Zack worked through the night, blissfully unaware of when the sun set and rose again. There was simply so much that needed to be done, and it's not like he needed sleep anyway. Archie, unfortunately, had no such resilience to the needs of his body. It was an unfortunate side effect of being a physical entity rather than a purely magical one like Zack.
Still, left to his own devices, Zack found relief from his worries in his work. He tidied up the rooms to make them presentable—avoiding the spider warren when they tried to bite him again. He was thankful that the monsters in that room he did have control over he was able to keep from continuously breeding, but that didn't stop their existing offsprings. Worse, the monsters outside his control had started to resort to cannibalism.
"Yeah, definitely need to clear that place out sooner rather than later," Zack mumbled to himself.
Jean-Claude, his ever faithful assistant kobold, stood passively in the hub with his eyes closed. Like Archie, he was subject to the needs of the flesh, but as he didn't have individuality, the only option he had for slumber was to stand with his eyes closed. Zack woke him up with a mental prod.
"Hey, bud. I got something for you."
Jean-Claude didn't argue as Zack quickly removed the toad voice box from his throat and replaced it with a new wisp. A few minutes of tuning and experimenting later, the kobold had a high-pitched, adorably squeaky voice that it used when reciting its canned lines.
"Good boy," Zack cooed, wishing he had hands with which to pat the kobold on the head. He quickly conjured a wisp in the shape of one and did so anyway, earning a delighted squeak from Jean-Claude. "Gosh, you guys really are adorable. Maybe I really should make plushies of you?"
Jean-Claude, unlike Archie, was unable to answer of his own device. He continued staring at Zack's disembodied awareness until it became clear that the dungeon was done speaking with him, then shut his eyes and returned to faux slumber. Meanwhile, Zack was already pondering how he could make plushies.
He already had a few stuffed animal patterns—undead as they were—and he had the kobold patterns. Could it really be as simple as applying one to the other?
His first attempt was a horrifying failure. He started by taking the materials from the Dead Aevis and applying them to a kobold pattern, which created a perfectly normal kobold that was simply made of fabric. It hobbled around, acting for all the world no different than Jean-Claude or the Medibolds. Zack quickly dismissed and stored it, not wanting to leave that experiment around in case somebody saw it.
"The materials aren't the problem," Zack muttered, as he examined each of his materials in turn.
Fabric and fur were easy and straight forward to work with, as was filling the toys with polyfill and plastic beans to weigh them down. Even plastic eyes were things he could effortlessly manage, and since he was creating these objects himself he didn't need to stitch seams to hold them together.
The problem was the shape he was trying to use. The kobold pattern already had a predefined list of behaviours. Modifying the textures could update the monster's programming, not entirely eliminate it. If Zack wanted to create stuffed animals, he would need to either create a new pattern from scratch, or he would need to modify the existing one.
"Well, it's not like the kobolds are the most appealing on their own, are they?" Zack mused. Even as he said it, he knew he was wrong. The kobolds were a huge draw. Most people stopped to thank or pat the head of whichever Medibold came to their aid in the dungeon rooms, and Chandra even had a running tally of how many headpats Jean-Claude received in a day. People just liked cute, helpful things.
So how could Zack plushify them without taking away that factor?
The answer, it turned out, was actually not to be found in the kobold pattern, but rather the dire bunnies. Proportionally, they couldn't be farther from kobolds if they tried. They more than made up for this in size and shape, though. Zack quickly created a copy of his dire rabbit monster, eliminated all programming associated with its behaviours, and applied new materials to its body.
He used the deady bear's fur, since it was soft and fluffy to the touch, and filled the body with polyfill. Beads were added to the paws to give them extra texture and help keep the toy seated. Lastly, he used a soft felt for the horn, and plastic eyes.
"Toys don't really need a mouth, do they," Zack mumbled, as he quickly eliminated that feature from the new plush bunny, then spun the model around to admire his work. He had succeeded in creating a perfect plushy replica of Thumper. The rabbits really did have the perfect proportions for stuffed animals, and he could already imagine a child squealing in delight while hugging the stuffing out of this toy.
It was easy to save the pattern and set it aside as Zack got to work on the next one. Again, he started from the rabbit model and worked his way out. This time, he adjusted the shape and proportions. Longer tail, stubbier ears, stretched out snout. He even made it sit upright and hold its arms out to the side, like it wanted a hug.
