Aura is sitting on the bed in her room contemplating the offer that Abi made her several days ago.
"Hmph! I don't know what to do!" She hangs her head in contemplation before flopping down onto the bed.
"Should I accept her contract? She said I could leave if I wanted to but I wasn't really expecting to hear that. I thought she would be like 'I'm a dungeon and I'm going to eat you now. Mwahahaha', or something like that. Instead she was all cool about it like 'Hey, don't be scared little one. I have set you free. Now you can be one with the world'. She's so cool," hugging her pillow and rolling around, Aura squeals in delight as her roommate smiles at the childish scene playing out in front of her.
"You seem to be enjoying yourself there," Tilly raises her voice above Aura's giggling so that she can be heard by the rolling redhead.
"What do I do, Tilly? In fact, what are you going to do?"
"I'm going to stay here. Abi said she'd make me my own building and I can use it to heal anyone I want. She also said I didn't have to heal people if I didn't want to and that I'm free to make my own choices. I think I actually like this dungeon," Tilly looks to the ceiling and wonders if Abi's listening to her.
"I like her too," Aura bursts out.
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure you like her differently to how I like her," Tilly laughs as Aura's face flushes red.
"It's not like that. Well... Maybe a little bit, but it's more because of the feelings I get from being here. Does that make sense?" Aura furrows her brows as she tries to explain herself.
Swapping beds, Tilly sits down next to her next friend and thinks over what she just said. She feels the same way but it's hard to explain where that feeling comes from. It's as though she just knows that they will be safe if they stay here.
"It was the exact opposite with Hiroshi. I hated every second I was with him, but he was too strong for me to do anything. I'm sorry, Tilly," tears begin to fall from the amber eyes of the surviving elf.
"You don't have to keep apologising, Aura. You were a prisoner just as much as I was but you were forced to endure it for longer. If anything I feel sorry for you," Tillys own tears begin to fall as she hugs her sobbing friend.
"He was too strong Tilly, or at least he seemed that way until the people kicked the shit out of him. I mean, how was he so weak? Not that I'm complaining but every other dungeon we went to, he utterly demolished them. I mean brutally Tilly. He was insane. Abi must be insanely strong to be able to have people that could annihilate that wretched bastard. Anyway if you're staying, I'm staying."
"Really?" Tilly wipes her eyes and smiles at Aura.
"I don't have anywhere else to go and feel like this would be a great opportunity to restart my life. I'm going to accept Abi's contract too, if you don't mind staying with me for a while longer, that is?" Aura wipes her own eyes and moves to the window.
"Look at this place. It's amazing that a dungeon could come up with something like this, right?" Staring out the window, Tilly's hand falls on her shoulder as the Cleric joins her in viewing the town.
"It truly is. If I didn't know any better, I would have thought the person that did all this was human," Aura laughs at Tilly's random comment.
"Don't be silly, dungeons can't be humans. Even if they can create a town, and make people, and is strangely nice," Aura breaks off as she thinks about her own words.
Both women look at each other before they play off the strange idea they were entertaining.
"A Human-Dungeon Core. Don't be silly!" they laugh.
Dungeon Stories Volume 2
----------------------------------------
Not me, that's for sure.
It turns out that the varying-sized multicoloured forests that lead up my mountain are actually there as representations of my Boss Monsters, Mini-Bosses and the floors they're connected to. Not only did we discover the reason behind why my beautiful home is the way it is, after we left the seventh floor, but the more notable fact is that my mountain has grown in size again.
So, floors and Bosses, right?
It would appear that way. Today is the first time you have worked inside the dungeon in a while. It would appear that when you add floors inside, your outer shell grows in size.
You can say magnificent mountain, you know? You don't need to be shy.
Quite. It would also appear that Boss monsters influence magic forests to appear in higher degrees than Mini-Bosses, since you have more of later, however, it's easy to discern which areas belong to who.
I suppose that's good to know, right? Knowing that, I can almost decorate the mountain anyway I like. How cool is that?
That's not what I was going to suggest.
Before I can start swapping people and monster roles around inside me, just to give it a go to see how things will change, the familiar feeling of people entering my land dances across my body.
The only way to explain how I know when someone arrives is that it feels like goosebumps on the skin. Small pinpricks of people moving around on their own inside, or on, my dungeon. This time, however, it's much, much different. It feels more like a worm, or multiple worms to be precise, are wriggling their across me as they continue to arrive one after the other.
Am I being invaded?
It would appear that the merchant Wheeler has returned. He also seems to be leading a rather large procession of people.
Huh?
Instead of casually strolling the street to my destination, which I quite enjoy doing these days, I'm there instantly as my anxiety is shooting through the roof. Appearing above the Steadfast Stable, there's no mistaking the large crowd of humans slowly making their way down the street and into town.
