The party somehow managed to grow a shade paler, so much so that I could see their blood vessels now, which was wild. They frantically looked back and forth, clearly debating if they could smash down my double doors and leave as they did not want to go inside Kölgə’s room.

I didn’t know if they could but I doubted it, still, they might just surprise me. Nobody said anything, they didn’t need to, their eyes said it all; forward was the only way they could go.

Silent words all left their mouth and a strange glow washed over them, manifesting over their metaphysical bodies like an iron cage.

What the heck?

How they managed to say words without a sound while in my domain where my senses were supposed to be absolute was beyond me, clearly it wasn’t as absolute as I thought.

This was something outside my control, something beyond my domain, it gave off the same eldritch feeling as that cube god thing, whatever it was. I wasn’t even sure if they were words, the glow was mostly soul essence but there was something other about it, that was all I could tell though.

It actively denied my observation, I could only sense it, and I found resistance even there. This made me extremely curious about its origin and purpose, I was also curious about how it even got inside my domain and over the party, and so quickly at that.

Newfound strength flowed within the party as the glow seeped into them, washing away the fear and replacing it with steely resolve and determination. They marched forward confidently, barely inspecting my well-crafted hallway, only stopping when they were actually inside the room.

Their gaze landed on the back of Kölgə, who shifted as he felt their gaze land on him. The boss turned around, his flowing fur rippling with interest as his silver eyes bore into the group before him.

“An abomination! What in Grunk’s name is this madness!?” Shouted the barbarian axe wielder as he charged forward, axe glowing ominously, heedless of his shouting party members.

Kölgə’s tail whipped past him at superhuman speeds, crackling like thunder as it slammed into the chest of the large man. There was a dull crack as he flew back and slammed into a wooden beam, he coughed up a mouthful of blood then went silent, either dead or asleep, I couldn't tell.

“How ugly, is this how humans respond to hospitality? I simply want to play a game of marbles, not fight.”

They mostly ignored Kölgə’s words and rushed towards their downed member, forming a defensive formation as the mage manifested a bright green pill with a wave of his hand, stuffing it into the barbarian’s mouth shortly after.

Life surged within him and he coughed up blobs of blacked flesh and grimaced as he swallowed, washing out his mouth with a waterskin that also appeared out of thin air.

Fury ignited within him and his body seemed to swell, flesh melting away as if it were made of ice, sliding off his rippling skin like water. His beastly eyes dilated, growing in size and manifesting as a mix of cat and dog eyes.

“Jax wait!” shouted the mage, rushing towards the angry man, beast? I wasn’t too sure if I’m being honest. “Don’t transform yet, we can solve this!”

Transform?

Long black fur sprouted from his head, then rapidly spread to cover his entire body and his body and a beastly growl echoed through the room and hall as he dropped on all fours and charged mid-transformation.

What is God's sweet name?

The half human half cat, half dog creature that was once a human being leaped forward, jumping on the table and flinging itself at my boss ,claws bursting out of his fingers and ripping his flesh apart as he slashed forward.

Kölgə’s tail whipped forward, cleanly slicing through his left shoulder before rebounding and wrapping around his neck, halting the beast mid-air. The beast snarled at him, hissing and scratching at Kölgə’s tail madly, somehow growing even stronger than before which only caused his transformation to hasten.

His claws shifted, growing shaper and actually began to slice into the skin of the tail, ripping small pieces of flesh and fur off in the process.

End him I whispered, this guy was hurting Kölgə, and that was enough for me. I actually felt his pain too, since he was a part of me.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Kölgə’s left arm bulged as he activated the weave within, surging with terrible strength as he prepared to crush his head.

“Wait! Wait! Wait!”

I instructed Kölgə to pause and knock him out instead then focused on who was speaking, it was the mage.

“Speak!” Commanded Kölgə, voice as cold as ice.

“Please don’t kill my companion, Elder beast. I’m deeply ashamed and I take full responsibility for his actions, it was clear that you had no ill intent towards us, yet we acted rashly, please forgive us and spare our lives!”

He seemed sincere but Kölgə was pissed, and it was going to take more than that to calm him down.

“I do not want your apologies!” He roared. “You come here, slay my kin, taint my hallowed grounds with your pathetic existence and have the nerve to attack me on sight, even after I offered you a chance to live?!”

“Filth” he spat, crushing the left leg of the barbarian in anger.

“Please Elder Beast! Please, we were ignorant, please spare us now that we know!” he pleaded, going on his knees as tears began to steam down his cheeks.

Ah man, now I have no choice do I? Hitting my soft spot!

Release him, but demand compensation, like their equipment.

