Dungeon Core Chat Room.

Hey! Dungeon reviewer Tom here!

I'm starting a "lesser known and rising stars" miniseries for the next few reviews. Today I'm reviewing the "liquid savior" dungeon, known as simultaneously one of the hardest dungeons in the area as well as the one with the least deaths.

The town it's situated out of is called "Olive drop”, named after the founder but also the local export – olives. The town made its name for supplying most of the continent’s olive supply (a supply only really enjoyed by nobles you must understand) 2 years ago a tragedy struck. Heavy droughts dried up a lot of the local above-ground water supplies and the olive fields started going into decline. Just as the town had begun to lose all hope, a new dungeon broke through just a half a kilometer from the edge of town. To make this event even more of a miracle, this dungeon was a Water dungeon AND a Life dungeon. The water obtained inside this dungeon was able to save the town. The largest problem is obtaining it. For, while a local adventuring scene has begun to spring up, the dungeon is absolutely brutal to newbies. While it let the town setup a pipeline to its first floor, the pipe gets periodically broken whenever a lull of adventurers happens.

Here's where the name "liquid saviour" comes in my valued readers. This dungeon has incredibly deadly monsters and many a newbie has lost limbs and courage while facing it but very few have lost life. Suspiciously few in fact. A combination of incredibly generous healing potion supplies and a suspicion the Dungeon Core itself is intervening, has led to only 2 adventurers dead in the past year and a half.

While the difficulty is high, it hasn’t grown enough to become quite as hard as the deeper floors in some of the more established dungeons. Whats more, the bounty this dungeon provides is unmistakable. Liquid gold to save the olive fields. Health potions given freely enough and in large enough pools to heal all but the oldest of injuries. And finally life monsters, some of the most profitable of all monster materials. This dungeon doesn't even use much conventional loot, but it remains one of the more profitable for those reasons alone.

There is even a rumour that a wild tribe of elves is semi frequently delving the dungeon for its life-attuned items. Considering how rare elven adventurers are this really is quite a spectacle!

Final verdict. Definitely visit as long as you are in your second advancement or have more than a few years of experience delving dungeons. This dungeon is still growing and I can nearly guarentee you'll start hearing more of it in the years to come. So, feel free to get a few delves in before the town starts taxing adventuring profits or limiting the number who can enter. See you next time.

Excerpt from the popular serial "Tom's Dungeon Reviews Issue 254"

Amy: Hey umm. So hi friends. This is my dungeon I hope you like it.

Abe: You just advanced!!! Nice! I'll be right there.

Innearth: Hey congrats! I'll join as well. Tier 5 already? Again? Ahh I'm falling behind once more.

Innearth: How did you advance so fast?

Fated Eternal Design: Oh that's pretty easy. You gain levels like crazy when you start getting a lot of adventurers. I'm nearly advanced as well. I'll be right in the stream, just give me a second.

Innearth stopped all his more mentally intensive tasks to focus on the chat. He navigated to the stream and opened it, watching as a screen slid out revealing a sandy room of water and filled with moss and vines. In the background, an adventurer was being ripped apart by a "barbed tentacle horror" while another rocks and cries to the side.

A second screen pops up covering the traumatized duo in the background and displaying information. And then a third screen appeared beside that one – this a chat separated from the main chat.

Amy: Okay, um, I've been playing around with the Camera controls a bit before starting this stream. Please tell me if anything isn't working and I'll be happy to help! It looks like it's working from my end but this is the first time I'm presenting so I don't know if it's coming across right.

Amy: I thought a lot about how I wanted to format this and I think I've figured it out. Please feel free to read my info while we wait for everyone to join.

Innearth took a moment to read the information Amy wanted to display.

Monster Name Lore Description.

Crabo Stabo The first mob encountered when you enter the dungeon. Literally just a crab holding a basic knife. The first encounter always undersells the hell the newbies are going into.

Gulper One of the smallest monsters in this dungeon. The Gulper uses its rather small size to hide before using its tentacles to drag any who wander close to the water into its depths. Despite its small size its tentacles are strong enough to pull all but the sturdiest into the water.

