Chapter 44: Dealing with a Cage
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Chapter 44: Dealing with a Cage
I knew my Fake Core would come in handy one day!
Just as I had hoped, no one had thought to look twice at the Core in the middle of the Core Room, so the Fake Core was the one caged. The 'Fake or Real Core' Rule had originally been worded so it would also work against golems, but now this wording ensured that even the Cage itself believed the Fake Core to be the real one.
And if the Cage kept telling the Lightning Mage that everything was fine then...
Well... She'll still notice at some point...
It would buy me some time at least! Maybe even a lot of time as the Cage would probably be blamed as faulty at first before anyone thinks I did something...
From my perspective the rune-covered Cage had been placed around the Fake Core, the Lightning Mage cast some form of spell to activate it, and for 40 seconds it shrunk and reshaped its form till it fit tightly around my Fake Core.
But on the mental scale, nothing had happened nor changed.
Hmm... Let's just check out my new status for now...
Personal Status Level: 20 EXP needed for level up: 29,600/29,600 Additional EXP: 1,652,876 Mana payment for level up: 0/5,250 Mana: 750.5/1,750 Mana regeneration: 612.5 per hour Floors: 8/11 Allowed number of sapients in each Floor: Disabled Floor Details Achievements Mission Dungeon Rules
Well... It's nice. I've tiered up. Love it. Lots of EXP.
Really not much to say about it though.
Back to the serious stuff then. The whole army wasn't killed, which means the elven kingdom knows many of my tricks by now.
No wait... Elves are matriarchal, so it would be a queendom then?
Still. What can I do to protect myself? And the Tribe too?
For a couple of seconds I simply observed the mouselady push. The baby's head was getting pushed out and a pair of silver-striped cat ears could be seen with a tuft of similar colored hair in between them.
They think they have me caged, so they must intend to use me. That makes it very likely that all or part of the army here is going to stay and guard my Portal till someone comes to relieve them. And those people will start building a town around me and visit me daily and...
Well... As long as no one actually finds my real Core, all of this is good for me. Just not for the Tribe...
So, can I... drive them away somehow?
Uhh... Nooo... I can't act outside my Dungeon after all.
But... Maybe I can help the Tribe deal with the elves somehow...
Hmm...
First question: Ideally, what do I want to happen to the elves?
The queendom? Don't know. Maybe for them to leave me alone. At least for now. Otherwise I just don't know enough unbiased things about them.
The army, which just left? I... Honestly - and this might just be my instinct speaking - I wouldn't mind killing the last 17 elves with low karma. I might even prefer it!
But the other 15?
I don't know. I don't want them dead. And I don't want them to cause me or the Tribe any problems.N0v3lTr0ve served as the original host for this chapter's release on N0v3l--B1n.
So, second question: What can I do to make this happen?
As I can't directly do anything myself, I'll have to settle for aiding the Tribe.
...
And how do I want the Tribe to handle the elves?
Uhm... The Tribe can't kill them. Even with Lionheart being overpowered right now it won't be enough to let them win, just like I hadn't been able to.
That and I don't want to kill the elves.
Diplomacy?
...
I doubt it... What do we have to offer them, after all?
My secrets, I suppose. But not much else.
Maybe it's possible with enough Charisma, but without knowing how Charismatic the highest ranking elves are in comparison, it's not something I want to test.
...
Maybe the Tribe will just have to hide...
But they would never get out again! They can only get EXP from my Dungeon once per action per run, so being unable to leave would make them unable to get strong enough to defeat the elves! And even if I were to change this by making a Rule, they would simply get stuck before the next tier up!
But... Could a different Rule maybe help?
Their questions were easy to answer. Even with how unusual her Dungeon was, she had still spent her whole life preparing for this moment.
◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇
While the Tribe wanted to take the fight to the elves, they didn't have any confidence in winning.
Chief Nerok had the highest Charisma Score of the Tribe and if the conflict should turn to diplomacy, he would be the one who would have to talk to the elves. Something he admitted he would be unable to do without at least insulting someone, regardless of how the elves would react to the attempt.
The Tribe found my idea of giving them a Mana Form fascinating, but they didn't like the odds of surviving the Lightning Mage should they try.
A couple more ideas were thrown around, all of which were rejected in the end.
