Dungeon of Chance: Even Odds: A Dungeon Core Novel (Serious Probabilities Book 1) Jonathan Brooks (book recommendations txt) 📖

flooding his mind, he tapped the Egg and watched it break apart, until the glass slab appeared…and he was severely disappointed.  Not only that, but he was also more than a little irritated.

Shadow Cat ★★★

Attack Type: Stealth

Rarity: Common

Element: Dark

A cat?!  Seriously?  Granted, this cat was a lot larger, deadlier, and scarier than Spark, his sister’s cat, but he couldn’t forget what had ultimately led to his death and current state of existence.  Stupid cats!  Following me around even in death to cause me no end of misery!

It was probably unfair to the sleek-looking black-furred cat monster, but he never wanted to see it again if he could help it.  And to think, that was my “guaranteed” 3-Star from the Bundle Pack!  Wasted, I’d say.

“You truly do not care for your newest monster?”

I do not.  I’d rather fill my dungeon with a million of those creepy Spiders I received a moment ago than use even one cat.  Blasted things.

 “If you truly do not want it, despite it currently being the most powerful of your monsters, you can always sacrifice it.”  Dwight said those words as if it were no big deal.  However, the only thing he could think of when he heard the word “sacrifice” was a strange cult he had heard about when he was a lot younger.  They weren’t around long, because a group of Heroes hunted them down and…ended…their gatherings, but they were scary to think about.

Mainly because they took people and “sacrificed” them in some scary ritual; he didn’t really remember or perhaps even knew about the ritual details because he was just a kid when they were around.  What he did remember, though, was that they supposedly sacrificed people in order to somehow become Heroes themselves.  He wasn’t sure how that was supposed to work, especially given that he now knew that Hero selection was probability-based, which also might account for how literally short-lived their cult was – because it obviously didn’t work.

Sacrifice?  What exactly does that entail?  Is there some sort of ritual, or…

“No, it’s quite simple and painless.  And sacrificing your dungeon monsters, which aren’t exactly real until you create them inside of your dungeon, is nothing at all like sacrificing people.”

Oh…you heard that in my mind, didn’t you?

“Of course,” Dwight said smugly.  “Anyway, if you’re set on sacrificing your Shadow Cat, all you have to do is open up your Sacrificial Altar from your Core Assessment and Transcribed Status.”

Still a little wary, Clay did as she said and mentally selected Sacrificial Altar from the menu; the Transcribed Status quickly disappeared, and a low stone table appeared in his vision.  It wasn’t…quite…real, he discovered, because he found that he could move his perception around and the stone table would move with it; it was sort of like the time he got a hair stuck on his eyeball and he could see it blocking his eyesight wherever he looked.

“Excellent!” the baby dragonling said a few seconds after the table appeared, and her familiar lecturing tone resurfaced.  “Now, all you need to do is select from the options the monster you would like to sacrifice, and the Sacrificial Altar will take care of the rest!  Keep in mind that this process is permanent, so carefully consider your options before confirming your selection.”

Hmm…okay….  Unseen before, his Available Monsters menu was on the left edge of his vision, and he easily located the offending cat on the list.[4]  As soon as he selected it, the glass slab that contained its picture appeared above the low stone table and then proceeded to lay itself upon what he now knew was the actual Sacrificial Altar.  An iron hammer appeared above the Altar, wielded by an invisible hand, and it abruptly slammed down into the slab containing the Shadow Cat with shattering force.  The glass flew apart in an overly dramatic explosion, though the shards didn’t get far before they seemed to get absorbed into the air in a flash of sparkly light.  When it was done, he couldn’t help but think that it had been therapeutic—

Suddenly, above the Altar, a little ball of light appeared and shot towards his Core, where it was quickly absorbed.  What?  What was that?

Fortunately, Dwight was quick to answer.  “Every time you sacrifice one of your monsters on the Altar, you receive a small amount of Chips in return.  Keep in mind that this is only a fraction of what each monster is ‘worth’, so the amount can be fairly insignificant.  What the Altar is primarily used for,” she paused, shaking her head, “when it isn’t being used to get rid of monsters you don’t personally like, is to free up room in your monster inventory.  For instance, at Core Stage 1, you can only possess up to 50 monsters; if you try to purchase a Spawn Egg at that point, the purchase will fail.”

Clay looked at his Transcribed Status and saw that he was now 3 Chips richer than he had been before he sacrificed the Cat.  And how are these returns assessed…? he asked, hoping for another chart of probabilities.  But he wasn’t in luck, because it was easier than that.

“Simple.  Common monsters give back their Star value in chips; Uncommon are worth 2 times the Star value; Rare are 4 times the Star Value; Ultra Rare are 16 times the Star value; and Legendary monsters are 256 times the Star Value.”

Yes.  Simple, he said sarcastically.  In truth, it was a fairly simple system, and she was right: The amount returned was fairly insignificant, but at least it was something.

With that darn cat out of his available monsters—good riddance!—Clay could get back to what he was doing with his Chips.  Without too much hesitation, he bought another Bundle Pack #1 for an additional 45 Chips, watched the whole flashing and glittery light show (he still wasn’t tired of it), and