With the dungeon largely done, all that was left to do was actually open it (formally, this time). It was a relatively easy thing to do–I merely cleared out the rock and debris clogging the collapsed stairwell in the top room. Although making a grand entrance seemed like a fun idea, I didn’t want to go further into my mana reserves, so I planned to leave the entrance from the ground as it was. However, I realized that if it rained, water would drain into my dungeon and cause problems. To forestall this, I made a stone mound that covered the stairs so they had a roof and a proper entrance. It looked sort of like a bald underground root cellar. Overall, it wasn’t going to win any architecture awards, but it was . . . something.
I wished I could say this was the part of the story where someone–preferably a nice fat weakling–enters my dungeon shortly after its opening. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen so I took some time to review my gains.
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 28.664%" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 99.7675%; text-align: center" colspan="2">Necromancer''s Gorge Dungeon</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 49.8838%; text-align: center">Level</td>
<td style="width: 49.8838%">1</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 49.8838%; text-align: center">Demesne Points</td>
<td style="width: 49.8838%">0</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 49.8838%; text-align: center">Mana</td>
<td style="width: 49.8838%; text-align: center">3/100</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 49.8838%; text-align: center">Supp. Mana</td>
<td style="width: 49.8838%; text-align: center">0/10 (Vestigial Propulsion)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 49.8838%; text-align: center">Mana Regen</td>
<td style="width: 49.8838%; text-align: center">6/day</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 99.7675%; text-align: center" colspan="2">Traits</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 49.8838%; text-align: center">Outworlder</td>
<td style="width: 49.8838%; text-align: center">Inchoate</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 99.7675%; text-align: center" colspan="2">Skills</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 49.8838%; text-align: center">Absorption</td>
<td style="width: 49.8838%; text-align: center">3</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 49.8838%; text-align: center">Demesne</td>
<td style="width: 49.8838%; text-align: center">5</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 49.8838%; text-align: center">Demesne Interface</td>
<td style="width: 49.8838%; text-align: center">5</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 49.8838%; text-align: center">Landscape</td>
<td style="width: 49.8838%; text-align: center">4</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 49.8838%; text-align: center">Sigilmancy</td>
<td style="width: 49.8838%; text-align: center">1</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 49.8838%; text-align: center">Tenebrous Portal</td>
<td style="width: 49.8838%; text-align: center">1</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 49.8838%; text-align: center">Trap Creation</td>
<td style="width: 49.8838%; text-align: center">4</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 49.8838%; text-align: center">Vestigial Propulsion</td>
<td style="width: 49.8838%; text-align: center">2</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Building out my dungeon had netted me four skill-ups: a level each in Interface and Landscape, and two levels in Trap Creation.
For Demesne Interface, I had gained the level when I forced the system to clarify that Essence was the missing component. I just now realized how much of a revelation that was, not just the specific information that I learned about, but the deeper understanding of the skill Demesne Interface itself. Interface was not just about information, notifications, status, and tables, it was the–THE!--very means by which I interacted with the world. The ability to manipulate my interface was also the ability to manipulate how I interfaced with reality.
In addition, it seemed that the higher my level in the skill, the more the system let me direct and shape, well just about everything. The fact that I was able to push the system to give me the information about Essence lent credence to the fact that this happened because the skill itself was higher leveled (in other words, the system would have ignored me if this had happened at skill level 1). Pushing Interface to a higher level was simply a must.
Landscape had also bumped up only a single level, which was surprising considering how much I used it to build my dungeon. In fact, I only received that level when I made the light-reducing black moss. Still, the skill was a core skill and it was very versatile, so it would surely level up naturally as I did more things.
Finally, I got two levels in Trap Creation. The skill, a mere byproduct of other things I was doing, has quickly become a favorite. Amazingly intuitive and flexible, the skill screams “yes you can!” when other skills or mechanics of the system say “no” or are rigidly silent. Trap design just worked, no need for prior or detailed knowledge, and gave me exactly what I wanted. Not only that, but Interface just synergized with it so well. I was able to create and incorporate little scripts for different trigger conditions, and that just hinted at so much more I could so, so, much more with this combination.
Well, in these types of stories, someone, whether a person or an animal or a monster–always weak–would wander into the dungeon shortly after the doors were opened. However, even after a few hours of being opened, nobody had come so . . . This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Sigilmancy.
