Nightmare Fantasy Online

Chapter 22: The Obtained Dungeon & Second Evolution



In the middle of the room that was used as the battleground for the boss battle against the Vile Queen, I started to look up the rewards in the now-empty room sans for me. Even the Queen's remains had become dust in the wind, leaving nothing..., oh?

It seems like the Queen had dropped a key upon her death. It seems to be made of pure gold and is quite heavy...

Is this related to the "The Treasure Vaults of the Dungeon are free for your taking" line in the System Message? In any case, I'll be holding on to this.

After storing the key in my [Small Inventory], I returned to check out the other rewards.

The first and easiest one is my AP. It had increased to 15.7. That's a lot. 10 came from the Quest I started, but the rest came from defeating the Dungeon Boss. Meaning there will be more people actively hunting down weaker Dungeons if this gets known. So I'll keep quiet about it for now. 

The next is the titles. I got a whole 3 of them in one go. It's easy to figure out why I got them from their names, but still...

Title Name: Dungeon Clearer
Acquisition condition:
  • Defeat a Dungeon Boss and clear its Dungeon.
Effects:
  • Passive increase to self-recovery effects inside Dungeons: [Small]
Status enhancements upon equipping:
  • All stats: +10
Description:

Proof of having gone against the enemies of Order, the Dungeon Masters, and defeated a Dungeon.

Title Name: Dungeon Ruler
Acquisition condition:
  • Obtain the ownership of a Dungeon.
Effects:
  • Passive increase to self-recovery effects inside your Dungeon: [Normal]
  • Decreased favorability with humanoids: [Huge]
  • Increased favorability with monsters: [Huge]
Status enhancements upon equipping:
  • All stats: +40
Description:

Proof of having gone against Order and become a new ruler of a Dungeon. Humanity sees you as an enemy while monsters worship you as their ruler..., maybe.

Hey, wait a sec! What's up with these titles?! They boost all my stats! And the [Dungeon Ruler] is plain bad! Both regarding the amount of stats, AND its effects! I mean, can I even enter a human city from now on? Probably not. Damn...

Title Name: World Quest Clearer
Acquisition condition:
  • Participate and clear a World Quest.
Effects:
  • Increased favorability with certain types of NPCs.
Status enhancements upon equipping:
  • All stats: +20
Description:

Proof of having been part of a World Quest that did not fail. Great work!

That's..., a lot, yes, but less compared to Ruler. This is for a World Quest, no?

Oh, maybe you just need to be part of the "winning team" to get this title? Like, Nameless Soldier A would get it even if a Super-OP-Hero defeated the demon king? Yeah, think that's the case. 

Still, all three titles boost all the stats..., because there are no special class requirements for beating a Dungeon or clearing a World Quest?

Maybe I should start using the Ruler title while fighting outside public eyes, and the World Quest..., no, that won't work. If I'm right, the "World Message" that was separated from the System Message may have been given to the whole "world". If that's true, then every player out there now knows that "player Garami owns a Dungeon". The bulletin boards will give me more clues about that. 

All that's left is evolving..., or not. There's still the whole Dungeon business. 

I used my map to reach the opposite side of the room compared to the stairs I and the devil used to climb down and found a new door. Typical game logic. The next door is always behind the boss.

Inside the next room was..., nothing much. Just a room small enough that even I could see all of it from the entrance. In the middle of the room stood a pedestal with a strange crystal ball on top. It's sorta black-ish and purple-ish..., and I think the colors are moving around like fog inside the sphere. Weird. 

SYSTEM MESSAGE:

You have gained access to the Arcechina Castle's Dungeon Core.

Purging hostile individuals...

Recalibrating Floors and Facilities...

Removal of special-breed monsters...

Connecting the Dungeon Ruler's Player Room with the Dungeon Core Room...

Done.

Such a message appeared after I touched the sphere. Then this thing's the Dungeon Core. I had a guess, but you never know. But how do I "use" this thing? 

I tried touching the Core a few more times, but nothing happened. Feeling fed up and tired of the long day, I turned around to the door that had appeared in the room. From its appearance and the System Message, it's safe to say it leads to my Player Room. It looks no different than normal.

Deciding to take a break, I entered my room and noticed a new contraption having been placed there. It looks like a touch screen terminal that you can find in high-tech buildings. Does the Player Room menu have some explanation for it?

