I was still in a daze when Fren and I began looking for all the changes being a chosen dungeon of Cilia had brought with it. The first few of those little adjustments awaited me in my new prayer room, where all of the fox statues and even the statue of Cilia herself now had emeralds as eyes rather than marble, making them look both mysterious and even more otherworldly. When I checked them more closely, we even found out the statues were warm to the touch now, far more so than the room settings would have allowed for.
This was also true for the obsidian fox and the steam fox who had accompanied during the past few hours. Both of them seemed more lively, more vibrant in color, and there even seemed to be a hint of sapience in their gazes that hadn’t been there before.
After marveling at their beauty, I rewarded both of the foxes to the best of my ability before sending them both off to do whatever they felt like. Right now, I didn’t need their protection anymore. I felt safe now, much safer than ever before.
After watching the two foxes run off to do their things, we made our way back toward the other dungeon rooms, still looking for any change in the scenery surrounding me. The tunnels themselves were exactly the same as before: dead, dark, and unwelcoming. I couldn’t wait to gain some glowing mushrooms or moss to maybe breathe a little life and color into them.
Soon later Fren and I reached the volcano room and were immediately greeted by the excited yelps and chatting of my foxes, who all seemed to be on their feet, as if trying to find all the little changes themselves.
In the end, it was these foxes who had changed the most. Sure, the grass looked even more lush and vibrant now, much like the flowers, berries, and trees did, but it was the foxes that immediately stood out. Not only did the fire foxes’ flames burn brighter than before, but the water foxes, too, seemed more agile and lively, while both the lava foxes and the earth foxes now portrayed a confidence I wish I knew in my life.
Soon I found myself simply walking through my volcano room, greeting foxes here and there and listening to all the noises they made. Fren was trotting after me like a young duckling, only stopping when her fascination with some of the blossoms or one of the foxes overwhelmed her.
While on our stroll, I let a gravel path form right under my feet so that adventurers would hopefully be led right toward the dens of my foxes and not waste too much time staring at all the flowers and greenery like Fren did. I even created a path up to my lava foxes, who by now were easily the uncrowned kings and queens of this room.
After greeting and petting even these foxes, both of which were watched by Fren from a safe distance, we made our way towards the steam fox of the neighboring room. Once again I paved our way with gravel, this time connecting the tunnel to the pavilion where the first floating platform was still waiting for adventurers to pass by.
It only took a short glance in the pavilion to notice we weren't quite welcome at the moment, as the three-tailed steam fox had found its first love. The fresh couple was more than busy grooming each other at the moment, not even noticing us being nearby.
Naturally, I left them to their devices, silently hoping their love would come to fruition. Who wouldn’t want a bunch of baby foxes roaming about in their dungeon? Would they have two tails, too? Maybe even three of them? I couldn’t wait to find out!
With a smile on my face, I made my way up the ramp and towards the next room. Fren naturally hurried after me, not wanting to become the third wheel and risk being burned just yet.
The foxes in the slope room had changed exactly like the ones in the volcano, looking stronger and more confident even as they lazed around in their pools of molten rock. When we looked around, we found even the slimes and salamanders looked healthier now, as if somebody had put them on a good diet. Needless to say, I was more than just happy to see this.
We slowly made our way down the slope, this time without leaving behind a trail of gravel. It wouldn’t do to show invaders the fastest route out of the room, after all.
After greeting the last two of the foxes, who were drifting on the large lava pool at the end of the room, we soon found ourselves back in the dark tunnels that led to the core room. A little bit of sleep sounded perfect right now.
We had barely made it in a few meters when I suddenly stopped, having realized that today was not the day to laze around. Even with the little mana I had left - twenty-nine - I could still make some important changes!
Without hesitation, I dug toward the volcano room, my instincts as a dungeon telling me exactly where it was. A few minutes later and five mana shorter, I was already greeted by the giant room’s artificial sun.
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“What are you doing?” Fren asked cautiously.
“I just want to make sure I can visit all of my foxes without a hassle.”
“Won’t people use this tunnel to skip the rooms?”
“That is nothing a little mithril won’t fix.”
To that, Fren could only stare at me in disbelief. Sure, magic weapons could put a dent in mithril, especially if wielded by trained individuals, but it would still take them hours to break through a door made entirely out of that material. In the end, adventurers would be better off just avoiding the doors entirely and going the regular route instead, especially since it was the monsters and yet-to-exist treasures leading them here in the first place, not the sanctuary of my core room itself.
