Beta-d by SeerKing
Genesis 1.1
Being shot in the head was an odd experience. It was like everything had begun to fade away, being devoured by the darkness that sought to take her into its embrace.
Then with a sudden jolt it was gone, and Taylor found herself in what looked like a stone chamber, seated on a chair of some kind. Scattered along the walls were torches that burned with an azure flame illuminating the room in an azure glow.
Where was she? She had died when she was shot in the head and yet, here she was. She lifted her hand as she felt herself get a headache only to realize it's the very same one she lost. Yet there it was, clad in what felt and looked like silk gloves with black metal armor on her hands. The fingers ended in sharp bladed claws. Looking down, she realized the rest of her was clad in a very low cut dark black dress, though she guessed from the weight on her legs that underneath was more armor.
Just as she looked up, her mind froze as something became obvious.
The new weight on her chest wasn't there before. Who the hell gave her a boob job!? These things were massive compared to the (practically) nothing she'd had before. Slowly getting up, she began to stumble before catching herself. These things threw off her balance so damn much.
What happened to her? Her body was practically brand new and completely different. From the corner of her eye, she noticed that her hair was now crimson and weighed down on her head. Was she even human anymore?
Just as she was done thinking to herself a small holographic screen popped up in front of her.
It said… congratulations? What the hell was going on here? Sitting down on what she now realised was a throne, she pulled over the hologram as though it was solid and she made herself nice and comfy. This was gonna take her a while, she just knew it
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sighing, Taylor leaned back into her new throne and clutched her head, her brain pounding against her skull. A Demon Lord. 'Great. Just great. After risking my life and sanity to kill Scion, I'm rewarded by being turned into a Demon Lord.' Flicking her wrist, the screen changed into a mirror, so that she could see the other changes she'd undergone.
The overall length and waviness of her now crimson hair was a stark contrast to her old hair. Sprouting from her temples were two thick, solid, curved black horns, each split into two prongs.
Her figure had become one that reminded her of supermodels with soft, smooth skin to match. Yet beneath that were thick cords of muscle. She couldn't tell off hand how much stronger she was, but she could easily overpower her old self.
Deciding that she had spent enough looking at herself, she sat back in her chair, dismissing the mirror, and leaned on her fist, brow furrowed in thought.
She had died, and was chosen by the planet to become the Demon lord. The planet has been slowly worn down by the populace, slowly drained of its magic, resources and life force. The Demon Lord's job was to make a dungeon, which over time would generate life force and magic that the planet would utilize to restore itself. The side effect was that the various monsters that lived throughout the world would absorb the energies produced and grow stronger, numerous, and very violent. This made hunting down and destroying a dungeon the top priority for the natives when they are found or it becomes apparent one's active.
So, being chosen made her public enemy number one with a kill on sight. Really, nothing new, having come from a world where Kill Orders were already a thing.
'Though, at least I'm not going in totally blind. The dungeon seems to possess some sort of A.I., or the magical equivalent of it, and it is always ready to help me with what it can. So I might as well get started.' she thought
"Status." her voice was something that would be real weird to hear for a while; rich and velvety to the ears, with a tone that demanded one's attention and obedience. It was full of power that reverberated subtly through the air.
"Status." her voice was something that would be real weird to hear for a while; rich and velvety to the ears, with a tone that demanded ones attention and obedience. It was full of power that reverberated subtly through the air.
[Status – Self]
Human Name: Taylor Hebert
Demonic Name: ?
Title: Demon Lord of the End*
Race: Archdemon
It seems the only thing human about her would be her morals.
Tapping the Arch demon tag next to her race she was filled in on what that meant for her.
[Archdemon]
Archdemons are one of the highest ranked demons in the world, due their high magic and physical strength. They are a race rarely seen throughout the world and even the underworld. Their forms can vary immensely from bulky demonic creatures to ones that look like humans with horns. The varieties of appearances that Archdemons can take allow them to retain a form of anonymity and prevent their species from being hunted down.
