"So i suppose the gods of evil made the monster and... Dungeon systems?" Penelope starred at Hannah eyes wide with her her habbit slightly ajar revealing her to have brown hair.

"Did they not?" Hannah asked wearily, "I know about a system for monsters, however i have never heard of a system for dungeons." Hannah weighted that for a moment, "That confirms dungeons exist in this world but..." an idea crossed Hannah's mind. 'The perfect chance to test out my new skill.'

"The right question is, are there dungeon cores in this world?" For a moment nothing happened. Penelope was about to answer her question, but then Hannah's eyes began to glow with golden light. Hannah felt here mana pool immediately bottom out. She broke out in a cold sweat and her mind went fuzzy.

She barely managed to move her eyes to see her mana bar empty. Not only that, her stamina was already a quarter gone. She felt herself about to be sick as her body lerched forward falling onto the floor. Hannah breathed hard, her body burning hot.

Warning!

You have lost more than 20% of your stamina total in a single second. You are suffering from exhaustion. Stamina regen is quartered for a time. Continued accumilation of exhaustion can prove fatal!

Then all at once the heat died away. The golden light faded from Hannah's eyes. There in her mind her answer was presented.

YES

Current count of dungeon cores residing upon Advoria totaling, 1176.

You have earned, 2000 exp.

Hannah felt weak for a moment as Penelope and Alex rushed to check on her. Hannah's labored breath eased as the minutes passed and her stamina regenerated. Though her mind was still fuzzy.

"Why can't i think?" Hannah asked Penelope not daring to use the skill again, at least so soon. "You probably bottomed out your mana pool. When that happens people often have dificultly thinking until it regenerates a bit." Hannah remained sitting on the floor covered in drying sweat with her back to Penelope's desk. Hannah placed her hands over her face attempting to wipe away some of the sweat that she had produced during that ordeal. Alex had resumed her personal task of fussing over every detail of Hannah's body.

"Why did i earn experience?" Hannah asked turned to Penelope. "This is part of the life experience that the system calculates for. I mentioned it a moment ago. Anyway one earns experience as they use their skills and body. Health lost, stamina and mana used, so on." Using her new skill had been a sobering experience. 'I think in the end i made the right call. This world is no game.'

Hannah asked one more question, "Can we please do the thing with the system access now?" Penelope simply gave a chuckle while she shook her head. "I will get everthing set, just..." Alex and Penelope helped Hannah up and set her back in her chair. "Stay her and let your stamina regenerate! I mean it." Penelope stepped out going to get things set up for Hannah's system induction.

Hannah rested for about a minute before she stood up and told Alex, "Lets get some more of your test done."

After 10 minutes of Alex's careful examination of Hannah's body, alex had Hannah begin performing exercises. testing the limits of her well crafted form. It was about this time that Hannah finally got up the courage to ask the question that had been burning in her mind. "How did you make this body and..."

Hannah could not even finish the sentence before being cut off by Alex who spoke in a low calm voice. "Listen..." Hannah ceased her question, listeneing intently whilst maintaining her position of having her right foot almost touching the back of her head.

"I became a necromancer because i wanted to bring my family back. They were slaughtered by bandit and i was the only survivor. I just wanted them back, and i refused to become a cleric because i would not serve any god that would allow such things to happen." She took a breath and continued.

I needed bodies to aid in my research so i began looting cemeteries where people had recently been buried. I dug them up and worked on the secrets of crafting flesh golems. I started this journey 10 years ago. I just wanted..." Alex began to break down as she fell to the floor and wept. Hannah released her position and went over to comfort alex. She crouched down to hold her and rub her back.

"I can see why im so important to you now." Alex could only nod through her sobs. Snot and tears running down her face. "I will gladly help you." "You w-w-will?" "Of course. However i still want to know how this body was made." Hannah said with a small smile.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

As Alex was about to wipe her face with her sleeve Hannah snapped her fingers on both hands in unison. The snot and tears rolling down Alex's face were dissappeared without a trace in an instant. "How did you do that, a skill?" Hannah simply laughed.

She held out her open palm to Alex and therein a small flame sparked into existance. "This is a spell i knew of. There is was fiction but here i have made it fact. This is the cantrip utility spell, Prestidigitation."

Hannah closed her palm allowing the flame to die. She placed her hands under Alex's pits and with little trouble lifted her up, placing her back on her feet.

"Let's set the rest of the exam until tommorow. Please let's sit and you can tell me how this body was made." So it was that they sat and began discussing how here body was created. All the while learning more and more of Alex's backstory.

"I was caught grave robbing several months ago and i was sentenced by the High Priestess, Penelope, to death. However at my execution Kensivar intervened. I was to be executed by guillotine. I heard the executioner cut the rope. The sliding of the metal blade coming down to chop off my head." She paused for a moment.

