The wolf pack lay scattered and only Trixie remains standing. Albeit Injured and bleeding, the Alpha Wolf snarls at her opponent the Golem. The match-up inside the Coliseum is not going their way and the Wolves are at a clear disadvantage.
As they're inside the mountain at the original Coliseum, the only spectators are those waiting to take their turn and the Ringmaster himself. With a red, velvet jacket, golden buttons running up the middle and a dust-covered top hat, the Ringmaster Randall watches on in amusement from the best seat in the house.
Not that anyone can tell how he's feeling. Randall, who was originally summoned as an Assassin, most certainly did not come out like a regular Assassin. Everything below the neck is fine, it's what sits above that has everyone confused.
A moon, with its own miniature craters and everything, is the only word that does his head justice. That would be fine on its own, even if weird as fuck, but he can spin a full 360° and then some. Worst of all is the black spiral that depicts where his face should be.
Should be.
If you can see its centre that means he's looking at you. Even though the dungeon gladiators are unable to gauge the Ringmaster's reaction, that isn't a reason to stop and the fight continues regardless.
Absorbing the ambient mana around her, Trixie's wounds begin to close as the Golem marches towards her. Meeting its prey, it throws a heavy punch in the Wolf's direction.
Just before the hit can land, she leaps out of its reach and her opponent is caught off-balance. Not missing an opportunity, Trixie dashes back in and bites down hard on the arm of the Golem. The overwhelming force of her jaw strength clamping down on its arm begins to disfigure the iron. Not letting her win that easily, the Iron Golem shakes itself free and follows up with another jab at the Alpha.
Fleeing to a safe distance, utilising the only advantage she has, Trixie lets out a howl. The Golem lumbers after its opponent, picking up momentum with each step until it is thundering towards the Alpha at top speed. Trixie still manages to evade the unnaturally fast iron creation, but it doesn't slow down. Only, it circles around and is once again thundering towards her.
Swinging and thrashing the Golem is relentless in its attacks and, even with the advantage in speed, all she's able to do is dodge. Even then, Trixie still finds it hard to avoid the onslaught of attacks and a few catch her, opening old wounds and creating fresh ones every time they make contact.
The Golem finally stops running after it knocks her to the ground. Raising both hands above its head, ready to crush the Alpha and seal her defeat in the Coliseum, she howls one last time. A weak, but high-pitched, cry for help.
Before the Golem can bring the jackhammer down, its body is covered in a pack of wolves and they all crash to the floor beside Trixie. Not missing her chance, the Alpha dives on top of the Iron Golem and bites down hard on its metal head. It dints and crumples until it's crushed by her jaw. A few shakes later and she rips it off the body.
Randall the Ringmaster stands up and claps his hands, signalling the end of the match. Even wearing a pair of white gloves, the sound still echoes out across the Colliseum.
"Excellent!" He shouts, even though there's no mouth on the moon. "Truly excellent. Well done, Trixie." Appearing in the ring, the Ringmaster strokes the Alpha wolf and checks her stats in the process.
"Very, very nice. One more level and you'll be able to evolve. Your skills have grown nicely too. Swift Foot, Crushing Fang and Command have all grown by multiple levels." Behind Randall, the separated pieces of Trixie's opponent pull themselves back together. "Next time, I'll have to increase the difficulty."
Teleporting back to his box, the Ringmaster takes his seat, ready to watch the next set of contenders. He didn't watch the wolves leave, miserable as they were at the mention of a stronger Golem, not did he hear Trixie whine when he said it. The only thing Randy cares for is levels.
The task set by the master. The purpose of his feature. The will of his soul.
The wolf pack leave the Coliseum and the Acolytes, who were just watching anxiously, are next up against the fully-repaired Iron Golem. They slowly push and pull their way to the ring as the Ringmaster reaches for the cane beside him, only to find it missing. All black, with a deadly point on bottom and a white diamond the size of a fist on top, the weapon/walking is nowhere to be seen.
"Hmm. I swear I left it right here."
Dungeon Stories Volume 2
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How about that! Just when you think shit is about to get dire, it turns into a mountain of gold. Not literally, but with my own fully-fledged Categoriser, not to mention Katrina and her new pal Anon, I'm making some serious waves right now.
I'm pretty sure that Kat has my back. After what she went through, Light and Dropper are literally her heroes. There's no reason she would ever want to hurt or betray them and by association that includes me too. Anon, I haven't had a chance to talk to yet, but I'm sure he'll follow Katrina's lead. I mean, he's already doing it, so he's not a problem really.
It's Simon that's the wild card. He was shining rather brightly after he accepted my contract and I have no idea what he might end up advancing to. For now, it's nothing serious as my menu lists him at level 27. It's when he eventually reaches rank 40 that we're going to have problems. I'm not even sure if a Categoriser has ever risen that far?
Under my breath, I secretly send thanks to the magical Lord residing inside the Bale of Fortune before reading the skill description for Divinity's Creation. Apparently, I can use it as much and as often as I want now without restriction. Which is ridiculously amazing, I might add.
