“Stop asking to pull out one of my teeth!” Merlin shouted.

Charlie looked at him. It seemed like he was talking to Vetica.

“I just want to pull out one! Let’s see if we can make Bleedy a human!” Vetica wore a devious smile.

“The ability will not be compatible with humans,” Parent said.

Vetica rolled her eyes. “I want to try, anyway.”

Charlie giggled and turned back to Koi Levi. “So, you can evolve too?” he asked.

His new core guardian still hovered upon the remnants of his eggshell and the mass of tendrils. “Of course! I have already grown in a number of ways. The core guardian in Sirra is what led to the growth of my egg and body. I also stole a portion of its regenerative abilities, though that power is still developing. I have enhanced resilience from the scalers you absorbed, and I believe I’ll receive a benefit from the boars as well. The Nae Glera also seems to have passed something on, but I don’t know what yet. The process isn’t instantaneous, and I wasn’t able to experiment with them while confined to my egg. But beyond absorbing abilities, it’s true that my form will eventually change as well.”

Charlie’s eyes widened. “Into what?” he asked.

There was a glint in Koi Levi’s eyes. “Since I am now your core guardian, that will be up to you. I will be able to take on the form of most creatures I absorb. Though there will be limitations. I cannot become either of the two core guardians you’ve faced so far, for example. I don’t know why, but I cannot. The hatching of my egg was only the first phase. It will take some time before I am able to evolve again. But you should think about the form that would benefit us most. Whether I focus on defense or offense or even some combination of the two. Defeat and absorb powerful creatures, and the options will only expand. As I said before, the two of us will grow stronger together.”

Charlie nodded. “Okay, we’ll figure it out together, then.” He turned toward Bleedy, who had carefully picked up the wolf-teeth dentures and returned them to the satchel for safekeeping. “Well, what about the dungeon? What did you all learn?” he asked.

Mousifer perked up on his shoulder.

Bleedy turned toward him, too. “Baby!”

“Squeak!”

Charlie looked between them, shaking his head.

Vetica and Merlin exchanged a puzzled look. “What did they say?” Merlin called out.

“They said they didn’t learn much.”

Vetica frowned. Merlin scoffed. “They were in here for so long! What was the point of that then?” he asked.

“Squeak!” Mousifer shot back.

“If I may,” parent interjected. “They are correct in that we weren’t able to map the dungeon out. But this is largely because the dungeon doesn’t have a default state. We were able to explore many hallways and chambers, most of which were still slowly recovering from the dungeon’s previous collapse. What we noticed was that the dungeon appeared to be repairing itself almost at random. This room appeared to be an exception and showed no signs of collapse. But the others were captured as soon as they entered, and I was forced into a semi-dormant state. It was only through great effort that I was able to return Mousifer to you after some time had passed.”

So, the dungeon didn’t have a default state. That was interesting. “Were you the reason that this room didn’t collapse?” Charlie asked, looking at Levi.

Koi Levi looped in the air. “I am. I began integrating with the dungeon shortly after loaning you my powers for the first time. The core guardian you absorbed in Sirra gave me greater strength. I was able to use it to exert even more control over this portion of the dungeon.”

“This is likely why the dungeon did not collapse here. A portion of your dungeon mass had essentially been stolen, and therefore, you could not control it and destabilize it through power usage. However, this will not be the case moving forward. Now that Koi Levi is bonded with you now, he cannot simply seize control of his own portion of the dungeon. He will still have some control here though, enough to survive collapse if it happens, but not to prevent it.”

Charlie nodded. He hoped he wouldn’t even need to worry about something like that for a while. That answered his questions regarding this room at least, though he had kind of figured that out already when he severed the tendrils that connected Koi Levi to the dungeon’s walls. “So, why is the dungeon changing shape after a collapse? Is it because I haven’t worked on it at all?” Charlie asked.

“That is likely. Normally, a dungeon would be shaped by the core itself. But in this case, you hold the most authority over the dungeon, not the dungeon core. The dungeon is simply repairing itself without direction. Now that we know significant change is possible here, you have what is essentially a blank slate for building your ideal dungeon. Anything is possible.”

Vetica’s eyes lit up. “We could build a training ground. Somewhere to practice fighting and killing our enemies!”

Merlin looked at her like she was insane. “Or…we could build a stable for Marvin! So, he’d have somewhere to sleep when we come inside the dungeon!”

Vetica rolled her eyes at him. “Marvin hated it in here last time. Why would he want to sleep in a dungeon? This is why he is angry with you. You never think about what he wants.”

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Merlin’s jaw dropped. “How dare you!”

Charlie laughed. “Well, shouldn’t we start with a place like the other dungeons had? The deepest part of the dungeon? Koi Levi is the core guardian, so he needs a place to stay!” Charlie said.

Koi’s many fins thrashed excitedly. “An excellent idea! A throne room! A haven for the ruler of the dungeon. I will guard it with my life.”

Charlie frowned. He really needed to work on Koi’s willingness to sacrifice himself. But the rest of his words made sense. If Charlie’s transfer power really could allow him to transport himself or others into a specific portion of the dungeon, it made sense to create a place like that. If he reinforced it, it would be the perfect place to send his friends if things got bad. Then he’d know they were safe. He looked at the room they were in. As far as core guardian rooms, this one was way too small.