Their name comes from the sound new adventurers make whenever they think of them for their appearance is truly horrific. An expert was sent to make sure the mess of tentacles and maw wasn't demonic in nature and the gulper came clean. The best way to defend against them is to not get grabbed in the first place, for the tentacles can be sliced through easily enough from the shore.

Coral Shells Found in the second floor and beyond. These monsters use coral as battle armor to defend against attacks. A solid shell hiding thick tentacled arms it uses to bash adventurers. Enhanced with mana both the shell and limbs are incredibly tough and getting hit is sure to leave heavy bruises at the very least for they can smash through solid iron if its not enchanted. The best way to deal with these is to ignore the shell and aim to sever its trunk like limbs or attempt to attack through the openings in the shell.

Fishermen

These monsters reside on the ceiling of the Dungeon. Found on the first floor and beyond these monsters vaguely resemble slimed frogs. Their name comes from the hooklike tongue they use to stab and reel unlucky newbies to their deaths.

These monsters are surprisingly one of the weakest in the dungeon if you can spot them – their true danger lies in being situated above most adventures eyesight and the fact they like to strike when adventurers are facing the gulpers and coralshells.

This dungeon's first floor is a nightmare to face and doesn't leave any room for mistakes. Constant vigilance must be held towards the shadows even in the middle of a fight or the fishermen might will attack.

Rending Tentacle Found all over the dungeon the rending tentacle looks similar to every other monster in this dungeon. Some rending tentacles look like fishermen others gulpers. They are surprisingly passive creatures however as soon as they are attacked by adventurers thinking they are some of the more aggressive monsters they fight back with fury. Each tentacle extends countless barbs that rip and shred into all that are unlucky enough to be within range. Like most of the monsters in this dungeon the Rending Tentacle will leave you hovering just above death however most who've been so have wished they had just been killed.

Saltbomb Turtle

A turtle with heavy barnacle-like armour found on floors 4 and onwards. The saltbomb turtle gets its name from being a literal bomb – exploding with high-pressure saltwater and kinetic mana. A single blast takes time to reload but hits harder and faster than the Coral shells found on higher floors.

The worst part is the sting.

Troll Hearted Shark

One of the only monsters analyzed on the 7th floor this monster has not been seen in its entirety. It swims at an estimated 160km/hr, crossing the whole length of the floor in seconds. The shark has 4 massive hearts each pumping a mixture of healing and friction decreasing liquid through its body while its jaws can bite through mithril.

Boss Name Lore Description.

Cyclone Currently Boss of the 1st Floor. Mixing water and air mana together. Cyclone shoots off blasts of high-speed water blades enhanced with air magic to slice opponents to pieces. If the rest of the first floor wasn't enough to prove to novices that this Dungeon ain't for quitters. This boss makes sure the idea gets through to them.

Scale Splitter Currently Boss of the 3rd Floor. An enhanced Fishermen. It shoots off a tongue made up of steel. Reeling adventurer's in and using them as a shield as it fires of blasts of heavy Water mana. If you can get around its hostage and dodge its water the main body is nice and fragile however. This boss quickly becomes easier if a proper tank with crowd control skills can hold its fire, and a full rogue party has claimed "without anyone getting caught" the boss can be put down easier than the Cyclone.

The Deepness Currently Boss of the 5th floor. This boss extends tendrils of horror throughout the entire 5th floor and part of the 4th. Dozens of tentacles extend through the very walls of this dungeon and each arm destroyed before the boss is reached makes the fight slightly easier. None of the regular delving groups have been able to beat it yet and we only know of the floors beyond because of a high leveled party that cleared it. Seeing as how it has been remade it is here to stay.

Tidecaller

Boss of the 7th floor. The 7th floor has no solid ground and the tidecaller makes use of that excessively. The floor is traversed with skills and small dingy canoes, however the tidecaller controls the vast amount of water contained in the floor. Causing constant waves and massive amounts of water to flow around it. The most concerning feature however is the appearance of the Tidecaller. A humanoid holding a fishing rod and sitting cross-legged on a lilypad, constantly reeling in the massive fish, sharks and tentacled hunters of this floor before consuming them whole.

When last reached, this boss was bypassed and the 7th floor confirmed the deepest. The core room contained just beyond. That was months ago however and we don't know what lies beyond. Maybe when news of this dungeon spreads and higher leveled parties start arriving more frequently we will discover if something is past this area.

