They returned to town with no loot for their troubles. Cedric was okay with that, and Daisy was doing better. She seemed more aware of herself, more conscious of her feelings. Theo kept looking at her, as if she'd vanish at any moment.

Cedric found Elina first and approached her. "Hey, um, Daisy has some questions for you, about her nature." He gestured helplessly towards the mouse lady in question. "Sorry, it got pretty bad in there. She had to make herself bosses."

Elina looked quite perplexed. "Make herself bosses?" Her eyes went to Daisy. "Come on into my office and tell me every detail."

Daisy told her story as they walked through campus, then settled into chairs. Cedric stood just behind Daisy, hands squeezing her shoulders gently.

Elina tapped a finger against her chin. "Interesting. And you were able to make these dungeons, these monsters, with your mind? What an astonishing power."

Theo rolled his eyes. "More than that, she left it and was sad for ages afterwards." He waved at Daisy. "We had to haul her out of there or she would have made a happy home out of that dungeon. Speaking of that, we should report this. Adventurer's expecting undead constructs are in for a surprise."

Cedric frowned softly. "Daisy, do you want them knowing what you did?"

She waved a hand dismissively. "It's not like, hm. I told Elina. I don't see any reason to rush anyone else." She leaned back in her chair. "So, brood mouse. Made to operate dungeons. You don't see many since most people don't entirely clear out dungeons and find the ones they're hiding in." She sighed gently. "That's why I have basically every power that isn't from being a warrior."

Daisy perked her ears. "Damn it."

Elina leaned at that outburst. "What? Realized something?"

"Yeah, that's why I see everything's stats. That's a really useful ability to give to a dungeon master." She planted the flat of her hand against her face, burying in her own palm. "It all makes sense now."

Theo rubbed behind his head. "Guess that means no more dungeons, right? Right?" He was clearly pleading for Daisy to agree with him.

She let out a long sigh. "No, not at all." She wrinkled her nose. "It means no more conquering dungeons."

Elina raised a pen. "You used that word before. It sounds like you have a specific meaning for it. Fill me in?"

Daisy nodded. "When I finished the dungeon, it gave me a choice. I could fight the boss, as usual, or I could conquer it. Conquering it was an all out fight, me against the dungeon. Winner takes all, and gets to decide the fate of that dungeon."

Elina nodded slowly, making notes as she listened. Her pen moved quickly as she made notes. "Go on."

"I fought the boss and won, then I was given a second set of choices. A lot of them. I could have made that dungeon into anything." She looked aside at her companions. "I made it simple, so they could haul me out. Otherwise I don't know if I would have been able to resist." She sighed and looked back at Elina. "I could have made a trap for adventurers if I had wanted to. Or just a place of my own to be safe and sound."

Daisy thought back to the moment. "That's why I warned them."

Theo thwacked her across the top of her head. "And we had to drag you out!"

She pouted at him. "I warned you!"

Elina held up her hand. "Please, Daisy." She gestured towards Theo with an exasperated look. "Do you think that you are now going to be a danger to every dungeon in this region?"

"If I wanted to be." Daisy imagined the trouble she could cause. "Though, I'd more likely just conquer one and then not leave. And that would be that, for the most part." She scratched at her cheek. "The end. I don't want that ending though. Damn it all, I didn't escape one world just to run a dungeon. I'm not ready to settle down."

Theo nodded along with that. "She wants to explore a few dungeons. Not clear them, but find things."

Daisy nodded to Theo's words. "That's a plan." She reached back and drew her heavy hammer free. "I didn't learn all these tricks just to toss it all away and let the monsters work for me."

Elina tapped the pen against her chin. "This upends our understanding of your species. Oh, this is going to be quite the paper for me. I need to know every little thing about your adventure there, as much detail as you can remember."

"Like?"

Elina looked up. "Well, for starters, how did you decide on making the dungeon that way? What choices were presented? How did it feel, from your perspective, before, during, and after. The more you can tell me, the better. If I have enough information, I can publish it."

Daisy sighed softly and began to recount the dungeon in great detail. Her companions filled in their perspectives. She felt oddly detached as she recounted her feelings, her thoughts. "I never wanted to leave. I wanted to tackle those two and remind them we're a family, and I desperately hoped they would drag me away, and I had no idea which side I wanted to win."

Elina wrote down as much of her words as she could. "This is good. I think I understand." She gestured with the pen. "When you made the dungeon, how much effort was it to change it?"

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

"Disturbingly straight-forward." Daisy crossed her arms, tail lashing. "Oh, I almost forgot the last part, a question I haven't tested, partly because I have no idea how to do it without being an actual monster."

"What's that?"

Daisy gestured to herself. "These." She was directing at her chest. "My mutagen is mouse, but I think that's a default. I think, in theory, I could make it whatever I want."

Elina raised an eyebrow. "You are a walking mutagen, yes. If you could do that..." She trailed off. "Do you think you can?"

Daisy shrugged. "I have no idea. How do I test that without breaking the law?" She waved a hand through the warning sign floating above them.

Cedric stepped forward and raised his hand. "I can handle it!"

Daisy rubbed his side. "Nice thought, but you can't be mutated, remember?"

