The Crafter's Dungeon: A Dungeon Core Novel (Dungeon Crafting Book 1) by Jonathan Brooks (literature books to read TXT) 📕

New Monster Seed identified!

You now have access to:

Tiny Dragon Glass Flake

Origination Raw Material Cost: 20000

Origination Mana Cost: 7000

Monster Min. Mana: 5000

Monster Max. Mana: 10000

Currently locked:

Small Dragon Glass Sliver

Average Dragon Glass Shard

Large Dragon Glass Chunk

That was unexpected.

“What?  What did I say?”

When you identified that black stone, it became accessible as a new Monster Seed, which also means that I can use it as a material.  Apparently, only material that has been identified can be used as a Monster Seed.

Thinking back at her discovery of both the Territory Ant Egg and the Tin Ore, she realized that she knew what both of them were when they were found.  The Eggs were self-explanatory, and though she had never seen raw Tin Ore in the ground before, she had at least seen it when it had been used in crafting recipes.  And now that the “Dragon Glass” had been identified by the Dungeon Fairy, it was available to be used as a Monster Seed – though it was going to be far into the future based upon the sheer cost of resources.

“That’s unbelievable!  Only a few of the largest, most powerful dungeons get access to Seeds like that!  Though I doubt you’ll be able to use it anytime soon, since it’s normally used for really powerful Dungeon Monsters,” the Dungeon Fairy said, as her face expressed a genuine wonder at Sandra’s discovery.

Thanks – and you’re right.  It will be a long time until I can actually use it for a monster, though I may be able to use it as material inside my dungeon.

To demonstrate her theory, Sandra concentrated on a one-foot-square piece of stone flooring near – but separate from – her small forge, and pictured it turning into the same Dragon Glass that had been formed earlier.  The process was actually easier, somehow; now that it was an “official” material that she could use, the Mana and Raw Materials flowed out of her Core and infused the stone without hesitation – though it used quite a bit more than just turning dirt walls into stone.  For that one-foot-square piece of flooring to turn into the glossy black stone, it took 180 Mana and 900 RM, as opposed to the 9 Mana and 45 RM the normal grey stone required for the same amount – a significant increase in cost.

“That’s just plain amazing!  Dragon Glass is very rare and is usually formed by – what else – the world’s few remaining dragons for their lairs.  They are in danger of being completely wiped out because of the expanding dungeons all over the world, who hunt down the massive beasts just as they do everything else.

“As you probably noticed, it is virtually immune to any type of heat, so it is the perfect choice for your forge.  The downside of the Dragon Glass is that it can’t be worked into different shapes; it can’t be melted down and reshaped – for obvious reasons – but it can be smashed into smaller pieces, filed down, and even sharpened.  Although it’s not nearly as brittle as normal glass, it can still be broken down if enough force is used.  The only ones I’ve seen work with it were the Dwarves, though it’s been a long time since they crafted anything with the few rare pieces that are found every once in a while.”

Hmm…a new crafting material is always welcome.  Sandra didn’t have much to work with at the moment, but she envisioned having access to more in the future.  Which reminded her – she was thinking of upgrading her Core Size; however, she wanted to see if that was the best idea, so she asked Winxa a few questions first about the whole process.  She was curious about the increases she could expect when she upgraded in the future, as well as if she would eventually get the constructs she wanted – and whether she should switch her Classification.

“Well, as to your first question, from what I remember – since it’s been a long time since I’ve stuck around this long with a Dungeon Core – starting at Core Size 8, the increase in your resource capacities and Area of Influence (AOI) stops being double.  At Size 8, you’ll receive a 75% increase; at Size 9, you’ll receive a 50% increase.  From there, it tapers down to a fixed rate of 25% for Available Mana, Ambient Mana Absorption, and AOI, and then a 20% increase for your Raw Materials.  The first 9 Core Sizes are thought of more as the “learning” stages, where you receive big gains for your efforts to get you started in your endeavors faster.

“Starting at Size 10, however, it will take substantially more to upgrade your Core.  Since you cannot accumulate more Mana than your maximum capacity, the upgrades are done in ‘stages’, and each of the stages requires your maximum Mana to progress. To reach Core Size 10, for example, there are two stages, which means that you’ll need twice the amount of your max capacity to complete the upgrade.  It sounds like a lot, but I think you’ve seen how quickly you can accumulate Mana if that is all you concentrate on.  From there, however, the amount of stages increases by one for each complete upgrade.”

I can see why the other Dungeon Cores are obsessed with getting more Mana now; the Mana requirement for the some of the higher Sizes must me in the tens of thousands!

“Actually, once they pass Size 24, they’re looking at millions of points of Mana to upgrade their Core.  Sometimes it can take years of work to accumulate enough to complete even one stage, especially if their Dungeon Monsters are being constantly culled by the nearby sentient races.

“Now, for your next question – I honestly don’t