Red was sitting at the table as well, more of just miming a sitting position since none of the ladies at the table had decided to give him a chair to sit in. He would have complained if he had muscles to strain, but the avatar he presented himself as was no more physical than a stiff breeze. He still had some physicality since he could interact with any living thing in the dungeon. He was letting his mind wander because he was nervous about the offer that he had just made to Velua.

It was an honest offer since he knew that the swamps outside were inhospitable, but he also had his motive for doing this. Part of the reason that his dungeon was able to grow so fast without regular guests was because Addison was under the [Protected] status within it. That status meant she still got some of her mana, but Red got the lion’s share. That allowed him to constantly have some to play with and work on the dungeon further. So having an older person with more levels under her belt was going to be a massive windfall of mana.

“I am no freeloader, you understand? I am going to work for my living.” Velua said with a sigh, snapping Red out of his musings as she looked at the box that was offering her sanctuary. She took in a deep breath and grinned as the box changed without any prompting from Red. He stood and looked at the box, trying to understand what exactly had changed just because of what the dwarven woman had said.

Would you like to become a [Warrior]?

Be a warrior when it comes to delivering on your ambitions.

The Red Dungeon offers the [Warrior] tag to you. You will be housed, fed, and clothed by the Red Dungeon, in exchange for half of your daily mana production and general tasks assigned by the dungeon. During this time you can be killed and respawned as an ordinary [Minion] would.

Yes No

Red was rather surprised by this change since he didn’t think that there was a difference from the one he had received when Addison asked for help nearly a month ago. He watched as she tapped onto the Yes button and mana began to flow from him to her. Thick wisps of mana pulled from him and began to encase her. She jumped from the chair she was sitting in, looking over her hands as they became covered in red mana. She looked terrified for a moment before she looked up, the two fairies and half-angel looking at her in awe. She steeled herself, a grin forming on her lips as she embraced what was happening to her. She was completely encased in mana, her form a silhouette of glowing red in the party area.

Loading new Minion information…

Igdolith Dwarves

Minion Template Gained

Equipping new Minion

Creating a direct bond with [Warrior]

Automatically assigning Title

Red watched the status of the connection slowly scroll down with information. Apparently to get Velua as a [Warrior] was by giving him the ability to make dwarves as minions. He watched as the silhouette blurred and became vaguer as it expanded outwards, a bubble forming around the dwarf as changes were made. He felt something snap into place, like a cord going taut after being strung on a guitar. He let out a breath, watching as the bubble began to fade and show the world how Velua changed.

Connection complete. [Warrior] Velua WatchfulBronze, The Beardless is ready for work.

Her orange dress was replaced by thick fighting leather dyed the same color, fitting her form nicely so that she would be able to move with great dexterity. On her hip in a finely crafted leather scabbard decorated with bronze inlays, was a magnificent sword of shining dwarven steel. A gloved hand came to the hilt and drew the blade, the reflective surface allowing Velua to look at her face. The stubble that had begun to form on her cheeks was gone, the Title seeming to have made it to where she would not gain facial hair while she was tied to Red. Her coppery-toned hair was tied back into a modest bun to prevent it from getting in her face as she did her tasks.

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“Wow! Miss Velua you look like a hero out of one of the books I used to read! You look so cool!” Addison gushed as she jumped from her chair and bounced happily, looking at Velua with clear excitement. The dwarf did not gain any height or lose anything that made her what she had been born to be, so she was still at eye level with the young girl who was now circling her and admiring the new armor the position had given her.

“Yeah, I gotta admit that this is a pretty fancy outfit-” Velua paused from admiring her new outfit as she locked eyes with a strange crystalline being that was standing only a few feet away from her. Red blinked and looked behind himself, trying to see if the banshee or blight fairies had come to see what was causing so much light in the middle of the night. He saw nothing and turned back to look at her, seeming confused as she continued to stare at him.

“Uh… who's the guy made out of rubies?” Velua commented as she looked between Ivy and Lotus, the two blinking in surprise before they looked over at Red.

