Charlie felt air on his back and turned to look over his shoulder. The Caldurra, Geby, was standing over him. She leaned forward and licked Charlie’s face. He managed to turn his head to the side in time to avoid a direct hit. He wrinkled his nose at the saliva dripping down the side of his face.

How had she gotten so close without him noticing? He was glad she was friendly. Geby could swallow Charlie in one bite if she wanted to. Luckily, she didn’t seem to want to. Unless…the lick was some kind of taste test?

Charlie’s eyes widened, and he crawled back a bit.

Themis laughed. “It seems Geby wanted to congratulate you on your victory!”

Geby looked down at Charlie and then her tail curled, and she gently patted the back of her neck with that round, spiky tail of hers.

Themis’ mouth parted in surprise. “Huh,” he said, picking Charlie up by his sides.

He sat Charlie on Geby’s neck, and Charlie’s palmar grasp ability activated instinctively. His hands latched onto two of the spikes on top of her head. Geby’s head swayed happily. Charlie giggled. “Is she ticklish?” he asked, wondering if he should look for a different handhold.

Themis smiled. “No, no. Caldurra often carry their children on their heads. Geby seems to like you a lot, Charlie. You should be honored. She’s sweet, but she rarely comes around to new people so quickly. I’m sure watching you get back up again and again during training endeared you to her.”

Charlie blinked in surprise. “Wait, she’s been watching us all this time?” he leaned over to inspect Geby, as if she could answer.

“Your back was always to the door. Geby wasn’t always there, but she was a good amount. Caldurra primarily nest in dungeons. Despite their colossal size, they can move quietly when they want to. If you hear one coming, it’s probably because they’re charging you,” Themis explained.

Charlie remembered the heavy vibration he’d heard just before Geby had stormed out of the dungeon and ran right into Redrick. It was amazing how easily she could mask her presence when she wanted to. Zephyr and Parent floated to the side. Charlie had been so distracted he’d almost forgot they were there.

He gasped, remembering the skill notice. “I got a bunch of notices! I should see what’s new!” he said excitedly.

Themis held a hand up. “Wait a moment. How about we regroup with the others first? I’m sure your friends want to see you. Besides, if you have any new skills, it makes sense to update everyone at once, rather than explaining it repeatedly. Canano might also have some insight. Before pivoting to work with me on dungeon research, he worked with a team that studied class development. He may be able to offer some valuable advice for you. Let’s gather everyone and then Parent can update us.”

Charlie nodded. “Okay! That sounds good!” He was excited about the recent developments. An ability update, the possibility of integrating a new dungeon core, and most exhilarating of all, the Scalers were finally finished hibernating! It hadn’t taken as long as he’d thought. Well, it had felt like forever, but after Merlin explained what hibernation actually was, Charlie had let his expectations settle a little bit. “Oh! What if I summon King Scalea! I’d bet Geby would get along with him!”

Themis waved his hands and shook his head all at once. “Bad idea. Geby loves scalers.”

Charlie tilted his head. “To play with them?” he asked.

Themis didn’t say anything.

Charlie leaned over and looked at Geby. “To play with them, right?” he asked her.

Geby’s stomach growled. Charlie heard a swishing noise behind him and turned to see her tail wagging back and forth. His eyes widened. “Okay, maybe another time.” Charlie didn’t want King Scalea’s first adventure after moving into the new dungeon to end up with him being a snack for Geby.

They moved out into the hallway and started heading back the way they’d come four days prior. They reached the intersection they’d taken to the training room and kept going. Charlie realized this was the path that had been really dark before.

Themis walked beside Geby, while Zephyr and Parent floated in the air above them. Many of the rooms down this hallway were open, unlike all the sealed off doors they’d passed when Themis had first brought them deeper into the dungeon. Charlie saw a room filled with books. There were bookshelves from wall to wall piled so full that additional books had spilled over onto the many tables and chairs in the room. Themis tried to laugh it off but seemed embarrassed. “Our library is a bit messy as of late. I should probably dedicate a second room to it, but I enjoy knowing all of my books are in one place.”

They passed storage rooms, a kitchen, and what appeared to be some kind of sauna. Charlie even saw the two elevator birds from before perched in a room all by themselves. There were several additional perches and even toys scattered throughout the room. Each of them slept atop their perch, dozing peacefully. As they passed, Geby got excited, and Themis sealed the room before she could wake them. Charlie wondered if she was excited because they were Geby’s friends, or because she wanted to eat them.

At this point, he just didn’t know anymore.

