While Jade had played video games, she didn't know if 10 Charisma or 14 Strength was a good starting spot or bad. She continued to explore the screen, no health or mana bars to be found. She didn't know what else to do.
While Jade had played some MMORPGs before, she preferred role-playing games like Mass Effect; she still didn't know if a Charisma of 10 or a Strength of 14 was a good starting point or not. She continued to explore the screen, finding no health or mana bars, but she did see a list of her available skills, which wasn't extensive right now—just her small achievements from winning against the bullywug, her Novice skill in Xiphos Weapon, and Combat Instinct. She clicked on Combat Instinct, hoping for more information.
> [ Combat Instinct Novice]<
> [ skill information: this is a passive skill and will warn you of danger. Upgrade skill for more information.]
>
"Well, that was helpful," Jade mumbled. She shook her head, willing the screens away. "Therian, are you free?" Jade thought, unsure of the whole process.
Therian’s voice answered quickly, as if he'd been waiting. "Jade, wonderful, you are awake! Yes, I am! Are you ready to work on the dungeon?"
Jade gave a small smile at his enthusiasm before replying, "Before that, would you explain what the different stat points mean and do?”
“Ah, of course! How rude of me. So, every human starts at 1 in everything until their 16th birthday, when their base stats are revealed. They tend to match their natural talents: someone naturally strong will have higher Strength versus someone very studious will have higher Intelligence. While some stats are harder to train, Wisdom is not something to be forced, and Charisma is something some will never have. Now, that said, the average is around 10, with some lower and some higher depending on how well-rounded that person may be. Not to say specializing doesn't have its merits, but it can be limiting.”
Jade thought about her stats and felt that while she had some areas to work on, overall, she was happy with her starting point. She replied, “Thank you. Are you ready to move on to the dungeon?”
"Of course, let's get started," Therian sent over a subtle wave of excitement before saying, "We have replenished the 110 DP we spent last night, but we can acquire up to 200 DP per day passively. We shall have to see what we will get from different activities. I have had animals wandering in from time to time, but they don't give much. What do you think of making a forgotten grotto? With a lake?"
Jade laughed; she couldn’t help it. She was talking to a dungeon in god knows where. After a while, she caught her breath and went to sit next to Therian's crystal, resting her back against the smooth stone. She ran her hand through her hair, resting her head against her knees, "Is this real?" She whispered, “Yes, and I know you don't understand yet, but my purpose is to keep you safe. We are a team. Jade needed answers, and to get them, she needed to get stronger and if what he said is true, she had an ally. Jade nodded to herself before saying, “I love lakes.”
Therian chuckled and asked Jade to pull up the Keeper HUD and make the following purchases:
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
> [ Welcome Dungeon Keeper ]
> [ limited choice of dungeon inhabitant choice ×2 200dp ]
> [ toxic flora random variety pack X8 50 ]
> [ basic adventurer chest x1 150 ]
> [ limited choice Mini mob boss ×1 250 ]
>
Therian was pleased with the choices for now and was happy to leave the design and theme to Jade. His voice was excited as he talked about all the available creatures, but Jade was starting to get overwhelmed. She interrupted Therian halfway into his rant about aquatic creatures and why they were so underrated. "Therian, while I do enjoy hearing the merits of... Naiads versus Hydras, I need to start thinking about food."
"Oh! I can synthesize any meal using the dungeon points," Therian's voice sounded almost embarrassed, so Jade quickly requested a cheese omelet and pancakes, then set to work on rearranging the dungeon floor. A 3D model appeared in Jade's vision, spinning slowly in front of her. The layout was simple; she could move or change anything with a pinch of her fingers. She got flashbacks of staying up ridiculously late playing Sims. It showed the dungeon layout. Off to the side, her purchases blinked, waiting to be placed. Jade started by pushing the rooms back and underground. Next, she shaped the first floor into a rough circle around 30 feet in diameter. In the middle, she added a pond by pushing down with her thumb, incorporating natural wildlife and native plants to help form the ecosystem that would support the dungeon's inhabitants. She added a species of local fish that looked very similar to a bluegill but was a striking gold color for a couple of points each. The striking pop of color zipped by, adding an interesting touch to the quiet pond. Next, she added a medium-sized willow-type tree that shaded half the pond, with small black flowers glinting on the branches. The local flora seemed to follow the same rules; only magic-based plants and animals needed larger amounts of points. Next, Jade built up the dungeon floor with large fern-like plants and mossy boulders to help break up the line of sight. Lastly, she added a couple of edible-looking plants scattered around to hopefully draw in wildlife. Therian had said that any animals or monsters that the dungeon absorbed, they could recreate for a lower DP cost, but he noted that the number of evolved creatures and plants had dramatically reduced since keepers disappeared. Thinking of Therian made her realize she was mostly done with the floor plan, and she mentally called out to him, asking if he was ready to look at the layout. “ I have been watching since you started changing the dungeon. I can see that model, but I love what you have done so far. Let's choose the creatures. Let's do basic mobs first.”
A massive list of names appeared, and while she recognized some, like goblins, kobolds, or slimes, there were some she had never seen before, like Brood leech or Spotted Verdian Sentinel. “Hmm there are some great choices, but how about we narrow it down to something that can live in the pond…..hmmm” I watched as Therian charged and edited the list until something caught Jade's eyes. she quickly asked, “Therian, wait, what is a Mimic Duckling?”. The list stopped and scrolled back up, displaying.
>[ Mimic ducking: A seemingly innocent creature, the Mimic Ducking harbors an unsettling ability: perfect vocal mimicry capable of unleashing disorienting echoes. Though their plumage comes in a diverse array of color combinations, they are most commonly seen a bright yellow. These are solitary creatures by nature, thriving best in isolation, unlike their domesticated cousins. Two tiny horns, often obscured by their downy feathers, subtly hint at their unusual nature..]<
>[ Abilities -Mimicry active: copy and throw voice to disorient and confuse. Disorienting Cry active: a cry that can rupture eardrums if the victim is too close. Basic attack non-magic action: While small, the webbed feet are tipped with small razor-shaped nails.]<
>[Random loot options: Mimicry feathers, tiny horns, basic enhanced meat.]<
Jade looked at the little picture next to the name. It was a grumpy yellow duckling, its round body bobbing along with tiny black horns poking out of its head and glassy black eyes. It reminded Jade of one of her favorite childhood shows. Le Quack. Therian spoke “Wonderful choice. This is a strong support creature, but it won't be so difficult that they can't figure it out.” Jade nodded. “ What else would you suggest?” Therian was quiet for a moment, the screen scrolling past thousands of creatures faster than Jade could read. Finally, he said, “I think we should go with a slime. They are great well well-rounded creatures that have many uses and evolutionary paths.” Jade shrugged, “Sure” Therian quickly pulled up his choice.
>[Green slime: small round green droplets with a gelatin texture. This is a pack animal; they hide in tall grass waiting for anything edible to walk by, and they grab onto the prey. Fortunately, while painful, unless overwhelmed, they are easy to defeat.]<
>[Abilities- Ooz, passive: enemies are less likely to see you. Survival, passive: Slimes live with a constant hunger, always looking for their next meal.
After reading about the slimes, Jade's idea of cute little slimes jumping around slipped away
