章 8: Briggs, The Architect [Part 2]

Before we left D2, we had to go to the bathroom to get the Dwarven Rum out of our system. Despite Briggs drinking more than Orai and I combined, he wasn't even buzzed. Apparently, Dwarves can enjoy all the benefits of alcohol without much of the side effects. As I was throwing up in the Drunken Sprite's bathroom, I wished that the mugs were smaller than 50 oz. It was clear that those mugs were meant for people with dwarven-like tolerance.

Once Orai and I finished our business, we walked out of D2 with Briggs inbetween us. It was around 7:00 PM in the evening when we finally left The Drunken Sprite. We still had the 150 DP for the room and hallway but no other DP to spare. She inscribed magic markings with 'J & O' on the back of Briggs' hand so Briggs would be able to enter D1. While we were initially planning to visit Briggs' place, Briggs decided to head over to our dungeon first. He said that leaving a dungeon unplanned was 'unacceptable' for an architect. It also didn't help that we nothing but a single room and two hallways.

"Jesus, lads! I can't let that shite slide! Is that actually the layout of yer dungeon? I can't even call that layout ah dungeon! I see why ye needed an Architect so badly!", Briggs said.

We headed over to the Dwarven District's Townsquare and to let Briggs get gear from his house. As we waited for him, Orai and I took out the books we bought earlier. While I was looking through "How To Build A Dungeon Like A Pro!" and "Encyclopedia of Mobs and Monsters!", Orai was reading "99 Ways To Make The Best Food In D2!". I knew that Hidarus was the God Of War and Mera was the Goddess Of Wisdom but who was the author named Ambri?

"Orai. Who is Ambri? Is she a chef or something?", I asked.

"What? No! Ambri is the Goddess of Food and Wine! Everything she writes is considered gospel to cooks in D2! She's personally one of my favorite Goddesses! I've never seen her in person so hopefully, I'll get a chance to meet her. As far as I know, she helps train cooks who are A-rank and above at the culinary school in the academic district", Orai said.

I thought it was interesting but I didn't realize she like food that much. She was definitely a foodie. While we continued to wait, I was looking over 'HTBAD' to see what was next on the agenda. It seems that we needed to work with Briggs to come up with an ideal layout before adding a more diverse set of mobs. Before I got to read 'EMM', Briggs walked towards us.

"Ok, lads! I'm ready to be yer architect! Take us to yer dungeon!", Briggs said.

Briggs was currently sitting on the hand of a beautifully crafted Golem. The Golem was covered in matte-gold, paladin-like armor and seemed to be strangely human-like. It wore a helmet, with the inside glowing a goldish-yellow. It was slightly intimidating, as it stood 10-feet tall. As the golden golem placed Briggs on the ground, I noticed that it was wearing a large backpack, which was made with a mix of dwarven metal and leather. It seemed to be reinforced, with the dwarven metal being in the most critical places.

"This is my Golem, B05E. I prefer to call him Bose though. He's an A+ rank Golem that is in its fifth generation. Once I finally reach S rank, I'll be able to make this beauty into an S-rank beast! Since I was retired, he's mostly been helping me around the shop but he can be a great fighter when needed! He'll help us by getting the materials that we need to build the structures, as well as helping me build them. Bose! Say hi to our new colleagues!", Briggs said.

"Bose!", Bose stated.

"Don't worry. I can speak Bose's language! I made it so you need this ring to understand what he's saying. He can speak normally sometimes though. Bose! Speak normally!", Briggs said.

"Bose. Say. Hi!", Bose said.

As Orai began to inscribe a magic circle on Bose, we were able to get a good look at him. It seemed that Briggs was also an expert on creating golems since Bose seemed to be an advanced creation. Briggs told us that Bose ran on a rare Valsium core but he wanted to install a more legendary core. He said that he would be willing to create less advanced golems for us but he felt that it wouldn't be needed. He said that the lowest Golems he can make are C rank.

After we were done preparing, Orai started the teleportation process. It took a little longer than usual but that was due to the addition of Briggs and Bose. The four of us were taken to D1, with Briggs immediately looking over the design of the Dungeon Control Room.

