Marvin had spent the past few days working on the basics of his new class, which included planting beautiful flowers outside my cafe. From deep reds to calming blues, they added so much color to the area and the slimes loved them too. I'd often catch them stopping to stare at the flowers, swaying in the wind with them like they were transfixed. It was honestly pretty adorable. I leaned down to smell one, inhaling the beautiful, sweet scent as the sound of a woman singing drifted over.

"Took a wrong turn, lost my way. Stumbled into a monster cafe." Dahlia sang with gusto while Camellya and Garrik trudged on next to her, humming the tune as well. "Fire slimes bake while tea slimes brew, the dirt slimes are growing something new."

I found myself humming along as well as the fire slimes bounced in their fire pit, eager to greet our new customers. I waved, welcoming them back to the cafe.

"Hazel!" Dahlia stopped her song long enough to race over to me and give me a big hug. "It's so good to see you!"

I laughed, hugging her back. "It's good to see you too. I'm glad you could all make it."

"Of course we'd make it," she said, leaning closer to whisper. "Even though we took the long way around to get some XP hunting in first."

"Is that where the took a wrong turn part of the song came in?" I asked, grinning when she nodded. "Honestly, you'll have to sing the whole thing for us once you're done."

"Hey, we were never lost," Garrik grumbled. "But XP is important and now we get a nice reward for it."

I raised an eyebrow. "A reward?"

"Your food, dummy." Camellya rolled her eyes, but rested on the edge of the firepit where I had s'more ingredients laid out. "What's all this?"

Dahlia's eyes widened as she picked a marshmallow up, squeezing it between her fingers to puff the sides out. "It's so fluffy! Is it really food?"

Strange. Even though nobody remembered their old lives, they usually didn't question the food I made. Could she have never had marshmallows in her old life? But marshmallows felt so common. Even if she hadn't had one before, she should recognize it, right?

Spark handed Dahlia a small stick to roast the marshmallow with, but she just frowned. "What do I do with this?"

"Spear the marshmallow." I picked up my own stick, showing her how it worked. "Then hold it out over the slimes so they can toast it for you. The marshmallow will turn golden brown and delicious."

"Ohhh, how exciting." Dahlia carefully added her marshmallow to the stick while Camellya stabbed hers soundly, holding it over the fire slimes like that had been pretty enjoyable for her.

Garrik joined in too, smiling at the fire slimes who were eager to toast the marshmallows for them. A little too eager, actually, as their flames burned brightly.

"Careful," I said, right before Dahlia's marshmallow lit on fire. I winced. "Sorry, that happens sometimes. You can feed it to the fire slimes though, they love the charred taste."

"But this one was mine," she said softly. "I was supposed to make it golden."

Camellya leaned over, eating Dahlia's marshmallow right off the stick with a big bite. She wiped sticky mallow off her face. "Mmmm...nice and burnt, just like I wanted." Then she held out her perfectly golden-brown marshmallow. "Here, you can have this one. It's not quite done enough for me."

"You're the best, sis." Dahlia smiled as she delicately removed the marshmallow from the stick. She bit into it carefully, probably trying to avoid the sticky mess Camellya had gotten herself into. Her eyes widened. "It's so sweet and warm, toasty too. It's amazing!"

I grinned, passing them graham crackers and chocolate. "Now try it with these next time. The graham crackers go on the outside with the marshmallow and chocolate between them like a sandwich."

Garrik raised his eyebrows. "A dessert sandwich? What will you come up with next?"

"Tasty things, I assure you." I smiled at them before turning to see Dave walking up with the seamstress from floor 5. "Welcome to the Slime Serenitea Cafe! I'm so glad you could make it."

"Who could say no to a party?" Dave's hair and fur were brushed to perfection, taming all the wild curls that usually fluffed up in random places. He was even wearing a nice new outfit too. He glanced at the seamstress. "She really wanted to come too, so thank you."

"Yes, thank you." The seamstress held out a beautiful green ribbon, her button eyes shining. "For you. Nobody has ever invited me out before."

"Well, it's long past time then, and thank you for the gift." I untied the last ribbon she'd given me so I could try the new one on. "What do you think?"

Her smile widened. "It's beautiful, just like you."

Dave scratched his horns, glancing at the seamstress like he had something to say, but turned to me instead. "So uh, is Cole here yet?"

"Smooth," I whispered, shaking my head. "He's working on the last parts of that job we were talking about. He'll be here soon, I'm sure."

"Oh, right, the job..." Dave winked at me before leading the seamstress over to the fire pit. "Have you ever had s'mores before? They're delicious."

The woman shook her head. "No, but I'm excited to try new things."

"And I'm excited to show them to you." Dave speared a marshmallow like a pro even though I had a feeling he'd never done it before. He frowned at the fire slimes, holding his marshmallow out unsteadily. "Like this, right Hazel?"

I nodded. "Exactly like that."

