The clearing around Claire’s dungeon-village entrance lay dappled in the morning sun. The little brook murmured merrily off to the side, its sounds mixing with the sounds of the children, as Claire carefully observed them.
One benefit of having the children outside the dungeon instead of inside was that all of her creation abilities didn’t automatically shut down. Claire didn’t quite know what accounted for this irregularity – perhaps it was something about their proximity to her? This was just one more thing she would have to ask Rick about when he finally returned from his dimension. Claire was starting to feel impatient. She had thought he would be back already. Plus, she wanted to share her wonderful discovery with him. No need to kill adventurers ever again – she had found the perfect hack.
Her first playground design was very basic, due to the short time she had to complete it in. Still, in her opinion she had done a good job. It was functional for her purpose, yet maintained the natural look of the clearing. Her additions were also subtle enough not to raise suspicion.
Today, the clearing had a new, deliberately shaped tree. The trunk protruded from the ground and then branched out in easily-reachable. knobbly arches. The knobbly texture provided plentiful foot and handholds, and each succeeding branch was within comfortable climbing range for a medium child. In addition to the tree, the taller trees surrounding the clearing had gained a few sturdy vines hanging down from their great heights. By Claire’s estimation, these vines could easily carry the weight of multiple children, should a bunch ever decide to climb or swing on a single one. It was safe.
She had wanted to do more, but had to stop with these improvements in order to be ready for the children’s arrival. And just a little bit after breakfast time, they had come.
Her purposefully inconspicuous design did not fool them though. The new tree quickly gained a rag-tag cluster of gogglers, which then devolved into a four-sided debate on the topics of “was it here” and “should we climb it”. It was heated. Words like “pea brain” and “mush face” got used, alongside a few more adult ones that Claire pretended not to hear with her delicate dungeon core ears.
And also, notifications were rolling in.
Skill level gained
1 SSV received
Skill level gained
1 SSV received
Skill level gained
1 SSV received
New skill gained
2 SSV recieved
Skill level gained
1 SSV received
And these notifications were becoming distracting fast. Sighing, Claire accessed her system and switched off the in-time notifications again. On the spur of the moment, she also reassessed her main status screen. Did she really need to see her resources every time, even when she was not creating? Did she need a constant overview of her enabled core defences? No, she decided, backgrounding those aspects. It was easy enough to access them when needed; a constant reminder was superfluous. This left only the broadest and most relevant stats.
Claire
Type: Life-Mind
Level: 1
Integrity: 100%
Processing speed: 100%
Functional capacity: 100%
Excess LF carried over to performance provision.
LF for applications will be drawn first from performance provision, before depleting functional capacity.
Territory Tycoon 2
+25 LF per territory km per day for up to 49 km’s
Progress to next level
-300/250 LF Performance provision
928/500 Dungeon Investment, consisting of:
748/≥125 LF
180/≥125 ME
62/250 Skill Share Value
The revised layout was much less cluttered. Claire nodded in approval.
But the children! What was the point of the playground if she lost the children?
She had to do something to allay their fears. What can I do, what can I do, Claire’s mind spun. It was too bad she didn’t have contact with a kid. Then she could simply send the kid out to be the example. That would get them into the tree fast enough. And her child could explain how there were no spiders, because of the chameleons. Note to self: Get the chameleons out to the tree. Even the chameleons themselves would be good. Claire bet the kids would love to see them. What kid wouldn’t?
The kids were backing away from the clearing now. Uncertainty was turning into fear. She couldn’t allow it. What could she do? Once again frantic Claire paged through her abilities. The life part wouldn’t work. She didn’t see how more constructs would bring the kids back, except perhaps by force. But she had nothing large enough, and with the right arms, to do that.
The mind part of her nature? Could she compel them into the playground? NO, Claire thought to herself. That would be a very clear violation. She could not do that, no more than she could nefariously compel the children in her own classes to do her bidding. How did she get cooperation back then? Approval, modelling, and persuasion. Those were her tools. And if she just had a body, she could do all three.
“OMG, where is my body?!!!” Claire cried out in frustration once more. Even if just her spirit was manifested, she could still do it as a ghost. But she was stuck in this gem!
The children were backing further and further away. Soon they would leave the clearing. Once they left, would they ever come back? She had to make them stay!
“But how, how, how?” She was a ghost jailed in this stupid gem! A ghost! The thought stuck and echoed in her mind. A ghost. A ghost. A ghost.
And then Claire gasped. Inspiration had struck.
