*Core*

  I had a decent idea of how I would handle the goblins when they reached the second floor. The staircase from the first floor to the second floor would serve as a chokepoint that could be held by some of my new heavy melee creations and bombarded by liches from the back line. Even though they are individually weaker than Ajax, collectively I cannot see how the goblins would be able to force their way through that setup.

  I certainly had the resources to spare, and I had not explored all the options that had been unlocked yet. Though having noted that, I was still concerned with how things would look and work after this siege. Do I really have the leeway to think like that? Probably not, but I will chalk it up to the changes in my mental state after having become a dungeon core.

  The dozen spectral warriors I placed at first I divided into four separate ‘traps’ to make use of the respawn bonuses and to each of those I added one lesser lich. Leaving aside the current siege, this would be the first line of defense for the second floor under more normal circumstances. To supplement the front line, which was arguably the most important aspect of the defence, I chose to place one of the new monsters available to me. Gigantic humanoid freaks that could only be described of as Doctor Frankenstein’s Monster after getting into bodybuilding, steroid abuse and botched plastic surgery.

  Which is to say, I created [Flesh Golems].

  Incidentally, flesh golems were not eligible to be added to the traps like the skeletal and spirit type undead- and I quickly ran into issues I had not yet noticed because of my constant use of traps. See, flesh golems are stupid. No, that is not correct, they are not intelligent enough to be described as stupid, it would be better to say that they are a bit below the level of a regular skeleton. As a result, at first I was unable to get the golems to remain by the stairway- they tried to wander off around the second floor.

  Fortunately, but disturbingly for me, Susan was able to provide a solution. While I was unable to directly command the golems, with her class, she was able to do so. I have to admit that it is especially concerning to realize that she not only can usurp my authority in my own dungeon- she actually is able to exercise that authority better than me!

  The four lesser liches I created after the golems- an additional four besides the ones attached to the traps with the spectral warriors- I could simply talk to and they understood my orders without me having to rely on Susan, but they could not command the flesh golems. Sima, my unique lich might be able to, but otherwise I would need a [Greater Lich] or equivalent to serve as a liaison between me and the lesser undead that were incapable of rational thought.

  Something that did pique my interest, however, was that in addition to being able to use necromantic spells to provide limited healing to the golems, the [Lesser Liches] had some rudimentary knowledge on how to create the things. I was limited to a certain amount per floor, apparently based on both the floor depth and the floor theme, but if my liches could create them, and Sima command them…

  I would not only be able to exceed that limit, as my number of advanced undead increased, I would have access to a very strong and durable army that would normally be impossible for me to obtain. The goblins were certainly providing enough bodies to do some experiments, and my instincts told me that there was something to exploit in this- perhaps a lot of things to exploit.

  Just off the top of my head, I could think of a few experiments that I would definitely have to perform later. Flesh golems did have skeletons and then they had musculature and other parts of its body added, so what would happen if a spectral warrior was used as the base? Or what about a lich? Honestly, I am quite excited to give those a try- and that is only scratching the surface of the ideas I was starting to have.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  With those pleasant thoughts going through my head, I put traps with [skeleton archers] on top of nearby houses. Later, I would likely be well served to place such groups throughout the floor just in case. Inside the houses below the archers, I placed [fire spirits] to give any goblin that made it through and thought to start looting a nasty surprise. After a moment's thought, I placed a couple of those traps at the base of the stairs too. Every time the spirits would respawn, they would disrupt any attempt to organize the goblin forces attacking the defensive undead.

  Where some goblin might reasonably try to climb up the houses or bypass the main road towards the palace I placed a few more mundane traps. Simple pressure plates that would trigger poison darts to fly out from nearby walls, but I was unsure how effective they would be. Well, preferably they would never be used.

  If push comes to shove, Susan could back up the front lines with her bard songs and Hailey could provide provision sniping from the rooftops with the skeletal archers. And, if absolutely necessary, I created similar defences at the palace entrance- those defences would be spearheaded by Sima and so were even more potent.

  In short, it would take an incredible amount of effort for the goblins to break through the first defensive line- and all it would gain them is a city full of undead dedicated to harassing them followed by a palace with even sturdier defenses.

  For that matter, they could only overwhelm the first floor defences as much as they had because of the weight of their numbers. And as those numbers died they provided the resources that I was using to harden my defenses further. Undead do not tire, dungeon monsters respawn, and having reached this point I was certain I could endure the horde far more easily than I had initially thought.

  And the first thought that comes to my mind is that I am quite glad I did not choose goblins to begin with!

  “Hey Core, how are things going on your end?” Susan asked me, having been looking over the formations after she had arrived to give orders to the golems. She sounded a bit worried when she continued, “How would you describe our chances of surviving this?”

  “To the first question, things are going well- as is only expected given the amount of resources the goblins are so kindly donating.” I reply jokingly, feeling quite good despite the squatters that Susan is letting live here now. “As for the second question, due to those same ‘donations’ I believe our chances are quite good. The goal is not to kill all the goblins, but make them feel like this dungeon is too much trouble to be worth the blood they would spend, after all.”

  Both Susan and I straightened suddenly as we both received what could only be described as a ‘notification.’ The goblins had managed to fight their way to the final Ajax and when I went to take a look, I could not help but wonder if that would be as far as they would go. This Ajax was killing these armored goblins as easy as the first Ajax had killed the regular ones! In fact, he was performing better than what I would have expected from a Spectral Warrior type Floor Boss. Could this be a result of my giving him a name?

  Ajax’s incredible defense shrugged off both the blades of the warrior goblins and the spells of the goblin shamans! In particular, Ajax’s excellent use of his shield even while heavily outnumbered meant that it was rare for a blow to even hit his body- much less pierce the magical defenses that were imbued into his very bones.