The seamstress oohed and ahhed as they toasted the marshmallows, sheer joy shining out of her as she tried one. I really should have visited her again, but life had gotten so busy since that shopping spree. I could use more clothes though, so I'd make it a point to visit her and the other shopkeepers again soon.

Speaking of, Fiona was heading over with the blacksmith she'd been training with. I think his name was Brennic? Bright orange glowed underneath his skin, like lava beneath a rocky volcano. He nodded at everyone as he approached, but didn't say anything.

"Looks like the party's already started," Fiona said. "Sorry we're late. This one didn't want to leave the forge."

The smith grunted, brushing soot off his clothes. "And I wouldn't have if you weren't so damn stubborn."

Fiona shrugged and stuffed a marshmallow in his mouth. The smith's eyes widened, but then he made an mmm noise as if he liked it. He wandered over to the seamstress and took his own stick from Spark, who shone even brighter like they were kindred spirits.

Excellent. This was all going so well already! If only Cole would hurry up and Marvin too. What had he gotten sidetracked by?

"Hey, Strawberry? Could you go get Marvin for us?"

The little dirt slime who'd taken such a liking to Marvin bobbed in a nod, the strawberries on her head tipping over and scattering over the ground. She flipped them back up with a well-practiced bounce and headed for the garden to grab our new Botanical Mage. We couldn't have a party without the guest of honor after all!

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"Did he really get a new class?" Dahlia whispered. "I know that's what your message said, but it doesn't seem real. Nobody's ever gotten a new class."

Not yet at least. I could barely keep my excitement to myself, knowing that Fiona and Dahlia would both probably want new classes. Dahlia felt more like a singer to me than a fighter, so we came up with a bard class for her. It felt a little selfish just planning things for my friends, but Cole and Dave had planned a bunch of other classes too. There would be so many options that people wouldn't even know what to choose now.

Movement pulled my attention to the back of the cafe as Mossy, the big giant dirt slime that he was, bounced out of the garden for the first time since I'd come here, leading all the other dirt slimes with Marvin at his side. The man couldn't stop smiling as he held an arm full of fresh flowers that he'd grown just for this occasion.

The slimes surrounded him, pushing him forward like they were more proud of him than anyone else. Mossy was slow-moving, so it took a while for the group to make their way over to the fire pit, but when they did I couldn't help but stand up and clap. Everyone cheered, the slimes bounced higher than I'd ever seen, and Marvin just kept grinning and hugging those flowers tight.

"Thank you," he whispered, eyes getting a bit misty. "I grew these for you all."

Marvin passed out the flowers, which had special buffs on them so they'd calm your senses, invigorate you, or even put you right to sleep. We'd found that one out when I caught Marvin passed out amidst a dozen dirt slimes snoring up a storm. His new class took a bit of trial and error, but that's where the fun was. He got to choose his own skills and really make it his own.

It reminded me of the first time I was experimenting with my grilled cheese, shouting out my skills like nobody could hear me. I still hadn't talked to Sweet Potato about that little joke of his yet. Where was he?

As everyone congratulated Marvin on his new class, smelling the different flowers and smiling, I craned around searching for Cole. He had to get here soon. I promised I wouldn't upgrade my cafe without him here and we couldn't really go eat until I did that, so he better hurry up. People could only eat so many s'mores.

[Quest Completed: Serve 50 S'mores]

[Reward: Upgraded Fire Pit]

I whipped back around, staring at the group of people gobbling up all the s'mores I'd left out. They were laughing and chatting, playing with the fire slimes and just having a good time while also finishing up my quest! I hadn't even considered that me laying out all the ingredients and showing them how to make the s'mores would count as serving them, but I guess making them yourself was part of the experience.

"Everyone, stand back for a moment," I called out, lifting the slimes out of the fire pit. "I just finished a quest and I have no idea what it's going to do."

The stones from the firepit rose into the air, spinning and reforming themselves. Other stones got added in, dark ones like lava rocks and reddish-orange ones too, until eventually there were so many stones that we could make four fire pits. The red ones flattened, pushing themselves into the ground around the old fire pit to make a giant patio.

"What the hell?" Dahlia asked, eyes wide. "Is that how all your quests work?"

"Kind of?" I nodded, remembering the first cafe expansion and the stove. "Things just reshape themselves I guess. It's pretty awesome, actually."

Once the patio was done, the rest of the stones formed an even bigger fire pit with perfectly designed patterns of shapes and colors instead of my haphazard river rocks from earlier. It was beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.

"Thank you, Sweet Potato," I said as the fire slimes leapt into their new home with squeals of joy. "Thank you so much."

"Anytime," Cole whispered so soft I almost didn't hear him, but his warm breath sent a shiver down my spine.

My eyes widened as I spun around. "When did you get here?"

"Right about the time your quest finished." He grinned, leaning over the new fire pit to say hello to the fire slimes. He turned back, still smiling wide. "I'm glad you like it."