<>
Lily paced in front of Agnetha’s hut. Both Agnetha and the donkey were still missing. A part of her was worried, hoping that Agnetha was okay, wherever she and the donkey had gone. The bigger part of her scolded herself for these silly thoughts. She certainly had no reason to be worried about a one-time assassin like Agnetha. Agnetha would be fine, wherever she was.
But Lily burned to get Agnetha to the clearing. That was where the kids went to play, and now there was a dungeon. Plus, the sun was rising ever further into the sky. Soon the kids would be there. Someone should be there to watch over them, Lily worried. But if she was there, she would miss Agnetha and she needed to tell her about this as soon as possible.
Finally, just as Lily was about to abandon Agnetha’s cottage and head down to the clearing, she saw the little donkey turn a corner and come down the road. On its back Agnetha rode like she was royalty.
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“No! Don’t come nearer! You’re not blessed again, are you?” Agnetha called suspiciously as Lily ran up to her.
“No, Agnetha. I’m not blessed, I promise!” Lily called out, waiting until she got closer before murmuring to her, “But I do have something I need to show you.”
“Oh? What may that be?” Agnetha replied softly.
“You’ll see,” Lily said as she took hold of the donkey’s halter and led it away.
<>
They stopped at the edge of the clearing where, to Lily’s dismay, practically all the village children were gathered already. In fact, she had never seen so many of them there together at the same time. The only one who appeared to be absent, was Little Harry. This was surprising, given his recent fascination with the dungeon entrance. His absence probably had something to do with his mother. Anyway, the children were engaged in boisterous play. A lot more boisterous than usual. Even the smaller girls who often preferred their palm-leaf dolls over more physical activities were engaged. It looked like an elaborate game of tag on a variation of capture the flag. In the middle of it all stood an older girl Lily couldn’t place, calling out directions.
“Yes! Go Frenwald, you’re almost there! Oh, wait Zeni is coming! She’s going to catch you! Ailwy, cut Frenwald off, you can stop him! Help Zeni! Yes, Barlo, up the tree! You climb, climb! Oh no! Maliha, don’t push Gwen! Gwen, are you okay?” The little figure raced off to the two children involved in the incident. “Maliha, if you want the rock you must just tap Gwen and Gwen will hand it over. Right Gwen?”
“S Carlie,” Gwen nodded a bit tearfully, which soon turned to a smile again after an apology hug from Maliha.
Lily frowned, staring at the slightly bigger girl called Carlie. She wore a pretty pink dress made of fine fabric, her dark. Well-kept hair streamed down her back and was held back from her face by a pretty clip resembling the transparent butterflies that had lately started showing up around the village. Somehow the girl looked a bit transparent, almost ethereal. But she was real, although not from the village. Unknown members of the Baron’s family often came to visit. Probably one of their kids. She certainly was certainly dressed for the part.
“And the dungeon is in that cave?” Agnetha interrupted her thoughts.
Lily turned her attention back to Agnetha, “Yes, Agnetha. In there. I’m pretty sure.”
“And you think it’s the same one that was on the beach?”
“Ah, I’m not sure. But it feels a bit similar. Although, I’ve only been to the one dungeon, so I don’t know whether all dungeons feel the same or not.”
“In my experience every dungeon projects a different atmosphere that is unique to its nature. But you are right to be cautious. The only real way to tell would be to venture inside.”
“Again?” Lily was still embarrassed by how she had thrown up the previous time. On young master Layne’s shoes no less. He must think her an uncultivated rube and, she supposed, he would not be completely wrong.
Agnetha gave a good-natured laugh at Lily’s tone, guessing correctly where her mind had gone. “Don’t worry young Lily, every adventurer has a story about their first time in a dungeon. The only question about their worth it raises, is whether they are willing to re-enter it and try again.”
“Okay,” Lily sighed. Then refocused on the children playing in the clearing. “But is it safe?” she asked, gesturing to the kids so close to the dungeon entrance.
“No, it is not. In fact, it is very, very worrying.”
“Then, should we tell them to leave?”
It took a while for Agnetha to answer, as she studied the children and the clearing. Then she said, “Ordinarily, yes. That would be the first thing we have to do. But this dungeon, if it is the same, is very new and many people are looking for it. We’ll have to think on it.” She became quiet as she considered the circumstances.
And just as Lily was about to break the silence, Agnetha spoke again, having come to a decision.
“I shall stay and keep watch over the children. You go fetch your dungeon compass and Widow Hari and bring them both here.”