"Luckily, the dungeon wasn't attacked while we were in D2! It's almost 8:00 so I'm guessing the monsters are going to come out at night. We'll need to ready our defenses and start building", I said.

"What the fook is this lads? Do you call this ah bed? I wouldn't even lay my arse on it. It looks as comfortable as walking into a succubus-joint with ya wife and kids! I see why ye were so desperate. Bose! Destroy this pile of minotaur shite!", Briggs said.

"Bose. Destroy!", Bose said.

As we watched Bose destroy our only bed, we saw Briggs take out drawing boards, protractors, compasses, pencils, drawing pens, brushes, gloves, hammers, and more items from Bose's backpack. He began to quickly sketch a design before handing it to us.

"I won't let ya sleep on that centaur shite again lads. Nothing but ah eyesore to me! Bose is going to build beds for you and me while we start planning your dungeon design", Briggs said.

The three of us teleported to the entrance of the dungeon, where the golems, elementals, and slimes were waiting. We also saw the Dire Wolf wake up and run towards us.

"Oi. What the fook is that? I thought ye were ah beginner! That's ah Dark Dire Wolf! Those are rare in Orune! I barely saw any when I was still living here!", Briggs said surprised.

Briggs was initially wary of the Dire Wolf but the Dire Wolf began to lick his bald head. Since he didn't have any hair, he wasn't as mad as most people would be. After trying to hold it in, Briggs began to laugh.

"Hahaha! I guess my hunch was right about ye two! This should be an interesting time together! Never would've guessed my head would be licked by a 10-foot Dire Wolf! Let's begin the process of yer Dungeon Planning lads!", Briggs said.

As Briggs walked with us outside of the dungeon, he was petting the Dire Wolf's fur. It seemed that the Dire Wolf took a liking to him.

"Lads. What's the name of this pet of yours? It seems that I made ah new friend!", Briggs said.

"We didn't really name it yet but I was thinking of calling it Obsidian since it's a dark-type", I said.

As Obsidian and Briggs were getting along, Briggs looked at our dungeon from the outside.

"Hm. It seems that this dungeon's built into the mountain but it's in the middle of the grasslands. We could build towards the top of the mountain or we could make it an underground dungeon. Personally, I would suggest making it underground since it will be sufficiently hidden. Making any potential enemies have to go deeper underground to loot and break the core will help us. The problem with making a vertical dungeon tower is that people could find ways around reaching the top. However, if we build it underground, we can have unlimited potential towards our dungeon planning. There's also no size restrictions as well so I heavily recommend it for ye lads", Briggs said.

It was clear by Briggs' tone that he was gradually becoming his serious, architect self. It was like his personality completely shifted to one of a professional. Since he had his backpack on his person, he took out a sheet of Dwarven paper and a pair of pens/pencils. He began doing rough sketches of his ideas while looking at the landscape.

"I guess we'll go with an underground dungeon then. We can keep the first floor but move the core to the lowest level. I think that each floor of the dungeon should have multiple rooms, hallways, traps, monsters, etc. The longer we can keep hostiles in the dungeon, the more DP that we could gain. Is there any design that utilizes that concept?", I said.

"Hm. Ye are a smart lad, Jordan. I was thinking the same thing! The question is how ye want it designed? Linear? Linear with sidetracks? Branching? Circular Routes? The Cross? Or maybe randomized? Just tell me which one suits yer fancy lad! Hahaha!", Briggs said.

As Orai and I tried to keep up with the designs he said, we realized that we were utterly confused. Even though I played games similar to this, I didn't know what the dungeon designs were actually called. Luckily, the 'HTBAD' had a page of over 50+ dungeon layouts that we could seek inspiration from. Since I had to learn what they were called first, I decided to simplify our current design.

"For now, we need an effective plan for our current dungeon once we add the hallway and room to it. Can you draft a plan that utilizes our current resources in the best possible way?", I said.

With 2 rooms, three hallways, and our current selection of mobs; Briggs began to plan our first layout.

He decided upon the name: 'The Constrictor'.