After explaining my plans to Fren, I took a few deep breaths, before kneeling down, hugging my core, and closing my eyes to imagine not only a wooden bridge coming into existence but also a thick one-way door made from pure mithril and two of the mithril fox statues I had created earlier to guard it.
This time it was easy to call forth the foxes, having focused on their exact shapes for long enough to know how they had to be made. Within a few minutes, I was already done and made my way back over the bridge to connect it to the paths surrounding the volcano. Once I had done that, I returned to the tunnel, closing the door behind me and getting ready to dig again. This time I dug towards the geyser room so I could finally get rid of the ramp that still left me vulnerable to invaders should I ever forget to remove it in time.
Five mana shorter and I was already there, ready to create another one-way door and finally remove the eyesore of a ramp, so naturally I did just that. Once again I had the door guarded by two mithril foxes and a path connecting to the existing one.
After finishing my job at the geyser room and leaving the two foxes alone so they could finally get… steamy, I made my way towards the slope room, where I had the sole job of placing a door and two guardian foxes at the entrance. Contrary to the entrances to the other rooms, this one would always remain open for the foreseeable future, as I simply wasn’t allowed to deny adventurers access to my core room - even if said adventure came in the shape of my very own father.
With a sigh, I kneeled down, closed my eyes, and summoned the two foxes before imagining a mithril door coming into existence. As predicted, I couldn’t place it closed, as something deep inside of me was denying me to do it, but I could at least place it for future use. So naturally, I did just that.
After finishing my business for the time being, Fren and I made our way back to the core room, which now was connected to the whole dungeon except for the prayer room. I desperately needed some rest now, after spending hours working both my head and my mana reserves to their very limits.
Minutes later we were already resting on the soft furs that made up my nest, accompanied only by the obsidian fox who had yet to find a better place to be aside from my core room. It would hopefully find its home soon enough.
A few moments after closing my eyes, a soothing warmth suddenly embraced me, accompanied by three green boards, each one presenting me with one of Cilia’s tasks. Being her chosen dungeon meant she was more willing or had more leeway in handing out quests for me to fulfill. Naturally, I couldn’t wait to read them all!
『Quest 12: Completing the First Set
Task: Have nine different types of foxes (Progress: 6/9)
Reward: Unlock Air Fox
Don’t forget about your Vulpine Circle. It is the key to success!~』
This task was pretty straightforward. I just had to wait for my mana reserves to hit a hundred again before summoning a new type of fox into existence. There were still many combinations I had yet to try out, such as combining the elements with themselves or water with earth. With that many choices left, there was no need to use or rather waste the precious opal orb at this time. Maybe it would come in handy in the future!
The next board showed me a quest that was pretty much straightforward. I just had to fill my rooms to the brim, something I seemingly already did for the slope room, albeit in an accident:
『Quest 13: A Solid Defense
Task: Have your rooms reach their monster cap
Progress:
- Unnamed Room (320 / 1328)
- Unnamed Room (95 / 191)
- Unnamed Room (290 / 204)
Reward: Choose an artifact for the Vulpine Circle
The number of monsters a room can support with mana depends directly on its size and the cost of summoning the monsters in the first place. After reaching the limit, monsters will stop breeding.
Although you can still summon foxes even to rooms filled to this limit, every single fox in that room would grow weaker and they would also take more time to reappear after being defeated. Nobody wants that, right?』
Faced with this new information I could only sigh and task my future self with selecting four of the lava foxes to live in the main room instead. Would they mind having to split apart? Or would they rather be weaker but all together instead? I could only ask them in person.
After shoving that matter aside, I moved my attention to the third of the green boards that was already waiting for me. It too revealed a quest to me, albeit one I couldn’t actively work on. Still, with the ratkin still out there, it was only a matter of time before things in my dungeon got a little more special~
『Quest 14: The First Prayer
Task: Have an adventurer visit your dungeon and pray to Cilia, Light of Life, within the bounds of your prayer room.
Reward: Unlock Temporary Blessing of your choice
Adventurers may receive Temporary Blessings after completing tasks you deem worthy enough of such a blessing. Don’t hand them out for something minor! Also, having Fren do it would be cheating! Nobody likes a cheater!』
I could barely wait!
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Map as of Chapter 15:
image [https://i.imgur.com/yvKm5Nb.jpeg]