Gun Girl from Another World

Mull

I'd like to get started on the Ogre's Grotto dungeon as soon as possible, but I seriously doubt Ayre will be ready to go anywhere today, and there's prep work to do that I want him there for, anyway. Prep work that would have been done a week ago, if the former Lord Mayor hadn't gotten his affairs in our way. That makes it two days before we can reasonably head out.

If the prep work has to wait until tomorrow when Ayre is feeling better, that leaves me figuring out something to do with the rest of today. It's still relatively early in the morning, which means I have most of the day to burn. I've been sitting on my laurels for so long that I really want to get in some training, but I'm many miles away from my setup at home.

I entertain the idea of going to the guild hall and renting time on the training field there, but that place is expensive to get time on. Even if I can afford it now, it feels like there are better ways to spend money.

I'm reminded of Ayre's insistence that I should design an artificial dungeon. Of course, he doesn't understand that those back home tended to be on a computer screen. Mostly because he has no concept of a computer screen. Or of a computer.

It would certainly be nice to have one, though. An artificial dungeon, I mean, not a computer. There's nowhere to even plug one in, and I'd hate to have to be the one to figure out how to convert from arcana to a hundred twenty volts.

An artificial dungeon, though, some combination of a haunted house meeting a paintball stadium, would be something worth having. I regret not getting into larping now, as I would have been able to see how they put their dungeons together. Of course, most of that involves pretend on the part of the players and an acting troupe on the other side.

While I could certainly see employing fellow adventurers to play the part of monsters, much in the same way badge tests are conducted, that would be expensive, and wouldn't really give the experience that I'd want to deliver, anyway.

Ideally, there would be a way to generate the rooms semi-randomly, so that people can't just memorize the route, or at least to physically shuffle them around with standardized rooms. Illusions of monsters would be cheaper than hiring actors, too, but I really don't know much about how illusion magic works in Toleste. It would also mean that the monsters would be harmless on their own, unless there were some way to provide kinetic feedback.

Really, what I need is the ability to create a real-world roguelike. It's a popular enough genre back home, where the experience is different every time. Every map is generated by the machine, rather than by human hands, including corridors, monsters, traps and loot. The genre is named after the video game Rogue, which popularized most of the ideas. Despite being a half-century old, the genre remains popular, with many games taking on the mantle, including one of my favorites, Breach the Gungeon.

… Though that one's more of a Bullet Hell, an entirely different genre and one that probably wouldn't be good for implementing in a training dungeon.

I'm getting distracted, though, following a horned rabbit hole of ideas and moving away from the core topic I was focusing on. It's enough for now to make a note of the things I need to figure out for building the artificial dungeon, since there's enough question marks to prevent any real planning from happening.

I need to know how much of it can be accomplished by illusion magic. Ideally, the answer would be all of it, and I would need only the area and mechanisms to accommodate it. Speaking of which, I need to know if illusion magic can even be reproduced through artifice. Otherwise, I'll have to come up with a design for projectors and do it all manually, which would seriously impact the ability to keep it procedurally generated.

… Unless I could install a database of monsters to be projected directly into the devices, themselves. Or, even better, from a central data bank the entire thing connects to. Illusion magic from artifice would have to draw from a database of some sort, after all, wouldn't it? Why not just set the whole thing up to run from one location, with different sections dictating different things?

Of course, from what I already know of artifice, that's a project that would rapidly spiral into a labyrinth of its own. I'm basically designing a mechanical computer by that point, dedicated solely to managing the artificial dungeon, and at the very least, it would span a single large room, possibly several. That may end up being what I have to do, anyway, for the project, but I'd much rather have something a little more portable and easier to install in other locations. This project would do the most good if many guild halls could host one.

Quite simply, what I need more than anything is more information. I need to consult with a real wizard, preferably a specialist, and find more resources on the topic. In all odds, I'll also need to continue to improve my artifice skills to even be able to approach the matter. But is it possible? I'd like to think so. I don't know enough to say it isn't, which is the ideal point for dreaming, but not so much for doing.

I mull this over while eating a breakfast of cart food, wishing I knew a good cafe and that I had a notebook to write all of this down in. It still leaves me without something to do for today. Maybe I should go notebook shopping. But that can be done tomorrow with Ayre, when we get everything else.

Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

That's when I remember Leuke's offer to introduce me to the guard trainer, Geold. Learning more about another weapon certainly can't hurt, and it would be good exercise. You never know when I might need to pick up another weapon dropped by somebody else.