Liquid Savior [Dungeon Information]

Known Floors: 7 estimated at least 8 personal guess 10+.

Foliage: As a Life dungeon plenty of plants both normal and aquatic are found on every floor. Many have uses in alchemy or cooking however their main effect is to hide some of the sneakier monsters this dungeon employs.

Traps: This dungeon has low crafted trap use and no puzzle use. However, all the hallways and rooms are designed to maximize how tough encounters are. Hiding places abound and there are plenty of nasty placements of distracting plants or health potion pools that enable fishermen to strike. Additionally, while most of the plants are harmless, some have harmful effects that slow, confuse, or confine; those that brush up against them.

Loot: This dungeon has low to non-existent crafted rewards, however its natural bounty of plants and the flesh of all of its monsters are incredibly valuable. This dungeon also supplies health potion pools at frequent intervals and it is recommended to bring a flask with which to stock up. These pools are constantly restocked however the one time a party siphoned off a whole pool right before a boss it was abandoned as punishment. Any group angry at facing the 3rd floor boss without a healing area beforehand can feel free to blame the Silver Boots for their greed.

Floor effects: Rare for new dungeons this dungeon employs a floor effect. Currently limited to an effect called "High Tide". If too many adventuring groups are in an area – or if a party with greater than 5 members attempts to delve – this effect comes into effect. All the water rises a foot or two and floods most of the dry areas while more monsters are spawned. Both new and existing monsters get boosted by some unknown effect to become nearly twice as strong and twice as fast. You do not want to trigger this by accident.

General Note: This dungeon is already stronger than many established dungeons in the area and the fact that the last boss is a humanoid is worrying. Most dungeons with humanoid monsters employ them a dozen or two floors below and the fact that one has appeared on the 7th floor does not bode well for what lies even deeper. It's also concerning how fast this dungeon is growing. It's always scary having a dungeon where you don't know the lowest floor.

Amy: everyone here?

Fated Eternal Design: yes! the look at another dungeon should prove...enlightening.

ZeMadDoctor: quite. I already have a death dungeon with abyss for reference. What does a "life" dungeon hold? I like to think I'm practiced with both. But I must admit I learned something from Abyss.

Abe: I'm sorry "saltbomb turtle"? You have to show me that! I'll riot if that's not part of the tour.

Amy: Okay, sure. Let's see, the first few floors are pretty similar but let me show you them anyways.

The panel closed revealing a shell-shocked adventurer clutching their mauled friend.

Innearth: ...are they okay?

Amy: Oh they'll be fine. There's a healing pool a room away. Look, still breathing. Anyways!

The Camera lurched, blurring with speed into the next room where, sure enough, a ring of red bricklike stone held a green shimmering liquid.

Amy: This is my healing pool. I place them before every boss, after every boss. And every 5 rooms. Newbie adventurers are really fragile guys. Keep that in mind. I learned that the hard way and wouldn't want you to go through the same trouble. Broke the first few before I set up some ground rules for my babies.

Innearth: you know...I was tossing around an idea to try and make a mana type or magical item that destroyed healing potions and giving it to you to place at every healing room so adventurers couldn't take it with them...I was planning to but after seeing the last group... maybe it's for the best they have endless healing potions.

Amy: Oh hey if you figure that out I'll still appreciate it!

Amy: I'd want to prevent adventurers from leaving the dungeon with it. So far I've had at least one try to leave with a whole bucket of healing potion. Can you believe the nerve of that guy? Also, one group did something with this space mana bottle and I've had to punish everyone because of that.

Abe: no comment.

Amy: moving on!

The camera lurched once again. It stopped before a group of 5 tall pointy-eared adventurers wearing long silky green fabrics.

Amy: This is my elven group! They come once a month and are really strong! Let's watch them a bit okay? They should be reaching my 2nd boss soon.

The party continues forward gliding through the sandy dungeon's halls, while a group of dungeons watch. Stopping before the entrance to the boss room, the one in the lead turns and says something to the group.