The only plan we concluded to have few enough risks to want to attempt was barely a plan at all. It was simply 'wait and see what happens'. The only plan part of it was for me to try and find a way to spy on the elves, so we could make more informed decisions once the waiting was over with.
I really don't like this plan! I feel so... so...
...useless...
... and trapped...
While the Dungeon Core Cage hadn't actually trapped me, the situation somehow had.
Speaking of the Cage. Right now it was doing the same thing it would have done if it had been placed on my actual Core. Namely nothing. I wanted to level up and needed more mana for it, so I wasn't doing anything the Cage would react to.
But at some point I would, and the Cage wouldn't react to it.
It might take quite a while before the Lightning Mage would realize something was wrong. After having killed 43 people at once, she would likely - and correctly - assume, that my first priority would be leveling up. And as leveling up happened automatically once the criteria had been fulfilled, the Cage wouldn't react to it.
Still, finding a way to stop or delay her from realizing I wasn't under her control was one of my goals, though not the most urgent one.
The faster I could figure out how to spy on the elves, the more information I would get out of it. Then I would do a couple of level ups, before focusing on what to do about my 'Cage problem'.
My Dungeon Rules only worked inside my Dungeon, so while making a new Rule seemed like the way to go, it would be a challenge to word, so it could work while the elves were on the Surface World.
With the whole Tribe hiding in my Dungeon I don't even have a link to the Surface World I can exploit.
I mentally snorted, before a thought struck me.
The Portal! It anchors me to the Surface World! I should be able to make a Rule connected to the Portal itself!
Soon after, a new Rule was in place.
New Dungeon Rule: Portal Observation: The Dungeon Portal sees and hears all that is going on around it. This can be overcome by related Abilities or Skills of the same tier as the Core or higher.
The Rule hadn’t been particularly expensive. It covered a small area and didn’t offer any offensive or defensive properties, so I also hadn’t expected it to.
It did take me long to realize I would have to be lucky to get anything worthwhile this way. While the area around the Portal got plenty of traffic, it wasn't a place one would discuss anything important.
For now I simply learned the elven army had brought civilians with them, who were building a town around my Portal.
Humf...
Do I have any other links to the Surface I can exploit?
Unable to think of anything else, I went to think about how to deal with my 'Cage problem'. I didn't intend to use any mana to fix it just yet, but getting an idea of how to do it beforehand would only be helpful.
I suppose I need to have the Cage send fake requests to the Lightning Mage, so she keeps thinking it's still working as intended. Oh! And what her answers are, will give me a better understanding of what she wants from me. I mean I can probably guess, but confirmation would be nice.
...
... The Cage has a link to the Surface World, doesn't it? To the Lightning Mage specifically?
...
... And I'm guessing that's not 'general information', which means you won't tell me the answer...
Fair enough! I don't need to be babied. I can just make a Rule to test it. Let there be a Rule which lets me see and hear what the Noble Lightning Mage sees and hears through the connection she has with the Enchanted Dungeon Core Cage she left in my Dungeon.
The link between an Enchanted Dungeon Core Cage and its activator is not strong enough for both sight and sound to pass through.
Huh... Give me sound then.
New Dungeon Rule: Eavesdropping on the Warden: Everything the activator of the Enchanted Dungeon Core Cage around the Fake Core hears will be heard by the Dungeon Core as well. This can be overcome by related Abilities or Skills of the same tier as the Core or higher.
Immediately I could hear the Lightning Mage talk. She was stating she wished to test 'something' before figuring out if there would be a level requirement for entering my Dungeon, and that she would test that 'something' tomorrow morning.
Which gave me the feeling that no one would enter my Dungeon before then. Good to know. It gives me more time to plan my next move and enough mana for a couple of level ups.
She mentioned she wanted her Dungeon to be challenging but rewarding, but didn't mention how she wanted me to change or grow.
Every question anyone asked her after that - while still being about me - didn't tell me about her intentions toward me or how she intended to achieve it. It seemed more geared towards regulations around future miners and how her 'Dungeon Guild' would be run. Several times she would have two or three answers to a question, where her eventual action would depend on my loot, the danger of my creatures outside of the 'allow-all-tool' or other details of my Dungeon which weren't completely clear to the elves.
