Death and me.
I was told that writing things down is the easiest way to understand your own thoughts.
My mind is filled with demons because of wha happened, so why w
Stupid. It was stupid to go out
Putting words to atrocities that should never have happened isn't something I want to do, but must. It's almost time for morning to break and I haven't slept a beat in days. The events of that massacre haunt my every moment and all I see when my eyes close is death.
I only joined that search party because I wanted to help find the missing adventurers. I wasn't bothered that it might help my apprenticeship if a dungeon was involved, not that one was.
The only thing we found was death.
Near Mount Morte our camp was ambushed by a group of mercenaries. Sixty seconds was all took and every one I had been travelling with was dead. They didn't go down without a fight though. A few of the attackers died and many were injured, but it wasn't enough. Even though the numbers were on our side, it means nothing in the face of skill and level.
One of the mercenaries possessed a terrifying skill. Using it maniacally carved through friend and foe alike until only the two of us remained. I was shaking. My legs were petrified. It felt like the entire world was pressing down on me as I was trapped inside a cocoon of fear.
Blades of darkness tore the camp asunder and painted the forest red.
Covered in the remains of the no-longer living, he strode towards me like I was his prize. My body collapsed of its own volition and if only my consciousness had went with it, I wouldn't have to relive this nightmare.
Paralysed and covered in blood, I hit the ground. Unable to move a single muscle as armor, followed by garments, were ripped from me, my fear threatened to choke the life out of me and I shamefully willed it to do so.
The fear that I felt was stronger than anything imaginable and it completely overwhelmed me. Unable to even close my eyes, I had to endure shame and despair on a scale no should ever endure.
I couldn't focus on anything other than my own helplessness. All I wanted to do was run, but I had already been pinned to the floor.
How could I put up a fight against a man who had just killed everyone with a few swings of his sword? The Catergoriser class is non-combat for everything not dungeon.
My eyes stung as I tried to take in what was happening and my whole body shook with a force I barely registered. In my mind, I was already dead and I waited for my wish to be granted. Tears ran down my face as I was forced into an act that should be regarded warmly and with love.
I was defiled.
By a monster.
In human skin.
Just when I had decided to grant my own wish by biting off my tongue, I was offered salvation. The monster removed himself as another person made their presence known. Every fibre of my being wanted to beg the man for help, but how could he win against the mercenary? I was sure he would lose his life trying.
I don't know how I didn't notice the woman that appeared behind the mercenary, but she slit his throat like butter and the silly cow covered me in a fresh batch of blood. I was hardly even aware of what was happening, lost in a spiral of despair until my saviours grouped up.
I call them saviours, but I'm pretty sure good guys don't usually argue over who has to carry the body. Or over what items to leave behind since they aren't able to carry everything.
Realising my life was no longer in peril, I watched the man complain as he lugged the dead-scum's body over his shoulder and grabbed the sword. The woman had her hands full with his armour.
Before leaving, they stopped and finally looked at me.
It was about time. I'd been there longer they heybhad and they were just ignoring me after all. I mean
I know they were talking about me whilst they watching me to see what I'd do. Why else would they be looking at me?
After waiting for a few minutes, they decided to leave and disappeared in the forest. Leaving me alone in the crimson-coloured clearing without a shred of dignity.
Bastards, right? I mean
They could have said something to me at least!
I was slightly worried that my saviours may had saved my life only to leave me to die alone in the forest.
And I was right...
Can you believe that? Why would they leave me that way after saving me? Why? I don't understand it. Why was that scum's body and possessions more important to them me? Or at least asking how I was?
I tried to think about it then, but I couldn't process anything. Even now, it still baffles me. Why would they do that?
All alone in the forest of death, I cried my eyes out. I bawled like a baby and I could do it again now if I openly let the waterworks run. I didn't really want to think about my saviours then because it meant owning my tragedy.
I didn't even want to relive that moment, never mind owning it.
I still don't, but this is important. I have to own it to get over it.
After scrounging clothes and armor, I managed to et back to Orad before nightfall. My body was still heavy so every step had to be forced and it took a while. Seeing the city gates didn't help me either.
Shame, despair, sorow, self pity, they were just some of the negative emotions clouding my mind as I told Mayor Baldur everything. Recounting my ordeal was almost as bad as experiencing first hand and I haven't left my room since.
Hopefully, writing this down will help me overcome some of the thoughts that plague my mind. I don't want to carry these feelings for the rest of my life.
I can't help but remember how carefree my saviours seemed to be and I find myself thinking of them almost as much as the ordeal itself.
I just want to see them again.
I want to know who they are.
I want to say thank you.
And I want to know why?
Why did I get to return alive?
