As I zoom through the Dungeon on my way to Talia's, I make a quick stop when Veris beckons me over upon my arrival.

"Hey, Boss. Watcha doing?" She shouts, waving her arm and beaming a bright smile as I approaches her. Manifested like a will-o-wisp, I'm now easily recognisable to anyone in my Dungeon.

"I'm on my way to talk to the Rogues. I need to let them know who's heading out first and what the parties will be." Using my amazing new voice, I also ask how Veris is doing.

"Well... I'm OK. I'm just a bit bored. My room could use some features. It's great and all, but it's just me and nothing else. It's empty," she responds glumly.

My dungeon has quite a few different features now and I thought that my summons would use them when they wanted. Then again, she probably does. This is obviously about her own personal room and she's right, it doesn't look very boss-like.

"Sorry, Veris. I don't really have any boss-type furnishings yet. As soon as I get some, I'll definitely spruce your room up though. I promise."

I tell her to keep her spirits high and Veris throws me a beautiful smile, happy with my given answer. I really am growing fond of these guys and would like to be able to give them whatever they want. The problem is that DP doesn't stretch as far as I'd like it too. That and my catalogue doesn't have the biggest selection.

"Thanks, Boss, I'll be waiting." She then sits down and starts to meditate causing me more questions.

Do monsters usually complain about their rooms, or is this just another one of those 'It's because they're unique' moments?

Ha. That was worded rather well. What do you think?

Did you just laugh?

I must be coming down with Dungeon Fever.

I reckon it's because they're unique that I just happen to have hungry, needy women residing within my walls.

...

What?

I can say that.

Happy that Veris is happy, I move on. In the Batcave I greet Violet as I pass through. The Wonderful Womb of Web is next with Webster and the Willies before I arrive at the Wolves Den.

Upon arrival, I notice that Trixie is making some rather strange noises. The other wolves seem to be concerned about the Alpha and have all gathered around her.

The poor wolf. Her fur normally looks divine but is matted and sweaty this morning. She tries to raise her body to greet me, but I use my new voice to stop her and ask how she is.

Even though I'm able to communicate with others, Trixie can't. The feelings I recieve through the Dungeon's connection aren't enough to tell me what's wrong. Only that she doesn't feel too well.

There's not much I can do with such little information. I tell her to drink lots and purcase some water with my remaining DP. I would send her down to the third floor but I don't want to move her. I don't want to leave her here either, but I still need to sort the Rogues out.

It shouldn't take that long and I'll come right back as soon as I'm finished.

Watching the poor creature flop back down to the ground as I leave pains me to my Core.

I reassure her that I'll be back and set off moving faster than before. Zoomin' through a few empty rooms, I turn the corner and enter the prayer room. Which is really just another empty room, if not for the undersized Box of Worship. I greet the Acolytes before moving on to have a quick game of crabs with Jack. In the room after, a brief and underwhelming glance at Tara and Lara's stall is the last stop before reaching the Tavern.

I didn't really stop for a game of crabs. Everyone's at breakfast apart from the acolytes and I really want to get back to Trixie. I'm starting to enjoy being able to label my dungeon like that though.

It would have been quicker to drop Manifestation. As the Core, you can see everywhere at once.

Yeah, but I enjoy being able to move again. Its much better than the moving pictures that the Dungeon offers. And it's not as like we earn DP by the second, is it?

Not yet, anyway.

Plus, I might not have noticed that Trixie was sick if I used the overview. I would probably have just zoomed in on the Tavern, potentially missing my poorly baby.

Dungeon Monsters do not get sick.

Well, she looked sick. The poor thing had no energy at all.

Could it have been from the food last night?

Dungeon Monsters do not get sick, Abi. I have just told you.

You once told me that Rogues don't need food and look where that got us.

She looked poorly, Me. That's all I'm saying.

I'm going to go back and check on her once I'm done here.

Fine. Since the dungeon is progressing well, I suppose there is no problem with you doing as you please. You can perform upgrades and make purchases from anywhere after all.

That's settled then.

As I float through the Tavern doors, I see Rogues numbers have increased by two and they've also been joined by two Con Men. Everyone's gathered together and are sat down eating a hearty breakfast prepared by Ali.

The sight before me is quite shocking and I'm surprised I didn't notice it earlier. Or at the least last night. A sea of beauty is all I can see as every single Rogue has their hoods down to eat. The beautiful faces warm my heart and also makes me worry about the scouting parties.

I don't need to eat and I don't have the urge to either, not that I could if I wanted to, but I do feel a twinge of sadness at not being able to participate and enjoy the meal with my...