Finally, they reached their destination, and Charlie couldn’t have been happier. Merlin, Vetica, and Canano were leaned over a table studying some kind of book. Orb floated above the book, looking down at it. Bleedy was curled up in the corner on what appeared to be a bed for a small animal. Mousifer was curled up on top of Bleedy’s head. Charlie wondered how the little mouse was staying balanced with Bleedy adjusting his head now and then, but somehow, Mousifer slept through it undisturbed.

The room appeared to be a study. There were four bookshelves, two on either side. The table in the center that was currently occupied by their friends, and a desk pushed against the far wall. It was covered in texts, scrolls, and all kinds of odd equipment Charlie didn’t recognize.

Vetica was the first to notice movement and turned as Geby maneuvered to enter doors that were too slim for her. After a moment, her head sank. Themis smiled at her. One “shift” later and the doors had receded deep into the walls and the entrance had stretched wide enough to accommodate her. Geby wagged her tail so much that she knocked Zephyr’s rings out of the air and dented the sealed metal doors on the opposite side of the hallway.

Themis sighed and picked Charlie up. He moved to join the others at the table when Canano noticed them.

Vetica had been halfway through greeting them when the Coyuta interrupted.

“No! No, no, no! You two are absolutely filthy! You couldn’t have stopped to take a bath first, Themis?” Canano growled. He hurried from his chair to intercept them before they got any further. “This is my workspace, and I won’t have you dirtying it up!”

Charlie had almost forgotten he was covered in mud. Sure, it wasn’t comfortable, but after a while, you get used to it. He wasn’t sure if that was a good or a bad thing.

Themis scoffed. “Fine.” He looked up and held a hand toward the ceiling. A hole opened up above them.

Charlie looked up. “What’s that?” he asked.

“Close your eyes and hold your breath,” Themis told him.

Charlie looked at the researcher. “What? Why?” he asked as a water poured out and drenched the two of them. Charlie sputtered, spitting water out of his mouth, and waving his hands as if he could swim out of it.

After a moment, the water stopped. Charlie shook his head, sending droplets flying. He looked down and noticed tiny holes in the ground beneath Themis’ feet. It was like a shower on demand. Water and mud alike soaked the surrounding ground where the holes hadn’t been sufficient enough to drain it all.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

But surprisingly, Charlie and Themis were much cleaner than before.

Canano rolled his eyes. His clothes were splattered as well. “Great. Just great, now my fur is all wet.”

“Shake it off like the rest of us.” Themis shrugged, hurrying to the table.

“If I did that, I’d get the whole room wet. Jerk,” Canano returned to the table and sank back into his chair.

Merlin and Vetica exchanged a speechless look. Orb rolled himself in the air.

Mousifer and Bleedy had slept through the whole interaction.

Charlie frowned. He just wanted everyone to get along and have fun.

Just when it looked like Themis and Canano wouldn’t speak to each other, the pair burst into laughter.

“That’s payback for when you flooded the lab in Karze.” Themis chuckled.

“Oh yeah? I distinctively remember I brewed that concoction under your orders. I told you we’d used too much essence of the shapeless, but you insisted.” Canano’s breathy laughter filled the room.

“Perhaps we should inform them of your progress,” Parent interrupted.

Vetica perked up. “Oh, what happened?” she asked, leaning in. She seemed happy to jump at the distraction.

“I finally managed to win a round against Themis! It was so cool! Oh, and I have an ability update. Parent was going to walk me through it, but we decided we should listen with everyone!” he said.

Vetica made a show of her jaw dropping. “You won! That’s awesome! I’m very proud of you, Charlie!” She stood from the table and hurried over to grab him. Themis handed Charlie over. Vetica didn’t even seem to mind that he was soaking wet. She didn’t bat an eye over it.

Merlin sighed. “Vetica, don’t baby him too much. Charlie’s cleared dungeons for System’s sake.”

Charlie puffed out a lip at Merlin. “It’s okay if Vetica babies me a little, I don’t mind. Just a little though!”

She smiled and held him tight. “I was worried about you, you know. You pushed yourself really hard.”

“I’m sorry. I just wanted to get stronger so I can protect you, and everyone else, too.”

Vetica seemed surprised at that. “Charlie, that’s not—”

“Can we stop with all the mushy stuff? Let’s talk about powah!” Orb said, breaking his silence.

“Powah?” Charlie asked.

“Power!” Orb shouted in his head.

Parent floated to the center of the room, and his rings vibrated. His words played in all of their minds.

Notice

The users’ Sphere of Influence has grown stronger.

Skill Simplification has been unlocked. The user’s skills will be combined whenever possible.

Dungeon Manipulation has reached level four.

