Dungeon Core Online 104 Chapter 104

"It's a laser."

"No, it-"

"It is a freaking laser." This conversation had been going on for at least five minutes, as James and Rue looked over the Core Offense build screen. Technically, it wasn't a laser. And James refused to admit to Rue that it was a laser. However, the pixie wasn't quite wrong either.

"What's it called Rue?" James had already had this argument with her to.

"That doesn't-"

"What's it called."

The pixie huffed as she responded. "Core Cannon."

"That's right. It's a cannon, not a laser." Semantics, that's all it was. Based on the description of the blasted build option, for all intents and purposes, it could be a freaking laser.

Core Cannon- 1000 bp

Build Time- 1000hr/p

Creates a ma.s.sive cannon capable of launching a devastating attack, once per Dungeon War, per level of Cannon. This energy attack inflicts ma.s.sive damage to all players in the line of fire. If a portal is opened to the enemies Core, this attack will also greatly damage the opponent's core.

So, yeah. It was a cannon, but James was already envisioning the thing firing, and he was positive it was going to fire out a ma.s.sive energy beam…just like a laser. But he couldn't let Rue win this conversation. At least not now.

"I'm still going to call it a laser." The pixie mumbled halfheartedly, and James only nodded, going once over the list the two had been observing.

Sadly, this was the point in which Rue's advanced information stopped. James had a feeling the AI wouldn't be updated with further information on Dungeon Wars, as well as the research options and all the other aspects, until the patch was applied that released the dungeon wars. It made sense, and also highlighted who the real cheaters were. James had to wonder just how much advanced knowledge BLANK had. At the very least, it was unfair, but there was no changing that now.

"So, what exactly do you think we should build?" The rest of the screen seemed pretty straight forward, and James was able to discern what everything was just by looking it over. He had a couple different build options right now, all with differing build times, as well as BP costs. BP, stood for Build Points, which was what would actually pop up as James focused on the acronym.

Of course, he didn't know much more about that resource just yet, but he could definitely try and draw some conclusions based off of what he was seeing. Two little boxes rested at the bottom of the build screen. On the left-hand side was one labeled BP, and it showed 1,000. On the right-hand side, was another box, this one labeled Deployed Cost and it had a 0/1,000. If James had to guess, this particular aspect of Dungeon Wars was essentially like a Real Time Strategy game. He had resources, he had objects he could build, with real time build times, and he had a limited pool on what he could deploy.

All of this, of course, meant a few things. First, that BLANK had an advantage in that they probably knew how to get more BP, and how to increase their deployed cost. They also probably had a better understanding of the pros and cons of these different options. That of course, wasn't fair, but James couldn't lament on that fact. The other things were things James could at least focus on as a gamer. First, he knew he needed to prioritize his build times, and make sure he utilized his BP and probes to their best ability. Second, he really needed to figure out how to gain more BP and increases his deployed cost limit. Whatever role these objects were going to play, he needed to make sure he could utilize them to their fullest.

"How about the Core Cannon?" Rue's suggestion was the exact opposite of James's plan. But he had to admit, it didn't' come as a surprise.

"Wh"

"It's the only logical choice James." She gave him one of her more serious looks, which caused his retort to die before he even started.

"Go on." He was intrigued. Why the h.e.l.l would she say the 1,000BP cost cannon was the most logical choice? The other options included siege weapons, ballista, smaller cannons, catapults. Those things seemed a lot more-

"Well, you and I both have no idea what all of this is for, right?"

"Correct."

"And, I'm sure we can both figure that jacka.s.s Xander has a least let it 'slip' to BLANK what all of these options do, so that they could best utilize and optimize their build for the Dungeon War."

Rue had a point. That was exactly the mindset James had on the situation, and why he was trying to figure out the most logical way to utilize his own BP.

"All the more reason to-"

"Shh, I'm not done." Rue shot him a glare, and then grinned at him. "So, with all these unknowns, what would you be doing?"

"Trying to figure out the best way to optimize my build, and maximize the usefulness of whatever resources I had, to better stand a chance against BLANK."

"Precisely. That's the predictable answer."

"Which is why-"

"You shouldn't do it." She motioned back towards the cannon option. "If you were BLANK, and you had just challenged an opponent that you admitted was likely skilled, though still under your own abilities, what would you plan for them to do?"

Realization started to settle on James. BLANK was cold and calculating. BLANK had the advantage with regards to this part of the Dungeon War process. BLANK knew all these things, so they were likely doing exactly what Rue was now, and working to predict how James, how anyone in James's situation, would respond. With everything that was on the line, the logical step, the step BLANK would be planning for, would be to build up various pieces of equipment, and hope to fully utilize them when the patch came through. What they wouldn't expect…

"Alright, so we're building a freaking cannon-"

"-laser."

