Chapter 41: Preparations
Sunday, April 2nd, 5:04 PM
Dungeon Ciara
Siobhán opened her eyes and yawned.
[-You’re such a pretty girl, Nita.-]
[-Affection-] Rather than a spoken reply, Siobhán felt Nita’s response rubbing warmly against her emotions.
Smiling at Nita’s forthright, rudimentary communication via their private telepathy, Siobhán stretched.
I wonder what Joe’s doing?
Memories from the previous night crashed against her.
Siobhán snatched her second pillow and hugged it tight. Her body trembled as she pressed her face against its softness.
Pulling back to breathe, Siobhán coughed, then frowned as she felt the involuntary clench of her lingering wetness. A daunting weight settled in her chest as she considered what had happened between her and Joe.
Siobhán shut her eyes.
Sighing at the unresolved urgency tingling between her legs, Siobhán grumbled. “We were alone in bed all night long, under the same blanket, and Joe didn’t try anything.”
And why would he, so soon after what’s happened? Think about it.
Siobhán squeezed the pillow tighter and pressed her thighs together, becoming increasingly conscious of her arousal as it pushed her rational thoughts aside.
Joe gives the best hugs. It felt amazing to hold him as we lay together, talking, but I want…
Biting her bottom lip, Siobhán leaned back on her elbows as she recalled the strength and warmth of Joe’s gentle touch. She threw her legs wide at the memory of a certain bulge that had grown against her thigh before Joe drew his hips back as they embraced.
Joe was ready. He must have known that I wanted him. I even pressed myself against it. So why did he pull away? Siobhán sighed.
I’ve never been with another guy who didn’t hound me in that situation—even Brad, on the day his mom died. We did it seven times that day.
I’ve only slept with two guys, but still…
“Joe held back,” she muttered.
He’s different.
Siobhán fell back on the bed with her arms and legs out as she stared at the ceiling. Mike and his family know Joe so much better—why would they push this on me? The timing is terrible! I’m happy that I got to be there for Joe and learn more about him, but I can’t be impartial…
Another cough, and Siobhán’s tingle built to the familiar point where it almost felt like she needed a restroom break. But she knew it wasn’t that.
Covering her face with the pillow, she gyrated her hips, tracing her fingers along the smooth inner skin of her raised thighs, toward the insistence waiting between.
It’s not fair.
“Half of me wishes I could bring her back for him,” Siobhán whispered as she set the pillow aside and reached under her waistband.
I’m horrible.
Forcing herself out of bed after a guilt-addled round of self-help that didn’t help all that much, Siobhán washed up, then called Nita to her and headed out to greet the day, realizing it had already become evening.
[Come to the Redwood Forest, Soybean. You’re gonna love this.] Professor O’Connor sounded giddy.
“Okay.” Siobhán forced a smile.
At least I’ll be able to focus a little better—for a while. Stupid reproductive biology…
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Mike grinned at the bar of tungsten-aluminum.
“This feels like cheating,” Mike mused.
He brought his hammer down on the heated alloy bar, flattening the entire thing into a half-centimeter thick sheet against the giant tungsten anvil with ten precise blows.
Mike eyed his work to check for uniform thickness, nodded, and placed it in Jeffrey Stapp’s wiry old hands.
“Magic is ridiculous. Can’t wait to learn some for myself.” Jeffrey grinned as he stacked the sheet with the others.
Mike shook his head with a smile and accepted the next bar from Todd.
“It’s definitely cheating, but I’m with Jeff. If hard work is the key to learning it like you said, then I’m in,” Todd Watson said quietly.
Todd and Jeffrey stayed long after the others had tired and left, eager to learn by doing while Mike followed his newfound intuition as he worked.
The combination of his Forgemaster’s magic and the considerable increase in strength Mike received from becoming a Dungeon resident allowed Mike to accurately work, shape, and sharpen twenty boar spear heads in less than an hour with only heat, hand tools, and his huge anvil.
“What the hell?” Todd and Jeffrey asked in unison as Mike finished the last spearhead.
“I didn’t say anything,” Mike replied as he eyed his work.
“No, it’s something else. I can be a Weaponsmith?” A grin split Todd’s usually stoic face as he shone with pale blue light.
“You handle them weapons, son. I’ll armor the kids up so they can go a-pokin’ things with yer toys.” Jeffrey patted Todd’s shoulder while he also glowed.
Each followed their own ideas as Mike started work on a spring steel alloy of iron, silicon, nickel, magnesium and carbon.
“Hey Ciara, could you ask Siobhán if she’s willing to have Nita weave a bowstring for me?” Mike asked as he scooped impurities away from a melted component for his alloy.
[Oh, you’re making bows and arrows? What about sniper rifles, Mike?] The Dungeon asked.
“I can make my own ammunition for a bow, and if this magic-bullshit intuition of mine is right, it won’t be any less deadly than a rifle.”
