Dark Fate: Book 1 – A New Fate
: Chapter 10

By the time we cleared our way to the ground floor, we’d already fought and killed another twenty goblins. What we didn’t encounter were any survivors. I didn’t expect there to be any, honestly. From my memories, anyone in the building when the Apocalypse started either died, or fought their way to fire escapes or other ways to get to the ground floor. The neighboring buildings weren’t hit as badly.

There was a reason for that, of course, but people hadn’t discovered it until later, when the building was cleared for the first time. This time, however, I knew what I was doing, and I had the power to pull it off. The secret to the goblins all spawning in this building was hidden down below.

As we approached the door down to the basement, I held out one hand to stop Talia. At the end of the hallway, guarding the door, was a goblin, like the ones we’d faced already, but higher level than the ones we’d seen so far. Well, not much higher. He’d be a good challenge for any normal Level 1 who got it in his head to go into the basement.

It was time I tried something. The main way that people learned new spells, last time through, was by buying spell books, at least until they had the skills and experience to create their own spells. Even as the Black Knight, I’d had some spells that I had created, even if I didn’t have as much MP as caster classes did. It was time for me to recreate one of those, now.

The Warlock spell [Spellblade} was just one of a dozen similar spells and abilities that allowed an individual to imbue their weapon with magical power, enhancing its destructive capability. They varied in several ways, of course, tailored to the classes they belonged to. As a Knight, I’d learned the [Imbue Blade] ‘spell’, for instance. If I were to compare it to a Wizard’s [Mage Blade] spell, I would say that [Imbue Blade] was weaker in terms of how much damage it added to my blows, but was more efficient overall. On the other hand, the MP costs were lower, and it was a ‘reserve’ spell, like my [Shadow Armor], rather than a ‘sustained’ spell, which required a constant influx of MP.

The basic description was terribly basic, but, fortunately, there was the more in-depth description to sort things out. This was a Sustained spell, unfortunately. Looked like it cost 100 MP to start, and drained 2 MP per second. That wasn’t too bad, honestly, for the effect. In addition to adding my STR to my attacks, I also added my INT+CHA to the attack.

For a normal warlock, that would make melee, which was a bad idea for casters, usually, into something viable. Most Warlocks didn’t have much STR, and definitely weren’t wearing heavy armor. Even if they used [Shadow Armor], they still wouldn’t have the same kind of defense, especially in the low levels, as a Knight would. So, it wasn’t that useful under normal conditions, except for times where the warlock was forced into melee.

I was not a normal warlock, and it showed. I charged the goblin at the entrance to the stairs, moving faster than any level 2 had a right to, thanks to my stats. The goblin reacted, raising its club with a vicious grin, only for that grin to turn into shock as I got close enough and slashed, my blade cleaving through the goblin’s neck.

As head and body fell to the ground separately, I deactivated [Spellblade]. The MP I used would regenerate quickly enough on its own, so I didn’t need to use Talia for that. Instead, I smiled nostalgically at the loot.

Defense under the System was simple enough to understand. It was your DEX, plus whatever armor you wore and skills or abilities you had. So, a Knight with 10 DEX and armor with +10 Defense could wear this charm and get a total of 25 Defense. It was a pittance, but at low levels, every little bit helped, especially when you were still trying to replace good gear.

Looking at my status quickly told me that my [Shadow Armor] was, essentially, adding 1100 points to my Defense. And I would reduce incoming damage by 1100 points as well. Furthermore, that was going to last until I either canceled it, or someone managed to do at least 2200 damage to me in a single attack. And, thanks to my skills, incoming damage was reduced by half. So, it would have to be an attack that would normally do 4400 damage to break my defense. Essentially, I was pretty much invincible until I found some much higher-level monsters.

Talia, however, was much more grounded. When I checked her stats, I saw that her Defense was sitting at 26. That was thanks to the Battledancer defensive abilities, one of which added her CHA to Defense, along with DEX. For a Level 2, however, that meant she was a very tanky lady, despite barely wearing any clothes, much less armor. Compared to me, though, she was incredibly vulnerable.

She gasped as I put the crude necklace around her neck. “Master, is this all right?” Well, it was a legitimate magic item, the first we’d come across. It was only natural that she was like that.

I silenced her protest with a kiss. “Yes, my pet. You are my lovely little investment. I won’t squander you. That trinket is better for you, anyways. My abilities far outstrip its utility.”

With that done, I opened the door to the basement. “You’ve gained enough battle experience for the moment, Talia. Now, you will witness my power. Focus entirely on defending, and I will clear out the goblins.”

