Chapter 13: Daddy Daughter Dungeon Day
“So...” I hesitated with the question I knew must be asked. “Are we okay now?”
I formed a golem out of Cornerstone and sent it into the bedroom to make the bed.
Isa stared at me with a mouth full of food. She watched the golem for a moment before shrugging. “I don’t know. Maybe, I guess.”
“What does that mean?” I asked, determined to get to the bottom of it.
Controlling one golem was much easier than four.
Isa dropped a fork full of eggs she’d been about to devour. “It means I don’t know. I hadn’t been with anybody since Elysiana brought me back. She told me I was experiencing something called resurrection sickness. All I know is I feel like a totally different person. For a while, I blamed you. Now, I think I’m moving past that, but I don’t know what any of this means. I need you to be patient.”
“I will,” I replied, letting out a long sigh of relief and closing my eyes. I discovered I could see what the golem saw that way. “I’ll wait as long as you need me to.”
When I opened my eyes, I was greeted by the sight of her shoveling hashed browns in her already full mouth.
“Where are you putting all that?” I asked, noticing at least five already empty plates.
“Mm, n-gry,” she grunted between swallows.
My stomach rumbled in response, so I joined her. Even though I didn’t convert raw passion to chi as Isa did, the night also took its toll on my stamina. It soon became a race as we worked through the feast she ordered. Isa grinned maliciously as she snagged the last donut before I could.
“I win!” she announced, stuffing the entire thing in her mouth.
While I could have cheated and taken some of Helen’s food out of my bag, I decided to let her have the win. She needed it more than I did. Isa finished off her donut and sat rubbing her belly, which protruded almost comically. There was no way she stopped drinking tea, was there? I tilted my head to the side as I wondered.
Finally, she pulled herself to her feet and mumbled, “privy,” before rushing off to the master bathroom. I decided I could use a pitstop as well and selected one of the others.
When she came out, I asked, “Would you like to take a bath with me before we go back?”
She looked over her shoulder at the privy she just emerged from. It was the one with the big tub. “No thanks. Maybe next time. By the way, don’t think I didn’t notice the golem cleaning up in there.”
“I need the practice,” I replied, hiding my embarrassment at having been caught.
“So, round two or head back to the dungeon?” I asked, motioning toward the bed.
Isa rolled her eyes and headed for the elevator.
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The walk back to my house was much more relaxed. Isa pranced ahead of me as she greeted everyone she came across in a sing-song voice. I was thrilled to have the old her back and didn’t mind the slower pace one bit. I added a second golem and had them march beside us like stoic honor guards.
Vince slapped me on the back, and Anna raised an eyebrow when we returned.
Remembering what Aura told me the day before, I stopped them at the shed. “There’s something I need to do alone in the dungeon before you guys resume your training.”
Isa planted her hands on her hips, barring my way. “You can’t possibly be saying what I think you are.”
“No, no, no!” I placated her, holding my hands up in despair. “We had trouble with my leveling, and there’s something Aura wants to try. She said it’s too dangerous for anyone else to be in the dungeon while she does it.”
“Really?” Isa huffed in a sarcastic tone while rolling her eyes. “Fine! Whatever. Maybe I’ll go take that bath after all.”
“But Pippa is…” I called after her to no avail.
Vince chuckled. “Don’t worry. We’ll look after her.”
I wasn’t sure what he meant by that, but I decided to leave it to him nevertheless. Aura and I had bigger fish to fry. Without wasting any more time, I stepped into the portal in the shed and entered the dungeon.
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“Welcome home, Daddy,” Bori squealed as she pounced on me the moment I stepped out of the portal.
“You’re late,” Aura huffed with her construct’s hands on its hips.
“What?” I asked while struggling to keep my balance. Was Bori’s human avatar getting bigger?
“Never mind,” Aura replied. “Come with me. Your training begins now.”
I swallowed at the seriousness of the statement. “You know, Aura. You never told me what the training is.”
“Bori’s going to train you,” she said with an uncharacteristic giggle. “With a little help from her mama.”
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“What does that mean?” I asked as I entered a long corridor, leaving their constructs behind.
It opened into what I could only describe as an arena. The room was big enough for a football field, and the high ceiling didn’t appear to be made of stone. Fortunately, the ground was. At least Aura hadn’t taken that away from me.
Aura’s voice echoed around the arena. [I will try to intervene if it appears you are going to die, but this won’t work if you aren’t in at least some danger.]
Bori’s voice accompanied her mother’s. [Don’t worry, Daddy. I won’t kill you too much.]
I sighed. “Even a little killing is too much, Honey.”
It wasn’t clear if she heard me. Instead of answering, a large, hairy creature appeared in the center of the arena.
Fluffy
Level: 45
Class: Rank B Monster
Affection Level: Clueless
Made just for Daddy!!!
I expected the dog. What I got was a child-like creation. Bori called it Fluffy, but I was more inclined to call it Dog Man. It had a thick beard that flowed right into its furry, muscular body. The only place where it seemed to have no fur was the upper half of its face and head, where it sported a mohawk on an otherwise bald head.
[You can make the first move, Daddy.]
“Thanks, Sweetie,” I replied, smiling despite myself.
[Don’t forget your other two golems,] Aura warned me when I started approaching with only two summoned.
“I can control two better,” I said to the room at large.
It wasn’t a big deal to tell the dungeon my weaknesses—not that weakness, in any case. I drew Excalibur and sent one of the golems in. It lumbered toward the dog man. The closer it got, the more I realized how massive Bori’s creations were getting. Fluffy towered over the golem.
