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Over the ensuing week, everyone made plans for their holy day weekend. Molly already had plans with her lover. Iris and Bee planned to spend a day at a cousin's family get together. While the boy was planning on taking a bus to the homeless shelter to volunteer all weekend.

His former partner in crime’s parents had plans for their family that weekend.

So imagine my surprise when Ernesto showed up an hour or so after the old woman and her niece left. After grabbing his bag from the garage he knocked quietly at the back door. "Tark. Let me in."

Well, I guess I can’t leave him standing around outside.

I sent Envoy to unlock the door and let him in. Alelan had left orders for Kelvin that was keeping him busy downloading information on programming for her. The boy gave the kobold a nod which it returned. They had faced off a few times in the dungeon. But neither of them had ever taken it personally.

The boy made his way downstairs and began unpacking his bag. “I know Molly said no one was supposed to go in today. But I need to level up. If I go in solo, I can get a lot more experience points, and I figure the increased danger will do something for you as well.”

Envoy tapped his claws against one of the hollow metal poles that held the ceiling up to get the boys' attention, then walked over to the stairs to the basement and pointed. After a moment Ernesto walked over to see the steps stopping at a dead end and the sign turned to say that the dungeon was closed.

He turned around and looked for something to address, then just spoke to the room in general. “Please Tark. It’s getting worse at the home, he’s starting to threaten the younger kids. I think it’s because I don’t react so much anymore. I need to level, I need something else to deal with him.”

I opened a slot in the stone barrier blocking the entrance to the dungeon. At an angle so the paper I dropped in it would slide down and out.

On It I had written that I was sorry, but I had completely demolished the dungeon this weekend for a complete rebuild. So that even if I wanted to there wasn’t a dungeon there right now for him to go into.

The boy headed down the step to pick up the note, after reading it he sat down on the steps for while with a lost look on his face until Envoy hopped down and patted him on the shoulder. Sniffling the boy gave him a nod and headed back outside to stow his gear in the garage where he spent the night. Only leaving early the next morning to walk back toward his house.

I appreciated the boy's eagerness, but if things are that bad at his home, it's time for him to leave, or do something about it. The boy is huge for a fifteen year old, and his foster father while nearly as large is old and fat. Ernesto could easily take him.

When Alelan got home that night she stared at me for a time after I shared all this. “What? You asked me how my day went?”

Stolen story; please report.

She rubbed at her forehead with her eyes closed. “Just…” She looked up at me and sighed. “I’ll take care of this, I’m going to need at least three kobolds for my exclusive use. A researcher and two scouts. I will name them. Then go back to finishing your dungeon.”

I thought that over. “I don’t think that you killing the foster father is the best solution dear.”

She grumbled something and waved a hand at me in dismissal as she began messing about with her laptop. While she couldn't directly access the internet from inside the core, we had figured out how to twin a laptop manifested in the real world and one in the core. The core laptop showed whatever was showing on the outside one and her new Kobold researcher had taken over the job of doing everything on the outside one that my wife did on hers.

It was nice to be able to solve a problem for her, I guess she felt the same about helping me too.

Once again the team assembled after Molly finished work and the boy got out of school. The boy seemed revealed to have gotten a call from one of his foster siblings that his foster father was feeling poorly. I wonder if this had something to do with the dozen cockroaches Alelan asked me to put under her control.

Ernesto took the lead downstairs, followed by the cat, then the old woman. Bee came in just before Molly who was taking up the rear guard.

All three women seemed shocked by what was to them an abrupt change to the entry level. The boy started to say something, probably about hearing about it from me over the weekend, but he then wisely shut his mouth and nodded along in agreement to whatever the women were going on about.

Molly noticed the tiny statue of a Cockrow, with its feathered wings and pincer mouth, and started to freak out. “Is that real? Where would he get something like that?”

Bee pointed out the red carnivorous squirrels they had faced in this very room the week before and the black faced raccoons. “I think he can make new monsters out of things he already had. So, maybe a spider kobold someday?”

That got her a glare and a hiss from Molly. “We do not conjecture into the dungeon of the house. We do not need to give him ideas.”

Oh, don't worry Molly. I'm going to get around to trying out all the combinations in time. Then go on to triple evolution. Oh… I should check on my evolution rooms this afternoon. They would have been ready yesterday.

They finally looked at the exit door and saw the picture carved into it of the pedestal and a hand pointing down at the button on top. Which was enough of a clue for them to decide to push the button. They even figured out to stand on the Linoleum disks in the floor around the button pedestal.

Not that it was required of them to stand on the disks, but it spoke well of them to go along with things.

Too well. I would have to trap those later on to keep them on their guard. For their first “Random” selection they got a red carnivorous squirrel, a normal raccoon, a normal blue jay, a kobold with two scalpel spears, and a giant spider.

All of the creatures appeared randomly around the room to prevent them from getting clever and blocking off summoning alcoves to prevent creatures from being summoned. Letting them get away with being clever had been its own reward. Now they had to come up with something new.

Bee's eyes went wide as the spider turned around and waved its forelegs at her before beginning to scuttle across the room at her. She let out a squeak and shot a beam of fire at it, holding the flame down long enough for the arachnid to fall over and curl up its legs as it became a blackened, smoking lump.

“You girl’s a little into overkill their Alel'.”

"She's in what's essentially a brand new dungeon she has exclusive access to. Clearing the place room by room without taking any risk until they got the place mapped out is a smart move… Okay, kicking the corpse afterward is a little much. Easy girl, you got him.”

The boy shouted “Squirrel” and moved sideways to stab at the kobold with his pitchfork, while the old woman went after the fanged rodent, catching on her knee pad as it jumped for her neck, then slammed her fist on top of its head to stun it long enough to crunch it beneath her sandaled feet.

Rather secure sandals to be clear. They had multiple straps to keep them securely on her feet.

Molly swatted the blue jay out of the air while Buttercup go into a hissing match with the raccoon until Iris and Ernesto got to it, cornering the beast and then finishing it off.

Two grinding sounds came from the door, and their loot appeared around the pedestal.

Including a glass bottle inscribed with the label of a bottle of Gatorade with a metal cap. It was filled with a faintly glowing blue liquid.

Oh good. The dungeon has started giving out liquid magic potions.