And apparently some of the answers depended on the experiment she would do in my Dungeon tomorrow.
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Chapter 44: Dealing with a Cage
I knew my Fake Core would come in handy one day!
Just as I had hoped, no one had thought to look twice at the Core in the middle of the Core Room, so the Fake Core was the one caged. The 'Fake or Real Core' Rule had originally been worded so it would also work against golems, but now this wording ensured that even the Cage itself believed the Fake Core to be the real one.
And if the Cage kept telling the Lightning Mage that everything was fine then...
Well... She'll still notice at some point...
It would buy me some time at least! Maybe even a lot of time as the Cage would probably be blamed as faulty at first before anyone thinks I did something...
From my perspective the rune-covered Cage had been placed around the Fake Core, the Lightning Mage cast some form of spell to activate it, and for 40 seconds it shrunk and reshaped its form till it fit tightly around my Fake Core.
But on the mental scale, nothing had happened nor changed.
Hmm... Let's just check out my new status for now...
Personal Status Level: 20 EXP needed for level up: 29,600/29,600 Additional EXP: 1,652,876 Mana payment for level up: 0/5,250 Mana: 750.5/1,750 Mana regeneration: 612.5 per hour Floors: 8/11 Allowed number of sapients in each Floor: Disabled Floor Details Achievements Mission Dungeon Rules
Well... It's nice. I've tiered up. Love it. Lots of EXP.
Really not much to say about it though.
Back to the serious stuff then. The whole army wasn't killed, which means the elven kingdom knows many of my tricks by now.
No wait... Elves are matriarchal, so it would be a queendom then?
Still. What can I do to protect myself? And the Tribe too?
For a couple of seconds I simply observed the mouselady push. The baby's head was getting pushed out and a pair of silver-striped cat ears could be seen with a tuft of similar colored hair in between them.
They think they have me caged, so they must intend to use me. That makes it very likely that all or part of the army here is going to stay and guard my Portal till someone comes to relieve them. And those people will start building a town around me and visit me daily and...
Well... As long as no one actually finds my real Core, all of this is good for me. Just not for the Tribe...
So, can I... drive them away somehow?
Uhh... Nooo... I can't act outside my Dungeon after all.
But... Maybe I can help the Tribe deal with the elves somehow...
Hmm...
First question: Ideally, what do I want to happen to the elves?
The queendom? Don't know. Maybe for them to leave me alone. At least for now. Otherwise I just don't know enough unbiased things about them.
The army, which just left? I... Honestly - and this might just be my instinct speaking - I wouldn't mind killing the last 17 elves with low karma. I might even prefer it!
But the other 15?
I don't know. I don't want them dead. And I don't want them to cause me or the Tribe any problems.N0v3lTr0ve served as the original host for this chapter's release on N0v3l--B1n.
So, second question: What can I do to make this happen?
As I can't directly do anything myself, I'll have to settle for aiding the Tribe.
...
And how do I want the Tribe to handle the elves?
Uhm... The Tribe can't kill them. Even with Lionheart being overpowered right now it won't be enough to let them win, just like I hadn't been able to.
That and I don't want to kill the elves.
Diplomacy?
...
I doubt it... What do we have to offer them, after all?
My secrets, I suppose. But not much else.
Maybe it's possible with enough Charisma, but without knowing how Charismatic the highest ranking elves are in comparison, it's not something I want to test.
...
Maybe the Tribe will just have to hide...
But they would never get out again! They can only get EXP from my Dungeon once per action per run, so being unable to leave would make them unable to get strong enough to defeat the elves! And even if I were to change this by making a Rule, they would simply get stuck before the next tier up!
But... Could a different Rule maybe help?
Their questions were easy to answer. Even with how unusual her Dungeon was, she had still spent her whole life preparing for this moment.
◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇
While the Tribe wanted to take the fight to the elves, they didn't have any confidence in winning.
Chief Nerok had the highest Charisma Score of the Tribe and if the conflict should turn to diplomacy, he would be the one who would have to talk to the elves. Something he admitted he would be unable to do without at least insulting someone, regardless of how the elves would react to the attempt.
The Tribe found my idea of giving them a Mana Form fascinating, but they didn't like the odds of surviving the Lightning Mage should they try.