Archdemons have the immense desire to be in control of their domains. Depending on their physical features and abilities they will use whatever they possess to exert control on or dominate those in their territory.
'Well that explained the horns.' she thought. Though the domination thing was what worried her. 'Will I become like Sophia? Bullying anyone until they were broken shells?' Shaking her head she cleared her mind of those thoughts. She'd think about them later
Though what bothered her was the asterisk by the end of the title.
Said title was ominous as it had several connotations, none of which were pleasant thoughts. But grabbing back her nerve she tapped it and wasn't disappointed.
[Title: Demon Lord of the End]
Titles are normally given as representations of the Demon Lords themselves and their abilities. For example a fire based Demon Lord would have a title like "Demon lord of Hellfire" or something tied to fire. They are also rarely acquired before the Lord progresses enough in the creation of the dungeon.
This Title isn't a representation of you as a Lord, but as the Last of the Demon Lords, should you be slain.
The last dozen of Lords have been slain shortly after they began and thus the planet has to exert more energy into making more to replace them. The planet is currently on its last legs. Should you fall the planet will die along with all life on it.
To be the hero you wanted to be, you must become the villain.
Sighing heavily Taylor leaned back and stared at the ceiling of her chamber idly counting the bricks that ran across the roof in a pointless attempt to distract herself. This was not what she expected. The last line was ringing through her head like a song on repeat.
To be a hero, you must be a villain.
Why couldn't anything be simple for her? Based on the wording and the title she couldn't play nice guy here. If she did they would keep coming back to kill her and the world would be over if she died.
This sucked.
She slapped herself hard and stood up. She was Skitter, the Warlord of Brockton Bay and Weaver of the Wards. She wouldn't roll over and die. She'd do what she always did and climb her way up the hard way. While a bit put off at the fact that she would have to fight off people aiming for her head, she'd find a way to avoid the worst of it. Taylor steeled herself as she recalled the numerous capes that had sacrificed as they tried to take down Scion; this would be no different. At least this time she had help getting started.
"Dungeon." With that one word she felt the air around her shift subtly, but noticeably as though the place itself had sat up and began paying attention. "Show me the area outside the dungeon." A holographic screen popped up in front of her and static filled it before it cleared up.
Outside the entrance to the dungeon was a thick Forest that stretched far beyond the limits of the dungeons sight, the only thing besides tress was the edge of a mountain. Not a single building was in sight so that brought a sense of calm. The closer the dungeon was to people the greater the risk.
So this allowed her potentially a lot of time to begin setting up the dungeon.
"What are the enemies I'll be facing in the future?" she asked.
[Enemies]
Adventurers: People that hunt monsters,gather various items, and other odd jobs for coin. They follow a ranking system to determine what jobs they can take and measure their strength. Consist of various types, from mages, rogues, knights and various others.
Soldiers: Common fighters that serve a kingdom and protect the territories. Rarely enter unless it's for a combined assault against the dungeon, or are unaware of it being a dungeon.
Cultists/Priests: Individuals that draw forth supernatural miracles via worship a deity or Demon.
Mages: Individuals that focus on the arcane as their main form of combat. Sensitive to magic, they can locate hidden dungeons by the magic they emanate.
Deities: Divine entities that rarely leave the heavens. They can bless their religious followers with Miracles related to their domain. I.E. A light god/goddess could grant their followers light or holy magic, which is incredibly effective against demons and the undead.
Demons: Creatures of the underworld they seek to cause chaos and further their desires
[Note]
Demons and Gods will try to kill you. Should a God catch you outside the dungeon they are almost guaranteed to smite you, and demons will seek to either kill or enslave you.
This listing only has the general information of threats. Collecting info on specific entities, classes or anything that you believe is a threat can be done and will be recorded in a special compendium for you to look through as a reference.
