Alex looked himself in the mirror. At his request, Zack had prepared for him a room for him in the burrow, complete with all the modern amenities he might need. He had a bed pushed to one corner, and a television across from it. There was even a bathroom isolated from the rest of the apartment, though whether or not Alex would actually need to use it remained to be seen.

Best of all, but also somehow worst, was that Zack had made everything kobold sized for him. While in this room, Alex could forget that he was a three foot tall lizard thing. Except, of course, when he looked in the bathroom mirror.

With the clawed tip of his finger, Alex pulled back on his lips to reveal tiny, pointed teeth. He tugged on his drooping ears experimentally, and ran his fingers along the two stubby horns crowning his head.

"This is going to take some getting used to," he muttered, before grabbing his throat. Even his voice was different. Higher pitched and raspy, like he'd been smoking all his life. At least he wouldn't have to worry about clothes ever again.

Zack had come through and conjured for him a pair of jeans and black hoodie, along with appropriate undergarments. It was a little uncomfortable for him to tug them on with his tail, but that was just something he'd have to get used to. Shoes were out of the question, at least for now. He had the same digitigrade stance as other kobolds, standing on the balls of his feet with his ankles raised, so shoes just wouldn't work for him.

A sharp knock on the door drew his attention away from the mirror. Sighing, Alex shuffled over to the apartment door and opened it. Archie was standing in the doorway, practically looming over Alex as the kobold looked up at him.

"I just wanted to make sure you were settling in okay," Archie said, looking around the comparatively diminutive apartment. He had to crouch to fit through the door, and remained crouched so as to not bump his head on the ceiling. Try as he might, though, his horn scraped against the ceiling as he entered the section of the apartment designed to serve as a kitchen. "It's a bit cramped in here."

"I hadn't noticed, for obvious reasons," Alex said, gesturing to himself. "I think that's why Zack made it so, um, sized."

"Yes, I imagined much the same. How are you feeling?" Archie asked. He tried to sit at the kitchen table, before deciding the chairs were probably a bad idea. He instead crossed his legs and sat on the floor, which put him a little over eye level with the table.

"As fine as a dead person brought back to life can feel," Alex shrugged. He entered the kitchen and threw open the fridge, extracting two cans of cola that Zack had stocked it with. There was a spawner inside the fridge designed to keep it fully loaded with everything Alex could ever want—soda included. He set one can in front of Archie, then hopped up onto a seat and cracked open his own.

"I actually wasn't talking about that," Archied chuckled. He sampled the cola, decided it wasn't the worst thing he ever had, and took a longer sip of it. "I moreso meant… Well, how are you feeling?"

Alex frowned and sipped from the can, the expression deepening. There was something off about the taste of the beverage, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. "I meant it. I'm feeling fine. Honestly if I didn't remember dying, I don't think I'd have noticed a difference. Except for, you know, half as tall and a quarter as heavy. I've nearly fallen over just walking, but I'm sure I'll get used to it."

"So you're not feeling any… external influences?" Archie asked, raising an eyebrow.

Alex shook his head. "Not entirely sure what you mean by that."

Archie set his can down on the table and flicked his ears. "We dungeon mobs have an intrinsic connection to the dungeon that created us. This is why our dungeon's emotions can affect us—why Zack's exasperation will make Jean-Claude throw his hands up, or why his anger might make the Medibolds cower in fear. Those of us capable of intelligent thought and independent action still experience these emotions, however we are able to isolate them from ourselves and—"

"Hold on. We?" Alex cocked his head and flicked his own ears curiously.

Archie blinked rapidly. "Yes. You are… You are a mob now, Alex. You are a magically originated being of intelligence and independence, but you are dungeon created nonetheless."

Alex's frown deepend again as he sipped on his cola. "I haven't experienced anything like that."

Now it was Archie's turn to frown. "Nothing?"

Alex shook his head. "I mean, it's possible that Zack is just blocking his emotions from me, right?"

"No. Not in the slightest. Zack is terrible at controlling his emotions," Archie grumbled.

As if to prove Archie's point, a bright green wisp appeared in the air between them. "I heard that!" Zack snapped, before the wisp vanished again.

"Case and point," Archie noted. "Zack feels frustration about his inability to regulate his emotions or how they affect his mobs. And you didn't feel that?"

Alex shook his head again. "Nothing. If it wasn't for the wisp, I'm not sure I'd have even heard him."

Archie licked his lips in consideration of that. "Zack, say something please. Without a wisp, mind you."

The rabbit's ears flicked, but Alex shook his head. He couldn't hear anything. When he expressed as much, Archie's expression changed yet again, from one of confusion to one of deep contemplation. He half stood up, bonked his head against the ceiling, and sat back down again.

"Could it be that I'm not a mob?" Alex asked.