Texturing this plush proved a bit more of a challenge. The material from the deady bear was simply too fluffy, and the dead aevis too scaly. The tyrannosaurus hex, though, had a soft and smooth felt that fit Zack's needs perfectly. A few quick dye jobs, followed by creating eyes from fabric rather than plastic, and Zack had a perfect kobold toy.
"Oh yeah, that's the ticket," Zack mentally grinned, as he set it down on the shelf next to the bunny. He spawned two more, until there were three in total: a red one for the Medibolds, a green one for Jean-Claude, and a blue one.
Zack didn't actually have a blue kobold yet, but he intended to fix that very soon. Since he had some prizes to give out, he figured it was high time to actually make the prize counter.
Sticking with the theme of his hub, he created a wooden counter that looked modern, yet like it could belong to a fantasy tavern. He polished the wood, and laminated it with a thin layer of clean plastic to give it a nice sheen. On the front of it were panels of glass so that customers could view the contents within, like the kind of prize counters one could expect to see from arcades.
Zack filled the inside shelves with simple prizes, the kind that most people would accept because there was nothing better they could afford with their winnings. Some candies that Greg gave him, extra potions, and some simple knick knacks for kids.
The shelves behind the counter was where all the real prizes went. In addition to the plushies, Zack also added weapons and armour. They weren't anything too special, but unlike the stuff acquired from Greg's forge, these ones wouldn't disappear over time.
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Originally, Zack was worried about being labeled as an arms dealer and threat. Now that he revealed himself as a dungeon, though, he wasn't sure he had to worry about that anymore. From the way Salazar reacted, it was clear that he had never heard of anything like Zack before. Ergo, Zack figured it might be safe to let people work towards acquiring permanent weapons. If he was asked why he thought it was okay, Zack could simply explain that it was for training purposes.
His role as a dungeon was to be a training ground, to help people learn magic and deepen their connection to the Akashic System. Why shouldn't he reward people who chose to learn from him?
He added all the basic tools of carnage: swords, axes, daggers, and bows. He added a barrel of arrows next to the counter, and started conjuring signs to display the cost of each prize in turn.
Balancing the costs was the hardest choice. The dungeon was already handing out three tokens per person at the end of each run. He wanted the prizes to be attainable to the average person—within reason of course.
Plushies were set at twenty-five tokens apiece. That was a low enough cost that a group could come through a few times and pool their tokens together to get one. Weapons were set between fifty and one hundred, depending on the complexity of the tool. Daggers and bows were relatively simple, so it made sense they were cheaper. Plus, a bow was useless without arrows, which Zack generously priced at one token for a bundle of five. Lastly, the miscellaneous prizes were between one and ten tokens, with useless junk being cheaper and healing potions being expensive at the full ten value.
Satisfied with his work, Zack gave the prize counter one final once over, before realizing it was missing something. He couldn't reasonably expect Alex and the others to man the counter, they were already stretched thin enough between the forge and the front desk. Hell, they were all working seven days a week. Zack needed to do something to help ease the workload for them, and he had just the idea.
After all, he still needed a blue kobold.
He quickly elevated the floor behind the counter so that the kobold wouldn't struggle to see over it, then dropped a new one atop it. Unlike Jean-Claude, whose skin was a plant-like material, or the Medibolds' potion-based flesh, Zack gave this one a shiny plastic look. This had the added effect of letting him colour it however he wanted, while making it look like a toy. He gave it a vibrant cobalt blue colour, and set to work programming its behaviours.
It was mid-morning before Zack finally got the newest kobold working the way he wanted, and by then Alex was already filtering in to run his morning checks.
"Wow, you were busy last night," Alex said, spotting the new addition to the dungeon. He looked over the prize counter in fascination, pausing to stare at the plushies on the shelf. "Chandra is going to freak when she sees those," he chuckled.
"Right?" Zack laughed. He conjured a wisp that Alex could talk to and hovered over the counter. "This is Bob, our newest kobold worker."
"Worker?" Alex asked, frowning.
"You guys work too hard, Alex. The whole reason we started this entreprise was so you wouldn't have to work yourself to death to afford basic necessities," Zack explained. "I get that this place is fun and all, but I don't want you all overworked and tired. And it's not like we need to hire workers when I can just as easily—"
Zack froze as he noticed Alex's expression shift from curiosity to something else. "Zack, we don't want you to replace us," he said coldly.
