《The broken dungeon core》 System error wake up call, gaining sapience [Warning critical damage to core! Support pillar has collapsed and core has fractured! Mana required for repair error, passive mana absorption damage efficiency level at 10% alternative solutions calculating¡­..internal mana storage is inefficient for mana crystallization process, mana liquidation temporary solution available to prevent fracture spreading¡­ partially successful¡­additional solution required¡­..calculating¡­. Error! No monster sources located¡­ attempting monster spawning¡­ Error! Failure to spawn dungeon monster due to mana deficiency, external source required for mana absorption through transfer¡­..core damage can occur during absorption process, caution recommended.] The little core wakes up to painful everything and an alarming amount of system error messages, finding that its little core is on the ground and barely still connected to its pedestal that had fallen over from what appears to have been some form of seismic activity and sensory probing its surroundings revealed that even parts of the cave had collapsed with chunks of rock and piles of dirt scattered around the tiny dungeon that aside from what is supposed to be the core room there is only a little crawl space connected to a single ¡°dungeon room¡± that at best could be described as being a spacious bear cave. The little dungeon is wrecked before it even woke up for the first time and its walls and floor occasionally leak a suspicious blackish-brown fluid that has the viscosity of thick maple syrup that is gumming up on the exposed surfaces as if it¡¯s trying to repair the cracks and other broken sections of the dungeon. The only light is from outside the dungeon entrance and the light glow of the little core. The little core absorbs some of the fallen debris scattered through the little dungeon floor, its absorbing slowly but visibly since dust and dirt are easily absorbed but the tougher rocks take much longer and to tidy up the little dungeon has some simply sink into its floor so it can take its time absorbing it while also clearing the rubble. Using the recently absorbed dirt it uses it to patch the damaged areas finding that it can move absorbed materials through its ¡°dungeon flesh¡± which happens to be the source of the blackish-brown fluid stuff and also the source of ¡°feeling¡± pain all over as it is part of its body, following its source all the way back to the pedestal and of course the little turquoise colored core that has a big crack through its side that hit the ground and fractures spreading out from it. The little core noticed that some mana had been condensed into a viscous liquid and has filled in some of the cracks, somewhat taking the edge off of the cracks and smoothing them out as well as preventing them from spreading further. The little core wanted to right itself back up on it¡¯s pedestal and repair everything only to receive another system warning before it could start its attempt. [Warning! Critical damage present, moving is not advised as further damage will occur!] The little core feels wronged, it doesn¡¯t want to stay on the floor, it is unhappy and files its complaints to the system! [Advised solution, use dungeon sculpting to change terrain, soften the rock floor into a dirt floor and grow dungeon plants to create a cushioned layer for the core to use until enough recovery occurs to move safely] The little core is hurt but understands reality and proceeded to the task. It¡¯s dungeon instincts guide it through the process making the rock beneath its core softer as it turns from rock to a clay like dirt then slowly turning it into freshly tilled soil. The little core feels tired, it¡¯s energy reserves are low, as it has used up most of its meager amount of energy to modify the core rooms floor and to do the patch work repairs in it one dungeon room. Having to wait for is energy to replenish before it can do any more tasks it observes itself and its surroundings taking note of the situation. It can¡¯t ¡°see¡± outside very well as it can only look out through its entrance and there isn¡¯t much to it as it is in the side of a mountain that has a fairly dense forest, although there are a considerable number of trees down and the terrain shows signs of suffering upheaval, it can only guess that it might have been a bad earthquake that hurt it and the surrounding area. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. The little core¡¯s vision isn¡¯t that great as the further away from the dungeon entrance the hazier things are made out to be and the sense of color becomes washed out as if the world just disappears into the distance. Although the tree right next to the entrance comes out visually clear and colorful by the time it counts the tenth closest tree it can barely make it out and it¡¯s colors have gotten blurred with its surroundings and background making it more difficult to identify. The light outside went away and came back before the little core saved up enough energy to continue its task. The little core had time to look at the available dungeon plants and other dungeon features only to find most things have been made inaccessible due to its damage. Mainly there is no access to spawning creatures or plants in the usual way, instead of spawning the plants automatically fully grown like most dungeons would it was going to have to let them grow almost like seeding the place it wants the plants