"I'm beginning to think that might be the case," Archie agreed, nodding. "You seem to be existing in a… Half-state, feels like the correct term. Your body is that of a mob, but the essence powering it is something else."

Alex looked down at his hands. He didn't have his status tattoo anymore, but he could still feel the fire inside of him. The power he had accumulated in his life as a human. All of it was still there, if he just reached out to touch it. With a snap of his fingers, he conjured a tiny flicker of flame on the tip of his claw.

Archie stared at the fire and nodded. "Zack?"

Again, a green wisp appeared in the air above the table. "It's aether," Zack explained. "When a mob uses magic, their spells are pure mana. Alex is converting mana into aether to cast his spells."

Archie's eyebrows shot up like rockets. "But, that shouldn't be possible. Mobs…"

"He's clearly not a mob," Zack reminded the rabbit. "I think we need banish that notion all together."

"So what am I, then?" Alex asked, banishing the flame with a flick of his wrist.

Zack's wisp hovered silently in midair for a few moments before he finally answered. "Well, the good news is that the Akashic System seems to recognize you as a living, sapient being with no connection to me. The bad news is that… I think you're just a kobold now."

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"What do you mean just a kobold?" Alex demanded, crossing his arms.

"Well, if you were a mob, I could show you. Since you're not… Archie?"

Archie's eyes glowed with a flicker of magical light as he stared off into the distance. His brows furrowed again as he saw something peculiar. "Huh, yes I see what you mean. The Akashic System has reclassified Alex from human to kobold, in much the same way it would reclassify a person as orc when they achieve the emotional breakthrough necessary to trigger the change."

"So Zack fully turned me into a kobold? But I'm still a person?" Alex asked.

"Implying being a mob wouldn't make you a person?" Archie asked, raising a brow.

"Sorry, not what I meant. I meant a person still independent of the dungeon," Alex backtracked quickly. Archie's personhood was clearly still a sore spot for him. Since it seemed they would be roommates for the forseeable future, Alex really didn't want to upset him.

Archie, thankfully, took Alex's apology at face value. He nodded and continued. "That would appear to be the case, though I could not begin to understand the mechanics of how this works."

"I think it's the soul node," Zack explained. "The system says it contained all your memories and spells, but I think there's something much larger to it than that. It's like… the very essence of what makes you real was inside that node. Like the very functions of being alive were in there, too."

"Well, there is one way for certain we can check," Archie said. He casually drew a knife and, in demonstration, sliced his own hand. Instead of blood, bright blue-green mana welled up from the wound. "Mobs do not bleed. We are instead composed entirely of magic, and therefore have no flesh or blood. If Alex is truly a living creature again, this may no longer be the case for him."

"But I didn't create that body with biological functions in mind," Zack said hasitly. "It was hollow. Just an empty shell to house the soul node!"

"But you said yourself, it's like the essence of what made Alex real was inside his soul node," Archie reminded him.

Before Zack could protest again, Alex hopped off his chair and waddled over to Archie. He held his hand out, palm-up, and nodded. "Do it."

The strike was quick and clean. Alex bit his tongue as the dagger slashed across his hand, and watched in a mixture of fear and awe as blood began to well up out of the wound. Not mana, but blood, rich and red. There was a sheen to it, almost like an oil slick, but it was unmistakable. It even had the coppery tang to it that Alex had grown to associate with blood since childhood.

"I think that settles it," Archie said, nodding.

Zack's wisp bobbed in place, then conjured a healing potion. Alex quickly dumped the contents onto his hand, sealing the tiny wound. There wasn't even a scar on his scaly skin to imply there had ever been a cut.

"So Alex is still a person, independent of the dungeon. He's just a kobold now," Zack said, spelling it out. "That's going to be fun to explain to the others."

"Others?" Alex asked, his skin turning a shade paler.

"The whole reason Archie came down here to check on you," Zack continued, "is because the others are here. They want to know what happened…"

It was like ice flooded through Alex's veins. He could already imagine the faces on Greg and Chandra. If Salazar was there, he could practically feel the tip of the elf's blade on his throat. He was a monster now, after all, and Salazar's job was to hunt monsters.

"They want to see you, Alex. Are you okay to see them?" Archie asked. "If not, we'll ask them to come back later."

Alex stared down at the floor, past his baggy hoodie to the clawed toes sticking out of his jeans. His stubby lizard tail was tucked between his legs and hugging his left thigh. He would have to learn how to get a handle on his new body language. There seemed to be behaviours pre-programmed into his new species—because that's what this was.

"I… I think I want to see them, yeah," Alex grumbled, taking several deep breaths through his nose. His nostrils flared with each breath in. "Yeah. I'm okay to see them."

Archie nodded and shuffled towards the door. Alex followed after him.

