Selenia’s pov
Suddenly Lucifer the dungeon ran me out of my room, saying that he was going to modify it. As I looked at him suspiciously I made my way out, deciding that annoying him is not worth arguing with him to stay in a dingy room.
After about an hour I sense his presence once again and ask “have you finished because I want to complete today's carving” sounding more docile than I had intended.
sounding slightly confused he said, “you do a carving every day?”
“I don’t particularly have anything better to do when I'm stuck in a dungeon for the rest of my life” I snorted
he replied “I guess I should create more things for you to do then, anyway aren't you going to go into your new room now. I worked quite hard on it”
Looking at him even more suspiciously than when I left my room I spoke carefully “I’m not going to be stepping into a trap or something am I” while cautiously opening the door and peering through looking for tripwires or other triggers. I found his silence discomforting enough that I stopped opening the door.
He soon replied sounding annoyed “Why would I set traps for you, YOU belong to me it would be like scratching my own car”
Not quite understanding the reference he used but understand the tone of what he said felt like pins stabbing into my heart. I’m able to forget sometimes that I’m a captive here because of how peaceful it is here but it still pains me to remember what I’ve become, a simple slave to a dungeon.
I spend most of my time carving new tokens or figures and the rest of my time I spend walking around the ants farming cavern. Both these things remind me of home which is somewhat comforting, if I was not captive I might think of living a decade or two here because its so peaceful and no one would think to look for me here.
During my reminiscing he started to sound impatient and spoke in a slightly more threatening tone “just go in already this is a reward for doing a good job on your last task” then I sensed him get significantly closer to me then said “besides I have far more efficient methods to punish you” sending shivers down my spine, something I imagine he takes great joy in.
After finding his threat strangely convincing I decided to see what changes he had made, It’s not like I had the choice anyway. I pushed on the only wooden door in the dungeon and it creaked as it slowly swung open. The first thing I saw was a huge mirror with perfect clarity, unlike the mirrors the nobles have that are just polished bronze or the mages mirror’s which distort the image from mana interference. This mirror seems to perfectly reflect my own image. Around the edges of the mirror, there was a gold frame with intricate carvings of monsters I have never seen or heard of, the worth of this mirror alone would be astronomical to those nobles that must compete in having the most ridiculously lavish homes against each other. When I finished opening the door I could see a doorway that was not there before and a bed fit for a queen, it had a canopy with seemingly see-through fabric and the posts were made of a very beautiful hardwood, but seemed somewhat bare without any carvings like the mirror had confused me slightly. Then I realized that he decorated the metals but not the wood because he has seen me carving wood on several occasions so I could decorate it how I liked, which filled my heart with warmth for a moment, which I found strange because I could not remember when someone did something nice for me without hidden motives, because if he wanted something from me I couldn't refuse anyway so there would be no point to gifting such expensive things to me. Causing the feeling of warmth to be immediately polluted with a mix of other complicated emotions.
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I walked towards the bed and parted the fabric around the bed and sat on the mattress. This mattress is by far the softest thing I’ve ever felt in my life, the top feels like a high-class pillow and the bottom is like sitting on a cloud The sheets felt like the smoothest silk that noble wives would wear for important occasions. Something so expensive they would wear more than once which is saying something, and blankets and sheets of it no less. The power of a dungeon surprises me even now after years of delving into them.
Now curious about what is in the next room because of how amazing the things are in this room. I made my way through the doorway into the second room and when I entered I was stunned. It was an enormous bath, getting near the water I could see fire and water stones in the middle of the bath which is strange because no normal person would waste mana on making a bath this big and anyone with enough mana to do it easily would be able to afford servants to heat the water for them. I then saw a small rock a few centimeters in diameter on the bottom of the bath with a small chain coming off of it adding to my confusion. Bewildered by the strange design I asked the still present Lucifer “what is the rock on the bottom for, and why is there a fire stone on the bottom when you would usually use wood to heat the water and as for the water stone I have no idea”
After a moment of silence, Lucifer answered “for the stone, you can pull it and the water will leave out the hole under it and the water stone is there to refill it after you put the stone back. As for the Firestone it absorbs mana over time so the mana input is tiny unless you bathe more than once a day, besides it not like you have a lack of mana even the mage I’ve seen doesn't have a tenth of the capacity you have” surprising me that its not a mana stone like I thought but the far more expensive mana crystal, the lower grade mana crystals look almost identical to mana stones but they absorb mana from the atmosphere.
Suddenly I feel a jolt go through my heart as I realize the misunderstanding he has and remember how much he dislikes not knowing things I spoke hastily “I do have a lot of mana but I cant use most of it because of a curse my master put on me” I almost stuttered saying more than I intended, only now realizing how much effect his little punishment a few days ago had on me and being angry at myself for behaving like scared little girl. But unlike how I thought he would react he simply replied “I see” sounding completely uninterested about me and not even trying to probe into my paste like most people would after my little slip-up.
Calming down a little curiosity trumped my fear considering his easy-going mood and I asked “what is the weird seat with a hole for” realizing too late that I’ve said something insulting calling it weird, I tense my muscles and wait for the pain to start… but It never comes. After a few moments of silence, he seemed to sound amused as he replied and soon explained his toilet design to me, all the while sounding as if he was speaking to me like an adult would to a child. I tried to glare at him but it only seemed to make his voice more condescending and amused frustrating me to no end. I will not comment on that thing but the bath was amazing its been years since I’ve used a bath and I’ve never used one so big before, I haven’t felt this relaxed in years, after a bath and getting into the softest bed I’ve ever known, sleep and sweet dreams of a better time quickly overtook me.