and making it grow as it thinks of it as a form of reverse absorption like how it patched the dungeon floor with the dirt and rocks it had absorbed previously, but the difference is that it will require different resources such as biomass to convert into plant matter or monster flesh for the respective plants or monsters. Granted spawning monsters is currently unavailable as it required not only more biomass but it also requires mana and energy to create a monster and then only ones that the core has data on as well as clearance for creation which the little core somehow both does and doesn¡¯t quite understand. Some of the monsters data schematics are damaged and the system notified that some will be repaired as the core repairs but some are too damaged to use while others are off limits until conditions are cleared and a few are completely off limits like those that have been claimed by some great creator such as humans, beast-kin, elves, dwarves, gnomes, and other special species. Apparently although something that is off limits for spawning can still be obtained from outside but what are the chances that something so rare as a not monster race that only this great creator is allowed to spawn, would just walk right into the little cores dungeon. Better just focus on the reasonable and easy stuff like slimes or horned rabbits, then it can work out something bigger and harder to do like goblins that have lots of evolution paths and are capable of making stuff like tools, weapons, armor, camps and poisons! But for now only a couple of plants are available and the best available are both low level dungeon plants, common mana grass which can help improve mana recovery, and common salveaid that improves one¡¯s natural recovery from injury or illness. As a broken core both are needed one for the mana and the other to recover from the damage from the cracks! Salveaid and mana grass was easy enough to seed all around the core room and it sprouted after the light went away and came back, all it cost was 1 biomass, 1 mana and 1 energy for each plant whereas spawning would have been faster but it would have cost 5 biomass, 15 mana and 20 energy! Spawning doesn¡¯t seem to be nearly as efficient as previous thoughts claimed due to systems fussing over errors in not being able to spawn monsters, it must have just wanted to fix things faster instead of having to wait for stuff to grow like now. Being hurt isn¡¯t fun, it is normal to want to get better quickly, system must have been impatient because it knows that, and system checks in whenever certain thoughts need system input to avoid further damage or to assist repair and improvement of dungeon and core room. System sometimes answers questions but usually doesn¡¯t respond to questions unless they are relevant to the system of status like core status is broken, mana absorption efficiency is at 10%, mana storage 10/150(500), energy level is at 30%, biomass reserves are 50, basic stone is 80 units and dirt is 300 units. As for answering questions about the light outside going away and returning ended up with it saying that it is called daylight and that it has been 5 days since awakening, and that days is a measurement of time. It has taken a lot of time but the mana grass and salveaid have matured and although the cracks haven¡¯t repaired and mana absorption efficiency is still at 10%, the accumulation of mana in stock has increased by 3 additional points per day, due to the increased mana density created by the mana grass. System advised adopting any creature that enters the dungeon as my own dungeon inhabitants so that I could have them assist in repairing the damage to my core through mana absorption and I can also use them in order to make my own dungeon monsters through breeding which will provide new options for recovering, defense and constructing more of my dungeon on top of providing data that can be used to repair damaged data schematics for monsters that are too damaged to use. Things are looking up for my recovery I just have to wait until some animal or stray monster to come and coax them into staying and helping me. I¡¯m looking forward to it. The first visitors are runaway villagers 12 days since awakening and the first visitors finally arrived, and they also happened to be one of the special races! Three raccoon beats-kin arrived, two females and one male the oldest female being seventeen years old, the male being twelve years old and the youngest female being eight. All of them look worn and dirty, some minor injuries are visible along their arms and legs and other places where they have exposed skin. It¡¯s possible they were injured while they had traveled through the woods, as there are plenty of plants that can cut or prick someone just by coming into contact with them. They must have traveled quite a distance as they are all exhausted and are quick to sit down on a deer hide that the oldest pulled from her bag. She takes some time passing a canteen to her younger siblings for them to drink and then damping a cloth and wiping them down to get the worst of the dirt off before letting them settle down and covering them with a blanket and having them share the bag to rest their heads on. Once they settled down and started making sleeping breaths she started examining the dungeon cave. It didn¡¯t take her long in her exploration to notice that the cave was unusual, as its too clean and there are no claw marks from an animal digging. There also isn¡¯t any scent of any creatures inhabiting the cave, in fact it smells particularly clean and completely free of the musty smell that should have been present inside such a place. She soon discovered the little crawl space that leads to the little core room and is shocked by what she found. The glow from the broken dungeon core revealing the mana grass and salveaid. Dungeon cores are very valuable, but that¡¯s only if you have the ability to keep it and avoid it getting stolen by someone stronger. Dungeon cores can be used to generate mana in an area or they can be used like giant mana stones and if that wasn¡¯t enough already then their ability to spawn plants and monsters that can be harvested for their various materials also makes them quite valuable. