“What is that imposter doing?” Orb demanded.

Charlie didn’t understand. The dungeon had recalled the temporary core at the same time the Scalers went into hibernation. When it had first formed in the daycare, it had taken a portion of his dungeon integrity. So, in the aftermath of Sange, the dungeon withdrew the core to restore that dungeon integrity and help rebuild itself.

It shouldn’t exist. So, why was it here now?

Charlie shook his head. “I didn’t summon it! It just popped out of my hand.” He pointed at a stool and Vetica sat him down on it.

Themis’ brows furrowed, and he exchanged a look with Canano. The coyuta shrugged. Themis turned and walked over to Geby. He held his hand out in front of her mouth. “Spit it out, Geby. We’ve already been through this. You know we don’t each dungeon cores,” he said.

Geby closed her eyes. She opened her mouth and spit out the dungeon core. At the same time, she let out the grating noise she made when she was upset to let him know she was unhappy about it.

Themis wrinkled his nose at the saliva covered dungeon core. He pulled a cloth from his pocket and wiped it clean. “So, despite its translucent state, it does have physical form. Interesting. Do you have any knowledge regarding this core, Parent?” Themis asked, beating Charlie to the question.

“It was an automated response. Analyzing the cause now.” Even though Parent was technically Charlie’s interface, some processes and notices were automatic. It was the reason Charlie still had access to a more basic interface, even while Parent was helping Mousifer and Bleedy explore the dungeon. Merlin had once pointed out the similarity the situation had with breathing. Breathing happened all on its own, but if you thought about it, you could control your breaths. Parent was kind of like that. The basic interface operated all on its own. But when Parent was called upon, or saw a reason to get involved, he could assume control of the interface in its entirety. Parent was Charlie’s interface, but he was also part of a larger system. One that Charlie, and even Parent himself, were still figuring out. Thanks to Zephyr and Themis, they were making significant progress lately.

Parent finished analyzing. “Interesting. I’ve identified what is going on. It is…strange. It appears the temporary core in Sange was created using your dungeon integrity. However, the spirit inside it was that of the dungeon core from Sirra. This temporary core was inhabited by the purple dungeon core. It seems that the core now seeks to join you permanently.”

Themis stared at the motionless temporary core in his hand. “Seeks? This core is sapient?” he asked.

“No. Not in the way Orb is. It appears this one is a normal dungeon core. It doesn’t have a personality, at least, not an advanced one,” Parent said.

Charlie frowned. “Boop does have a personality! He boops things! He boops things and gets eaten. Well, maybe those are more like hobbies, but still!”

“I’m sorry, what? Boop?” Merlin asked.

Charlie nodded. “Yup! That’s his new name! Boop!” The dungeon core floated out of Themis’ hand and over toward Charlie.

A new notification popped up.

Would you like to bond with the dungeon core, Boop?

Charlie smiled. “Yes!” he shouted before anyone could stop him.

The outline of the blue translucent dungeon core faded away into nothingness. The fabric of reality distorted in front of him and a shimmering, blue portal opened where the temporary core had been. In its place was Boop. The purple dungeon core from Sirra.

Orb rolled himself. “Seriously? You didn’t think you should…I don’t know, consult the rest of us first?”

Vetica crossed her arms and smirked. “Someone’s jealous.”

“I am not! How dare you! Go back to teasing Merlin. I am not one to be trifled with! I will summon an army of Scalers to descend upon you and—”

Vetica glared at him.

“…and offer to carry your belongings to ensure you can rest after a hard day’s work,” Orb finished, changing his tune for the sake of self-preservation.

Vetica nodded. “Good boy. Well, at least the new one doesn’t talk, that’s a plus.”

Merlin scoffed. “That doesn’t mean it isn’t evil! That gross dungeon core chased me around covered in Scaler Saliva.” He fake retched. “Also, I’m not sure a dungeon core who goes around getting eaten by various beasts is a positive thing. I hate to say it, but Orb’s right, maybe we should have talked this through.”

Charlie puffed a lip out. “I can make decisions too! Boop is going to be very helpful! I just know it.” Charlie looked back up at Boop, who floated casually in front of him. “Right?” he asked, so that only Boop could hear him. The dungeon core floated forward and tapped Charlie’s nose.

