Xenia does a quick mental count of the adventurers in the room and keeps coming up short, even as she re-checks herself. "Lollyp, where's - what happened to the Rogue? Shadow girl, the one I made the cool mask for?"

Before Lollyp can answer, Sely notices the slime's half of the conversation taking place, and gets up from the table where the Challengers were resting. "She's - she's awake now? Dungeon Master! You have to bring her back! She died rescuing you, you have to bring Taly back!"

Before she can crowd Lollyp and the invisible Xenia too much, Sincere steps in to gently lead her back to the table. "We will, we will, Sely! But please, give our master a moment - she's still recovering, herself!"

Indeed, Xenia suddenly finds herself a little unsteady on her feet, and summons herself an empty chair. "Lollyp, what did I miss?"

"Right, well. Like you said, elementals grabbed you and took you down into the old dungeon. Sincere and everyone else went down after you, and they found you. There was a whole camp of elementals down there, more than a dozen, and apparently including some, like...really weird and powerful one. It sounds like there was a real mess of a fight...most of the elementals surrendered or switched sides, and some got killed, including the weird one. But...Taly got hurt, real bad. They were just able to get her back here in time, thanks to Sincere slowing time down or something."

Xenia nods. "You got her back here? Then...the healing fountains? How bad was it?"

Lollyp shakes her head. "Really bad. There was...a hole in her chest, big enough to see daylight through. I think it at least nicked her spine too, her legs seemed to be, uh, paralyzed." As Xenia grimaces, she continues. "I'm not an expert but I'm pretty sure it would've been a Master-level healing job at least. Our healing fountains and potions don't even come close."

"So when you say they got her back here in time, you mean..."

The slime gives a solemn nod. "She was awake long enough to recognize where she was, and...willingly offer her soul to you. We're bringing her back, right?"

Xenia eyes Taly's older sister at the table, refusing consolation attempts from her teammates, and nods. "Absolutely. Sely's right, she died for me, for all of us here, really. Ugh, how did I miss that happening? Dammit, if I'd been awake, could I have used that daily 'eject a dying Challenger' ability I got?"

Guy answers that question for her. "Your core was returned at the same time, but reconnecting a core to an entire dungeon is not an immediate process. It's been perhaps...ten minutes since the events took place? But even if you'd been conscious, that ability only avoids a mortal blow, it would not repair the damage of one already done."

"Fuck, I should have been here for that anyhow. We'll do what we can to fix it, but...Sincere! Take the Challengers back through the portal to the conference area, would you?"

Sincere looks up from where he'd been attempting to help calm Sely. "Is there a problem, Xenia?"

"No - well, yeah, I guess. It's just...I don't think we need them here watching the sausage get made, you know what I mean?"

Sincere winces a little at the phrasing, but he agrees. "That makes sense. Everyone! If you'll follow me, let us return to Floor Four, shall we? The master of the dungeon, ah...needs a little time and space to work."

It takes a few minutes for everyone to make their way through the portal, bypassing the still in-progress Floor Six, but eventually Xenia is left alone with Lollyp and Guy. Hovering forward, Guy poses a question. "So, how would you like to proceed, ma'am? Recreate her as you did Sincere?"

Xenia shakes her head, considering it for barely a moment. "Not an option. As much as I'd like to, we don't have spots for people to just hang out, we need someone who can fight as a floor boss. Sincere can pull it off a little since he's a magic expert, but the dude lost a knife fight in like...half a second to a lady who wasn't even a fighting expert herself. Besides, we've just got a spell of Illusionary Demon, not Illusionary Human. If we try to bring her back as a False Mortal, it's gonna be...wrong."

Lollyp agrees with a shiver. "Yeah, that'd be...creepy. The face Sincere's got under that spell...eugh. What are you gonna do, though?"

Xenia taps her chin in thought, as she mentally goes through her options. "For a reincarnate, I do wanna do something close to who she was, if we can. So...humanoid, female if possible. Something that likes darkness? Good at fighting at range, or maybe stabbing things?" She scans through a menu, faster than Lollyp can follow, then eventually stops. "Oh, unlocked this one at B tiers? Yeah...this should do, I think."

Stepping into an empty part of the core chamber, Xenia taps her menu and summons a new monster. The form is indeed humanoid and female, garbed in a slightly-ragged black dress and gray cloak. The woman's hair is long and silver, her skin slightly gray, and her fingers end in long, black nails - nails which seem to harden and lengthen as Xenia pumps more mana into the monster, upgrading it to a boss version. The monster's ears do appear slightly pointed, although not nearly to the extent of an elf's. Xenia manages to round them off a little further and then focuses on the face, reshaping it into something approximating Taly's, through she seems to struggle doing so. "Ugh, I don't usually try to customize a monster this specifically. It doesn't seem to work on these as well as it does for the fake people...I guess we can try tweaking it more later, if she's got any complaints."