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. The resources from within dungeons have a tendency to be of higher quality than the same ones that are found elsewhere, making them a treasure trove for craftsmen of all kinds. She looks around with concern, possibly looking for monsters and then relaxing when she finds no signs of any monsters in the area. She examines the core briefly before harvesting some of the mana grass and salveaid then returning to her siblings. She takes the herbs and chews some of them together making them mix into a bitter pulp that she then takes and smears over her siblings cuts, scratches and scrapes and using the rest on the worst of her own wounds. She takes the remaining herbs and rips them up by hand and puts them in one of the canteens that had the most water remaining and she sets it beside her brother. While she pulls a small cloth sack from the larger bag that is serving as a pillow, she checks up on her siblings once more before she heads out with the cloth sack and the empty canteen. From my observation I don¡¯t think they are likely to harm me or my core, granted my only real option for self defense if they did would have been nothing more than dropping the cave ceiling onto them. Luckily for me it looks like there is some things that I can do to try and foster a good relationship with them. I want to try offering them some of what they are in need of in hopes that they might be willing to become my inhabitants. First is the healing herbs that I can grow for them to use on their injuries and second is to provide them a more accommodating shelter With full energy and the small savings of mana and the remaining biomass there should be plenty that I can do to win some favor. I started with softening the ground where the two smaller beat-kin are sleeping and growing some salveaid in a bundle right next to their sleeping space, just keeping it up against the wall and out of the way so they don¡¯t ruin it on accident. Then smoothing the surface of the ground as well at the curving of the walls and ceiling of the cave, maybe I should raise the hight of the dungeon cave? It takes longer to finish than I originally thought it would, as before I got even half of what i wanted to get done, the oldest beast-kin returned with her canteen refilled, the cloth sack stuffed and an arm full of dry wood. She is quick to take notice of the changes, as soon as she had stepped inside the dungeon cave. She becomes alert and takes note of the smoother area from the entrance to the spot where she had put her younger siblings to sleep. She watches intensely as I slowly continue expanding the radius of the smoothed out surface area and I catch her looking back at the patch of freshly tilted earth next to the wall and dear hide mat. I attempt to inform her that I planted some salveaid there only to discover that I don¡¯t seem to be able to speak with her¡­.. I think this may end up being more difficult than I had originally planned. Since I can¡¯t communicate with her, how am I supposed to request her to become my inhabitant!?! Attempting silent communication I am unsure if I will be able to get what I want across to my prospective inhabitants, but maybe my goodwill will be enough to encourage them to stay at least. The oldest beast-kin walks around inspecting what I have done and what I am continuing to do. Her hands touch the floor and walls confirming that it is definitely a harder and smoother surface aside from the spot where I have tilled the soil for the herbs to grow and the malleable clay section underneath the deer hide that would undoubtedly make for a more comfortable sleeping surface. She places the stack of wood next to the entrance opposite of the side of where she had put everything she and she placed the bulging cloth sack next to the canteen with herbs. Then she proceeded to the edge of what I had smoothed out and placed her hand on the area that I hadn¡¯t done yet, so I decided that I would focus on that particular area more to speed it up there and watched her reactions as I did so. She went wide eyed as the rough surface beneath her hand smoothed out as some parts were lowered and other parts raised until all the roughness was completely gone. In my amusement and excitement I decided to make just that spot around her hand turn to soft and smooth clay and then molded her hand print into the gently curving wall. Her sudden exclamation as she suddenly began looking around and calling out to me was definitely well worth it. Beast-kin girl, ¡°Hello! Umm, are you this dungeon? Can you understand me?