Story Start
When Archaon has beaten the tarasque, he returns to the Dungeon Heart Room, where the Dungeon Heart is located together with the tarasque. The tarasque, after being subjugated by him, behaved much more docile than before and followed after him like a little good today's soldiers.
Which was obviously a lovely sight for Archaon, who was very pleased that he managed to subjugate the tarasque. Now, he could give the creature to the Dungeon Fairy Yihi as she needed a good protector for the time being.
He knew that the tarasque wasn't the most suitable protector around because the tarasques were the beasts bred for the war and nothing else. They were not suitable to act as protectors of someone else.
That wasn't the area where their true power lay, but nevertheless, he didn't have anything better right now.
He also didn't really wish to sue the creature in any different way for the time being because, right now, it wasn't the time. When in the future, he would release the dungeon creatures from the Dungeon to wreak havoc around the area, and then, depending on the results he would want to achieve, he may add tarasque to the mix.
For now, the creature would remain by the Yihi's side, acting like an obedient dog and getting stronger.
"Master is back! And you even brought the big baddie with you! Yihihi!"
The little Dungeon Fairy circled around him happily as she kept looking at the tarasque with one eye, clearly very curious about the enormous High-Class Creature that was guarding the entrance to the Dungeon.
She was rather curious about the treasure and started scrutinizing the hulking mass of the destruction in the form of a living creature. Dungeon Fairy was rather fearless as she flew around the tarasque, as the High-Class Creature was rather uncomfortable when the small creature was flapping its wings and flying all around it.
In the end, after several moments, Yihi took residence on the head of the tarasque, between its horns, as she looked down at Archaon from the position and used the tarasque like a private mount.
"From today, the tarasque would be the Guardian of the Dungeon. We have only sole High-Class Creautre for the time being, and it seems that unless we manage to obtain some of the local fauna, we won't be obtaining new High-Class Creatures."
For example, the "Dragons" that the Valyrians used were only classified as the Middle-Class Creature. In the end, they were just lesser dragons because the True Dragons had four arms, two at the front and two at the back, not to mention They were also far bigger than the Valyrian ones, and they were also sentient and knew Magic.
Due to that, Archaon refused to call those wyrms or whatever they were Dragon and called them just Valyrian Dragon as a subspecies of the Lesser Dragon. However, at the same time, he wanted to obtain some of their eggs so he could add them to his Dungeon.
They would be a splendid addition to the ever-growing Dungeon due to their potential. Even though they were not True Dragons, they still had some characteristics of the True Dragons, like the ability to breathe fire, and they were also far more intelligent than most of the draconic subspecies.
"Then can Yihi play with the Tar-Tar?"
Archaon visibly cringed hearing how Yihi called the treasure, and even the creature recoiled a bit, but it didn't dare to do anything to the Dungeon Fairy because the tarasque sensed great power from the Dungeon Fairy.
Not to mention, because the tarasque was now Dungeon Creautre belonging to his Dungeon, it had a certain degree of natural submission towards the Dungeon Fairy because it was the manifestation of the Dungeon Heart.
Every single Dungeon Creature that was created by the Dungeon or even the beings that were accepted into the Dungeon from the outside and were inhabitants of the Dungeon had a certain compulsion to protect the Dungeon Fairy.
"Can you play with the tarasque, but we need to give it a proper name."
Archaon couldn't allow Yihi to name the tarasque "Tar-Tar."... that sounded like a name for the children or whatever, and that was unacceptable. One needed to take into account that not every single Dungeon Creature had a name.
The Creatures across all of the Dimensions were divided into several Types according to the system: Aberration, Beast, Celestial, Construct, Demon, Dragon, Elemental, Fey, Fiend, Giant, Humanoid, Monstrosity, Oozes, Plant, Undead.
Obviously, most of the living beings or unloving had names in the sense of name, but there were also a few that didn't have names. Such was the case for those who were not really high in the aspect of sentience or intelligence and didn't have names, so one could name in the so-called Naming Ceremony.
This was the case for the Monstrositiy-Type Dungeon Creature, which was the Type to which the tarasque belonged.
"Hmm... I will name you Terminus the Destroyer."
Just as he said that, Archaon sensed the Mana gathering around the treasure that he named Terminus and received notifications from the system.
[You have named the High-Class Creature Tarasuqe with the name Terminus.]
[You have sanctioned the High-Class Creature Tarasque Terminus as the Guardian of the Dungeon.]
[The Guardian of the Dungeon, High-Class Creature Tarasque named Terminus, has been stationed in the 3rd Layer of the Dungeon, the Garden Lair.]
[The Guardian of the Dungeon, High-Class Creature Tarasque Terminus has reached the Level 4 in the stats of Strength, Vitality, Endurance and Magic Power.]
Archaon then dismissed the notification from the system as he then subsequently used the [Mind's Eye] on the tarasque Terminus to observe the changes before him because he didn't really expect that he would obtain Level 4 Dungeon Creature from the Naming Ceremony.
Yet he couldn't deny that after the Naming Ceremony, he felt totally drained in the Magic Power, and he felt that in a state like this, he wouldn't be able to cast even a single spell, but fortunately enough, his Magic Power already started recovering at a fast speed.