That's useful. While the lack of details was concerning it gave her a heads up on the culture of the world, or the most common one. A world set in the middle ages where gods and demons where real life things. The compendium is useful but only if she can get the info. Since gods can outright smite her if they become aware of her then she might as well not leave the dungeon.
"Dungeon, is there a way for me to gather information outside the dungeon without leaving?" almost immediately the screen shifted to a list of options
[Response]
Confirmed. However, Lord is unable to access at this time. Lord must become stronger before it is unlocked. Several other options are locked as well. Safety Protocol in place to prevent Lord's untimely termination. Several of predecessors spread their resources too thin and improperly managed domains.
That was fair. The dungeon seemed to have learned from the folly of the previous Lords and refused to let her fall into the same traps that they did.
Though thinking back to the various types of adventurers they all seemed to fill a role of sorts if she understood their jobs correctly. Mages fulfilled the role of Blasters with their spells and the Knights fulfilled the role of Brutes with all that armor. The rogues were the Strangers who used subterfuge to hinder an opponent. If in sync such a team could be an incredibly deadly combination that can take down all but the strongest opposition quite easily.
Pulling up a map of the dungeon, she was disappointed to see that there was nothing but a single room and a corridor, about 3 miles long. 'Disappointing but she could work with it'. Quickly switching over to the Dungeon's Status she took in the information.
[Dungeon - Status]
Name: Dungeon of the End*
Floors: 1
Rooms: 1
Room Limit: 1/16
Monsters: 0
Floor Guardians: 0
Traps: 0
Mana: 50/20
Mana Produced Daily: 5
Dungeon Points (DP) Available: 300
Daily DP Gained: 10
Mana to create Floor: 100
*Dungeon Name may be altered.
The status of the dungeon wasn't very comforting and the 50/20 on the mana didn't make sense to her.
This is the current form of the dungeon; while simple it has potential to grow much larger.
The MPD, and DDP can be increased by creating more rooms/corridors and Floors respectively. They represent the strength and how healthy the dungeon is. Compare it to the growing roots of a tree
Taylor wasn't sure it was a good comparison but the point was made; the bigger and deeper the dungeon got the more resources she received in return
Mana and Dungeon Points (DP) are the crystalized magic and life energy the dungeon produces. They signify the health of the dungeon by how much is made. Mana is spent on purchasing, upgrading, and various other features.
The more efficient method of gathering Mana and DP is killing or subduing intruders in the dungeon. Upon killing them you absorb the life energy of the person. Imprisoning them increases daily Mana gained and the stronger the person killed the more Mana you get in return.
DP is also gained from absorbing foreign objects and materials into the dungeon, such as the armor and possessions of adventurers. The dungeon is capable of learning and this growth is represented by the DP it gives back in return for objects that it has absorbed. It uses the resources it absorbs to unlock new features, such as upgrades to defenses and monsters, or aesthetic options.
There is a limit to the maximum amount of Mana one can hold at a time. Failure to keep below the limit will result in reabsorption of the Mana back into the planet, or Mana Poisoning. Special Rooms can increase the limit.
'So it's spend it, lose it, or get poisoned if I go over the Limit for Mana too long.' Flicking her wrist the screen changed to a list of rooms that can be made with current amount of mana. "Dungeon, what would you recommend as the first room to make?" she questioned. The dungeon clearly somehow had some experience, if its comments about the previous lords were more than just flavor text.
[Recommendation]
The first recommendation is to build the [Lord's Chambers]. This will be your place of rest.
Looking at the option she got it for twenty Mana and pressed the room on the map she was in. The dungeon rumble as it dug out a new room for her. While the dungeon got to work she looked over the options for the Monster Rooms. There were a myriad of shapes, from a simple rectangle to circles to even triangles.
Deciding that simple was best, she picked a point in the corridor and requested for a room to be made.
[Monster Room]
You have created your first room. You will now need to choose what type of monsters you wish to use. You will have access to only one race for now. You may also purchase additional races once you purchase your second, fifth, tenth, twenty-fifth, fiftieth, seventy-fifth and one hundredth floors. You can purchase races for five hundred Mana.
