The Dungeon Without a System

Chapter 99

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The Creator, Atlantis, Kalenic Sea

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I found true joy in watching the raid of nine struggle across the rooftop section of the castle. Maybe making them fight stone golems in the shape of gargoyles was too much, but inflicting that same pain souls-likes inflicted on me in my youth was cathartic.

They hadn't planned for this new challenge in their supplies and decided to leave after fighting the new mini-boss Gargoyle / Earth Spirit. It was a tough fight, and three of them had to emergency teleport out after being flung from the slippery rooftop they battled on. But they beat it. I ensured the shortcut would activate in the presence of those who teleported away, then moved back down to the Eleventh. It was good manners for this one, but I wouldn't do it for the rest.

Before I did anything new, I needed to make more relics. Keystones? Yeah, relics, I'll call them relics. I've made Life, Darkness, and Light relics so far. I needed to make one each for Fire, Earth, Wind, Water, Ice, and Lightning. After that, I still needed to make an island for the Metal Court and their relic.

Water didn't have an island yet either- No! Stay focused! Relics first, then the last two islands.

Fire First! I'd already crafted a 'story' for Isla Fuego; the ancient civilization that lived here sacrificed virgins to the volcano to 'appease' it. I didn't want the Guilders to get the wrong idea, so I added one last 'journal' entry. This one detailed how, after much research, the writer discovered that the volcano would accept the sacrifice of a magical item of sufficient power instead of a virgin woman. Such items were far harder to come by than an unspoiled woman.

Once they'd 'sacrificed' the item to the volcano, a pathway into the caldera would reveal itself. They'd have to fight through an ever-hotter environment, eventually reaching the bubbling lava. The relic I placed in the middle of the throne Igna had made for herself. A dagger made of obsidian, one with lava-like lines that moved and glowed across the blade.

As it was henceforth known, the Magma Dagger granted its wielder total immunity to fire and heat. But it also created an aura of heat around the wielder, raising the temperature in the air around them by hundreds of degrees Fahrenheit. Given its location, to even reach it without collapsing in the first place, the potential party would have to have heat-resistant equipment already. Though it would protect one of them from the many fire, molten, and magma golems in the caldera, the rest of their party would suffer the side effects.

Next, air! The Winged Helmet would be a relic made of Potentium, and its enchantment powered entirely by air mana. It would boost any jump the user made, tripling the height they could reach. Enough to scale great heights and cross short chasms, but nothing overpowered. As a balance, it would only work under the open sky. When a roof was overhead, either inside a building or underground, it wouldn't work.

Getting into the swing of things, I moved right onto earth. This sizeable coin-sized relic had a square hole cut out of the middle and would grant the archetypal 'Earthbender' sense. The user could sense vibrations in the earth for up to fifty feet around them. They could send out vibrations and get return signals by stomping on the ground with their feet. However, they'd have to use it fairly often to train this new sense. At first, it would be challenging to understand the signals that would come back. Probably painful, too.

Moving right onto Ice, I popped over to the Northern Iceberg. It looked impressive. Easily a titanic killer in size. The Ice Manabeings had grown the ice organically, leaving plenty of tunnels and caverns inside the iceberg. In the largest, deepest chamber, I placed their relic. This one I shaped of ice, and a decent part of the enchantment focused on making sure it wouldn't break or melt.

It was the opposite of the Magma Dagger in terms of its actual ability. The Ice Crown would confer complete immunity to cold; since the user couldn't feel cold, they wouldn't know if it was cold. The longer the crown sat on someone's head, the more it generated a cold aura that slowly increased in strength. It would drop the temperature in an increasingly large area, becoming colder the closer you got to the user.

I assumed if someone used it long enough, they'd eventually be trapped in a giant icicle until someone could melt it and release them. It didn't make them immortal, so they may die of starvation or dehydration eventually.

I decided to do Lightning first, with only Water, Lightning, and Metal left. I'd do the Water and Metal relics after I'd done their islands.

The yet-unnamed island, which I would fix momentarily, was rather stark and barren. I had a few ideas for improving that, but I was focusing on the relics now. I created what I call the Tesla Amulet. It was a hardened glass orb that contained highly ionized plasma within an orichalcum amulet shaped like an eye. And that was before I started enchanting it. I didn't want to be boring and make this relic another immunity relic, but I also didn't want it to just shoot lightning bolts. That'd be boring.

So, I became inspired by that item I'd created. This orb would slowly accumulate electrical energy but could be charged faster by feeding it mana. If it were overcharged, it would violently discharge its entire capacitance, no doubt shocking everyone and everything around it. But that was the consequence. What was its use?

As a battery that opened doors and activated mechanisms, of course. I revisited almost every island, placing two or three ancient-looking doors with a slot to the side of the doors perfectly shaped for the amulet. It would drain the relic completely and only open the door if charged enough. The doors took varying levels of charge. Some doors blocked access to other relics, while others sectioned off side areas that were yet unused.

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Progression-wise, I imagined a party of guilders coming upon these doors and wondering how they opened. They would go from island to island and keep coming upon these doors. Eventually, they'd come to the Lightning Island and find the amulet; from there, they had to revisit every island.

Time to work on the final two islands. The next one was obvious. I'd made a promise, after all.

