Jimbo has played enough platforming games to know how to design trials with a good mix of challenge and fun. He had to hold back to suppress his crueler streak, the one that poisons the oceans of enemy worlds in Kard10k. Luckily, in the moments when he went too far with a overly convoluted trick, Dowmy was always there to ask: Isn't that a bit much...?
Jimbo would accept the feedback, take a second look at his creation, and then realize that it was, without a doubt, a bit much, proceeding to rectify it. This is training, not a real dungeon, and if it were a real dungeon, Jimbo feels uncertain about whether he'd be capable of turning his home into a slaughterhouse.
«I bet this is way more intense than experiencing it through a keyboard and mouse.»
Dowmy leads the way. She is followed by Hilda and Lynel; both captains are on high alert for whatever might emerge from the cracks in the cavernous route. They reach a thin rock bridge suspended over a vast darkness; on the sides of the abyss are ravines with ledges positioned higher than the bridge's elevation.
The imp walks across the natural bridge. The structure creaks and loses a few pebbles that disappear into the void without a sound of hitting the bottom. It gives the feeling that it will collapse at any moment. Hilda, noticing these details, stops dead in her tracks and reaches a hand back, halting Lynel.
"Are they trying to kill us or what?" the woman asks.
Dowmy isn't surprised by the distrust. She sighs, closes her eyes, and since she knows actions speak louder than words, she takes a little hop into the void.
The captains watch with their mouths open as the small girl disappears into the blackness of the abyss. They exchange glances, completely failing to understand what just happened.
Lynel jumps when he feels a pressure on his ankle. He looks down and finds Dowmy grabbing his foot. The imp finishes climbing up a rock ladder hidden at the start of the bridge. Once up, the imp explains that it's all an illusion.
"It's a test of courage, or something like that. The master claims it will help toughen up your soldiers."
According to Jim's calculations, there is no real danger.
It's true that Jimbo is limited to his Age, but he was pleasantly surprised to discover that even with that limitation, he still had a high capacity for modifying the environments. Visual effects were especially cheap, like that thin but intense layer of darkness—a detail that masks the fact that the bridge is barely suspended 2.5 meters above a floor cushioned with a fluffy layer of moss.
The same goes for the bridge. It is actually solid enough to support 20 adult men at the same time, but by using the illusion tool from his construction bars, it gives the false impression that it's two steps away from snapping.
Lynel uses the stone ladder to dip into the darkness. Thirty seconds later, he pops his head out and exclaims:
"The imp is telling the truth! It's actually really well lit down here, you just can't tell from above. I look like a floating head, don't I?"
"Are you sure there are no human bones hidden somewhere?" Hilda asks.
Jimbo feels the urge to complain out loud, but grudgingly holds back and continues studying the captains' reactions. Lynel looks down a second time before answering.
"The wall torches are made of skulls, though they look weird. They seem to be ape skulls."
Hilda nods despite her misgivings and extends a hand to Lynel to help him up.
"I get that this might work to scare off rookies, but it's a one-trick pony. I'm not impressed," the captain finishes.
Jimbo clicks his tongue, but doesn't get impatient; he still has a lot to show. He gives Dowmy instructions on what to do next. The imp guides the captains across the bridge. Lynel, being the widest and heaviest of the group, continues to step cautiously even though Dowmy assured him the bridge's shaking is also a trick.
There is a blue mark halfway across the bridge, right at the narrowest point. The mark is ethereal; only Jimbo can see it. When Dowmy steps on it, nothing happens, but when the sole of Hilda's boot plants itself on top, six goblins are summoned, three on each ledge on either side of the abyss.
The goblins shriek to alert the invaders, and when the captains look at them, the monsters start picking up rocks and raising them over their heads, but without attacking. Lynel points at them in admiration.
"Ooh, I get it now! Anti-ambush training. Very clever."
"It also helps improve blocking and dodging," Dowmy says, paraphrasing Jim.
Jimbo nods with a satisfied smile, which vanishes upon noticing Hilda's neutral expression.
"Usually, these types of traps are found on the fourth or fifth floors. But I guess a little excitement at the start isn't so bad," Hilda says.
«You're just going to be all complaints, aren't you?»
Dowmy was about to relay the question, but Jimbo stops her and tells her to just continue with the tour. The imp nods and complies. The group finishes crossing the bridge and heads into a second cavernous tunnel. Hilda slows her pace a bit and leans in to whisper to Lynel.
"Are you really on board with this?" Hilda asks.
Lynel brings a hand to his mustache and strokes one end, thoughtful.
"I don't know. But I'm intrigued..."
"Intrigued?"
"This proposal, everything, actually. You know Dungeon Cores better than I do, but... Don't you get the feeling we're dealing with a person?"
Hilda takes a moment to respond. She looks over her shoulder at the obstacle they just overcame. These trials are too complex for a newborn Dungeon, and they also possess a consideration for the invaders that a Dungeon is never supposed to have. Such details left her with the feeling that she is dealing with a human being, perhaps an architect mage, but generally a flesh-and-blood person.
Many Dungeons use illusions, but none safeguard those who desecrate their domains. Treasures and special weapons are usually temptations, the same way a carnivorous plant secretes sweet honey to attract prey.
"A human being... Well, we know for a fact it's not that," Hilda says, turning her eyes back forward. "But it is strange; it's the first core I've seen act like this."
"Then maybe it's one of the good ones."
"Has anything made by Arrax ever been good?"
"There's a first time for everything. Let's keep an open mind. Who knows? Maybe this is exactly what the kingdom needs, Hilda. In this life, you have to accept all the help you can get and understand that it isn't weakness, but humility and wisdom."
"I still don't accept it, and if this thing declared something as crazy as feeling human, I'd be even more suspicious."
"And why is that?"
"It would mean it knows us too well, and it would increase the possibility that it's manipulating us, building empathy. Monsters are monsters; drilling that into our minds is what keeps us from destruction." With that declaration, breaking the whispering tone, Hilda picks up the pace.
Jimbo, who was eavesdropping on the conversation, watches her walk away in silence.