Chapter 18: The Drill Sergeant and the Architect of War

Chapter 18: The Drill Sergeant and the Architect of War Karl descended four floors below, his skeletal feet making soft, rhythmic clicks on the stone stairs. He was heading for the dungeon core, but first, a detour. He wanted to see the Boneforge Barracks, located on Level -3. The deeper he went, the cooler the air became, the distant hum of the upper-level industries fading, replaced by a new, disciplined rhythm. As he approached the barracks, the sounds grew clearer: the sharp thwack of practice swords on training dummies, the rhythmic thump of skeletal feet in formation, and a booming, synthesized voice that cut through the air like a whip. "Again! Faster, you piles of calcium! Your enemies will not wait for you to decide which bone to move first!" Karl paused at the entrance, a dry, amused smile stretching across his skull. Nine skeletons moved in unison, their movements precise, their rattling bones now a synchronized cadence. At the front, the [ Level 10 Training Instructor ] stood, its posture rigid, its voice a perfect, chilling imitation of a drill sergeant. Karl guessed the creation of these skeletons, their very personalities, must have derived from his own creative personality on Earth—his subconscious stereotypes of how training instructors should be. It was a bizarre, yet effective, manifestation of his will. The instructor, mid-shout, suddenly halted. Its empty eye sockets swiveled towards Karl, and it snapped to attention, a crisp, military bow. The nine trainees, equally disciplined, followed suit, their bony heads dipping in perfect synchronicity. "Lord Karl," the instructor intoned, its synthesized voice eerily formal, yet imbued with an almost palpable sense of duty. "To what do we owe the honor of your visit?" Karl, accepting the responsibility and hierarchy, simply responded, his voice a dry whisper that carried authority. "I’m just passing by. But since you’re all my first soldiers, I expect you to be of the highest quality, sooner rather than later. Soon, I will increase additional forces to be trained, and you all will need to train to lead by example. Show them what Necro Corp’s finest are capable of." A subtle, almost imperceptible fire seemed to ignite in the trainees’ empty eye sockets. The instructor and trainees, motivated by their lord’s words, acknowledged in unison, a low, guttural rumble of pride and inspiration. They were thinking they should show their highest ability to please their lord. The instructor’s voice, though synthesized, seemed to swell with renewed purpose. "You heard the Lord! Back to it! Show him the dedication of the Necro Corps!" What once seemed like a limping, clattering drill now transformed. The trainees moved with a newfound vigor, their practice swings sharper, their footfalls more purposeful. Karl smiled, a dry, satisfied stretch of bone. This is how it should be. Motivation, purpose, results. He watched them for a moment longer, a silent appreciation for their evolving loyalty. "Carry on," he said, and walked past them towards the stairs leading to the deepest floor. They bowed once again, their movements crisp, and immediately resumed their rigorous training. On the -4th floor, the air grew colder, heavier, carrying the faint scent of damp earth and raw ore. This was where the Mines and the Crypt were located, a raw, untamed section of the dungeon. Karl moved towards the other end of the floor, past the dark, silent entrances to the crypt, and towards the core room. He mentally tapped the "Structures" and "Advanced Structures" categories in his System UI. The glowing, transparent outline of the Arcano-Industrial Research Center appeared before him. He placed it at the very center of the floor, a strategic position that would allow it to draw resources and influence from all corners of the dungeon. He tapped "confirm." He smiled, a dry, internal chuckle escaping him. Thankfully, the requirements aren’t as large as some of the other structures. He just needed to purchase the 20 Cut Stone and Ink & Parchment from the shop, as he had no way of producing them yet. As he bought these materials and other small items he couldn’t yet produce, the builders above, on the first floor, stirred again, their tiny figures on his mental map moving towards the Distribution Center, taking materials from the newly organized stockpiles. He sighed, a dry, thoughtful sound. If only he had a way to buy additional general materials and goods without being tied to specific structure requirements. Things like clothes for uniforms, more parchments and ink for record-keeping. He envisioned a dedicated accounting department, a Ledger Hall, where every resource and product, every expenditure and income, could be meticulously tracked. As if the System were listening, not betraying Karl’s thoughts, a chime rang out again, clear and triumphant. [ Ding! You have created a custom blueprint again! ] [????