Dungeon Master (Karma System)

Hizon placed the Goblin Foundry between the Ant Hill and his core.

The decision changed the shape of his dungeon before he purchased a single new creature. During normal operation, separate portals would direct adventurers to The Ant Hill or the Goblin Foundry, allowing each instance to operate independently. During a dungeon battle, the connected route would run through the defense valley, the actual Ant Hill, the actual foundry, and finally toward the core chamber.

Anyone reaching the end would face a defender built to remain there.

The scouts’ maps remained open on a table beside the construction plan. Hizon did not design the entire level as a response to one enemy. The fungal dungeon gave him a reason to prioritize heat, stone, and controlled airflow, but ordinary adventurers would use the foundry long after the battle ended. Its encounters needed to work against warriors, mages, ranged parties, and creatures that did not care about spores.

The layout consumed less DP than the creatures and machinery that would fill it, but Hizon still built in stages.

Stone came first.

Packed earth served the Ant Hill because tunnels, collapses, and burrowing creatures belonged there. The foundry required surfaces that did not absorb every spill, spark, and growth. Hizon chose dark stone resistant to heat and laid it beneath every major machine.

Metal partitions followed. Some formed permanent walls around the furnaces and support columns, while others rested on tracks that allowed them to shift during an encounter. The moving sections could divide enemies, open new routes, or close off parts of the foundry as the battle progressed. The Hobgoblin Artificer insisted that each one include a manual release.

”Wouldn’t the instance reset take care of anything that breaks?” Hizon asked.

”After the attempt ends.” The Artificer replied. He struck one of the tracks with his wrench. ”If debris jams this while adventurers are still inside, the wall remains stuck for the rest of that fight. It might block our defenders, leave a route open, or trap a crew on the wrong side.”

Hizon looked over the heavy partition again. ”And the manual release lets the goblins move it even if the mechanism fails.”

The Artificer nodded. ”A machine should keep working. When it cannot, someone needs a way to fix it.”

Hizon approved the releases. A mechanism that repaired itself later was no help to the goblins depending on it now.

The foundry’s main route descended through three workshop tiers. The upper tier introduced moving platforms and armored goblin crews. The middle tier divided around two furnace halls, forcing parties to choose between heat, machinery, and defenders positioned above them. The lowest tier combined every established danger without introducing a new rule moments before the boss.

Beyond it waited the final chamber.

Hizon avoided placing active combat rooms directly above it. The Ant Hill’s first clear had shown what could happen when a boss chamber sat beneath a destructible workshop. Reinforced stone separated the final room from the nearest machinery, and a service level absorbed vibration from the presses.

The core route began behind the chamber. No public adventurer would reach Hizon’s actual core during an ordinary instance, but the path needed to exist for defense mode. Hizon made the approach difficult without making it impossible.

Ventilation demanded the most attention.

Brannik’s reports described dust released by cave moths and fungal growth that reacted through cords hidden in the ground. Hizon did not assume heat would destroy every spore or that one countermeasure would solve the problem. He built intakes high along the outer stone, exhaust shafts above the furnaces, and directional shutters the foundry crew could adjust. Air flowed from the final chamber toward heated exhausts rather than carrying contaminants deeper toward the core.

This system also made the public instance survivable. Furnaces without ventilation would kill goblins and adventurers more effectively than any intended encounter.

The Artificer tested the ventilation with colored smoke, using it to represent the spores the fungal dungeon might release during a battle. Most of the smoke moved toward the heated exhaust shafts, but a portion collected beneath a metal walkway occupied by goblin archers.

Hizon pointed toward the growing cloud. ”If those were spores, every defender stationed there would be exposed.”

”The walkway is interrupting the airflow.” The Artificer said. He studied the nearby intake before looking toward the exhaust shaft. ”We need another vent beneath it. Otherwise, contaminants will collect there faster than the system can remove them.”

They added a low intake beneath the walkway and repeated the test. This time, the colored smoke passed through the archers’ position and entered the heated exhaust system without forming another pocket.

For the new instance, Hizon purchased armored goblin workers trained to fight around moving equipment. He added two hobgoblin overseers capable of coordinating repairs and redirecting crews when parties disabled a machine. Small ember slimes occupied heated channels and emerged when water or cold attacks reduced furnace output.

The Ember Slimes interested Hizon for reasons beyond their usefulness in combat. Their bodies drew in loose spores, mold, and other organic matter before burning the contaminants away in a low, steady heat. A few placed near the foundry’s ventilation shafts could serve as living filters, keeping fungal attacks from spreading through the complex during a dungeon battle. They could also be released afterward to clean contaminated rooms without filling the tunnels with open flame. Hizon increased the planned number of Ember Slimes and instructed the Artificer to design removable grates around the vents, allowing the creatures to filter the incoming air without wandering into the machinery.

