Chapter 72

Points Yes, Level No

It had been almost 100 years since we started this dungeon farming escapade. Over the years we had collected on average 30 dungeons worth of material each year. In the beginning the number was much higher, but as time wore on it was hard to keep motivated. We slowed down our dungeon clearing speed and focused more on some higher zones and tactics for a few years, and then spent several years just exploring and doing random dungeons.

I am beginning to understand why longer lived beings in stories often had hibernation periods. It is hard to continually do the same thing over and over without a significant break. I bet after a 25-50 year nap as a dragon things would at least feel fresh. The subtle changes over that period of time would probably revive and restore a person’s will to continue. As it was I was dragging and so were my companions. I am so glad we were on the last leg of this ordeal.

It was time. I gathered the group and told them that we would stay in zone 6 for an extra 6 months just to rest and refresh ourselves. I also wanted to be absolutely sure that we passed the 100 year time limit and did not get charged the 10 points to re-enter after we had waited this long to avoid it. I decided to see if I could actually nap like a dragon for a long time. Walter and I dug a cavern into the side of a mountain in zone 6 and I had him seal it up except for some air holes. My kids and I then switched to dragon form and laid down for a 5 month nap. Walter had instructions to wake us up for emergencies or unexpected surprises. I am so glad that spirits do not sleep and he was fine being lookout.

It seemed like no time at all until I woke up to someone poking my side. It was Walter with a giant spear of stone.

“Master, it is time to wake up.”

“How long has it been Walter?”

“5 months just like you said master.”

“Wow I could have just kept on sleeping, I feel refreshed, but I do not doubt I could sleep more many more months or years. Wake up the kids Walter it is time we got back to work.”

“Yes, Master.”

A few hours later everyone was up and ready to move on. We exited our temporary lair and headed towards zone 7. It was time.

Welcome back to Zone 7. You need 100 points to cross into Zone 8. 1,000 points to cross into Zone 9, and 10,000 to cross into Zone 10. You have re-entered after a 100 year absence. No point penalty will be applied. You currently have a total of 85 points.

Everything seemed to be the same. We ran a couple of dungeons on the way to the safe area just to make sure the Great Game had not shuffled dungeon positions or anything and everything checked out. Soon enough we came upon the safe area for zone 7 and the Great Game kiosk.

Welcome to the Great Game Kiosk. Please select from the options below.

A. Purchase Supplies with money

B. Purchase Supplies with points

C. Sell Dungeon Materials for money

D. Sell Dungeon Materials for points

Option D please.

Scanning participants inventory. You have materials from 2941 complete dungeons. You may trade them all or just a set amount. How much would you like to trade?

All please.

2940 dungeons worth of materials traded for 1176 points.

All right the 1176 points plus my 85 points gives me 1,261 points. That is enough to get me into zone 9 but not anywhere near enough to reach my final goal of zone 10. This is perfect. I am not ready to face the end boss or whatever else is coming in Zone 10. I am not even sure I am of a high enough level to survive the top dungeons in zone 9. The fact of the matter is I will probably be stuck here in zones 7 and 8 working on my level for decades if not more. Through the time working on my level I should be able to earn enough points to move on. Each dungeon in zone 8 is worth 3 points each instead of 1 point and I can still trade in dungeon materials and money for points if needed.

One final check before I start this grind. Status.

Name: Mark Anderson

Race: Primal Elemental Dragon King

Level: 1390 - 62%

Unspent Attribute Points: 150

Str: 2,671

HP: 26,710

Int: 2,951 +250% MP

MP: 206,570

Wis:2,951 +250% MP/Regen

HP/Regen: 1,000% per 15 min.

Agi: 2,671

MP/Regen: 1,000% per 15 min.

Con: 2,671 +250% HP/Regen

Luck: 2,671

Affinities: Earth - 100%

Water – 100%

Primal – 100%

Fire – 100%

Air – 100%

Resistances: Earth - 100%

Water - 100%

Fire – 100%

Air – 100%

So after 100 years of grinding dungeon materials, but losing a level each year to stay in Dungeon World I have only gained 15 levels total. I guess that is about right. I am much to overpowered for the dungeons I was farming so the experience would be low in the first place and that is not counting me still having to split it with my group. I only went into zone 6 when I did not think I was going to make a level for the Great Game to take away. I guess in reality over the last 100 years I was actually able to gain 115 levels.