“Boop.”

Notice

The user has gained the following attribute due to core integration:

Rapid Regeneration LV. 1

Charlie blinked in surprise. “What’s that do? That sounds awesome!” Charlie said excitedly.

“Do you recall how Geron, and his companions said the dungeon in Sirra grew much faster than most do? It appears that Boop has retained that ability. Now, you have a portion of it as well. It will increase the rate at which you recover dungeon integrity by about 15%. This should mean you have less downtime in between major fights. Additionally, this skill is a leveled skill. So, you’ll be able to strengthen it in the future.”

Themis clapped his hands. “That’s fantastic! Besides mobility, dungeon integrity is probably Charlie’s greatest weakness. Everyone needs to recover after a battle, but Charlie’s dungeon often recovers far slower than his body does. If he can improve this power, it would be significant!”

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Zephyr floated forward and the green light surrounding his rings moved forward to encompass Boop. “Indeed. Additionally, you should be able to assign a function to this core as well. Unlike Orb, who serves as your main core, additional cores can be used for a myriad of purposes. Though, this will best be done after you’ve left this dungeon. It would be unwise to transfer between the dungeon you’re in and your own dungeon. The natural barriers we have in place would likely destroy your dungeon before we could stop it.”

Orb floated close. “Plus, that just sounds like dungeon-ception. Hard pass for me. I’m not sure if the spinning top trick will work for a dungeon core. I’d just get dizzy. One dungeon at a time.”

It was disappointing they couldn’t start looking for a job for Boop now, but that was okay. He deserved some downtime after joining the team. Maybe he could get to know Orb a little better, boop a few things, and find a cool monster to get eaten by. Whatever makes him happy.

Charlie looked up toward the table where his friends and Canano had been working when he and Themis first arrived. “Hey, what were you guys working on earlier? You seemed really into it.”

Canano’s eyes lit up. “Right! Themis, you need to see this. We were talking about the similarity between Bleedy and Gunther when Vetica mentioned a book they had found. A book with a drawing of what they assumed was their friend. But the drawing was before they’d crossed paths with the book’s owner. A witch named Lusafeen.”

Themis froze. “Lusafeen?” He spun toward Charlie. “The witch you were talking about was named Lusafeen? You never mentioned her name before.”

Charlie frowned. “I didn’t think it mattered. Why? What’s wrong?”

Merlin and Vetica exchanged a look. “Actually, Charlie, it turns out she was an old acquaintance of Themis and Canano here. Canano had only just started filling us in when you arrived. You should probably hear this too,” Merlin said.

Themis snarled. “You didn’t come get me right away?” he snapped at Canano.

Canano was quiet. “I knew it would distract you. You said you wanted to focus on training the boy. You wouldn’t have been able to focus on that if you knew we had a lead after all this time.”

Themis started to say something back but bit his tongue. “No, you’re right. I’m sorry friend. I just hadn’t expected…” He turned to look at Charlie. “Lusafeen was my former assistant. She was talented, even had her young age. She was smarter than a lot of our peers. It was exhilarating, having a partner in the lab like her. I only wished she would’ve stuck around.” He glanced at Canano. “If the three of us had worked together, I don’t think there would be anything we couldn’t figure out.”

“Yeah, hate to break it to you, but she turned out to be a total psychopath,” Orb said. “What happened to make you guys split ways? Did she stab your mother or something?” Orb asked.

“She was always different. I’ll give you that. We were on the verge of a breakthrough. We’d managed to get a dungeon core to use its abilities, even though it wasn’t bonded to a dungeon. It was groundbreaking, the kind of discovery that would change the way we thought about dungeons. But dungeons have been a source of trouble for humanity for as long as history has been recorded. Even stories and myths that were passed down orally, before we started recording our history in text and scrolls, even those detail the eternal conflict between humanity and dungeons. The Hex King for example. A story passed down about the ultimate savior of humanity, who built a kingdom amidst what could have been an extinction event for us, the kingdom that some claim is the Aysela of today.”

