Dungeon Master (Karma System)

”Master, Grog has broken the communication stone.” A goblin reported to the Dungeon Master.

”Give it here.” Hizon said as the goblin placed a stone in his Master’s hand.

The hobgoblin crushed the companion stone.

A ghostly image of the goblin Grog appeared before the Dungeon Master.

”What is it?”

”Orcs and elves are stopping the horde from reaching the forest. If this continues, we may not have the numbers to flood the entire forest.”

Hizon squinted his eyes at the surprising news. He gazed at the thousands of goblins who were waiting for their turn to enter the dungeon.

”Understood.” Hizon said and then dissipated the image of the goblin general who was in charge of the assault.

He turned to a goblin at his side that was taller than the rest. ”Goblin king, take the calvary and the Colossus. Smash through their lines and claim that forest.”

”Yes, Master.” Siad the goblin king while bowing to the hobgoblin.

///

”Die!” Yelled the orc chief As he ripped the head from a goblins shoulders with his bare hand. His axe cut another 2 goblins in half.

It had been so long since he had a chance to go all out in battle. His boss truly knew how to please the orcs. They were thrilled with this fight.

Sigmund noticed several goblins looking back towards the entrance where a rumble shook the ground.

”The Colossus!” They cheered.

Stepping through the large tunnel was some sort of beetle creature. Its size was huge. The thing was over 6 meters tall, its body over 10 meters long. A huge black horn rose from its head. It legs were like barbed spears as it stabbed into the ground.

The creature had several goblins on its back, these goblins had built a fortification to defend themselves.

Sigmund saw most of the goblins on the creatures’ back carried staves.

The goblins that swarmed out around the beetle were mounted goblins. They rode giant bullet ants. The ant’s natural caprice was like armor. They joined the horde while rushing towards the orcs while their riders swung long swords.

”Now this is a fight!” Yelled the orc war chief as he rushed towards the ants as the beetle slowly moved towards the forest.

But Sigmund grew concerned. He noticed that the goblins near the large beetle were fighting with twice the strength as the others. He saw a tall goblin riding in the center of the beetle, surrounded by casters who began unleashing spells of ice and fire towards the orcs, not caring if their own race was in the way.

”That must be the goblin king.” Sigmund mumbled to himself.

Who else but a king class creature would be able to buff his race by them sampling being in his presence.

The ant riders meet the orcs. For the first time, the goblins riding the ants weren’t instantly killed. The horde of goblins used this opportunity to rush past the orcs and overwhelm the elves.

”If they want to use heavy units, we will do the same.” Sigmund said. He then vanished as his body collapsed into a swarm of butterflies that flickered into the forest.

”Yes!” Grog cheered. They had broken the line of orcs. Those battle hungry tyrants were now running towards the Colossus while trying to dodge the blasts of ice and fire that were coming their way.

*Ting*

The orc war chief’s axe bounced off the natural armor of the giant beetle. He wasn’t the least bit disappointed. In fact, the opposite was true. He was thrilled.

As the strongest orc, he merely grunted as a fireball slammed into his chest. It was finally time to show why he was the war chief.

”ROOAAARRRR!” He let out a mighty bellow that almost silenced the field.

Flickering red aura covered his skin like fire while the other orcs received a similar buff.

His frenzied eyes found a target while his muscles swelled. Leaping forward he brought his axe down on the head of the beetle.

The Colossus used its horde to fend off the attack and send the orc tumbling. The muscled brained warrior righted himself and charged again.

Other orcs under the Frenzy buff and threw themselves towards the ant riders.

The orcs had been strengthened but under their lust for battle the first line of defense had collapsed. 50 elves were not enough to stop the goblins from entering the forest.

The goblins surged through the fog as they rushed forward. But they were not alone. On his way to retrieve the heavy fighters, Sigmund unlocked a cage.

The redcaps had needed to be restrained. With so much blood in the air the couldn’t contain themselves, but now they were free. The weapons in their hands became instruments of death as they ran through the fog.

Screams of anguish and howls of pain echoed through the fog.

The Redcaps were not the only fey to enter the battle. A unit of Fey hounds blinked through the trees as they ambushed goblins, ripping through flesh and snapping at their limbs.

The goblins began to feel fear as the screams spread through the foggy forest.

