As Dropper approaches the Silver Moon, she heads down the alleyway that leads behind the establishment.
After a quick check to make sure no prying eyes are on her, she casts the Syndicate's special invisibility skill. Now she can move around freely and search for the target without worry of being spotted.
Climbing through one of the open windows, Dropper makes no noise, the sound cancel skill in action, as she lands and creeps past the two occupants of the room. Confirming that neither was her target, Emil Gestaff, through the magical means of the Syndicate.
The curtain blocking her exit is much better than a noisy door. As soon as the rooms participants are engrossed in their business, she slips into the corridor and starts peeping. Grateful it's her here and not Light.
Checking each room the best she could, Dropper is now a lot more enlightened than she would like to be regarding the many different arts of pleasure. Unfortunately for her, the target isn't here yet and she isn't sure if he'll arrive before Invisibility runs out. Happy that she managed to learn the layout of the establishment for the assassin's next visit, she heads for the exit.
Before she can reach her destination, a man and woman enter the corridor and head her way. This isn't the first time she's seen the employees guide customers to their room, however, this is the first time that one of the patrons has been covered in a red aura. Marked by The Syndicate, the assassin has found Emile.
They move past Dropper as she watches, entering a room two curtains away. The ultimate skill has been running for around twenty minutes so she has time. If his business draws on longer than she expects, she can cut it short herself anytime she wants.
Knowing the he came from the main entrance, it's obvious that Emile has only just arrived and, being the married man he is, shouldn't want to stay here longer than necessary. Leaning against his room, one she's already confirmed to have no occupants or exits, the Assassin relaxs and bides her time.
Which she doesn't have to do for long. Less than five minutes later, a dissatisfied employee exits with a frown. She probably didn't look like that inside, but facial expressions say everything. Dropper watches the woman control herself before returning to the reception area, leaving the corridor empty once more.
A smile crosses her face as she slides through the curtain, only to be replaced with a scowl upon seeing the naked ass crack of her target. Face down and huffing like he's just done 10k, Dropper doesn't even hesitate as she produces a blade of shadow and removes Emile's head.
With his head removed, his body covers the room as Dropper slips into a shadow. Once the eruption has finished, she slips back in and uses the severed head to paint the the dungeon symbol with his blood.
"There are so many despicable people in this world. It's a good job Master has us to clean this place up." Shaking her head at the pitiful sight sprawled on the bed, Dropper stores Emile before slipping back into the shadows and teleports into the alley. She leaves the area with little urgency and even stops to purchase a steamed bun with some of Emile's cash before continuing down the road to rejoin her companions.
As she approaches, an awkward atmosphere prevents a proper discussion as everyone has something in their mind. Dropper's is due to the many different events she witnessed whilst searching for her target. Light and Sophie are still somewhat flustered thselves from their small, but brief moment of passion.
"Mission complete, let's go home," shaking away vivid images of what other people consider to be fantasy, Dropper marches off and doesn't stop to be followed. Light and Sophie, not wanting to be left behind, quickly hurry after her.
As they leave Dune, saddled up for the awkward journey home, the same atmosphere from when they reunited continues all the way out of town. Once they're far enough away, Dropper finally turns to Light and asks what's troubling him.
"Nothing! What's bothering you?" he answers instantly, turning five shades redder than he should be able to. Sophie almost turns the same shade, but smiles dreamily at her earlier moment of courage. It turns out that she finds pursuing a man is far more exciting than dungeon diving.
"We'll always have Dune," she says to herself in blissful content whilst hugging into Light from behind. This doesn't escape Dropper's attention and she raises her eyebrows at her partner.
"I'll tell you later. After a food-few cold ones at Talia's," he smiles to himself.
-Light, Dropper, and Sophie, Dungeon Assassins.
----------------------------------------
As I walk down the street, everyone I pass by smiles and salutes my spirit form. I don't expect this type of treatment from my family, but it sure is nice to be appreciated. Especially with what I've just had to endure. Heading back inside my mountain after once again attempting to turn The Hay Bale into something more, I can't help but grumble miserably.
That damn feature just won't change. What's up with it?
Maybe it will forever remain as what it is now or maybe the next upgrade will fix it.
But isn't it meant to have changed already? Everything else gets at least a little bit better after a single upgrade, some even surpass expectations. This one hasn't improved in any way whatsoever! It's just stupid.
After spending 1200DP in total, The Hay Bale is now a tier-four feature and I still don't have anything, except a single bale of hay, to show for it.
That better be the nicest tasting hay in the world and it better be able to make my horses fly or something after a single mouthful. Who am I kidding? It won't even last a day once the stable is full.
I wouldn't be so flustered and concerned over the waste of my DP if I could at least know what to expect from the feature. I don't even know what it does. Unfortunately, The System seems to be playing silly buggers again as this is all I get whenever I check the status.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
The Hay Bale:
Upgrade: 1280DP
Error: Insert description here...
Reward: Please stand by
I can't even question it because I don't know what to say. She has to be doing it on purpose though, right? I'm sure that even Me would shrug at this one if he were capable of it.
Maybe I should call myself the Question Queen. The Queen of Questions. Her Royal Questionableness.
