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Layla's Office, The Guild, Medea Island

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Layla felt a weight lift her shoulders when she noticed her aunt and the rest of the raid group approaching the hall. She was relieved none of them had died and seemed uninjured from the look of their mana. She turned to the other desk in the office and called out to her old friend.

"Felin. My aunt and the rest of the Platinums have returned. Could you please ask the three party leaders to join me here to give a verbal report?" Felin grunted and sat up from his hunched position, where he had been furiously sorting and organizing delve reports. He stood, cracked his neck with a "Sure," and left her office.

Layla looked back at her desk, which was just as littered with reports as her assistant's. They'd spent the last few days going back over the significant shifts and changes in the dungeon, trying to find patterns and extrapolate what it might do in the future.

She lifted the next report in the 'unsorted' pile and scanned it.

This one was from a few weeks ago, made by a gold party, and one of the first to mention the Third Floor's vine traps. It also talked of the shifted flora and the erasure of previously well-worn trails. This happened after the Guardian was killed, so Layla put it in the 'Third Floor Post-Guardian Shift' pile.

The sound of boots on wood and a quick glance through the wall revealed Felin had returned with Isid, Haythem, and Pataer. Layla sat up straight in her chair and took a steadying breath.

"Come in!" She called before Felin could knock. He opened the door and stepped through, unphased. Isid smirked at Layla as she walked in, followed by Haythem and Pataer.

"Thank you for coming." Layla began. "I'm sure your reports will be on my desk later this evening, but I'd like a verbal report on your delve now, please." Well aware of this practice of hers, the Platinums all nodded.

"We made it to the Fourth Floor easily, though the Third Floor Guardian was quite verbose in his... disappointment regarding our numbers." Isid began with a wry grin. Haythem and Pataer both looked like they agreed.

"I'll say," Pataer added. "The thing was spitting curses about our parentage, fighting ability, and even our skills in bed." The man looked a little queasy at that thought.

"It was quite disturbing," Haythem agreed, "It's bizarre to be fighting monsters so intelligent. I almost feel bad for killing them" He looked around to see everyone else in the room giving him incredulous looks. "Don't get me wrong, I won't hesitate to kill them. They've killed dozens of us without mercy, and I'll show them none in return. It's just... all the lizards are very intelligent. Most taunt us when we fight them, and they learn. No trick works twice." The other guilders nodded and looked thoughtful themselves.

"Going back to your delve?" Layla prompted.

"Right. The dungeon threw what seemed like every kind of rat in those damned tunnels at us, including a few types I'd not seen before. Harald collected some samples and took notes; I'm sure they'll be in his report. The Fifth... was eerie in its contrast to the fourth. No stone-hand traps, shadow monsters dropping from the ceiling... nothing at all." Isid continued briskly.

"The Fifth Floor Guardian was, as we suspected, at the top of that tower. The Guardian itself was like the shadow monsters. It was not a living creature but a monster core driving a body made of a powerful metal. Unlike the shadow monsters, it was a purely physical monster. It hovered above the floor, with unconnected arms of blades and other weapons that spun about it at great speed. The strangest thing about it was it wasn't just waiting for us in the room, as with previous guardians. Its metal body seeped from cracks in the floor and walls, like a liquid, coalescing into the body and limbs." Isid stopped there, motioning for Haythem to continue. He nodded and did so.

"The fight itself was brutal. While blades and magic could damage it, the rends in its metal body melded back together quite quickly. Thankfully, it did have a weakness. It's eye." Haythem pulled a cracked monster core from a bag and a faceted crystal disk. The crystal was about a foot across and had arrows driven right through its center."

"The monster core was right behind the eye, not that we knew at the time," Pataer added. "We cracked it a few minutes into the fight, but it didn't seem affected. We thought it was an eye, but if anything, it was better at intercepting strikes after we broke it. It was the only part of the monster that wasn't healing, so the archers hit it a few more times."

"And that's where things got weird," Isid picked up. "The Guardian froze, and its metal body shivered. It was like looking at ripples in a pond. Then, with no warning, it collapsed to the floor. The metal slipped between the cracks of the stone, leaving behind the core and eye. Oh, And I could tell that the mana it used was metal mana, completely. No other elements at all, just pure metal."

Layla picked up the eye and core, observing them with her mana-sense.

The monster core looked like any other; A perfectly smooth sphere, though marred by the crack and divot the arrow put in it. In its current state, it most likely wouldn't be used for much. The eye was a perfectly clear crystal of some kind. It held some residual mana but nothing substantial. Not diamond, if it shattered this easily. Potentially some sort of quartz. Layla handed them back. If nothing else, they'd be used as trophies.