As they eat, I inform them that they will be going out in teams of two when taking on missions. I leave them to decide between themselves who their partners will be. Anyone already set to a feature will be staying in the dungeon. So Talia, Tara and Lara along with the Acoltyes and Con Men are all exempt.

Anyone not wishing to venture out can be given a feature to manage. The Watch House might have been constructed, but I didn't assign any Rogues to it.

Two females Rogues get that job the moment they state they don't want to leave the Dungeon. They look strangely similar and both have blonde hair and eyes like miniature suns.

Both Rogues are still unnamed so to correct that lazy attitude of mine, I name them Mira and Hana. Assigning them to the Watch House, they will be Dungeon's defenders. They smile at me before they disappear from the Tavern, off to fulfil their role.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Ali steps forward next. She also wishes to remain in the dungeon and would like to make food for the others. As long as my Rogues are content and I've got enough left for the plan, I don't mind at all. I suppose Ali has only just started her culinary journey.

No one else wants to stay which leaves me with three teams of two. That was the bare minimum I had planned for to be honest and I explain the details.

Each team will allocated 8 hours outside the dungeon. That means they can't travel more than 4 hours away from me without being late upon arriving back. Me assured me that each monster is able to keep time accurately. I'm having trouble trusting his information at the moment. With no one else to rely on though, what's a Core to do?

Using this method of scouting, I should be able to work out if I'm still in the same place I was when I died. Once one squad has returned, another team can leave which makes three runs a day. Until I summon some more Rogues that is.

Actually, it would only cost me 40DP for two Vagabonds. That's not a balance-breaking price for me now. Doing that will bring me closer to the next tier in the Rogue class.

At the moment, the Vagabond is my strongest human summon. I only want to send human types out because they have more options for carrying objects, loot, or people, home.

They also have the best chance of fooling anyone they might come across since they can talk.

I'll wait until I've got enough DP to purchase another few teams. Then they can join the scheduled patrols. Making it two teams out at one time, but overlapping. That way a team will be returning every four hours, increasing my DP even more.

The teams consist of Light and Dropper, Tweedledum and Tweedledee, and the last two unnamed Rogues in my dungeon.

It's been a busy day and a half, don't judge me.

Both female, I name one Coral and the other Mystique. I also swear to name anything I summon on the spot to avoid this problem again.

After everyone is named and knows what they're doing, I send Dropper and Light out for the first shift. Dum and Dee will be going out second with Coral and Mystique last.

That concludes my first brief strategy meeting as a Core.

Easy.

I leave Ali some fish this time, we still don't have much variety until I can absorb more ingredients. I take in the beauty around me before heading back to my poorly wolf in a flash by dropping Manifestation.

Restarting the skill beside her, Trixie doesn't even attempt to move and looks to be in no better shape than before. If anything she looks a little worse. She could be in some serious pain. Especially if she is refraining from movement.

I ask if she's been drinking before realising she still can't answer me. There's no way she has learned telepathy in the twenty minutes that I've been gone.

Feeling foolish, but caring none the less, I look at my Alpha who surprises me. Barely moving, she nods slowly to my question and I can't help but smile at her human-like response.

I spend the next three and a half hours reciting tales of Abi the Great, Abi the Mighty and sometimes Abi the Scaredy Cat. They're just stories embellished a little from my time spent as an adventurer with my friend Anya.

None of them feature Kal as I purposely left him out to avoid unpleasant memories. Trixie listens intently the whole time, showing no sign of improvement.

Floating beside my adorable white wolf I continue regaling the stories of Abi the Incredibly Beautiful, whilst putting Barry's points to use like a good Dungeon Core should.

Still holding a torch for my human self.

Not putting much effort into the upgrades, as it's literally impossible to read upgrades and tell stories at the same time, I choose a cheap building that definitely needs doing.

Box of Worship has become Shed of Salvation:

Requires four Acolytes or one Dungeon Disciples to function correctly

A new monster has been unlocked:

Dungeon Disciple: 20DP

Reward:

4 XP

One Disciple is faster to deal with than two Acolytes and also needed for the feature so that's another 20DP.

Another male, almost identical to the Acolyte Zen, was left behind once the light of creation had vanished. Summoning him unlocked his attire for my loot collection and raised the number of bald dudes in my Dungeon to two.

With the shiny part of his head facing my way as he bows, I got a pretty good look as my reflection. Not too shaby if don't say so myself.

He's quite handsome for a priest, even in that musty, red robe. A small, gold chain hangs from his neck and the letter A is on display inside a circle made of knives.

I don't know what it means, but it looks cool. Some religious jewelry is just garbage.