I don't know if I can face anyone after what happened. It was hard enough telling the Mayor of Orad what happened and he's one of the nicest people I've ever met. I've completely ignored Catergoriser Elric since returning. I definitely can't face him right now.
I wondering if my Saviours are still out there? In the forest somewhere. Will I be able to find them if I go back?
This apprenticeship has only just started and I'm already regretting it.
If I ever want to be a Categorisation Expert, I'm going to have to overcome this somehow.
There is nowhere I should be afraid to go!
Diary of Katrina Katova.
29th sun of Aun. 1956
----------------------------------------
Holy Shit.
I was not expecting the cute pink Slime to be able to turn into such a hot babe. I wonder if that's my dungeon power?
Come visit Abi and become beautiful just by being inside her.
Sometimes, Abi. You could refrain.
I'm sorry, Me. I was a little shocked.
"How are you able to transform?" I can't contain my curiosity. The human-shaped Slime has the attention of the room, although I think Trixie might refrain from eating her now.
"I do not... Know. This is the first time... It has happened. I quite... LIke it." Her response is staggered as she examines her new body, feeling herself all over.
How can I accept that as her answer? The fact that she's having difficulty stringing together sentences makes me think somethings wrong with her. I really hope it's a Slime thing and not because she's spent the day in the Alpha's stomach.
"I'm sorry about Trixie and what happened before." Knowing that my words may turn this wonderful creature against me, guilt still drives me to apologise.
"What is a... Trixie," she leans closer to me, "and what... Happened before? Was I... Trapped somewhere.
She doesnt know what happened? How is that possible? Oh yeah. I forgot that Slimes are meant to be blind. "How were you avoid the traps in my dungeon if you couldn't see?"
Slimes have an inherent abili...
Shshhshhshshhh.
Let the cute Slime tell me. Stop hogging the spotlight.
"Traps? Are they... Dangerous? Slime have the... Ability to detect danger in the... Surrounding area. It is a special characteristic of our species. Wow. What useful... Information. How fascinating."
Maybe I got lucky that she was able to tell me. How did she know if she didn't actually know? I'm confused. It's a good job she's beautiful because that brain isn't going to take her very far.
"Hey, erm... I don't know your name, but what are your plans for the moment?"
She tilts her head and puts her hands on her hips, which start sinking into her body before she pulls them back out. "Silly... You. I don't have... A name. I'm... Just a Slime."
As she caresses her partially-human body, I remember something Me mentioned the other day. I'm also extremely glad there's no one else here to see the explicit show being performed for me and the Wolves
How do I contract a monster, Me?
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
Oh. Now you need me?
Don't be like that, Me. I've never seen a pink Slime before, never mind having the opportunity to talk to one. I just wanted to here it from her.
Don't feel sore about it. I'm sorry.
I do not feel sore. Fine. If you name the Slime your Mana will be infused with hers. That will contract her to the Dungeon and you will no longer earn DP from her presence.
Wait a minute. I was earning DP from her?
You earn DP from any being that enters you.
Why didn't you tell me that before?
It hasn't been relevant until now and you would probably have made a dirty joke about it.
Who? Me?
Quite.
Can't fault his logic.
Fair enough. It's a valid point, I'll give you that one. What about dead things then? Do I earn DP from them?
Really, Abi?
What? I'm curious now. I didn't know that living beings generated DP inside me until a moment ago, so I thought may as well ask. I thought it was only when I absorbed things that I got points.
And contracts can't really be that easy to do, can they? Just give her name and she's mine?
No, she is not yours. Either party can end the contract at any given time. It is a mutually beneficial arrangement. The Dungeon provides a steady stream of mana and a home to the contractor. In return, they generate Dungeon Points and are duty bound to defend you if you are attacked.
There's the feeling of idiocy. I'm even starting to sound like a dictator with some of the stuff I come out with.
"Would you like me to name you? It would mean you get to stay here in my dungeon?" Refocusing my attention on the world's cutest invader, the question causes my Core to pulse nervously.
Please say yes. Please say yes. Please say yes.
"Does that mean... I'll be able to stay... In this form?" She looks at herself favourably, "I really like it."
"Are you joking? Of course you can. You can take whatever form you want. Aslong as you put some clothes on that is. I don't need you distracting the others with that bodacious body."
Tilting her head, the Lady-Slime seems to be happy at my offer. "I will do just that. What... Would you call me?"
Hmm...
"How about Peaches?"
Peach is more of a yellowy pink. Whereas the Slime is rather vibrant.
Yes, and you are You.
No, I am Me.
Hehe, it's so easy.
"I love it." Peaches squeals in delight as I tease my ever gullible assistant.
It doesn't matter what colour she is. Peaches just sounds right and she loves it so it's set.
Hehehe.