With practiced motions, they all hold hands and start to sing a cheerful tune as they walk in a circle. Each step is made with purpose and only a few seconds into this strange ritual each starts to leave ghostly after images. Mana is pumped through their linked arms – forest green light moving through their veins as the elves chant. Finally, a full minute after they started their preparations, the group drops their arms – each still with bright green bulges and lines.

ZeMadDoctor: Sorry to interrupt but. What are they doing?

Amy: no clue really, it's only the second boss, they shouldn't have to do that until the 3rd based on previous times?

ZeMadDoctor: not why are they doing that. What. I don't quite understand.

Amy: Oh well I don't fully understand it either. That's why I was trying to get out of answering. Do you want what I know for fact or my personal opinion?

Innearth: Both :3 Both is good.

Amy: ...okay. I've watched them do it enough times now I can tell you some of the effects? Most you should see in the fight ahead but one thing I've picked up is they cast a spell inside of themselves. They now have a much higher concentration of mana in their bodies and thus they have a higher mana regeneration. It's slightly damaging but the benefits are apparent.

Amy: I've actually been playing around with copying them to varying effects. They haven't triggered it in ages but if any group starts "High Tide" I might be able to show you my version of this.

Amy: The spell isn't just to make their mana regenerate higher though. It also increases their reflexes and I think it ties their souls together somehow? Now this is my personal theory and I can't confirm it... but my guess is that if one of them dies they can be brought back because of that.

Amy: Have to wait for one of them to die first to confirm that though.

Abe: all that??? All my adventurers just point and shout stuff and fling shaped mana around. Is that an elf-only thing?

Amy: maybe? I'll tell you if I see a non elf do something like that.

While the group talks, the elves entered the boss room silently and with practiced ease. Two pulled out bows and two pulled out sharpened spears.

The bow pair immediately start moving towards the far ends while chanting quietly. Each gracefully walking mostly sideways their eyes on the boss before it has even finished appearing. As the boss emerges from the only pool in the mostly wet – but not submerged – room, it flops onto a small dais in the center.

The boss looks similar to a lump of opaque goo with limbs. Like a slime transitioning to a frog and reminding Innearth vaguely of the description of the wild monster his snake scout had given. As the boss started its opening attack, both the dungeons and the elves watched. One group with interest the other with calculating efficiency.

The hooked tongue shoots forward several times attempting to nab an elf, but the adventurers all manage to evade it with minimal movement. Each dodge causing the boss's movements to grow more and more panicked.

Their wooden bows bent with faint wisps of wind flowing about and a wooden arrow was materialized at the end of each as soon as the bow was fully drawn.

Releasing and pulling back causes another arrow to form and soon they begin getting into a groove of sorts. Their attacks landing and being shot to their continued song.

A few of the shot arrows are held back for longer as the battlesong changes and these when shot turn to viney nets that cling to the boss as they land.

In comparison, the two elves with spears were completely silent. They moved with purpose their steps appearing erratic but deliberate. Purposefully confusing.

Potentially giving them some sort of spell like the singing ones? Wish I could interview them.

As they approach the giant fisher, the spear pair dig their feet into the ground and push – earth shifting and flinging them about in a way Innearth didn't know was possible.

Wisps of green mana leak from their limbs and leave faint green afterimages every time they make a blinking dash forwards and every few seconds they continue, they seem to grow in strength.

Less than 20s after the fight starts and a dozen arrows later the boss lies dead, pierced on both sides with spears of wood. It had shot off a wild burst of water a few seconds earlier, but both elves were completely dry and hardly even seemed out of breath.

Amy: So yeah, that takes a bit longer if they don't do that weird buff beforehand...sorry about that. The Scale Splitter is balanced for the 3rd floor so it's slightly underwhelming when overkilled by those elites...I wish I could show you a better fight.

Abe: Rip. See if you made the fisher explode at the end it would have been ever so slightly more exciting I think. Just some feedback.

Innearth: So the tongue is metal? How is it controlled? Or how were you able to make it?

Amy: Oh I have a friend - brutality queen you know her right? She's my source of the metal and metal core attached to the end for increased control. Think it's "life metal steel" something about metal mana in iron and life mana in carbon? You'd have to ask her...

Innearth: Pass. Not that interested.

