Dungeon Core Online 28 Chapter 28

"Come on, you're so close." Rue's voice was distant, and it took James a minute to focus on her. The days had come and gone, and they were nearing the end of the seventh day of the adventurers being in the dungeon. That meant, counting his initial 24 hours in during his 'tutorial' James was nearing his 200-hour mark, and the completion of Sleep is For the Weak. He glanced weakly at his character sheet, his eye struggling to stay open. The 10000xp reward from the achievement would put him into Tier 2. He just needed to stay awake a little longer.

"This is h.e.l.l." He grumbled as he shook his...o...b.. trying to wake himself. Whoever designed this achievement, was a jerk. James had marathoned games before in immersion, but he was usually constantly doing things. As much as he was fascinated with his role of being a dungeon core, there was only so much amus.e.m.e.nt to be had, meaning there was a lot of down time.

"Will this help?" Rue waved a hand, and a large mug of coffee appeared in front of him. He could literally see the steam rising from it, and ironically, there was a little eye formed on the top out of cream. It was a kind gesture, and he really could use a caffeine boost right about now, there was only one problem.

"And how am I supposed to drink that?" He wasn't sure if the AI was purposefully messing with him, or if her character hadn't thought of that fact. The pixie shrugged, and took the coffee in her hands, gingerly taking a sip.

"Well, if you're not going to have it, I will." She had bags under her eyes, as she had spent the last two days awake with him, at his request. If it wasn't for her company, he would have failed the achievement on the sixth day. His willpower was wavering.

"You do that." James was browsing slowly through his tabs, trying to push past the mental fog hanging over him. Had he done everything he could? Was he maximizing his resources and time?

"Ah c.r.a.p."

"What is it?" Rue glanced over his shoulder, her cute form pressing close to him. For a second, he felt the drowsiness lift, though another fog quickly fought to take over.

"I forgot to start another research project." He had been so good about starting brand new research the moment another finished. Mainly because he knew ever little second counted, and because he was interested in what research would unlock next. So far, he had 2 levels in Enhanced Research, 2 levels in Loot, 2 levels in traps, 2 levels in mobs, and 2 levels in boss research. After James had finished his first level of mob research, he had chosen to wait 24 hours for a 2nd level in Enhanced research, utilizing that 2% decrease to research times to speed his progress a little. It seemed every time he reached a new level in research, the amount of time required doubled. Any and every reduction in time would be helpful.

His last research had been his boss mob level 2 research, and it ended roughly 10 hours ago. He had just wasted 10 hours of research time. Ugh.

"Well, at least you caught it now. What are you going to research next?" Rue was being unusually kind right now, and James was certain it was because the AI could tell he was nearing his limit. He a.s.sumed messing with someone that was sleep deprived wasn't as amusing for the pixie as when she was picking on him when he was rested.

"Hmmm." James read blearily over the options, before decided to pump another level into Enhanced research. It would take a little over 47 hours for that research, but it would be worth it. In fact, James made a mental note, which was probably his fifth or sixth page of mental notes, to just research enhanced research up to level 5, before working on the others. Time was of the essence after all.

"I'll do another Enh" A yawn broke out, and he fought to stifle it "nced research again." He made the choice and closed the window, just as a flashing light from his instance tab caught his attention.

"They're back." James felt a little more energy rush into his form, as he pulled up the instance tab. Sure enough, a party of five had just walked in, all comically wearing an entire set of demonic farmer gear. The Knights of Ni had returned for one last dive.

"Going to place another bet?" Rue rubbed her hands together greedily as the group walked in, and James had to grin. His pixie was insatiable, she had a larger gambling problem than he felt he did, and he was a gamer.

"What is it this time?" They had been placing bets every time the group came in, and James had a feeling Rue was taking advantage of his sleep deprived state to make as many resources as she could. So far, she had won over 100 resources off him, and he had only won 20.

"100 resources," Rue eyed the group, almost inspecting them, before she grinned. "I bet they make a comment about a holy weapon. Perhaps a grenade." Her eyes were sparkling, energy flowing into her. He wasn't sure if she was excited about the group, or the caffeine was taking effect.

"Deal." James had no idea what she was referencing, but there was no way that would come up. He was really looking forward to an easy 100 resources. It would help him touch up his floor even more. The floor was really coming along, though he knew it would still be a while before it was perfected. Through various achievements, he had earned a lot of resources, enabling him to put up various small structures, enlarge his corn and wheat fields, and even implement a resource storage unit, which looked like a grain silo, next to his barn. As a Tier 1, Rank 9 Dungeon, with one storage unit, he could now hold 2000 resources. He had a little over 100 left currently and was sure with the extra 100 he won from Rue, he could finally add in the tractor he wanted to for aesthetic purposes. 200 resources for a big green tractor.

"You're going to have to wait a little longer on your tractor." Rue was laughing as they both turned their focus on Z's group, who were casually walking through the dungeon, apparently unworried about his mobs, as they should be. His mobs were level 9, and he had upgraded them to be quite fierce. However, Z's group were all level 12, and the full set of demonic farmer gear gave them a 50% increase in damage to demonic farm animals, and a 50% damage reduction from them.

