NOVEL FROG Chapter 367 – Personalized Experience for Everyone
Wrapping up their little spinning and cuddling session, Asterios and Miria moved to the chamber housing their friendly Core. Resurfacing through the shadows a moment later in the slightly refurbished and redesigned compartment, they first glanced around with curiosity. Even Miria seemed surprised and Asterios knew she had been visiting Kori and Umbra much more often than he had so the upgrade had to be recent.
Instead of a spacious cavern with irregular stone structures making up the frames of the Core’s portals, they now stood in a massive hall with flat surfaces all around, besides the ground, which showed signs of a few elevated platforms here and there. Kori remained on the highest dais in its very center, looking down on everything else, but first hints of more dark buildings poked out of the floor all around the middle area.
It wasn’t hard to guess that the shadowy duo was slowly turning the Core Chamber into a small fortress in a rectangular enclosure. Or perhaps even a little military town. There was no other reason for bringing up additional buildings in this place otherwise. The ominous gate-like monster forges were neatly arranged on the sides while decorated with intricate frames, giving off the vibes of passages to other worlds.
Perhaps the idea was at least somewhat smart and interesting. If they recruited more help with the Core in the future, having a place near it where people could stay and arrange things would be much appreciated. On the other hand, an armored fortress filled to the brim with monstrous guards and their allies would make Kori much safer in case of a direct attack.
Plus, sometime in the far future, when adventurers would manage to delve deep enough, this space could be used as the final epic encounter, which when cleared would award the brave challengers with riches and fame. The guild could play long and bestow some of their own titles too.
Nevertheless, no one would be getting any close to a location this deep in the bowels of the dungeon anytime soon so Umbra and Kori had lots of time to finish things up and even possibly make additional changes after. Those would definitely become much easier to introduce with the duo properly bonded as Dungeon Core and Dungeon Master. They might have begun calling themselves that after enough pressure from the girls but it still wasn’t fully official. Not until they completely released Umbra from his restraints.
Asterios and Miria slowly walked through the whole construction zone, admiring the initial phases of multiple rough buildings. Reaching the central pedestal, they walked up to the very Core, taking the wide stairs that resembled a path to an ancient temple’s peak. In some sense, the raised platform with Kori’s main body could be compared to a pyramid with a flat top. Plus all the decorative parts snaking around the unusual Core.
When they stepped onto the flat surface, Umbra chose to rise from the shadows and take the form of a tall pillar of darkness with glowing purple eyes. One day, they would need to work on his visual presentation. Currently, Umbra could either take this form or mimic other humanoids, but he still looked like an animated shadow. Some matching armor would be great, preferably with a layer of skin covering his figure. Even black would do.
Sensing Ast’s thoughts, the Lord of Shadows snickered lightly.
~That might not be impossible, Master. Without the curse holding me down, and with my connection with Kori properly secured in place, I might be able to imitate a humanoid or other type of creature much better. From what Tina has been saying, it would be cool to serve as the Last Boss that can shift into different beings, like a Drake, Wyvern, or even Dragon,~ Umbra said with an excited note in his tone. ~It doesn’t take priority, though. As you can see, we need to finish decorating this place first. And the rest of the dungeon.~
“Regarding that, I saw what you did with that maze area.” Asterios smirked softly as Miria nodded joyfully. “Are we now going to steal ideas from all the dungeons we visited in the past? It does sound at least a tiny bit intriguing as we might be the only ones with full access to its management, but it still feels a tad… cheap.”
~We don’t plan on simply copying what you’ve all seen during our delves and on other occasions.~ The big shadow shook his head. ~You would have noticed that many things are different if you followed Miria’s example and dove into the labyrinth, Master. But, I can’t deny some inspiration from past events. We are just making it more accessible to most adventurers and adding improvements wherever possible.~
“Yeah, I can see that.” Miria giggled. “You can now switch the order of the floors too? I was surprised when you spoke to me shortly before we finished the Devourer that you had a surprise for me. It was a great surprise, though. Thank you so much. And Kori too.”
~You are welcome. From both of us.~ Umbra’s gleaming eye spots pulsed happily. ~Actually, the floors in this place don’t exactly match the common standards. With our shadowy portals as the means of transport, we can easily move people to any specific level from wherever. Even during your first adventure here, Master, you hadn’t gone through the first five or so floors, instead moving between numerous.~
“That would explain the quite apparent difference in difficulty.” Asterios stroked his chin ponderingly. “This is great, then, no? You can juggle the layout after coming up with something new, without having to firstly scrap down another floor for space. As long as the dungeon’s bounds do not run out.”
~That’s not the most interesting thing we can do with it, Master.~ His ominous familiar snickered proudly. ~With tools like these, we can adapt every single delve to the adventurers undertaking them. Each person or party could receive a unique experience matching their needs, going specifically through the floors that would maximize the fun and challenge factors of their experience. If we put enough work into it, there will be not even a single exact same adventure ever.~
“Oh! Oh! And the guild could then offer even more personalized guidance with the instructors!” Miria practically vibrated with energy. “Just imagine offering different and unique plans to gain experience in various roles, situations, and predicaments! We could say that we are just so good at navigating the dungeon that we can prepare detailed roadmaps for those looking for specific areas to train themselves in!”
