ll have it done by the end of the day. Transport, of course, is not included.”

“I’ll take care of that. Cmyk.” The eyeball turned to the minion, who tossed a pouch of coins on the only free spot at the counter. “Half now, half upon collection.”

The price wasn’t a big issue. However, the dungeon despised being heated. Seething, Theo thought and thought how to have his vengeance, though in such a way so as not to compromise the results of the work. He still wanted his top-class observatory, after all—something that he might well have been able to achieve if the aether gem didn’t take so long to charge up.

“Anything else?” The alchemist picked up the pouch, shook it a few times to check the weight, then put it away without even counting the coins inside.

“Are you any good with elvish puzzles?” the eyeball asked. It wasn’t meant to be a serious question. Rather, it just happened to be the second most annoying thing that Theo was experiencing right now.

“Elvish puzzles?” The alchemist’s eyes widened like a child who’d gotten a glimpse of cookies in the cupboard. “What exactly do you have in mind?”

“Well, there’s no guarantee the puzzle is elvish. That’s just speculation of mine… Imagine a passage blocked by a mosaic of a dragon breathing fire of a forest in the middle of a lake, or maybe a sea,” Theo began. “There’s also a message saying read the path of the chosen.”

“Go on,” the shopkeeper leaned on the counter.

“That’s it. It appears to be a magical riddle of sorts. It is unbreakable and doesn’t let anyone continue forward.”

“Hmm. Are the words in different segments?”

“Yes, yes, they are.”

“Tried pressing the one with “path” on it?”

“That’s not it.”

In the last twenty minutes, Theo’s avatar had pressed “path”, “chosen,” and every other word, as well as the mosaic cluster forming the dragon, the forest, and even the fire itself. Each time, he had been zapped back mercilessly as a result. Under normal circumstances, he would have died a dozen times, but since he wasn’t, the only thing that the dungeon suffered was a substantial waste of time and energy, and an increasing reluctance to touch anything on.

“And you can’t break it?” the alchemist asked, intrigued by the puzzle.

“Tried that. It can’t be pulled, pushed, or—”

“Did you try burning it?”

If the eyeball blinked, it would have. Despite being quite adept at casting fire magic, that was one of the things that the dungeon hadn’t attempted.

“What do you mean?” Theo asked.

“Well, since you said there was a dragon burning away a forest, what if that’s an indication of what you must do in order to continue?”

“Well, of course, I did that.” As he spoke, the dungeon’s avatar cast a small fireball and threw it at the mosaic. Theo very much wanted to progress, but there was this voice in the back of his mind that was vocally shouting that he didn’t need help from an alchemist geek.

The flame hit the mosaic, melting a hole in the middle and continuing on. The dungeon was outright furious. There was no reason for him not to have tried that, especially since he had tried everything else. In all honesty, the avatar had even tried zapping it in the misguided hope that lightning would affect lightning.

“So, not fire either,” the alchemist said. “Tough one. Doesn’t seem very elvish, though. I’ll have to go through my books and check.”

“No… no rush,” the eyeball managed to say. “Focus on the observatory equipment for now. There will be time to discuss riddles later.”

“Right, right. But what if—”

Theo popped all the floating eyeballs before the alchemist could answer. Getting help to solve the riddle was bad enough. Although, this wasn’t a true riddle. Anyone could have figured it out. Casting a few more fireballs to melt the rest of the mosaic, the avatar then continued on, reasoning that the only reason for the momentary failure was the simplicity of the puzzle. Soon enough, though, it became clear that the mosaic wasn’t truly a puzzle, but a warning.

Several of the talismans flared up. One of them was an “internal heat” talisman, while the other had an “dragon’s breath” enchantment. While the tunnel didn’t seem all that different, the temperature around the avatar had dropped dramatically. Another twenty feet and even a large part of the roots had changed into icicles.

The lair of the dungeon is ice? Theo wondered. Icy cold air would affect any creature that could breathe, while doing nothing to skeletons and the like. That explained why so many of the “chosen” had failed so far.

“Worried about your companion?” the dry voice cackled. “Maybe you spent too much time at the entrance.”

“Didn’t you say that you liked to collect them?” The dungeon had no intention of showing any doubt, even if the concerns were valid.

“I never said I collected heroes alive.”

A pillar of ice flashed at the end of the tunnel, flying towards the avatar like a giant spear. Instantly, Theo raised his hand forward, casting a stream of flames with as much power as he could afford.

Fire met ice, causing the air to explode ten feet away. The steam released, frosted over, then burst into vapor again in a never-ending cycle marking the border of the spells. Apparently, both seemed to be of equal strength: unable to push the other away, or in turn, be pushed back. The confrontation continued for ten full seconds, after which both spells ended almost simultaneously.

Damn it! Theo thought. He suspected that fighting a dungeon wouldn’t be easy, but he never expected to come across something capable of matching his avatar, and at the worst possible moment, at that. While he was trapped here, Lord Mandrake was eagerly making his way towards Rosewind, and as much as he had improved the town’s defenses, it was far from enough.

“Seems we’re of similar strength,” the dry voice said.

“Then let’s go for a draw. Just let me out and—”

“You expect me to surrender the core and set you and your companion free?”

“No, that’s not what I—”

“You arrogant little brat! I’ve dealt with hundreds like you! You’re barely worthy to become part of my collection and you think you can take me on? All you’ve done is defeat a few of my minions. You’re not anywhere near the heart of my domain.”