"After we killed the Guardian, we used the newly-opened exit to check out the Sixth Floor. We didn't go in, just had a peak through the doorway." Isid continued. "It was... grand and utterly terrifying." Layla raised an eyebrow at her aunt.

"You'll remember this dungeon has different themes for every floor. The Sixth Floor's theme seems to be lava. The floor is enormous, and there are lakes of the stuff with giant lavafalls falling from the ceiling. We caught a glimpse of some monsters too." Isid licked her lips before continuing. "I don't know how, and I don't know why, but there was a Fire Elemental down there. It had a whole damn court following it and noticed us quickly. We got out of there before it could climb up the cavern wall to reach us." They sat in silence for a few seconds before Layla spoke again.

"Thank you, Isid, Haythem, Pataer. I appreciate your continued willingness to give me these in-person reports." She said, bowing her head slightly.

The three Platinums smiled and waved her off. With their report given, the guilders left and returned to their party members.

Layla pushed some mana into a pyramidal paperweight on her desk. The enchantment on the item triggered, throwing up an obfuscation field around her desk. Felin sat in one of the chairs the Platinums had just vacated, well inside the affected area.

"So, it does have more of those golems," Layla stated, her tone thoughtful. "Monsters of metal and crystal, rather than flesh and blood... A floor of lava and a Fire Elemental... " She trailed off, relaxing her sight and 'closing' her eyes.

"I'm not surprised. Why stop at one kind of.. golem." Felin responded. "Probably got a different kind for every element. The Shadow ones, with darkness mana. This new one with metal. Only a matter of time until we see the rest. In regards to the Sixth... I feel like we should contact your grandfather and ask him if he can recommend any Platinum-level enchanters. The ones we have are good, but their works won't match Elementals."

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Layla nodded.

Just another set of things to add to the pile of questions she wanted to ask this frustrating dungeon.

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The Dungeon, Medea Island, Kalenic Sea

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I cracked my metaphorical knuckles and focused on the Cows, Sheep, and Rabbits that I had let loose on the Tenth. They seemed to love the grass, chowing down on it rather enthusiastically.

Let's start with... the cows.

My experiment began with one cow and one bull, while I put the others in a separate area to breed. I had a clear image in my mind of what I wanted here. I've wanted Minotaurs since I carved out my second floor, and now I have my chance. They're a staple of high fantasy and were quite popular back on Earth.

I gave the cow and bull I'd selected a once-over, ensuring I understood their physiology. It wasn't strictly necessary since mana would mold them to my desired end result either way. When my inspection was done, I directed some mana from my re-growing disk into their bodies.

You couldn't really go wrong with these 'beast' races. Two solid and digitigrade legs with large, reinforced hooves and feet. I gave their bones and muscles a general strengthening, making sure the muscles were in the correct positions. The cattle I'd taken were closer to Aurochs than 'modern' cows and had quite shaggy coats, which I left long on their legs but reduced on their upper bodies.

While the legs remained mostly the same, barring some reinforcement, their upper bodies needed complete rework.

I carefully turned their 'arms' into actual arms, mostly modeling off my Drake-kin, though a good deal larger. Their torsos were molded to the 'standard' humanoid configuration. I gave them pectorals, abdominals, and all the standard muscle groups. The cow's 'udder,' which was really just a set of six large teats on this species, I brought up to the 'breasts' of the monster.

Head-wise, I didn't want to do much. Given the drastic changes I'd made to their anatomy, I wanted them to retain as much 'cow-ness' as possible. I moved their eyes around a bit to give them more forward-facing vision while keeping as much of their peripheral as possible. Their horns were very reminiscent of the auroch, having the distinctive curvature of that species. I bulked up the bull's horns but kept the cow's the same.

Finally, it was time to make them more intelligent. The new minotaurs had been relatively passive and accepting through all their physical changes but had not changed their behavior much. They ate the grass on their hands and knees rather than on four hooves. It was rather disturbing, actually.

The first and most obvious solution was to give them more wrinkles in their brains, with the intent to provide them human-level intelligence. I don't want to make my minotaurs super geniuses, after all.

I watched as that dim light in their eyes slowly brightened. They stumbled to their hooves and stood to their full heights. The bull was an impressive 9'10" and the cow 9'2". They gazed at their hands and bodies in wonder for a time. Once they noticed they weren't alone, they also spent some time inspecting each other.

Welcome to the world. I am your Creator. I have raised you from mere cattle into mighty Minotaurs to tend and guard the Tenth floor of my dungeon. You are Asterion and Tauris, the first of your kind.

At my words, the bull Asterion fell to one knee, his head bent in supplication. The cow Tauris fell to her knees and bent over, her horns scraping the ground as she spread her arms wide. Asterion remained stoically silent, though I could feel loyalty and devotion in his mind. Tauris, however, was somewhat more verbose.