[Well, if that’s what you want, I’ll ask.]
“Please do. It’ll have a slower rate of fire, and I’ll have to learn to shoot better with a bow, but the power should be comparable—as long as I’ve got the strength to draw the damn thing.” Mike chuckled.
“It’s weird when you talk to the air like that. This place really talks?” Todd looked askance at Mike.
“Think about the voice you just heard in your own head. Yeah, Ciara—the Dungeon—talks. She seems decent, but I’ve seen what her creatures can do, so we’d better not piss her off.”
“Anythin’ that can grow trees in minutes, hollow out a huge Dungeon below the water table in solid bedrock, and create them stones that give off light or heat perpetually… that’s somethin’ I ain’t never gonna fuck with,” Jeffrey said matter-of-factly.
Mike snorted. “Wait until you see her Redwood Forest.”
“Her what?” Todd and Jeffrey cried in unison.
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In my Redwood Forest, Joe oversaw sparring matches between Joy, Michael, Rihelah, and Siobhán.
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Nita had already left for the workshop to assist Mike after I set up a bowstring loom for her at Mike’s desired length.
Joy stopped mid-match against Michael, just before she would have landed a right cross against his cheek. “I…” Joy fell to her knees, smiling as she glowed.
[What did you get, Joybean?] I asked excitedly.
“Frost Pugilist. I—” Joy looked at Joe. “I know how to fight.”
Joe smiled and beckoned her with his hand. “Show me.”
With a thought, Joy’s strikes could spread frost across whatever she hit or kicked, though the attack had to be made with bare skin—though Joe was already tough enough that it hardly affected him.
Joy’s frost consumed a portion of her mana, and she estimated she could land around ten strikes with it before she ran dry.
It took a couple of minutes for Joy to rein in her newfound strength when sparring against Michael, Rihelah, and Siobhán—Joe had to heal each of them a few times. However, Joe was still more than a match for Joy, despite her new ability.
I’m not surprised. He has his own uniquely powerful set of abilities and years of combat experience.
Their training stopped when Joe held up a hand as one of each of my new minion species approached them.
“Dungeon… what the hell?” Joe muttered, looking askance at the approaching minions. Michael stepped forward with a smile, Rihelah hid behind him, Joy stood her ground near Joe, and Siobhán ran forward to play with my animals.
[Meet some of my new critters! Forest coyotes, Ringneck garter snakes, Coastal constrictors, and Soybean skunks.]
True to form, Siobhán beamed and cackled merrily when she heard the last species’ name. “ProfCon, you goof—I love you!” She smiled at the animals and kneeled to hold her hand out for them.
I had the snakes climb Siobhán’s arm and coil loosely around her neck. “Wow. Aren’t you two lovely?” she cooed at them, gently guiding their heads to where she could kiss each one. “They’re adorable, ProfCon.” Siobhán murmured.
“Big, too. Jessica would’ve loved you both…” Siobhán frowned as she gently unwound the serpents and set them on the ground.
Then she approached the Soybean skunk and kneeled beside him. “Aww, such handsome colors. Hey—his stripes are almost the same as…” Siobhán held out a lock of her own hair, and the shine of the skunk’s reddish-brown markings matched hers closely.
“ProfCon…” Siobhán grinned and rolled her eyes as she turned to greet the final minion.
The male coyote gave Siobhán the same loving, tongue-lolling expression as my pups, and his tail wagged as he licked her hand and gave her a slow blink.
“Oh, he’s precious! What’s your name, pretty boy?” She baby-talked at him. The coyote cocked his head and blinked at her while his wagging stopped.
“Ooh, your tail’s so floofy, it’s like a little cloud…” Siobhán’s smile widened, and she hugged the coyote.
“I’ll call you Kumo, like Mr. Hishiro’s pretty Shiba! Kumo means cloud in Japanese, and—whoa.”
Siobhán blinked as Kumo glowed for a moment. Afterward, the coyote’s fur looked much fluffier and more luxurious.
Oh, I want to pet him so bad!
[Are you taking another minion away from me, Soybean?] I laughed.
“Huh. Nope, it’s different. Kumo isn’t like Nita. I can only have one familiar, but I can name two other animals. They become friendly toward me, and it makes them stronger—not as powerful as Nita became, but still twice as tough as usual. However, I can’t talk with them or give them commands like Nita.
“I can change which animals I have named, though that takes mana, and there’s a one-day delay before I can swap a name to a different animal, but this is really handy.” Siobhán scritched Kumo behind his ears.
Kumo locked eyes with Siobhán, then leaped, knocking her onto her back. Gripping Siobhán’s head with his front legs, Kumo humped her blouse with reckless abandon.
“Hey! You naughty little shit!” Siobhán snickered and pushed him off her as her cheeks turned red. Everyone else roared with laughter as I made Kumo stand nearby.
Kumo, you little horn-cloud! Wrong species!