Asterios had to admit, her idea sounded genuinely awesome. A ten-floor delve tailored to one’s needs might break the bank. They could provide paths as specific as a pure maze and puzzle run, an area boss rush with one monster after another, or a set of only single-themed monster-type chambers. The possibilities were endless and limited only by their creativity.
“Incredible. And that would also let us take in more adventurers. With those custom plans, it would be simple to ensure that no groups run into each other as long as they don’t want to, kind of like you have started doing with the first floor, separating it into smaller sections with their own teleporters,” he added his personal spin on the take. “Yeah, this is getting unbelievably sophisticated. I dare say there is or was no other dungeon with such a range of possibilities. It will be tough to keep people convinced that we aren’t the ones behind the whole thing, though.”
“It will be tough nonetheless, Master.” Miria purred into his cheek. “Maybe someday we will just let people know, after getting famous enough with our incredible dungeon, but for now, we will manage. Dungeons are difficult to study and full of intricate magic that not many know how it works, no? We can just say it’s magic and there we go!”
The reference to their first delves made him laugh softly and reach out to ruffle through the cute panthergirl’s hair. Maybe she was right. Maybe people would buy it alongside everything else that would be happening around this place and Glimmervale in general.
~Nevertheless, we are getting quite far ahead of ourselves,~ Umbra interrupted his inner musings. ~Our options are still somewhat limited for as long as the two of us can’t communicate directly. I can control only a few portals in the whole dungeon at once, so micromanaging the guests is considerably hard work. There are also things that Kori isn’t able to figure out with my attempts at explaining them, which slows the development of the dungeon by a fair amount. We need that link to raise the efficiency to satisfying levels.~
“Very soon. We are actively working on it. I’m now closer than further from this objective,” Asterios replied. “We’ll first take care of Irelia’s oath, the inauguration of our Dragoons, and the summoning of their iconic mounts. Just as those three aspects get out of the way, I should have finished learning how to tear my way into other realms. Be ready to leave and serve as our guide through your home dimension at any time.”
~It should be you who gets ready, Master.~ His familiar chuckled eerily. ~It will be like nothing you’ve ever seen. Survival of the fittest doesn’t do my realm justice and you know it. While we might stumble on some semblance of community here and there with slightly humanoid beings managing them, most will be relentless monsters that will need putting down without a second thought. Not to mention those who embraced madness after living in the sealed space for their entire lives.~
“I’m really glad we have Althea with us now since Bryn is sitting this one out.” Asterios shuddered and Miria hugged him affectionately for some reassurance. “And you have no idea where and what to look for, right?”
~I’m afraid not, Master. But maybe Abyss will be able to direct us after you sneak her inside the barrier. It is her creation, in the end, even if centuries or more passed since its conception. It’s also good that we will be leaving some of our strong friends behind in case the solution to the sealing curse requires someone working from both inside and outside,~ Umbra answered.
“We’ll succeed no matter what!” The joyful panthergirl cheered them both up. “You will be free in no time!”
It was hard to argue with her overbearing enthusiasm so they had to agree. Even if it wasn’t really visible, Asterios was sure there was a smile somewhere on Umbra’s misty form just as big as his own. The good mood was simply too infectious and the panthergirl’s upbeat nature could warm the coldest of hearts.
“Alright. Let us return and get on with it, then.” Asterios nodded at them both. “I need to speak with Althea before we retreat for the night. Today was an eventful day and tomorrow is going to be even bigger.”
Exchanging a few more words about the life of their budding dungeon, they soon bid their farewells and he took Miria back to the surface while Umbra stayed with Kori. Considering how much time the two were spending together, he wouldn’t be surprised to learn that they were already the best of friends after joining up together properly. The Core definitely had to appreciate the help from the wise Duke of Umbra and all the other Ast’s familiars or companions.
Miria separated from Asterios at the encampment to give a full report to the guild and meet up with Selene. Considering his options for a moment, he decided to fly to Althea’s lair instead of simply transferring himself there. The more he studied and trained under the wise Dragon lady, the more in tune he was becoming with his own Dragon nature and it was starting to call for him more often recently. It had to be the result of all those exercises on drawing out and concealing his various energies and auras.
So, Asterios moved himself far enough not to get spotted before shifting into his True Dragon form. With a mighty flap that bent a few trees just from the sheer force of the wind, he took into the skies and flew high up in a flash, heading in the direction of the hidden entrance. He didn’t see anyone on his way there and dove back down to disappear into the well-protected tunnel.
After emerging in the spacious cavern housing Althea’s enchanting home, he circled over the small forest a few times. He saw a glimmer of something familiar in the grass to the west and closed in to investigate. Just as he’d expected, he found his emerald-scaled mentor sunbathing in her serpentine form, napping comfortably amongst the flowers and other greenery.
The sun might be fake, but it mattered not.