"Oh, mighty Creator!" She spoke in a language decidedly, not phenocian. "You honor us with your blessings of body and mind. You need only ask, and we will fulfill your wishes."

Well, I suppose it's not unprecedented. The Drake-kin have their own language, though all of them now speak perfect phenocian. The Minotaur language was guttural and to the point. No unnecessary flourishes or flowery language, which makes sense. As a prey species, they would have needed short, sharp, concise language to convey warnings of predators and react quickly.

Also, I swear I'm not making all most monsters religious on purpose! They all decided of their own accord that, since I created them, they had to worship me.

My wish is for you and your people to grow and thrive here. I am not finished crafting this floor, and I would have you inform me of any problems or things lacking.

Speaking of lacking, I have noticed something. This floor consists entirely of a massive field of grass. There are no trees or other natural resources for them to build homes with!

I quickly selected a rather pine-like evergreen and spread its seeds around the edge of the floor. I did not force them to their full growth within the day, but I gave them a boost.

Back to the Minotaurs! I applied the appropriate changes to the small herd of cows wandering the floor, then guided them to Tauris and Asterion.

Next, it's time for the Sheep and Rabbits.

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The Seventh Floor, The Dungeon, Medea Island

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Kata sat on her furs, staring at the wall of her room.

The wall had several shelves, upon which rested more than a dozen small carved totems and charms given to her by the young Drake-kin she had given some training. A beautiful tapestry of her first bout with Mushu hung on another wall, gifted to her about a week after her victory.

The luxuriously soft green tiger skin she sat on was one of three, which she had layered to make a soft cushiony surface over the hard stone bed. Her window was covered by a woven fabric curtain dyed a pale orange. On her bedside table resided a half-dozen geometric shapes, the only reminder she had left of her time in the cell.

Kata sat there, looking at all the items she had gathered, and pondered what in the five hells she was going to do.

The news had swept through the village that the Guilders had finally found and beaten the Fifth Floor 'Boss.' Kata was... conflicted. It meant they were one floor closer to finding and potentially rescuing her. It also meant they were one floor closer to encountering all the Drake-kin she had trained in combat. Kata wasn't sure which she was more concerned for, the Drake-kin being killed or the guilders.

Kata found herself having to seriously consider her loyalties.

When she was first moved to the village, she was cautious but desperate for any social contact she could get. She recognized that. It had led to her forming a fast friendship with her guard Huea, and then she mentored a couple groups of young Drake-kin who looked at her with such wide eyes she couldn't say no.

Kata had been... Content. Happy, even. She was well treated and valued by the community... but she was still an outsider. A human among... monsters.

It was hard to see them as monsters, living with them as she had been.

In her opinion, they were people. They had hopes and dreams and minds of their own! The Kobolds, Snobolds, and Scorpans were people too. Each was as intelligent as the Drake-kin. Kata knew that underneath it all was a pure loyalty to the dungeon, their Creator.

A dungeon she had once wished to destroy. To see shattered and in pieces, all for gold and to help some old friends get out of debt. Kata didn't want to destroy the dungeon anymore. To destroy it, she would have to fight through her friends and entire floors all on her own, if she even made it that far.

There was a gentle knock on her solid wood door, which snapped her out of her introspection.

"Come in." She called, blinking as she set her train of thought aside.

Huea opened the door and closed it behind her. She held something tight in one claw while the other hung open.

"Kata, you know that I was assigned your guard to keep an eye on you," She began, "but that wasn't my only job. I was ordered to observe you, to watch how you interacted with the drake-kin and other monsters of the dungeon." Kata had thought as much and nodded.

"A few days ago, I asked the Creator if He could provide me with a key to your collar," Huea said, revealing a small square of metal that glowed a soft green in the dimly-lit room. "He did so." Kata's eyes focused on the metal square as her hand raised to the mostly-forgotten metal band around her neck.

"He asked why," Huea continued, and Kata's eyes flicked back to her friend. "I told him that it was a sign of trust. I trust you, Kata, to not start slaughtering every monster in sight in a brainless attempt to leave the dungeon. You'd never get far, and I know you know that."

With deliberate slowness, Huea stretched her arm out to Kata, the key resting on her scaly palm. Kata, trembling, took the key. She stared at it for a minute, then slowly raised it to her collar. The instant the key touched the ring of metal, Kata could feel the enchantments break. Deprived for so long, she could feel the mana rushing into her body. An invisible seam split open with a faint click, and Kata pulled the collar from her neck.

In her hand, she held the item that marked her as an outsider, a prisoner of the dungeon.

Kata made up her mind.

She put the collar on an empty shelf as a reminder of this part of her life. Then she hugged her friend.

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2022 © Max Porteous