The Book of Dungeons - A weak to strong litRPG epic

“Are you all right?” The voice from the chute asked.

Fabulosa removed her fingers against her earlobes. “I’ll let you know after I put my skull back together. What in blazes made that racket?”

“That came from my custodian, who has accompanied me for quite some time—my dear brother’s precaution for preventing me from usurping his throne.” Not only could this goblin speak in the common tongue, but he sounded educated.

Fabulosa crouched over the trapdoor. “Aside from the chute, is there another way into your room?”

“I’m afraid not.”

Charitybelle stood on her tiptoes to look down the chute. “How long have you been down here?”

“I’ve been here for approximately four years. To afford my brother a small measure of security, I grew up in exile outside Malibar. I designed and restored siege engines for the humans fighting against the ogres in the south. After succeeding our father, Rezan dispatched messengers bearing news of his inheritance, bidding me to return home. He reaffirmed his oath that no harm would befall me. Believing his sincerity, I conceded. Rezan kept his word by interring me here, guarded by my vociferous companion.”

While the goblin gave his story, Brodie entered the room to investigate the strange sound.

Fabulosa sighed and whispered. “I didn’t make him for a goblin—he sounds human. If we leave him here, he can testify that orcs didn’t cause the jailbreak.”

Charitybelle called down the chute. “If we killed that creature, would you want to leave?”

The disembodied voice answered after a pause. “I’m afraid eliminating my ward would be a small favor, for I have no survival skills. I should expect to find my death in the wilderness.”

Brodie erupted with a laugh. “Hah! It sounds like ye be in good company!”

I held up my hand to belay his banter. “Do you know how to defend yourself against your guardian?”

“None have tried to fight it. My curators feed sheep to it from time to time. The fall hobbles them, so the beast dines on mutton with little ado. At least, my cell lies beyond its grasp.”

I bumped my head on the ceiling and got an idea. I grabbed a chunk of raw meat from my inventory and dropped it through the trapdoor. The head of an enormous bat picked it up. I couldn’t see its whole body, but its head matched the size of a washing machine. I watched in fascination as it gobbled down the meat, although the odor wafting from below made me gag. A boss monster nameplate detailing its vitals hovered over its head.

Name

Karst Caradon

Level

23

Difficulty

Challenging (yellow)

Health

1065/1065

I aimed a Shocking Reach at the monster, but my spell fizzled. Yula motioned me away and shot an arrow, but an invisible force careened the missile wide off its mark. The point-blank shot should have hit the creature.

The shaft beneath the trapdoor glowed after I cast Detect Magic, and I informed the group about the aura. “The spell failure must be from an anti-magic aura between the rooms. We can’t attack it from here.”

Fabulosa unfurled a rope from her inventory. “I reckon this will require a more intimate engagement.” She tied incremental knots down the line’s length to make climbing easier while everyone refreshed Heavenly Favor.

Brodie tied one rope end to the chute door’s iron handle. The narrow chute couldn’t accommodate us, leaving the trapdoor as the only way down. Its first six feet looked as tight as a chimney, opening into a 20-foot drop to the room below. The bat looked 20 feet tall, so its head could reach the opening, but it couldn’t fit its head into the shaft.

Fabulosa lowered headfirst with her legs locked around the rope. She dropped a few feet, still outside the creature’s reach. She dropped a piece of meat to the ground below, and it landed with a wet plop. “At least y’all won’t have to stoop anymore. Oh, it reeks down here!”

When the caradon bent down to pick it up, she reached into the room and tossed two more chunks into a far corner. When the giant head turned and went after the meat, Fabulosa grabbed the rope with her hands, released her ankle lock, swung herself upright, and climbed down the line. She performed the entire maneuver fluidly, in one motion.

We became adept at rope climbing by regularly using the magic rope for the Dark Room. Fabulosa scampered down the line with the deftness of a pole dancer. My descent wasn’t as fancy. Yula glided down with a Featherfall buff appearing on her nameplate, and Charitybelle came last. We threw more meat toward the chamber’s far side to preoccupy the monster while everyone else climbed into position and prepared spells.

The karst caradon’s head and body bore batlike features but sprouted wings with no membranes. Its elongated limbs had twelve stretched digits reaching the floor, supporting the monster’s mass in the air like a spider.

Everyone cautioned me against using Compression Sphere, and I agreed. It would be ineffective against gigantic creatures anyway. Since Fireball took the most time to cast, we followed Fabulosa’s lead. Shocking Reach, Scorch, Fireball, and an Imbued Arrow hit the beast’s shaggy hide at the same time. I regarded the combat log when I saw Yula’s attack.

/Yula crits Karst Caradon for 92 damage (0 resisted).

/Karst Caradon resists Concussion from Imbued Arrow.

/Karst Caradon slows with Treefrog Poison 2.

Yula had a killer opening. She poisoned an arrow with a slow effect, then imbued it with magic, causing the missile to glow and reflect light—as if covered with liquid mercury. The effect came from Imbue Weapon, a spell I unlocked days ago while spamming Detect Magic over our journey to the wilderness. Its horrible mana efficiency made me pass on it, but at least I knew to watch out for weapons glowing with the reflective mirror effect—they inflicted an unknown amount of damage.