Using my will, I call out to the closest family members around me and instruct them to start guiding people towards the residential area. Although, I'm fairly sure I don't have enough buildings to fit everyone in if I'm honest. My housing plan was for a few hundred at most and I'm a little worried there's more than I can handle.
"Abi?" Anya's voice calls out to me over the noise entering town, but the last thing I have time for is an unsolvable problem right now. Even if she is my best friend, she'll get it.
How many people are there?
Roughly, two thousand.
You're not joking with me either, are you?
No. Also, you do not have enough DP remaining to acquire sufficient housing for them.
Shit! How the hell did he get so many people to follow him? Is he the merchant messiah or some crazy shit like that?
Looking around, my mind races to come up with a solution to our problem. Sadly, I come up empty-handed.
Damn! OK. Let's solve the next problem first.
I take a final look at the relieved faces of those who have travelled a fair distance to get here. Just because they're happy to have finally arrived, doesn't mean they're in the best of shape. Some of them have been layed in carts, exhausted from the trip. Then again, they could be ill for all I know.
Which I don't. There's too many of them to check thoroughly.
The elderly also made the journey inside wagons and the younger ones travelled with them. They show a renewed vigor now that they've finally reached their destination. A few dozen riders are on horseback and even more carriages are rolling in behind them. Almost every single person looks hungry, malnourished and tired, it's obvious that they exhausted their food supply before reaching us.
Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.
At the mention of feeding all of the animals with the problem feature sat next to my stables, I'm going to ignore that until someone voices an acual concern. I mean, what else can I do about it? It's not even animal feed at this point, it's more like a sponge. Except, I don't get my points back if I squeeze it.
A few of the riders are looking dubiously at exactly what I don't need right now so I hit up Ali's instead to find the kitchen already in full swing. Pots are boiling, pans are frying and ovens are cooking, but worst of all, I still can't taste a damn thing.
Why is it that I'm able to smell how good her food is, but I'm not physically allowed to taste it? How does that even work, System? I swear to the gods, these buggy-ass skills aren't doing you no favours in my books. And why does everything need a stupid amount of leveling before they become any good? Hell, my own Regeneration still sucks and I'm in the fucking thirties!
It's a good job I've got The Chef and her sous' to watch. They diligently peel, slice, dice, and spice their way around each other in perfect coordination. The kitchen looks and operates like a dance hall as everyone works together, mass-producing a shit-ton of food so quickly, it's almost dizzying to watch. No wonder I didn't get super angry thinking about The System, my brains almost fried watching the chefs.
Well... Turns out, I didn't even need to come here. Ali's got it on lock down and, after watching them work, I've come up with a makeshift idea for my first problem.
Really?
Really! It just hit me. Then it was obvious after I'd thought about it.
Well? What is it?
Do you really want to know?
Please don't do this again.
The suspense just kills you doesn't it, Me?
Why are you doing this?
I'm helping you, silly.
I don't see how teasing me will help in any way. So, please tell me what your idea is.
I'm just trying to get you used to emotions for when I make you that body.
And my plan's simple really. Instead of making houses, I'll make lots of tents for now and start a new residential area when I can.
I think you enjoy it more than you should do. Your plan is simple and effective, how did I not think of that?
That's probably true. The part about my plan is also true, simple yet effective, efficient and easy. On that last note... I don't know, buddy? Don't worry though, stick with me and you'll get there.
Quite.
Arriving at an empty plot of land that's already been acquired, I waste no time spending what remains of my DP on Camping Grounds. With all the buildings between me and Wheeler's new travelling buddies, I'm not too worried someone might see but I finish up as fast as possible. I'm not able to fill the entire area so... Some lucky people get to sleep underneath the stars tonight, yay. Fortunately for them, this is probably the safest place in Tironia they could do just that.
You will be able to finish this area in a few hours, once the moon is up.
That fast?
If you assume an average, untrained, human is worth 5-10DP, then consider the amount of them that have just entered you, what would the total be.
Woah! That's a lot, hang on. Five and three zere makes five thousand and then... Hang on, that seems like way too much. Was that right? Yeah, that was right and I've still gotta times it by two. Holy shit!
So on the lower end that's ten thousand DP a day? Are you fucking joking me? Ha. Haha. Hahahaha.
Go, my DP farm. Go!
And that's just regular humans. People that fight monsters and have a higher level will give you more DP than the weaker ones.
So it's going to be even more?
More than likely. We will find out the exact number later. As a rough estimate, I would say it will be around... Twenty-five thousand.
...
...
As I'm contemplating the ridiculous amount of DP that was just quoted to me, I teleport back to the Steadfast Stable. The last vestiges of the human-centipede are making their way in and they all look hungry. Which is still worrying, even after Ali and the others smashing food out like there's no tomorrow.
