After returning from the dungeon the group went their separate ways, most went to the inn reserved by Wolfram for them, others chose to find a quiet place to think. Others formed groups to discuss the dungeons matter and the alchemists went in search of somewhere they could practice their craft in peace.

Merlin's student quietly walked to his room and knocked before entering, once inside she placed a bottle of wine onto the study next to Merlin, when he looked up he saw his student of almost 10 years staring at him with a worried look on her face, he gently sighed before telling her softly "I'm fine you don't need to worry about an old man like me, besides if you don't smile more often with a face like your's you will never get a husband little Ahri" he teased half heartedly.

Ahri blushed while she tried to retort, but could not come up with any response to his teasing, instead, she changed the subject and asked: "why didn't we go to the core, weren't we supposed to test the dungeons aggressiveness". Merlin's demeanor shifted into that of a teacher and responded "we already finished the test" Then he looked at his student with a kind smile to see if his student would be able to figure out this little puzzle.

It did not take long before she revealed a beautiful smile and the little hop she dose when she solves a puzzle. Before Merlin could finish half a word of praise she interrupted "I know, if the dungeon was dangerous it would have sent a tsunami of monsters at us when such powerful Magi entered the dungeon. it also did not send any scouts to look for us once we exited the dungeon either.. but we could have learned a lot more if we went to the dungeon core we might even be able to control it, master Ore-", Merlin interrupted her long speech "no we would of have learnt nothing, I know you don't have much experience interacting with people but what do you think would happen if we confronted the dungeon"

Ahri lowered her head to think then spoke without any confidence "umm maybe... the dungeon would have attacked, because it would feel cornered", Merlin patted her head and smiled producing a yelp from Ahri before she jumped back with a blush present on her cheeks again. 

Merlin praised "It's good that you can still empathize don't lose that quality" then explained "We are only here to judge whether this dungeon will better serve the Kingdom as a dungeon, or as a resource. However, with how close this is to the Dutchy border, the King is worried that a dungeon opening here will cause the fragmented Dutchys to form an alliance, Swadia has not fully recovered from the rebellion and cannot take a full-scale war at the moment, so sadly we most likely will be taking the core"

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

After seeing her master disappointed Ahri attempted to brighten the mood, "A dungeon core is the best magical stone in existence I'm sure that the University would be able to research some things that would be impossible otherwise" making Merlin smile wryly before he divulged "The University will not get the core even if we take it sadly, Swadian nobles will have it taken away because we are not strictly a part of the Kingdom". 

Ahri showed a rare expression of anger and almost shouting replied "Those damn nobles again, they have no one that is even close to qualified to use a dungeon core, even the court mages are 10 steps behind us in the most basic magic, I would be able to take the position of the leader of the court mages. 

Merlin interrupted her rant and tried to calm her down "Calm down little Ahri, the core won't go tot he nobles, The king is not that weak. It will be placed into the royal vault for safe keeping until war breaks out... and if it ever is needed the King will hand it to me personally to use. Besides if you think the Kings right-hand man is so easy to replace you are nieve, remember there is a reason I don't let you show your powers freely"

Ahri pouted for a moment but felt better knowing that the nobles wouldn't get the core. she then asked "when are we going to take the core than"

Merlin replied "I had already sent for high-level adventurers before we left"

Ahri thought for a moment then questioned "why didn't we take the core when we were in there earlier"

Merlin found this amusing and said "do you think that we could haha, we are teachers and researchers mostly not battle mages, those court mages you are so disdainful of would probably be more effective than us at taking the dungeon core. Understanding the profundities and depths of magics secrets won't stop yourself from being drowned in monsters. There is nothing more dangerous in this world than a crazed dungeon, when I was a mage apprentice and snuck into the forbidden mages tower, I read records of past dungeons attacking civilization, do you know what a crazed dungeon is called... it's called a demon lord, the stories that preachers tell children to scare them into obedience are not about some random member of the demon race gaining power, it's about a dungeon core going rogue because someone tried to control it which is why Kings and Rulers don't have a dungeon on a leash yet.

Ahri felt a chill run down her spine when she thought about her earlier statement and finally understood what kind of damage naivety can cause, which was something her master tried to teach her so many times, but she insisted that nothing is taboo if you take appropriate preparation and caution.