Thanks to that, I had a good laugh after whooping out a ton of gold in front of Simon. The poor man almost collapsed from excitement. And with the expression plastered across his face, I knew he was hooked. Although, I still can't believe it was that easy to recruit myself a Categoriser without any issues.
Even though they're meant to be a dungeons sworn enemy, I think we played that rather smartly. How many other Cores can boast of having, not one, but multiple Catergorisers on the payroll?
Money really does remove all barriers.
With Simon, Katrina and Anon, I should be able to dissuade any other Categorisers from starting shit with my dungeon from now on and hopefully without any issues. Better yet, if I can get even more on my books there'll be nothing to worry about in my future. This dungeon's going to have more Categorisers than anyone else on the whole-damn planet.
Fact.
It's relaxing knowing that, what could have been, my greatest enemies have now become my own personal assets. Super relaxing. It's also a bit off the ridiculous scale, but who's nitpicking over classes?
Certainly not me. I'm living this shit up to the max and there's nothing that could kill my buzz.
Take the moment to enjoy my bright-looking future, I teleport to my tower at Academy central. Taking in the city below basking in the setting sun, I still can't believe that all this came about through my own efforts.
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
OK. Maybe not all my own efforts. I'm only able to take the glory thanks to the hundreds of Assassins summoned through my crazy-ass Dungeon Core powers. I'm still waiting in answer about that from The System, but then again I'm waiting on a lot of things from her so...
Yeah, not expecting anything soon. She must have a lot in her plate to only offer me sarcastic snippets and tiny bouts of encouragement. Even when she does... It doesn't matter. Not even she could kill the buzz I've got going on right now.
Hovering above my futon, which has more stuffed animals around and on it than anything else, I smile happily to myself. Being a Dungeon Core isn't a bad deal. Sure, the early days are dark and there's no torches to see your arse from your elbow, but it does get better. The prospect of creating myself a human body, the very thing I've been doing since day fucking one, is no longer a dream.
Better yet, it's going to be that strong, I'm going to be like final-of-final last bosses. Abi he Boss is in town so you better watch out lest she obliterate you. This chick doesn't need to eat every stray going anymore so fools best be treading carefully now. Someone's got a super red soul? Better know they're getting obliterated and reincarnated as a pile of dung. Enjoy your new life you piece of shit.
Phew. I better rein myself in. I'm just super psyched. Plus, being the boss is the absolute best. There's no one to tell you to stop slacking.
Didn't you just come down from your tower not too long ago?
Damn it, Me.
Cut me some slack will you. The Hay Bale actually evolving took everything I had. It's about time, right? Plus, the stupid thing granted the first thing I said. Not wished for, but said! I needed a break after that happened, but then a fucking Categoriser went and showed showed up, didn't he? Seriously. Prince Sillybollocks was about as much as help as... Light did OK.
We need to talk about his blazé attitude at some point though, but yeah. We had to go through the contracting and... OK, that was pretty sweet, but I need a moment to myself, Me. I just want to watch the sunset in peace. Me and my cuddlies.
Can't a woman relax in peace without her partner calling her out on it for once? Apparently not. Me teleports to the tower and flops down on my Royal Futon, earning my ire and destroying my good vibe.
"What the hell, Me? It's bad enough that I can't enjoy the damn thing myself, but I don't need you rubbing its comfort in my face. Get off it, now!" Glaring at him, Me returns my furious gaze with a cheesy smile. Only irritating me even more.
"I'm only doing what you told me to, Abi. Eating, drinking... Relaxing," His grin grows even bigger. In my anger, I summon him an orange futon next to mine with a ginger Direwolf.
"That's yours. Move."
"I don't like that one. I'm going to stay here." How old is he? Is he doing this on purpose as revenge for all those times I teased him. That was different. I was trying to get him to understand his own feelings. To reconcile with his System-created humanity or whatever it is he has.
Right now, he's just being a bitch. Lije that annoying sister that won't leave the room even though you've told her a bazillion times.
I swear to the gods, Me. Get off my futon now or I'll slap you that hard, your soul will feel it!
Playtimes over after Me's "Hmmph." and I slap him as hard as a spirit can slap anyone. Which is actually pretty fucking hard it turns out. I've never been able to touch anyone before and without realising it would happen, I actually knock Me's System-created soul out of his body. Which then collapses to the ground an empty husk.
"Me!?" Panicking, I keep screaming my partner's name. I'm not angry anymore and he can have my futon. Me doesn't have a soul form and I can't help but worry that I've just killed my friend.
What the hell, Abi!
Until he voices his complaints that is. Then I'm just relieved.
"Thank the gods. I'm sorry, Me. I didn't mean to do that. I'm really sorry. Not that it's my fault. When has something like that ever happened before! That was absolutely an accident." Hearing his voice eases my mind and conscience.
It's hard to believe it was an accident after you just told me what was going to happen. Also, stupid shit happens around here all the time. Next time you think about doing something like that, don't.
"Don't be like that, Me. Look," I transfer his consciousness back to the lifeless husk and put on my best smile as he stands up. "See. Good as new. And we know that you can leave and return to your body now. So it's all good. I was still worried about it to be honest. I wonder if it will work for me?"
