章 4: Core Intergrity
There had to be something here, something from the old days, buried in the stone.
At that thought, as though there was a pulling from the dungeon to him, he succumbed.
As he reached the farthest wall, his fingers brushed against a deep groove.
A memory stirred.
Once, long ago, this dungeon had been a thriving entity.
It was not his creation, but he had inherited it from a past that had all but faded.
Somewhere within its foundation, a relic was hidden, a shard of the original power that sustained dungeons before the adventurers' world had consumed everything.
If he could find it…His hand pressed into the groove, and the stone shifted beneath his touch, revealing a hidden compartment.
Dust flew into the air as the compartment opened, and there, nestled within a small cavity, was a small, silver crystal, a shard of the original dungeon core.
It flickered weakly, but its energy was unmistakable.
[Ancient Core Shard: +10% Core Integrity upon fusion.]
The Architect smiled, though there was something melancholy in his expression.
He held the shard aloft, its light reflecting in his eyes.
This was a remnant of the dungeon's former glory, a fragment of its soul.
Restoring the dungeon would take more than brute force and adventurer mana; it would require the essence of the dungeon's original creation.
He pressed the shard into the core.
[Core Fusion Activated: +10% Core Integrity]
[Dungeon Core Integrity: 55%]
The core pulsed more steadily now, the fractures along its surface knitting together slightly.
It wasn't fully healed, but the process had begun.
The Architect felt the dungeon resonate with newfound stability, like a living entity stirring from its long slumber.
But he knew this was only the beginning.
Suddenly, a pulse of energy ran through the dungeon, followed by an unfamiliar vibration.
The Architect hurried back to the central viewing crystal. The display showed movement and new intruders.
Except these weren't like the last ones.
The glowing figures on the display were larger, their auras denser.
He recognized the silhouette of a Knight leading the way, clad in plate armor much thicker than the previous group, and behind him trailed two others: a Ranger, her bow drawn, and a Cleric, staff glowing with healing magic.
They had come prepared.
The Architect's fingers hovered over the controls.
These adventurers would not be so easily defeated. He had to use more than simple traps this time.
He needed to think like a strategist, leveraging the dungeon's layout to slow and divide them.
A plan formed in his mind.
[Command Activated: Summon Tier 2 Slime (Poison Variant)] -25 mana
The walls of the dungeon quivered, and from the stone, a translucent creature slithered into the corridors, larger than the usual slimes, its form pulsating with a noxious green hue.
This one carried the very poison that had felled its previous victims.
It could bide its time, waiting in the shadows for the right moment to strike.
But it wouldn't be enough to stop a group of this caliber.
He activated the Poison Gas Trap, ensuring it would be timed perfectly with the arrival of the adventurers in the corridor.
It would slow them, but it wouldn't stop them.
As the adventurers entered the dungeon, they moved cautiously, the Ranger scouting ahead, her keen eyes scanning the darkness.
The Knight kept his shield raised, prepared for any surprise attacks, while the Cleric whispered incantations, ready to counter any curse or poison that threatened them.
The Architect watched closely as they approached the first trap. The Poison Gas began to leak into the corridor, a faint green mist swirling around their feet. The Ranger was the first to notice.
"Poison!" she shouted, her voice echoing down the hall.
The Knight raised his shield, preparing for an assault, but the gas was already thickening.
The Cleric moved quickly, casting a spell to create a barrier of light around them, holding the worst of the gas at bay.
"They're adapting fast," the Architect muttered, impressed but irritated.
The dungeon's tricks wouldn't work on these seasoned fighters for long.
That's when he made his move.
[Command Activated: Soul Infusion (Slime Variant)] -40 Mana
[Mana: 95/200]
The glowing soul of one of the adventurers from the previous encounter hovered near the core.
With a flick of his hand, the Architect sent it spiraling into the Poison Slime waiting in the shadows.
The slime's form shimmered as the soul infused it, and its presence grew more ominous.
Tendrils of poison flared around it, and its movements became faster, more aggressive.
As the adventurers pushed through the corridor, the Soul-Infused Slime launched itself from the ceiling, crashing down onto the Knight's shield.
The impact sent him stumbling backward, the Ranger firing an arrow into the slime's body.
But it wasn't enough.
The Cleric's barrier faltered as the slime unleashed a burst of poison, its newfound power overwhelming their defenses.
The Architect watched with satisfaction as chaos unfolded.
He could feel the core's energy swelling again, feeding on the souls of the fallen.
[Dungeon Core Integrity: 60%]
But it wasn't enough.
Not yet.
The dungeon was still fragile, and while the core had gained a fraction of its former strength, it was far from restored.
The Architect couldn't afford to be complacent.
The adventurers regrouped, their knights barely standing after the poison onslaught.
The Cleric frantically cast healing spells, while the Ranger tried to reposition, her bow aimed for another shot at the infused slime.
They weren't done yet, and neither was the Architect.
He activated another command.
[Command Activated: Reinforce Dungeon Walls] - 50 mana
The walls near the adventurers rumbled, the stone shifting and reshaping.
Narrow passageways grew tighter, forcing them into single files.
The dungeon began to twist and constrict, funneling them toward an inevitable confrontation with more of its lethal surprises.
But the Architect knew he needed more than mere traps and summoned creatures to defend his lair.
He needed to evolve the dungeon's very essence.
To survive, he had to transform it into something truly fearsome.
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