“So, are you going to pray now?” Chloe asked pointing towards the temple.

They were all working towards cleaning the fishing village, next would be the mining village. They wanted to clean them, make them liveable.

“Why are we making these villages liveable again?” Jensen groaned as he moved more debris to the center of the village.

“I am not sure really. I thought it would help improve our stats, the physical ones at least. Also, who knows if there is anything here?” Auna shrugged walking towards the temple.

“True, also we never know when we will need to hide away, or how many people we will pull into this fold of crazy people. Oh! And a bigger place for anyone we find at the clearing as they grow?” Chloe said excitedly.

“I suppose once they grow having them safe in here to train would be right.” Auna agreed.

“Yeah, but didn’t the bees turn into monsters? Like we have them tamed but we can’t tame people.” Ciela tugged on Aunas’ shirt as she spoke. She was covered in dirt as usual. She was working the small fields, testing the soils.

“It has been studied that people do not turn into monsters. Not even every living thing that spends extra time in a dungeon goes through this transformation. We do still have a few hives that are normal.” Diego answered giving her hair a pat.

“Okay, then we could just clean it for practice. Then we can use it as a fishing spot, a spot for refugees, and anyone else big sister saves.” Ciela gave a stern nod then headed back to the fields. Her attention span was getting better though it still revolved around farming.

“Yeah, for now we can use it as training. We never know when we will need the extra space. I am going to give the gods a visit.” Auna sat in the middle of the temple her back against the dungeon podium.

“Hello.” Holly smiled warmly guiding the small girl into the large room with everyone else. Her soul age was still young though she appeared to the gods in her current form. She was using the praying skill so her current form was what passed not her entire soul as she was not dead.

“Can I ask a few questions?” Auna got on the lap of Lichen the gods were very tall, their table also tall. She would not be able to reach it not on his lap. She also felt comfortable having lived majority of her lives as a child she enjoyed the feeling of safety.

“Is it about the dungeon?” Lichen gave a small smile as Auna nodded, not surprised he guessed.

“Some dungeons are generated naturally from density of magic. Other ones are created by the system as part of a natural cycle. The system also rewards certain people with dungeons for them to find.” Lichen pulled up a menu like screen. There was a noticeable

locked image on the screen. It showed different dungeons and cycles that were beyond her understanding.

“Why is there a lock on it?” Auna asked.

“It was in automated mode when we arrived in this world. We don’t have access to do much in it. We can see information and send it to people as an oracle to help.” Shrugging Lichen continued.

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“Some dungeons are created automatically by the system as a reward of kind. It is an advanced system beyond us. Do you know the dungeon called Ashes’ Lair?”

“I have heard of it.” Auna nodded eating a snack.

“A long time ago there was a little boy. He was cursed with low mana generation. It limited his ability to gain mana stats, and did not allow him to invest points into it. He was basically stuck with five points. Born from a slave with a similar curse. His family had made the slave birth many children. The others instead were born with blessings increasing their mana.”

Lichen paused to let the information sink in before continuing. “His family considered him a failure. His mother loved him though. He trained very hard day and night. One night he stumbled into a dungeon. It gave him many rewards revolving around increasing his mana and magic types.”

“He kept the dungeons’ location a secret. He had given it the name his mother bore Ashe. No one knew her which helped keep the dungeon secret. He spent many days training in it. He even became known by his father. He had no longer wished to be loved by him though so he broke his mother free and left for the dungeon. He kept her there safely for many years. Growing in power and fame. Then one day someone saw him enter his now well-known dungeon, never to return.”

“Even us gods do not know what became of him. His soul never ended up here. I suggest you try to visit it one day. His dungeon had a red glow as well. The people of your world do not yet know what that means.”

“It means, the dungeon will only allow one person to initially claim it. Blue, pink, purple, black, and any other colour is usually based on magic, type, and time of creation. However red means it was awarded to someone the system acknowledged. We don’t know what conditions are needed though as they seem to differ.” Lichen smiled at the open-mouthed girl.

“Also, we can’t say anything about the child god you met. You figured that though, didn’t you? That is why you didn’t ask.” Lichen nodded approval.

“Honestly I forgot about him to be fair.” Auna gave a sheepish smile and a shrug at the now sighing God. “Thank you for telling me about the dungeon system though. This praying takes a lot of effort. I do not have much time. Do you know about my dungeon?”

“I do, however. I will not tell you. It is no fun that way. However, we think it was made for you to grow into a hidden nation. There are some dungeon cities after all.”

“A Nation. How odd. Though the monsters are strong and advancing quickly.” Auna thought out loud.

“Yes. We think this place is also made for you to train yourself and any friends you acquire. How did that little one say it?” Lichen looked to Holly.

“I think she said something like ‘we never know how many people we will pull into this fold of crazy people’ sir.” Holly gave a slight bow.

“Yes exactly. Please do be careful though exploring further. Also, there will be a large shipment of slaves from overseas. They will pass through your forest coming from the sea and quickly traveling into the Jade territory. Will you take them?”

“Take them?”

“Yes. The slave traders are weak from sea travel and are few. Many slaves and their traders died on the journey. Your group should be able to knock them out and steal the people. They will arrive in one week.”

“Why me? How would we support them?” Auna gave a panicked squeak, she was ten.

“Why not have them work the farm, the fishing village, and the mines?” Lichen gave a smirk.

“Would that work?” Auna thought out loud.

“I feel they would follow you; I have sent word to a few slaves. Through their patron Gods.” A few others waved. “They have spread this word as well among them. I think it is why so many survived the harsh trip. They have hope for a safe life.”

“I will do my best I guess. Every poor soul that is forced into my forest will become mine. Mine to care for, mine to protect.” Strong determination blazed in her eyes as the Gods faded away.

“We have work to do.” Auna gave each of her friends a hard look. She had summoned them to her once her prayer was done. Tired though she would now need rest.