New Abilities

Core Integration (Passive)

Summon Minion

Parent interrupted the notification to speak for a moment. “I am going to send through a full status update as well. One moment.”

Current Status

Class: Dungeon Core Baby

Passive: Rock Skin. The walls of the body are reinforced to maintain dungeon integrity.

Passive: Core Integration. The user may bond with multiple cores.

Auto Ability

Palmar Grasp -An enhanced version of the reflex commonly seen in babies. Significantly increases the user’s grip strength.

Abilities

Transfer and Devour- Allows the user to shift others or objects in and out of the dungeon.

Dungeon Manipulation LV. 4 - Control over dungeon interior.

Convergence - Allows the user to attempt to exert their will over another dungeon. (Conditional ability)

Monster Evolution - Allows the user to control the evolutionary development of bonded creatures. (Conditional ability)

Tendrils - Allows the user to command the tendrils under the influence of Core Guardian Koi Levi.

Summon Minion - Allows the user to summon bonded creatures from within the dungeon.

Tantrum - Provides the user with extreme power, at the cost of rapid expenditure of dungeon integrity. (Conditional ability) (Ultimate ability)

Charlie shook his head, trying to process it all. “These things keep getting longer and longer. How am I supposed to keep up?” he asked.

“It appears three of your skills have been combined. Devourer, Transfer, and Vault Transfer. You’ll still use the same language to activate them, but on your status screen, they’ll read like this from now on. Additionally, with the more powerful sphere of influence, you’ll no longer need to combine the Transfer and Dungeon Manipulation skills. Dungeon Manipulation will achieve the same desired effect from this moment forward.”

“Wait, so it’s like the combination is automatic? I can just activate that one skill and it’ll transfer over my material?” Charlie asked. That was a big deal. Even if it only shaved a few seconds off his response time, in a fight, that could be the difference between life or death.

“Affirmative.”

Vetica looked up and raised a brow at Themis. “Wait, why does he have a level associated with dungeon manipulation now? He went from level one to four, just like that?” she asked.

Merlin stroked his beard. “Wait, you’re right. That’s quite the power up. That training of yours was effective Themis! Maybe you can teach me some things too.”

Orb floated in between Merlin and Themis. “Now hold on a second. We should probably ask what kind of steroids this freak gave Charlie! I get wanting to help him get stronger, but you can’t just pump a baby full of performance-enhancing drugs! Bleedy, Mousifer, wake up! Bite this creep!”

Bleedy opened an eye, inspected the room, and then went back to sleep.

Mousifer didn’t move a muscle.

Orb did his best attempt to replicate the sound of smacking lips in their minds. “You guys suck.”

Themis laughed. “I suspect he didn’t jump in power that drastically. Zephyr, you analyzed him the other day. Can you share your thoughts?” he asked.

“It is not likely this was the case. Parent simply lacked the ability to quantify the boy’s strength previously. It is far more likely the boy has powered up several times before training with you. However, he has obviously gotten stronger since my first analysis. It’s safe to assume Charlie was around level three when he first arrived. While training with you over the last four days, he recently hit level four,” Zephyr said.

“My own data reinforces this theory. I believe Zephyr is right,” Parent added.

Charlie’s lips pulled to the side. “So, I leveled up before without even knowing it? But what about my other abilities?”

Canano cleared his throat. “Even if Parent is capable of quantifying one ability, that doesn’t mean that all of them will gain levels all of a sudden. The skill simplification thing sticks out the most to me. At the moment, it’s only affected a handful of your skills, at least from what you’ve told us. The fact the System pointed out that skills will continue to be combined, rather than simply combining those three skills this one time, gives me a hunch. I think that it’s a sign skill combinations will be far more likely in the future. That is, you may see a few other skills gain levels down the road. But I would be more interested to see which of your skills develop in a way that makes fusion and combination more likely. The possibilities are limitless. If I had to guess, that will be where your class really shines.”

Themis nodded. “That all makes sense. We’ll continue to monitor his progress as we move forward.”

Charlie was still trying to wrap his head around it all when a repeat notice went through.

Notice

A Dungeon Core you’ve collected is now eligible for integration.

Charlie already knew that. He was trying to process the ability update and everything Canano had said. He sighed. “Can’t I just deal with one thing at a time?” he asked.

A portal opened from his palm and out shot a familiar sight. It was the temporary dungeon core that had served as Orb’s replacement in Sange. It shot out of the portal at high speed and soared right toward Geby.

It reached her and smacked her against the nose.

“Boop.”

Geby blinked, turned her head to study the transparent dungeon core, and then swallowed it whole.