<>
In a corner of Claire’s core room a tiny pinprick of air started to pulse. Gradually it increased in size, each successive pulse a bit stronger and larger. Finally, it culminated in an orange pulse, depositing two fiery beings into the cave.
“Rick, you’re back!” Claire called in happy surprise. “Wait a moment, I’m coming down to you! Whose that with you?”
“What? Aren’t you here already?” Rick replied eyeing her core gem floating in the middle of the cavern.
“What is the core talking about?” the other figure by Rick’s side breathed. “Is that part of being anomalous?”
“Oh, no master. Claire has exceptional locational awareness. I don’t know what this is abooaaaargh!” Both elementals rushed back as a human child charged into the cavern.
“Rick!” it cried out. “I’m so happy to see you!”
“No, no! Keep away! Help! Humans!” the other elemental screamed, fleeing the approaching girl. Rick, however, stilled as he pieced the puzzle together. His time spent escaping certain annihilation with Claire had not been for nothing.
“Claire, is that you?” he ventured, keeping a safe distance from the girl.
“Yes, yes, Rick, it is me! I have a spirit body now, how great is that?” the girl sang happily.
“You’re Claire the core and you have a spirit body?” the other elemental echoed, floating closer and staring at Claire’s figure. “You seem very solid.”
“Why, thank you,” Claire said to the new elemental. “Creating the spirit body apparition was easy with my mental abilities, but it took a bit of help from my life side to get myself more solid. Actually, my matter is still a bit fuzzy – I need to work on that.”
“I see what you mean with very lifelike. If I didn’t know it was a core I would’ve mistaken it for being alive,” the elemental said to Rick, turning away from Claire.
“What? What do you mean? And, who are you?”
“Ah, Claire, this is my master from the elemental dimension. He taught me all I know about dungeon cores,” Rick jumped in on the last part of the sentence, furiously trying to motion to Claire not to say too much.
“The core thinks its name is Claire?” the master said. “How interesting. But why does it call you ‘Rick’?”
“Oh, Claire – ah, the core – has retained some memory of being human and prefers to have a name to call me by,” Rick explained, hastily turning back to Claire’s core crystal before remembering her new spirit form and twirling to face it instead.
Claire’s spirit form was staring at Rick.
“Claire, after meeting with my master, he decided that he wanted to come and observe you and our new dungeon system for himself.”
“That is so, core named Claire,” the new elemental joined in. “We don’t always identify deviant cores soon enough for study, and even then they rarely survive for long. Rick realising what you were and reporting it so early on is a true opportunity.”
“Deviant core?” Claire questioned.
“Oh, look,” Rick said pointing at Claire’s outside projection of the clearing running on one wall of the cavern. “Who are those people?”
<>
At her age, Agnetha rarely felt hunger. Well, yes, sometimes she would want for some food, but it was nothing like the near-constant craving for sustenance that characterised much of her youth. She supposed that was due to all the training and activities she took part in then. A natural consequence of being young.
It was good that she was not shackled by such a need for food anymore, since it took a good hour or two before Lily turned up again with Widow Hari and Little Harry in tow.
As Widow Hari opened her mouth to speak, Agnetha snapped a forefinger into the air.
“You. Will. Not. Pray.”
Widow Hari closed her mouth. She opened it again.
“No!” Agnetha snapped.
The widow sighed and nodded, asking instead, “What is it, Good Agnetha? Why did you have Lily bring me here?”
Lily looked at Agnetha with newfound respect. She wondered if she could do the same. It would’ve saved her half an hour of being prayed over in her mission to get Widow Hari out here.
“Lily, did you bring the compass?” Agnetha asked.
“Yes, Agnetha,” Lily replied, removing the purloined compass from her pocket.
“Hari, this is a dungeon compass and no, don’t ask where Lily found it. Lily, please open the compass and let us confirm.”
Holding the compass between the three of them, Lily opened it. The needle was pointing straight toward the concealed mountainside opening.
“What do you feel, Blessed Hari?” Agnetha said, watching the widow closely.
Widow Hari had turned to face in the same direction as the compass. With her eyes closed she swayed from side to side, then stilling her eyes snapped open and she stared straight at the opening.
“You are right,” she breathed. “Right here with the children.” Her eyes were wide with alarm as she drew Little Harry close to her. “I did not realise.”
“None of us did, until Lily saw creatures emerging yesterday.”
“Creatures emerged?” the widow asked.
Lily nodded.
“This is bad. We need to pray for guidance.”
“NO!” Agnetha yelled.
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