¡± Unable to respond verbally to her questions I do the one thing that I can do and what seems to work, I make a soft lump of clay rise right beneath her feet and reviving another reaction much to my delight as joy fills me for the first time since my awakening. Beast-kin girl, ¡°Ah! Oh okay I think you can! Are you trying to help us?¡± I don¡¯t know what else to do to make my response to her be known as a yes except to repeat what I had done before so I retract the lump of clay and then I do the same as before making it form again underneath her feet. She quirks her head in thought before she starts making further inquiries. Beast-kin girl, ¡°Um, I guess that¡¯s another yes? Hmm, in that case what would no be?¡± I thought of what I should do for that indicator and decided to go with a stone spike with the tip rounded off rather than sharp as as I don¡¯t want to harm her and scare her off but it should be something that I can create more emphasis on when I need to later so I see it as fitting for it to be a spike. As I retract the clay and replace it with the little spike I watch her as she almost away awkwardly and then she examines it more closely. Her siblings seem to have woken up from all the sound she has made but aside from looking around and waiting for their sister to explain what is going on, they stay quiet and they seem to notice that things are a little different than when they had fallen asleep. She is quick on that uptake as well. The oldest beast-kin girl, ¡°Ah sorry for waking you guys up. You won¡¯t believe this, but I think that this cave is a dungeon and it seems like it is going to help us, aren¡¯t you?¡± The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. I repeat the clay lump equivalent of yes under her feet to respond, and she smiles and informs her siblings. The older beast-kin girl, ¡°The dungeon says yes, oh umm, the dungeon can respond yes by forming a lump of clay on the floor or walls, and no seems to be making a small stalagmite which it seems to try making its response form in contact with the person the response is for.¡± The younger siblings look a little confused but it seems like they are more tired than concerned, as the youngest yawns and rubs her eyes before curling back up to go back to sleep. The older beast-kin girl, ¡°hold on, don¡¯t go back to sleep yet! I went out forging so make sure you eat something first.¡± She goes over to show them the cloth sack that she had filled with local wild fruits, nuts, and berries before she prepared a wet cloth to wash both of their faces and hands at which the brother takes the cloth himself to wash himself rather then letting her do it like earlier. The beast-kin brother, ¡°I can do it myself!¡± The sister laughed and left him to it as she spread out the food and handed them the canteen with herbs. The older beast-kin sister, ¡°I put some herbs in this canteen to help our recovery so make sure the both of you drink what you can and eat what is there. I have to get more firewood before it gets dark and I also need to hide the entrance from sight as well as find a way to disperse the smoke without giving away our location. Tomorrow I will have to sneak back into the village and get some more supplies so I will be gone most of the day but I will make sure to collect some more food and water for you guys to have while I am gone.¡± The youngest beast-kin girl, ¡°Sis I don¡¯t want you to go back to the place with those bad meanies! But I miss mommy and daddy, will they come back here with you if we stay here and be good and quiet?¡± The sisters face contorts uncomfortably and she kneels down to hold her sisters little hands. The older beast-kin girl, ¡°I am sorry, I don¡¯t know what our parents are planning on doing or the other villagers for that matter, all I know is that right now most of the adults are trying to pretend to do what those bandits are wanting them to while trying to get as many of us to sneak away like we did today. So our parents are most likely going to keep farming in the fields and forging in the forest near the village, and since I have found a good place for us to stay safe at I will be sneaking back and forth to retrieve as much as I can before we get caught. I am sure that most of the other families are doing something similar to escape without getting caught.¡± The little sister looks really sad and wipes her face, she doesn¡¯t look happy with the answer she got but she doesn¡¯t complain, she just nods sadly and starts munching on the food in tiny little bites. The brother looks concerned but makes his own declaration to possibly lighten the mood. The beast-kin brother, ¡°Don¡¯t worry I will watch the place while you are gone and I can gather some firewood nearby when Misty takes a nap! Just let mom and dad know where we are and bring back whatever you can, I will help out with what I can!