Stepping back a bit, Xenia taps again at her menu and summons a soul from the inventory, directing it into the monster's body. "Taly! You there, Taly?"

At the sound of her name, Taly's eyes open again, or perhaps for the first time, revealing red irises. "Ah! Fuck! I'm - fuck!" Looking down at herself, the woman quickly pats her chest, looking for wounds, though she pauses when she notices her fingers. "What? I'm...what?" She looks back up once again, meeting Xenia's eyes. "I'm alive? And - oh, shit! The dungeon master? I can see you! ...In color!"

Xenia gives an awkward laugh and a smile. "Aha, yup, and it's...good to see you too, Taly. Please, call me Xenia. I...I heard what you did for me down there. I owe you, really."

"Oh, it's noth - well, no. It was kind of a big deal, I guess. Ow, that hurt." The woman finds an empty chair and quickly takes a seat. "What...what am I, now? These hands..."

Xenia follows along, claiming a seat of her own. "You're not locked in, we can try something else if it doesn't work out, or try to change this form a little more. But for now..." Xenia takes one of Taly's hands in her own, giving her as much of a warm smile as she can find within herself. "Welcome to Worthy Dungeon, Taly of Highfalls, Floor Boss of Floor Six...Banshee Queen."

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

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Up on Floor Four, the adventurers find themselves once again gathered around the stone conference table, a few of them half-heartedly picking at the handful of remaining snacks from the earlier meeting. For her part, Alizz is doing her best to console Sely and not having much luck of it. "It's - well, it's not entirely a bad thing! There's a silver lining, if you think about it?"

Sely glares at her boss with reddened eyes. "A silver lining to dying and being trapped in a dungeon for eternity? This was a mistake. Fighting for a dungeon? That's not what the Association is about!"

Kelsey steps in, placing a hand on her shoulder, a move that only works thanks to the fact that the Cleric is currently sitting down while the kobold is standing behind her. "It is, Sely, you know that. Even if the Dungeon Master was a nobody to us, it's an Association responsibility to protect dungeons from being destroyed. Not without a royal writ, anyhow. Taly, and all of us...we were doing our duty. It might not help, but it's true."

"Duty. Duty's not going to bring her back to..." The woman trails off as Lollyp reappears through the shortcut portal, quickly getting everyone's attention.

"Hey all! Good news, Taly's awake and feeling fine! She'll be here in a second, we just wanted to give you a little, you know, a lil heads up. She's gone through a few, um...changes."

The Cleric climbs to her feet, her blonde hair falling around her shoulders in a disheveled mess. "Changes? What did you do to my sister!?"

"Easy, easy! Just...well, easiest to see for yourself, yeah?" Lollyp gestures back at the portal, and a moment later a second woman walks through. Her clothes match those Taly wore at the time of her death, and the smirk on her face has all the attitude Taly once wore. But it's hard to miss the dark claws her hands now form, and impossible to not notice that silver locks now flow where black hair once grew. The red eyes and gray skin don't help much either, and some of the small details of her face seem a little...off, at least for those who once knew her well. But the voice that comes from her lips is the same as it had been an hour before.

"Hey, sis. Miss me?"

Sely stares at her sister for a long, agonizing moment, looking for traces of her little sister. For a moment Taly's face twitches, her smirk briefly beginning to fail, but before it can Sely rushes in for a tight hug. "TALY! You - you idiot! I tried to patch you up, but - there's limits! I can't fix everything!"

Taly gratefully returns the hug, patting Sely's shoulder as she responds. "I know, I know, super dumb of me. I mean, really. Taunting a boss-level opponent with unknown abilities? While wearing light armor? Gotta have a death wish to do some stupid shit like that. Hey, maybe that should be my new name, huh? Deathwish, Boss of Floor Six! Good name for a monster, right?"

Sely pulls back, looking over Taly again, and asks the question on everyone's mind. "Boss of...Taly, just what are you now? What did that woman do to you?"

The former Rogue chuckles. "Uh, heads up, 'that woman' is in the room right now. And I can see her, which is neat! But uh, yeah! I'm a Banshee Queen now, apparently! Good at climbing, can glide for short distances, and uh, sound-based attacks? Also, I still got all my old skills! Xenia's promised to fix me up with a new set of gear later, too."