Since your dungeon is situated in a heavily forested area, you have been given the Beast race as your first one.
Please select what type of Beasts you wish to use on this floor.
- Wolves
- Bears
- Panthers
Once your Monster Race has been chosen, select the terrain.
- Cavern
- Swamp
- Collapsed City
Just as she was about to pick she noticed the word "Alt" in the bottom corner of the screen. Her curiosity piqued she tapped it and was given a completely new set of options.
[Monster Floor]
This is an alternate set up for the dungeon. Instead of having it be made room by room the entire floor becomes one massive room. The Throne Room, your bedroom and any other none dungeon related floors will be moved to their own floor below the lowest Dungeon one. This new floor will be counted as an extension to the previous floor.
The floor will be made to your specifications and design for only twenty Mana. But should you wish to remake the floor will cost one thousand Mana so choose carefully. You will also be locked to the same style of floor untill you build your sixth floor. But you will gain early access to any races you would unlock within the next five floors. In your case you will have access to your second and third races when starting floor one.
So this was a more open setting yet it's dependent on the creativity of the Lord. You are stuck with a theme for the next five floors as a penalty. She could create a massive maze with a large amount of monsters patrolling the areas or lead them in circles wearing them out.
"How many times has this option been used?"
[Response]
It has been used three times. The last one to use this was one hundred fifty sixth Demon lord.
"And what number am I?"
You are the six hundred and sixty sixth Demon Lord.
Wasn't that the number for Satan or something? Whatever, it didn't matter much to her, it was just a coincidence.
Now she had to choose. Pick the massive floor option or build the place room by room and corridor by corridor.
[Notice]
The dungeon is protected from discovery by adventurers by a barrier that will fade in 7 days.
Well this was of some comfort. She had to choose soon.
The rumbling that was present stopped and a pop up appeared in front of her.
[Achievements]
Congratulations. Achievements are the dungeons way of monitoring your progress and rewarding you for reaching goals it has set.
[Digging a Den]
"You have now dug you place to sleep, aren't you glad you don't have to sleep on that rocky throne?"
You have now unlocked the ability to create familiars.
Well that's gonna be useful. Putting the room out of her thoughts she focused on the pop up.
"What are Familiars?"
[Familiars]
Familiars are multipurpose servants created or contracted to mages.
Depending on the type of Familiar they will require certain needs, unlike monsters made in the dungeon, they need either food or magic energy depending on what type of familiar you possess.
So they weren't simple creatures she could send out and forget about. She actually had to care for them like Atlas. But the question was what type of Familiars was there?
There are three different types of familiars and roles.
'Apparently it can predict me or read my mind.'
They are Contracted, Summoned, and Constructed.
The first are monsters that wander into the dungeon that you can contract with. In return for serving you, they get food and a place to return to. They will serve you so long as you treat them fairly. Failure to do so can risk the dungeon should they leave and decide to serve another mage.
The Summoned are monsters, spirits, and ECT that live throughout the world. The ritual summons one that suits your needs as well
Created are simple creatures made through a ritual. They are split into two types, Stitched and Constructed. Stitched are familiars made by combining several materials and monster parts to create a custom familiar, they require food, a place to rest, and care. Constructed are usually golems and require magic to repair and function.
The Stitched cost more to make compared to Constructed but are far more durable as a tradeoff.
So Contracted ones were the equivalent of mercenaries but would leave if treated like crap. While the Summoned were like pets and the Created were like robots or hybrid Creatures like Atlas.
"What are the roles you mentioned?"
The roles are the class that they fall under. They are Scouting, Hunting, and Harvesting class Familiars. The jobs they can perform are self-explanatory and only require you to give them goal or a target to act. Depending on the species one may fall under multiple roles.
Well now. This might be the break she needed. While she had no idea on what she'd need to harvest or hunt right now, a scouting one can be incredibly useful to her. She's blind as a bat right now without any knowledge of the surrounding territories other than what the dungeon could show her.
