Uno

Well… that escalated quickly.

One moment I was looking at a lovers’ reunion and the next a psychotic episode happened right before my eyes.

It was regrettable that Charles’ first course of action was to torch down all that I had salvaged from the vestige of that high-level human. The amount of wasted resources kinda stung. Sure, I didn’t know if there was anything to gain from the parasite but just the idea of having a hostage was tempting.

Especially with a behemoth like Geinard Kingdom breathing down our neck.

At least Charles's rage was focused only on the tube containing the parasite. The rest of my monsters were given orders to avoid him while trying to move the delicate equipment out of his range. It didn’t matter much, though. In the end, every monster and item in the room were expendable. The loss of their accumulated knowledge would hurt, but new mobs would retain much of their expertise. It was the same with the machines - while right now they were one of their kind, Ratlings and Butchers had already made relevant blueprints.

Mechanicus's life was the only non-renewable resource in the room, as his ascension was unique. I would love to preserve him, yet my lack of boss slots meant once he died he would remain dead.

His fate was out of my hands. I mean, I could order him to run away but somehow I had a feeling it wouldn’t work.

Observing the destruction and the red-green flames that started to lick some of my closer standing monsters I started to wonder if Charles’ exaggerated reaction happened because I filtered my responses through the secondary Dungeon Core. The one happily connected to Peter’s body which was currently busy stuffing its belly with various dishes in the dungeon of Snake Den. The same one, which had already experienced various mental deviations due to the hormonal imbalance present in the flesh it inhabited.

In retrospect, I probably should stop experimenting while in the middle of such high-tension situations.

Still, the results were interesting, if a bit concerning. My crystal mind wasn’t devoid of emotions, but they came and left quickly, letting me choose the best course of action without any interruptions. I grew used to that luxury. My secondary core joined with the fleshy brain was behaving differently - it didn’t manage to avoid mood swings and intense emotions - all these detrimental things I thought I left behind.

Truth be told, the reason for the dissonance might lie in mental damage retained from Peter’s time in Charles’ dungeon. The torture left lasting harm both on the body, and the mind, even though I consumed the former. Maybe channeling myself through the poor sod’s flesh, while answering his tormentor wasn’t the greatest gambit of my life. You are what you eat, after all.

It was not that bad, though. My eyes were still on the grand prize, and appearing weak should get me closer to that goal. Now I only had to instill a sense of urgency in the flame mage - and a need for power… then he should become more malleable to my suggestions.

Parasite’s demise wasn’t a total loss. I sincerely doubted that Geinard Kingdom’s people didn’t closely monitor the state of their most powerful assets.

And if I was right, a punitive force should be forming in the capital right at this moment.

I wasn’t completely suicidal though. There were certain scalable contingencies that I had prepared, which should if not directly eliminate, then at least heavily damage any forces trying to take my Dungeon down. And by extension, the Silver Oasis too, even if the opponent was one of the Geinard Kingdom's Pillars.

In the worst-case scenario, I would have to start from the beginning.

Which was an acceptable outcome.

Anyway, Charles was still spraying fire all around him, looking like a human-shaped flamethrower. He was making doubly sure that not even ash remained from the woman who nearly took his girlfriend’s life. He gibbered a few curse words during the rampage and besides that, there was lots of running - the said running being mostly done by my creatures, like some kind of deranged game of cat-and-mouse. The amount of flame-free space was turning into a hot commodity. I, on the other hand, ignored the damage being done and wondered how deeply Gangria’s system read my mind.

The reason?

I couldn’t find any other explanation as to why the hot-blooded mage’s spell was called Gehenna, out of all things.

That was a word taken out of Earth’s mythology, goddammit!

My world’s mythology!

It could mean that there was some earlier connection between both worlds, (which was hidden from Dungeon Cores… but again that wasn’t a hard thing to do), or maybe the mad Goddess was somehow hacking my crystalline brain.

Still, the how was less important than the why. I just couldn’t wrap my head around it.

Why Charles was granted a skill connected to Earth mythos?

Why now, and not earlier?

What changed?

Questions without answers.

I was running in circles, and that meant it was time to change the topic. I searched for something else to focus on - and just in time. Agnes was coming to the rescue!

*smack*

The noise made was a bit comical, but being bonked by her hand had to hurt, high-level or not.

“Ow!”

“Are you done?”

“Wha-what?” Charles turned around, his expression full of confusion.

“I said are you done destroying the place?”