Kölgə’s anger and disgust instantly washed away and his mood abruptly turned pleasant, surprising even me.

“Rejoice, filth! My god has shown you mercy, leave your equipment and strange rings and I shall spare you!”

A brief look of hesitation flashed across their face, but only for a moment as the mage shifted his gaze to Hal and Pal, then they all nodded.

Interesting, that was easy, a bit too easy.

But hey, free loot was free loot, right?

The mage waved his hand, and his magic staff floated over to the table before falling to the ground, then he took off a silver necklace embedded with gems and symbols that shifted constantly and placed it on the ground as well.

Hal was next, he unwrapped his sword and threw it to the ground, then the bits of metal armor he had on. Pal was the most reluctant and took his sweet time, carefully and deliberately removing each piece of his armor until he was left with only regular clothes and a cheap looking dagger.

He then threw his shield to the ground and kicked it over to the growing pile of items then looked at Kölgə expectantly.

I am pleased, throw the barbarian over to them. Give them a dagger too, specifically to the one who was holding the sword.

My dungeon instincts took over me and before I could hold back myself the items were gone and a river of knowledge flowed into me, my soul moaned in pure pleasure as it drank from the patterns clearly pleased by the delicious harvest.

My entire dungeon shook as I felt something shift then snap, then the sensation vanished.

I blinked, then blinked again. The world around me felt different, somehow. Nothing changed, at least not visibly, but I could feel it. Now, you might be asking what exactly? I had no clue, at first I thought it was the elusive mana but it wasn’t that, it still eluded my grasp, it was something…more.

That was the best way I could articulate it, I lacked the words and concepts to properly describe what I was feeling. I wasn’t even sure an english word existed for the concept I was just exposed to.

The entire thing was extremely odd, to say the least. So much so that I didn’t even notice when the party had left when I came back to my senses, what the flip?

“They were afraid, especially when their magical equipment vanished instantly so they grabbed their barbaric friend and sped off, this happened an hour ago.”

An hour? What in God’s name, it felt like a few seconds though? Could I replicate that?

Wait! Forget about that, I got the spatial ring, or should I say necklace! I hurriedly shifted my attention inwards, shifting through the dense sea of raw data until I found the pattern for it and paused.

What? This couldn’t be right!

I summoned the spatial necklace for a bit of soul essence, watching as the silver and gems weave themselves out of pure soul essence and data until an exact replica of the original was floating mid-air.

Well, I say exact replica but it really wasn’t. The arcane symbols were gone, so were the markings and strange glow it had, all of them were gone.

Nooo!

How could this have happened, why did it even happen? I absorbed it, therefore I should be able to recreate it at a cost, right? So then why, why were some parts of it missing even though the raw data said it was still there?

I checked it, double checked it just to make sure and yup, the packet of data said X and X were there yet they weren’t when I recreated them, what I also found odd was the fact that it said X specifically when they were clearly runes.

It was because mana was involved, wasn’t it? I just knew it, there was no other explanation. Unless there was an outside force messing with my database, which was possible but highly improbable. That wired core thing came to mind but why would it waste its time to do this?

Maybe it was just this item?

I quickly found the shield and axe and summoned them both, nearly ripping them apart in annoyance when they too displayed the same thing.

Total Bs!

I knew it was too good to be true, did those bastards scam me?!

No, calm down. I sensed it clearly, up until the last moment, they were still glowing with their mystical aura and symbols, right until my instincts took over and ate them.

Damnit!

What happened to them? Did my soul essence and the mana clash, rendering them inert? That couldn't be, because it cost nothing to absorb, as far as I was aware anyway. I was now itching to test that theory.

It was extremely frustrating, spatial magic was right there, just an hour ago. The only slightly useful thing related to magic was the tome, which was filled with what looked like absolute nonsense at first glance but I knew it wasn't, the mage could clearly read it so it must be a language, an ancient one from the looks of it.

I hoped he could translate it later for me, somehow. I didn’t want to ask outright, that wouldn’t work and even if by some miracle it did I didn’t want them to feel like I needed something from them, it should always be the other way around.

I mean, asking for their equipment could be seen as that but I hope they are too occupied with other thoughts to think about it that much. I did give them a lot to think about after all, and so did they.

I sighed mentally, an action that did nothing to ease my inner turmoil. I decided to do what I did best: fixing and upgrading my dungeon. The first fight was diabolical; the Ratlings died way too easily and that really left a bad taste in my non-extent mouth. I didn’t want my first floor to be impossible but it should at least be challenging.

It was clear my Ratlings needed an upgrade, and I was about to give them one.