"Why does the Core not manage the dungeon properly? And how has it managed to create features outside its confines?" Subsystem B asks the senior system.
"Honestly? Your guess is as good as mine." His reply doesn't even attempt to answer her question and Me's attitude is almost a reflection of the Core's.
"But... You have been with this Core for two years now, correct? That's far longer a period than I. Surely that proves you have better insight as to why it decides to make such... Strange decisions?" Me can't help but let out a chuckle at You's choice of wording.
"Honestly, You. I have no idea why Abi does half of the crazy shit she does. She's an enigma, wrapped in a mystery that I don't think even she understands. She bumbles, stumbles and downright forgets nearly anything of importance that's dungeon related. Details are not her strong point and neither is memory. To be honest, I'm more shocked than you are that she's managed to create what she has after witnessing first hand her lack of attention. It's beyond puzzling." Me remembers having to repeatedly remind Abi to spend her points. On more than one occasion did he find them trickling over her limit. Until Overstock maxed out, that was.
"Although, she does seem to have become more involved recently. Did you know she set up the morning meetings herself?" You cocks her head to the side, but says nothing. "Even though she complains about them profusely, Abi still attends every single one religiously. Why? I have no idea. I mean, why set them up in the first place if she's just going to complain about them? She mopes about her workload, but it's all self-inflicted. Sometimes, I wonder if she secretly enjoys being so busy. Again though, with Abi, it's hard to tell."
Me pulls a mug of yellow liquid from his inventory and takes a sip. Taste really is the best thing ever.
"That doesn't really help me understand the Dungeon Core though. I want to know what its plans are, its goals." You says with a twinkle in her eye.
"That's an easy one. Abi has absolutely no idea what she's doing." Me laughs and takes another mouthful of the frothy liquid before continuing.
"Even if she tells you that she does, don't believe her. She'll change her mind after a few days, or probably forget about it entirely. That's usually a given around here." The twinkle is gone and You is shocked to hear how complacent the Dungeon Core is. She processes the steadily-growing number of problems as she watches Me down his drink.
"You don't need to worry about that sort of stuff though. Deputy Mayor Sacha handles anything that Abi overlooks or forgets. Fortunately for us - and unlike every other Dungeon Core, ours can summon sapient beings that are extremely capable of handling large workloads. It's fortunate for her really. She'd be screwed without her Assassins and she knows it."
You is now lost for words. Me's description of their Dungeon Core didn't paint it in the best light after all. He wasn't wrong about its subordinates either. You has had the opportunity to meet a few of the residents and Deputy Mayor Sacha did indeed seem like a problem solver. Her senior, Mayor Kana, might be more of a problem causer though.
Still, if Me said it was fine and that everything was running smoothly, who was You to object? He was her senior.
"Also, don't let Abi hear you referring to her as an it. She knows that she's the Dungeon Core, but that doesn't mean she likes it. She can still be a little iffy about how you refer to her. You're best off just using her name."
"OK. I suppose everything inside and out of the dungeon is operating rather efficiently. It's... Her methods are far from the norm, but I can see the progress she's made and is continuing to make. The amount of DP she processes in a day is something else." You nods as though she's reached some insight into the thoughts of their master, even though she hasn't. Not wanting to feel like he's missing out, Me also nods along in false-understanding
You's having a hard time coming to terms with Abi and her family's oddities. The daily DP income, the special human-type summons she can create and not to mention the fact that she's part-God part-Core, wane on her newly-created sanity.
"Don't worry," Me offers some last words of advice. "You'll get used to it here, it just takes some time. If you focus solely on the dungeon like Abi told you to, time will pass easier thanks to being absorbed in work. Plus, it's easier to ignore the crazy shit she does if you're not there to witness it."
Me and You
Dungeon Stories Volume 5
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Another week has passed with no signs of the elven kingdom during my land-acquiring sprees and I'm forced to concede. In my defence, it shouldn't be as hard as it to find. It is a capital city after all and they're not known for being on the small side. Especially one carved into a forest. Maybe I missed the mark and went straight passed it?