That sounds even better. The Great Game did not take any of my experience the last time I did the dungeon grind in zone 7. It just charges the new points for everything. I think that with some dedication it won’t take long to get to the level I feel is safe. I want to be level 1450 at least before I attempt zone 8. I somehow feel that 1750 would be the mark to hit before zone 9 and I want to break 2,000 before zone 10 if at all possible. With the higher level zones, I should be able to maintain at least 2 levels of progress a year if not more to start with. It will definitely slow down the closer I get to each of my goals.

I do not want to be constantly watching it as that would drive me bonkers quick. All I have is time now. I have enough supplies for hundreds of years and I can supplement that through hunting and the Great Game kiosk if needed. Worst case scenario, I leave and take another 100 year vacation and resupply grinding trip in the lower levels. I need to set some concrete goals. The levels I already have. I will not check statuses until 25 years have passed. That seems like a good progress time. At that time I will also check zone points and supplies and decide whether to continue in the zone I am at or move up. Sooner started sooner done as they say. Time to grind.

The next 50 years pass relatively quickly. I checked my status after the first 25 years and was very close to my benchmark, but I just did not feel ready yet. I decided another 25 years here in zone 7 could not hurt and started up dungeon diving once again. Over these 50 years I have explored the entire area and mapped it out for future people. In that 50 years I saw one being that might have been a player but he hid immediately. I did not want to force things, so I just ignored what I saw and kept vigilant for the next couple of months but saw no other signs. I and my companion may be the only Great Game players here. Whatever, 50 years had gone by it is time to check out how I have progressed before I decide whether or not to move up to zone 8.

Companion Status:

Name: Elvira Race: Elemental Air Dragon

Level: 1,154 - 12% Status: Companion/Pet of Mark Anderson

Name: Esmerelda Race: Elemental Earth Dragon

Level: 1146 - 13% Status: Companion/Pet of Mark Anderson

Name: Azure Race: Elemental Water Dragon

Level: 1155 - 31% Status: Companion/Pet of Mark Anderson

Name: Sir Bruce Shadow Flaming Ember of Doom Race: Elemental Fire Dragon

Level: 1158 - 81% Status: Companion/Pet of Mark Anderson

Name: Walter Race: Incan Wak’a Spirit

Level 1473 - 96% Status: Familiar of Mark Anderson

Status:

Name: Mark Anderson

Race: Primal Elemental Dragon King

Level: 1475 - 44%

Unspent Attribute Points: 0

Str: 2,821

HP: 28,210

Int: 3,151 +250% MP

MP: 219,570

Wis:3,151 +250% MP/Regen

HP/Regen: 1,000% per 15 min.

Agi: 2,821

MP/Regen: 1,000% per 15 min.

Con: 2,821 +250% HP/Regen

Luck: 2,821

Affinities: Earth - 100%

Water – 100%

Primal – 100%

Fire – 100%

Air – 100%

Resistances: Earth - 100%

Water - 100%

Fire – 100%

Air – 100%

Alright, everyone is comfortably over level 1,000 and both Walter and I are several levels above my level 1,450 goal to enter into zone 8. With the dungeon conquering points and the materials trade in, I have also earned another 210 points which puts my total at 1,471 points. I definitely need to move up to zone 8. I am going to stagnate here soon on the experience gains, and only getting one point per dungeon means it would be around 1,900 more years before I could earn enough to move on to zone 10. Yep that is too long, definitely time to move up to zone 8.

“Everyone pack up, we are finally moving into the next zone.”

“That is great dad, we all need to try something new.”

“I know, but you all need to realize that we could be in the next zone for hundreds of years.”

“We know dad, it is just that variety is something everyone desires after awhile.”

“Yes, Master even I was starting to get bored.”

“Wow, Walter I did not even know you could get bored.”

“I am learning and expanding my feelings from our family master.”

“Excellent Walter, keep up the good work Walter. In a few hundred years you might understand enough to laugh at my great jokes.”

“Don’t worry Walter that would take thousands of years.”

“Yeah, maybe even infinity, dad’s jokes are not always the best.”

“Hush you traitors. Now family, on to bigger and better zones.”

With a now familiar family playful argument we were off to zone 8.

Welcome to zone 8. Each dungeon in this zone will earn you 3 points.

Time to see what all the fuss is about. We follow the beacon in my map to the closest dungeon and enter in immediately to see what if anything is different.