¡± Her awkward smile before saying to do your best to her brother and heading back outside had me questioning their situation as it seems more complicated than I expected. I don¡¯t really understand what is going on but I do understand what she needs to get done and what I can help with like hiding the entrance. I stop expanding the smoothed out area and instead I start focusing on expanding myself around the entrance area, taking over the terrain above it and then going through my plant options for something suitable to help block the view inside. Since there¡¯s already a large tree nearby my entrance I can probably plant some underbrush type of bushes along the slope and I could plant some hanging vines over the entrance itself. I also took the time to start the claiming process on some of the plants I came across during my expansion, granted as I am now running really low on energy and more importantly mana, I am going to have to leave it for later. The only sign of my little expansion is the few places that I had to till the soil for me to seed the plants where I want them to grow, but since I don¡¯t have the mana or energy to enhance their growth rate it will take some time for my efforts to show results. I also took a few moments and liberties as I absorbed a few different nuts and berries that made contact with the dungeon floor and I also absorbed some of the food scraps that the siblings put aside like a couple of small apple cores. This netting me a little bit of biomass as well as some new plants for my dungeon plant database. The first night with guests, the first inhabitant is a manager The light outside is fading away by the time the oldest of the beast-kin returned with both arms full of wood she doesn¡¯t seem to have noticed the little bit of work done to the area I had expanded into while she was gone. Granted none of the plants have sprouted above the soil I planted them in and the tilled soil outside would be hard to notice in the fading light. I didn¡¯t have much energy left so the rest of the smoothing process will have to wait for now and as for some of the new plants that I have acquired I will get some of them started growing in little patches along the wall opposite of where they have set up. I left some space between each of the plants to prevent crowding them and to leave some space for my future expansions, since I can¡¯t move my core, I think I should instead create some rooms to either side and then choose one to connect to my core room so that I can close my original tunnel that connects to my first dungeon room. My thoughts run back to the older beast-kin as she has piled up the wood and she strikes a flint stone repeatedly until she manages to light a fire. She adds on small twigs to the flame slowly and as it grows she increases the size of the wood pieces that she adds until it¡¯s stable enough to avoid it going out. She grabbed up some of the branches that still had leaves on them and she stabbed them into the ground right outside the dungeon entrance to disperse the firelight and smoke. She went back outside and climbed on top of the hillside that I reside in and she used another stick to dig down above the fire making a hole which I assisted in connecting and smoothing it out once I understood what she wanted to do. She placed the remaining leafy branches to scatter the smoke as it escapes from the hole in the ground before she returns. She inspects the inside and sees that some of the smoke is still gathering in the cave rather then escaping through the hole so she started to carve a dome above the fire but as if remembering about me she stopped and instead made a request of me. The older beast-kin girl, ¡° Um, would you mind helping me make it so the shape of the cave ceiling domes over the fire so the smoke will go outside instead of filling the cave, please¡­.¡± I wait until she finished asking me before I got to work, starting at the hole I started doming it and widening the bace of the hole until the smoke started clearing out properly. The younger siblings both watched in awe as I finished the request before the last of the daylight disappeared from view. The older beast-kin girl, ¡°Um, thanks again for helping us out.¡± They finished off the rest of the food and cleaned themselves up before they all piled onto the deer hide and covered themselves up to go to sleep. The two older siblings were on either side of the youngest one they had called Misty, whilst the oldest faced the dungeon entrance to keep an eye out and the two younger siblings were facing each other. The younger siblings fell asleep after awhile, then the oldest seemed to want to talk quietly with me, while she placed her hands on the dungeon floor. The older beast-kin girl, ¡°I really appreciate that you are willing to let us stay here in the first place, not to mention all the other things that you have done for us. But I want to know why would you be willing to help us?¡± I can¡¯t talk to her with words so I try making a small round stone with a fragile shell on a little stone plier under it about the size of her hand right beside her hand before making that little portion of floor shake and the piled fall over making the little stone break as an explanation of what happened to me. I followed that up with raising a small stalagmite (as she had called it before)and poking one of her cuts, in hopes that she could put the two together and figure out that since we are both injured and in need of each others help. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. She winced when I had poked her where she hadn¡¯t expected, but she looked like she had suddenly understood. The older beast-kin girl, ¡°Oh! Your core is broken, so you are hurt, and you saw we were hurt too and helped us¡­? Is that right?¡± It being close enough I decided to respond with a yes, raising a small lump of clay under her hand. (It is smaller than the lumps of clay I had used to respond earlier) She smiles faintly as her eyebrows wrinkle with concern. The older beast-kin girl, ¡°I don¡¯t know what I can do to help your core recover. Do you have some way of letting me know what you need?