Just like adventurers Guild Master said the next day no one was exploring the dungeon. Everyone was needed to check the surroundings of the oasis for any more surprises. Thankfully they find nothing. However, animals in the oasis were reacting to the mood of the dungeon mistress. Birds were hiding in nests or sitting on branches and doing nothing. Frogs just hide and cat when someone bump on him were hissing and running away.


    Because nothing changed the next morning Lucius decided that he and his team would go first and try to make contact with the Dungeon Mistress. This time however, commander Serator and both grand priests join them. The run wasn''t the shortest but relatively easy. It was room one, then two, three, shrine, number ten and twelve.


    -so we wait? - asked Paoli when they arrived at the final floor.


    -we wait. We can''t even get near the jungle - confirm Guild Master.


    They don’t need to wait too long. However it wasn''t a Dungeon Mistress. From between trees rise enormous snake and start looking at them menacingly.


    -fucking great we just met champion of this floor and it’s fucking huge snake who can eat even our Grand Priest of The Sun without blinking - swore Erirser.


    -yes. That is most likely true - agree hesitantly Jathur.


    -maybe you can try to talk to him? - suggested Pinera - for me looks quite intelligent.


    -I will try - decided minotaur and stepped a few pieces forward - greetings mighty champion of Dungeon Mistress of On Taram Oasis. I’m Juntar, Grand Priest of The Sun. We are here because we are worried about the well-being of your mistress. We are unable to step into this jungle and because of that we can’t ask her personally. Because of that I''m asking you if you could tell her that we are worried about her and we are waiting - the snake looked at the minotaur not moving even slightest, only his forked tongue were appearing and disappearing. Then a second giant snake appears. Slightly smaller and darker but still enormous. Both looked at each other and after a few minutes the smaller one disappeared between trees.


    -that is cheating - whispered Nurmela - you can’t have two giant snakes as guardians.


    -what if they aren’t - whispered Nonisa.


    -fuck - Nurmela swore - I don’t wont know what can be more dangerous than thous snakes.


    -agree - said Iason.


    It took almost an hour for the smaller snake to be back. Thankfully, on his back was Dungeon Mistress. The giant carefully crossed water and lowered her body for her passenger to slide on the ground.


    -thank you - Naomi stroked the snake - you can go back. We will talk for a moment and I will be heading home right back - snake hesitantly goes to the jungle and vanishes. however all adventures were sure that he was there. Observing and waiting for any excuse for attack.


    -ok. So what is going on this time? - asked the Dungeon Mistress. She wasn''t looking good. Unkempt hair, and she put on her trousers and shirt without care.


    -Dungeon Mistress this is the second day after the fight, and we see that you don’t feel well - said Jathur.


    -and how can I feel after killing all these people? - Naomi answered.


    -with due respect, but we warned you that it will end in bloodshed and we should do that - said commander.


    -and standing and watching how some of you die. Great - Naomi sight.


    -Dungeon Mistress. Thank you for your caring about us - step in Guild Master - I have a question for you.


    -yes?


    -what was the plan?


    -to stop them - Naomi shrugs.


    -and you did that.


    -but I failed. They are dead! - Naomi shouts.


    -Luci, move back. I don’t have all day for that - said Paoli to his husband - Dungeon Mistress with all respect to your spoiled ass. Are you going to give up? Because if yes, I plan to pack my belongings and with my husband catch the first caravan to find a better place.


    -give up? - Naomi starts looking at her stunned.


    -yes, give up. I don''t know how your world looks, but for me it sounds like some kind of paradise where everyone is nice to each other. Well you can be just a sheltered princess. It doesn''t matter. Here we all kill each other everyday. We try not to. I personally like to fight, but I only kill when I really have to. But I can’t, we all can’t give up just because we don’t like kiling. You know why?


    -no - Naomi barely noticed all the conversation, because of the turmoil of her emotions and thoughts.


    -becouse the fucking cultist will won. They want to take away everything from us, enslave us, or just kill us I don’t know. Doesn''t matter. None of us will be allowed to have free will. Your future master for example will say that he wants you to be a dancer and you will be dancing and you will never craft anything.


    -never build anything? - Naomi''s voice starts changing. There was a hint of building anger.


    -yes. I bet that raid was instigated by them. I am not a scholar, but I have seen and heard how the bandits behaved in your labyrinth, I bet that their minds were poisoned.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    -this is confidential information, but we have evidence of that - interrupted commander.


    -see. I won that bet. And now I bet that the same day when news about you giving up because of those stupid bandits, zombies start dancing. Because the necromancers will be so happy when you surrender.


    -oh really? - Naomi was now pissed. She was so mad that even the clouds changed from just grey to dark and stormy.


    -Dungeon Mistress, please calm down - said Pinera.


    -I’m very calm right now - Naomi smiled dangerously - I assure you that if I wasn’t calm I will be doing something stupid to kick cultist asses. I forgot that I gave up on everything in my past life and promised to myself to not give up this time. So I thank you all for caring for me and helping me remember.


    -are you feeling better now? - asked the Grand Priestess.


    -I don’t know - answered Naomi - right now I''m mostly angry. But depressed too. But it’s none of your fault. It''s my fault. I forgot that I''m living now in your world and I should at least respect your way of doing things and don’t force my and my world ideas on you. Please if you see that I will be doing something like that in future, tell me.