Because he was still in Duungeon, his Magic Power Regeneration was reaching ridiculously high levels, as this was his home turf. Like a personal domain where he was stronger several times.
[Name: Terminus
Class: Dungeon Guardian
Race: Tarasque (Juvenile - Male)
Type: Monstrosity
Sub-Type: Titan
Rank: Level 4
Element: Earth
Stats:
Strength - 31, Vitality - 30, Agility - 25, Endurance - 35, Magic Power - 32
Potential: (153/500)
-------------------
Arcane - 3, Insight - 5
Potential: (8/200)
-------------------
Magic: Geomancy (Ex R) - 42
Uniqueness: Legendary Resistance (EX Legend), Magic Resistance (Epic), Reflective Carapace (Epic)
Skills: Siege Monster (Ex U), Guardian's Privilege (Ex U)]
[Before and After Comparison:
Strength 25 - Vitality 25 - Agility 25 - Endurance 25 - Magic Power 25 - Potential ( 125/500)
Arcane 0 - Insight 2
*
Strength 31 - Vitality 30 - Agility 25 - Endurance 35 - Magic Power 32 - Potential (153/500)
Arcane 3 - Insight 5]
Archaon observed the growth in the capabilities of Terminus the Tarasuqe, which had reached Level 4 Supernatural and had already shot towards the middle stages of Level 4 in terms of stats, which was very nice growth.
Terminus also obtained another skill called [Guardian's Priviledge].
[Skill Name: Guardian Privilege
Grade: Ex U
Description: When the Guardian of the Dungeon is located on the Dungeon Layer he is affiliated to, he will get a 200% boost to the Magic Power Regeneration and all Spells cast are shared with the Dungeon and are lower costwise by 50%. As long as the Guardian is located in the territory of the Dungeon, albeit not on their assigned Layer, the boost still applies to them in half.]
This was a very similar thing that Archaon had as the Dungeon Overlord, and the tarasque got some nice boosts to the capabilities while they were in the Dungeon Layer they were in charge of protecting.
He was very satisfied with the results of the Naming Ceremony as the tarasque Terminus got much stronger and was currently the strongest being in the Dungeon. This was rather good, and because the tarasque was named the Dungeon Guardian of the 3rd Layer Garden Lair, it could showcase its full fighting capability there.
Archaon also noticed that the tarasque got an increase in the stats of Arcane and Insight, which was a rather staggering discovery, but he also understood that because the tarasques were rather not that intelligent... said mildly, they wouldn't be able to make maximum use of it.
Nevertheless, now that he had obtained the Level 4 Supernatural Dungeon Creature, which was also a High-Calss Creature and one so powerful like the tarasque, he could sleep calmly during the night because unless Nigh King personally attacked his Dungeon, he was alright and safe.
"Yihi, take Terminus to the Garden Lair and let him create his nest in that layer."
Archaon said to the Dungeon Fairy, who obediently nodded her head as she attempted to put on a serious expression in, which she absolutely failed because she still looked cute as heck.
After, she took the tarasque to the 3rd Layer of the Dungeon, the Garden Lair. Terminus the tarasuqe would make its lair within the 3rd Layer of the Dungeon and protect the entrance to the final Layer of the Dungeon, the Overlord's Shrine at any cost.
As there was only a very short time remaining in the Begginer's Protection Period, Archaon needed to create a feasible plan on luring the humans from the Kingdom of the Isles and the Rivers to the Dungeon.
Towers of Storms and Cavern of Bureoza were already close to overpopulation because the species living there were growing too quickly, and they didn't have much time to establish proper civilization, hunt for food, and other things.
One could say that the Dungeon was a miniature world where everything must function in some way and in some sense. If it didn't function, then it represented a problem, though the problem of overpopulation would be solved rather easily.
However, because the Dungeon was located in the Isle of Faces that was separated from the rest of Westeros by a rather large lake, and there were practically no humans in the Isle of Faces, he would need to come up with some sort of scheme on how to lure them here.
And he also knew that it couldn't be some treasure outright, but something more elaborate.
The first thing that came to his mind was rather easy, which was to release some of the goblins from the Tower of Storms into Isle of Faces and let them roam the island. In the end, even the surface area of the Isle of Faces was counted as the Dungeon Terirory by the Dungeon Hueart, even though, it was still very small.
Albeit it was better than anything, and according to the knowledge that he knew about Isle of Faces, there was a small place for the ships to come and by, because appearing the Isle of Faces served as some sort of sacred place for the Faith of the Seven.
Even though the Ironborn followed the Drowned God, they still kept the Isle of Faces intact for two main reasons. Destroying the place and the cultural meaning of the Faith of Seven would mean that the other kingdoms would be targeting them, and there was a risk of a rebellion, a very high one.
The second reason, and probably the more notable one, was the fact that Isle of Faces was blessed with an unnatural amount of flora and fauna.
There were plenty of animals to hunt, especially the wild boars and deers that were living here in high numbers, and at the same time, the Isle of Faces was one of the few places across the entire Westeros that was home for the several species of rare herbs that were used in the primitive medicine of this world.
