Draconic Karma Dungeon

Chapter 15: Emerald’s New Life

Before even entering the 2nd room of the 2nd Floor Thenac stopped to point out a couple of proximity traps that couldn't be avoided as they were placed right in front of the opening to the room. One was the same rockfall trap from the trap corridor, while Thenac couldn't identify the other one. She hadn't encountered a trap like this before and her 'Trap Detection' could only help her find traps, not identify them.

Normally the rhinokin would have quickly activated them and stepped back into safety as a way of disarming them. But as the traps still refused to activate such a trick was unnecessary.

The room was the same size as the rooms of the 1st Floor and had a mixture of trees, rocks, and puddles in it. The room was located to the right and the Party would have to pass another proximity trap to get there. This one identical to the holed rock in the swamp room though this time surrounded by similar looking rocks.

While Thenac looked for traps, Zaktak had noticed that the one bā zú lung dragon in the room was carrying a key around its neck and pointed it out to Taozcec. When the vulpinekin stopped giving the 8-legged dragon chin scratches after getting the key the dragon looked him in the eyes and nodded. A weak white glow appeared around Taozcec for a bit before it disappeared.

"What was that?" Morghar asked. No one had an answer for him though.

Like the room before the Party saw no need to search the entire room and so simply walked to the last with three keys in tow. The 4 bright red feathers and 14 small copper cubes informed the Party that some new creatures were hiding in the other room. They gathered the feathers, dragon meat and metal cubes and went back to look for the new creature. They were somewhat disappointed by the two small, dark red birds they saw.

Back in the 3rd room the Party noticed a door with 4 locks on the left side. To each side of both the Party and the locked door were a tree. Beside those 4 trees there were no others in the room. Leading to the door was a dirt route with water on each side. As such the closest left corner was simply a pond. The stream on the right side of the route went from the closest right corner to the furthest left leaving the furthest right corner as an island. On said island stood two half-bird, half-cat creatures guarding a large treasure chest. The treasure chest had double the height, length, and width of the two treasure chests in the big room and as such were about a meter high.

"The stream has no steppingstones." Begdar simply stated and despite the tempting big treasure chest, no one in the Party had any desire to disrespect the Dungeon by crossing its boundaries.

"We're still missing a key." Zaktak pointed out. "Do you guys think it's in here or that we missed it in another room?"

The Party looked around the room but only the 4 trees were inside their given boundaries. Thenac pointed out both that there were dragonets in the trees and that none of them had the last key. "One of them is only level 1 though." The rhinokin added. "That's slightly weird."

After a quick thought Begdar concluded: "It's a puzzle. The level 1 dragonet is likely a clue with the reward being the last key." Her Party nodded.

They pondered the puzzle for quite a while before Taozcec decided to call the dragonet in question down and pet it. More time passed before the vulpine started softly muttering to the dragonet. "You are such a cutie, little one. So small and kind and cute!"

"The Dungeon rewards kindness and good deeds, right? That's probably another clue but I can't see how it factors in with the level 1 dragonet!" Begdar sounded frustrated. "The Dungeon rewards us for having mercy and has made clear boundaries through its streams meant to teach us respect and-" the lupinekin's monologue got cut off.

"Politeness!" Came the outburst from Taozcec before he turned back the level 1 dragonet in his arms. "Will you please give us the last key?" He asked the small green dragon. With a last purr and nuzzle it spread its wings, flew over the pond, and dove into it right by the plant covered corner. The Party only had enough time to give a couple of surprised sounds before the dragonet flew out of the water with a key in its front claws. Flying back to land on Taozcec's shoulder, it tried to hand the key to him. As he took the key from the level 1 dragonet, he thanked it. At the same time the System announced that a puzzle had been solved.

With the last key in hand, the Party went and opened the door. Seeing the Core in the next room Zaktak couldn't help but ask: "Didn't Nerok say there was a speaking creature on this Floor?"

"Yeah." Morghar confirmed. "We must have missed it."

"You did!" Came a childlike voice from behind, followed by a short giggle before it cut itself off.

The Party turned around in a flash looking for the mysterious voice. "Show yourself!" Ordered Nalir.

"Na ah!" Replied the treasure chest. For the short moment it was speaking the Party could see a mouth with sharp teeth and 4 small eyes. Words had also appeared above it but the split second wasn't enough to let any of the 6 read it.