"A Dungeon Core with a body?" Me lets out a chuckle, but soon breaks into an uncontrollable laughter. It's not that funny. After Me settles down, he puts his hand up and watches as he turns it around. Wiggling his fingers, his smile never falters. "You are indeed a very strange... Person, Abi."
"Not as strange as you, buddy. You were cleaning Mimics. Remember?" At my statement, we both start to laugh. Although mine is drawn short when I catch sight of Me rolling around on my futon. I let it go though as to not spoil the mood.
"Quite. That was a pointless endeavour. They just... Two Mimics down the line and Colin was filthy again, so I gave up. Defeated by drool. How pitiful." Haning his head in shame, I still don't know what possessed him to even attempt Mimic cleaning.
"Don't worry about it, Me. It's what they do. It gets absorbed eventually with everything else, so don't worry about it. There are bigger problems than saliva." Trying to cheers him, the sentiment is not reciprocated.
"Quite. Like spending points before they go to waste?" Even with his new state-of-the-art carrot-topped body, Me is and forever will be my Voice Activated User Notification System.
"They don't go to waste. They level up Overstock so even if I forget to spend them, it's all good. Even if I don't continue to grow, surely I'm at a level now where my income is sufficient enough to let me laze around for a few months, right?" Me looks at me as though I'm spouting blasphemous nonsense.
"Come on, Me. I know the reason you were created was to help me grow, but you need to cut me some slack on the spend, spend, spend routine. You know better than I do that no one else is pulling in the numbers that I am. Hell, I'm probably taking in more than a hundred Dungeon Cores combined at this point. Sure, some of it was luck, but we're still rolling in DP and will be as long as everyone stays happy. The city will grow slowly and so will my income, so just... Chill your beans. You did your job well and I will probably have a million more questions at ask by tomorrow, so for tonight let's just relax. Let's get Ali to cook up a meal to eat with everyone at the sanctuary. What do you think?"
"Hmm. I do like the sound of Ali's cooking. Although something inside is still urging me to make you spend points, I will suppress it for tonight. Eating together is the best." I can't help but laugh at the honesty coming from my partner. He's certainly adapting to human life, that's for sure.
"You're not wrong, Me. It is the best." I only wish I was. Although, I'm in my own way this time. I could create myself a body like Me's, or even Anya's, to partake, but I'm still reluctant to do so.
A few hours later the System-created room on the first floor of my dungeon is bustling with activity. The place we call sanctuary is aptly named because it's only for the dungeon borne and those contracted to me. No normies are invited. I don't know how Ali manages to cater for hundreds of people on such short notice, but she does it every time without fail and to standards that exceed expectations no less. She truly deserves the title of Chef.
Me is sitting with Katrina and Anon. The third and highest level Categoriser stands behind them in a state of disbelief. He's watching as Harpies, Bats and a few other different species fly past while throwing short and sneaky glances in Veris' direction.
Not knowing the hurricane that he's unknowingly about to walk into, I feel sorry for Simon and appear beside the man. My appearance doesn't go unnoticed and he jumps in fright, making my own heart jump in glee.
"Hi." I can't help but chuckle whenever I catch people off guard and it always works best with new faces.
"Please don't do that. I almost had a heart attack. Miss Dungeon Core, I can't believe you control all of these monsters. It's... Nothing like I've read. I mean, I've seen some of these creatures before, but never like this. This dungeon is truly something else." His eyes stop on Veris, the white-haired, leather-clad Assassin catches his gaze, before he turns back to me, hoping to have gone unnoticed.
"I'm not blind, you know? In fact, I'm more intuitive than you would think and I'll tell you right now, Veris... That Assassin you're peeping at, is a wild one. She will break you and... I don't think you'll ever be ready for that. I could be wrong. Doubt I am though, but it's just friendly advice nonetheless. Anyway, enjoy your night, Simon. Make sure to try some of Ali's food. I've heard it's amazing." I skip back over to Me as Simon flushes red. He must think I can read his mind after that. Although, men make it too easy to know what they're thinking.
Trying to muster up the courage to introduce himself to the resident sadomasochist, Simon fails epically and returns to take a seat next to me. In comparison, however, it could be called a blessing in disguise. He wouldn't be the same man after spending ten minutes with Veris.
"When we were at your tower earlier, I noticed Eddie wasn't there. Did you move him somewhere?" At Me's question, the atmosphere dies as everyone turns silent. Only the new Catergorisers seem puzzled by his statement.
"Who's Eddie?" and "What tower?" Are the questions asked by Anon and Simon. Both look at one another in confusion as Katrina shakes her head.
"Eddie the Teddy, or so she named him," Me's response is any but simple to both the Catergorisers and myself. What does he mean Eddie wasn't there? I'm sure I saw him. Panic sets and I disappear in a flash, only to return twenty seconds furious as hell.
My hands are shaking, my body trembling, and I'm about to rip someone a new one for taking my shit. The scarlet hue of the Dungeon Mist rises from the ground and blankets everything in sight. Just as I'm about to lose control, I pause. The mist hangs in the air like a cloak of blood as I pick up the smallest feeling.
I can feel him?
I can feel Eddie!