Welcome to the Minotaur’s Maze. Recommended level is 1,000 with a party of 5. Due to being a labyrinth maze all rewards will be doubled if you clear the dungeon in a record time. Current Record is ^%$#*&.

Well I did not expect to see that. Is that a bug, or does it just mean that no one has cleared it yet? Should I take this slow in case it has never been cleared? If I do that then I can just get faster each time I run it and get double rewards and thus double points with minimal extra effort. I need to be careful in my first dungeon in this zone any way so let’s go with slow and steady wins the race. If I need to speed up in the future, we can just change our pace. The good news is that we are above the recommended number of people and level so we should be relatively safe, but I think caution is in order just in case.

I pull out some chalk and start labeling tunnels. I still remember the time we got lost in the Arachnid Warrens. Ever since then I have kept tons of chalk in my inventory so I can label tunnels and figure out maze dungeons easier. We came up with a simple code so if we are dealing with intelligent dungeon dwellers we do not give ourselves away. Blue line means tunnel we just went down, green + sign means tunnel is safe and explored, yellow circle means unexplored, red square means explored and unsafe, black triangle means dead end. Now to start the exploration.

Two weeks in has led us to a brand new large cavern that has more of an arena feel to it. So far the dungeon has been rather unoriginal. We have met up with several different types of minotaur, warrior who uses a large axe or hammer, spell caster who focuses on fire and poison spells, and ranged who throws smaller axes and has two bolas it can throw. Nothing really special, just random groups patrolling the Minotaur’s maze. The only change is the composition of the groups. The patrol size is always between 3 and 5 different minotaur’s of levels 900 to 1100.

In the middle of the new cavern is a very large and obviously very in charge minotaur. Identify.

Minotaur Chieftain Level 1250

I am rather disappointed. This zone is just higher level with nothing different. Oh well.

“Alright everyone, standard formation. Bruce you lead off with fire, then Elvira with lightning. If those elements do not work or are resisted, then we will go for ice and stone. If none of the above works I will try primal. Any questions?”

“Nope.”

We ran towards the end boss and Bruce let out a stream of fire which was promptly dodged. Hmm, this guy is fast. Most things cannot get out of the way quick enough. Elvira though was just a step behind and caught the boss with a blast of lightning when she saw which way it was dodging Bruce’s fire. As soon as the minotaur got hit it turned around and ran. We all just kind of came to a stop and looked at each other confused. We have never had a boss run from us before.

“Ok after it, be quick but careful in case it is leading us into a trap.”

What happened next was a twist that I have never experienced before. The only thing I could come up with is that it was supposed to be a strategy to lose us in the maze and have us weaken over time by fighting more regular minotaur’s while the boss recuperated. This may have worked against other parties, but not ours. I guess there would be several types of people that are not fast enough to keep up that would slow a group down. However, with our group it was kind of pointless. Walter was slow, but all I had to do was recall him and run and when we caught up to the chieftain I would let him out again to help. Every time we did a certain amount of damage the Minotaur Chieftain would try to run again. Finally, we reached a spot I thought we could do something about it.

“Kids try and dodge without hitting it. Walter, close off the two exits besides this one. Once they are closed off, hit it with everything you got so we can finish this stupid dungeon.”

Walter did an excellent job and raised solid stone and added spikes while the kids and I dodged the swings of the Minotaur Chieftain.

“Master, it is done.”

“Alright kids, breath weapons in 3..2..1..”

The cavern we were in lit up in a variety of colors and the poor minotaur went down in a hail of ice, fire, and lightning. I knew it was already pretty low on hit points and this just finished it off.

You have beaten the Minotaur’s Maze in a record time. All rewards will be doubled. The new record to beat is 342 hours 13 minutes.

So we did set a record. It was in a time that was significantly less than some of the dungeons in zone 7 also. Since we did not have trouble with the minotaur running away that probably cut down significantly on the time. With this record and the ease of which we cleared it, I think we will be grinding this dungeon until we can no longer set a speed record. If we can only improve by 15-30 minutes each time that would give us another 150 – 300 runs.

With double rewards, 6 points for each try, we could potentially earn as much or more points in one decade than we did for the entire 150 years before this. I have some time crystals from the Great Game store so we should be fairly accurate in our time keeping. This makes the last 150 years seem a little wasteful. Free points here we come.