"Why not?" Asked Taozcec. "We just wanna talk, that's all."

The chest seemingly gave up pretending to be a treasure chest and revealed 4 eyes, 4 legs, a pair of arms and a mouth full of sharp teeth. "But that's so boring!" The now revealed small dumb mimic complained.

"What would you rather do then?" The vulpinekin asked, a bit surprised.

"I hide and jump and scare!" It replied excitedly while jumping up and down.

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The foxboy politely asked the dragonet for the 4th key and his karma level rose another point. Taozcec is at 89% now… next time his karma level rises he'll get swamped by my creatures as they try to befriend him.

Begdar had tried to ask my mimic all sorts of questions. Most questions it didn't know the answer to though - like why some creatures had karmic in front of their species name and some didn't - and it quickly grew tired of answering the ones it could. I did tell it what Thenac's first reward did so it could inform the rhinogirl. It would be sad if she never figured out that the shapeshifting cone could make her horn look whole.

To stop the remaining questions the mimic skittered into the invisible anti-creature wall before the Core Room and jumped down the stairs to the unfinished 3rd Floor while shouting "Don't follow me!". The Party decided it would be disrespectful to enter a Dungeon's unfinished Floor without permission - and especially so when told not to by its creature - and instead decided to simply leave.

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The Party came by again later that day as always - with Thenac now having a whole looking horn. They saw it as a routine visit to gather loot. One more important than normal due to the looming threat. As such, they had 3 wooden… wheelless wheelbarrows…? with them to carry food in. The wheelless wheelbarrows had handles on both ends and were large enough that they had to be carried by two people.

The Party might have seen this as a routine visit but I, however, had kept count. This was their 10th visit. And each time they came to The Waterfall Room the mousegirl Zaktak would pet and play with the mimicking dragonet. Finally I'll get to see the Lifelong Friends Rule in play! I was so excited! Interesting things didn't happen all that often.

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The Rule ‘Lifelong Friends’ has gone into effect. Karmic mimicking dragonet level 2 is now your friend and will soon no longer be a Dungeon creature.

Karmic mimicking dragonet level 2 is unable to pick a name or gender for themself. As their next of kin it falls to you to pick a name and gender for them.

Zaktak had simply been tickling the coolestdragon of them all when the System started talking. Her mouth shot open, but no sound came out.

The rest of the Party liked to rest for a bit and talk while she petted and played with the dragonet. It didn't take them long before they realized the muskin had stopped playing. "What's wrong?" Asked Thenac.

"I… uhhh… System… uhhh…" Zaktak stuttered, stunned. Then, with a sudden burst of speed, she gave the mimicking dragonet a tight hug and announced: "You're mine now! You're a girl, 'cause we're awesome and your name will be Emerald!" The whole Party then watched as the dragonet grew a tiny bit bigger and its identity changed to:

Emerald Karmic mimicking dragonet Level 2

Zaktak additionally got this message:

Emerald is no longer a Dungeon creature.

"What just happened?" Asked Morghar.

"The Dungeon made a best friends Rule, where if you make a Dungeon creature your friend it stops being a Dungeon creature so it can be your friend instead!" The muskin said in one excited breath while hugging the purring and nuzzling Emerald.

"It's not a part of the Dungeon anymore?" Asked Begdar to clarify.

"No, she's not a part of the Dungeon anymore. Emerald has a name and gender now! Dungeon creatures don't have neither!"

"Does that mean she can follow us out?" Morghar asked. "Can she meet my cubs?"

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Morghar was quite excited to finally show his kids a real dragon and talked enthusiastically with Zaktak as they walked through my Dungeon. The rest of the Party looked happy on their behalf but couldn't match the beardad and mousegirl's enthusiasm and so stayed mostly silent.

I noticed that a new mimicking dragonet spawned when the Party entered the 2nd Floor.

To the surprise of all - myself included - Emerald leveled up not once but twice when the Party exited the Forest of Territories. That's fast! I simply thought at the time. The Forest of Territories was very big after all and Emerald was still low leveled. But then she leveled up again after the next room. As far as I could gather it would take a level 2 beastkin three runs through a normal Dungeon with two Floors to level up. Emerald only got EXP for three rooms though. Admittedly the 2nd of the two was the size of 8 rooms but that's still only one Floor when added together. She should have needed… my Dungeon mind made quick work of the math. 8 times as much EXP. My Experiencing Peace Rule doubles most of that EXP but that can't be all! … Hmm… Wait… I created her species. It didn't exist before now except as one of my Dungeon creatures, and thus as a part of me. As such, she would have gotten the 'First of Your Kind' Achievement and thus double EXP gain for 5 years!

