[New Skill!]

* Create Magic Spring: make a spring of magical water. Properties based on surrounding influences. Spring cannot output more than 3 gallons per minute. Initial cost of 20 SP, Maintenance cost of 7 MP a day.

Clare grinned at the purchase. Since the cost of ‘Bless’ hadn’t actually been lowered, they’d decided to save up for it slowly.

After they spent all their current SP, of course.

Let’s do the Design Roulette next!

Kepler sniffed disapprovingly. Or he tried to since his own manic grin ruined the effect. [You know gambling is risky and inefficient, don’t you?]

It’s not gambling, it’s fun!

[Well,] Kepler acquiesced, [Since that makes perfect sense, I’ll bend to your logic.]

He input their remaining SP.

[New Designs!]

* Houseplant: A small plant in a pot. The plant’s species is random, the only reliable trait being that it is somewhat difficult to care for.

* Spector: An immaterial being with minor mental magics. In the wild, they feed off their prey’s fear.

* Pet Rabbit: A cute, herbivorous mammal known for being timid. Comes in a variety of colors and is small in size.

* Dodo: A 3-foot-tall, chubby bird incapable of flight. Prefers dry, woody environments. This bird does not possess any magic or fighting capability.

* Toe Ring: A large ring designed to fit on a delvers big toe. Materials are drawn from dungeon’s current designs. Automatically shrinks to fit the owner’s toe and cannot be worn by any other sapient. Has no other magical properties.

* Caffeinated Soda: A sweet, bubbly drink with addictive properties. Provides the drinker with a chemical rush of energy. Regular consumption will lead to withdrawal symptoms, primarily exhaustion and headaches.

* Yummy Toad: A toad that is about a foot wide and 2 feet long, notable for its delicious flesh. While not very intelligent, this animal has very strong legs and can jump up to 10 feet. Its skin is also very tough and can be used to make low-grade armor.

* Extremely Magical Hat: A hat with very strong, random magical properties. Effects vary per hat from extremely beneficial to extremely harmful to the wearer. The only consistency in effects is that they are never mediocre.

The two stared at their new designs.

Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

In the dungeon proper, Puck was harassing Van Goh gleefully. The artistic faerie glared up at him, pausing in the silver star he was painting (Sort of. Clare wasn’t sure exactly how Van Goh decorated things since it often manifested as bas reliefs or outright figurines. But it was done with a paintbrush, so she called it painting) into the red beryl dress the statue of Clare now wore.

We have to make the pet rabbits a reward.

[Can they be put in chests?]

Why not? They can preserve anything degradable.

[That’s…] Kepler stroked his chin thoughtfully, [Morally dubious.]

I don’t wanna hear it, Sparky.

[Rude.]

Clare froze. She had been getting rude lately. Was she becoming a bad person? Her mind chilled.

Van Goh launched himself at Puck, painting over him. Which, of course, trapped Puck in a jewel-studded cage since Van Goh’s powers made no sense.

Puck rattled at the bars of his cage, cussing in Fae. Van Goh smirked, turning back to his work.

[Clare?]

She swallowed a needless apology along with her anxiety. Not having any alone time was really starting to get to her. It hadn’t been this bad a few days ago…

Pulling herself back to the present, she grinned at Kepler. Whatever. We’re definitely using pet rabbits as rewards. They sound adorable.

[Yes, alright.] Kepler glomped her into his arms. [Pity about the Dodos, though, they sound useless.]

I still want one.

He gave her a skeptical look.

She squirmed until they were face-to-face, frowning defensively. Hey, it’s not every day you get to see an extinct species!

Astrid, passing near Puck’s cage, stopped at his call. She wandered over.

[Are they extinct?]

Yeah, they were hunted to extinction in the 1700s or something.

He scoffed. [‘Does not possess any magic or fighting capability.’ Indeed.]

We’re still making one.

[Fine.] He sighed. [I suppose it will make decent target practice for our servants. They need to develop some long-range skills.]

Puck bargained with Astrid desperately, trying to convince her to risk Van Goh’s wrath by letting her out. He didn’t succeed.

Great. We should make some extremely magical hats, too.

[Those sound worse than useless.]

Exactly! She smiled up at him cheekily, what better way to defeat delvers than to trick them with the rewards?

His eyes widened, then he grinned, showing off vicious fangs. [Ha!]

Clare chuckled. Leaned into his indistinct chest.

In his cage below, Puck began crying. Clare knew he was, no doubt, just trying to gain sympathy.

She unlatched his cage with a strand of aura anyway.

Kepler watched her, noticing her eyelids drifting downwards.

[Are you tired? It’s nearly your rest period.]

Is it? She had difficulty tracking time without the sun. Too human, she supposed, to feel the system’s time intuitively.

[Sleep.] He darkened their mind-space.

Drifting. Heavy mind. Rest.