The monster struck just before I got into range. It scooped the golem off the floor like it was a child’s doll. Then, as if it was a world wrestling superstar, it slammed the golem into the ground so hard it made the earth shake. I stumbled backward but still managed to send the second golem in.
Fluffy reached for it, but I was ready. Excalibur emitted a high-pitched ring as it arced through the air. My golem barreled into its chest as the arm I’d severed flew through the air.
I wasn’t done yet. “Wham!”
Stone shackles erupted from the ground and wrapped around both Fluffy and my last golem. I quickly summoned another while Bori’s creation struggled against its earthen bindings. A normal creature would have been severely handicapped by the loss of an arm, but Fluffy didn’t seem to notice.
I’d just formed the golem when it broke free in an explosion of rocks. I half expected to see it regrow its arm. Instead, Fluffy flexed the remaining one and took a huge swipe at my newly formed golem.
“Pew!”
I fired a shot at its head.
“Pew! Pew! Pew!”
It dodged back and forth as it took a swipe at the golem. One hit sent my creation flying across the room. Bori’s monster was stronger and faster than anything Aura threw at me.
Taking advantage of the fact that Bori was fixated on the golem, I charged in after it and readied my blade. She noticed at the last second and swung that massive hairy arm at me, but I was ready. I brought Excalibur down, and suddenly Fluffy was disarmed, literally. It roared in frustration and charged at me head-first. That was another mistake. Another quick slash and its hairy head was sent sailing through the room.
Unfortunately, I was too slow to get out of the way, and the headless body crashed into me.
[Daddy!] Bori sheiked.
A few moments later, something lifted the body off of me.
[Are you okay, Daddy?]
I wheezed and pulled myself to a sitting position. “Yeah, I’m fine. I just got headbutted by a headless butthead.”
Bori giggled through the newly created Fluffy that had just hoisted me up. [Sorry, Daddy. Don’t make me laugh. It’s hard to concentrate.]
I checked my experience bar.
Congratulations!!! You have reached level 42!
“Sorry,” I laughed as well. That was a tactic I was going to have to remember if I fought any random dungeons in the future.
Fluffy 2.0 gave me a big, toothy grin. [Do you want to go again?]
I nodded. “Sure, but do you have any other monsters I can fight?”
While I didn’t mind fighting a dog version of a sasquatch, a little variety couldn’t hurt.
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It was already dark when I emerged from the dungeon, caked in sweat. I’d insisted on staying until I reached level forty-three.
“He’s out,” Vince called out from the couch when I entered the house. “Do you two still want to go?”
I peeked in the bedroom and couldn’t help but chuckle. Isa, Pippa, and Anna lay sprawled on the bed. Anna was snoring with half of the bed to herself, and it looked like Isa and Pippa had been fighting over the other side. From the looks of things, Isa was winning. Pippa perched desperately on the edge with one arm hanging over.
Isa was the only one who stirred at Vince’s words. “What time is it?”
“It’s almost midnight,” he replied. “You asked me to wake you up when he came out. Maybe we should wait until…”
“No!” Isa snapped. “I’m done sleeping. We’re going now!”
By then, the loud conversation woke the other two girls. Anna stretched luxuriously while Pippa took the distraction to shove Isa and reclaim some much-needed real estate on the bed.
Vince yawned and walked back to the living room. “Suit yourself. I’m ready when you are, sweetheart.”
I took out some of Helen’s food and sat with Vince while Anna and Isa pulled on their armor. He had never changed out of his.
“What did you guys do all day?” I asked.
He gave me a deadpan look. “You’re looking at it. It’s been like this all day. Isabelle is anxious. She feels guilty about her friends.”
“I know,” I sighed.
Isa poked her head out the door. “Are you coming, Dad?”
Vince jumped to his feet, wiping a tear from his eye. He gave me one final look before following after her. “It always gets to me when she calls me that.”
The next thing I knew, I was alone in that house with Pippa, who had gone back to sleep.
“Pi…” I trailed off for a moment. “It’s too quiet without you around.”
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The next couple of weeks went by the same way. I was eager to head to Xanadu, but I also wanted to be well-prepared. Every day that I trained with Bori brought me that much closer to my goal, level fifty. Isa was just as driven to train, working her way up to level thirty.
I’d hoped for a repeat of that first night at the guild inn, but she went right back to giving me the cold shoulder. Pippa, on the other hand, was all too eager to spend more one-on-one time with me. I gave her access to my inn room because the house was pretty crowded. She still found her way into my room even though I offered her one of her own.
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Congratulations!!! You have reached level 50!
I dropped to my knees beside the great white wolf Bori had summoned. Both Bori and Aura appeared in their humanoid forms and gave me a round of applause.
Alexander Krup
Class: Terramancer
Level: 50
Hitpoints: 5000
Mana: 61,300
Stamina: 5000
Base Stats
Strength: 61
Dexterity: 57
Ability: 69
Constitution: 99
Intelligence: 69
Wisdom: 82
Charisma: 62
Luck: 101
Miscellaneous
Perception: 40
Precision: 250
Control: 870
Earth Manipulation: 1850
Golem Formation: 2050
Max Golems: 4
Skills/Spells: Pew, Crunch, Kronch, Gong, Wham, Manipulate Earth, Divine Ritualistic Crafting, Furniture Creation, Minor Home Repair.
Traits: Affinity: Earth, Golem Creation, Functional Jaw, Golem Blades, Affinity: Iris, Affinity: Slag, Personal Dungeon, Assimilate Stone, Bloodline: Pendragon.
Titles: King of Albion.
I was a little disappointed that I didn’t learn any new spells. Then again, Pi was the one that taught me everything.
“So, Daddy,” Bori asked from behind me. “Are you ready for your reward? I’ve been saving all my mana for this.”