Player Room
Owner:  Garami 
Theme: Dark Royal Clocktower
Visitors: 0
Furniture:
  • Cheap Bed
    • A place to sleep while in-game.
    • Allows one to log out safely and recover from status ailments when logging in again.
  • Cheap Item Chest
    • Provides 5 slots to store up to 5 copies of an item in each. 
  • Dark Automatic Money Vault (Small)
    • Can only be placed in a Dark-aligned Player Room
    • Can store up to 5.000 Sol.
    • Any Sol the owner obtains can automatically be placed into it.
  • Evil Blood Recovery Fountain
    • The liquid from the fountain allows recovery for Evil-aligned creatures.
    • Tastes like sweet fruits (taste changes every day).
  • Dungeon Terminal: Arcechina Castle
    • Allows one to alter and supervise the Dungeon: [Arcechina Castle].

Dungeon Terminal!? So that's how you do it. 

To test it out, I tried to start up the Terminal. It lit up without any problems and showed me the data of the Dungeon:

Dungeon Menu
Owner:  Garami 
Dungeon Name: Arcechina Castle
Dungeon Level: 1
Dungeon Floors: 3
Dungeon Type: Castle
Dungeon Elements:
  • Main: [???]
Dungeon Points: 130/130 
Facilities: 0
Facility Points: 0/10
Dungeon Stats:
  • Strength: [E]
  • Magic: [E]
  • Stealth: [E]
  • Knowledge: [E]
  • Monsters: [E]
Management:
  • Facility Creation
  • Monster Spawning
  • Treasure Creation
Special:
  • Re-creation period: 23:52:05
  • Acquire the Main Element of the Dungeon.

Oh-ho..., I don't get it. Ah, I can get more info here.

Dungeon Name:

The name of your Dungeon.
Can only be changed during the recreation period after taking over the Dungeon.

Dungeon Level:

The level of the Dungeon.
This level increases when the Dungeon monsters or Dungeon traps defeat invaders.

Dungeon Floors:

The number of floors the Dungeon has.
Can be increased by spending Dungeon Points and Facility Points.

Dungeon Type:

The main category of the Dungeon.
Affects what type of items and facilities the Dungeon can create.
Can be changed only once each month.

Dungeon Elements:

The 12 elements that are possible to add to the Dungeon. Only monsters related to these elements can be spawned in the Dungeon.
The Main Element has to be one of the 10 available primary elements, while the remaining 11 elements are required to be composition elements. 
The 12 "element slots" of the Dungeon represent the 12 primary elements, so one cannot obtain an element that does not have a free "slot" available. One can choose any related element "slots" for composition elements.

Dungeon Points:

Resources that the Dungeon Ruler can spend to alter and/or enhance their Dungeon. 
10% of the total Dungeon Point value is recovered each hour.
The total Dungeon Point value is based on the number of floors of the Dungeon, plus the Dungeon's level. 
Each floor grants 10 Dungeon Points, while each Dungeon Level grants 100 Dungeon Points.

Facilities:

Facilities that can be added to Dungeons.
Costs Dungeon Points to be placed.
Dungeon Traps are also placed within this category.

Facility Points:

A value that dictates how many Facilities the Dungeon can have.
New Floors and increased Dungeon Stats also take up Facility Points.
Some Facilities, like "Treasure Chests", may increase the total Facility Point value.

Dungeon Stats:

These are special status values of the Dungeon that tells what the Dungeon can do.
The stats are ranked after status ranks. [E] is the lowest while [A] is the highest. Some Dungeons with special builds may even reach a status rank of [S], but this is limited to a single stat even in those cases.
Higher status ranks grant higher privileges related to that stat.
One needs vast amounts of Dungeon Points to increase the rank of the status values.

  • Strength: Grants access to monsters related to physical power and Warrior-based classes. It also grants access to the creation of Facilities and Treasures related to physical strength. 
  • Magic: Grants access to monsters related to magic and Mage-based classes. It also grants access to the creation of Facilities and Treasures related to magic.
  • Stealth: Grants access to monsters with hiding- and searching abilities and Scout-based classes in general. It also grants access to Facilities and Treasures related to hiding and searching.
  • Knowledge: Grants access to monsters related to knowledge and crafting, as well as Crafter-based classes in general. It also grants access to Facilities and Treasures based on knowledge and crafting.
  • Monsters: Status value that determines the rank of monsters that can be spawned in the Dungeon.
Management:

Category of various Dungeon functions. They all require Dungeon Points to be used.

  • Facility Creation: Allows the creation of Facilities based on the available Dungeon Stats. 
  • Monster Spawning: This allows one to decide what types of monsters can be spawned in the Dungeon. 
  • Treasure Creation: This allows the creation of regular items, furniture for the Dungeon, and Furniture for the Dungeon Ruler's Player Room. These creations generally do not require Facility Points.
Special:

Special effects or conditions that affect the Dungeon at the moment, or urgent needs that require to be taken care of.