As Amy explains the design of her monster, the two ranged elves join their comrades at the dead fisher taking it apart with care.

Bits are pulled off and laid about the group, with choice parts placed in their flowing garments and others set aside.

Finally having looted the most valuable parts, the tallest elf pulls out a single seed and places it against an arbitrary group of pieces one by one – picking items by some unknown criteria.

Each time the seed glows a deep green of some unknown mana – different both from Life mana and the Nature type the elves had been employing. Nothing happened initially but a few seconds after each part was touched they seemed to fall apart. Less conventionally destroyed and more sped up and decayed at an accelerated rate.

Abe: Oh! OH I recognize that effect. A lot of my entropic materials do something similar when embedded in stuff...items rust and organic things decay. It doesn't really have a purpose, however.

ZeMadDoctor: Fascinating. Please feel free to send me some samples to play with. That sounds...fun.

Amy: I have more to show! Let's break away from this group for now.

The camera once again sped through hallways at a dizzying speed. Does she have to move that quickly? I can't see anything along the way when she does that, it's getting tiring.

As the camera flits about it stops here and there to show a room or monster that Amy was particularly fond of while skipping over others equally as interesting to Innearth.

Amy: And this is my absolutely perfect snookems.

A vibrant purple tentacled ball sort of "exists" on Amy's 9th floor. Simply floating in the middle of it menacingly each tentacle limp and see-through but not doing anything particularly interesting.

The whole floor was covered from top to bottom in water and other than the centrepiece's drifting limbs nothing stirs. No monster exists and the plants that survive down here are small and attached to the wall. Glowing plants that look like a cross between moss and coral line the walls, while fuzzy stalks of some stringy underground grass line the bottom of the floor. I'm getting some beholder template vibes. Did Amy add the tentacles just to give it her touch?

Amy: Snookems is a weee bit territorial. Want to see me feed him?

Innearth: Of course? That's why we are here after all.

A soft displacement of water displaces a gulper at the far reaches of the giant fish tank that is the 9th floor.

Not needing to turn its body the underwater beholder of sorts seems to stiffen – its floating limbs pumped with brightly aquamarine liquid accompanying a wave of mana that pulses outwards and hangs in a dome around it.

Quickly moving its limbs in different shapes, the creature pulls the mana it had expelled into specific patterns. Lines and spirals being drawn on the inside of its dome which was pushed forwards moments later. The dome sped towards the smaller monster like a truck, the gulper seeming to recognize its impending doom as it struggled to escape.

The giant half-sphere chased the gulper around, moving faster and faster before the barest tip of it touched the edge of one of the monster’s tentacles.

Inverting, the dome became a sphere. Its back end flipping around and completely enclosed the small monster before beginning to flash with mana in a spiralling code. As the trap sealed it summoned a spinning blender of hard water ripping around its inside and leaving a cyclone of water in its path.

Over time the inside of the cage grows foggy with debris, bits of monster painting the inside of it a greenish-blue before the construct breaks apart and the leftovers fall to the floor below.

Amy: See okay. Thats a new one. This boss has a tier 5 purecore and enough concentrated ocean and water mana to create any type of spell it wants. I'll show you another one, the reason snookems is so great is 'e does something different nearly every time.

Spawning a "Coral Shell" the group watched it once again draw a pattern onto a dome of mana and release it.

This time the dome quickly shrinks down into a bullet shape that looks almost invisible in the water. Pointing a single tentacle at the far away shelled creature the "bullet" began turning, tracking the movement of the shell before sucking inwards. A long spear-like needle forming before darting forwards at a blistering speed.

As soon as the needle pierced the shelled creature and sunk in it slowed down. Halfway through the shell the construct suddenly expanded back to its "bullet" like shape from the inside ripping apart the monster.

Abe: Boom! What do adventurers think of this?

Amy: Haven't gotten a group down this far yet sadly. There was one group that made it to the 7th floor but they haven't been back since I made this. I hope they come by soon I want to see how they react!

Innearth: Do you think your dungeon is a bit...hard?

Amy: I am anything if not fair. I think the difficulty is appropriate.

Abe: SaltBOMB Turtle! lets go back up! I want to see what you came up with.

Amy: Okay, let's go.