I can't help but laugh as I make up silly names for myself. As I debate the many disadvantages of spending 1280DP on the Hay Bale's next level, I float up to the central tower on the Academy of Dark Arts' roof. This place is the best and I've been spending most of my free time here recently as I can see every part of the city.
You can usually tell when I've spent a prolonged period of time in one place these days. In this case it's because a few adorable teddies are sitting on top of a Royal Futon, enjoying the view before I even got here. How nice of them to wait.
The sunset in the distance is extremely bright and the orange light forces me to shield my face with the Dire-Wolf beside me. As I stare at the teddy protecting me from the sun, two thoughts come to mind.
One is insignificant compared to the other, by a mile, but it still manages to make me shake a little. Trixie, the stunningly-majestic third-floor boss, is the strongest type of wolf I currently possess. What caused a shiver to run down my spine was the idea of unlocking the next tier of wolves.
I mean, purchasing them in the first was hard enough. Especially with how scary the initial pack looked. They got shunned, sent away and ignored, until Trixie was summoned. Although, it's probably a good job she's a stunner. I could have been completely thrown off the idea if a gigantic, black wolf with saliva dripping off its fangs appeared.
The second and, by far most significant, thought I had, is that I can actually see outside the boundaries of the land I own.
When did that happen?
When did what happen?
I can see. I mean, I can see outside the dungeon.
I'm still not following you. We are outside now.
Not outside the mountain. Outside the dungeon. I can see the sunset, Me. I can see the forest and hills in the distance. I can actually see!
It's got to be the spirit form, right? It's the only new thing I've unlocked recently that it can be.
The only new thing? Spiritual Presence is the only new skill you have acquired recently. You have opened up many other new things however.
Wait. So it's not my spirit form?
It's most certainly your spirit form!
So... Why were you talking about those other things?
I was trying to enlighten you. The term thing can have a very broad meaning.
You trying to be a smart-ass sounds more like it.
Smart-ass?
It doesn't matter. Consider me enlightened.
What matters is that I can see further than I should be able to as a dungeon. That's what matters.
The river that I was told about by my scouting parties, the one that runs adjacent to me, is clearly noticeable as it reflects the evening sun's light of its surface. Blinding me even more, I regret looking in that direction and curse my form before covering my mouth with a hand.
I didn't mean that. Now that I've grown and people can see me, life's awesome. It was just a slip of the tongue.
Your skills can't hear you, Abi.
No? Well, a certain someone can and I could do without her jiggling things around. It's already hard enough to keep a level mind, I don't need more adding to my plate.
My current goal, aside from the other half dozen that have temporarily been put on hold, is to purchase my way to that river. I know owning the land doesn't make a difference in how far humans will travel, but it does make a diffence if they're staying inside the dungeon when they travel there.
You've gotta spend points to make points in this game.
Plus, every piece of land that gets acquired contributes immediately to the amount of points I receive on a daily basis. Wildlife might not count for much, but whilst they're on me they make sure to pay their rent.
The river should be more than enough water for a few thousand people and if I want my town to be self-sufficient, heading that way seems mandatory. I'll probably purchase a few water sources from my list aswell, but they'll be more centered around the residential areas.
This doesn't mean I'll blindly neglecting other features in pursuit of reaching the river though. Just a few plans will be put in the back burner, but upgrades, evolutions and everything else will still flow like that water. Plus, every building other The Retreat, The Hay Bale and The Sparring Grounds, are all third-tier features now.
I can't even use some of them yet, but at least they're up to standard. It's even better that they don't look like they'll collapse at any minute.
The forge has been placed in the town with the rest of the amenities because, where else would expect to find a forge? The stable, Hay Bale, Chicken Coop and Field of Fertility, have all been moved to the outskirts. I don't need Wheeler turning up with a crowd full of carriages big enough to congest the small amount of streets I have right now. Once we're a lot bigger, I can intersperse stables and the likes inside the town.
Instead of being stuck on backed up roads, I'd like them to experience the joy and wonder of what I've created here I foot. It's not everyday a new city pops up out of nowhere offering a free place to live, not one as advanced as mine is anyway. This place may not be half as large as some of the major cities, but it will grow over time and there's no doubt it will catch the eye of many, many people.
Expert craftsmen is definitely the right lie to start with if anyone asks.
Why do you need to lie now? You didn't lie to the Expert, or to Katrina.
I don't know, Me. It's quite stressful being in charge, you know? I feel like I need to plan for every possibility, especially the ones that I don't want to happen. I want to avoid another Categoriser setting foot inside my mountain. There's nothing I can do to stop them from stepping on dungeon ground out here, but I'll be damned if they think that I'll let them find my secret hole and enter it.
My inner sanctum is only for my family and maybe a few select people who I could use to help me out further down the line. Wheeler, Aaron, and Sophie are the first three faces that spring to mind as they've already been inside when I was still accepting guests.
I'm officially closed for business as a dungeon for the moment. The prospect of becoming a dungeon town has far more advantages than a regular old dungeon does. It also benefits my primary objective perfectly. I can help the humans living here, or even passing through, by secretly listening in on their conversations and then taking Syndicate action.
It's perfect.
With my population being mostly made up of my own family, Varona will be the safest city on Tironia.