My mannequins were living it up on stage. Juliette roped the sword and board mannequin into performing as her knight, while the third of my defenders alternated between a host of supporting cast roles and being the audience. There was just one small problem in their performance, in my opinion, that being a distinct lack of dialogue. Inspired by their antics, I had written out a scene of a play for them on one of my scrolls, but lacking mouths or other such organs, my actors depended entirely upon their mannerisms to convey their characters' emotions.

And they were doing pretty well at it too. Surprisingly enough, this served not only as a distraction while waiting on the next attack upon our domain, but it was even productive.

And by that I mean, Juliette had gained a level in her Actor class. Nothing else seemed to have changed, no new skills or any such thing appeared, but when I inspected her it seemed like her wooden exterior had grown softer looking and her figure slimmer in places.

It struck me as a strange change for a supposed increase in power, but aesthetically it was pleasing to both of us, so I was happy.

Just as I suspected, the required Monster Capacity increased by one again, meaning I only had one capacity left. Soon enough my capacity would have to be raised again, assuming her progress increased as fast as this.

Well, all in due time. Right now, spectating their performance was entertaining, and served to take off the edge of the blade of anxiousness and anticipation that wormed its way into my thoughts.

However, sooner or later it was bound to all come to a head. Right at the climax of the scene, with some impressive ad lib coming from Juliette, we all froze. The mannequins more literally than me. My glorious frame actually whirled around as I focused my attention on the door that had just been disturbed.

Beyond, I could make out an assortment of creatures scanning the room I claimed as my domain. An armored individual in the lead, cautiously examining the scene, flanked by a lithe archer, her pointy ears twitching slightly, a hulking brute, brandishing a jagged axe, and finally followed by a bookish fellow, clad in a well worn robe.

Adventurers!

I curiously examined the members of their party one by one. The armored one seemed to be a human man. I hadn't seen either of those before, but my inherent knowledge once more provided. His hair was a dirty blonde in color, and quite short. His face was angular and his expression stoic, as much as i could read it anyways.

The Archer was an elven woman, clad in leather armor. Her long, brown hair was flowing around her face in strands, but a large part of it was bundled up behind her head. She carried a bow in her hands, as well as two curved shortswords to her sides.

The mountain of muscle was also a human, and a woman. She was about two heads taller than the leader and the archer both, with short red hair, and curious blue markings on her face. Her axe looked vicious, and her expression looked the most relaxed out of all of them, portraying a calm confidence.

The final member was a human man, like the leader, but about two heads shorter. His hair was white and wild, while parts of his face were covered in a see through contraption I recognized as glasses. He was leaning on a staff that glowed at the tip, shedding a dim blue light on the surroundings, and there was a big book tied to his belt. I suppose bookish was a more accurate descriptor than I initially expected.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

Exchanging hushed words amongst each other, I was surprised to realize that I understood their language, although the actual conversation was hard to make out, likely due to the fact that they remained outside of my domain.

As I focused on them, however, they all seemed to physically recoil from my curious presence.

After a tense moment or three without any changes, they relaxed slightly, before the bookish fellow spoke up loud enough for me to overhear.

“Well, we should definitely do the ritual, in case we have not intruded yet. Maybe we can at least calm the spirit that way, if we have?”

I was joyous to realize I understood their speech. Maybe I could incentivise them to perform with my monsters? Having someone capable of speech for our troupe could potentially improve the quality of my plays immensely.

The rest of their merry band agreed with their leader, meanwhile. I watched on with interest as they produced some incense and symbols, before the armored one, their leader judging by his presence, spoke up again.

“Right, does anyone have a suitable tribute for this dungeon? Maybe poetry or some luxury items?”

At that their faces grew thoughtful, before the archer reluctantly pulled something from her pack. A piece of soft fabric in her hand, she handed it to the bookish fellow, who inspected it, then nodded into the round.

“That should do.”

“Thank you, Allea. We will make sure to pay you back for this later.” the leader assured the woman, “Allea”. She waved him off as the robed one lit the incense, setting out the symbols in a circular shape, and laid the heap of fabric in the center. It seemed to be a piece of clothing, and the shine and texture of the fabric seemed much more… illustrious, I suppose, than their current gear.

After arranging the items, the one in charge of the ritual settled down, and something interesting happened.

The clothing item started to disappear, not dissimilar to the way stone vanished when I put it in my “not-space”. I could then feel something reaching out to me. When it made contact with me, specifically the part that was in my not-space, actually, I shuddered mentally. It did not press the issue however, merely existing up against the boundary of my existence, waiting for something. Seemed to me almost like it was politely waiting for an invitation.Well, I was intrigued by this development, and curiosity bade me open up to this feeling.

As I mentally confirmed my decision, the feeling evolved. I could feel that there was something waiting for me just outside my not-space, ready for when some condition was fulfilled. The tendril that delivered it, however, was withdrawn and nowhere to be found.

Refocusing on the adventurers, I saw elation on their faces and a screen in front of all of them.

I couldn't make out what it read but it seemed to be positive news. Good for them!

They dismissed the screens and turned towards my domain as one, the leader speaking up.

“Since the ritual is complete, let’s get to it! You know what to do everyone, let’s show this dungeon what we can do!”

Determined, he stepped forwards, a sense of excitement building within me as he did. His group followed, and me and my mannequins all looked forward to receiving our very first audience.

It is time to raise the curtains upon this stage, the first performance… begins!