The first trial of the intermediate route is similar to the first of the green route, only instead of a narrow bridge, there are suspended platforms where recruits must jump while carrying the weight of their weapons and armor—a challenge compounded by rocks thrown by goblins Jim ordered to attack with rage.
Past the platforms is the colosseum. There are now three arenas, more compact than the original to increase the intensity of the battle and avoid hitting the limits imposed by Jim's Dungeon Core level. The enemies summoned in this second trial of the intermediate route are primitive humans in an amount equal to the number of soldiers undertaking the challenge.
As the final challenge of the route, there is another skull puzzle, although this time there is a painted drawing on the door to help invaders understand what is required. Dowmy took charge of the drawings; they turned out rough and crooked, but understandable enough to fulfill the objective, so Jimbo left them as they are. The drawing for the easy route puzzle is an hourglass and the sun in its three main phases: Dawn, noon, and dusk.
Hilda provided her idea for the intermediate route puzzle.
"Instead of one fire for all of them, only make it correct to light each torch with its corresponding counterpart."
«I recall you tried exactly that and it didn't work for you.»
"Can you do it or not?"
«Sure, I can arrange something.»
Jimbo remains alert regarding his ether. Keeping the dungeon running is a constant expense, and any excess could ruin the delicate scheme he built with the training sessions. Practices that soon became popular among the soldiers as they involved more than just doing push-ups or hitting comrades with a stick. The simulation inside the dungeon was the closest thing they had to facing real danger in a controlled environment.
Even so, Jimbo worried the soldiers might lose interest.
«Novelty is the most fleeting trait of all.»
To solve that risk, Jimbo came up with the idea of applying a reward system.
«Nobody likes a video game where, after giving your blood, sweat, and tears, the biggest prize is a piece of crap or a sign with the word CONGRATULATION misspelled.»
He couldn't go overboard with the prizes either and let the profit-loss balance slip out of his hands. To keep costs to a minimum, he decided to recycle already created resources. First, he blocked the entrance to the garden and the hot springs with a gate, limiting entry.
He created two stone chests. Out of love for classic dungeons, Jim would have preferred to use wooden chests, but he was still restricted by the Age limits. Using magical mechanisms—invisible to the guests, but unavoidable for the one pulling the strings or writing the code—Jimbo designed the chests to spawn right after the puzzle was solved, behind the painted door.
The prize for the easy difficulty: 1 mango for each member of the group.
The prize for the intermediate difficulty: A stone token for each member of the group, a token that grants one free hour inside the hot springs. If you gather five of these tokens, you get a massage from attractive cavewomen!
Mangos are already a craze inside the castle. Jimbo asked Dowmy to spread a rumor among the soldiers that the fruit has aphrodisiac qualities and is also great for preventing wrinkles and beautifying the skin. Consequently, mangos became a highly sought-after gift within the castle limits. A knight who simply couldn't offer his girlfriend a mango was scum! And since it was a fruit never before seen in the kingdom, no one would be able to call Jimbo out on the lie.
Dowmy also heard that the soldiers started using the tokens as a currency for favors. Too lazy to do the next night watch? I'll cover your shift for a token or two! Jimbo, happy to encourage free trade, tried to convince Hilda to agree that, with 10 stone tokens, any soldier could get out of mandatory exercises for three days.
The captain's answer: Negative.
Jimbo consoles himself knowing he tried.
Another recent expense he made was creating a storage room right next to the garden to keep the mangos fresh. Jimbo summoned a few female goblins to handle harvesting and storing the fruit—green creatures very similar to their male counterparts, but with more hair and cloth to maintain modesty (although it didn't seem like the goblins would mind going naked if given the chance).
Could it be feasible for two summoned goblins to have children biologically? It's an idea Jimbo tossed around, and the system agrees it is, presenting a long list regarding genetics and special traits that Jim had to silence due to the intense headache the flood of information caused him.
«If I build a breeding system, I'd also have to create rooms and nurseries, and... No. One step at a time, Jimbo.»
It's worth noting that Jimbo placed Dowmy in charge of supervising the goblins, but after a constant disappearance of fruits and finding the imp with a more bloated belly than usual, Jim quickly decided to dispense with the imp's services and let her continue with her games.
«Now for the important part.»
The red route.
For the hard path, Jimbo was honest with Hilda. The danger is real.
If he were a normal Dungeon Core in normal situations, the red path is what he would have built using his limited resources, to repel and harvest the energy of potential adventurers. He tried to make the challenge tolerable; it's still the first level, and every dungeon instinctively avoids presenting its inner workings as impossible, both to avoid running out of prey and to tempt them to venture a little deeper inside.
As a gesture of goodwill, Jimbo created a shortcut with windows to show Hilda each of the trials and traps. After reviewing the matter for half an hour, the captain nodded, conceding that the trials could be overcome by a novice adventurer with good instincts.
Back in the starting chamber, the captain was very direct:
"Unless something happens or we are in times of war, a soldier rarely faces danger head-on. Adventurers, on the other hand, due to their profession, are used to looking for trouble. Hence why some adventurers feel superior to the troops."
«But they're right, aren't they? From what you say, soldiers are weaker.»
"Not necessarily... One thing the adventurer's guild avoids divulging is the amount of youngsters who die trying to make a name for themselves. The names that persist and resonate are those of adventurers stronger than the average. The same happens in the army... Warriors like Captain Lynel are above the norm. And I repeat, unless a war happens, casualties in the army are not usually numerous."
«You're strong too. Though you used to be an adventurer, right? Tell me, why did you quit?»
"My interests changed," Hilda says in a sharp tone that leaves no room to continue the conversation. The woman's eye travels toward the door, where she expects to see the group chosen to test this new route enter.
«Are you sure you don't want to use death row inmates for this?»
"We are not above the law, Dungeon Core."
«I'm just saying I'd feel more comfortable if the people risking their lives in my domains deserved it.»
Hilda looks at Jim's presence from the corner of her eye. In her head, there are doubts about whether a monster creator could truly have moral preferences like that, or if it's just an act. Hilda thinks that perhaps the dungeon core does possess a human side since its creator was one too. Although she would find it ironic and even funny if the supposed monster had more decency than the mage who fabricated it.
But there was no time to reflect too much on Jim's humanity; the door opens and a group of four people enters.
Marcus walks ahead of his comrades.