“Wait. You can see me? Can you hear me too?” Red asked as he got closer, standing over Velua since his height was that of a fully grown human. His mouth would have gone dry if he had saliva, watching as Velua nodded in confirmation to his question. He pumped his fists in the air, beginning to do a little dance in excitement as he finally found a way to communicate with other people.

“What are you talking about? What guy made out of rubies?” Addison asked with a frown as she looked around, trying to understand what everyone was so excited about. She watched as Ivy and Lotus got up with a cheer, seeming to be very happy about something as they rushed to the area where Velua was looking.

“Oh, this is so exciting, Red! There is a way for people to talk to you!” Lotus cheered happily as she and Ivy danced with some unseen third person. At this point, Addison had gotten used to knowing that Red was invisible, but she frowned deeper as she put together the pieces of the puzzle. “You can see him!?” Addison demanded with a frown as she turned on Velua, seeming deeply frustrated that someone else could see Red before her.

“That’s Red? The Dungeon? Dungeons can look like people?” Velua asked, having never encountered a dungeon’s avatar before. She gasped though as Addison suddenly tried to push her over. She only stumbled back a step, but it was enough to know that the little girl was fuming with rage.

“It’s not fair! I should be able to see Red, not you!” She said angrily with tears welling up in her eyes before she turned and ran in the direction of her house. The little girl was fast, exiting the party area within minutes as she put her all into running away from the situation that upset her so much.

“Addison! Wait!” Red called, watching as a box appeared in front of Addison that dissipated as she ran through it. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, clearly wanting to go after her and try to fix the situation. Ivy put a hand on his chest, stopping him before he could even take his first step towards the shack.

“She is upset, let her be upset for a moment. I’ll go talk to her, you still gotta talk to your new dwarf.” Ivy said firmly as she took on the usual charge of watching over Addison, stepping away from the group and heading after the crying girl. Red wasn’t sure how well she would be able to handle the tantrum that Addison was performing, but at the same time knew he probably wouldn’t be much better given the situation. He couldn’t exactly make Addison become a [Warrior], it was far too dangerous for a young girl to be fighting and dying for a dungeon.

“Sorry about that. I didn’t mean to make the little one upset.” Velua commented as she walked next to Red and Lotus, the two of them watching Ivy leave. Red shook off the worry, knowing that he had to be professional around his new employee.

He paused for a second, wondering why he had suddenly changed the term [Warrior] to [Employee] in his head. Some small part of him connected it back to the dream he had while he was unconscious, the business that he seemingly owned in his previous life. He had the feeling he had another employee once or twice, but in general, he was the only worker and manager within the entire restaurant. The memories of something he lived through, rather than just the media he had consumed, were certainly strange when it came to his human life.

“It’s fine, she’s young and I wasn’t expecting that reaction either,” Red said with a sigh as he rubbed the back of his neck, looking at Velua and wondering where she was going to stay if Addison didn’t like her all that much. He supposed that there were places within the Oak that the fairies liked to sleep in, so that could be a solution to the problem.

“Welcome to the team Velua. You were a great guest, and I hope you’ll be an even better employee.” Red offered with a small smile as he turned to look at her. He reached out a hand to shake hers, finding that she returned the gesture easily with a firm handshake. He returned the firmness in kind.

“Pleasure to be workin’ with you. I am sure that this is going to be a wonderful experience.” Velua said happily, glad that she was able to live out at least one of her dreams for a short while. She had always wondered what it would be like to live in a dungeon. She had never heard of someone working for a dungeon, but perhaps that kind of thing was hidden from her for a reason. She didn’t doubt that it was risky to let young dwarves know they could potentially spend the rest of their lives digging within Whispering Stone and learning the secrets therein.

As the handshake ended, Red paused as he found that a pop-up appeared in front of him. It was not the usual red and silver box that he was used to, but rather white with black text. He could almost feel that this was a box from an outside system as if there was something in the world that was pushing into his dungeon to send this message.

Congratulations!

Congratulations to {{Red}}, your dungeon has reached all the requirements to exit the beginning stage of Dungeon Creation! You have completed your first floor, and dealt with your first adventuring party! Please click on the box below to have a meeting with your Spirit Representative about your next floor.

Begin Meeting?