Deciding not to wake Althea up yet, he joined her on the ground and tried to find a good angle to follow her lead. Standing right next to her prone form, he noted that he’d again grown a bit since the last time they properly compared their sizes. She’d once said that it wasn’t surprising and that a lot of his growth had been stunted by the seals and all the other inconveniences plaguing his body and mind. Now, he had gotten rid of almost all of them so he was turning into a prime specimen of a True Dragon with multiple Hearts.
Despite his best attempts, his newest mate did get roused from her pleasant slumber. Althea opened one green eye and smiled at him with her sharp draconic snout. When she patted the grass by her side, Asterios needed no more explanation. He plopped himself down next to her and the beautiful Lesser Dragon snuggled to him lovingly, resting her head on the ground just by his as her snaking frame brushed against his torso. It felt quite intimate even though they didn’t seem to be that close. Yet, his draconic side was telling him that they were almost flirting in their own way.
“Before you ask, you did not interrupt my beauty sleep, beloved,” Althea spoke through mana first with a soft, quiet chuckle. “I was waiting for you.”
He still wasn’t used to her calling him that but it certainly felt rather fond. “Nevertheless, we can speak like this if you would like. You seemed pretty comfortable here.”
“I would appreciate that.” She nuzzled her snout into his scaly cheek. “I’m afraid I’m still recovering from the earlier event so we might not be able to practice that much today. But, we can discuss things in preparation for tomorrow. Right after you show me the progress you made, of course.”
“And how do I do that?” he asked curiously.
“Do the same thing you’ve been doing, but in your True Dragon form,” she answered with a noticeable smirk.
That stunned Asterios a bit. “We haven’t practiced that yet. All I did was slice through the air in my usual body.”
“Yes, and it was all in preparation for this. If you are able to finish the motion in your draconic form, you will be able to do it at any time. You have been practicing in your humanoid frame since it’s currently the most familiar to you, and thus, it was the easiest way to help your mind grow accustomed to the technique. In the end, it’s all about perception. You just have to repeat it now in your slightly bigger state. I assume you remember the giant claw your father used to transport that Kaguya in your familiar’s realm. He used that form for a reason,” his draconic teacher explained.
“Here goes nothing, then.” He shrugged. “I trust your judgment.”
Firstly, he had to figure out the correct steps since he didn’t have to turn his arm into a draconic appendage, moving straight to gathering energy around his already present claw. As Althea had explained, everything else seemed very familiar and similar to what he had been doing in his humanoid body. Concentrating hard on keeping his Hearts perfectly synchronized, he jabbed his claw at an empty air.
A spiritual ripple passed through both of them as the sharp black nail sank into seemingly nothing. Still, a visible resistance could be noticed where it stayed unmoving as Asterios grunted from the effort. Straining all his muscles, he dragged it down bit by bit. It wasn’t a smooth and precise movement like his father’s, but it was still impressive. A glowing crimson line made a path behind his claw.
After it reached half the size of his current form, Asterios pulled away. The single path stayed motionless for a few seconds, then split through the middle and bent to the sides, creating the shape of a vertical teardrop. The surface between the ropes of the spiritually ripped fabric of their dimension rippled with invisible heat, but there was no sign of the dark red portal or any other effect. At that very moment, what he had created looked to be no more than a weirdly shaped spiritual window that they could look through.
“Good. Great even. Your speed of learning is astounding. Considering the fact that I’m sharing with you only bits of knowledge about this ability that has been passed from mouth to mouth by observing our enemies and slavers, almost improbable,” Althea complimented him. “But, perhaps it’s your natural affinity with it as a True Dragon, one with a humongous amount of power thanks to his multiple sources. Not to mention your crossing lineages coming straight from the primordial progenitors.”
Receiving a tap on the cheek with her solid snout, he released his focus, and the technique dispersed into thin air. Althea followed it with a faint lick, which he had learned to symbolize a gentle peck of approval and satisfaction when placed upon that specific area. It meant that she was proud of him.
Dragon culture was truly fascinating.
“Now, you just need to start putting the intent we kept sealed away into this and you should be able to achieve your goal. Your foundations are solid enough. This will be the most dangerous part since you will be cutting into other realms, but you can’t really practice it any other way,” she added.
“We’ll pick a remote location for the initial attempts. Perhaps in Bryn's world or somewhere else. It shouldn’t matter where we do it since it’s all about going from place to place. Nevertheless, even if it won’t be easily traceable, I just prefer to be safe,” he replied. “It does take a lot out of me though, and we aren’t even doing the full thing. I’ll need to be careful when we begin.”
“It will definitely be easier the more proficient you get. Your pace almost compares to that of a prodigy, but you still can’t be the master of something on the very first try.” Althea bumped her head into his again and rubbed their scales together. “For now, rest. We can talk about the Dragoons in the meantime. I can sense your excitement, my dear student.”
“Am I that easy to read?” Asterios chuckled lightly. “I’ve had this idea I hoped to run through you before we got to it. I believe it could benefit your friends that we are going to attempt summoning. As long as you agree to take on a bit of additional responsibilities.”
She raised an intrigued brow at him. “Oh? I’m all ears, then.”