Even then she could only see the tops of trees so anyone sneaking around could do so unnoticed until they entered the dungeon.
"How do I summon Familiars and can I choose what type I want?" This was something she had to consider; if the type process was random she had the potential to waste resources trying to get the right familiar if her luck was that bad.
To summon a familiar you must use a magic summon circle and recite a chant. The chant varies depending on what you are creating and it comes to you as you perform it. So there's no way to target a breed of familiar if you have preferences on what you like. You must choose what role you wish the familiar to be before you actually summon it. A magic circle shall be provided for you for the first three familiars you create. It's recommended that you use one circle for each role.
You can create a room that functions as a summoning and a room for your familiars after summoning your first one.
So she has three shots to make them before the dungeon forces her to make the room.
"Do so." Getting up from her throne she strode her way down the dais it was on to the glowing magic circle in the center of the chamber.
It was about three feet wide with several rings with text circling the edges. Inside were larger symbols and two smaller circles with different texts.
With her arm out and her palm facing she spoke.
"By my will I call you forth. You will serve as my eyes in this world, the one to hear the lost whispers and the fangs that devour the thieves of the dead and send their souls to the afterlife. Come forth!" Power reverberated through the air as she spoke and light gathered at the center of the circle in a blinding ball of light. It turned black and exploded in a burst of shadows along with the haunting howl that followed in its wake.
Once the shadows cleared all that remained was a large black dog with a long wispy tail, shaggy fur, and red eyes.
Sitting down he stared at her or a while and she was happy to reciprocate it.
Deciding to take the plunge she walked forward and once she was within a few feet she knelt down to get eye level with the dog. "My name is Taylor, I have summoned you to be my familiar. Will you accept?" she asked with her hand offered to it.
The silence was deafening as the dog stared at her hand and at her face repeatedly
[Apologies]
It was forgotten in the explanation that should the summon work then the familiar has agreed to the contract already. They do require a new name, for this is what binds them to you.
...that would have been useful to know at the beginning.
"So you need a name eh?" standing up she was greeted at the sight of it nodding. So this meant it was a lot smarter than it looked. "Ruth. Ruth shall be your name." With that a glow surrounded him that faded immediately after.
Sitting up Ruth trotted over to her and nudged her hand most likely wanting to be petted, which she obliged quite easily.
"I always wanted a dog" she said kneeling down to pet him some more. After a little petting she figured that was enough she stood up.
"All right Ruth, I have a job for you." His eyes were pinned to her as he soaked in every word, "I need you to explore the area outside the dungeon, I have no lay of the land and need you to explore for me. Can you do that?"
All she got was a loud bark and he vanished into shadows. 'That gonna be incredibly useful.'
But now that she no longer distracted it was time to decide, make Floors or Rooms?
AN: hello people and here's my interpretation on SeerKing's one-shot/mini-series Demon Lord of the Swarm in his one-shot collection fic. A bit of an info dump in this ch I guess but for the beginning of these dungeon fics I guess that's a standard
I'm iffy on what I want to do regarding the dungeon building. On one hand is the standard room by room the other is the Overlord anime/LN series set up aka the big ass map. I'm leaning to the floor idea myself since I want a big ass map instead of the stereotypical dungeon crawler set up. I want the freedom to have the adventurers go about it in ways that could be unique to how I craft the members of the "party" to behave and act. Like some will charge straight in like meat heads only to die, or the smart clever ones will explore the areas and locate shortcuts through the floor to avoid the main hazards.
This is mainly to avoid the rehashing of just they made it through floor 1, 2, etc. I can slowly build the exploration from the party members' viewpoints for different groups in a way they are their own mini stories within the story. I will probably have to do a skip every now and again but at least I can mix it up a notch.
Also props if you know where Ruth is inspired from.
EDIT 10/14/18: Swapped the bolded text for underline. hopefully people like it better than before