Dungeons Are Bad Business

Vee took a step back as one of the golems turned to look at him, and nervously gestured toward Alforde.

“A little help here?”

The armorsoul didn’t reply, choosing instead to lunge forward and bring Slammy down on the offending golem’s head, turning it into little more than a splatter of dirt on the ground and walls.

“Stay behind me,” Alforde commanded as he closed the distance to Vee and spun around to face the rest of the golems. “I don’t think these guys are very tough, but you never know if they have any surprises up their sleeves.”

As he had several times throughout his life, Vee nodded and fell back, content to let Alforde handle the situation without his interference. He wasn’t frightened at all as he was confident in his friend’s strength, but his heart was still beating a little faster than it probably should have been.

One of the golems reached down and moved its hands like it was making a snowball, and a large ball of mud appeared out of thin air. It lobbed the projectile at Alforde when it stood back up, making a mess near the armorsoul’s boot when it struck and splattered everywhere. After a second, the mud hardened into something like an insect’s carapace, and Alforde snapped a piece off with a tap from Slammy’s handle.

“Keep an eye out for those,” Reginald said. “If they hit your joints you’re going to have a heck of a time moving.”

“I know,” Alforde said. “But they’re not the only ones who can impede movement. [Chilling Tempest]!”

A swirling vortex of frigid wind, snowflakes, and icicles emerged from the armosoul’s back, turning into a cape that slapped back and forth in its own breeze. A tide of ice expanded from beneath Alforde’s boots, heading toward the golems with surprising speed.

Three more [Mudballs] whizzed through the air, but they were stopped by floating chunks of ice as big as Vee’s head that popped into existence. Alforde swung his gauntlet forward, and the ice chunks followed, slamming into the golems and causing them to double over.

Dropping his hammer toward the ground, Alforde leaned forward and activated [Unstoppable Charge]. He veritably flew across the ice, catching one golem with his pauldron and another with Slammy. They both shattered into pieces against the wall, but Alforde was moving once again before they even hit the ground.

One golem aimed a punch at Alforde, but the armorsoul ducked beneath it with ease and dispatched it with a swift and vicious [Combo Attack]. He dealt with the other golems in a similar manner, and dismissed his domain with a wave.

Vee’s teeth stopped chattering as the air warmed back up. “That was pretty impressive,” he said. “I guess all that practice you’ve been doing has paid off, huh?”

Alforde shrugged. “Those golems weren’t much of a challenge. I could probably have handled two or three times that amount without issue.”

A gurgling sound behind the armorsoul stopped him from saying anything else. Inexplicably, the bits of broken mud golem were wriggling toward each other, and when they collided they fused together. Within seconds, a bigger and meaner looking mud golem stood behind them, flexing its four arms and glaring.

It sucked in some air and let out a loud roar, prompting Alforde to raise Slammy once again.

“You’re an annoying one, eh?” the armorsoul said as he stepped forward. “That’s fine with me. Each time you get up, I’ll knock you right back down again!”

The golem walked forward, balling its fists and raising its arms like a [Boxer]. Alforde met it with a few steps of his own, and the two clashed in the alley.

Alforde’s swings were met with blows of equal strength, but the golem couldn’t overwhelm the armorsoul with its flurry of attacks.

Vee drew out his [Ghost Baton] and pointed it at the creature. Were golems spirits by chance? Alas, it didn’t seem to be; his attempt to [Banish] the creature failed.

“You have to bind it!” a familiar voice cried from up on the rooftop. Vee looked up and saw Holly. The [Snowmancer] stood atop a jagged chunk of ice, the snowflakes in her eyes glowing.

“Those golems will just keep bigger and bigger each time you break it,” she said. “In order to get rid of it for good, you have to bind it so that it can’t move and slowly crush it down to nothing.”

“Can you lend us a hand with that?” Reginald called. “It seems that you know what you’re doing a bit more than we do.”

Holly shook her head. “I’m going after the summoner, but Luna should be by in a few minutes. She’ll take care of the golem if it’s still around when she arrives.”

With a little wave, the [Snowmancer] disappeared into the night, leaving Alforde, Vee, and Reginald to deal with the big golem.

The armorsoul turned back to Vee. “Can you do something with ectoplasm, maybe? A cage or something would be really helpful.”

Vee nodded as his friend intercepted a series of punches and retaliated with some sweeping strikes of his own. Pinching his index finger and thumb together, Vee activated [Shape Ectoplasm] and started pulling power into a large cube. The cage didn’t have to be fancy, or look nice, it just had to be secure. As such, it was fast work, and before long Vee had assembled a big cage that was just a hair taller than the golem.

“I think that should do it,” the [Dungeon Master] called. “Can you get it in there, Alforde?”

The armorsoul, in the middle of a clash against the golem with neither combatant yielding an inch, grunted his response. Twisting his plates, Alforde drove the golem back a step, buying himself enough time to thrust Slammy into the golem’s stomach. With quick, aggressive strokes, Alforde bullied the creature into Vee’s cage, and then the [Ghost Maestro] sealed it with a snap of his fingers.

HIs captive writhed against the ectoplasm, but Vee reinforced it with more and the golems’ efforts were all for naught.

Vee breathed a sigh of relief. Now all he had to do was shrink the cage to get rid of the golem for good. He focused on the corners of the cage and squeezed his hands together. Each time he pressed, the corners moved closer to each other, though it was surprisingly difficult and Vee had to stop and catch his breath more than once. He persevered through it though, focusing on his fundamentals of ectoplasmic manipulation and exerting the full force of his will to accomplish his goal.

[Congratulations! You are now a level 30 Ghost Maestro!]

[Class milestone reached!]

[If desired, you can now select a class upgrade you’d like to pursue from your Soul’s Mirror!]