“Look, I really—”

Before Theo could finish, the sound of growling filled the corridor. It wasn’t normal growling, though. There was an icy touch to it. Not a particular fan of creatures in dart tunnels, Theo cast a small fireball and encapsulated it in an aether bubble.

The light wasn’t enough to illuminate the entire corridor he was in, but it showed one thing: the path behind him was blocked by a solid slab of ice. While melting through it would be possible, it was going to take considerable time and divert his attention from the other dangers present. The enemy dungeon had left him only one path to success: straight forward.

Ice rays shot at him, each missing by mere inches. Casting a dozen swiftnesses on himself, the avatar dashed forward, the improvised lantern floating behind. Five steps later, Theo saw them—large lizards made completely out of shards of ice. They were on the floor, on the walls, even the ceiling, slithering in his direction. One opened its mouth, emitting another ice ray. The distance was too short for the avatar to react, so the ray touched his shoulder. Frostbite kicked in, quickly turning into ice. Within moments, the avatar’s entire left shoulder was encapsulated in a hard shell of cold. Despite the setback, Theo managed to thrust the floating fireball right into the creature’s mouth. As both spells came into contact with one, another explosion took place, shattering the creature’s head off.

 

CORE CONSUMPTION

1 Ice Lizard core fragment converted into 250 Avatar Core Points

 

The amount of core points was impressive, but Theo didn’t have much time to celebrate. Two more lizards leapt at him, with more approaching on the walls behind. Using his right hand, the avatar cast a pillar of flame. While that proved enough to cause the lizards to lose their grip and fall to the floor, it didn’t particularly hurt them.

Once more, Theo cast a continuous fireball, concentrating the flame on a single creature. The lizard let out a sound that was similar to nails screeching on glass, but even so, was able to withstand the heat.

“Sir,” Spok said back in the dungeon’s main body. “I’ve no idea what you’re doing, but your energy consumption has significantly increased. If you don’t calm things down, you’ll end up resorting to core points and furniture again.

Blasted lizards! Theo placed his right hand on the lump of ice around his shoulder and cast the spell one final time. The ice exploded to pieces. At least now he could move adequately. Calling for his sword, the avatar then struck the semi-melted lizard in the neck. The resistance was noticeable, but ultimately, the being shattered.

 

CORE CONSUMPTION

1 Ice Lizard core fragment converted into 250 Avatar Core Points

 

AVATAR LEVEL INCREASE

Your Avatar has become Level 13

+1 Strength, LONG WEAPONS skill obtained

1080 Core Points required for next Avatar Level

 

Long Weapons? Theo blinked.

 

LONG WEAPONS - 1

Grants long weapon proficiency, allowing you to masterfully use spears, lances, halberds, pikes, and other long weapons.

 

The skill sounded somewhat useful, though not particularly so. If Theo had had the foresight to gather some of the weapons of the skeletal minions he had defeated, maybe things would be different. Since he hadn’t, though, the only real thing he gained was the strength increase.

Clusters of ice rays flew by, freezing everything they came into contact with. Thankfully, this time Theo’s avatar wasn’t part of that. Filling his sword with energy, he performed a cleave attack. The blade hit the scales of several lizards, cutting off a few chunks of ice. One of the lizards opened its mouth in pain. Taking advantage of the situation, the avatar then cast a fireball spell, sending it right into the creature’s mouth. Same as the first lizard he killed, its head popped off, followed by the rest of the being shattering.

 

CORE CONSUMPTION

1 Ice Lizard core fragment converted into 250 Avatar Core Points

 

Why can’t it ever be easy? Theo sighed.

Even with the experience the lizards provided, fighting them was bothersome and risky. While it was clear, they couldn’t deal enough damage to defeat him, they were more than capable of imprisoning him in a block of ice, condemning the avatar to life as a statue. Come to think of it, maybe that’s what the dungeon meant when he said that he was collecting heroes. Definitely quite the exotic, not to mention expensive, hobby.

Stacking a dozen more swiftnesses, the avatar sprinted through the corridor, stepping over lizards and all. Seeing how many of them there were, it quickly became obvious that tactical retreat was the better choice. In such a narrow space, dealing with so many creatures would have been difficult, even if Theo knew how to kill each one at a time.

As the avatar ran, a golden glow became visible in the distance. It was either the end of the tunnel, or the light of something far larger and scarier coming his way. Now willing to take any chances, Theo cast an ultra aether shield sphere around him and moved on. The decision was sound. Seconds after he did so, a multitude of ice rays hit the sphere from behind. Normally, that would have been enough to shatter Theo’s protection to pieces, then freeze him. However, with the aether shield being invulnerable, the blast only propelled him forward, creating several thick layers of ice on the back of the sphere.

Faster and faster the dungeon’s avatar flew towards the end of the tunnel. Just before reaching it, the most unexpected thing happened. The five seconds of invulnerability gone, the sphere shattered. Free to expand, the ice crust spontaneously grew, blocking the tunnel. The avatar, however, had gathered far too much inertia, counting forward like a cork off a champagne bottle.

A vast new massive chamber emerged, bathing in golden light. Using his telekinetic ability, Theo caused the avatar to slow down, then come to a complete top, floating a hundred feet above the chamber floor.

Wow, the dungeon thought.

The contrast with his own chambers was enormous. Columns as thick as houses connected rose up from a crystal floor, reaching up to the dome-like ceiling completely covered in roots. More unexpectedly, however, the core was also there, hanging from the ceiling… and it was a lot bigger than Theo imagined it to be. Right now, he understood why the elves had given him a ring to reclaim the “heart of the forest.” The core alone was bigger than the initial building he had created upon arriving into Rosewind.