Kelsey whistles as he watches the reunion from the side. "Damn, girl! From how I understand it, Lollyp and Sincere are basically what they were before, give or take a few minor changes. But a Banshee boss with a Midnight Shadow's skillset? You are going to be a killer."

Taly gives an awkward laugh. "Haaa, yeah, I suppose so. Guess that's out of the bag now, then, if you wanna warn Challengers I'm gonna be facing off against them soon." The woman's eyes lose focus for a moment, and she stares off into the distance. "...Fuck, I am gonna have to be killing Challengers now. Hope no one I know makes it to Floor Six."

While Sely's still processing, Alizz steps forward to ask a question. "It's going to be a major adjustment, for certain. For all of us. Is there anything we can do for you? Obviously, your family will be getting the usual benefits, even if you are still...walking around, and whatnot."

Taly gives another laugh, this one a little stronger. "Haha, glad I paid into the insurance fund, now. Don't go spending it all in one place, eh Sely? Guess I gotta make it official, though. Field Agent Alizz...it's been an honor working with you, but I'm afraid I've gotta tender my resignation."

Despite herself, Alizz finds herself chuckling along. "Entirely understandable, given the circumstances. I...wish you the best with your future endeavors?"

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As Taly does her best to maintain an upbeat conversation with the Association team, Sable and Lilly find themselves pulled to one side by Sincere. "So...before anything else, I suppose I should ask, are both of you alright? Sable, I noticed you in particular taking on quite a bit of risk in the battle earlier."

The pair nod as Sable answers. "Yeah, I'm fine. Still...a little confused over what the hell a 'divine elemental' is, but that's a matter for another time. And someone smarter than me, probably. How about you, doing good?"

"A little drained, all that spellcasting nearly exhausted my reserves. But I will recover. That aside, Xenia here would like to conclude the matter that we were discussing before our unfortunate interruption. Even with Taly's new, ah, position, we do still have two boss slots available and more in the future, and we do still wish to set up a program to find appropriate candidates. Given everything, would you still be amenable to our earlier proposal? Spending some time here in the dungeon, that is."

Sable eyes Lilly, but answers for herself. "Personally, I'm all for it. Taly...I don't know her well, but she seems like a good fit for the place. She's got the skills, she seems cheerful enough about it for someone who literally just bit the dust, and I guess she's never had kids. But you can't count on always being that lucky. And even for her, it would've been better if it'd been an arranged thing, yeah? Especially for her sister. So yeah, I'll speak in your favor to Elly, and even volunteer for the week in here myself. You, Lilly?"

The elf nods, looking a little exhausted from the day's events. "I'll certainly support the proposal as well. I'm not as certain about spending an extended time in here myself, but...I'll consider it."

Sincere smiles, and gives a slight bow. "I'm glad that none of this has soured things, then. It seems we'll be needing some time to ease Taly into things a little, and I'm sure you'll need some time to arrange things on your end as well. Can we expect to hear from you in a few days, perhaps?"

Sable extends an armored hand, and Sincere shakes it. "Count on it. Try not to blow up the mountain until I'm back, got it?"

Sincere gives a rueful chuckle. "We'll certainly try our best."

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It takes a solid hour for the Association team to finish talking with Taly, Sely especially, but eventually the decision is made for them to return home. The 'inspection' had gone on far longer than expected, and if they waited much later they'd be climbing down the mountain in the dark. Even so Taly needs to make more than a few repeated promises to see and talk to Sely any time she wants to visit, and by time they finally part everyone is exhausted both physically and emotionally.

As the last of them make their exit through the portal out, Xenia places a hand on Taly's shoulder. "You're a strong one, you know that? I don't think I handled being brought back to life that well, at least not the first time anyhow. And in case I ain't said it enough already, I owe you big time. Any luxury you want, you got it."

Another laugh escapes the banshee's tired lips. "Haha, I will definitely be taking you up on that. And...honestly, I think I'm gonna be bawling my eyes out tonight, best efforts aside. Gotta look tough in front of big sis though, right?" She looks towards her new boss, elbowing her in the side as she does so. "Now, I believe someone mentioned something about me getting my own apartment?"

"Oh, definitely. I was gonna use Beatrice's old one for the exchange program, but we can set that up for you right now and get something else going in the next few days. Let me give you the tour!" Xenia turns to head towards a shortcut portal, and then stops in her tracks. "Wait."

She looks around, both with her avatar and her dungeon senses, but doesn't find what she's looking for. "...Where are all those elementals, again?"