[Wit +1]

[Faith +1]

[Your ability to passively refine ectoplasm has improved!]

[Your ability to shape ectoplasm is now stronger!]

[You can now use the Exploratory Advanced Ectoplasmic Refining skill!]

[You can now use the Exploratory Contest of Will skill!]

[You can now use the Exploratory Ectoplasmic Molding skill!]

[You can now use the Exploratory Summoning Banner skill!]

Closing his eyes, Vee briefly examined his new skills. They were all related to the so-called “big four” class upgrades: [Ghost General], [Ghost Smith], [Ghost Wizard], and [Ghost Artificer]. Their Exploratory tag meant that while he could freely use them until he made an upgrade decision, he’d lose access to the ones he didn’t choose when his class changed. If he decided to remain a [Ghost Maestro] – which was a viable, if not often chosen option – he’d be able to use all four forever, but wouldn’t ever gain access to the higher level skills offered by the upgrade classes.

He'd have to give that matter some thought later. When he’d first set his sights on becoming a [Ghost Maestro] back in Bardis, he hadn’t been interested in any of the class upgrades. They’d been less pure, he’d thought, and he’d had no desire to explore their powers. Now though, he was in a different place in life, and his needs were different too. While he still didn’t think he’d ever need the higher level skills offered by becoming a [Ghost General] or a [Ghost Wizard], the boons to Crestheart that he could bring about by becoming a [Ghost Smith] or [Ghost Artificer] were definitely worth considering.

For now though, he stayed focused on the matter at hand.

Thankfully, Luna did indeed arrive a few minutes later, just like Holly said she would. She was riding in her floating pumpkin, holding her lance and grinning. Her eyes were glowing too, though they sparkled for a different reason when she saw Vee.

“Hey! We found that thing you were looking for,” she called down. “One of my companions has it, and we’ll bring it to the dungeon tomorrow, okay?”

Vee nodded. “Are you going after the summoner too?”

“Yeah, he’s been running amok for long enough,” the [Pumpkin Witch] said. “He’s not going to get away this time! Though, actually, it’d be great if you two wanted to help us out with all the golems he’s sure to be summoning. Think you guys can do that?”

“We’d be happy to help,” Alforde said with a bow, and Vee gave Luna a little smile and a thumbs-up.

“You can count on us,” he said.

Luna’s smile widened. “Thanks. You guys are the best. See you in a bit!”

Raising her lance, Luna flew off in the same direction Holly went, leaving a trail of orange and gold motes in her wake.

Vee’s stomach rumbled, and the [Dungeon Master] gave it a sad little pat.

“Sorry, it’s going to be a bit longer before dinner.”

Gritting his teeth, Vee returned his attention to the caged golem, squeezing the ectoplasm smaller and smaller until it comfortably fit in the palm of his hand.

“I don’t know if I can make it any smaller than that,” Vee said, huffing for breath. “We’ll leave it like this and bring it with us for now, and then see if the [Witchers] can get rid of it for good for us.”

“We could always use it in the dungeon too,” Reginald said. “Break off bits as we need them, let adventurers smash it up, collect the pieces, and crush the golem down when it starts getting too big and unruly.”

“That’s a thought,” Vee said. “I’m not sure it’d work, though. I don’t know much about summoned golems, but a decent number of summoned companions fade out existence when the skill user stops feeding them power, and it wouldn’t be unusual for them to do the same.”

“True, but it doesn’t cost us anything to keep the possibility in mind,” Reginald said. “Let’s get moving once you’ve caught your breath, boss. I’ve got a feeling it’s going to be a long night.”

Main Character Sheets:

Main Character Sheets

Vee Vales:

Primary Class: Ghost Maestro (Locksmagister University), Level 30 (+1)

Secondary Class: Dungeon Master (Oar’s Crest), Level 23

Tertiary Class: Guy-Who-Takes-Things-WAY-Too-Far (Self), Level 6

Might: 15

Wit: 36 (+1)

Faith: 25 (+1)

Adventurousness: 7

Ambition: 15

Plotting: 19

Charisma: 15

Devious Mind: 24

Leadership: 19

Guts: 14

Intimidating Presence: 10

Citizenship: 21

Public Relations: 8

Determination: 4

Persuasiveness: 5

Bargaining: 2

Patience: 1

Competitive Spirit: 1

<3<3 Infatuation <3<3

Alforde Armorsoul:

Primary Class: Hammer Specialist (Self), Level 5

Secondary Class: Right-hand man (Vee Vales), Level 17 (+1)

Tertiary Class: Dungeon Champion (Oar’s Crest), Level 18

Additional Class: Glaciernaut (Sacha Silverblade), Level 10

Might: 55 (+1)

Wit: 14

Faith: 28

Adventurousness (Bound – Vee Vales): 9

Endurance: 29

Intimidating Presence: 12

Heart of a Champion: 13

Citizenship (Bound – Vee Vales): 8

Vigilance: 9 (+1)

Vanity: 2

Reginald (Unchanged from Last Chapter):

Primary Class: Core Spirit (Unknown), Level ??

--~%@(%$@ &% (*$ #&#e !i$$ (#$%#$%#$@!)~--, #$v@& ????

Secondary Class: Loudmouth (Self), Level 41

Tertiary Class: Majordomo (Vee Vales), Level 19

Additional Class: Announcer (Vee Vales), Level 10

Might: 1

Wit: 36

Faith: 16

Ambition: 28

Greed: 24

Deceptiveness: 27

Manipulativeness: 40

$#&*!@!!: !!!

Loyalty: 46

Patience: 9

Irritability: 22

Remorsefulness: 17

[#&%%%@%!#@__--#%]

Hop@#!! @#$@!@#

@#$@%%^

#4^5#*&_!+++#(@$#

Citizenship (Bound – Vee Vales): 8