“No more scratching behind your ears, Kumo…” Siobhán shook her head and stood to scold Kumo, while everyone else kept laughing.
When they settled down, I informed Siobhán, [Don’t worry. I’ve given Kumo strict orders to refrain from getting amorous with your abdomen, Soybean.]
Siobhán chuckled nervously. “Thanks. I was starting to regret naming him, and—” She frowned and tightened her lips. “Wait, you only told him not to hump my stomach? Not cool, ProfCon!”
Another round of laughter ensued and Siobhán flushed red again, flashing a shy smile at Joe.
[Or any other part of you or any human. Don’t worry—Kumo won’t do it again. Sorry, it was more fun to say the other way.]
“Ah, my Budding Crevice, you do me proud.” Sven grinned as he appeared next to Kumo.
[Oh, Ailing Avian of Aggravation, this lowly one is humbled by the wisdom of your drivel.]
Sven snorted. “Congratulations on finally achieving what most Dungeons manage on their first day—there are delvers preparing to assault your Dungeon at last.” Sven smiled triumphantly.
I sighed.
[They probably won’t be ready until tomorrow.]
“Likely so, and that drags things out further, augmenting your uncanny tardiness to greater heights—but at least you’re mostly behaving like a Dungeon.” Sven winked.
“You’re a brat, Sven.” Siobhán blew a chuckle through her nose.
Sven smiled thoughtfully at Siobhán, then shook his head as if he’d decided something. He winked at her, then stared through thousands of meters of stone toward my core.
“Ciara, please inform any delvers you care for that they should carry packs to collect loot and bandages, at the very least.”
“Loot?” the five humans asked eagerly, in unison.
Ah, my former species. Avaricious as always, though I suspect there are few who could match the hunger in my core.
Looking at everyone nearby, Sven said, “Yes, loot. Take care to practice not only physical combat but your new abilities as well. Some of you have received gifts beyond what typical F-Rank humans are capable of, but if you aren’t comfortable and confident with them when the time comes, you may falter.”
“How is it that everyone else is receiving all these amazing powers but us? Sure, we’re stronger from the Dungeon, but…” Michael muttered while he shook his head at Rihelah.
“I dunno, Michael. It doesn’t make any sense to me, either. We’ve been training with Joe longer than Sio and Joy.” Rihelah shrugged.
“Ahem.” Joy raised her hand and said quietly, “Maybe it’s something to do with how much time you two invest in… bedroom battles.”
Joy’s eyes widened as she seemed to realize what she’d said and everyone else stared at her, open-mouthed. Even Sven.
Rihelah grabbed Michael around the waist, leaned against his side, and gave Joy a huge smile and wink. Everyone snickered, with most trying in vain to stifle their laughter.
Turning red, Joy crouched and hid her face, chuckling nervously as her blonde ponytail wiggled.
Siobhán scratched her chin. “Ya know, it seems like every power we’ve gained has to do with something we’re passionate about. I love animals, Joe really wanted to protect others, Joy discovered she loves combat and cold weather, and I guess… Mike loves metal?”
Turning to Michael and Rihelah, Siobhán continued with a wide smile, “If that’s how it works, then maybe you two will earn the ability to pound out your very own sex dungeon!”
Sven fell over cackling in mid-air, shaking and pointing a clawed finger at Michael and Rihelah.
Joy remained on the ground, quaking, snorting, and still bright red with her face hidden. Michael and Rihelah stood stock-still, staring wide-eyed at Siobhán for a moment before snorting as they locked eyes together with conspiratorial grins. Rihelah smirked at Michael, who waved his eyebrows back at her.
Joe shut his eyes tightly, pressing his lips hard as his torso shook before he threw his head back, roaring with laughter, and pointing at Siobhán.
Siobhán deflated under Joe’s apparent ridicule and stared at her feet until Joe approached and lifted her into a bear hug. Siobhán inhaled, shut her eyes, and hugged him back tightly.
“Hot damn, Killarney,” said Joe, “I needed that.” He set Siobhán back down with a grin. He held out a massive fist and she bumped it with hers.
Afterward, the five resumed training and my minions headed back into the forest except for Kumo, whom I instructed to remain nearby and obey Siobhán.
Since I’d started running low on materials gathered from the city’s ruins, I worked on cleaning up the rest of the harbor. Just the front fifth that I’d already revitalized made the entire channel look much better. There was a lot more wildlife present compared with before the war, and the water was much less murky.
But I wanted pristine.
Cleanup work beside the snowy landscape was cathartic and proceeded many times faster than before, since I had much more mana and a far higher income.
I shouldn’t have put this off so long, and not only because it’ll look wonderful after I’m done. A better sanctuary for prey means more food…
My Dungeon mind showed its teeth at that thought, and I smiled at the prospect of being able to work faster.
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Floors: 2
Minions: 212/240
Residents: 12/12
Denizens: 49339
Traps: 6/10