Standing over Alice, Milo held out his staff. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then opened them wide and began to chant. White light spiraled up his outstretched staff, gathering into a ball at the tip of the staff. Wind whipped up in the room, sending Milo’s hair and clothes into a flurry. Bits of crystal, caught up in the wind, flew all around him, flashing in prismatic blues as the light refracted through them.

Aster backed away. He turned away from the spell, protectively hunching over Stella to protect her from the sharp crystal shards. Stella reached a hand out toward Milo, and the boss slime suddenly stretched tall. It blocked the way between them and Milo. Shards of crystal embedded in its rubbery skin, but none pierced through to the acidic goop beneath. The boss slime trembled under the force of the wind. It held strong, prevailing against the powerful force, a determined set to its spikes.

The wind grew fiercer. Shards of crystal whipped by Aster, cutting his skin and clothing. His leather armor barely provided any protection against the razor-sharp shards. They cut directly through, tiny blades that sought out his blood. He leaned closer to the boss slime, hiding in the small space behind it that remained free of the tempest.

In the center of the windstorm, Milo’s staff glowed with brilliant, pure white light, as bright as the sun. Aster scowled and turned away, covering his eyes with an arm and shading Stella’s with his body. Is this really a revival spell? If it’s a sneak attack, I’ll make him regret he was ever born.

The boss slime let out a cry. Slimes dropped from the ceiling and joined it, standing tall. Together, they braced against the wind, their slimy bodies stretched to their full heights. All in all, the smaller slimes managed to stretch to Aster’s mid-chest, while the boss slime stretched as tall as Aster. Leaning closer, Aster hunkered behind the slimes. The slimes all called out in sync, their cries blending into an eerie song.

Stella wriggled, fighting Aster’s grip suddenly. Afraid he’d drop her, Aster grabbed at her, but she continued to writhe, determined to break free. She shook her head, scowling fiercely. “Let me down!”

“Next time, ask first, before struggling,” Aster reminded her. He set her on the ground, careful to keep her away from the worst of the wind.

Planting her bare palms on the floor, Stella closed her eyes. The ground hollowed out beneath her, and she descended, carving out a hole as she sunk into the stone. She looked up and gestured Aster down with her. Aster followed her down, hunkering behind the boss slime as she continued to dig deeper.

Milo’s chanting grew louder. The wind continued to strengthen. The entire cave filled with light, blasting everything around Milo to white, while the shadows became as dark as night. Aster turned away, unable to look in Milo’s direction.

Stella crouched down in the hole and covered her eyes with her hands, grimacing fiercely. “I hate it.”

“It’s very bright,” Aster agreed.

“Outside is too bright, too,” Stella grumbled.

“No, no. Sometimes it’s dark out,” Aster said.

Stella shook her head. “That’s a whole cycle away, though! A cycle!”

“I’ve meant to mention it, but Stella, a cycle of night and day doesn’t last very long. It’s probably getting dark out already,” Aster replied.

Stella frowned. “But it hasn’t been a cycle.”

“Right, like I was saying. Day and night aren’t as long as… what you think of as a cycle. To humans, a cycle isn’t a length of time, it’s just a way to say that things keep happening,” Aster explained.

“Huh. That’s weird,” Stella declared.

Milo shouted, blocking out whatever Aster would have replied. A wave of light pulsed from the staff, rushing out into the room. The bright light faded.

“Did it work?” Aster asked, peeking out of their hole. I’m a solo adventurer, so it’s not like I had a priest around to resurrect fellow party members. And it’s not like other parties would resurrect their fallen members in the open dungeon, where anyone and anything could interfere. I’ve never seen a revival spell before, but this one seems to have gone well… maybe?

The slimes distorted his vision, making it hard to tell what was happening. Aster glanced around, then climbed out of the hole. He offered Stella a hand up. Grabbing his hand, she hopped up beside him, then ran over and gave the boss slime a friendly slap. The boss slime trembled, looking at her. It hesitated. A soft cry came from it.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Stella nodded. “We’re good.”

Bobbling again, the slime retracted its body. However, the rocky protrusions on its skin now glittered in blue crystal. Razor sharp, the blue crystal spikes shone in the low cave light.

“Did it evolve again?” Aster muttered.

“Fire crystal slime,” Stella replied happily. She gave the slime another pat, then stood on her tiptoes and stared past it, toward the glow. “Wow!”

Aster turned.

Beside Milo, Alice’s body lifted into the air. White light flowed around it, suffusing her body. A halo clung to her skin, sending rays of light throughout the cave. Crystals shone. The stone glistened where it dampened, under the stalactites and around the stalagmites.

