Homestead Survival

<Dungeon: The Royal Crypts of Karzun, Floor 1, A+ -- S->
[Theo and Julia]

Julia sat up and checked her timer; she found that roughly six and a half hours had passed.

"Morning, sleepy head," Theo said, handing her a meat stick.

Julia took it and bit into it. "I would kill for a breakfast burrito."

"Amen," Theo said, nomming on his own meat stick. "I am shocked that I don't crave caffeine, though."

"True," Julia said, opting to not probe that thought any deeper in fear of awakening said craving. They ate in silence for several more minutes, and then they both finally stood up.

They faced the area between the two doors. Julia looked from one to the other before shrugging and heading towards the left. Theo just smiled and followed after her.

They tried to identify the door, but it did not return anything. "That's interesting. Usually, it returns something. Even if it's just the material it's made of."

"Well, let's go through and see what it is, shall we?" Julia asked, and Theo nodded, moving in front of her and pushing on the door, which began to creep open exceedingly slowly. A blue box greeted them.

"Well, it's not a boss, but let's see what the fuck this is about," Theo said, growing concerned.

"We can fall back to where we rested if we need to; it's still heavily Warded," Julia said, and after a quick thought, she summoned the Rod of Lesser Healing and saw it had recharged. "We also have our three healing charges back."

"Good to know," Theo said, and the doors finally opened to reveal two young-looking dragons in very ghostly form.

{Vesper Karzun, Level 08 Hatchling Shade, S-}
{Astra Karzun, Level 08 Hatchling Shade, S-}

The shades rushed forward, homing in on Julia and moving with enough speed that they shot past Theo before he could react.

"Fuck!" Theo said, turning in time to see Julia's Ward runes flare to life. He stepped closer and used Taunt. Vesper, standing nearly seven feet tall and appearing as dark as night, lunged at Theo. Astra, who shone with an internal light brighter than the sun, hung back, launching glowing bolts at Theo.

Theo was about to slam his Master Tool in its bearded axe form down when he felt the first bolt hit him. It had no effect. It did not do any damage. That caused Theo to pause. Vesper hit him running full bore and simply bounced off. Theo decided that there was more to learn here. So he stuck out his hand and Identified the shade.

"Oh no," Theo said, looking sadly at the clearly childlike dragon that was attacking him and doing nothing.

"What is it?" Julia asked.

"They were killed to anger their mother and cursed to end up like this," Theo said, looking for any sign of recognition, but all he saw from the ghostly eyes of Vesper was an unrelenting anger. "Even the identification says to slay them to bring them rest."

Theo stepped forward, forming his Master Tool into a small trowel and then summoning his dagger to his hand. With a quick thrust, Vesper let a horrid screech and then simply vanished. He quickly got to Astra and did the same.

"If that is all that it took," Julia said after a moment of silence, "why didn't Retaliate kill them?"

"I have no idea, but I do know that I took exactly zero damage from anything they did. Maybe not taking damage failed to trigger the skill?" Theo said, looking into the room from which the two Hatchling Shades had come.

Inside was a small monument to two young Dragons that were dissolving as they watched.

They both turned to walk to the other door when Theo remembered that they had gotten a title for it. He checked his title, reminding Julia to take a look at it, too.

"This is sad," Julia said, wiping a tear from her eyes. "Why is everything so fucked up? And who would hurt children?"

"Humans do it too," Theo said, knowing full well that people would probably get worse before they got better with the coming of the System.

Julia sighed heavily. "I know. I just don't like it."

As they walked towards the door, Theo was deep in thought when Julia interrupted him. "Do you want children?"

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

"That's a bit out of left field, but yeah," Theo said with a smile, "I do."

"Did you have a girlfriend before all of this?" Julia asked, realizing that she had never bothered to ask, and he had never bothered to tell.

"Nope, just worked way more than was healthy trying to save up enough to buy a piece of land and then find some woman who would put up with me well enough to marry," Theo said with a shrug, reaching the door.

They opened the door, revealing another hallway and four Mana Leeches that were all level five. Julia took care of them without Theo's help using Ward. Then she turned to Theo. "I think any woman would have been lucky to have you."

"Oh really?" Theo asked in a playful tone, "Does that mean you are lucky to have me here?"

Theo had asked the question in jest, but Julia answered with full sincerity. "Abso-fucking-lutely. If you were not the person stuck with me, I think I would be dead. How many men do you think would jump in front of a lion for a woman who had just brushed him off? None, except for you, is my bet."

Theo stood there awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck, and Julia surprised him again, stepping forward and coming up on her tiptoes to chastely kiss his cheek. "You are deeply appreciated, Theo, and I thank you."

They walked in silence for a while, coming to a T-intersection. Theo picked this time and went right rather than straight ahead. They keep walking, both of them paying attention but lost in their own thought. Theo opens his mouth to respond when a dead end seems to materialize in front of them, along with four Scale Rats.

{Scale Rat, Level 05, S-}
{Scale Rat, Level 05, S-}
{Scale Rat, Level 05, S-}
{Scale Rat, Level 05, S-}**

Julia began to lay down a ring of Ward runes, but Theo stepped forward, channeled Penitent Strike, and then stomped down, ending two of the oversized rats. Then he pulled out his Master Tool, formed it into a club, and finished off the other two. He turned to Julia, "I hope you know that I appreciate you as well. You have been a great sport about all of this."