“Dungeon?”

I looked back over my shoulder at Talia. “Like in fantasy games. Basically, an area which constantly spews monsters. This one is newborn, and weak. The goblins that spawned in this building claimed it already, however, so it is in the process of becoming a goblin dungeon. Once it finishes the process, the goblins will retreat, and spawn in the dungeon, for the most part.”

“So, what will you do, Master?”

“Slaughter the goblins, and take the dungeon core for myself, naturally. You see, even a newborn dungeon like this one is a precious natural resource. They’re a source of limitless resources, if you know what you’re doing. However, they’re usually in places that are either inconvenient to get to, or open to the public, making it troublesome to take control of them and properly harvest their resources unless you have a strong organization at your back. If you can capture them early enough, however, you can move them, before they become too established. Then, you simply replace a place that suits your needs, and let the dungeon grow, while you cultivate it to suit your needs.”

“This dungeon, and others like it, were seeded all around the world when the System activated, resting in places where mana pools. They attract monsters to them, which helps them overcome their initial helplessness. If we had waited until tomorrow, let alone a couple weeks from now, as happened last time, this dungeon would be far better defended, complete with traps and stronger monsters. Most of the dungeons that have been born won’t even be found for a couple months, at least, thanks to the fact that they formed in out of the way places. It won’t be until they figure out the first wards to guard against monsters spawning inside cities that people will really start diving into dungeons.”

“GHET! HDA, RADYA!”

At a yell from inside the room, four crude spears jabbed forward at me, attempting to skewer me just as I stepped out of the stairwell, and into the basement. That was little surprise, considering I hadn’t bothered lowering my voice, so the goblins clearly knew I was coming. Equally unsurprising was the way the spears just… stopped the moment they hit my body. Even if they had essentially gotten a free hit, due to my not resisting, not a one of them could actually damage me. The most they did was to poke holes in my shirt. I’d need to mend it later.

Looking over the enemies, I nodded appreciatively. This was about what I had expected. For Talia’s benefit, I said, “Twelve goblin warriors, all level five. A Shaman, also level five, and a level seven Named monster, probably the boss. All of them have been enhanced by the dungeon because they bound themselves to it. They can also fight without fear of death, since the dungeon will revive them, in time. In return, they are the dungeon’s creatures, down to their very souls. For normal people, this would be something level 2 adventurers simply couldn’t handle, unless there was a large group of them, and they were prepared to lose a significant number of their forces.”

I looked around again, and said, “You can see in the back, how the dungeon has begun expanding, and trying to dig and make additional rooms.” It was true. The basement area, which still had such things as the building utilities and the like running through it, had expanded towards the back wall, with a tunnel forming.

I was actually a bit impressed, really. Newly born, and it had already gotten its second room. Such a hard worker, this dungeon was!

Chief Viralx, a big, burly (for a goblin) warrior wearing actual leather armor and carrying a steel sword, did not seem too pleased that I was ignoring his presence. Pointing my way, the goblin roared in his crude tongue. Like a tide, the goblins charged forward.

I activated [Spellblade] again, and met them head on, a smile on my face. How many times had I thrown myself into battle in the old timeline? How many times had I put my life on the line, trusting in my steel and my allies? Now, I was alone, but I was more powerful than I had any right to be. These goblins could not touch me, and I knew it.

One by one, the goblins fell. Those who did not get their heads removed from their shoulders found their limbs severed, sending them sprawling to the ground, screaming in pain. Each time, their distress was soon ended by another swing of my blade, decapitating them.

The shaman tried to intervene as I danced through the goblins like a Shinigami, but I was not so green as to forget about the caster. With one hand, I blocked the incoming bolt of magic, backhanding it out of existence. In the same motion, I launched a [Blood Bolt] at the Shaman. Naturally, it hit, with the predictable results. After all, Goblin shamans typically had between six and ten CON at fifth level, due to the fact that they focused more on their magical skills (which also meant that they were significantly smarter than ‘normal’ goblins). At most, this one had 250 HP to begin with. My Blood Bolt had a base damage of 2xCHA, or 194 for me. But, because my target was living, it dealt an extra 50% damage, for a total of 291.

The result, as one might have expected, was a dead Shaman, who was currently missing a sizeable chunk of his torso, as there was a hole where his heart formerly was. Moments later, the goblin chief was the final one remaining. He roared in defiance, and charged me, sword held over its head, ready to defend the dungeon with his life. Not that he had any choice, due to the binding.

And then there were none.