They could also drop down onto unsuspecting adventurers.

The cost climbed.

Hizon watched each number before approving it. The Undercity provided steady income. The Ant Hill’s clear had increased traffic, the Trapmaster’s Course continued drawing wagers and repeat attempts, and the businesses under his name remained busy. That did not make his DP unlimited.

He reduced the first version of the lowest workshop from four encounter groups to three. He delayed purchasing a massive furnace construct whose cost equaled an entire goblin crew. He kept enough DP in reserve to respond if later scouting revealed an enemy ability the current design could not handle.

The final chamber required something different.

Hizon searched the core catalogue for a defender built to remain in place under sustained attack. Most affordable options were stronger versions of creatures he already owned. He ignored them. He did not need another fast attacker or a larger goblin chief.

The Hobgoblin Forgeguard appeared near the upper edge of his budget.

High health. Heavy armor compatibility. Strong close-range attacks. Defensive abilities that improved when holding a designated position. Limited pursuit range.

The last limitation made the Forgeguard less useful in the valley and ideal before the core.

The Artificer studied the listing for several moments before pointing to the section describing the forge’s production facilities. ”Will I be able to make armor here?”

”That is part of the reason I chose to build a foundry.” Hizon said. ”You will have proper furnaces, tools, and materials instead of relying entirely on equipment purchased through the core.”

”And weapons?”

”Those too. Anything your workers can produce may be used to equip the defenders or support your creations.”

The Artificer read through the listing again, paying closer attention to the available workshops and storage rooms. By the time he reached the end, his earlier hesitation had disappeared.

”This will work.” He said.

Only after the foundry’s basic structure was complete did Hizon purchase the Hobgoblin Forgeguard.

The creature arrived in an empty final chamber wearing basic system armor. He stood a head taller than the Artificer and nearly twice as broad. His hands could close around the handle of a weapon meant for an ogre. A squared iron shield rested beside him.

The Forgeguard looked at Hizon, then toward the doorway leading deeper into the instance.

”You want me to hold this chamber and prevent anyone from reaching the core route?”

”During ordinary runs, this chamber belongs to you.” Hizon said. ”The foundry crews and its machinery will wear parties down before they arrive, but you will be the boss they must defeat. If we enter a dungeon battle and the enemy breaks through The Ant Hill, the Artificer will withdraw here and support you.”

The Forgeguard lifted his shield and planted himself between the entrance and the inner door. A defensive effect settled across the floor. Thin red lines spread from his boots to the chamber walls, marking the ground protected by his abilities.

The Artificer walked around him, studying his stance and equipment. The Forgeguard did not turn or lower his shield, though his eyes followed every movement.

”Your armor is adequate for an initial design.” The Artificer said. ”But it will not withstand the kind of concentrated attacks adventurers will use against a final defender.”

The Forgeguard’s expression hardened. ”Can you improve it?”

”I can build something far better. Once the foundry is operating, I will reinforce the joints, increase the protection around your shield arm, and design the armor to work with your defensive abilities instead of restricting them.”

The Forgeguard considered that before giving a short nod. ”Then I will make certain you have time to build it.”

Their partnership quickly turned into disagreement. The Artificer wanted overlapping plates, tool mounts, protected joints, and a shield brace connected to the floor. The Forgeguard rejected anything that slowed his weapon arm or prevented him from turning inside the marked position.

Hizon let them argue through tests.

The first shoulder guard deflected an overhead strike but caught against the helmet when the Forgeguard looked left. The Artificer removed half the plate. The first shield brace absorbed enormous force but trapped the Forgeguard when a tester attacked from the side. They replaced the fixed connection with a locking spike he could release by twisting the grip.

The Artificer added channels in the armor that connected to foundry equipment. Standing on designated plates allowed the Forgeguard to vent heat across the shield, charge a weapon edge, or trigger barriers without leaving his position.

The Forgeguard tested each addition by fighting.

Hizon purchased temporary training constructs rather than risking the public opening. Three stone attackers entered from different doors. The Forgeguard held the center, absorbed the first impact, and used the shield spike to stop himself from being driven backward. When the second construct moved around him, he released the brace, turned, and broke its arm with one strike.

The third reached the door.

A metal partition dropped from the ceiling and blocked it.

