It turns out that the goblins didn't have as many luxuries as I thought they did.

When first I arrived on this floor it looked as though the goblins had everything they needed, but upon my search, it appears they only have the basic necessities and a few decorations. Furniture, cooking equipment, and the cloth they where wearing was all I found, there was one item that was unexpected though.

So far my inventory looks like this.

Inventory 20/30 Oran Matt Lizard Skewer x2 Steel Scimitar Onion x29 Potato x39 Carrot x33 Radish x28 Beef Meat x15 Chicken Meat x28 Pig Meat x14 Luxurious Bed Full Bed Set Comfortable Chair Dining Table Wooden Chair x4 Knife Set Crockery Cutlery Miscellaneous Pots and Pans Magical Oven

I know right, I'm going to test it as soon as I go back to the inn. Don't ask me why but that's where I intend to eat and sleep as I have done so since arriving.

It just feels right.

The fact that my inventory can bunch multiple items of the same set together is very helpful, I would be way over capacity otherwise.

I've only searched the houses so far after my rest in the hot spring. The decorations they possess are all made from bones, I doubt they will serve to help me on my journey through Morte.

Plus they're too creepy for me to even want to take one. I don't need anything tying me to other adventures deaths.

I found another awesome feature of my inventory whilst rummaging around the houses. Whenever I store anything and then retrieve it afterwards it always comes out clean and fresh. I noticed this as I stored a chair and then brought it back out when I came across a better one. It wasn't the dirtiest seat when I stored it but upon bringing it back out it looked pristine. I then decided to test out my discovery on a few other objects until I was disturbed by the voice of reason.

'Erin, what are you doing?'

"Just testing whether every item I store and retrieve will come out new.

'Why didn't you ask me?'

"Sorry Temi, honestly I've been feeling guilty over bringing you recently so I didn't want to keep burdening you every time I need help. I know it was a good idea like you said but ever since you became.... you. It's been harder to justify my decision ."

'While I appreciate your concerns for me, please do not ignore me. It is very...... You brought me for help and assistance, so please ask me anything you need to know.'

Did she really just say please twice?

I was expecting that the next time that she had anything to say, it would have probably been better not to hear it at all.

That's usually how it goes, right?

Helpful advice mixed with sarcasm is usually followed contempt, before returning back to sage-like advice. I can never keep track of how she's going to react so I just have to take whatever is thrown my way.

Like a dog and a bone but I'm still alive, so I can't be doing too bad.

"Erm Ok. How come my inventory cleans the items in it?"

'It is just one of the features, it will not however repair broken items.'

"Oh, cool, thanks."

'Your welcome.'

........

An awkward silence falls between us.

That felt really weird but I don't want my partner feeling neglected, even if I do feel like I'm imposing on her.

"How would I use the magic oven?"

'I have never seen a magic oven before so I do not know, unfortunately. At a guess it is either already infused with mana, in which can you just turn in on or, you infuse it with mana yourself. If those two fail, maybe throw a fireball in there....'

"Ha...haha, was that a joke? Nice one Temi."

'It was, but you could also try it if the other two options fail.'

She may be a bit of a pyromaniac, first Fire Wall now she wants me slinging fireballs.

Not that being able to throw fireballs would be a bad thing, in fact, it would be the opposite. I would finally feel like the mage I'm aspiring to be, rather than the guy who runs out of mana within minutes setting himself on fire.

Moving on from bad memories.

Arriving at the inn, it appears that they have their own magic oven so I leave mine in storage. It turns out Temi was right and it is already infused with mana, a touch is all it takes to activate it. I use the remaining food and equipment in the inn to create a large pot of chicken stew. Full of vegetables and a hearty 3 chickens I'm super proud of myself for making my first meal in this dungeon.

Only took me about a week.

Turns out I can store the whole pot of stew in my inventory too and it stays hot.

I don't think I can call myself chef after just one meal though, it took me a while to figure out how to prepare most of the ingredients and without Temis input, once again I may not have succeeded. I carved up one of my chickens completely wrong, wasting it in the process but after listening to the sage guru's advice I got the hang of it and earned two new skills in the process. It worked out quite well and my dinner smells lovely, I really hope it was my cooking but I have a feeling that it could just be the dungeons ingredients though, you never know.

Skill Acquired: Butchery Level 1

Skill Acquired: Cooking Level 1

Heading up to the spare room with the extra bed, that I decided I'm taking for myself as well because why not, I sit down to enjoy the delicious meal savouring every mouthful

Finishing my food, I offer thanks to Temi for helping me create it and to Abi for creating such wonderful edible monsters in the first place.

I store the bowl and recall it straight away. It comes back out pristine clean and a smile spreads across my face as I chuckle happily.

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

"I love the cleaning feature."

'It is certainly beneficial and time effective.'