After informing my family of where to take the new arrivals, I watch as people are led to the their new homes. After that, they're taken to the new temporary accommodation, tent central. The irony of watching dungeon monsters guide humans to their new homes isn't lost on me. It's off the crazy scale by miles and all I want to do is laugh at how ridiculous it is.
Unfortunately, my attention is drawn to a rather loud, obnoxious man standing by a gaudy carriage and pow, there goes my good mood. I can already see where this is going. An entitled noble who thinks he's better than everyone else demanding he accommodated first.
"Would you believe it? Never thought I'd see one of those," I can't keep a sarcastic tone from slipping my lips. Then again, I only said it for that reason so it doesn't even matter.
Obviously this dickhead is not happy with something. Whether that's not being first in line, not being shown the courtesy he deserves, or whatever other unjustifiable reason he may think up, I don't give a shit.
Do I care who his father is?
Ha. Nope.
Do I care what his family name is?
Not in the slightest?
Do I care how big his...
Abi!
What? I was going to say ego.
Quite.
You know me so well, Me.
Still, I already dislike the guy and he's only been here a matter of minutes. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all. Organising, planning and execution, I can do. It's as simple as saying "Hey Rogues. Get over here." It's the dealing with dickhead I can't do.
Arguing with Wheeler and one the Shadow Walker envoys I sent with him, he's nowhere even near the stable and yet he's still audible. I'm not even using my dungeon connection. Just my translucent ears. His clothing screams entitlement and his attitude is worse than his dress sense.
Oh.
Guess what?
What now?
Finally having an excuse, I light the fool up with Soul Guide. Well, that's not exactly how it works when I use it. It just sounded cool. What does happen is that everything in my world turns grey. Everything other than the people that is. It's a little distressing, thinking that something may have gone wrong, but the colours lighting up their souls remind me what skill I'm using and I get it.
The noble, still mouthing off about how unjust life is, is a healthy fucking orange. I should just eat him now. Fortunately for him, I can resist Me's encouragement towards my joke and send some sexy shadow walkers over to discourage him from being him.
What I find more shocking than his attitude, is his lack of arousal towards my family. Isn't that like the playbook here? Even the Catergoriser fell for their charms. How can this guy not?
Screw it. We tried, System. He's just... Too shitty of a human. Hell, he's only one step away from red. Let's just use that fact as justification for his timely demise instead eh?
"Master! You have summoned me," Summoning Prince Loudmouth to my side, he looks like he's ready to cry at being summoned all on his own. I also want to cry.
Why did I summon Noir?
"Whatever. We're just screwing everything today," I mutter to myself before addressing Noir, "See that guy over there. The one in the ridiculous yellow clothing with the hat seven-sizes too big?" I point him out and unsurprisingly, he's still going on about his poor treatment.
Poor Wheeler. I bet he's had to endure that all the way here. What a shitty trip. Although, I feel even worse for the Shadow Walkers since they're my family. How dare he?
If I didn't have justification before, I certainly do now. Thinking of them having to endure his derivative drivel the entire journey is Core'breaking. In fact, I'm super proud of them. Not only did they cope with King Dick over there, but no one killed him off on the sly.
I totally would have done that.
"Yes, Master! I will end him now," Noir jumps down from the roof, but lands on his rear right beside me as I teleport him back and try to keep my cool.
"Not now you fool! And did you even hear me say that I wanted you to kill him? You can't just assume things like that all the time, you know?" It didn't go very well, but I think he got it.
As I scold Noir's hasty attitude, he drops back down to his knees.
"I'm sorry, Master. What would you have me do instead?" Swapping from his read to his knee, Noir waits for me to tell h sometnhong different.
"Well, I, erm... I do kinda want you to kill him. Just... Do it when no one is around. You can't just execute him in the middle of the street. Especially not now! All these newbies would run away if you appeared from nowhere and just decapitated someone. What would happen to my DP farm then? It would be empty, that's what! So no. No street killings. Do it stealthily, Noir. You're supposed to be an Assassin for Core's sake."
When I didn't have a body I missed being able to shake my head. Now... Even with a combination of skills, neither of which give me a physical, my neck hurts. It's a good job they're ridiculously strong otherwise there would be some Dismantling going on in this dungeon.
"Have no doubts Master. I, Noir, shall take care of this for you," he teleports away and I feel worse than before. I have a whole load of doubts in fact. Two thousand of them to be precise!
Finding an opportunity might prove challenging now that we're rammed. It's not as though I don't trust him, it's just that...
Noir's usually the distraction. Why didn't I summon the executioner instead? Why did I have to summon the loudest person in town? Why did... Why did he say his own name? Did he think that was cool?
Where does he get that shit from, Abi the Forgetful wonders as she worries about the future of her sanity and her town.