¡± I come up with the idea of absorbing one of my mana grass plants and then making it rise out of the ground in front of her to see it in the firelight. Her ears quirk as she examined the plant and responded once she identified what it was. The older beast-kin girl, ¡°Mana grass?¡­..no wait you are able to grow mana grass so do you mean that you need mana?¡± I had started to respond no to her first comment but quickly turned it to a yes when she figured it out correctly. The older beast-kin girl, ¡°I thought dungeons were supposed to make a lot of mana, I guess something must have gone wrong with you when you were broken.¡± I responded with a yes again to her comment and I see a sad look on her face as she wraps her hand around the lump of clay I used to respond. I feel a little excitement about her reaction for some reason but it doesn¡¯t seem to last. As she asks me another question. The beast-kin girl, ¡°If you need mana, then is there a way for me to help?¡± Knowing that I need her to become my inhabitant and offer me a mana transfer which would require having her interact with my core, I do the best I can to convey that by making the fake broken core move under her hand so she would be lightly touching it. She notices it easily and responds immediately. The older beast-kin girl, ¡°You need me to touch your core!? Should I go do that now?¡± I responded with a yes and she started slipping out from under the blanket without waking her siblings and she crawled over to my core room quietly. I started to panic but forced myself to calm down since although I am terrified that she might accidentally make the damage to my core worse than it already is, I also know that if this goes well then I could very well be on my way to recovery much sooner than I could have hoped for. She slowed down as she approached my broken core, its turquoise glow looking lovely on her fur and tanned skin. Without further inquiries she tentatively places her hand gently on my core. A notice pops up! [Possible inhabitant detected! Would you like to offer Luna Coon a position as an inhabitant!] [Yes/No] Yes! Luna almost snatched her hand back as she seemed to have gotten her end of the notification. Luna, ¡°Yes I accept.¡± [Congratulations! You have successfully gained an inhabitant, would you like to promote them to a dungeon manager?] [Yes/No] Yes I do! Luna received another notice. Luna, ¡°Ah! Yes¡­.?¡± [Congratulations! You have gained a dungeon manager! You are in need of repair, mana is insufficient, would you like to request a mana transfer from your dungeon manager?] [Yes/No] Yes! This is what I have been looking forward to! Luna gazed into my core and a moment later I feel a warm tingling sensation spreading across my core starting from where her hand is making contact with me. [Using remaining mana with offered mana transfer to condense current liquified mana into a jelled state¡­¡­moderate success achieved! Stability has improved. Mana absorption efficiency improved, current mana absorption efficiency rate is 15%. Mana storage improvement detected, current mana storage status 0/175(500).] It feels amazing, I have never felt so good, sure I am still hurting but it isn¡¯t nearly as bad as before and although I still have a long way to go simply improving my mana absorption and storage will help speed things up in my recovery process. The mana transfer made my core glow more brightly during the process of the transaction as well as during the mana condensing, which got me a real nice reaction from Luna. Her eye practically sparkled with my glow before I dimmed back down to normal granted it is my new normal as I am ever so slightly brighter than I had been and I can only assume that it is due to being broken and the recovering process. She looks very happy but she also appears to have become more tired than before, like using mana seems to tire her out similarly to when I over use my energy. Although I also feel a little drained from all of my mana getting used up for my repairs, I don¡¯t seem to be effected like she is. Since it only cost stamina to manipulate the stone and dirt in my dungeon I smoothed out a path from my core room back to her sleeping spot and I watched her fall asleep shortly after she covered herself back up with the little bit of the remaining blanket reserved for her use. As the night passed uneventfully afterwards I just watched my energy and mana refill slowly, and as daylight started to peak in I find that my mana refilled about 5 points over the remainder of the night! I will be able to continue planting the cheeper types of plants that might be useful but I think I will save most of it for the next mana transfer session. The village situation, a new dungeon room The early morning sunlight woke Luna and her siblings and they went out for awhile, returning with filled canteens, a sack filled with food they had foraged and a bunch of firewood. They had apparently eaten while they were foraging and the sack they filled was for the two youngest to share while she is away to inform their parents about their location as well as to bring back more supplies. Luna used a stick to gather the still warm coals from last night into the center of the fire space and pushing the ashes to the outer ring of the fire creating a buffer, then she started putting a small amount of wood over the coals and some dry grass to catch fire. Luna gets the fire to about one third of the size of