Draconic Karma Dungeon

Chapter 88: Dealing with New Neighbors

Personal Status Level: 34 EXP needed for level up: 183,000/183,000 Additional EXP: 65,523,519 Mana payment for level up: 0/32,500 Mana: 0.5/6,500 Mana regeneration: 2,275 per hour Floors: 10/17 Allowed number of sapients in each Floor: 6 Floor Details Achievements Mission Dungeon Rules

Things had been pretty calm the first three sunrises - or two and a half days -, allowing me to level up to level 34 with no problem. With all of the commotion surrounding the cult, the elven Princess, and the move of the Tribe my Dungeon hadn't seen as much activity as it usually did.

The Tribe - while making it clear they still worshiped me - needed a bit of fresh air after their prolonged stay in my Dungeon. And of course they also needed to settle down amongst the elves, which was trying for some and exhausting for everyone - either physically, emotionally or both.

Still, they had made it a part of their worship of me for each person - even the children who couldn't earn EXP for themselves yet nor bring me EXP - to go through my Dungeon. They liked to tell me gossip while taking their leisurely strolls of worship through my Dungeon.

And apparently these strolls of worship were both a worship of me - as I had long since informed them that it helped me grow - and a worship of the System. The belief was that EXP was the System rewarding you for following its wishes. Which made earning EXP a form of worship of the System.

I'm not too sure whether that's actually true for sapients, but everything I earn EXP for is either a result of killing bad people or strengthening good people. Which is very much in sync with my Mission.

… No, wait. Not everything. I earn the same amount of EXP for 'strengthening' bad people as I do good people. And supposedly I earn as much EXP for killing good people as I do for killing bad people.

The only place on my Status where a sapient's karma level actually matters to me is when I need to have killed a certain number of bad guys to tier up.

Why exactly is that, System? Doesn't some of that go against my Mission?

The answer to your inquiry isn't considered general knowledge but due it regarding your Mission, it will be answered regardless.

While the number of sapients with karma levels of 25% or less is desired to be as low as possible, a certain level of equality must still be offered to them. Otherwise a noble goal becomes genocide.

Equality, huh?

Anyway with the 2,473% increase in EXP from Weeding the World and the Tribe's way of worship, it would likely be decades before I truly needed EXP again to continue growing.

But at that point the Tribe might be much larger!

… Or maybe I was dead. Who was to say! I was only 3 months old - almost 4, though that wasn't the point here. 'Decades in the future' was a long time away and a lot could happen between then and now.

Just like a lot had happened since I had awoken as a Dungeon Core.

The elves were partially occupied with their new beastkin neighbors, and partially dealing with suddenly having to take care of and protect their Crown Princess, all while preparing for her escorts to arrive with mind controlled prisoners.

The Lightning Mage seemed to be the only one of the elves to have realized that the children of the Tribe could enter my Dungeon when such a thing was normally impossible. When she asked about it, I informed her that I had given the children of the Tribe special permission to enter my Dungeon but that they still couldn't earn EXP by doing so before they were adults.

Which she naturally couldn't tell anyone without my permission, as that would reveal my sapiency.

At this point the no longer mind controlled ex-cultists had largely left to reunite with their families. The only one left was Mlartlar, the half elf half vulpinekin Battle Commander, who now lived in his own tent at the outskirts of the budding town. The guy had calmed down considerably and was now merely suspicious of every elf's every action rather than outright confrontational and aggressive.

He had even apologized to the Lightning Mage and his fellow ex-cultists about his earlier behavior - though he didn't explain why he had acted that way - and admitted it was probably for the best that Marthox was executed. After all, the muskin was clearly trigger happy when it came to Hypnotizing people.

The Tribe was talking a lot about Mlartlar. They talked a lot about the elves too! Anytime the elves were surprisingly nice to them and anytime they 'did as expected of elves'.

Mlartlar was talked about because he wanted to join them.

The Battle Commander had a clear hatred or at least severe dislike and distrust towards elves, so him wanting to join the Tribe came as no real surprise.

At least once it was revealed he had no family to speak of like the rest of the ex-cultists.

Mlartlar - like many others - was also fascinated by how my Dungeon would only attack bad guys unless in self defense, so he wanted to stay and learn how that worked. Unlike the Lightning Mage he wasn't interested in details like how many creatures I had nor did he want to know each and every one of my Dungeon Rules - not that I had actually told her every one when she had asked.

The Battle Commander was - naturally - more battle oriented. What a creature's strengths and weaknesses were, how many one would have to fight at a time, any environmental hazards one had to keep an eye on or could take advantage of, and so on. He had started testing various different rooms on different Floors, wanting to see what would happen if he attacked or killed the creatures in one or more rooms, in various different orders. When was the loot and EXP doubled, when wasn't it. When would the various creatures attack in self defense, when would they attack in 'self defense' as a group and when would they act peacefully.

