Lillene
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Chapter 390 - Ghost in the System
🕑 Added 2022-06-08 22:53:25 +0000 UTCToday is the 1-year anniversary of my first post of this story. Hard to believe it's been that long - and also hard to believe I've somehow managed to put out a chapter every day since then (plus another almost-fifty for Patreon)!
Enjoy!
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When they reached the Echoes of Big Ben entrance, they found only a sign that said “All available slots for Echoes of Big Ben have been used for today. Please come visit us later or find us online at www.echoesofbigben.uk!”
Serenity grinned and shook his head before walking over to the nearby wall. It was marked with a sign and tape on the nearby concrete as the entrance, but Serenity didn’t need the signs; he could feel that the energy from the ley line nexus they were in was different in that area. He wasn’t sure he’d have felt that before; it was subtle. It was more likely that he’d have searched the area and simply found the outline in the brick of where a door had once been, though it was no longer there.
Serenity reached out to touch the entrance. He doubted he was the only tourist to do that, so no one was likely to object. It wasn’t like he had that many other options, either.
[Dungeon: Echoes of Big Ben]
[This dungeon is filled with what might have been and what was, a fun combination celebrating the history and clockwork making Big Ben an icon and a symbol of Time]
[Status: Fully Utilized]
[Tier: One]
[Levels: One, vertically integrated]
[Type: Clockwork, Time]
[Maximum capacity per group: 5]
[Maximum group slots: 10 per day. Number used today: 10]
[Future slot increases possible]
[No slots available]
[Enter Dungeon?]
[Visit?]
[Observe?]
Serenity hadn’t expected the Enter Dungeon? Line to be there; the slots for the day had all been used, just like the website said. You couldn’t enter a dungeon that didn’t have any slots available.
Except that apparently he could.
Serenity also didn’t know what the last two options meant, so he had to guess. Observe sounded like he might be able to watch other teams progress through the dungeon, so it probably wasn’t the choice he needed. Visit was a little harder, but there was generally only one person who belonged inside a dungeon unless there was a dungeon master - the dungeon core. Could it possibly be visiting the dungeon core?
That would perfectly fit what he needed.
Serenity selected Visit and the next thing he knew, he was floating in the same dark space as usual, though in his human form this time. “Hello?”
Serenity looked around. After a moment, a crystal shaped like a circle appeared in front of Serenity.
No, that wasn’t just a circle. Given what dungeon this was, that had to be a clock face, even though it was featureless other than the basic shape. Perhaps it would take on more clocklike features as it grew and developed? Looking like anything other than a very simple shape was already unusual.
“Hello?” Serenity tried again.
This time, there was a response. “Hello yourself. You are … how are you here?”
“I’m Serenity, and I’m not entirely sure how I’m here. There was a Visit option when I touched the door. I think it may have been there because your slots were all full; I’m here as Gaia’s representative, to talk to you about working with her to regulate the ley lines…”
Echoes of Big Ben had many questions; Serenity was able to answer a few of them, but he had to tell the dungeon core to ask Gaia about all of the questions it had on mana flow. Eventually, the core agreed to at least talk to her.
That was all Serenity was trying to achieve.
At that point, Echoes of Big Ben asked Serenity if he would like to watch one of the groups challenging the dungeon; they’d made it to the Final Clock.
Serenity hadn’t known that was the name of the boss monster, but it made sense. He suspected that the dungeon core simply wanted the company, but it still sounded like fun. “Sure, I’d love to.”
The fight was utterly hilarious.
The first phase was very basic, simply the clock attempting to pound on whoever was in front of it with its clock-hands. They were tiny and it almost looked like it was trying to attack with T-Rex arms, but whenever they actually connected the person was rocked backwards.
Eventually, it retreated to the outside. Serenity watched the party talk about throwing it off the ledge, but no one actually went outside to try.
It looked the same when it came back in, but every time it was hit, it split off a new version of itself that displayed a different time on the clock-face until there were twelve man-sized versions of a clockwork Big Ben chasing the party all over the room. They moved slow and didn’t seem very smart; they’d always chase whoever was closest. It allowed the melee guy to keep most of them corralled, but there were several times where one or two of them drifted off and started chasing someone else, especially after one of the clocks swatted the guy trying to tank them. It was clear that a better party would have at least two people keeping the clocks contained.
The mage who could call down a lightning storm was the clear winner for that stage, even if her tank friend did end up getting partially electrified a couple of times.
When the clock went back outside, the party started shouting at each other. The tank wanted to push the clock off the ledge, while the others kept telling him not to. He finally said “Well fine I’ll do it myself then!”
As he hurried over to the entrance, the clock boss was already on its way back in.
Serenity didn’t give the party much of a chance to last, once they got out of the dungeon. That level of disagreement was not a good thing for long-term party stability.
The clock was the least dangerous in this phase, since it could only attempt to run into people and squish them, but it was accompanied by reduced versions of all of the clockworks already beaten as the group made their way through the dungeon. They had no special abilities, but apparently there had been a farm scene; Serenity giggled at the clockwork chickens somehow jumping and flapping through the air to bat people in the head. That shouldn’t be doing real damage, but it was definitely amusing to watch as they distracted people from what they should be doing.