A couple more ideas were thrown around, all of which were rejected in the end.
The only plan we concluded to have few enough risks to want to attempt was barely a plan at all. It was simply 'wait and see what happens'. The only plan part of it was for me to try and find a way to spy on the elves, so we could make more informed decisions once the waiting was over with.
I really don't like this plan! I feel so... so...
...useless...
... and trapped...
While the Dungeon Core Cage hadn't actually trapped me, the situation somehow had.
Speaking of the Cage. Right now it was doing the same thing it would have done if it had been placed on my actual Core. Namely nothing. I wanted to level up and needed more mana for it, so I wasn't doing anything the Cage would react to.
But at some point I would, and the Cage wouldn't react to it.
It might take quite a while before the Lightning Mage would realize something was wrong. After having killed 43 people at once, she would likely - and correctly - assume, that my first priority would be leveling up. And as leveling up happened automatically once the criteria had been fulfilled, the Cage wouldn't react to it.
Still, finding a way to stop or delay her from realizing I wasn't under her control was one of my goals, though not the most urgent one.
The faster I could figure out how to spy on the elves, the more information I would get out of it. Then I would do a couple of level ups, before focusing on what to do about my 'Cage problem'.
My Dungeon Rules only worked inside my Dungeon, so while making a new Rule seemed like the way to go, it would be a challenge to word, so it could work while the elves were on the Surface World.
With the whole Tribe hiding in my Dungeon I don't even have a link to the Surface World I can exploit.
I mentally snorted, before a thought struck me.
The Portal! It anchors me to the Surface World! I should be able to make a Rule connected to the Portal itself!
Soon after, a new Rule was in place.
New Dungeon Rule: Portal Observation: The Dungeon Portal sees and hears all that is going on around it. This can be overcome by related Abilities or Skills of the same tier as the Core or higher.
The Rule hadn’t been particularly expensive. It covered a small area and didn’t offer any offensive or defensive properties, so I also hadn’t expected it to.
It did take me long to realize I would have to be lucky to get anything worthwhile this way. While the area around the Portal got plenty of traffic, it wasn't a place one would discuss anything important.
For now I simply learned the elven army had brought civilians with them, who were building a town around my Portal.
Humf...
Do I have any other links to the Surface I can exploit?
Unable to think of anything else, I went to think about how to deal with my 'Cage problem'. I didn't intend to use any mana to fix it just yet, but getting an idea of how to do it beforehand would only be helpful.
I suppose I need to have the Cage send fake requests to the Lightning Mage, so she keeps thinking it's still working as intended. Oh! And what her answers are, will give me a better understanding of what she wants from me. I mean I can probably guess, but confirmation would be nice.
...
... The Cage has a link to the Surface World, doesn't it? To the Lightning Mage specifically?
...
... And I'm guessing that's not 'general information', which means you won't tell me the answer...
Fair enough! I don't need to be babied. I can just make a Rule to test it. Let there be a Rule which lets me see and hear what the Noble Lightning Mage sees and hears through the connection she has with the Enchanted Dungeon Core Cage she left in my Dungeon.
The link between an Enchanted Dungeon Core Cage and its activator is not strong enough for both sight and sound to pass through.
Huh... Give me sound then.
New Dungeon Rule: Eavesdropping on the Warden: Everything the activator of the Enchanted Dungeon Core Cage around the Fake Core hears will be heard by the Dungeon Core as well. This can be overcome by related Abilities or Skills of the same tier as the Core or higher.
Immediately I could hear the Lightning Mage talk. She was stating she wished to test 'something' before figuring out if there would be a level requirement for entering my Dungeon, and that she would test that 'something' tomorrow morning.
Which gave me the feeling that no one would enter my Dungeon before then. Good to know. It gives me more time to plan my next move and enough mana for a couple of level ups.
She mentioned she wanted her Dungeon to be challenging but rewarding, but didn't mention how she wanted me to change or grow.
Every question anyone asked her after that - while still being about me - didn't tell me about her intentions toward me or how she intended to achieve it. It seemed more geared towards regulations around future miners and how her 'Dungeon Guild' would be run. Several times she would have two or three answers to a question, where her eventual action would depend on my loot, the danger of my creatures outside of the 'allow-all-tool' or other details of my Dungeon which weren't completely clear to the elves.