"That moment did not come. I heard the blade stop and assumed that i was dead. But when i opened my eyes there before me was a shining, golden figure, Kensivar. The cheers of the crowd had grown silent as there was their god standing before them. He had caught the blade with his hand. With is other he lifted up the stocks and let me out." Another breathe.

"He pardoned me and proclaimed that he had another idea for me. I heard muttering from the crowds as he lead me down the stairs. It was only then that i realized his hand was bleeding." 'I didn't think that god's could bleed.' Hannah thought.

"He took me into this church and we began our work, making that vessel." Alex stopped for a moment, "He promised me that if and when my work was done he would bring back everyone in my village. So, i worked diligantly for months with him occationally giving a tweak here or there. We made your body not like how other flesh golems are normally made. Where they are a patchwork of pieces you are a near perfect blending of you pieces." That word peaked her interest.

"Near?" "Yes nearly perfect. We had to start with your bones." Alex grasped Hannah's hand entwining it in her own. "We needed something strong and light. But we could not manufacture bones, nor could we use the bones of the dead. So Kensivar came up with an unorthidox but ultimately effective solution. Have you ever heard of a metal called mithral?"

"Yep, so my bones are made of mithral? i can see... one or two issues with that." Hannah said hesitantly, "Yes we found out that is why the first attempt was considered a failure and had to be recycled. We found out that the medal was wearing into the muscles, blood and organs. Essentially your days would have been numbered the second you entered that vessel."

"Recycled? So how many tries did it take to get this one?" Hannah asked truly curious as to the answer. "Your vessel was the second. All thanks to one forest dragon who decided to live in a mithral mine."

Hannah was thrown for a loop, "I don't understand, how did that help?" Alex smiled, her green eyes gleaming with excitement still tinged red from her crying. "Some adventurers were sent in to dispatch the dragon but failed. No one died but two of them were forced into early retirement from their injuries. Anyway on the way out their rouge managed to steal some mithral ore from a cart near the dragon after he noticed something strange about it."

"When he showed the dwarven mine manager the ore, their parties spellcaster took his party and a messenger to the capital via teleportation magic." Alex stopped for a moment looking expectantly at Hannah. Taking the queue Hannah spoke, "Teleportation move hundreds of miles in the blink of an eye. A very useful traveling spell." Alex smiled before continuing.

"The messenger informed the King and the council. Several members of the council used their expertise to divine what had happened to the ore. As it turned out it had interacted with the dragons natural aura and in the process began to display odd properties. Kensivar was eventually given the sample and through his divine means discovered that it could serve as the material for artifical bones. When it is molded into the proper shape and used to replace a normal bone. It would act practically identically to the original. Best of all it could heal like a normal bone and would not be disolved or rejected by a persons body."

"So it was decided to enter into negociations with the dragon. The dragon after some persuation agreed to allow for amore ore to be mined out so long as he was allowed to remain. Every month an item made from teh mined ore has to be presented to him to keep him happy. A small price to pay in my opinion. Anyway, his aura effected the surrounding lands making the ground very fertile. Another agreement was worked out and some fields were set up near the mine, while new tree's were planted for each they cut down to make the fields."

"Ok..." Hannah was realizing how much she must love her work, she gave a lot of detail but it was time to move on. "So, that was how you made my bones what about..." Hannah said whilst indicating to the rest of herself. "Right, right, right. We suspended your bones in a solution of alchemical agents and small amounts of... flesh were added to the solution and then magically were made to begin grafting to the bones. As we had already worked out many of the issues the first time around we were able to craft this vessel thrice as fast as the first." Alex's smile was wide upon her face as she proudly help up three fingers.

"Kensivar worked divine magic to ensure the vessel was well suited to housing your soul. It was quite litterally made for you. We sculpted the flesh to a perfect likeness of what you would have looked like had you..." "Not had cancer and lived a longer life?" Alex was uncomfortable with the phrasing and so simply nodded in acknowledgment before continuing. "This is what you would have looked like had things been different." She said her voice one of condolences.

Hannah place her hand upon Alex's shoulder, "I am grateful for all that you and Kensivar have done for me. Don't worry so much. I laid that life to rest when I buried my old body." Hannah said with a sad smile.

Five minutes later an older nun came in to fetch the two of them. "The preperations have been made. You will be joining a group of other youngster as they are also given the choice. The High Priestess sends her regret as she cannot perform a more private ceremony as something has come up." Hannah simply faced the nun as her and Alex approached the door saying, "It is fine. Please lead the way." The nun smiled showing even more of her wrinkles.

Hannah and Alex began following the older nun to the ceremony.