They should call me, The Name Smith.
Don't get too full of yourself. There is still much to do.
Yeah, I know. You've gotta admit it though, I'm getting better at coming up with names in the spot now. It's nice to feel good for a change and not often I get the chance. I've not had the best run recently, so I've gotta take these opportunities whenever I can.
If I had eyes, I'd have rolled them.
Hey. That's my line.
A quick check on the Trixie shows the adorable Alpha engaged with the other wolves. She seems to have made a miraculous recovery since the contents of her stomach were expelled and has already lost interest in the Slime. Probably because she knows it's inedible now.
Now that Trixie is better, I tell her and the wolves about the forest I specifically created for them on the third floor. I hype it up to the max and hope they appreciate the gesture as much as Peaches does with her name. When I'm finished, gratitude flows through the Dungeon's connection and they head to their new home.
I shouldn't have to move them again now. I already feel bad enough since this is the third time.
"Come with me, Peaches. I'll show you where you can stay." I need to hype this next part up too.
Moving close to the pretty, Pink Slime, I teleport us both to the first floor Boss room. Now that Peaches is now contracted to my Dungeon, I can teleport her anywhere inside like my other monsters.
I would like to have her in my Core Room with Colin, but I'm worried she might damage my core somehow by accident. Either that or my ever-lovable Mimic might pull a Trixie and eat her.
Maybe in the future I can visit the idea.
Upon arrival, Veris notices immediately and exits her meditation. Springing up rom the floorl, her ponytail flaps around as rushes over to greet us whilst shouting ecstatically.
"I love my door, Boss! Thank you. Thank you." Veris seems to be really happy with the feature and I let out a sigh of relief. I immediately change the subject, however, as I still don't have anything else to offer her.
"Veris, this is Peaches. She's going to be staying with you for a while until I unlock or upgrade a feature for her." I can't afford to create a Slime room yet so she's going to have to bunk with the Dungeon Boss for a while. Plus, it gives Veris someone to chat with and will occupy her time until I can obtain some more items for her.
Maybe I'll try my hand at creating something new. The chopping board came out fine and I can't really go wrong until I hit confirm, right?
"Peaches. This is Veris. She's the Boss of my Dungeon. You will be staying with her for now. If any intruders enter this room, you're to do as she says, OK?"
"Yes. Veris... I love to meet you... I'm new, but I... will do my best." Peaches takes Veris' hands in her own and smiles fondly at her new roommate the Vagabond.
"Yeah... Sure? " Veris looks confused. as she listens to Peaches before turning to me. "Are you sure she's OK, Boss?"
"Yeah she's fine, don't worry about it. As you can see, she's a Slime. Or is she half a Slime now? I don't know. What I do know is that she's never taken on human form before coming here. There for she's still adjusting."
I explain what happened between Trixie and Peaches whilst the Slime explores the corners of the Boss Room.
"It's very dark... Over here." She calls out, fading into the shadow of the corner.
"You have the strangest taste in monsters, Boss." Veris laughs as she watches Peaches jump from one shadow to another.
"Hey. Don't say that sort to stuff while giggling to yourself. It sounds wrong. Anyway, I didn't get to ask before, but what type of things would you like for your room?"
She thinks carefully before answering and when she finally does, it's almost like she'd compiled the list beforehand.
"I want some flowers and a garden to plant them in. One that has a pond and lots of room for a Lobe Hound to run around. I want a house for my garden. One that has a really-big bedroom and a nice kitchen for Ali to cook in. I want a tea set to drink with for when the my friends visit. A gazebo to drink the tea beneath because friends will definitely visit. I want lots of stuffed animals for my bedroom. Unicorns, Direwolves, Alzams. Oh and I want a..."
Her list went on and on and I spent the time spent waiting for my DP to refill listening to all the things Veris wants. To be honest, I doubt it will all fit without some sort of expansion in here. Peaches fell asleep at some point and if I could sleep myself, I might have followed suit.
What does she think this is anyway?
Dungeon Core heaven?
The only other person who has asked for anything so far was Ali, even then her request was for something they needed to not die of starvation.
Giving in, I tell her, "I'll try my best, but I make no promises that everything will be exact. OK?" I make Veris aware that what she wants is not necessarily what she will get before leaving. "And make sure Peaches puts some clothes in when she wakes up, please."
"I thought you might have told her to look like," was all I heard before disappearing. I didn't want to stick around and hear the rest.
Light and Dropper should be back soon so I head to the Watch House to see Mira and Hana whilst I wait. The two blondes are standing outside the feature due to the inside being a dump.
It's a complete ruin and far worse than the Rundown Rogue Bar.
Rubble strewn around the grounds inside makes the feature look like it lost against a siege. Before anyone goes in there, it will need fixing up. As it stands, all my features are operational except for the Watch House.