And apparently some of the answers depended on the experiment she would do in my Dungeon tomorrow.
Chapter 44: Dealing with a CageI knew my Fake Core would come in handy one day!Just as I had hoped, no one had thought to look twice at the Core in the middle of the Core Room, so the Fake Core was the one caged. The 'Fake or Real Core' Rule had originally been worded so it would also work against golems, but now this wording ensured that even the Cage itself believed the Fake Core to be the real one.And if the Cage kept telling the Lightning Mage that everything was fine then...Well... She'll still notice at some point...It would buy me some time at least! Maybe even a lot of time as the Cage would probably be blamed as faulty at first before anyone thinks I did something...From my perspective the rune-covered Cage had been placed around the Fake Core, the Lightning Mage cast some form of spell to activate it, and for 40 seconds it shrunk and reshaped its form till it fit tightly around my Fake Core.But on the mental scale, nothing had happened nor changed.Hmm... Let's just check out my new status for now...Personal Status Level: 20 EXP needed for level up: 29,600/29,600 Additional EXP: 1,652,876 Mana payment for level up: 0/5,250 Mana: 750.5/1,750 Mana regeneration: 612.5 per hour Floors: 8/11 Allowed number of sapients in each Floor: Disabled Floor Details Achievements Mission Dungeon Rules Well... It's nice. I've tiered up. Love it. Lots of EXP.Really not much to say about it though.Back to the serious stuff then. The whole army wasn't killed, which means the elven kingdom knows many of my tricks by now.No wait... Elves are matriarchal, so it would be a queendom then?Still. What can I do to protect myself? And the Tribe too?For a couple of seconds I simply observed the mouselady push. The baby's head was getting pushed out and a pair of silver-striped cat ears could be seen with a tuft of similar colored hair in between them.They think they have me caged, so they must intend to use me. That makes it very likely that all or part of the army here is going to stay and guard my Portal till someone comes to relieve them. And those people will start building a town around me and visit me daily and...Well... As long as no one actually finds my real Core, all of this is good for me. Just not for the Tribe...So, can I... drive them away somehow?Uhh... Nooo... I can't act outside my Dungeon after all.But... Maybe I can help the Tribe deal with the elves somehow...Hmm...First question: Ideally, what do I want to happen to the elves?The queendom? Don't know. Maybe for them to leave me alone. At least for now. Otherwise I just don't know enough unbiased things about them.The army, which just left? I... Honestly - and this might just be my instinct speaking - I wouldn't mind killing the last 17 elves with low karma. I might even prefer it!But the other 15?I don't know. I don't want them dead. And I don't want them to cause me or the Tribe any problems.N0v3lTr0ve served as the original host for this chapter's release on N0v3l--B1n.So, second question: What can I do to make this happen?As I can't directly do anything myself, I'll have to settle for aiding the Tribe....And how do I want the Tribe to handle the elves?Uhm... The Tribe can't kill them. Even with Lionheart being overpowered right now it won't be enough to let them win, just like I hadn't been able to.That and I don't want to kill the elves.Diplomacy?...I doubt it... What do we have to offer them, after all?My secrets, I suppose. But not much else.Maybe it's possible with enough Charisma, but without knowing how Charismatic the highest ranking elves are in comparison, it's not something I want to test....Maybe the Tribe will just have to hide...But they would never get out again! They can only get EXP from my Dungeon once per action per run, so being unable to leave would make them unable to get strong enough to defeat the elves! And even if I were to change this by making a Rule, they would simply get stuck before the next tier up!But... Could a different Rule maybe help?Their questions were easy to answer. Even with how unusual her Dungeon was, she had still spent her whole life preparing for this moment.While the Tribe wanted to take the fight to the elves, they didn't have any confidence in winning.Chief Nerok had the highest Charisma Score of the Tribe and if the conflict should turn to diplomacy, he would be the one who would have to talk to the elves. Something he admitted he would be unable to do without at least insulting someone, regardless of how the elves would react to the attempt.The Tribe found my idea of giving them a Mana Form fascinating, but they didn't like the odds of surviving the Lightning Mage should they try.A couple more ideas were thrown around, all of which were rejected in the end.The only plan we concluded to have few enough risks to want to attempt was barely a plan at all. It was simply 'wait and see what happens'. The only