Either way, sitting across the table from me is a flustered-looking Aura. The elven Princess-turned-slave seems to be more worried about our meeting than I am. Although, I don't see why. If anything, I'm the one who usually puts her foot in her mouth. The elf across from me, on the other hand, has been a model citizen since she arrived. A light in the dark. A shepherd to the masses if you will.
Even when you consider the bias that's normally present between races, Aura is a shining example of what royalty should be. She helped Tilly, a human, before they had even arrived in Varona. That alone speaks volumes for her character.
"So, erm... What's up, Abi? What did you want to talk about?" Sitting in the garden of her home, Aura's hair glows in the sun. It almost appears to be ablaze and I nearly lose myself before we've even begun.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
"I've... Forgotten the directions to the elven capital city," I mumble under my breath. Not my best moment, I admit, but I'm embarrassed. What else can I say? It's been a while since Edwan told me and I've been known for not having the best memory.
"I'm sorry? I didn't quite hear you." She leans in closer.
Of course she didn't hear me. How could she? I barely even heard myself and I said it. Come on, Abi. Stop messing around now. Just say it again and get it over with. And don't mention the princess thing.
Thinking what I have to say must be really important and something I don't want overheard, Aura leans in even closer. Of course it's something I don't want other people to hear. I don't even want her to hear it. Still, I brace myself and raise my voice the tiniest fraction.
"I've forgotten where the capital city of the elves is. Seeing as though you're the only person I know that's been there, can you tell me where it is?"
Nailed it.
"How do you know I've been there?"
Or not? Damn.
Her confusion is evident. How do I know she's been there? It's not like she's ever spoken about being elven royalty before. If anything, I'm guessing she either wants to forget all about it, or hide away forever. Either way, I'm fine with whatever she chooses.
Aslong as I can get this location out of her first.
"I think... That I heard about it from... Edwan?" Aura frowns at me poor answer. It was the truth though. I couldn't actually tnhink if anything else to say. Why did I earn myself a frown? "I-It was at Ali's. Right before he left." I add, trying to muster some confidence to my statement. Hoping for a better outcome, of course it doesn't go my way.
"Hmm. He was speaking in elvish back then though?"
Shit. In for a copper in for a gold, right?
I lean even closer and indicate for her to do the same until our heads are side by side. I know that I don't need to whisper and that we can communicate directly through the dungeon's connection, but sometimes being sneaky requires a certain flair. Plus, I love being able to speak again and take every opportunity I get.
"Listen, Aura. Don't freak out when I say this, but I know you're a Princess. I'm not going to say anything about it though. Not to anyone. I promise. Even if I did want to out you, it would only end up with more work being thrust my way somewhere down the line and I'm already the world's busiest Dungeon Core. That said, your secret is safe with me."
I lean back and wait for her reply. Aura doesn't move and I can see she's thinking it over carefully. As a princess should really. It's always better to think before speaking, which is something that I really need to start getting better at. Blurting things out is usually my jam, but certainly I need to start being a bit smoother with what I say and when. After a few minutes have passed, Aura asks a question.
"How did you understand what Edwan told me?" Not the question I was expecting, but one I don't mind answering.
"I absorbed an elf back when I was still a new Dungeon Core and there was those remains of that self-exoloder. I'm pretty sure that's something to do with it. I didn't actually understand all of your conversation though and only managed to catch the awkward parts. Which is just my luck really," I shrug.
Aura pulls a disgusted face at me, but then let's go of whatever grudge she was about to harbor with a sigh. "I should have guessed, really. Dungeons do absorb bodies after all. The language thing is still weird though."
Not going to lie, it's even weirder than she's thinking. Only catching snippets of an important conversation make for some very uncomfortable eavesdropping. Before the morale highgrounders start jumping on the bandwagon, it's not like I was at Ali's just to listen to private conversations and gossip. It was lunchtime and you can't fault me for being concerned.
