The Dungeon of Eternal Embers' Point of View

When Cole saw Hazel collapse, he'd moved without thinking, transferring his mind into his human avatar and racing to her cafe like his life depended on it. He'd seen adventurers collapse after being attacked, but never when they were just standing there baking cookies. She'd seemed fine, just joking about cookie-filled treasure chests, and then she was on the floor! His heartbeat thundered in his ears as he jerked the cafe's door open.

In place of the main table was a mound of blankets and slimes, piled up so high he could barely see Hazel through it all. He rushed inside, pushing past Fiona to get to Hazel's side. Her breathing was deep and even, and she was wrapped in a cozy blanket surrounded by slimes. He released a breath. She was okay. Hazel was just sleeping.

So why had she collapsed then? Mana depletion?

"Excuse me," Fiona said, shoving him away from Hazel's side. "Who the hell are you and what gives you the right to barge in here like that?"

Her hammer was drawn, ready to knock him right out of this cafe if he didn't answer her correctly. They'd apparently never met in this form then, huh? That put a dent in his plans, but it was nice knowing Hazel had such a good bodyguard around her.

"Sorry, my name's Cole. I'm a friend of Hazel's." He held his hand out in the way he'd seen many adventurers greet each other before. "I was worried about her and didn't think, sorry for startling you."

Her eyes narrowed. "You're Cole, huh? I've heard a lot about you."

Hazel had been talking about him? His heart soared as he peeked over at her sleeping on the floor. He wanted to check how she was doing closer, but he couldn't move until Fiona trusted him. This being a human thing was so complicated.

"Oh? Good things, I hope?"

"Mixed bag. Can't believe you took her to floor 28." Fiona gripped her hammer tighter. "If you're going to do things like that, you need to be strong enough to protect her."

His stomach tightened, remembering her falling off that cliff. "You're right and I'm sorry. It won't happen again." He frowned. "But, it was floor 38, not 28. That probably makes it worse though, so I'm just going to shut up now."

"Guess you really are Cole then." Fiona relaxed, loosening her grip on her hammer. "Come on over and check on her. She's fine. Just overworked herself trying to get so many quests done at once."

His eyes widened. He'd given her those quests as a distraction, but instead they'd worn her down to the point of collapsing.

Was this....his fault?

He slumped onto the ground, accidentally disturbing Spark. The little slime squeaked, but then hopped into Cole's lap, staring up at him in concern. Cole was in charge of the dungeon, in charge of these adventurers, but it felt like whenever Hazel came up, he lost all sense of control. He acted on instinct, throwing random new things at her like shiny toys to keep her busy.

He'd only wanted to stop her from breaking the dungeon, but he never imagined he'd break her instead.

"Sheesh, she's not dying," Fiona muttered as she moved to a chair near the wall. "She'll wake up soon, but before that, there's something I want to know."

He couldn't seem to pull his focus from the way Hazel's chest was rising and falling, breath going in and out. She was sleeping, not injured. Sleeping.

"You ran in here like a bat outta hell." Fiona leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. "But how did you know Hazel fainted?"

His gaze jerked to Fiona as she tilted her head, studying his every move. His heartbeat raced again. What could he respond with that would make sense? Any form of he was watching her would be beyond creepy without explaining that he was the dungeon core, which would put them all at risk. But what else was there to say? Maybe he could make up a skill, something that would give him a special bond with Hazel so he'd know when she was in danger.

Hazel shifted in her sleep, her hand falling out of the blankets. He felt the urge to reach out and touch her, to take her hand in his to reassure him that she was okay. But that would imply a bond he didn't actually have with her yet. Sure, he watched over her, but that was his job. To her, he was practically a stranger. Just the unreliable adventurer who'd taken her to a dangerous floor.

"I'm still waiting, you know," Fiona snapped. "There's something not quite right about you, but I can't put my finger on it. First, you can bring people to different floors and now you know things when you're not even here. It's definitely weird."

Alarm bells rang in his head. This conversation was dangerous and had to be handled carefully.

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"I brought her to that floor with a one-time item," he said, clearing his throat. "It was a rare drop."

"And you used it on her?" Fiona raised an eyebrow. "Either you're covering something up or you're completely smitten. I can't tell which yet..."

"Smitten? With Hazel?" His face warmed as he shifted awkwardly, moving Spark off his lap. "Man, these fire slimes are really warm, huh?"

Fiona dropped her elbows from her knees, sighing. "Smitten it is then. Okay, I get it. I'll leave you be for now, but I'm watching you."

She stood up, pointing two fingers at her eyes and then at Cole's, before leaving the cafe. Which left him alone with Hazel and the slimes, honestly a bit puzzled. Was he smitten? He didn't have access to his knowledge stores in this form, but he was sure that word meant he was attracted to her. Intensely attracted. But wasn't he just watching out for her like he would do for any other adventurer?