I make my decision and head back toward the barracks. It's beginning to feel like quite a familiar place, as aside from the mayor's estate that I'd rather not think about, it's where I've spent more time than anywhere else in Giri Village.

I haven't even been gone long, perhaps a couple hours, but most of the soldiers who were in the main area when I was in here before have long since left to start their shifts. Most are probably patrolling the town, while others get the boring duty of standing on a wall for presumably six to eight hours.

But somebody else is here.

"Leuke!" I call out, waving a hand above my head for him. "I didn't think you'd be up yet!"

He's sitting at a table with a mug of something hot, and he groans at my words, his hair still messy as if he just rolled out of bed, even though his armor is all on and pristine.

"I wouldn't be," he answers me, "except somebody stuck a burr up Captain's seat. She came all the way to my house and into my room like a whirlwind to drag me out of bed. She hasn't done that since we were kids. Haven't seen her that full of energy since then, either, come to think of it."

I give a sideways glance toward the Captain's door he doesn't see since he's not looking at me. I have a strong hunch that's my fault. Instead, I slide into the seat across from him with a, "Full of energy, you say?"

"Yeah," he confirms. "Got through all of her paperwork in record time, apparently. That's why she had the free time to come get me." Finally, he turns his attention to me. "I hear you got an early start to your day, too, Captain said you already got our note from the Guild and came over?"

I nod. "That's right. I haven't been a late sleeper since I came to the Empire." I pause and rub at my chin as I consider my sleeping habits before that. "I mean, I suppose I wasn't a very late sleeper beforehand, either. I've always kept pretty active. Just, it's been … y'know, more since becoming a Hero."

Leuke nods back. "Yeah, I notice I need a lot less rest between things like exercises," he admits. "I guess sleep is just one of those habits that are hard to break for me."

"Did it increase your appetite, too?" I take the opportunity to ask. "Sacred Yorin told me it might when we were at the High Temple, but now I'll graze all day and still eat full meals."

He thinks that over. "No, I don't think mine's really changed." Then he gave a protagonist-worthy grin, complete with full sincerity and not a drop of self-awareness. "But then, I've always been told I'm a healthy eater."

"Yeah," I scoff, "I have nearly unlimited superfood, and I still wouldn't want to foot your food bill."

"That sandwich was pretty good," he muses with a distant look as he recalls it, and even though his stomach doesn't rumble, I feel like I can almost hear it.

"In other news," I change topics, "the conflicted territory issue with the Huohi is officially over. Lady Regent Noya says we can head to Ogre's Grotto as soon as we're ready, if you were serious about coming along."

That actually manages to distract him from his thoughts of food, and his face illuminates with excitement. "Really?! That's great! I'm absolutely interested! When are you leaving?"

"No sooner than in a couple days," I admit. "Ayre's recovering from the celebration last night, and we've still got some preparatory work to do, goods and gear, that sort of thing."

Leuke nods in understanding. "A couple days, you say? That'll give Captain enough heads up for me to ask off, then."

"Are you still part of the town guard even though you're a Hero?" I ask.

"Well, I mean, I'd like to think so," he says after a moment. "Nobody's told me I'm not. Of course, my responsibilities as a Hero take precedence, since they're orders from the Throne and Essence both. But while I'm here, I'm just happy to do what I can to help out my friends. Even if it's not so important to the big picture, it's important to me."

I can't help but smile at that, and I shake my head.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing," I insist. "It's just, do us all a favor and never change, big lug."

He gives an embarrassed smile at that and rubs the back of his head, but then gets back to the topic we've been discussing. "So is that what you're going to be doing today? Picking up supplies?"

"No, I want to wait for Ayre before doing that stuff," I admit. "That's why it's going to be a couple days, gotta have time to recover. I'm mostly just burning time today."

"Any plans?"

"Well, I wanted to get some exercise in, some sort of practice, and I was thinking about how you mentioned me meeting Geold to learn the spear." I lean onto the table. "I was hoping that offer's still open. I know a single day isn't enough time to learn the weapon without cheating with Essence, but I figure pointers from a professional instructor can make sure I have a strong basis."

Leuke leans his head back to think that over for a moment. "Yeah, I don't see why that would be a problem. And he should have some free time today. I mean, he's always overseeing the training grounds, and someone's bound to be there getting chewed out by him, but he should be free."

"Great!" I cheer and stand up from my seat. "I don't suppose you would be willing to go ahead and introduce us now, would you?"