***

Greg's hug nearly shattered Alex's spine. The size difference between them used to be big, with the orc standing nearly a foot above him. Now, Alex was less than half Greg's height. The width difference between them was enough to concern him, and he had to bite his tongue to keep from hollering in terror when his friend scooped him involuntarily off the floor and into an embrace.

"Sorry, man. I'm just really glad you're okay," Greg admitted, finally putting Alex down again. The kobold swayed warrily on his feet, before his tail kicked in to help balance him again.

Chandra reached out, as though to pat Alex on the head. She thought better of it, though, and pulled away again. "Zack told us what happened. I can't believe you were stupid enough to jump in front of an archmage."

"You have my permission to pat my head," Alex said, deciding to gloss past the insult. He leaned into Chandra's touch as she rubbed her hand over his scalp. It sent a pleasant tingle down his spine, resulting in a vigorous tail wagging. He immediately pulled away again, realizing how ridiculous he looked. He wasn't a child, nor was he one of the mindless kobolds that worked in the dungeon.

Salazar at least was polite enough to crouch down, getting closer to Alex's eye level. Alex and Archie explained to the others that, despite his appearance, Alex was very much still an independent person and not a dungeon mob. They didn't fully understand all the mechanics behind why and how, but they were quite certain he was unique.

"Needless to say, we'll have to close up shop for a few days while I finish getting the dungeon back in order," Zack explained, once everyone was up to speed on what had happened. "Alex is thankfully okay, but he's going to need some time to get acclimated to his new body. I can't think of a better way than to train him against the new mobs I plan to create."

"Hey, wait a second!" Alex blurted. "Don't I get a say in that?"

"I mean… I guess you do. Are you telling me you don't want to try your magic in your new body?" Zack asked.

"I do, but I don't want to do it against your untested mobs! It's one thing in your finished rooms, it's another against mobs you haven't gauged the strength of," Alex huffed indignantly.

Salazar scratched his chin. "I think I might be able to help, in that regard. Alex, what level are you currently?"

Alex frowned and shook his head, revealing he had no status tattoo again. Zack chimed in and revealed that Alex was level fifteen, a sharp jump from his prior level before his death. That renewed everyone's curiosity, but Salazar simply nodded and kept talking.

"That means you're of a high enough level to take the adventuring license exam. Normally you need either a bachelors in aetherology in order to even apply for the exam, or a proof of powered citizen status. However if an existing adventurer were to sponsor you, that would be more than sufficient," Salazar explained. "Oh, and it just so happens that you know someone in an adventuring guild with an active license. Imagine that."

Alex's eyes widened. "W-wait, are you saying what I think you're saying?"

Salazar nodded. "How about it? Would you like to become an adventurer?"

Alex's head couldn't nod fast enough. "More than anything, that's all I ever wanted!"

"Wait, what's so great about adventuring? Anything they can provide, I can do better!" Zack huffed indignantly.

"Yes, but this way Alex will get free access to training that will be catered specifically to his needs, as opposed to random monster encounters that you can provide," Salazar explained. "Once he passes the exam, he will be allowed one on one training with guild elites, magical tutelage with decorated aetherologists, and support for his altered species." Salazar frowned as he stared down at Alex, tapping his chin again. "You are… roughly the same height and build as an average goblin. I think that should help, in that regard."

"I don't know about this…" Zack grumbled. "I mean, one of those decorated aetherologists just tried to kill me and succeeded in killing Alex."

"I got better," Alex mumbled sheepishly.

"Well, fortunately, it's not your decision," Chandra said, crossing her arms. "That decision falls solely on Alex."

Zack's wisp turned a shade of deep red for a second, but at a sharp glance from Archie, he forced it back to its normal colour. "You're right," he admitted, sighing in defeat. In the corner of the room, Jean-Claude's hands flew up into the air. "Alex, if you want to do this, I won't try to stop you. Just know you'll always have a home here, and a job if you want it."

Alex couldn't help it, his tail started wagging a mile a minute. "Thanks, Zack. This is all I've ever wanted. To be an adventurer, to go out and fight monsters. To help people. I… I have a chance to make a real difference." He took several deep breaths to regain his composure, forcing his tail to stop wagging. "Salazar, let's do it!"

Salazar nodded eagerly, and held his hand out for Alex to shake. The kobold's grip was far smaller than the elf's, but it was a firm shake nonetheless. With matters decided, the two of them headed out of the lobby and towards Salazar's car. There was much to be done before Alex would be allowed to attempt the exam, and so they had best get started.

"Are you sure you're okay with this?" Greg asked, looking up at Zack's drooping wisp.

"No," the dungeon admitted. "But Alex is my best friend. I almost lost him today, but that doesn't give me the right to hold him hostage. I would rather he leave and be happy than be trapped here and miserable. If Salazar can give him something he wants, then Alex deserves to have it."