Hazel burrowed deeper underneath the covers causing her hair to fall across her face. Cole reached out, brushing it back behind her ear. His fingers grazed her skin, soft and warm, and he felt himself lingering. He cupped her cheek. She looked so peaceful sleeping like this, but he also missed the excitement in her eyes when she was baking. He enjoyed every version of her, appreciating all the new things she'd shown him. Honestly, he hadn't been able to take his eyes off her since the moment she chose that sandwich as a weapon.

Was that what being smitten felt like?

If so, then he might be doomed. A dungeon in love? That was ridiculous. Unheard of.

He slowly pulled his hand away from Hazel's cheek, but she mumbled something that sounded a lot like sweet potato and reached for him, holding his hand tightly between hers like she refused to let him go. His heart pounded in his chest so loud he was surprised it didn't wake her up. Hazel was holding his hand!

He sat perfectly still, not wanting to disrupt this moment for anything, not even the slimes who kept shifting from Hazel to him. They bounced and chirped, making far too many little slime noises as they circled the two of them.

"Shoo," Cole whispered. "She needs her rest."

Matcha poked out from underneath the blankets, making Hazel shift in her sleep again. All this activity was definitely going to wake her up. Maybe he should go and let her rest in peace. He tried to stand up, but her grip tightened on his hand. He swallowed hard, staring at that beautifully calm expression on her face as she held onto him like he was hers, only able to come or go as she pleased. It made him oddly happy.

Hazel made an adorably sleepy noise, her eyelids fluttering as she started waking up. She blinked at him. "Cole?" She started to pull away, then froze, staring at their intertwined hands. A faint rosy color tinged her cheeks. "What are you, um, what brings you here?"

Cole glanced over at Matcha, who was snuggling up to a fire slime. "Me? I was just passing by..."

"And decided to come watch me sleep?" she asked with a smile, gripping his hand one last time before letting it go so she could sit up. "I'm guessing somebody told you I've been overworking myself, huh?"

"Well yeah, Fiona did mention that." He nodded, happy to have an easy excuse for being here, but already missing the warmth of his hand in hers. "If you're really that tired, maybe you could take it easy for a bit? I'd help out around the cafe if you needed it."

Boss bounced closer, moving behind Hazel so she had something to rest against. The poor slime must have really taken it hard when she collapsed on his watch. Cole understood that feeling completely and would have to reward the slime for taking care of her. He'd already evolved into a cookie slime though, so what else could he want? More food? A skill maybe?

Hazel patted Boss's side as the other slimes bounced closer, as if checking on her. She patted them too, smiling. "I'm okay, really. I just needed some sleep. I think I burned through my mana."

She yawned widely, pointing out how little sleep she'd actually gotten. All the talking must have woken her up when she really needed her rest. She leaned back, settling into Boss and closing her eyes as she hugged Matcha tight. She looked so cozy and at peace. Did he really need to keep her so busy?

He leaned back on his hands, watching her slowly drift off to sleep again. He'd been running this dungeon for so many years he couldn't keep track anymore, but he'd never met anyone like her who consistently thought so out of the box. Everyone else seemed to follow the script he'd been told to set. Give them a class, let them fight hard to level up, and then let them leave with an intense feeling of accomplishment, knowing they'd earned every bit of their freedom.

But Hazel was showing him a new way that still let her work hard and level up, but on her own terms. Was that really such a bad idea?

The gods only cared about him keeping people busy and leveling, not how he did it. That was given to him by the last dungeon core. So why was he so set on following it, just because it's what he'd always done? That felt like a terrible reason to keep doing something. Nobody could learn or grow with that train of thought, and he was starting to really enjoy this feeling of growth. Since he met Hazel, he'd felt so many new emotions: curiosity, joy, jealousy, and maybe even love. That's what this dungeon was for, right? To give people a sense of purpose and drive, to make them feel like they accomplished things.

That's what growth was all about.

So maybe, just maybe, Hazel wasn't breaking the dungeon as much as he thought. Maybe she was opening it to new possibilities. Possibilities that could help the dungeon if he just gave them a try. Plus, if everyone was a little more unique, then Hazel wouldn't stand out nearly as much. She'd be protected, far away from the gaze of those gods who wished to snuff out any abnormalities.

Could it really work though? Could he change the dungeon that much without drawing their attention?

He sighed, watching Hazel slip further down Boss' side until she was back on her blankets. Cole reached over to tuck her in, pulling the blankets high over her shoulders. She snuggled into them, smiling and hugging Matcha close. Cole shook his head. How did he get so lucky meeting a woman like her?

She was about to change his entire world, and he was kind of excited about it. Hazel felt like the key to so much that had been missing in his life. The key to having fun and enjoying his days instead of being so bored that time just slipped by without him even realizing it.

Maybe that's what being smitten really meant: finding somebody who changed your world for the better and not being able to look away as they did it. If so, he hoped everyone in this dungeon could experience being smitten one day. It was a feeling he'd cherish and hold onto as long as he could.

Cole was absolutely, unimaginably, smitten.