The damage from Imbued Weapon also doubled on critical hits, making for a better yield on her mana investment.

The beast resisted the concussive debuff that she somehow added to the arrow. Unfortunately, Yula landed the only critical attack. Spells didn’t crit like weapons when attacking from behind.

/You hit Karst Caradon with Shocking Reach for 12 damage (2 resisted).

/Fabulosa hits Karst Caradon with Fireball for 16 damage (4 resisted).

/Charitybelle hits Karst Caradon with Scorch for 18 damage (6 resisted).

I might have done more damage with Scorch than Shocking Reach, but I wanted to see if this monster showed vulnerability to electricity. With my primal magic rank at 15, I should do 20 damage, but I suspected the creature’s willpower, level, or natural defenses factored into its resistance. I remembered that Fabulosa once told me some monsters took extra damage from different types of damage.

I wasn’t the only one experimenting. Considering the mana cost, Fabulosa’s Fireball produced lackluster damage against this single target. She followed with a quick Scorch that did nearly as much, then threw herself into melee.

At least, that had been her intent. When the spells and Yula’s arrow landed, the bat’s body pivoted in the air with more agility and range than anyone expected. Its dozen feet remained fixed, but its limbs extended its body high in the air.

When it inhaled, we covered our ears. Preparing for the shriek made it bearable, so we avoided the Deafened debuff. The creature launched its body forward, spanning the 50-foot gap in less than a second, and bit Charitybelle. She wore scale mail but rated as our party’s lowest-level member.

/Karst Caradon hits Charitybelle for 60 damage (13 resisted).

/Charitybelle is diseased with Guano Rot.

I didn’t know what the disease did, but it didn’t immediately affect her. A single bite dropping her to 44 percent health worried me. A critical hit could have knocked her out of the game.

Her health jumped by 50 points, showing that she’d used her health potion, but it wasn’t reassuring. I tossed a Rejuvenate to top off the remaining 22 health loss.

Mugsy, the bull terrier, appeared from nowhere and tried to get the beast’s attention.

Fabulosa surprised me with a new spell, Ignite Weapon. Her sword erupted in white flames—but it didn’t appear like she dipped it in oil and set it ablaze—it looked like the metal itself emanated energy.

Yula slung her bow over her shoulder and armed herself with a spear and shield. She tried to get the creature’s attention and serve as the party’s tank, but the caradon ignored her, biting Charitybelle again for 64 damage.

With my Rejuvenate already working on her, I could do nothing but Scorch the thing for 27 damage. It only resisted three damage, so the effects of my coat’s high willpower already paid dividends. But the caradon still had 85 percent of its original health, making this a precarious encounter.

Esol, our new goblin ally, helped. He poked his head around his cell’s doorway, alternately casting Shocking Reach and Ice Bolts for minimal damage.

Things got better after Mugsy pulled the creature’s attention. The dog dodged the caradon’s attack, allowing everyone to pelt the monster with more damage. I equipped my cudgel and smacked its spidery appendages—the only part of the beast within reach. The monster’s body mass hung far above us, weaving and diving with incredible adroitness. But the creature’s great reach meant everyone risked being bit. The coincidence gave the impression that someone designed the room around the creature’s size.

I breathed easier when Charitybelle cast Restore on herself.

Only Fabulosa’s flaming longsword and Yula’s spear reached its center mass. When Fabulosa struck, the point of impact erupted in a lingering burn—a clue to how it worked. Ignite Weapon stacked a damage-over-time effect from melee strikes.

When the monster’s attention shifted from Mugsy to Yula, its bite delivered 48 damage. Yula, a strapping level 19 warrior, only dropped 20 percent of her health, so keeping her alive proved easier than Charitybelle. We devoted our next casting of Rejuvenates to our new tank.

I could survive a critical hit from a bite, whereas Charitybelle could not. I considered spending my only power point on Restore, but it wouldn’t do her any good if she received a critical hit. She had a Rejuvenate working on her and would soon return to her maximum health. Even though I positioned myself to shield her from the monster, the caradon’s head swooped past me in the blink of an eye and bit Charitybelle again. It wasn’t a critical hit, so she survived.

I hammered at the beast with Scorch and Shocking Reach—my high spell rank made me a significant contributor to our damage output.

The fight stabilized to a typical tank-and-spank, with Yula pulling the monster’s attention. When Charitybelle recovered her health, everyone directed their Rejuvenate to the orc huntress. The orc showed no signs of urgency since the karst caradon was only four levels higher.

Charitybelle and I canceled our spells and covered our ears whenever the creature screamed. Fabulosa and Yula, in melee, winced through the pain and pressed their attack without abating. The debuff looked painful, but they discovered they could crit the thing during its screech—and took every opportunity to hit it during its vulnerable period.

We wore it down to zero health while suffering no losses. Everyone, including Esol, announced they’d gained a level upon the creature’s demise. Charitybelle hit level 9. Fabulosa made 14, Esol became level 5, and Yula reached 20.

Congratulations!

You are level 11

You have gained a level. You have increased your intelligence by 1, agility by 1, and willpower by 1. You have received 1 power point. You have 932/1030 experience points toward level 12.