"What? I'm not replacing you guys, I'm—"
"You're creating automated workers that are able to do our jobs," Alex pointed out. "How long before you make one to manage the front desk? The forge? How long before you can cut us out entirely?"
Zack dimmed his wisp in shock. "Alex, I swear, that wasn't my intention. I just… You guys work so hard. I couldn't run this place without you, let alone get it set up. I just wanted to give you a break…"
Alex's fists tightened, and he took several deep breaths. After a few moments, his jaw and hands relaxed. "Sorry," he said, shaking his head. "I didn't sleep well last night. That deal with Salazar… That left a sour taste in my mouth. You have to understand, Zack, this is as close to professional adventuring as I've ever been. I can't go back to working a bullshit minimum wage job. I didn't mean to overreact, I just…"
"Alex, when have I ever intentionally tried to hurt you guys?" Zack asked.
"Literally the first day you met Greg and Chandra. You sicked your pet rabbit on us."
"Okay, when have I ever intentionally emotionally hurt you guys?"
Alex chewed his lips and looked at the back of his hand. His absent status tattoo felt like a glaring flaw to Zack, and not for the first time he wished he knew how to make them himself. He would likely have to absorb someone with a tattoo to get the pattern, though, and he wasn't too keen on murdering people just to advance.
"I'm sorry," Alex apologized. "I must look like a massive jerk."
"Meh, just a mid-sized jerk," Zack assured him. "I don't blame you, though. If I wasn't so secure in my position as a dungeon, I'd be terrified of this capitalist magipunk dystopia, too."
"As long as you promise not to get rid of us, I guess it's okay to have some kobold workers picking up the slack," Alex sighed. "I mean, we already have Jean-Claude helping keep stuff organized."
At mention of his name, the bright green kobold opened his eyes and blinked expectantly up at Alex. He received a generous headpat for his attentiveness, then set to work doing his own early morning checks.
"Well, look at it this way: if I got rid of you guys, who would be here to pat the kobolds? I certainly can't do it all the time," Zack laughed, earning a chuckle from his friend. "Besides, I've yet to figure out how to handle computers as a dungeon. I've got a bunch of smartphones and laptop patterns, but I haven't even bothered trying to figure out how to make them work. I need you guys to run ads for me, and manage the website."
"Well, glad to know we're at least good for something," Alex smirked.
"Yup! Not entirely replaceable."
"I mean realistically you could just order your kobolds to—"
"Oh my God! Alex, I'm not going to replace you!"
"Kidding! Kidding!" Alex laughed, holding up his hands defensively. "Anyway, it's cool to see you finally got your prizes sorted out. We were worried that you just kept forgetting about it, or putting it off."
"Well it's kind of necessary, since the manor is just about ready for business," Zack explained, with a sly grin to his tone.
Alex's eyes widened in excitement. "It's finished?"
"More or less. I just need to hit level fifteen so I can get the second boss up and running in there."
"Two bosses?"
"Well, one is a secret boss and—why are you looking at me like that?"
Alex's eyes were practically shining with excitement, and he had to shake himself to wipe the look off his face. "Sorry! It's just been a hot minute since I last got to run a new dungeon room. Needless to say, I'm really looking forward to this one."
Zack snorted a laugh and quickly checked the time. It was still early in the morning, so neither Greg nor Chandra would arrive anytime soon. He wanted to let Alex run the dungeon, but there was just one problem with that.
"Unfortunately, the manor is balanced for parties between levels ten and ffiteen," he explained. "The idea was each room would cover five levels, remember? The spider warren is still off-limits, but at least we have an option for stronger adventurers now."
Alex's excitement was quickly replaced with a frown. "Somehow I doubt we're ever going to get adventurers that level in here."
"You never know. That Seth guy was level ten last time we saw him. Maybe he's higher level now?"
Alex glanced down at his tattoo-less hand in dismay again, then shrugged. "Yeah, maybe. But if he is, why would he waste time grinding levels out in here instead of fighting monsters in the wild?"
"Because it's safe and we offer free healing? Also, we have adorable kobolds. Do they have kobolds out in the wild?"
Alex opened his mouth to respond, raising a finger to make his point, only for Zack to beat him to it.
"No. They don't!"
"Yeeeeah they do," Alex chuckled. "When a dragon spawns, they usually have a retinue of kobolds to attend them."
Zack let out a frustrated groan, but it was only half-heartened. He already knew that kobolds tended to dragons thanks to the Akashic System, and took solace in the fact that wild kobolds would never be as adorable as his.