Ugh, my head hurts. But I think I get the gist of things. It's better not to let these "Dungeon Points" overflow, right? Because it would be a huge waste not using them if they recover automatically.

Then..., let's just add some new stuff to the Player Room for now. I'm starting to feel sleepy..., beeeed...,

Ah? I need to choose a primary element for the Dungeon. I'll just pick Darkness. I'm too tired to think of the other alternatives. Plus, if this "re-creation period" thing on the special tab is telling the truth, I still got a whole day in fixing up this place. I can add monsters and traps and make a shithole of a Dungeon tomorrow.

For now, new Room Furniture~. The best inventory I can get, and..., that's it. Wow, that's some expensive item box. I'll take a better look at it tomorrow.

Unfortunately, there is one more thing that blocks me from my sweet sleep. But this one is something I'm willing to spend some time on!

Evolution Options:
Djinn:
  • Race: Demon
  • Element: None
  • Requirements:
    • "Unstable Djinn" Lv.20.
  • Cost: 5 Aether Points.
  • Description:
    A spiritual demon who is said to find magic items to rest in for hundreds of years. They can be attributed to the sin of sloth.
    These demons excel in stats related to supernatural events, such as Mana and Luck, and they have great Speed, Intelligence, and Dexterity as well. 
    However, their Health, Strength, and Vitality are low, so they use tricks and traps to defeat their opponent.
Evil Djinn:
  • Race: Demon
  • Element: None
  • Requirements:
    • "Unstable Djinn" Lv.20.
    • Karma Value of -75 or less.
  • Cost: 5 Aether Points.
  • Description:
    A spiritual demon who is said to find magic items to rest in for hundreds of years. They can be attributed to the sin of sloth.
    These demons are notorious for trying to trick those they meet by promises of wealth and power, only to backstab the poor fools in the end.
    These demons excel in Dexterity, Luck, and Intelligence, plus they also have high Mana and Speed. 
    However, their Health, Strength, and Vitality are low, so they use tricks and traps to defeat their opponent.
Dark Udug (Extra Evolution):
  • Race: Demon
  • Element: Darkness
  • Requirements:
    • "Unstable Djinn" Lv.20.
    • Skill: [Lesser Darkness Talent]
    • Karma Value of -100 or less.
  • Cost: 8 Aether Points.
  • Description:
    A spiritual demon of the Darkness element. Their existence is shrouded in mysteries.
    They take the appearance of a horned humanoid, but the inside of their bodies are made of complete darkness. They are often found in old ruins where they search for old artifacts capable of supernatural feats.
    Their stats are geared toward trickery and supernatural events, meaning they have high Mana, Dexterity, and Luck. 
    They are frail toward attacks but compensate for it with a high speed and high attack power, which they make use of with a hit-and-run strategy to kill their enemy before the enemy can hit them.

The two evolution options I had from the start are still there, along with the new addition: "Dark Udug". Strange name. 

It's no surprise that I want the "Udug"-evolution. Its stats are high and highly compatible with my current style. That my defense goes down is no big deal, as it seems I'll become faster as a trade-off. And it may even allow my poor STR to go up a little if the "high attack power" part is something to believe. 

There's just one thing that bugs me. The part that talks about "extra evolution". Can I see what that means?

Extra Evolution:

A sudden mutation or a peculiar species. An evolution of either kind is classified as an "Extra Evolution". 
This strange evolution occurs when a creature fulfills specific requirements outside the mentioned evolution requirements for the race they can evolve into. This can be clearing a special Quest, owning a peculiar item, or having a strange stat-build and/or skills. Sometimes, the items required could be one-of-a-kind, meaning there is only 1 creature that can evolve into the race that requires this particular item.
The creature that makes such an evolution will gain an extra boon to their new powers, often in the shape of a third skill obtained from the evolution, or an incredible increase in their stats. 
To compensate, an Extra Evolution requires more Aether Points than normal evolutions. 

Ah, I could. And after reading this, there's no other choice than "Dark Udug", right! 

Sure, I could take a normal evolution and have enough AP to take a skill after my design instead of risking another fail like [Sleep Demon's Touch], but that would be your common-Joe type of skill, right? Rarer is always better! 

SYSTEM MESSAGE:

"Dark Udug" has been selected. This will consume 8 Aether Points.

During evolution, you will turn unable to move your body for a while.

Do you wish to start the evolution?

Yes, please!

SYSTEM MESSAGE:

Commencing evolution to the race: Dark Udug.

You can log out while the evolution takes place.

Time before evolution is finished: 01:59:59 

Then I'll do just that. Log out!


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