… Uhm… And maybe dragonets simply need half as much EXP as a beastkin does to level up…

No… I'm not jealous just 'cause a tiny dragon gets EXP faster than me...

Emerald even got a reward when the Party got to the Core Room. Hers was a spiky color-changing leather collar giving her 2 more Dexterity.

At least she didn't already level up a 4th time...

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Three trips through my Dungeon later and Emerald was ready to tier up. Like sapients she needed to crush a Breakthrough Orb to do so. That’s odd. I thought only sapients needed to do that to tier up. In fact, System? Only sapients and Dungeon Cores tier up at all, right?

Only sapients, Dungeon Cores and certain Dungeon creatures can tier up. However, some creature species have age tiers, which have different effects depending on the species but always involve a power boost.

Uh, right! Of course! I forgot. But why can Emerald tier up? Dragonets nor mimicking dragonets are 'true dragons'. And why does she need a Breakthrough Orb to do so? I thought that was only sapients?

A creature bound to a sapient through the ‘Lifelong Friends’ Rule will follow the tier up conditions of sapients. However, due to their body's instability from having been created from mana, they will instead instantaneously 'evolve' into a stronger related creature that can contain the additional power, should said creature not have age tiers and be unable to have a Class.

Her body is unstable?! Because she was made from mana?! Does that have any other consequences for Emerald? And what about my own creatures?

Dungeon creatures' mana-made bodies are stabilized by their connection to their Dungeon Core. As such a Dungeon creature cannot leave the dimension of their Dungeon Core.

A creature bound to a sapient through the ‘Lifelong Friends’ Rule is separated from their Dungeon Core but is in turn bound to a sapient. This makes a Dungeon creature's body stable enough to leave the Dungeon but not stable enough to be able to contain all the power it gains from level ups.

The 'evolution' into a stronger creature is enough to stop any other consequence of being made from mana from happening.

As the sapient is unable to transfer the energy necessary for survival to the creature, the creature must instead find another way of getting the needed energy. As such, most creatures bound to a sapient through the ‘Lifelong Friends’ Rule will begin to eat. Generating energy themselves will slowly make the body of the creature less mana-based. Once the creature is no longer mana based it will no longer be bound to the sapient and, as such, will no longer die if the sapient does. At this point the creature can break its bond to the sapient should it wish to.

Oh. Okay. That's good! Mostly. Apparently Emerald dies if Zaktak does. And I suppose all my creatures would as well, should I die.

The Party had gone back to the previous room where they had left a pair of BO's behind. Emerald bit down on one and began to glow and grow.

When the light had died down again, she looked like a different dragon. She had gotten a bit bigger, her scales became a darker green before getting covered in leaves and her ears became short and wide instead of the long, slimmer ones she had before.

Looking at the label floating above Emerald it now said:

Emerald Fledgling karmic mimicking elemental dragon - Forest Level 10

Cool. Could you tell me a bit about the non-mimicking variety of the race, System?

Elemental dragons of the Forest element are true dragons that have adapted so well to a forest habitat their bodies have taken on Forest properties. Their leaf covered bodies allow them to photosynthesize part of their needed energy intake. Branches can be extended from the body to attack enemies or manipulate objects. While having the ability to breathe fire, they rarely use it. These dragons are about an inch tall when they hatch and have a wingspan of 60 cm when fully grown. As they are true dragons their blood flows with mana making them immune to dying by old age and additionally grants them a specific amount of EXP based on their age tier each year. True dragons, which are not bound to a Dungeon Core, are considered semi-sapient creatures and can enter Dungeons while only counting as half a sapient.

Nice. And I do remember correctly when I say that the ‘fledgling’ part is her age tier, right? And that it's the 'I've just become an adult' one?

The age tiers of true dragons are hatchling, fledgling, young, mature, old, ancient, and true ancient.

Hatchling dragons are level 0.

Fledgling dragons are level 1-19.

Young dragons are level 20-39.

Mature dragons are level 40-59.

