Consciousness returned to Obu slowly as she recovered from the large amount of Experience she had gained and spent all at once. She yawned like only a Dungeon could, which consisted of a particularly large influx of Aether rushing in from the world outside to bathe her gemstone body. As she came to she was surprised to find notifications from the System running across her Core.

Analyzing…Challengers Detected…Commencing Dungeon Run

Challengers:

Razum: Rank F(1), Level 0, Classless

Good Luck, Dungeon Core!

Notice! Due to the Dungeon Core being asleep, the System will automatically release rewards for completed steps.

With shock and worry mounting, Obu quickly moved on and breathed a sigh of relief when she found the notifications that her brother had succeeded in surviving her Dungeon. Not only had he survived he had partially succeeded in challenging her First Room. There had only been five of her Gits and he hadn’t found any of the traps but she was still proud of him. The fact that he had done so while Classless was little more than astounding, especially since she would rather think of her brother as impressive than her Dungeon as lacking.

She felt at the bond with her father and followed the connection to find him patiently teaching Razum the ways of spores and fungi. They were both hunched, bending over a particular specimen and Dug was coaxing it to give forth its spores by supplying it with Aether. Razum watched intently before copying the technique on a similar, separate sporecap nearby. Obu smiled to herself in her own way before returning to her Dungeon without disturbing them.

She would make sure that the next time her brother decided to delve into her Dungeon there would be a proper challenge in place. First, though, she checked the System for any Quests she had missed due to her slumber. She wasn’t surprised to find one, along with a note from the Administrator.

New Quest Given!

[Breaking Through]

Type: Rank Up, Repeatable

Description: You are on the cusp of advancement to the next Rank. As a Dungeon Core, there are a few ways to achieve this advancement.

Your options are:

* Purify a source of corruption nearby.

* Draw corruption from a nearby leyline.

* Help a challenger achieve their Rank Up by providing a suitable challenge.

“I have taken the liberty of offering a Rank Up Quest on your behalf to one of the Muskeera who delved into your Dungeon the first time. You should prepare to receive him, I believe he is making his way to you.”

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

* Administrator

Obu hummed at that information, dismissing the notification and moving to examine her Dungeon. Her First and Second Rooms and found them recovering but not fully recovered. The First Room in particular was not prepared to receive Delvers. She pinged the System on the contents of the Muskeeran’s quest. While it didn’t send her a complete copy of the Muskeeran’s Quest, it did provide her with the requirements.

Armed with that information she let her presence wash through her Dungeon preparing her creatures for the coming encounter. Her Mini-Boss in particular perked up and began growling in anticipation. She left her Dungeon Monsters to prepare before letting her presence drift out to where her main Core lay propped against Dug’s massive bed. It wasn’t long after that she sensed the Muskeeran, Cheep-Cheep, enter her Awareness.

POV Cheep-Cheep

Cheep-Cheep considered himself a decently courageous Muskeeran but he couldn’t help his eyes from flicking to one shadow or another as he made his way deeper into the domain of the green one and his children. He had finally given up waiting to be summoned and instead snuck out of the camp by himself. Having told any who asked that he was out “hunting,” meant that he wouldn’t be missed for a couple of hours.

The fact that he had gone alone would end up raising some speculation which was something he had wanted to avoid but he couldn’t take a hunting group where he needed to go and his mixed party would have raised even more questions. So here he was, skulking through the green one’s den, trying to remember the way to the Dunn-Junn, when a young female voice echoed in his ear.

“Welcome Cheep-Cheep! Pleased to meet you!”

This caused his fur to stand on end and his body to leap sky-high. There was a feminine giggle before a trail of lights appeared in front of him. They hung in the air effortlessly and seemed to shimmer with colors Cheep-Cheep had never seen before. He reached a hand out and felt nothing as his hand passed through the lights. The voice returned, and though the excitement was still there it was now gentle and coaxing.

“Follow the light, Cheep-Cheep. It will take you where you need to go.”

Tentatively he did as the voice commanded, following the lights until he reached a familiar yawning doorway. Words flashed in his vision confirming what he already knew. This was the place he had been looking for, the place where he would either succeed in defeating the third room or die trying. He passed through the inky blackness and into the place beyond. He thought he heard words echo before he did so but his mind couldn’t hold onto them.

“Good Luck.”

POV Obu

The Dungeon Core watched as the Muskeera entered her halls and once again wished him good luck, though he could no longer hear her. This challenge would be his and his alone though she could help him along in other ways. With her first two Rooms still recovering from the previous Dungeon runs she felt it was alright to expedite the Muskeeran’s Quest.

She ordered her few respawned creatures to give him a wide birth, not hiding but rather making it clear that he was able to pass. She also kept up the stream of light that led him through her first two Rooms until he ended up before the entrance to her Third Room. It was there that he hesitated, clearly gathering his courage to confront the test before him. His pawed hands clasped his spear fiercely and his breaths came fast.

She was about to try something to get him moving when he took another deep breath and stepped into the dark tunnel that led to the Third Floor. He made his way slowly along the dark corridor with its ups, downs, and slick surfaces. It didn’t take long for him to travel the distance to the Third Room and that was interesting in and of itself. Now that she was looking closer, she could see a soft sheen of Aether every time he came upon a particularly difficult piece of terrain.

His paws seemed to stick despite the slickness of various surfaces and his leg muscles compensated for any awkwardness of movement. This Muskeeran seemed to have some tricks. She hoped they would be enough to keep him alive.