I name him Avos because that's what I do now, I name people properly, and send him off to meet Zen and Ang. Hopefully they'll be happy and maybe a little shocked that their box just upgraded into a shed without warning.

Are all the male Disciples going to be bald and what's up with the names of this building?

Optional Choice:

Set Avos as a Mini-Boss for this Floor?

Yes/No?

Yes, please.

With that done, I spend more DP by adding wooden doors to the tunnels on my first floor. It doesn't require much effort and I can still give Trixie my attention.

A new feature has been unlocked:

Stone Door: 4DP

I place a Stone Door on Veris's room, hoping that single feature might quell her needs temporarily. I don't really expect it too, but it was just a thought after seeing her earlier.

I feel guilty not being able to do anything for her, so the least I can do whilst spending points frivolously is consider her.

When I confirm my purchase, I briefly pause my story to think about what Veris means to me. She's my protector. My defender. Her image engraves itself on to both doors, in two very intimidating poses. Weapons drawn in both, she looks manficent.

I finish up by summoning six Vagabonds, whilst regaling the tale of Ali the Desert Explorer. Six ladies come out looking like Veris. The only difference is they all have the same sandy-brown hair instead of the snow-white look my Boss features.

Not making the same mistake as last time, I break in my story once more to quickly name the Vagabonds. It's difficult to think of one name on the spot, nevermind six different ones. Eventually, they end up Alba, Nessa, Baluka, Rocky, Sandy and Senna.

I instruct them to make groups and to start scouting in turn with the Rogues. Sandy and Senna will be heading out now that Light and Dropper have been out for almost half of their alloted time. Doing it that way means the Vagabonds patrols will overlap with the Rogues, that means a scouting party returns every four hours instead of eight.

With my points running low, I continue my tale. Until my storytelling ends abruptly with Trixie beginning to shake. She lifts herself from the floor and looks to be choking. I'm worrying because there's nothing I can do. Apparently, Dungeon Monsters don't get sick!

Me, what can I do?

...

Me!?

Yes. I am here. I just... Dungeon Monsters do not get sick! It's just not right, Abi. I don't know what is happening.

It's OK, Trixie, I'm here.

Don't worry, everything is going to be OK.

You're going to be OK.

Trixie makes a sickly noise as a large purple puddle of last nights dinner is expelled. It's got all the different vegetables and a generous amount meat aswell as a big ball of slime that looks like mucus.

Trixie shakes herself and huffs before flopping to the the ground. She looks to be feeling much better after that and her tail is even waggling a bit, kicking up a storm and spraying dust on the other wolves beside her.

Gorgeous.

Thank the Gods she's ok.

Turning my attention back to the small pool of vomit, without really looking at it because it's disgusting, I wonder why it hasn't disappeared yet.

Me, why haven't I absorbed this yet?

The materials used in the meal were created by yourself so you can't absorb them. You must dismantle the materials for them to be removed. The Slime can neither be dismantled or absorbed because it isn't dead yet.

Slime?

I give the puddle my full attention and immediately spot the pink ball of goo. What I originally assumed to be wolf mucus, is actually the wiggly intruder from yesterday.

The cutest Pink Slime you'll ever see is currently covered in a thick layer of undigested dinner. I'll have to talk to Trixie about chewing her food in the future, but seeing as she's healthy it's fine for now.

I can put my full attention into the Slime.

Slime, Slime, Slime.

Hehehe.

"Hi, I'm Abi. Do you want live here?" The words leave my mouth before my brains even processed them.

The monster, still covered in remains, spins around to look at me. Or that's how it appeared. It's hard to tell since it looks the same no matter what direction it's facing. Wobbling like it has a purpose, the undigested remains get absorbed by the slime.

I don't know what to be more shocked about. That the slime absorbed Trixie's vomit, or that I just asked a stupid question.

The feeling of stupidity could be the motto of my dungeon. I generally embarrass myself every other hour or so. You'd think I'd be used to it by now.

Watching the wonderfully-wobbly Pink Slime, I notice that she isn't just wobbling anymore. She's actually getting taller and slimer, gaining contours and limbs, creating hair and changing shades.

Oh. My. Gods!

It's a transforming Slime!

Still wobbling slight at the height of a regular person, the cute Pink Slime has entered the ranks of the beautiful. Her lower half still resembles slime, but the top half of her body looks just like a regular person.

A naked person, I might add.

"Only if I possess... a mouth which I may... speak through... I think?" Her voice is soft and subtle as she struggles to form a sentence.

If I had a jaw, it would have hit the floor.

I'm speechless.