As a will-o'-wisp, there wasn't much to think about. The passage of time had next to no meaning either. Most of the time, its existence consisted of simply floating around without any real attachment to the world. Other times, it felt like being playful as it interacted with the beings of this world. Joining a dungeon had never really been something that will-o'-wisp one had chosen to do, but rather something that had just happened. The Dungeon Master had wanted to contract with one of its kind and it had been selected by the system and transported to the dungeon.

While it didn't have much thought about all of this, it still did its best to carry out the orders given to it by the system. When asked where something was in the dungeon, will-o'-wisp one would lead the way. It didn't really understand the concept of a 'bathroom' nor did it have a way to differentiate between inn rooms. Instead, it acted purely on instinct, leading people around without fault.

Will-o'-wisps can't exactly see, hear, or do anything else that living creatures might normally be able to do. However, it wasn't exactly as if it could be classified as 'living' either. It merely existed as a ball of wispy blue light. While will-o'-wisp one did not know what a computer program was, it would not be wrong to compare the way they moved about the dungeon, fulfilling their duties, to a computer program being run and fulfilling its programming. All of its kind was like this, existing without thought or motive with no need to worry about any of the dilemmas those around it were facing.

Normally, Dungeon Masters would have to manually assign a will-o'-wisp a job to do. Lead adventurers towards a particular [Trap] or cooperate only half of the time, leading them around in circles and wasting their time the other half of the time. Since they were incapable of attacking adventurers and could not evolve into anything more than they were, their jobs were always that of an untrustworthy guide.

There would be no complaints from will-o'-wisp one about a lack of purpose or about being left alone for long periods of time. It rarely moved from its spot in front of the receptionist desk in the 'Veronica's Rest' dungeon. The Dungeon Master never came to visit it and no new orders ever came its way from the dungeon system. It was simply instructed to lead anyone who asked anywhere within the confines of the side of the dungeon it was assigned to. Most people simply passed by without sparing a single thought for the lone will-o'-wisp of the dungeon. That was alright, it would continue to wait without worrying about anything until the day someone required its assistance once more.

"Hey, little guy. You're still here, just like always, huh?"

Seraphina asked. It did not answer, neither being capable of such a thing, nor having any thoughts to share. The elven woman smiled, continuing to speak as if it had answered her

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

"Yeah, I suppose it has been nice how peaceful it has been lately. I'm glad Veronica is awake again, I can finally sleep in the inn room I paid for. It's been rough sleeping on the hard, stone floor, but I couldn't exactly leave the dungeon core defenseless. How's she holding up, do you think?"

After another moment of silence, she let out a dramatic sigh before continuing

"I was afraid you'd say that. She's a tough one, but I just don't think she is going to forgive me any time soon. Well, I'll let you get back to work."

The elven woman then continued on her way, leaving will-o'-wisp one by itself once more. It wasn't until later that night, not that it could tell time, that more people arrived. Adventurers milled about in the reception room, talking amongst themselves, while it stood in the corner. As far as anyone was concerned, it may as well have been another decoration in the room. When someone walked up to the desk, the will-o'-wisp's light burned slightly brighter as it reacted to their presence. This was not something it chose to do, but simply a knee-jerk reaction that would happen every time someone moved closer.

The young girl poked curiously at its wispy form, frowning as she asked her party member

"What do you think it's doing here? Seems strange for it to be here instead of in the dungeon. You don't think there are [Traps] here, do you?"

The man beside her laughed as he replied

"I don't know, but I hardly think it matters. It can't harm us unless we give it the time of day. We're hardly desperate enough to fall for its tricks, so we can just ignore it."

Then the two went on their way, once more leaving Will-o'-wisp one its own once more. As the night wore on, the reception room became emptier as adventurers found their way to their rooms or left the dungeon. No one else would be coming through the area and so it lost track of time as it continued to float in the air. It would be quite some time before anyone else would interact with it.

Veronica, of course, didn't spare her will-o'-wisp a single thought since she had assigned it to look over the room. She rarely considered her gargoyles important either and she certainly hadn't felt inclined to name a single [Monster] from either group. They didn't talk and they so easily fell off of her radar, being deemed unimportant. Sure, they all served a purpose in her dungeon, but so did things like trees yet no one was going to go around naming those. There were simply too many other problems to consider to be bothered with how some faceless creature with a lack of sentience was getting along.

After spending a few hours practicing martial arts, Veronica went back to her room intending to take a bath. That was followed up with eating sweets while she relaxed on her couch. She had invested some mana into basic food supplies to keep in her kitchen, so there was no need to worry about the system locking her out when adventurers were around. If she always had to wait for everyone to leave, she'd forever be stuck trying to cram everything she wanted to do in a day into a few short hours. As she was still paranoid, she avoided sleeping to pass the night away. Instead, she spent the night making plans for the future, none of which involved a single thought for her lone will-o'-wisp.