Old dragons are level 60-89.

Ancient dragons are level 90-199.

True ancient dragons are level 200 and higher.

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Domestic yak is unable to gain the karmic phylum due to 'domestic' and 'karmic' being too similar.

Calculating…

Domestic creatures' behavior will remain unchanged. Discounts related to karmic creatures will also relate to domestic creatures.

… Okay then…

…

I ordered 10 galespikes to follow the orders of 10 kobolds before ordering the kobolds to practice riding and flying on their new mounts.

10 selected karmic galespikes have gotten the modifier 'kobold trained' and will follow the orders of kobolds over their own instincts.

10 selected karmic kobolds have gotten the modifier 'galespike rider' and can ride galespikes without a natural risk of falling off.

I thought that would make the galespikes domestic, but this is even better! Sweet!

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After having met Emerald, Morghar’s cubs insisted on him getting one as well. And of course beardad caved in and began befriending the new mimicking dragonet in The Waterfall Room.

“The girls decided you should be a boy named Sprout.” Morghar told his new friend. “I believe they are hoping you might choose Emerald as your mate, but please don’t feel like you actually have to do so.”

Sprout was seemingly just as quick to level up as Emerald had been. He must have gotten the Achievement as well. It wasn’t just aimed at the very first of one’s kind after all. When Sprout later was ready to tier up/evolve he became the same type of dragon Emerald had. He was a bit smaller than her, though. ‘Cause of the gender difference perhaps.

I wonder if all dragonets would become Forest dragons. Could be due to the similarities between the two races. You know, the similar sizes, their preferred habitat, meatless diet, and such.

Or maybe Sprout actually has a crush on Emerald… Now that I think about… Sprout has been very attentive to Emerald.

…

He definitely has a crush on her!

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6 days had gone by since Nerok's visit. The Party had kept to the schedule and visited twice a day - now with the wheelless wheelbarrows and Emerald and Sprout as their 7th and 8th members. Would the bonded dragonets have counted towards the allowed number of people if they weren’t also a part of Nerok’s Tribe?

A creature bound to a sapient through the ‘Lifelong Friends’ Rule does not count towards the allowed number of sapients in each Floor. However, unlike other creatures they can actually enter a Dungeon and do so automatically when their bounded sapient enters the Dungeon. They cannot enter a Dungeon without their bounded sapient.

Uhh… Good to know… I think…

I had finished the 3rd Floor and while the 4th Floor was unfinished, it was ready to receive guests. Just as it was supposed to be.

To make it a bit more secure for them I added another Rule. One inspired by the way I had hidden my Core.

New Dungeon Rule: Hidden Unfinished Floor: The unfinished Floors of the Dungeon will be hidden from everyone and everything except the Core itself and any sapients covered under the ‘Chosen Family’ Rule. This can be overcome by active related skills of the same tier as the Core or higher.

I saw no reason to make it easy for slavers, so I had lowered the number of allowed sapients to its lowest setting. The cooldown timer I had at first wanted to put on max, but I changed my mind. While a timer of 24 hours would give me more mana to build defenses with, it also makes it more likely for the people outside to realize that their friends are dead rather than simply on a different Floor. And then they'll likely call for stronger backup instead of walking to their death. No timer is better for now. No wait… If I get lucky - which is entirely possible due to Bad Karma, Bad Luck - and kill a Party really quickly the Portal would immediately open again. Thus making it obvious that they died as they didn't have time to reach a new Floor. There must be some way to… Hmm… System? Set the standard timer so… 2 hours have to pass from one Party entering my first Floor till the next Party can enter.

Standard timer set to 2 hours from the arrival of each Party.

Perfect! That way they are less likely to realize the previous Party has died. If that is what ends up happening, that is… It might be hubris speaking… To make sure I hadn't jinxed myself I had a kobold knock on some wood for me. I didn't have hands myself after all.

Status and 4th Floor Details please.

Personal Status Level: 9+ Needed number of killed sapients with karma levels of 25% or lower: 3/10 EXP: 5,594 Next mana payment for level up: 0/1,200 Mana: 1.25/500 Mana regeneration: 175 per hour Floors: 3/5 Allowed number of sapients in each Floor: 4 Floor Details Achievements Mission Dungeon Rules

Floor Details for the 4th Floor

170/450 levels worth of creatures

0/2 puzzles

0/10 traps