For this test, the Artificer had taken the upper booth to evaluate how his controls could support the Forgeguard during a dungeon battle. The Forgeguard drove the construct against the new wall and destroyed it before it could turn.

Neither boss replaced the other. During normal operation, the Artificer remained in The Ant Hill and the Forgeguard commanded the Goblin Foundry. Only during a dungeon battle would the Artificer abandon his breached instance, retreat through the connected route, and combine his machinery with the Forgeguard’s defensive abilities.

The Artificer created and controlled the battlefield. His machinery divided attackers, supplied weapons, changed routes, and punished anyone who focused only on the enemy in front of them. The Forgeguard survived direct pressure and prevented a party from ending the fight simply by reaching the controller.

Their abilities covered the weakness that made the Artificer unreliable as Hizon’s final defense.

The next tests examined the foundry as adventurers would normally encounter it. The Artificer returned to The Ant Hill, leaving the foundry’s goblin crews and hobgoblin overseers to operate their own machinery.

Hizon observed from the control room while the testers advanced through the upper workshops. One moving partition closed too slowly and allowed all five to pass before it divided the room. An ember slime emerged from a heated channel directly beneath an armored goblin and burned its ally. A lift stopped between tiers when debris entered its track.

The defenders won. Hizon still classified the run as a design failure.

He reset the level and corrected the problems.

The partition received a faster mechanism and a warning sound that gave attentive adventurers time to react. The heated channel moved away from allied positions. The lift track gained a scraper and a manual crank.

On the second test, the party reached the middle tier. A fighter forced one of the furnace shutters closed, reducing the heat enough for his group to cross a channel. The move was clever and allowed. A hobgoblin overseer redirected two goblins to reopen the shutter while the party fought on the far side.

On the third, a ranged tester damaged a chain supporting a suspended platform. The platform tilted, dropping two goblins and opening an unintended route past the lower workshop.

The Artificer wanted to thicken the chain until no ordinary attack could break it.

Hizon refused. ”If they see it and spend the effort, let them change the room.”

He added a second chain that prevented the platform from falling completely. Breaking one created a steep shortcut, not a path that bypassed the entire tier.

The foundry improved because its tests exposed weaknesses. Hizon did not punish every unexpected solution. He corrected failures that erased intended encounters or threatened the structure beyond the current run.

Hizon considered sending Brannik east again while construction continued, then rejected the idea. The first mission had already confirmed the entrance, tested the initial passage, and identified the defenses most likely to threaten his existing creatures. Sending another party through the same chambers would add little and increase the chance that someone noticed a pattern.

He would eventually need deeper information. Before declaring a dungeon battle, he wanted scouts to identify stronger defenders and learn how the passages developed beyond the early chambers. That mission required more preparation than a second walk through the entrance. Brannik needed a group capable of surviving long enough to reach places his first party had deliberately avoided.

For now, the fungal Dungeon Master had no reason to connect five cautious adventurers with Hizon. Preserving that ignorance mattered more than collecting another early-room map.

Hizon also refused to initiate the dungeon battle simply because the foundry existed. The level had not opened to adventurers. Its crews required more practice, and the Forgeguard had not yet defended the final chamber under the pressure of a complete run.

He checked the challenge command and left it untouched.

The target was established. Its entrance was mapped. Hizon’s preparations were only beginning.

Once the foundry crews proved they could operate without the Artificer, Hizon scheduled a separate test of the combined defenses he would use during a dungeon battle.

At the end of the week, the Forgeguard completed that full defensive test. The attacking group reached his chamber after disabling two foundry encounters. They entered tired, damaged, and confident that the largest machinery was behind them.

The Artificer sealed the outer door.

Furnace light filled the channels in the Forgeguard’s armor. He planted his shield, and the red defensive lines spread across the chamber. When the attackers separated to surround him, moving barriers narrowed the angles. When they focused on the control booth, the Forgeguard forced them back.

The fight lasted long enough to reveal weaknesses without making the result uncertain.

After the reset, the Artificer climbed down with three pages of changes. The Forgeguard rejected two and accepted one. Hizon approved a different pair after hearing both arguments.

Below the control room, goblin workers cleared the chamber for another attempt. Above them, ventilation shutters opened and pulled heat toward the exhaust shafts.

Hizon checked his remaining DP. The reserve remained intact.

He checked the dungeon-battle command and left it untouched again.

The Goblin Foundry was not open to adventurers yet, and the fungal dungeon did not know it was being watched.

In the lowest workshop, the first permanent furnace ignited.

Its heat traveled through stone channels toward the chamber where the Forgeguard waited between every future attacker and Hizon’s core.