While the Redcaps were savage and the fey hounds brutal, the most intimidating were the quicklings. The goblins couldn’t even see the speedsters coming or going through the fog. The only reason they knew they were under attack was because a companion would fall over dead with either a stab through the heart or a cut across the neck.

The field may have been a battle of slaughter, but the fey forest was a forest of death.

///

The goblin king watched as the ant riders kept most of the orcs busy. A good number of the goblin’s riding them had already been killed, but the ant’s themselves were a fine challenge for the orcs that the barbaric warriors couldn’t pass up.

Their fierce mandibles tore flesh while their immense strength charged through the orcs. A few of the tusked adversaries were smart enough to start attacking the joints of the ants, bringing their demise.

That didn’t worry the goblin king. He was a king of goblins, not a king of bugs. He stood on the Colossus as one foolish orc tried to stop them, only to be battered away time and time again.

At least that was what he thought.

*Crunch*

The large beetle made a pained roar as the horn on its head had been crushed.

”Enough!” The goblin king yelled. ”All mages, focus on that orc.”

As the goblin casters began to chant, the trees ahead began to sway. The goblin king noticed it first. Large creatures were coming out of the forest.

The firs to step out was a cyclops. It was followed by a manticore, then a troll.

Scanning the forest, the goblin king saw that there were many more creatures joining the fight.

A minotaur, a ground wyrm, an ogre, a sand golem, a gargoyle and many more creatures that were surely a headache.

”Wah ha ha ha!” The orc war chief laughed. ”Come my beasties, come fight.”

The goblin king panicked as the large creatures all turned towards the Colossus and charge his way. Without even waiting a moment, the goblin king leapt off the back of the large beetle and dove into the horde of goblins.

The large creatures that came from the forest used their immense strength to shatter a leg of the beetle, after that it wasn’t long before the mages toppled off and the creature was overturned. The war chief hacked at the underside of the huge insect while the other beasts began to rampage.

Grog sighed. He was disappointed to see the Colossus fall, but in a way the mission had been successful. The defensive lines had collapsed, and the goblins were surging into the forest. At least that was true for the goblins who managed to avoid orcs and the beasts who rampaged across the battlefield.

What upset him the most was that over half the orcs were still alive, even if they were being pushed back into the forest. Gorg wanted to join the others in the trees to find out the situation but he had to stay with the main group of the horde. He had no idea what was happening in the fog.

Inside the forest, the fey were greatly out numbered, but their kind was never one for a fair fight. The small fey attacked in packs, mowing through everything in their way. They larger fey like the dryads, hags, and Hybsils slowly moved back while holding the front line of the invasion in the forest.

Because the Instance system was disabled, all the fey creatures were at their maximum strength. They were all Elites or Rare Elites at level 15. The goblins that led the charge had nothing but numbers. Under the command of Sigmund and the rest of the fey, the very forest the goblins charged through came alive as roots snared enemies, trees smashed opponents, and fog separated goblins.

///

Hizon stepped into Crag dungeon while accompanied by 4 hobgoblins. He scanned the battlefield. The dead Colossus caught his eye first.

He wasn’t pleased to see it already defeated. He noticed the scattered enemy beast were attacking the horde, but their movements were inefficient and wild. The enemies’ command of the defenders in the field had completely collapsed. It was a wild melee, while most of the goblins surged into the forest.

”Ignore the beast.” Hizon said. ”Let us move into the forest and find the boss of this floor and move on.”

”Master.” Said a hobgoblin beside Hizon. ”This morning the contracted adventures informed us that the second level is filled with orcs and beasts.” He said while motioning to the orcs and beasts in the field.

”Then it appears that the Master of Crag Dungeon has put all his hope on holding us to this level. All the more reason to find the boss and push through while they remain unaware.”

///

Unlike other dungeons, Max spends money like others drink water. The expensive monitoring system caught the conversation in its entirety. If Max was curious, there was no such thing as privacy in his dungeon.

Anna noted the scene and then used DC to pass the message to Max. Like her husband, she wasn’t worried. The Colossus had been a surprise, but the goblins still remained in the strength range that was estimated beforehand.

It didn’t matter that the second level was empty. Even if the goblins somehow miraculously managed to get past it, they still had the berserk beasts of the third level and the undead of the fourth.

Anna watched as the enemy Dungeon Master moved through the goblin horde with his fellow hobgoblins while giving space to the orcs and the beast who were fighting like mad.