There's a reason I placed it so close to the entrance. Even though myself and Me can tell when something enters the dungeon, it's always good to be prepared. Yet this feature is anything but.
With 4 hours worth of DP under my belt, I go ahead and purchase the upgrade. It costs me a whooping 80DP, but the majority of the feature gets repaired. All traces of yesteryear's attack have vanished alongside the rubble and debris that was within. The inside walls have been patched up and the feature looks somewhat operational.
Watch House has been upgraded to Guard House
The Rogues that are set to this feature will protect the dungeon until their dying breath with a fortitude shown by no other defenders across the land
New features have been unlocked:
Customisable Banners: 2DP
Decorative Shields: 2DP
Tea Set: 10DP
Reward:
8 XP
No fucking way!
She's just having a laugh now, Me.
Who?
The Damn System! She thinks she can screw around with me by giving me features.
Ok, but you always unlock features. What's the difference this time?
This time she gave me things I actually want!
Quite. I am still failing to see what the problem is?
I...
She...
Well damn. You're right.
Should I be grateful instead? Veris is the only needy monster I have so far and these items are obviously intended for her. I suppose I could show a little appreciation to The System for giving me what I want.
But what about everything else she's done to me though?
Such as?
...
She turned me into a dungeon for one.
Quite, but you were already dead and it's not as though she killed you herself. Don't forget that that you are progressing relatively well as a dungeon too.
...
What about the question marks, huh?
That is due to your special circumstances, but you are just nitpicking at this point. I understand being a dungeon is not the ideal scenario for you. The sooner you accept what you are, the higher your chances of survival will be.
Aww! Why does it always have to come back to death.
Why can't I just wail like I used to back in the good old days?
That's because the good old days are less than 48 hours old. If Dropper and Light return with tributes while you still have DP, any excess will go to Stockpile.
Yeah, yeah. I know. Can't I just et a moment to myself though?
...
I'll take that as a no then.
I need all the points I can get right now and stockpile needs more than 1000DP before it levels up again. That's a pretty ridiculous number of points that I can't afford to waste at the moment.
Fine.
Huffing, I upgrade the Camp Ground since it's in the next room. I wasn't expecting much since my upgrades seem to take a while to achieve anything, but the feature changed way more than its cost implied.
Fire pits remain scattered throughout the room, but all the tents have been removed. In their place are houses made from whatever The System seemed to have available. They line the walls that aren't connected to tunnels and their mismatched appearance makes the place colourful. Each shack features two sleeping mats and nothing else, unless I include the makeshift door in my count.
Camp Ground has been upgraded to Shack City
Crude homes that can't bear much force nor so they prevent sound from escaping
It seems far better than sleeping in a tent, however. Don't you agree?
New features have been unlocked:
Cheap sleeping mat: 2DP
All rooms can now be customised with Shack City for no extra cost
Reward:
8 XP
Really?
I ignore the fact that The System just asked me a direct question and focus on how awesome the upgrade was instead. Yes, Shack City looks like the world's crappiest slum. Free housing in my Dungeon, however, is the shit.
I don't even know what to say.
Moving on fast as possible, four Vagabonds come next. They have sandy-brown hair just like the others and again are the spitting image of Veris. It's scary.
Instead of adding them to the scout rotations, I confirm the Mini-Boss notifications and send them off to Veris with six Sleeping Mats and five Steel Daggers. I didn't forget about Peaches, I just don't think she should be handling sharp objects yet.
I sent her a sleeping mat at least.
The reason I shipped the Vagabonds off to Veris is because I don't know what to do with them yet. I just wanted to push for the third evolution in the Rogue tree.
Being a provider is tough, you know?
A new monster has been unlocked:
Shadow Walker: 40DP
Capable of teleporting through the shadows, this monster is not to be taken lightly
Anyone who witnesses them firsthand will not be left to tell the tale
Not going to lie, I would be quite scared of a shadow monster myself. Especially inside a dungeon. Shadows are in abundance down here. More so if I remove a few Torches and Clusters.
I can't afford to summon one yet, but they're unlocked so I'm happy with that.
I wonder if they'll all be female like the Vagabonds? That was weird, System.
There's still so much left to purchase too. I'm pretty sure I'm unlocking more features than I'm able to spend points on. I'd be screwed without Barry and the Rogues really.
The brief spending spree left me a single point and nothing to do. 1 DP purchases are useless now. The thought of having ten thousand dungeon points one day crosses my mind.
How nice would that be?
It excites me to the Core, but then I realise my purchases will probably be just as high in value and my dream sours a little.
Screw waiting here, I'm going to go find something cute to watch until the others get back.
It shouldn't be too long.