    -of course Dungeon Mistress - Jathur bowed - I must apologise to. We underestimated the situation and because of that we failed to properly teach you about our world.


    -I don’t think it will change much, it was just three days - Naomi said - however I gladly accept your offer to learn as much as I can about this world, my new home.


    -splendid. You are welcome any time. We will try to answer any of your questions.


    -I will have a lot of them - Naomi answered - for now I need some time to get ready for work, maybe an hour or two of nap and hot bath too to get control of my emotions.


    -understood. Rest well. And we are to your disposition, of course - said Grand priest of The Sun.


    -thank you all once again - Naomi said to them when they started entering the magic ring.


    Above ground when adventurers appear they saw almost all people gathered and waiting for them.


    -everything is all right - said adventurers Guild Master - you can explore the dungeon once again.


    The crowd momentarily starts cheering and preparing  for exploring.


    For Naomi it took a few hours more before she was calm enough to concentrate on the task which awaited her.


    -ok first thing. How do I stay with mana? - she opened her path and stare on panel for few moments disbeliving - fucking shit - she swore. According to her estimates, with the adventurers continuously exploring the first floor for half a day, after eleven days she will have the mana needed to create the next floor. Actually two weeks, because daily needs also use mana. Now she also knows how many people she needs to kill. Just twenty. She didn’t know how much more she would need for the third floor, but she suspected that she had enough already.


    -time to work. No more giving up. The first thing is some cheating Death. Sorry but I promised you  - she said looking on the ceiling. She takes from a shelf full of sketches, one with a drawing of a pendant.


    She followed her usual route for creating things. First she created a mold for the pendant then poured molten gold inside it. When everything was cooling she prepared a leather strap for it. Thanks to magic, what in reality can take hours pass almost immediately so she doesn''t need to wait for anything. She breaks the mold carefully, clean the pendant and then starts feeling grooves of engraving with different metals. On the other side with magic silver she filled runes. Naomi was a little disappointed because she lacked all magical and mythical metals. No mithril, orichalcum, or adamantium. However, smelters, alchemists, or engravers can create magical counterparts of mundane metals. The process was hard and complicated and created quantities of metals were usually very small. Because of that magical metals were used to engrave runes, or paths for mana to course through artifact. When she finishes she carefully checks if everything works just as planned. Then she wrote a small note, attach it to a strap and place a pendant in the chest in the twelve room.


    Soon after, the third team for this day arrived at the final room of the first floor. Adventurers swiftly managed to cross rolling cylinders. The simplest method they used was to hold it by someone for another person to move across. The second method was to use rope. Usually scouts run across the cylinder, turn the crank and block it with rope. Surprisingly some adventurers use this opportunity to swim through and climb on platforms. The water was clear and fresh, not necessarily drinkable but for fast refresh just enough.


    -Miu, grab silver and we are going back - said Daien, an elven warrior.


    -on it - said human sorceress and with her dager slowly raised the lid of small chest. It was many times tested that not even one chest on this floor was rigged, but rules are there for a reason. And one of them was never opening the chest with your own hand - oh my - she said when saw the golden amulet. Miu carefully took it.


    -oh shit! Golden amulet! - shouts halfling Sihar, they scout.


    -magical golden amulet - corrected Miu, carefully inspecting runes - I can''t say for sure for what purpose this amulet is, but runes look familiar.


    -and other side? - asked Daien.


    -just a profile of a girl with red hair and white and blue dress and she holds some strange creature. Dog maybe?


    -and note?


    -let me read it. When you get stuck with no way out. When you won your battles but can''t go any more. Shout ''''Kansas'''' and I will bring you home.


    -poetry, blegh - said Sihar.


    -grand forge master should see this first - decided Daien.


    -obviously.


    In the adventurers guild tent new finding gathered a crowd of people. Grand Forge Master for dozens minutes watched an amulet from every side, murmuring to himself.


    -Grand Forge Master can you tell us anything? - asks Lucius.


    -right. So good news it’s safe. These runes are from the dungeon return ring and adding to that note it means that it is for a fast return from the dungeon if you are stuck. That note sounds like you can use it only when you are safe. It should be tested first, obviously.


    -how much it is worth, Grand Forge Master - asked the leader of adventurers who found it.


    -at best one gold.


    -sir, but it’s almost like two gold coins by weight.


    -true. However the pendant is useful only here. For others they need to smelt it and that will be a pain in the ass to smelt and purify gold. You need to find someone who really needs every scrap of gold for that.


    -and nobles?


    -depending how frequently they will be found. But for them soon these pendants will be worthless.


    -you keep it, or sell it? - asked the Guild Master.


    -one gold? - asked Daien.


    -five silver.


    -what?! The Grand Forge Master said it''s worth one gold.


    -for wery desperate smelter. I''m not.


    -we keep it.


    -good. There is a request for you and your people to test it. A full report will be worth one gold.


    -I like that - smiled elf - what we need to do?


    -like the Grand Forge Master said. Try to use it after disarming the trap, and before.


    -easy money - smiled Sihar.


    They went immediately to the dungeon and did that. Dwarven priest suspicions turn out to be true. Until you don’t clear the room when you step in you can’t use an amulet.