️ [Blueprint Building: Ledger Hall – Accounting & Logistics Bureau] ] ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Category: Structures → Administrative & Control Build Time: 4 Hours Worker Type: Skeleton Accountants (Skilled) Requires: Wooden Boards x10 Cut Stone x20 Iron Nails x6 Ink & Parchment x5 ???? Overview: The Ledger Hall is the brain of your dungeon’s logistics, economy, and resource management. It automatically tracks all production, consumption, revenue, and losses across every structure—removing guesswork and enabling optimized industrial and commercial decisions. A must-have for a dungeon seeking to scale efficiently. ???? Core Functions: Resource Tracking Terminal → Logs real-time inputs and outputs of all buildings (e.g., iron ingots from Metallurgy Center, leather from Tannery) → Displays per-day totals, surpluses, deficits → Flags critical shortages and overproduction Product Inventory Management → Tracks finished goods and semi-products (e.g., weapons, armor, textiles) → Includes quantity, quality level, and current location (warehouse, display, or in-use) Financial Ledger System → Tracks NP income from quests, guests, trade, and shop sales → Logs expenses: blueprints, skeleton worker purchases, building maintenance → Calculates net gain/loss daily, weekly, monthly Trade Interface Sync → Fully compatible with upcoming Inn & Trade Hall Systems → Keeps ledgers on customer purchases, service value, and foreign merchant deals → Prepares automated invoices for external settlements (once diplomacy/trade routes are established) Workforce Assignment Logs → Monitors worker deployment across all industries → Highlights idle skeletons and labor inefficiencies → Suggests potential reassignments based on need and surplus Forecasting Chamber (Upgrade-Only) → Predicts upcoming shortages or gluts based on production rates → Suggests manufacturing focus areas or trade imports ???? Storage Note: Comes with a Central Archive Vault where all physical ledgers, reports, and scrolls are stored Skeleton accountants preserve everything—burning pages is grounds for immediate dismantling. ???? Visual Aesthetic: Rows of desks with wax-sealed scroll tubes Shelves stacked high with bone-ringed ledgers Wall-mounted resource flow graphs drawn in charcoal A central "NPometer" bar that ticks up or down in glowing red/green runes ???? Recommended Worker Pack: ???? Skeleton Accountant Pack (275 NP) → Includes 4 skull-cap-wearing number crunchers → Fluent in: tallies, basic trade law, obsessive bean-counting → Passive bonus: +5% production efficiency across entire dungeon when Ledger Hall is active [ You gained +320 NP ] Karl smiled, a wide, dry grin spreading across his skull. The System never lets my ideas pass by, as well as suggestions that aligned with my goals. It’s almost like it’s reading my mind, anticipating my needs, or perhaps, it’s simply designed to reward logical progression and strategic thinking. But then, a more exciting thought took hold. Karl wondered if he could design weapons in his free time. Before he died back on Earth, he was enthusiastically designing unconventional ideas of existing failed prototype blueprints from Lockheed Martin, sketching out concepts that pushed the boundaries of conventional warfare. He’d even designed his own rifle, though the one he focused on was a rifle that could fire rocket-powered projectiles, inspired by that book, which was also inspired by the Gyrojet by Robert Mainhardt. It had failed to be mass-produced because manufacturing retractable fin stabilizers was too expensive, too complex for Earth’s industrial capabilities. But now? Maybe he could make it. And the power armors... the thought sent a jolt of pure, unadulterated enthusiasm through his skeletal frame. He threw back his skull, a booming, maniacal laugh echoing through the cavern, rattling the very bones of the crypt. "I shall make my own space marine bitches! HAHAHAHAHA!" He paused, the laughter dying down to a dry chuckle. "Wait, Isnt my design philosophy close to the Necrons? But with no power armors..." He chuckled again. "The necrons have skeleton design philosophy, mine is close but with power armor. I could make my company name ’Necrons Corp’ instead,’ but that’d be too much of an issue, too on the nose. I guess going with ’Necro Corp’ is fine. Besides, it’s my own version, my own twisted vision." His laughter returned, louder, more chilling. "Just wait! I’ll be able to build my own force and dominate the entire galaxy! MuaahHAHAHAHAHA!" His ambition, once confined to Earth’s corporate ladders, now stretched to the stars, fueled by the limitless potential of undeath and a System that seemed to anticipate his every grand design.