Alice trembled. Her eyes shot open, and rays of white light beamed out of them. She screamed. Light flew from her mouth as well. It struck the ceiling and lit up the whole room. Blue light streamed through the crystals, turning the scene almost watery as blue and white light spilled over the room.

Stella put her hand on her chin, squinting at the mixing lights. “Hmm…”

Alice’s body jolted once, twice, three times. The light grew brighter again, then abruptly began to fade. Milo’s eyes widened. He tightened his grip on his staff, but the light continued to die.

“No, no, no!” Milo thumped his staff on the ground and pointed it at Alice again, gave it a good shake and tried again. No matter what he did, the light faded away. Alice’s body continued to sink toward the ground.

Stella leaned forward, her eyes glittering in anticipation. “Is it time to monster her?”

“Almost,” Aster said, patting her head.

“Come on! Please! Bring her back!” Milo shouted.

Light surged out of his staff again, but only for a moment. In the next, the light winked out completely. Alice’s body fell to the ground with a thump. Her eyes remained rolled up, her jaw now open in a silent scream.

Milo fell to his knees. He punched the ground, a half-suffocated scream escaping from behind locked jaws. His hair fell in his face, and the staff rolled away, forgotten. “Alice!”

Stella padded over to his side, picking her way between the scraps of crystal. Aster followed close behind, somewhat concerned. Reaching Milo’s side, Stella stood on her tiptoes and patted his shoulder. “Did you love her?”

Milo shook his head. “No, but…”

“I loved Momma,” Stella replied lightly.

Milo shuddered. His fists clenched, fingers digging at the stone until they bled, but he said nothing. Still as death, he crouched by Alice’s side.

Looking at him, Aster’s heart shook. Even so, he didn’t move to Milo’s side or comfort the man. He stood over him silently, his eyes compassionate but his mouth shut. These are the consequences of their actions. If they didn’t break into the dungeon and threaten Stella, Alice would be alive right now.

He’s a young man, but he’s a man all the same. Old enough to be held accountable for his actions. If he failed to stop Alice, her death is on him as much as me. After all, they were warned. The dungeon is closed. And I will protect Stella.

Stella knelt by Alice. Her little hands reached out and patted down on Alice’s side. In an upbeat voice, she cried, “Go! Monster!”

Alice’s body shook again, then dissolved into gold motes that soaked into the dungeon’s floor. Milo whipped his head up. A second too late. Alice was already gone.

Stella stood, spinning around. Blue mana streamed after her hands, forming into a spinning wind not unlike the one Milo’s spell had thrown up, though far gentler. Humming to herself, she danced around, then threw her hands up. The blue light wound together. It formed limbs, legs, arms, a slender torso, a small head.

As a humanoid figure took shape, Aster pressed his lips together, raising a hand to his chin. There are humanoid monster types in dungeons. Generally higher-level dungeons, but it’s not unheard-of for specialist dungeons to have humanoid types early on. For example, The Dead Depths are swarming with undead-type monsters, human, beast, and monster. So far, Stella’s dungeon hasn’t been any type of specialist dungeon, but then, she’s still very young. She could very well choose a specialization that uses a humanoid monster type… or it could be that she’s allowed to form any sort of monster when she’s this young, still a proto-dungeon, young and flexible.

There’s so much we don’t know about young dungeons! I must send a letter to that researcher. I’ll document everything I see, but I’m an adventurer, a future Dungeon Keeper, not a researcher. The specialists will do a much better job of charting Stella’s growth than I ever could.

Or… this expert will, anyways. She might be a noble, but she isn’t the lazy philosophizing type. She actually wants to learn more about the world, the same as me.

“Monster-thief, go!” Stella cheered, clapping her hands.

The blue light darkened. Aster caught his breath, afraid the spell had fizzled, but in the next moment, the dark light solidified into black cloth-like flesh. A small figure, about half as tall as Alice, hung in the air over Stella. Thick black cloth hid its whole body, from fingertips to toe tips to the top of its head. Red eyes shone out from the depths of the face, glowing faintly in the dark dungeon. Four nimble limbs ended in clawed appendages, all four hand-like. Unlike flat-footed monkeys, however, the creature stood on its tiptoes and held its foot-toes tight together to form a sort of pseudo-foot.

Stella giggled. “Cute!”

The thief monster flipped around in midair and landed in a crouch, one knee and one hand on the floor, in front of Stella. It bowed its head, quickly corralling its limbs into a proper bow.

Aster raised his brows. “Impressive. Where are you going to put her?”

Stella’s giggle stopped mid-breath. She froze, then slowly turned to look at Aster, her big eyes wide. “Uh…”

“Stella.” Aster sighed, rubbing a hand down his face. Think these things through before you create new monsters!

Stella ran to Aster’s side and glommed onto his leg. “Daaaaad, help me!”