He focused and brought his hands together. Then he expanded them while focusing on the walls and his dungeon manipulation ability. He felt invisible strings connect him to the dungeon itself. The walls grated as they expanded outward. He made the room a square, instead of using the traditional dome structure he often saw. He felt like it made the room feel more human. It was a minor change, but it felt like it made a big difference.

Charlie turned toward Merlin. “If I wanted to make the dungeon more stable, what would I do?” he asked.

Merlin tilted his head. “Well, I’m no architect, but I have seen inside some pretty important buildings. Some of them have like pillars and stuff inside them. Maybe you could try that? Some supporting columns.”

“Pillars?!” Charlie’s eyes lit up. “I love pillars!” He immediately turned his attention back to the dungeon. He lifted his hands up, and a series of pillars grew from the ground and rose quickly into the air. Each of them collided with the ceiling and fused with it. Eight pillars on either side of the room now rose up to support the ceiling. “Like this?” Charlie asked.

Merlin looked surprised that he had moved so quickly. “Uh, yeah. Something like that.” He looked up to inspect Charlie’s work.

Charlie smiled. There was just one more finishing touch. Just in front of Koi Levi’s egg, he focused and created a small throne made of earth. He also included a little ramp that he could crawl up. It would be weird to call it a throne room and not have an actual throne. The tendrils slithered forward and splayed out on either side of it.

“This is glorious, noble little child! Tell us interface, will this room stand the strain of his power now?” he asked.

Parent was silent for a moment before responding. Charlie already knew he was calculating the answer to the core guardian’s question.

“Without testing it, I cannot be positive. But I believe this room will now endure slightly beyond the point that the rest of the dungeon would collapse. In the future, more portions of the dungeon could be expanded and supported in this same way. However, I don’t think any more progress will be made today. Charlie’s dungeon integrity increased after seizing control of this portion of the dungeon again. But it appears the fight, and altering this room, has used up most of the reclaimed power. For now, I advise rest. In the future, we should revisit working on the dungeon and continue strengthening it. You would be wise to study architecture and buildings during your travels as well. That might assist you in furthering your goals.”

Charlie nodded. “Merlin, Vetica, you’ll have to help me learn, too. So, we can build the best dungeon ever!”

Vetica smiled. “Of course, we will. Just keep in mind Merlin has horrible taste, so don’t take too much advice of his when it comes to decorations, okay?”

“Trust me, I know that already.” Charlie grinned at her.

Merlin’s brows furrowed. “I’ve never seen a ruder couple of people. See if I let any of you on my wagon when we get out of here.” He crossed his arms.

Vetica shot him a smug look. “See if Marvin even lets you on the wagon when we get out of here.”

Merlin mocked her words, copying her. She leapt toward him as if to strike.

“What about Orb?” Charlie asked, turning away from them. “What’s wrong with him?” He was getting more and more concerned by the second. Why hadn’t Orb woken up yet? Mousifer and Bleedy had been through a lot. He understood them, needing time to rest. But Orb had been with him the whole time and then his color had started changing. Eventually, he’d passed out altogether, and Charlie had to return him to the dungeon. Now he was here, floating near Koi Levi, but hadn’t spoken a single word since.

“I don’t know anything. He just showed up here one day. I seized the opportunity to try to integrate with the core, but progress was slow. I realize now it was because he was already bonded with you. But he was already dormant by the time he arrived here,” Koi Levi said.

“His state is likely because of the strain Koi Levi put on the dungeon during his attempt to take it over. The process would’ve been slow, and largely unnoticeable at first, and then it would have gotten worse very suddenly. He should wake soon. His body is basically on autopilot now. But he’s still in there, somewhere.”

Charlie let out a sigh of relief. That was a good to know at least. Once Orb was better, all of his friends would be united again, and now they had a new friend as well. He was excited to introduce their new core guardian to Orb. He just hoped Orb wouldn’t hold a grudge against their new core guardian friend. “That’s good to hear,” Charlie said.

He still had questions. He wondered where the scalers were, but he knew they were safe. They wouldn’t have piled into the dungeon if they weren’t. Charlie was also curious about the vault room. Parent hadn’t mentioned it, but that room had been automatically designated. Depending on the size of the dungeon, and how long they had been trapped here by Koi Levi, there was a chance that they just hadn’t seen it.

Before he could ask about any of that, a strange noise came from the direction of Koi Levi. Everyone turned to look. But the core guardian wasn’t the source of the noise.

Orb was.

The blue dungeon core grew brighter and brighter, until finally, Orb returned to his usual color. He plummeted out of the air and thumped against the ground.

Charlie crawled toward him, wondering what was going on.

Suddenly, Orb shot back into the air. He spun in a circle before seeing Charlie and zooming in the air towards him. “Charlie! We need to leave now! The hex knights are coming! They’ve found us!”

Charlie blinked back confusion. “Orb? You’re okay! Wait, what do you mean? How do you know that?” he asked.

“I can sense it! There’s an entrance to our dungeon not far from where you entered. If they find it, it’s all over!” Orb said.

Charlie remembered something Parent had once said to him shortly before they went to go into Sange. When he entered the dungeon, an entrance was placed randomly. It was something he hadn’t had time to learn more about, but if what Orb was saying was true... if the hex knights really were close to finding it, this was bad.

They had to escape. He turned to Koi Levi. “We have to go! I’ll talk to you soon!” he said.

Koi Levi blinked at him. “Travel well, noble little one, call upon me should you need my assistance.”

Charlie nodded. He focused on all of his other friends. Orb, Mousifer, Bleedy, Vetica, and Merlin.

“Transfer!”