“When we took our findings to the king, he ordered that we keep them to ourselves. They destroyed our lab and most of our research materials. Luckily, we’d kept the dungeon core and some backups safely tucked away. However, we disagreed with how to move forward. I proposed we go elsewhere, maybe partner with a guild or another kingdom to continue our studies and eventually promote our findings. But Lusafeen…” Themis sighed.

“She said we should seek the Cult of Cendra. She said that they would welcome us with open arms, and we wouldn’t want for anything.” His voice cracked, and his entire demeanor faltered. “I should’ve pushed back harder. I got so angry that I stormed out and went to clear my head. When I returned, she was gone. She’d stolen the dungeon core and our prized test subject as well. Gunther. A half raccoon, half beaver hybrid. I guess you call them Racooneevers now. They didn’t have a name back then since there was only one of them. I guess when Bleedy came around, the System opted to give their species a name.”

Orb bounced in the air. “Huh, maybe that’s why I could identify what Bleedy was. Haven’t been able to do that since Troa. Wait! The System freaking used me to name a pet!”

Charlie looked over and saw Bleedy had sat up. His eyes were wide as he listened to Themis speak. The furry hybrid turned to look at Charlie. He lifted a paw and pointed toward himself. “Bleedy?” he asked.

Charlie frowned. “Wait, but Bleedy isn’t Gunther. So, is he Gunther’s son or something?” he asked.

Canano looked over at Bleedy and shook his head. “It’s unlikely. I suspect she recreated the experiment on her own. You said you found Bleedy wandering outside in the town where Lusafeen lived, right?”

Charlie nodded. “Yeah! He tried to eat us in the front yard. That’s how he lost his teeth.”

Bleedy shook his head in agreement. “Bleedy,” he agreed. He lifted his head and pointed to his toothless mouth with pride. The still sleeping Mousifer slid right off his head and fell toward the ground. Mousifer woke up mid-fall.

“Squeaaaa!” he cried out as he fell. Bleedy turned rapidly and caught Mousifer by his tail before he hit the ground.

“Devil,” Bleedy said, using his nickname for Mousifer.

Mousifer squeaked back a thank you.

Themis stroked his chin. “Then that’s likely what occurred. Where is that dungeon core now? Also, you said you put the witch you fought in time out? I didn’t know it was her at the time, so I didn’t ask. But what exactly did you mean by that? Did you turn her into the local authorities or something?”

Charlie froze. “To be honest, I kind of forgot about that.” He sheepishly looked around at the others. “How long can someone survive without food?” he asked.

Themis’ eyes widened.

Canano answered the question. “Without food? A while as long as you have water. But without water, just a few days. Wait, why? What’s that have to do with…” he trailed off.

Charlie rubbed the back of his head. “I didn’t give her any of that. Oops.” To be fair, Charlie didn’t really need to eat, so it wasn’t something he thought about. But now he realized he might have starved his prisoner by accident. Come to think of it, the dungeon had collapsed right after the fight. So, if anything, that had probably gotten her first. He wasn’t sure if that made him feel better, or worse. “Oh, and I gave the dungeon core to my friend, Kyo! He’s a baby, too. I forgot to get it back.”

Canano’s jaw dropped.

Themis facepalmed. His hand slowly slid down his face. “Well, it’s unfortunate about the core. I’d hoped to study it some more. It would’ve been interesting to see how it affected your powers. As for Lusafeen, maybe it’s for the best. She’d lost her way. I just wish things had gone differently. I should’ve been a better mentor. Maybe I could’ve saved her from herself.”

Zephyr suddenly sprang to life. “The knights have just defeated the fourth core guardian.”

Themis spun to face his interface. “The bird’s nest? Already?” he asked.

Zephyr bounced in the air as if to nod.

Themis shook his head. “They’re moving faster than I expected. I thought we’d have more time.”

“Wait, how fast exactly are we talking?” Merlin asked. He wore a nervous expression on his face. “Should we pack our bags, or do we flee screaming with our hands above our heads?”

Charlie fixated on something Zephyr had said instead. He’d noticed Themis say something similar when they’d first arrived, but he hadn’t remembered to ask about it until now. “Wait, we can have more than one core guardian?!”