There aren't many elves in Varona yet and when one important elf talks to another, especially one that went through the ordeal she did, I couldn't help but be defensive for her. Even though Edwan and his group helped us during the invasion, Aura still takes priority over the rest of her species.
"I know. It's stupid as per and there's so much to learn, but this is Varona. That mountain attests to the ridiculousness of it all, if not our beauty. For now though, there's nothing I can do about. Maybe after I've absorbed a few more elves, I'll gain the ability to summon them. I should be able to understand the language better then, I hope." I beam a bright smile at Aura. The elf, however, seems a lot less enthusiastic about my glee than I am.
"That's... I don't know what to make of that. You absorbing elves. And I mean... Summoning elves sounds even stranger." Her forehead creases as she frowns, trying to imagine me summoning elves en masses. I, on the other hand, think it would be awesome.
I could have my own contingency of elves. Much better than the ones Edwan arrived with too. Not only that, but I could summon Aura some friends. Not that she doesn't already have friends, but I'm sure she'd appreciate some of her own species kicking around town and having more elves to talk to than just Eduine.
"It's no less strange than summoning humans. Believe me. Although, you come around to it after a while. Especially when they're more capable than anyone you've ever known. Now... About the location of that capital." I didn't want to keep the awkwardness going since I could see the princess was struggling to grasp the reality. Plus, I've it Becca waiting on me.
Aura gave me directions and we were off. As it turns out, I wasn't actually that far away from the elven capital. Well... One of my routes wasn't. Picking up Becca, the triplets are still in session with Randy increasing their level, we head off to our destination with a renewed vigor.
By the end of my points, however, I'm wondering if I've managed to take a wrong turn somewhere as the place we're in does not look very royal-like at all. To be honest, it looks the the most-haunted forest I've ever seen.
"Crap. I'm never going to be able to find this place. Next time I speak to Aura, I'm bringing you with me." I mood sours as I look at Becca, feeling foolish for not taking her with the last time.
"Would you like me to take a quick look from the air?" Her words are the light to my dark.
"That's a fantastic idea, Becca. Thank you." Why didn't I think of that? Not restricted to the same boundaries that I am, Becca takes flight while I port out to the countryside.
I didn't want to stay in the eerie-looking forest alone.
Getting comfy, I create a nice chair for myself to relax in. As I'm enjoying the sunshine, Becca's large shadow ruins my view right before she lands in front of me.
"Found it, mom. It didn't even take that long. Everything's easier to see from the sky." She says after morphing into her human form. She's not wrong either as I only got to enjoy roughly ten minutes of quiet time before she returned.
"I'm impressed, Becca. Not only are you extremely fast, but you're also super efficient." I beam at her.
"Praise me more, mom," she laughs in a joking manner, but I wasn't playing around. Becca is extremely efficient. More so than a person titled The Oncoming Storm should be at the very least. Still, she's super helpful and in no way am I complaining.
"Damn right I will. You're such a good girl. You're going to be a shining example to the rest of your sisters." I smile as I catch a twitch in Becca's eye. Not missing a beat, I ask about what's troubling her.
"I was... going to talk to you about that," she says as her cheeks flush.
"About your sisters? What's up?" I try my best to ignore her rosy cheeks as I move us back to my tower in Varona.
"I was wondering if you would create us a male Dragon." I stop in my tracks. Is she asking for what I think she's asking for? Or is that just me? I really hope it's just me.
"Well... I suppose that I could create one more Oblivion Dragon. I'm not summoning a Rebellion Dragon though. You can scratch that idea now. Not to be a bitch, but it was hard to even talk with you before, Becca."
"I know, mom, and any male Dragon would be fine really. We all level the same way after all." Something about that sentence doesn't sit right with me. I'm probably just over thinking it.
She's not another Veris.
Definitely not.
She's not, right?