They eventually cleaned up the fight; when it was clear they’d won, Serenity turned back to the crystalline clock-face. “Thank you for letting me watch, but I should be going now. Enjoy talking to Gaia!”
Serenity barely heard the dungeon’s “I will” before he was standing outside the dungeon’s entrance again. He glanced around and headed over to Rissa, who was leaning against a wall nearby looking at her phone. “How long was I in there?”
“About an hour. Want to grab some lunch before or after the next one?” Rissa levered herself to her feet.
Serenity chuckled. They were standing inside a ley line nexus. “I have to admit, I kind of just ate.”
“You and your snacking!” Rissa swatted at his arm, barely tapping him with her fingers. “Just for that, we’re stopping somewhere before we get anywhere else.”
They were well on their way to the Tube station before the dungeon group emerged laughing and talking about the fight.
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The second dungeon of the day was at the University of London, called the Quiz Maze. It was technically a puzzle dungeon, but Serenity would have classed it as a game dungeon if such a thing existed.
When a group entered, they were presented with a list of between six and ten topics; each person had to pick exactly one, and it couldn’t be the same topic as anyone else. The group was then sent into a maze filled with ‘question nodes’. Each time they reached a ‘question node’, whoever had selected the topic of that node had to answer a question. Currently, the others could help, but only the answer that was given by the individual selected was accepted; Serenity expected that at some point in the future, there would be a mode that restricted the discussion.
If the answer was correct, one of the possible doors leaving out of the node would be removed.
If the answer was wrong, a monster or group of monsters would enter the node and the group would have to fight it, but no door would be removed; the group simply had to guess what the best way forward was.
If they entered a node with a category that wasn’t on their list, there was no monster but there was also no door removed.
It was entirely possible for the nodes to turn back on themselves. As far as people could tell, the topic in each node might be different if you encountered the same node again. As long as you could answer some of the questions and last long enough, you’d eventually get out even if you were unlucky and kept picking the wrong way. It was a test of both knowledge and endurance, but at least there wasn’t a boss at the end.
It was also the least popular of the London dungeons, probably because of how long it was even if you got all of the answers correct. Serenity expected that to change; right now, it was probably too dangerous to be considered a party game, but he knew that as people became more powerful, it would seem more like a game and less like a deathmarch.
Especially since no one had reported being unable to find a topic they knew something about. Serenity wondered how the dungeon was picking them; it was entirely possible that the Voice had some influence. No one could be an expert about everything, and some of the topics were very esoteric. Had someone really gotten the topic “weaving”?
Rissa was still munching on the last of her lunch (she’d insisted on fish and chips because they were in London) when they arrived at the dungeon. They’d expected it to be abandoned, like the Echoes of Big Ben, but it wasn’t.
Instead, there was a man arguing with a person sitting in front of the dungeon. A woman and her daughter sat off to the side; it looked like they’d only recently arrived, as the woman hadn’t yet taken out her phone. The girl was somewhere in her teenage years, probably around the same age as Echo. “I can’t let you in without the rest of your group. I don’t care if you pay the whole amount, we require a minimum of four for safety.”
“His child is ill; he could not come. Come now; there are three of us, that is close enough, please let us in.” He spoke with a familiar Russian accent.
Serenity knew that voice. Vladimir? Was that even possible?
Serenity wasn’t certain whether he should bless or curse Tyche, but he could guess that her hand was deeply involved in this one.
The man behind the table shook his head. “No. I really can’t, and definitely not with a child.”
The girl flushed and glared at the man, but didn’t say anything.
Serenity decided this would be a good time to step in. He raised his voice as he walked the last few steps up towards Vladimir. “If you’re looking for a couple more people for the dungeon, we’d be happy to fill in.”
Serenity was pleased to see that he’d actually surprised Vladimir. He smiled gently, hoping Vladimir recognized him. “I assume this is your wife and daughter?”
Vladimir caught on quickly; he’d always been fast on the uptake. “Yes, my lovely wife Kira and the joy of our lives Sofia.”
Sofia blushed; Serenity had the feeling he’d said that before. Perhaps he wasn’t quite as much the depressed stereotypical Russian as Serenity remembered?
Not that Vengeance had been any less depressed, come to think of it. They pretty much all were, after the destruction of Earth and the loss of their families.
Serenity gestured towards Rissa. “This is my fiancee, Rissa. It’s nice to see you under less stressful circumstances.”
Vladimir actually smiled at that. “Indeed.”
Vladimir turned back to the table. “As you can see, there are five of us now. Will you accept payment and permit us to enter?”
The man glanced at Sofia, then sighed. “You all have Paths other than Human of at least level fifty and are prepared for a combat experience?”
It was clear he’d said it more times than he wanted to. His voice was flat, nearly expressionless. “Here are the waivers, please fill them out…”
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Author's Note: Planned London Underground (Tube) route to visit dungeons:
Jubilee Line to Westminster Station (Echo of Big Ben)
Circle Line to Farringdon Station (University of London) (Quiz Maze)
Elizabeth Line to Tottenham Court Road Station (British Museum)
Central Line to St. Paul’s Cathedral Station
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I have no idea if that website already exists or not; I didn’t check.
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Tyche has not given up. She thinks this is hilarious.