  As I went to check on the rest of the first floor, I realise they had not even killed all of the Ajax’s before the last. The second to last one was still standing firm as well, some of the goblins had just slipped past while it was busy skewering their friends. Seeing this, I cannot help but think I owe Susan an apology. I vastly overestimated the threat that faced us.

  At least, that is what I thought as I traced my way to the dungeon entrance, and witnessed a gigantic creature that rivaled the flesh golems in ugliness enter the dungeon. It seems the goblins brought an [ogre] with them, and seeing it smash one of the armored goblins into a pancake with one strike just because it was in the larger creatures way- I was not so sure about my previous confidence anymore.

  AN: I have other stories! You can click on the buttons below to read more about them- or if you are desperate to read further ahead in this story, you can go to where Patrons are able to read chapters early (and get access to other interesting things like Character Biographies!)

  Note: Only the three primary stories have chapters available ahead of time on Patreon. This has to do with the layout of the Patreon website, and I do hope to have the four secondary stories chapters available to read early at some point in the future.

  Primary Stories:

  After spending nearly three decades of his life in school, Lucas has a doctorate in genetics and virology- and has just gotten a loan to start his own genetics company. Unfortunately for him, as he walks out of the bank he is summoned into a world of demons and magic where he has to rely on his vast wealth of biology knowledge to help humanity survive as its Hero.

  Releases: Sunday

  So I died and I met a god. Apparently, but oddly, I was a good enough person to qualify for reincarnation. Honestly, I did not think of myself as a ‘good’ person, but I was not about to argue the point. Resurrected as a Dungeon Core, I have no intention to remain as such. I will find a way to exploit this system, regain my body, and take all the powers of a Core with me when I do! But first I need to be strong enough to survive this new world.

  Releases: Friday

  Cass was an orphan on the streets of the Haj Empire’s capital city, but there is always something worse out there. After being arrested for attempted theft, Cass finds herself a slave and test subject for a magical experiment- the results of which get inked into her very flesh! Her unlikely survival puts thrusts this former orphan, now slave, into the middle of court politics as she harnesses her new power, learns magic, and desperately struggles to retain her sanity in the face of brutal and sadistic masters. Join Cass in her adventures through the dark world of Mystic Ink!

  [Content Warning: This story contains frequent depictions of cruelty including torture and rape. Some of these scenes may be disturbing to some readers, and reader discretion is advised.]

  Releases: Saturday and Sunday

  Secondary Stories:

  In the future, as governments around the world imploded one by one, incredible megacorporations seized power. Very few countries remain, and the ones that do have all lost the majority of their territory. The United States has been shrunk down to the original thirteen colonies, and the former territory is now the domain of various corporations. Freedom and Justice have been replaced with Business and Profits, and even with most of the world in their grasp, these companies hunger for yet more. Standing between those companies and the last of the States is R.A.D.E. Recon, Assault, Demolition, and Espionage- a special operations team whose ‘average work day’ is maximally deniable covert missions to buy the free world another week of freedom!

  Releases: Thursday

  Set in an alternate history Roman Empire, “Pathos” tells the story of Marius, son of the Governor of Germania Inferior in a world where one’s very emotions seep into the air around them. Where people travel and gather, those sleeping emotions form an “emotional atmosphere,” that can in turn affect the emotions of those living within it or be used as a source of power for magic and spellcraft! When Marius’s father leaves for a meeting in Rome, Marius is left in charge of the province as troubles come one after another. Marius must balance Imperial politics with the local relations, develop the land and guide it to prosperity, manage the emotional atmosphere of the province, guard the far flung borders of the Empire, and somehow survive storm that is now bearing down on top of him!

  Releases: Wednesday

  The steam engine was recently invented, and after that a plethora of steam based machinery and technology were created in this alternate history, steampunk, story. This new technology changed the world, making formerly labor intensive tasks simple through the power of steam and coal. Factories made use of automata to push production to new heights and travel became easy and affordable as steam powered machines took to the streets and seas. It was easy to forget those left behind as the world shifted, as steel replaced muscle for labor, many people found themselves without work- including the parents of Mary, one of the protagonists of the story. The other protagonist, Alan, is the son of a plant manager who oversaw the factory where Mary’s father worked. Their parents had been friends for years, and so had Alan and Mary- so when the orders came down from above, and Mary’s father lost his job- Mary was invited to come and live with Alan and his family. Thus starts a slice-of-life romance in the shadow of a great social upheaval as the city of London struggles with the consequences of explosive progress.

  Releases: Tuesday

  It is well known that most of the governments in the world could not manage a paper bag without multiple scandals and billions in waste- but the reality is that they are not even capable of doing that much. Politicians, not caring for anything but their reelection and unwilling to take action to solve an issue because they might have to actually take a position, are useless. Crime, poverty, mismanagement- the justice systems are overworked at best, overwhelmed at worst, and biased against many as a rule, government agencies have more red tape than actual paper, the military overspends on even basic tools nearly a hundred times what they are worth, and some people have had enough. Kevin Sterling is the megarich CEO behind one of the greatest internet companies in existence, and through various methods and strings controls many other well known and powerful tech companies. His peers are the shadowy leaders behind some of the largest companies in nearly every key industry throughout every country on the planet. With the world in chaos, these men and women are meeting with the agenda being to solve the world’s problems. Where the governments of the world fail and failed, they will succeed- they are the Illuminati, and they are the heroes that will save the world. Join Kevin as he manipulates, schemes, and manipulates the world to save it!

  Releases: Monday

  All releases are at 5pm UTC.

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