"Cannon." James said the word with finality, as he selected the build option. He grinned as he a.s.signed all three of his current probes to it. True to the formula, a timer popped up on the screen, as the three probes began to go to work. Core Cannon- 329 hr, 59min, 59s. From what Rue had told him, he would be getting more probes, and build options for Dungeon Wars, at his 4th level of research as well. So, when he logged in next, he should, in theory, have a completed cannon, and some probes with which to build things for his offense. And, hopefully, since the patch notes should be out by then, he would be able to build one or two more objects that would help during his war with BLANK.

"Might as well do the same for defense, right?" James wasn't a stranger to games. If there was going to be a ma.s.sive attack option, then of course there had to be a ma.s.sive defense option. Sure enough, as he switched to the Core Defense tab, he saw a similar window, with 1,000 BP listed on it as well, and a 0/1000 deployed limit. He was thankful for that, as he realized now that he had automatically a.s.sumed the two would be separate. If they had shared resources and deployment costs, well he would have just fully committed himself to offense. Which, in some instances, wasn't a terrible thing. Against the unknown, against BLANK, he liked having options though.

"Go for it." Rue nodded approvingly, and James selected the Core Deflector s.h.i.+eld, option on the tab. It, just like the cannon, cost 1000bp, and had a 1000hr build time. Now, James had both his offense and defense probes working away, and about 11 hours of immersion left.

"Guess the only thing left to check on real quick, before I head to bed and log out, is my Summoner, yeah?"

Rue stifled a yawn of her own, and as she did she flicked her wrist. What appeared to be a glowing, monocle of sorts appeared over her eye, along with what appeared to be flashes of langue moving by. Because it was inverted, and tiny, James wasn't able to see what exactly the pixie was looking at. A moment later, the monocle over her eye disappeared, and she looked at James, grinning.

"Good news James."

"What the h.e.l.l was that?" He had no idea what was going on. That was definitely the first time he had seen that little trick of hers. What was that, and what did it show her?

"That? That's just an AI tool. It lets me check the logs real quick, to see any updates or changes that are applied or available. It's based off of a log of information readily available and released to AI in the game, to allow us to better a.s.sist our cores."

"Annnd?" James had to admit, that was pretty cool. However, he also had to wonder why he had never seen the pixie use it until now. Did she use it when he wasn't watching? And why had she pulled it up now?
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"And, while I don't have any access to further information on Dungeon Wars, based off of what I just saw, I can a.s.sure you that you would be safe to get some rest and logout now. Nothing spiffy happens for your Avatar at level 2 research."

"Are you sure?" He had the time, there was no reason not to go check on his avatar.

"Positive." The pixie yawned again, waving her hand at him.

"Besides, don't you think it would be more entertaining to check it over when your research is at level 5? What do you have to gain, by checking on it right now?"

She had another good point. Though James had to wonder why exactly she was suddenly trying to hurry him along. The moment he went to bed, it would feel like the night would just rush by, and he would wake back up. But the pixie, well she was stuck in here, so there wasn't anything to gain for her by him going to bed.

Unless, of course, she was either tired herself, or she wanted to mess around with the dungeon some more. The latter was probably it, James realized. She probably wanted to goof off and modify his dungeon a bit, and the sooner he went to bed, the sooner she could start. d.a.m.ned pixie.

"But-"

"Trust me Glyax. You need to get some rest, and need to wake up, relax, and eat some food. I want a fully rested, not hangry, Glyax back here when we prepare for Dungeon Wars." For a moment, it seemed as if her eyes actually held a hint of concern in them. She was probably right, he was already aware of the fact his mind wasn't running as efficiently as it normally did, and his current, famished state, was definitely having a negative impact. Plus, if he went to sleep now, that would meet the micro napping timeline utilized in immersion that ensured he would wake up feeling fully rested.

"Alright. You win this time." James could feel himself wanting to yawn as the pixie covered her mouth once more. He was pretty sure she was doing that just to make him feel tired as well. And, it was working.

"However." James began slowly closing out of his screens, his eyes flas.h.i.+ng over everything, his mind racing to make sure he had everything taken care of. He suddenly realized how actually tired he was. The strain, the stress of the upcoming war, was hard on him mentally. And he couldn't help but appreciate the fact Rue seemed to be looking out for him.

"Don't do anything too crazy while I'm gone, Rue." James shot her a look, and the pixie simply glanced away, whistling. Alright, she may have cared about his wellbeing, but she also was planning something, he knew it.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." She looked at wrist, and a small watch appeared on it. "Oh, look at the time, goodnight Glyax. Sleep well." And with that, she disappeared, leaving him alone in the room with his own core, while his drones went to work. Yup, she was definitely up to something, but whatever it was, could wait till next immersion.

"Goodnight Rue." James said quietly to the room, softly. As he closed his eye, preparing to go to sleep, which he knew would make it feel like his immersion instantly ended, a single thought crossed his mind. He would not lose Rue, or any of this, to Xander. BLANK, could not win.