CH.21 The Core

CH.21 The Core

As we were making our way through the dungeon I realized how awful it really looked. This was not some hunting area. This was an extermination house. I think Alice might even throw up. Even the knights were a little spooked. The only ones relatively unaffected were the members of Prime Rib. I guess an adventuring party has destroyed large amounts of weak monsters before.

“Hey Brian, is it just me or were these monsters trying to make their way deeper into the dungeon? Most of them are facing towards the deeper parts of the dungeon.” Zayaan made the observation.

“It’s because I sneaked my way to the core room without them noticing. After the core was eliminated they all became aggressive towards me because I broke their food source and home. After that I had a summoned monster make a way for me to escape.” I answered with something I came up with a little earlier. With a spell like Darkness approaches I could have done it, so while it is a lie, I could do it. Probably.

“Why would you sneak in, instead of just destroying the goblins as you go along?” It was Rico who asked that.

“There are kobolds here as well, if you didn’t notice. But I did it that way to make sure I could save any hostages the goblins might have. I didn’t want my summon to stomp all over them.” I answered. I think that sounds like a decent excuse.

“How thoughtful of you.” Rico said sarcastically. “Or you just wanted the fame of becoming a dungeon founder.”

“Wow, passive aggressive much, mister ‘will do anything for money’. I didn’t even know what a rogue dungeon was until I gained system support. I thought this was only a goblin’s nest.” I try to bully Rico back a little. I’m actually not sure if he really loves money, or if that is just my observation.

“You little jerk. Get over here and I’ll...” Well I might have been correct considering Ricos reaction.Gét latest novel chapters on nov(e)lbj/n(.)c/om

“Rico! Shut up!” Zayaan said in an angry voice.

Everyone was quiet for a second after that. I guess Zay can be really scary.

“Brian may I ask a question?” Alice asked me.

“Go for it.” I answer her. “Also isn’t what you just asked a question in itself.”

“Well, it might be.” She muttered before asking. “What kind of monster did you summon to kill all these monsters?”

“Oh, that was Uraby.” I say. Everyone looks confused. I guess that doesn’t really tell much. “A large lizard thing that walks on two legs. Has black hide and attacks with sharp claws and teeth.”

“Oh, I see. So you can summon some powerful monsters.” Alice seemed impressed. “Could you teach me?”

“I’m not sure. My summoning is kind of unique.” I answer.

“Is there some harm in teaching her?” The baron asks.

“As I said, my summoning is unique. As in it originates from a unique skill. I’m just not sure I could even teach it to her.” I mean I could probably give a card to someone else and they might be able to use it, but that doesn’t really teach them summoning. It would be more like borrowing my power.

““A UNIQUE SKILL!?”” Both Zay and Rico yelled out. Others didn’t freak out nearly as much. I guess it would be unexpected that I have something like that. At least the baron didn’t freak out, but next to system support, a unique skill might not be that rare.

“Is that why you hid your skills?” The baron asked.

“You say that as if your shoes aren’t. You are just walking through the blood with no care whatsoever.” She really wants to keep going. Luckily we made it out of the tunnel and into the core room.

“As you can see,” I say and point at my shoes. “My shoes are clean. So where is your excuse now?” I taunt Alice a little.

“HOW?! That’s impossible!” Alice seemed completely taken back by my shoes and the rest of my clothing. I mean, I’m the only one without a drop of blood on me.

“Magic, duh.” Another line I have wanted to say. Not that it’s true.

“Your clothing must be very well enchanted to be able to avoid all the dirt and grime.” The baron seemed interested in my clothes.

“I am not selling them if that’s what you want. I also don’t know who made them, since they were a gift from my mom.” I gave him a lie and a truth. I do know what manufacturer made my clothes, but they don’t exist in this world. And the hoodie and the jeans were a gift from my mom.

“I see. That’s a shame.” He answered.

“Can we just focus on what we came here for.” Zay said, trying to get us back on track.

“Of course.” The baron said. “So that is the core pedestal. The rogue core seems larger than I would expect for a dungeon this size.”

“Agreed.” Zay said. “That looks more like an s-rank core than a b-rank one. In a dungeon of this size the core should be smaller.”

“Perhaps this dungeon was still in its early stages of growth.” I offer up some bullshit that sounds reasonable.

“That could be.” The baron seems to agree with me. “Brian, remove the old core from the pedestal.”

“Sure.” I walk up to the pedestal and do as I’m told. I expect it to be heavy but it really isn’t. I still enjoy the feeling of its smooth surface against my hand. I place the old core gently on the floor next to the pedestal.

“Good.” The baron said. “Make sure there is no rubble on the pedestal.”

As I run my hand over the surface of the pedestal, it feels good to me. It’s not as smooth as the old core but still feels fine. I don’t feel anything that could get in the way so I say: “I think it’s fine. I don’t feel anything weird on it.”

“Now Henry, bring out the monster core.” The baron gives an order to his butler. Henry walks up to me and from his item box out comes a shining stone even larger than the old core.

“That’s not an A-rank core. Baron, why are you using an S-rank core for this?” Zayaan was the one to ask that. I actually also want to know. Arent S-rank cores super expensive. Where would you even get one?

“That is the core of the lesser Behemoth that Alexander Watchman hunted on the Alewatch plains before founding the town there. It has been our family treasure since then. I decided that a dungeon near the town would be the best place to use it.” The baron gave his reasoning.

“Are you sure this is fine?” I ask the baron to confirm.

“Do it.” He answers. Come on. You didn’t do it in the Emperor's voice. I demand a redo.

I take the core from Henry and gently place it down on the pedestal.

Brian Wood has founded the dungeon 22_090