With a complete set, they also gained a buff strikingly similar to birds of a feather, meaning the group was currently buffing themselves quite nicely. James had decreased the drop rate of the set pieces when he realized how strong the full set could be, but Z's group had the money to buy pieces from other players.

Many parties still struggled against them, and he was gaining a steady stream of experience. The third day, the number of players trying to enter his dungeon greatly increased, so a lot of people's leveling seemed to slow. However, Z's group was always entering as soon as they could, and James had noticed they appeared to be paying other players to jump in the line that had formed for players waiting to enter the dungeon. It seemed Z and the others knew money talked, and that a lot of the casuals were more than willing to give up their chance in the dungeon for easy money.

James had overhead from a few groups that there was already a full-blown gambling hall in town, as well as quite the fast-growing skills market. One of the hottest commodities was apparently a whiskey player made from his demonic wheat, they were calling it fireball whiskey, and it seemed people were paying v coin to get their hands on the demonic wheat.

"Alright guys, one more time, and we should hit level 13." Z was addressing the group as they headed through the floor, easily cutting down mobs. At level 10, the group had gained new skills, and Z and Elm were able to launch up to three arrows at a time now. On top of that, Faust had seemed to gain an ability that allowed him to have magic missiles float around him, seeking enemies on their own whenever they got too close.

"Not bad for the first night of immersion." Oak chuckled as a sacrificial lamb detonated, creating a chain reaction that destroyed all the d.i.c.kens around it. James had upgraded his lambs even more, so there were even more explosions per sacrificial lamb death. There was also delayed explosions, so that healers could get caught unsuspecting as they went to heal their friends.

"My lambs are so baaaaaaaad." James chuckled tiredly to himself as he saw the second set of explosions go off.

"You're getting delusional from a lack of sleep." Rue was shaking her head as the group continued, their eyes set on Old Man Jenkins. The boss now stood 12 foot in height, and his horns curled out in an impressive, terrifying manor. His pitchfork had also been upgraded, with the p.r.o.ngs having barbs now, and a constant ring of flames around them.

"Oy, you ready for a good spanking?" Oak called out to Old Man Jenkins, and the boss turned, eyes narrowing. A set of wings sprouted from behind his shoulders, spreading wide. James had been having a lot of fun upgrading his boss.

"I didn't know you swung that way Oak. You know what comes after the spanking." Z had his arrows knocked, though he and Elm were both moving far away from Oak. The warrior broke out in laughter, as he raised his shield, a new shield he had gotten at level 10 that gave him +10 to his defense.

"Eh, I'm tired man. My jokes are getting a bit stale."

"We're all getting tired." Med Ic had his hand around his neck, where a simple holy charm sat. It seemed people in town had begun utilizing d.i.c.ken claws to create voodoo-esq charms. Apparently, they could work as holy charms for priests and clerics, who knew.

"Well, you guys knew we would be going full force in the game. Can't stay on top if we rest. Sleep is for the weak after all." James groaned at Z's statement, along with the rest of the group.

"You're lucky we've made enough that we don't have to work in the real world, otherwise this would really suck." The group was all nodding. "I'm just going to pa.s.s out all day man. I feel sorry for anyone that has work or school when they wake up."

"Me too." James grumbled. He was going to have such a hard time at school when he woke. Hopefully he could keep himself awake checking out the reddit on the game. He was interested in seeing what players thought of the first night of the game. He also still had to look up Monty Python.

"How much time do they have?" James was watching as the group prepared to face off against Old Man Jenkins. Thanks to his upgrades, his boss was a lot more formidable, which made sense considering he was level 14. With the boss mob research boosting his stats by 2%, and James upgrade points, Old Man Jenkins had a bunch of new abilities, and greatly increased stats.

"Ten minutes till the seventh day ends, and the adventurers will be returned to their respective areas for the last hour of immersion." Rue had informed James that DCO would not allow adventurers to take part during the first and last hour of immersion, meaning they were limited to 7 of their 9 hours of immersion in the game. This way, players that got on late, or got up early, wouldn't miss out. It also allowed for players to wrap up anything they needed to in immersion, as well as decompress, relax, and prepare for the next day. It also allowed the dungeon core to work on the dungeon without any players fighting mobs or being instanced. James could appreciate that, though he was certain he was going to use the next 24 hours to sleep. He was exhausted.

"They should be able to get this." The last time they fought against Old Man Jenkins, the group had actually wipe, giving James a huge boost in experience. They had fought him near the corn field and missed a group of d.i.c.kens and swiners as they approached the group. Mid fight the swiners had rushed towards the group, and in the confusion, the d.i.c.kens had taken flight. They dropped their gren-eggs, which James had upgraded to have a poisonous cloud effect to them, onto the group, leaving behind a green cloud. That cloud, James had found, combined with the swiner debuff, quickly weakening the group and resulting in their death. It had also earned James an Achievement called Green Eggs and Ham. The developers probably though they were so funny.

"Alright, well let's see how they do."