The description of the skill implied it was another important resource, something with many different uses. It was time to start learning how it worked. Once again, the system gave me no instructions. However, I knew that sigils related to this “Demesne Warden,” seeing as I got them at the same time. I also knew that that was a type of unit, so sigils probably had something to do with units.
I picked one of my skeleton fighters and re-inspected it.
And there was an explosion of light and color.
Extending out of the skeleton was a brightly glowing swirl of lights and colors that looked much like an artist’s interpretation of a galaxy. The center of the galaxy was a dense sphere of intersecting swirls, whorls, lines, and dots. It looked like it was constructed of overlapping three-dimensional runes so thickly that they seemed inexorably intertwined. Extending out from that in all directions was a flat disk, made of much the same patterns. However, where the center was so dense as to be almost solid, the disk had three circles that were empty. Each of these was located in a cardinal direction from the center. The fourth direction had another set of lines, swirls, and lights embedded therein. It looked like someone had inserted a magical coin into the slot.
It was beautiful.
And also a bit incomprehensible.
I spent some time trying to suss out what the sigils were supposed to be, but best I could guess was this was mana given shape and form and “imbued” into the Skeleton Fighter. The complexity was unbelievably high, but even though I could make out some small patterns of lines or swirls that seemed meaningful, I was unable to interpret any meaning. I wasn’t upset by this though, because I thought up a probably solution. If this was a manifestation of the system in a unit, that meant this magical array–the sigil array, perhaps–was showing the traits, powers, skills, and such of the unit. All I needed to do was to get the system to interpret the data for me–enter Demesne Interface.
So I made an Interface overlay on the sigil array, giving the form of an improved status screen that had the whole and the parts. With a mental push it set into the sigil array and it locked into place as the system accepted it.
I inspected the skeleton again and this time a proper status screen showed up near the glowing array.
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 30.1298%" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 27.097%; background-color: rgba(126, 140, 141, 1); text-align: center"> </td>
<td style="width: 40.674%; text-align: center">[Empty]</td>
<td style="width: 32.259%; background-color: rgba(126, 140, 141, 1); text-align: center"> </td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align: center">
<td style="width: 27.097%; text-align: center">[Empty]</td>
<td style="width: 40.674%">
Undead Skeleton Fighter (Level 2)
</td>
<td style="width: 32.259%">[Bone Bash]</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 27.097%; background-color: rgba(126, 140, 141, 1); text-align: center"> </td>
<td style="width: 40.674%; text-align: center">[Empty]</td>
<td style="width: 32.259%; background-color: rgba(126, 140, 141, 1); text-align: center"> </td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 17.345%" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 100%">Demesne Interface 6 obtained. </td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
The Interface now made manifest what the sigil array was. The sphere at the center contained the core of the monster unit, the archetype, template, unit type, level, and all the mechanics for it to work. The disk seemed to be the area where skills could be added in. The Skeleton Fighter had three empty skill slots and one skill slot filled. The system even gave me a name for the skill: “Bone Bash.”
I tried to inspect Bone Bash to get more information, but it didn’t work. I pushed at the system but it didn’t give up anything. Then I realized it couldn’t give up anything–I hadn’t set up the interface to give detailed information. So, I made a new status screen of the skill, and then linked that to the Skeleton’s status screen.
Bone Bash - Make an empowered strike against the bones of the target.
The description wasn’t particularly insightful–there was no specifics on mechanics, damage type, damage amount, or anything else. However, I suspected that the word ‘empowered’ was meaningful and started a note to keep track of what I learned about it.
With Skeleton Fighter reviewed, I went and performed a similar check on the wandering spiders. They also had an array, but it was only a smaller sphere shape with no disk or holes. It seemed this meant that fauna did not have system-given skills (even though the spiders were categorized as “poisonous,” that variation must be innate to the spiders).
Finally, I checked the moss. The bioluminescent moss had an even smaller sphere of lights as its sigil array, albeit there was a nub that extended just a bit off of one side. When I looked at the black moss, its sigil array was noticeably different. The sphere was the same size, but the nub was gone; instead, on another side there was a long drawn-out flare that looked like someone had stretched a part of the array out like putty. In this spike, there were more lines, whirls, and dots that likely made up the black moss’ ability to absorb light. Unfortunately, trying to translate the two different protrusions through Interface didn’t work (likely due to my low Sigilmancy skill level, the fact that they are system-given skills, or both).
In any event, I continued to try to experiment with Interface, plan future expansions and improvements, and let my mana recharge while I waited for my first vi–visitor.
On the eighth day, a creature finally entered my dungeon.