But just like the Lightning Mage he would stop and take notes whenever he had a moment to do so.

The Tribe told me he wanted to write to his pen pals about me.

Nerok had asked me whether they should accept Mlartlar into the Tribe or not.

He didn't ask for advice about him, nooo~! He straight up asked me to decide.

The price of being worshiped!

As I didn't want to be asked every time someone wanted to join, I made up two simple requirements each new person would need to fulfill before they could officially join the Tribe of The Dungeon of Karma.

1. At least 26% in karma level or the determination to get to and keep that level of karma. I was perfectly okay with helping people redeem themselves after all. Nerok and I decided there would be a test where the candidate had to get through the first 5 Floors of my Dungeon, supervised but without any help. And that of course, none of my creatures were allowed to be harmed doing this test.
2. Acting civilized and unbiased towards all sapient species. Including both kobolds and myself, which in turn meant they had to be informed of my sapiency, which was why I demanded every potential candidate pass the - now named - 5 Floors Test first and had shown they could act kindly towards every other sapient species first.

And while we were at the topic of 'being unbiased' and also informed Nerok that while the Tribe completely consisted of beastkin right now, that they were not allowed to gate keep anyone from another species from joining the Tribe.

I would absolutely disown them if they went against my teachings like that. If someone wanted to join and fulfilled the requirements, then they would join. As simple as that.

And if it wasn't that simple, then Nerok - or his successor - could go to me.

Mlartlar had been informed of these requirements but had yet to take the 5 Floors Test. It was scheduled for this afternoon. In the meantime the Tribe had been informed to evaluate the Battle Commander on his actions towards the elves and to disregard his earlier actions towards them as a result of being disoriented after having the mind control removed.

After all, he had improved massively as soon as he had realized the Hypnotist had actually deserved to die.

The current report stated he was still distrusting of elves and seemed to second guess their every word, but that he was now acting civilized and calm whenever he had to talk to them.

Where Mlartlar wanted to join the Tribe because of their - half - shared species, the high priest's former slave, Ovakz, had gotten confident enough in her newfound freedom to explore and earn loot and EXP from my Dungeon.

Or maybe it was more that she now trusted the priest to babysit her baby boy? Something the Tribe had been confused about seeing at first - and had several beastkin suspect a kidnapping.

But nope. He was just babysitting.

Ovakz never far down into my Dungeon. She had a single backpack and once it was full she would leave to sell her loot to the Dungeon Guild - something the Lightning Mage had put into play so all Dungeon loot could be found in a single place.

Unlike Mlartlar the Tribe was certain the lupinekin mother would both fulfill my criteria for joining but also needed the support of a family. The Tribe wanted to be that family for her. Yes, she had some support from the priest but she had no other friends or family to help her care for her young baby.

I was well aware at this point of how protective beastkin were of their family and especially their young ones.

But unfortunately for the Tribe, Ovakz would always run away when they tried to invite her to join them and she would never approach them herself. Mysteriously she had yet to run away from Mlartlar when he approached her.

The Tribe had later asked him what they had talked about - hoping to find a safe topic they themselves could approach her with - and apparently he had warned her away from the priest she was still living with and working for. Mlartlar then complained about Ovakz not taking his warning seriously.

So, clearly the topic matter wasn't what was making the lupine mother run away from the Tribe.

Then again, from what I hear, she normally starts backing away before they even say a word. Practical as soon as she sees them approach.

… them approach. Mlartlar is just one person and he always approaches her alone. Could that be the difference? That the Tribe always approaches her in groups of three to five? They already tried varying who approaches her but I don't think they have tried to have only one person try.

I'll have to suggest they try that.

That was when the Lightning Mage was informed by a running and heavily breathing deputy that a herd of several hundreds, maybe even a couple of thousands, of gnomes had been spotted walking towards the town. He didn't think they were a part of the cult - at least not all of them - as they didn't appear more armed than normal travelers were.

'There are just so many of them!' he had exclaimed, before asking the dungeon mistress for her command on what to do.

Why doesn't he ask the sheriff that?

Maybe he found her first? And as she's the superior of the sheriff, asking her what to do might even be better than asking the sheriff.

The Lightning Mage ordered the deputy to have the entire Security Guild meet her at the edge of town in the direction of the gnomes and for the deputy to 'advise' the Crown Princess to seek sanctuary in my Dungeon for the time being.

With the deputy off with his new orders, the Lightning Mage collected her pet dawon and what sounded like a weapon of some kind, before riding her magical lion-tiger-hybrid to - what I had to assume was - the edge of town.