Tomorrow, I'm going to search this half of the village and then we'll set off to the next floor to practice magic on the monsters there. I feel as though I'm sorely lacking in magic compared to my skills, especially after learning another two, but it's through no fault of my own. We still don't even know how or why my mana cap happened to me.

Once again leaving future problems for future me I decide to call it a day.

"Well good night Temi."

'Night Erin.'

.........

"Temi, do you sleep? I mean, when I'm sleeping, are you able to sleep?"

'Yes, in a way.'

"Good, I felt bad for a moment, thinking that you where switched on all the time. Night"

Morning arrives with no problems and I feel refreshed and raring to go after a good sleep.

I'm still in the same room as last night and haven't been kidnapped so that's a good sign.

"Rise and shine Temi, it's looting time."

'I'm ready.'

Storing the second bed we exit the inn and get a move on checking all the buildings on this side of the floor.

Searching the rest of the village nets me a few more items, but nothing of significance. I'm shocked that I haven't found anything of value, I thought they might have had items from past adventures hidden somewhere but my hopes were in vain. It turns out most of the other buildings where storages for food supplies, so at least the ingredients in my inventory are maxed out. They were collecting for a large feast after all, which ended just as soon as it began. With all these supplies I may as well discard Eto's skewers, but after how I lived my first two days I daren't waste any food. I'll just eat them as soon as I need space.

"No use lingering around then, let's go practice!"

Exclaiming with glee over the urge to run to the next floor, Temi once again drops some more useful information as I set off. Do you think she's spoiling me?

'You should practice the four basic elements first and earn some easy spells. It costs less to use and you can increase your repertoire exponentially.'

"Sounds awesome, I can't wait."

Putting haste into my step I pick up the speed to the exit of floor 25. It's about time, ever since the beginning, I've imagined flaming tornadoes and other magic spells but I've not had the mana nor the time recently to practice.

Arriving at the stairwell, I've reached the bottom even quicker than last time but I have to skid to halt upon exiting. This act really hurts my feet but the pain is only secondary to the confusion that is at the front of my mind.

"That definitely wasn't there the last two times we were here right?"

'No, that was most certainly not here before.'

I'm staring at a familiar sight. I've already come across one in the dungeon before I came to the goblin village, but this one has a noticeably different feature upon itself. Notably being an actual note dangling from within it!

It's another golden treasure chest but this time it is placed right at the entrance to floor 26 and there is a handwritten note stuck between lid. Even though the first chest had the best item I have acquired so far in this dungeon, I'm still a little wary that it may be a monster wanting to eat me.

I mean, you can't blame me, right? Everything here seems to want to eat me.

Cautiously, just like last time, I approach the chest and snatch the note out with imperceivable speed.

Hehehe.

Nimble fingers.

To my shock, the note is actually from the dungeon, it also appears to be more of an essay than a note after unfolding it.

Dear Erin,

  Thank you so very much for ridding my dungeon of the goblin known as Obling. He appeared here almost six months ago and managed to make his way to my core. Once there he attached one part of himself to me and another part onto his alter. After a spell, he was able to control the monsters inside the dungeon and I was no longer able to summon new ones.

  He kept me silenced and had replaced all my words with his own, suppressing me away using his mysterious alter. The first time anyone has heard the real me in months is when you summoned me. Although it was brief, you heard me and decided to help, for this I will be forever grateful.

  Normally adventures that come here are only after the treasures I use to lure them in the first place or they're here to destroy my core, effectively killing me. I must do this to survive and grow strong.

  I don't believe you to be in either of these two categories which leaves me with multiple questions.

  Who are you, Erin?

  Why are you here and what do you want?

  Why would you help me?

  And the most important question.

  Are you going to kill me?

  Even if you were here to kill me now, after yesterday, would I have any reason to deny you? You saved me so my life is in your hands. If you want my core I will gladly give it to you, although I would prefer to stay alive so in exchange for my life I will try and summon anything else you wish to possess instead of myself. However, if that is not to your liking then I will give myself to you body and soul when you take my core.

  I really hope we can talk soon and discuss this properly but until then, I have created some items that I'm pretty sure you will like and placed them inside this chest. It's a reward for slaying Obling and freeing me, it's also compensation for your loss.

  You really appeared to like the first reward you obtained, though I cannot understand why you came here naked in the first place it was a very......... strange sight. Most people wear armour when they come to try and prevent injuries to an extent, from the monsters I create. They also tend to arrive on the first floor, not the twenty-fourth, there's not much up there at the moment as most people don't make it past floor twenty.

  Anyway, when you get to my core room, I have a physical projection you can see because of the level I'm now at but I can't appear on floors where other people are. For now, this note was the best way I could think of to communicate with you.

  Honestly.

  I just wanted to say thank you, so.

  Thank you, Erin.

  Abi x x

"Woah."