Cedric's ears drooped. "Oh, right. Oh well." He looked up at her. "What about Theo?"

They both turned to Theo who crossed his arms. "I have enough problems. I like being a fox." He twitched his bushy tail. "Don't you like me the way I am?"

Daisy pulled him in for a hug. "Unfair question. Of course I adore you just the way you are. If it works, I can turn you back. If it doesn't, I owe you some fox mutagen to get you back to normal."

Elina looked from one to the next. "If you ask me, I would like to see this." She brought her hands together. "But I am not insisting. That would be very illegal."

Daisy laughed at that. "She's telling the truth. It is up to you, Theo. We do it or not, on your call."

Theo rubbed his chin. "You know, I've never even considered being a different race. I don't think I would mind being a rabbit." He smirked towards Cedric who was making nervous sounds.

Daisy flashed a grin. "Oh, two rabbits? That sounds fun, even if we don't plan on sticking with this." She turned to Elina. "What do you think? Can I control the outcome?" She patted her breasts lightly. "Another use for these things, maybe."

Elina waved with her pen. "I can't answer that. You could try, and see if it makes the difference, or you may find out that there's nothing special about it."

Daisy grabbed her shirt and pulled it up over her head. "One way to know. Theo, you've been dying to get a turn at these since we first met." She gestured to herself. "Go to town, you don't want to miss this." Her tail curled excitedly.

Theo's face was as red as his fur. His mouth hung open. "O-oh, yeah! Um, since you said so." He knelt down, eyes even with his target. He kissed over the gentle sphere of fur. "I love all of you. It was kinda annoying I had to avoid this one part of you. If I'm going to get mutated anyways, I guess it doesn't hurt."

Daisy gasped softly and leaned into his affections. "Good boy." She reached up to stroke over his ears. "A rabbit. I want a rabbit." She was speaking to herself, hoping to command her internals.

— Mutagen: Rabbit

The word appeared before Daisy's eyes as Theo suckled. The flavor was mildly sweet. His tongue tingled with energy. "Oh." He nuzzled into her soft flesh as he worked, draining her as best he was able with little suckling noises. His tail was the first to change. It shrank to a stub of what it once was, but his butt swelled in kind, giving him a bubbly ass. His ears began to lengthen next. A pair of long, upright ears took the place of his former ones, but his fur didn't seem to be getting much longer or shorter and remained the same color.

Daisy pushed him back. "That's enough to see it's working." She clapped excitedly. "My tall-eared bunny-tailed fox."

Elina made more notes about the experiment as Theo looked himself over. "I feel fine." He looked back to Daisy. "I'm glad that didn't mess me up somehow. That was scary."

Daisy rolled a hand at that. "You are messed up, but in a way we were planning. Now, give me a moment. Fox. Fox. Time for a fox."

— Mutagen: Fox

Theo waited a moment for some visual change, but there were none to see. "Did it work? Should I drink again?"

Daisy waved him closer. "Go on. Unless you like being part rabbit." She patted her breasts with a wink. "I think you're still cute, but you decide. Drink, fox, not, what you are now."

Theo leaned back into her fur. He took another sip, then felt his ears shifting once more. It was odd, but not painful. As his body began to change to a state more familiar, he began to relax. He was soon restored entirely to his birth form, even his fangs gone. This didn't stop him from suckling at her.

She pet down the top of his head. "You're all normal. You can stop now."

Theo reluctantly pulled back from her and wiped some leftover mutagen from his lips, then licked his hand clean. "I, um, didn't notice I had stopped."

Cedric gave a nervous chuckle. "You were enjoying yourself. If she can control what she makes, she can just match whoever is, um, drinking and not change them at all."

Daisy shrugged slightly. "I think that's true, yes." She glanced down at Theo who had an open mouthed stare. "Yes, that does mean the ban on boobs is rescinded, Cedric."

Elina tapped her pen against the paper pad. "This is truly interesting." She set the pen down, letting it rest as she watched the three. "I have one last thing for you, and then I'll leave you be." She looked to Daisy. "Can you do human? Human mutagens are among the hardest to get one's hands on. Most who wander away from humanity never return to it." She gestured towards Daisy. "Could you turn someone back to a human?"

Daisy blinked once, twice. "Um." She rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "In theory? I'd have to try it to be sure." She hiked a brow at Theo. "Want to try being a human?"

Theo scoffed at her. "Oh hell no! I already tried rabbit. That was weird enough, but I look forward to your breasts for the rest of my life."

Daisy laughed and pet over his head. "You haven't changed too much. Elina, I'm afraid we have no way to find out unless you get us a subject."

Elina steepled her fingers. "That's just a visit to the adventurer's guild. Their newbies are knocked off the human track generally. Finding one that would agree to a chance to undo that mistake? Shouldn't be too hard." She stood and tapped her pad. "It'll be a day or two. You three get settled in. Two of you have school." She pointed to Daisy. "And you just keep yourself healthy."

She nodded in reply. "I think I will be fine."

Cedric hugged Daisy from behind. "No more dungeons for now. I like close by experiments."

Daisy nodded as she pet down his back. "Right. I can get behind that."

They all said their goodbyes and went their separate ways.