plan part of it was for me to try and find a way to spy on the elves, so we could make more informed decisions once the waiting was over with.I really don't like this plan! I feel so... so......useless...... and trapped...While the Dungeon Core Cage hadn't actually trapped me, the situation somehow had.Speaking of the Cage. Right now it was doing the same thing it would have done if it had been placed on my actual Core. Namely nothing. I wanted to level up and needed more mana for it, so I wasn't doing anything the Cage would react to.But at some point I would, and the Cage wouldn't react to it.It might take quite a while before the Lightning Mage would realize something was wrong. After having killed 43 people at once, she would likely - and correctly - assume, that my first priority would be leveling up. And as leveling up happened automatically once the criteria had been fulfilled, the Cage wouldn't react to it.Still, finding a way to stop or delay her from realizing I wasn't under her control was one of my goals, though not the most urgent one.The faster I could figure out how to spy on the elves, the more information I would get out of it. Then I would do a couple of level ups, before focusing on what to do about my 'Cage problem'.My Dungeon Rules only worked inside my Dungeon, so while making a new Rule seemed like the way to go, it would be a challenge to word, so it could work while the elves were on the Surface World.With the whole Tribe hiding in my Dungeon I don't even have a link to the Surface World I can exploit.I mentally snorted, before a thought struck me.The Portal! It anchors me to the Surface World! I should be able to make a Rule connected to the Portal itself!Soon after, a new Rule was in place.New Dungeon Rule: Portal Observation: The Dungeon Portal sees and hears all that is going on around it. This can be overcome by related Abilities or Skills of the same tier as the Core or higher. The Rule hadn't been particularly expensive. It covered a small area and didn't offer any offensive or defensive properties, so I also hadn't expected it to.It did take me long to realize I would have to be lucky to get anything worthwhile this way. While the area around the Portal got plenty of traffic, it wasn't a place one would discuss anything important.For now I simply learned the elven army had brought civilians with them, who were building a town around my Portal.Humf...Do I have any other links to the Surface I can exploit?Unable to think of anything else, I went to think about how to deal with my 'Cage problem'. I didn't intend to use any mana to fix it just yet, but getting an idea of how to do it beforehand would only be helpful.I suppose I need to have the Cage send fake requests to the Lightning Mage, so she keeps thinking it's still working as intended. Oh! And what her answers are, will give me a better understanding of what she wants from me. I mean I can probably guess, but confirmation would be nice....... The Cage has a link to the Surface World, doesn't it? To the Lightning Mage specifically?...... And I'm guessing that's not 'general information', which means you won't tell me the answer...Fair enough! I don't need to be babied. I can just make a Rule to test it. Let there be a Rule which lets me see and hear what the Noble Lightning Mage sees and hears through the connection she has with the Enchanted Dungeon Core Cage she left in my Dungeon.The link between an Enchanted Dungeon Core Cage and its activator is not strong enough for both sight and sound to pass through. Huh... Give me sound then.New Dungeon Rule: Eavesdropping on the Warden: Everything the activator of the Enchanted Dungeon Core Cage around the Fake Core hears will be heard by the Dungeon Core as well. This can be overcome by related Abilities or Skills of the same tier as the Core or higher. Immediately I could hear the Lightning Mage talk. She was stating she wished to test 'something' before figuring out if there would be a level requirement for entering my Dungeon, and that she would test that 'something' tomorrow morning.Which gave me the feeling that no one would enter my Dungeon before then. Good to know. It gives me more time to plan my next move and enough mana for a couple of level ups.She mentioned she wanted her Dungeon to be challenging but rewarding, but didn't mention how she wanted me to change or grow.Every question anyone asked her after that - while still being about me - didn't tell me about her intentions toward me or how she intended to achieve it. It seemed more geared towards regulations around future miners and how her 'Dungeon Guild' would be run. Several times she would have two or three answers to a question, where her eventual action would depend on my loot, the danger of my creatures outside of the 'allow-all-tool' or other details of my Dungeon which weren't completely clear to the elves.And apparently some of the answers depended on the experiment she would do in my Dungeon tomorrow.