I feel like the time when Temi told me I could summon water after I was dehydrated for so long.

Flabbergasted.

What does she mean strange sight, what part of me is strange?

And I'm just going to ignore that body and soul part, yep.

Gonna gloss right over that.

Let's see what my first mate says.

"What do you think about this Temi?"

'Honestly. I'm at a loss for words too, I never knew dungeons could grow in such a way. I knew they get larger and can summon new monsters upon levelling up by growing in size, but that's about it.'

She knows about as much as me, nevermind that then.

Okay, so that's a lot of information to take in. I'm going to grab my reward first and then decide what to think about the letter afterwards.

Stretching my hand out and placing it on the chest, the latches slide open and the lid lifts automatically. Once again the chest is empty, just like the last one except for the scarce blue light.

Items Obtained :

Cotton Underwear

Cotton Socks

Cotton Shirt

High-Quality Leather Boots

High-Quality Leather Pants

Oh shit, Abi!

Not just the one, but the whole shebang!

Now that is a diamond, bring it in heart and soul just like you want.

Equip. Equip. Equip. Equip. Equip.

I stand observing my current vicinity. The golden chest fading back into the floor, the unexplained wind blowing against my white cotton shirt, ruffling it as it breezes by. My legs are surrounded by a warmth that I haven't felt in a long time thanks to the new pair of black leather pants and my feet, feeling the soft sensation of comfort that has eluded me since the start of this life are also clad in the same black scaled leather.

God damn, I feel and look good.

Even my hair is slowing returning on my face and head, another week or two and I won't look so much like a clown.

Now that's done, one must reward kindness, with kindness of ones own.

"Thank you Abi, you have no idea how much I appreciate this. Also, don't worry I have no intention of killing you or taking your core after helping you. The reason I'm here is quite a long story but to cut it short, I died and then ended up here. I don't really want anything either, I'm super happy at what I've just been given so thank you very much. When you think about it I was helping you at the same time as helping myself, I didn't want to end up goblin chow, or falling when the floor is lava. It was a win-win for both of us"

Trying to sound modest I wonder if she even heard all that?

It gave me an idea though.

Experiment time.

"Abi, I'm going to leave the floor. I'll wait a few minutes then come back, that way you can write me a reply and we can converse with each other. Ok?"

'She cannot answer yet.'

"I know, I don't know why I asked her Ok. Anyway, I'll be back in a few minutes Abi."

Giddy at the prospect of making another friend, increasing my count to two, I dash back up to the floor above where I wait for the allotted time. Once it's over I head straight back down the stairwell and find a note on the floor, under a rock.

Dear Erin

  I believe your words to be sincere even if a little bit strange. People don't just appear in the dungeon after they die you know, it's usually the other way around, people disappear into the dungeon after they die.

  I'm glad you like the apparel I created for you, it makes me wonder why you never created your own clothes, mana points and dungeon points are vaguely similar as far as I am aware. Magic can create many surreal phenomena so clothing wouldn't be too far a stretch in the imagination.

  None the less, I like this idea of conversing, I can freely talk to my monsters again now thanks to you. However, it is much more entertaining talking with you. It's less reverence and more casual friendship, I like this very much.

  Abi x x

Well, what did I take from that letter?

A smack myself in the face to remind me, how fucking stupid I am.

........

Seriously, did she just layout that ninety percent of my overall worries could have been solved by a tiny amount of mana?

And what does she mean dungeon points are vaguely similar? I don't even know what those are!

I can't even palm the blame over to Temi about not thinking of creating clothes. It's something I never mentioned and all I did talk about was how much I revered the boxer shorts I had been awarded.

Leaving stupid mistakes in the past and trying to forget as quickly as possible, I reread the letter.

"Why do you always start with 'dear Erin'? We both know you're talking to me."

What else?

"And what are dungeon points and how are they like mana?"

This way of conversing continues for a while and I end up eating another bowl of delicious chicken stew whilst going back and forth before returning to the inn. For what I'm really sure will be the final time, before departing to practice magic tomorrow. I was a little distracted again today, but it was a really good distraction so I'm pleased with the event and can't complain.

Pulling out one of the two beds from my inventory I lay down and get comfortable.

Running back and forth, up and downstairs is quite tiring after a while, now that I'm laid down I'm feeling exhausted. I'm laid on top of the sheets because I don't want to take my new boots off incase I awake and they're gone.

It's then I remember my inventory and give myself a pat on the back for being so insightful.

I mean, come on. I can't keep forgetting the basics if I'm going to be staying here can I?

I store all my clothes and jump under the sheet letting out a huge yawn.

"Ahhhh, it's so nice. Goodnight Temi, goodnight Abi."

'Night Erin.'

With that, I'm already sleeping. Dreaming of tomorrows magical possibilities and conversations.