“B-but the revenge… I need, I mean, you…”

“You need to breathe, darling.” Agnes' green eyes narrowed dangerously.

He nodded, gulping down the air and after a moment spoke with conviction.“It was all for your sake, my love. The threat needed to be eradicated. Those who hurt you should never be able to do it again. Never.”

“I think I should’ve decided that, darling.”

“Ummm…”

“And while this Dungeon Core may be an insane man-eater, he had a point. The bitch’s remains had some worth.”

“Gee- thanks.” I interrupted sarcastically.

“Hush, crystal man. Anyway, the parasite was a hostage and a bargaining chip. And you just burned it away.”

“I couldn’t stand this thing to live, not after what it had put you through!” Charles nearly shouted.

“And I’m grateful for what you’ve done even if I was sleeping for most of it.” Agnes smiled and hugged her agitated boyfriend. “But I’m a big girl and I can make my own decisions, you know?”

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“I know.” He affirmed, before continuing darkly. “I fucked up, didn’t I?”

“A bit.” She nodded solemnly but immediately smiled afterward. “Still, maybe there’s a chance to reclaim something from the ashes? Hmmm, Dungeon?”

“I have a name, you know?” I grumbled, before answering. “Your boyfriend roasted the parasite down to the molecular level. I may be able to scoop some pieces, but no promises.”

“Hmmm… That’s too bad.” She muttered, before changing the topic. “Is it me, or are you now more in control of your emotions, Uno? Squealing like a maiden in distress wouldn’t help anyone right now.”

“Something like that.” I answered calmly, cutting off any echo from the secondary core.

“Good. Then we can talk business.”

“Agnes, you’ve just woken up. Maybe eat something, sleep the nightmare off, and then try to negotiate with a literal monster.” Charles worried.

“I am still in the room, you know?”

“I’ve already slept for a long time, love.” She flashed him a quick smile. “And I have a feeling that killing one of the Kingdom’s Pillars will have consequences.”

“That’s possible, and also one of the reasons why I’ve already talked with Charles about the next step, his enhancement. I also had two more ideas that could strengthen our forces.”

“You mean your forces.”

“Tomato, to-mah-to.”

“What?”

“Isn’t it the same, in the end?” I sighed dramatically. “We are allies. Time to start acting like it.”

“Whatever.” Charles put his hands in the air. “So what are your demands?”

“Suggestions, not demands.” I corrected gently. “I would prefer that my first-floor bosses were allowed to respawn since your people are currently camping in their spots.”

“Maybe I’ll do so, maybe I won't.” He grinned.

I internally shook my head. Power play. Politics. How I hated those - and that was just when I was watching them on TV. “They’re not an important resource since their levels are limited… not to mention they can’t leave the floor, but in the event of an attack any defenders are better than none.”

“You discount the worth of my guards, then?” Charles huffed in annoyance.

“Should I really answer that question?” I shot back. “My Dungeon may not be deep, but your delvers are stuck on the second floor!”

The uneasy silence continued for a few moments until Agnes decided to ignore our little fight.

“So, Uno, do you know what I have become? The System window says something about race change to an Impure human with Naga added in brackets?”

“Oh, there’s also a change to my class. Now it’s called Uluchi Dancer?” She tilted her head. “I would prefer if it was the Dancer would go away, not the part about War.” Agnes pouted.

And here go again. It was time for Hindu mythology, then.

“Uluchi is the name of a Naga princess, so I guess that’s an upgrade from your old class.” I answered calmly, then added after a moment of hesitation. It wasn’t a secret, anyway, unless I wanted to murder every demihuman born in my dungeon. “Also my dungeon creatures found out that those who were monsterized often gained additional skills or traits. It would be prudent if it was the same in your case.”

“Hmmm?” She hummed, her eyes glazing over. “Oh! It seems like there are some new additions. How exciting! Let’s go and test them, Charles!” Agnes grabbed her boyfriend and forcefully dragged him toward the stairs before he had a chance to protest.

[Send someone to guide the humans, it wouldn’t do for them to be hurt.] I ordered. [And clean up the mess he made. Maybe there are still salvageable pieces amongst the ashes.]

[It is not very probable, Creator, but we’ll check anyway.] Mechanicus rumbled, his thoughts clear, crisp, and somewhat mechanical.

[Good.]

I turned around and left.

My see-through form walked through the Dungeon’s halls easily, intending to arrive on the second floor.