They quickly looted the drops from the Scale rats, which amounted to four hides, a vial of Drake-Type Mucus, and a dungeon invader tag. After stuffing everything in their pouches, they turned back to the intersection and, after a brief walk, went to the right, leading them down the only path they had yet to explore.

They walked for several hours, turning left twice before they came across a massive door. Theo identified it.

"That is excessively metal," Julia said.

"Yes, it is," Theo said, his tone concerned. "So I have a worry."

"It says it's level seven plus?" Julia guessed.

"Bingo." Theo said, "Do we risk it or just head out?"

Julia thought for a moment, then smiled. "Why don't we ask Crypt Keeper?"

Theo smiled and pulled out the Dungeon Invader Tag, holding it in his hand. "Hey, Crypt Keeper."

>Private Message: Enabling Dungeon Communication
>Dungeon Communication: Connected to Dungeon Core A7-D9F5-SP, known as The Crypt Keeper
>Dungeon Communication: Connected to System User: Theo Sorrenson
>Dungeon Communication: Connected to System User: Julia Brahmin
>Dungeon Communication: Users Theo and Julia hold one Dungeon Invader Tag
**>DC_Crypt-Keeper: What would you ask?

"So, should we attempt this, boss?" Theo asked. There was a pause of a few minutes.

>DC_Crypt-Keeper: Is this all you wish to know? This does not assume the obligation of Mana that comes with a Dungeon Invader Tag.

Julia spoke, "I mean, that is all that we wish to know. Do you need anything that could be acquired with the Mana?"

>DC_Crypt-Keeper: Do you truly intend to give up this boon to Myself?

"Sure." Theo and Julia said together.

>DC_Crypt-Keeper: If you would be so kind as to tell me that you need a Type-7 draconian growth gene, I would be deeply appreciative.

"Sure thing, I need a Type-7 draconian growth gene," Theo said with a whole lot more confidence than he had.

What appeared in front of him was a glowing purple crystal that contained something pulsating. Theo could feel waves of power washing off of it.

>DC_Crypt-Keeper: Now I need you to verbally agree that this is now the Property of the Dungeon. Both of you, please.

"It's all yours now." Theo agreed and felt a brief flicker of power rush away from him.

"Yep, the gene thingy is all you, Crypt Keeper," Julia said, feeling the same flicker of power. And the gene sank into the floor.

>DC_Crypt-Keeper: Your sacrifice to me is more appreciated than you could know. As to your earlier question, it would be possible for you to battle the boss, but not easy. You are both exceptionally well suited to deal with small, medium, and large groups, as well as moderately powerful individual monsters. From what I can tell, you might not fare as well against one singular, powerful enemy, especially one that has been tuned for young dragons to hash themselves against. The enemy in there is a level 10 Dragon Wraith with the [BOSS] modifier. Assume that they are closer to level 13, and if you feel that you can win, then take on the challenge. Thank you for the gene.

>Dungeon Communication: Disconnected to Dungeon Core A7-D9F5-SP, known as The Crypt Keeper
>Dungeon Communication: Disconnected to System User: Theo Sorrenson
>Dungeon Communication: Disconnected to System User: Julia Brahmin
>Private Message: Disabling Dungeon Communication

"Welp, that is..." Theo said, trailing off.

"A lot to take in?" Julia asked.

Theo nodded, "Yeah, apparently, Dungeons can do genetic modification. And we figured out what the boss was. You want to fight a level 13 Dragon Wraith?"

"I think that the Crypt Keeper is right," Julia said, "we don't do great against singular, powerful enemies."

"So are we calling it?" Theo asked and then watched her think.

"I am tired of being in here. No sunlight, no indication of time passage." Julia shrugged. "I would like to leave, but if you want to try, then let's do it."

Theo looked at the door and then back at the beautiful young woman waiting for his response. He smiled. Let's get out of here. Julia smiled, and they began the long walk back to the Portal.

They had taken their sweet time on the way back, admiring the artwork that was on every column and the opulence that was on display. As they approached the Portal, a familiar face awaited them.

{Patriarch Aftary Karzun, Level ???, ???}

"Greetings, young humans."

"Patriarch Karzun," Theo said with a smile and a nod in his direction, doing his best to not anger the god-like being in front of them. "To what do we owe the honor?"

"I simply came to wish you well and ensure that the portal closed in its entirety." The Patriarch said.

"Well, we will be on our way," Julia said, stepping forward.

"I hope you enjoyed the run through our Dungeon, and I thank you for your assistance to the Dungeon Core. And also, I hope that you will establish a Family; I always enjoy establishing relations with interesting people." The Patriarch said with a slight bow to Julia as she stepped through the Portal.

Theo made to step through when the Patriarch rested a hand on his shoulder. "Should you ever find yourself needing work, I can always find a use for a man with your temperament and skill. Good luck, Thrive, young human."

He let Theo go, and then Theo stepped through the Portal.

<04 August 2024, GRAND MESA OF SUMMER , A+>
[Theo and Julia]

Theo and Julia stepped out into the noonday sun and were greeted by a blue box.

"What the fuck." Julia says.

"It's only been like four hours!" Theo exclaimed, his body feeling weary from the four-ish days that they had spent in the Dungeon.

"Yep, fuck this, I need a break," Julia said, taking off towards the cabin, with Theo hot on her heels.