Five Years Later

Aster walked down the center of town, hammer hanging from his shoulder. The townsfolk nodded as he passed, smiling wide.

“Hey, Aster!”

“Hungry? Try some bread! Baked fresh.”

“How’s Stella?”

“On my way to find out!” he said, waving back.

A flock of slime bounced along, lead by a young boy. He poked them with a stick, pushing them along in the right direction. He waved at Aster.

“Don’t forget to put those back in the cave tonight,” Aster warned him.

“Uh huh! But I have to get them portioned off first. Slime is selling at a premium right now!” the boy said, nodding. He poked the slimes toward a fenced-off area, where other slimes already bounced happily, waiting to be portioned. In another pen behind the slime, a few large slimes bobbled, lazily exploring their new enclosure.

Aster nodded and waved, walking on. A man carrying a wheelbarrow laden with a pile of heavy dungeon ores headed toward the center of town, heading the opposite direction of Aster. He tossed Aster a nod and trundled on, wheelbarrow bumping over the cobblestones. A bit of crystal bounced off his wheelbarrow and clattered to the ground at Aster’s feet.

Aster knelt and picked it up, tossing it back onto the cart. The man didn’t even notice, wandering on as usual. He shook his head, smiling a little.

Leaving the town behind, he headed up the mountain. He took his time, walking up the mountain rather than sprinting, and took in the lush undergrowth. Moss clung to the side of tall, old trees, whose branches shaded bushy, bright green plants and tangled thorny vines. A deer bounded off, crashing through the woods, white tail a flag in the green light. Aster walked on, quietly humming to himself.

A giggle sounded from the woods to the right, followed by a laughing “shhh.” Peeking around the corner of a copse of trees, Aster caught a glimpse of Silas, lute loosely held in one hand. The other wrapped around Alice, who reached out and playfully strummed his lute. A discordant chord sounded out, not musical in the least.

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Silas shook his head at her. “Shhh.”

I shouldn’t interrupt them, Aster thought, smiling to himself. He stepped quietly along the path, picking his footfalls so Silas and Alice wouldn’t hear him.

Passing the two of them by, he continued upward. Carrying a bale of fur, a woman passed him on the way down, sweating and grunting as she hefted her heavy load. She barely glanced at Aster, and Aster walked by without greeting her.

To think, even as quiet as the village is keeping things, there’s still people who don’t know who I am, now. It’s been a long five years. He shook his head. Still, it’s a good thing. It means the town is healthy and growing. It means… that our grand experiment is working. Stella’s dungeon can function without anyone dying or having to kill.

Milo stood at the dungeon’s mouth. Leaning against the wall, he gazed into the distance. His eyes settled on Aster, and he raised his hand in greeting.

“How’s our favorite freeloader?” Aster said, laughing.

“Oh, hey,” Milo grumbled, shaking his head. “I’ve done so much healing work. So many healed monsters, all thanks to me. How can you say that?”

“I’m just joshing you,” Aster replied.

Milo thumbed over his shoulder. “Stella’s been waiting for you. Can you believe it? You’ve been gone for a whole day.”

“A whole day,” Aster chuckled. He shook his head. “You think she’ll ever forgive me?”

“Who knows,” Milo said, mock-grave.

“I miss anything?” Aster asked.

Milo shook his head. “Nothing serious.”

Aster stretched. “I guess I should head in, then.”

“Yep,” Milo said.

Aster stepped forward, into the dungeon. Daiyo stood in the tea room, adjusting one of the tables. Without looking up, he said, “Aster, what do you think? I’m trying to make a new style of table for the tea room. I’m thinking we go bar-style, have a high countertop and tall chairs to match.”

“Worth a try,” Aster said, shrugging.

“Ha! Yeah, yeah. You’ll see. It’ll take off far beyond your wildest expectations,” Daiyo said, shaking his head.

“How’s Killer and Viki and the others?” Aster asked.

“You’ve been gone one day. They’re doing just as good as they were doing a day ago,” Daiyo said, shrugging.

Aster waved his hand. “I—”

Pale feet pittered over the stone floor. Pale hair flew on the wind. Blue eyes glimmered in the darkness. Stella ran toward him, taller and slightly more slender with age, but with the same hopeful look in her eyes.

“Aster!” she shouted.

“Stella!” he shouted back.

She ran toward him. He crouched down and caught her, spinning her around, then setting her down.

“You’ll never guess what happened,” she said, her eyes glittering.

“What?” Aster asked.

Stella pouted. “Guess!”

Aster put a finger on his chin. “Hmm… did you make a new monster? Meet a new friend through the portal?”

“No, no… alright, fine, I’ll tell you!” Stella beamed at him.

“So? Go on,” Aster said.

Stella grinned silently. She gestured.

In the distance, a fierce roar sounded, trembling the whole dungeon.

Aster’s eyes widened. “She’s back?”

Stella nodded triumphantly. “Momma’s back!”

--END VOLUME ONE--