Due to that, there was a certain degree of human presence within Isle of Faces even though it wasn't particularly large, but there was still some presence nevertheless, and he needed to release some goblins that would attract attention.
Archaon's plans were rather simple. He would release the goblins from the Tower of Storms to kill all humans in Isle of Faces. Afterward, when some time passed, he was sure that the Kingdom of the Isles and the Rivers would send more soldiers to Isle of Faces to find out what had happened.
The Isle of Faces was one of the primary food sources for the entire Harrenhal and the surrounding towns, so it was most unlikely that they would leave it as it was. Additionally, Archaon knew that Harren the Black was an arrogant, cruel, and petty man, so at the moment when he would feel threatened, he would send their entire army.
Once that part of the plan came to fruition, then it was clear that Harren the Black would stop at nothing to reclaim Isle of Faces and die in the army. When that happened, Archaon planned to leave some goblins outside,e while luring the army into the Dungeon, where they would find some enchanted weapons and bring them back to the king.
Only then could the real plan start, because he was aware that once the human greed was ignited, it would never perish. Once human greed was ignited and the rumors about the enhanced weapons spread, Archaon planned to lead the monster army onto the Harrenhal and destroy the Kingdom of the Isles and the Rivers.
Because he had an almost inexhaustible army of goblins, kobolds, and gnolls at his disposition, together with a few powerful individuals that could take a hundred men each, he planned to storm the Harrenhal and take the castle for himself as part of his Dungeon.
Archaon planned to use the Harrenhal to place it at one of the Layers of the Dugneon and serve as the capital and living space for the intelligent species living in his Dungeon. Right now, it wasn't really that problem because most of the creatures that were living in his Dungeons and the Dungeon Creatures were not the civilized ones.
For example, if he started having Demons, Vampires, Elves, Dwarves, and similar species in his Dungeon, then he would need some sort of city to house them, or at least part of the population.
And the Harrenhal was the perfect place for that.
Even though it wasn't finished, it was the castle of gargantuan proportions that could easily house more than a hundred thousand people, a testament to the madness and vanity of Harren the Black, who extorted the resources from the entire Riveralnds for whole decades to build this monstrosity of the castle.
Archaon wouldn't have a problem with that because, for him, maintaining the castle wasn't much of a problem. As the Overlord of the Dungeon, the only thing that mattered in the Dungeon were the Dungeon Echoes, and he could set them as a form of currency for the species living in the Dungeon.
Even when he compared it to many of the different castles across the fantasy franchises, there were actually not many that could even remotely compete with that of the Harrenhal in terms of size and such.
[The Beginner's Protection Period is over!]
[Several Achievements have been completed during the Beginner's Protection Period!]
[Class 3 Easter Egg has been opened!]
***
The Kingdom of the Isles and the Rivers spread through both Iron Islands and Rivers when Harwyn Hoare, King of the Iron Islands, conquered the Trident from the Storm King Arrec Durrandon. Harwyn and his successors, Halleck Hoare and Harren Hoare, spent most of their reigns in the Riverlands, fighting against neighboring kingdoms rather than ruling from the Iron Islands.
This only ended when the Harren Hoare proclaimed himself the King of the Isles and the Rivers and ended the dynastical infighting, and the Iroborn were more focused on terrorizing the local population of the Riverlands and building the Harrenhal than anything else.
The Hoare line ruled the Kingdom of the Isles and the Rivers with a strong iron fist, not allowing any kind of dissent. Everyone who dared to step out of the line was put to the sword, and their women were used as breeding mares for the Ironborn.
Harwen was the loyal soldier of the House Hoare who was stationed in the Harrenhal that was the center of the entire Kingdom. Despite the huge size of the Kingdom of the Isles and the Rivers, there was only a small percentage of the Ironborn soldiery present though the kingdom.
Most of the soldiers were just forcibly conscripted levies among the Riverland peasants, which wasn't any kind of win, as most of them could not even properly bear arms. However, it was not different for most of the Guards because there was no tradition of standing armies in the Westeros.
Perhaps aside from the Household Guards, there were no permanent armies in Westeros; the closest thing to it were the already mentioned Household Guards of the noble houses and City Guards of the cities across Westeros.
The Royal Houses, though, had some permanent soldiers, but their numbers were not really that high, so in this regard, the Ironborn had a certain advantage because most, if not all, of the Ironborn sailors, knew how to fight at least to some degree.
Right now, Harwen was leading a small company of fifty Ironborn and around several hundred constructed levies from the Riverland to do Isle of Faces to see what was happening in Isle of Faces.
The Isle of Faces was essential for food supply and for the healing herbs that were used in the medicine, so the fact that something started killing their people in the Isle of Faces was disturbing.
Originally, they thought that it was bandits, but that was impossible because for that, they would need to cross the lake, and that one was heavily patrolled by the Ironborn.
Nevertheless, he received orders from his King to go into Isle of Faces, scout the situation, and kill the source of the trouble. He would be certainly rewarded handsomely once he completed the task, so he quickly departed from the Harrenhal to take care of the problems within Isle of Faces.