While moving I noticed countless work crews comprised of Ratlings and Drones busying themselves with the creation of new tunnels. My downward expansion had stalled - mostly because of an arbitrary requirement about sentients killed in my gullet.

Earlier I thought that these were just some hoops to jump through, just to make my day worse. However, after seeing what a normal Dungeon Core was like my opinion about the matter changed quite a bit. If all that was inside the crystal was an endless repetition loop, then it made sense to create safeguards to curb the growth that no one profited from.

I assumed that the energy both I and my lesser brethren used to create and maintain the underground wasn’t free. And, to not waste said energy stupid ideas had to be culled. Stupid ideas such as a hundred-floor-deep dungeon in the middle of wastelands, which no one delved into.

Still, these slowdowns were irritating.

Huffing, I arrived in the western part of the second floor, where Non’s hideout was tucked in. A single, darkened room was enough for the revenant, and her kobold follower also wasn’t a choosy type.

I looked around the room, noticing it was as bare as always, while the resident undead rose from her slumber and instantly homed onto my figure. Her black eyes traced my every movement, even though there was no way for her to do so.

[Hello, Non.] I spoke through our bond. [I’ve come to fulfill my offer about giving you another chance. There are however a few different directions we could take. Because of that, it would be for the best if you were the one to decide.]

I chuckled. [It is only fair to do so because you will be the one to bear the consequences of your choices.]

Her sharp nod was the only answer, so I continued.

[I’ve thought of three ways to accomplish your goal.]

I counted down on my fingers. [The first solution would probably turn you into some kind of vampire. I know it’s not perfect, but these are the most alive of the dead I encountered. And, by chance, Charles managed to acquire some of their ashes. Using either these or flesh from a resurrected vampire should be enough to create a serum that will push you through the evolution.]

[Normally I would hope for some kind of dhampir archetype, but considering both of your halves are undead…]

I took one look at her disgusted face and snorted.

[Yeah, so you’re not a fan, either. Moving on.] Non’s kobold curled up nearby, not able to hear our conversation but adamant about keeping his mistress company. [The second one is a bit of a gamble. We could simply use the existing portions of the serum to augment your strength with those of my other monsters.]

I sighed. [Sadly there are only a few available flavors and the additional ones - orcs, trolls, goblins, and other invaders I killed are probably not your type anyway.]

Seeing her nod thoughtfully I continued. [Still, by using this way you would probably remain as an undead, only of a demihuman type. There’s always a chance for a lucky break… but I don’t think you want to gamble with your future.]

[Anyway, it’s a way forward, even if a risky one. And not to mention, that the ingredients are already available.]

Non shook her head only after a moment of hesitation. I approved. The steeper the road, the better the reward. Or so should it be. Was that dungeon instinct speaking? I hoped that was not the case. [And here we are. The last, and the hardest road. Ah, but waiting for something better to be found is also a choice, you know?] I waved my hands. [No matter if you want to put the choice aside for a moment, or decide right now, I won’t fault you.]

A small smile graced her lips. [Under. Stood.]

[Now, the last choice. It’s also a kind of a gamble but in a different way than before. You see, the serum we use takes and enhances characteristics of the base organism and foreign substance, be it DNA or something else.] That part was quite logical, but magic and science were not always interacting so cleanly.

[To achieve a significant difference between the starting and ending points a powerful additive with a large focus on a single property is needed. Still with me?]

[Yes.] Her black eyes narrowed.

[This means we need an item filled with life, which would normally be an ancient artifact or something of that nature. A rare potion maybe? Something hard to acquire, for sure.]

Non’s demeanor soured. She knew how hard it was to find such things.

[But there’s a shortcut. Rather than wait for the opportunity to fall on your lap you can gather the necessary life energy by killing off some of our enemies. Living ones, of course. I can forge weapons for you, a siphoning pair of daggers. Harvest enough and we’ll have our component.]

[As a bonus, it wouldn’t be bad to bleed the Geinard Kingdom a bit more. That’s killing two, no, three birds with one stone. Especially after Charles had gone and pissed them off.]

[So.] I grinned. [What will it be, Non?]

Surprisingly the revenant responded with her own cruel smile. She abandoned the mind-speak and coughed out gruff and short words.

“Not. Need. Ask.”

“Choose. Kill.”

I also grinned. [As should it be, Non. As should it be.]

It was time to put my knowledge to use. The runes keeping Snake Den core in place had a few siphoning components. Now, it was only a question of copying them into usable weapons.

How hard could it be?