Ascending once more, Amy finds a group of 3 adventurers on her 5th floor. They were creeping through a dimly lit hall holding a yellow stick in front of them that illuminates the way. At two points a mini fisherman attempts to hook one of them from above but each time one of the group yells out and smacks it away.

This group is too far down to get trapped by a simple fisherman. They catch sight of a faint lump in the distance and slow. The two at the back currently without a light stick stepping forwards and pulling out weapons – one a small curved scimitar with runes running up and down its length the other a metal baton set with several small crystals in a gradient of color.

Spinning the baton causes a dim yellow barrier to form in front of the adventurer on the left and they start inching forwards motioning their partner with a scimitar to stay back.

Closer and closer the magical shield bearing tank approaches the lump, an aged and rocky looking creature coming slowly into view. It stands on hundreds of tiny tentacles – of course – and sprouts a single cannon facing towards the adventuring party.

Waiting till the group gets closer it shoots a small gush of water at them, the shield-bearer tensing and then relaxing as a harmless stream hits their shield.

Taking a deep breath and shaking his head the tank clears his mind his nervousness fading his limbs stilling.

Stepping forward and back the tank attempted to get the turtle to fire on him.

Back and forth and back and forth before sure enough, after half a dozen steps the turtle flung itself sideways aiming at the pair behind the tank with its cannon.

A massive burst of steam appears accompanied by a truly colossal stream of white-water bursting forwards uncontrollably. As the forward-facing stream splashes outwards faint streams leak out of several smaller holes in the turtle's shell flying in all directions while a creaking noise is heard.

Abe: 10/10, Replace all your monsters with this one and instantly go from “pretty good” to “phenomenal”

As the dungeons get distracted and start theory crafting the way the saltbomb turtle was made, the adventurers continue their life or death battle below.

The tank jumps into the oncoming stream half a second after it passes, the full stream being diverted and carving a line in the wall before his shield of light starts to crack and fail.

Lasting just until the beam finishes the shield shatters into many small pieces the tank respinning his baton and resummoning a new shield, good as new.

As soon as the attack finished, the scimitar-wielding party member dashed forwards. Their blade coated in a sparking line of power rushing out of their arm and looping over the blade's tip. The line was solid along the front of the blade before running back down its backend and into her arm once more in a diffuse wavy line. The tank turns and checks to make sure his party members are safe while his partner yells out a war cry and begins slicing pieces of the monster apart. The woman aware she is on a time limit and attempting to finish it before it can reload once more.

The blade keeps hitting the shell and stopping before the line of power buzzes through where it had landed and cuts off a section of the shell exposing more and more of the monster’s innards.

Swing. Jarring stop. Pause. Slice. Continue swinging through the now cut shell.

That’s a weird skill. Shouldn’t it just slice through it all at once?

The group finishes the monster intact and regroups – high-fiving each other in a brief moment of relaxation before returning professional and checking the monster’s corpse.

ZeMadDoctor: Confess, that’s a water and fire combo you made there, I would know madness combinations.

Amy: Maybee~

Abe: Seems like a water explosion mana to me.

Fated Eternal Design: Let Amy Keep her secrets :3 I for one think her dungeon is delightful.

Innearth: Do you have anything else to show us today?

Amy: I think that should be it.

Innearth: Thanks for showing it off. Your adventurers seem more committed than the one I got.

Abe: Yeah well done and all that. Sorry for giving you a hard time you’ve done well.

The stream closed and the group returned to the main chat.

Innearth: I need to catch up. I want to show off my dungeon but it will probably be a while before I advance. Tier 5 seems forever away.

Abe: m8 same. We should figure something out to catch up.

Innearth: if you come up with something I’m down.

Amy: I can’t wait to see what the rest of you have. I’m sure your dungeons are delightful. OH! Brutality queens showing off her dungeon I’m going to join that stream.

Innearth pulled back from the chat happy for his friend and only slightly jealous. He was doing better than he used to but it still got to him after a while. Level 45, nearly there. 3 levels should be done in no time at all…

Returning to his resizing efforts Innearth started to fantasize about adventurers and levels and constant entertainment. He dreamed about making a mark on history and becoming important and imagined a city sprouting up around him its economy dependant upon his existence.

…