"Like it? We love it!" Dahlia raced forward to play with the fire slimes. "Hazel's cafe is the best."

Fiona laughed. "Wait 'till you see the cafe upgrade itself. That quest is ready to finish too, right?"

They all turned to look at me with excitement in their eyes. Even Dave had taken a small step forward like he wanted to get a closer look. Guess it was time then. I opened my menus and pulled out all the wood and stone I'd need to finish that quest.

[Quest Completed: Cafe Expansion]

[Reward: Larger dining area, more tables, and a larger kitchen]

The wood formed itself into planks as the cafe's walls literally came apart at the seams, making room for the new additions. The stones lined up along the bottom, creating a good foundation and moved into the building for other areas too. Some of the wood bent and curled into tables and chairs, floating through the doorway into the dining area.

When everything settled down, my cafe was twice the size! I couldn't help but stand there and stare at it. I could fit so many more slimes in here than before. Even collosso slimes!

Matcha bounced over, staring up at me with wide eyes until I picked him up. He crooned in my arms, bouncing slightly like he wanted to get moving. I laughed and took a few steps forward, opening the door to my newly upgraded cafe.

Light shimmered through the windows, casting a warm glow on the wooden floors. The lanterns were more spread out now, but added to the warm ambiance nicely. Three tables and sets of chairs stood in the dining area, way better than the makeshift ones I'd made out of old crates.

I hurried to the kitchen, followed closely by Spark. We both gasped as we saw how spacious it was now. Shelves lined one wall, ready to be filled with containers and cookware, while counters spread out across the other, perfect for cooling pies or cookies on. The oven no longer looked massive and out of place either.

Tears pricked my eyes and I blinked faster to stop them from falling.

"We really did it, Matcha." I held the little slime closer, hugging him tight. "We found a safe place, met so many wonderful people, and built a home for ourselves." He nuzzled against me, vibrating softly like he was purring. "Thank you for taking this journey with me."

We stood there like that for a while before I heard the others finally entering the cafe to see the new upgrades as well. I wiped my eyes, ready to join them, but Cole pulled me aside before I could.

"I've got a surprise for you, if you don't mind coming with me for a moment." His amber eyes sparked with excitement. "I promise you're going to like it."

"Okay?" I followed him out of the kitchen, turning into an area of the cafe that didn't used to be there before. It was a new room. "What's this?"

He held the door open for me. "It's your bedroom. I didn't think you'd want to keep rearranging the dining area to sleep on the floor."

Now the tears really did fall no matter how fast I blinked. He added a bedroom to the cafe upgrade just so I didn't need to sleep on the floor anymore? In the middle of the room was a giant fluffy bed with the blanket I'd gotten from the seamstress on top. A few slimes had somehow already jumped onto it, snuggling under the blankets while Matcha hopped down to join them.

A dresser sat in the corner of the room with a small table next to the bed. It was all so cozy and wonderful, exactly what I needed.

I turned to wrap my arms around Cole's neck, pulling him to me. "Thank you. For everything. From giving me this amazing class, to helping me through the dungeon, to making sure I was taken care of. This room means so much to me."

"You are more than worth it." He pulled back, leaning his forehead against mine and cradling my face in his hands. "You've brought life into this old dungeon and made me happier than I ever knew I could be."

His eyes were warm and bright, like the flames he was born out of. How he found the time to dote on me like this while running an entire dungeon was beyond me, but I was so grateful for every moment I got to spend with him. He'd literally changed my life.

I leaned up, pressing my lips against his. A small gasp escaped his lips and he pressed a hand against his chest.

"Are you okay?" I asked, putting my hand over his. "Is something wrong?"

"No, far from it."

The smile that spread across his face told me everything I needed to know as he pulled me close, kissing me with such tenderness that I felt cocooned by his kindness. My Sweet Potato.

Matcha squeaked from across the room and I would have ignored him, but the sounds of other people talking outside snapped me back to reality. I pulled away with a small smile, keeping his hand in mine.

"Think it's about time?" I asked.

He nodded. "Let's do it together."

He opened his menus, manipulating them so I could see them as well. Three large blue buttons hovered in the air.

[Upgrade Class System?]

[Yes]

[No]

Our intertwined fingers hovered over the yes button. Sweet Potato glanced at me, as if double checking that this was the right thing to do, before we pressed it. Chimes rang out through the area as everyone's system messages alerted them of a new optional quest to change their class. Excitement broke out in the dining area mixed with shock and amazement.

I gripped Sweet Potato's hand tighter. "This is the start of a whole new adventure for us, isn't it?"

"One I'm happy to go on with you." His soft lips brushed against my cheek in the whisper of a kiss. "This is our system now."

My heartbeat pounded in my chest as the reality of this finally hit me. I was dating the dungeon and had somehow convinced him to break everything for me. I wrapped my arms around him, tucking myself against his side. This was exactly how I wanted my in-between life to go.