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The Eleventh Floor, The Dungeon, Atlantis

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Paragon looked upon the island that was being raised from the ocean. Over the last few days, the Elemental Isles had gained another four islands, as varied in shape as their elements were. The most notable addition was the permeant storm, swirling over two dark, shadowed lands. One was lit by the occasional flash of light, while the other remained shrouded in darkness. Only a few dots of light from ships docked there revealed its location.

The verdant and crystalline islands were on the other end of the Isles. It balanced them out quite well.

The giant iceberg that floated off the northern edge of the Isles was almost as bright as the light island under the midday sun, Though in a different way, more similar to the moons of this world and its sun. A Court populated each; most had a Spirit as their Monarch, but a select few boasted Fairies. And with these Potentium golem bodies they possessed, The power these Fairies boasted was immense compared to Spirits.

Darkness and Air were the only ones with Faries, but he knew that Fire and Stone weren't far off, and Paragon could feel that he was close to the precipice. It wouldn't be long now.

Not far from Core Island, a new island was being raised. His island. After the basic shape had been raised, he nodded to the group of Metal manabeings that had gathered with him. They returned his nod, and they boarded the ship. The Crabfolk were crafty and had traded transport services to their new island for upgrades to their ship that the Metal Court was more than capable of implementing. The major upgrade was a copper sheath on the hull of their flagship, which they'd named the Drowned Crab. The rest consisted of modifications to their cannons, adding something called rifling to the barrel and reinforcing the whole thing.

Paragon wouldn't be going with them.

Are you sure about that decision, Paragon? The Contractor asked. You would be the only Monarch to not reside on your island.

"Yes, I am sure."

I mean, it's pretty close to my core island, anyway. The Guilders are six floors away, and I'd have you brought over here before the Guilders even stepped foot on this floor. We'd know days in advance of their approach.

"But... this is my task. To defend you."

And you've done a spectacular job. You were diligent and loyal, and though your services were ultimately unneeded, that doesn't diminish how much I valued the knowledge that you were right here as my last line of defense when I couldn't defend myself. Take some time off! Organize your court, reach your next form, and practice with your new power! I promise I'll have you back here in minutes as soon as you're needed!

"... Very well. I will join my fellow Manabeings."

Good! Just think of it as a holiday!

"What's a holiday?"

Haaaaah. Yeah. Something you need. Now go on, get on that boat!

"It is a ship."

Whatever.

The Contractor's presence retreated, and as Paragon joined his attendants on the Drowned Crab, he could see their future island much more clearly.

The beaches glimmered, their grains made of copper, ground to a sandy texture. They glittered pleasingly in the light. Where the beach ended, silvery trees took their place. Spires of iron rose from the ocean around the island, making approaching it treacherous but for a single safe path. The waves that crashed into them made even that safe path treacherous, liable to dash your ships into the rocks more than allow you safe passage.

The waves calmed for their approach, and the ship was soon at the beach. Paragon and his court leaped from the ship, landing heavily on the copper sand.

The Copper and Orichalcum golems sighed, and their feminine-shaped forms practically melted into the sand. All that remained were the tops of their 'heads' and their oxide-green 'eyes.' The sprites were delighted, and they 'swam' in the copper like it was water, joy practically radiating from them. The Silver and Moonsilver Golems found their place when the group reached the trees.

They could merge and separate from the trees freely. When integrated with the trees, the golems could control them easily, bending and swaying in a non-existent wind. The Moonsilver golems enhanced the trees rather than just a simple merging. The trees began glowing and grew half-again as tall.

Beyond the ring of metal trees, a metal lake lay at the island's center. Twelve pillars of Iron surrounded the lake of liquid mithril. The Iron Golems could, as with the other kinds of golem, merge with the pillars. They twisted and manipulated them, weaving them into an organic lattice dome that stretched over the lake.

The Mithril golems walked into the lake, disappearing beneath the surface. The metal shifted and became a garden of metal flora, excepting a hardened path that led to a throne. Like everything else, the throne was a vine-like lattice. Paragon walked down the path and sat on the throne.

At that moment, he stopped holding back.

He felt how, all at once, he became more.

He felt his Potentium body merge with the throne, and his senses expanded to encompass the entire island. From here, he could coordinate and speak with all of his attendants. An idle thought had the Silver Golems 'grow' bushes and spread 'grasses' throughout the forest.

Sooooo, how is it?

Paragon had the iron lattice dome form a face. It grinned.

"I can work with this."

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Guildmistress's Office, The Guild, Atlantis

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Layla felt a chill run down her back.

Something had happened. She wasn't sure what, and it probably happened with the dungeon. 'The Creator.'

She took a breath and turned back to the beings in her office. "You wanted to talk about the economy?"

The Kobold nodded. "That right, white lady! No human trader wants my Talons!"

Layla rubbed her temple, looking at the Drake-kin and Capriccio beside the lizardman.

"You as well?" They nodded.

"None of the merchants will take our money." The drake-kin pulled out a silvery coin that glowed with a bluish-white light. "This is a Talon, the currency of The Children. It's made of Moonsilver and enchanted against tampering. It's just as valuable as the gold these traders want! Normal silver and copper don't have any value! We've got tons of the stuff."

Layla could feel her headache building. Wasn't this supposed to be The Voice's job!?

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