last nights fire before she turns to her brother and informs him that is the size he should build it up to whenever the fire starts going out. She only takes one canteen with her and leaves everything else behind with her siblings. The day passes almost unbelievably eventless as they behaved well and stayed quiet all day, aside from the brother taking care of his sister, the fire and occasionally going outside to lookout for whatever he was supposed to be looking out for, they did nothing worth noting. It gets dark well before Luna returns carrying a larger backpack than before as well as a satchel that are both overly stuffed. She looks haggard and she has more cuts and scratches than before, although her brother runs out to help her with her luggage she all but flopped down on the deer hide after she dropped off her burden. Although the salveaid next to their sleeping spot has just started to sprout I decided to move one of the grown salveaid plants from my core room to her side for her to be able to harvest what she needs for her wounds. Luna damps a cloth and wipes herself down before she harvests a few salveaid leaves which she chews on before smearing the juices over her injuries and she swallows the rest down with a mouthful of water from her canteen. She pulls out another deer hide and blankets from one of the bags and then she pulls out a few clothes for her siblings, at which time I noticed that she was wearing a different set of clothes herself. Although she was wearing a very similar dress and apron combination they were slightly different colors and the shape was slightly different with more of a squared neck line rather then the rounded one that she wore when she had left, and although both dresses were mostly brown this one is lighter and the apron has a bit of green that is closer to blue than the lighter green one from before. They build up the fire before going to sleep on a now double layer of deer hide bedding and the extra blanket on top making it look to be more comfortable than before. Luna fell asleep even faster than her siblings with how exhausted she must have been, I can only assume that she must have rushed there and back. Luna wound up sleeping in past daybreak and her brother ended up taking care of their sister Misty, making sure to give her food and keeping her quiet until Luna woke up. Luna started telling them what she found out while she visited the village, from what she saw to what her parents told her, and to what she did while there to play her part of deceiving the bandits, all the while taking things from the bags and setting things up in an attempt to organize their possessions. While she spoke about the farms and the harvest that is starting to be brought in to be made into preserves for the winter, she pulled out a large pot a skillet and other cookware that she put next to the fire along with some fresh vegetables that were stored inside the pot. While she spoke of how their parents were doing well with sticking out in the fields most of the day and sneaking out to forge in claim that Luna had gathered it during the day, as the bandits were collecting food every day, she gathered up the clothes placing the clean ones on the deer hide bed along the wall where they lay their heads and she gathers the dirty clothes into the satchel that she had emptied. She continued informing them about while she was in the village she had to take her turn catering to the bandits in the tavern which they had all but completely over run as only the bandits were getting served there now much like the village inn and the village leaders house, as she gathered some tools that she brought and she organized them alongside the wall on the same side of their bedding. She had a small shovel, a pair of scissors, a dust pan and brush, a small wooden box that had unknown contents and a hammer and box of nails all lined up. Luna gathered the empty backpacks and stuffed them in the satchel with the dirty clothes as she planned to use them for another supply trip that she will be taking tomorrow. Their parents will be joining them after the harvest and winter preparation is done but until then they plan to do tasks that will make the village seem like it is still active which is why they want to use the dirty laundry for the usual wash and display it on the clothesline so that the children disappearance will not be noticed or to be assumed as just being kept indoors away from the bandits sight since a few have already made it known that they don¡¯t like children running around. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Some of the other villagers that went out to find good camping locations were successful and one group managed to find a friendly village two days travel through the woods that is willing to take in the more vulnerable villagers and their direct family, partly to fill some of their vacant houses and their inn but since they don¡¯t have enough room for everyone the rest will be distributed to the camps that successfully prepare for the winter in time. Upon hearing this I decided that I should start seriously expanding my dungeon interior, so I started burrowing my dungeon flesh into the surrounding earth, particularly to either side of my core room. Once I discovered that there was plenty of room for me to establish another dungeon room I started carving it out by absorbing the various earthen materials and having it connect to the original dungeon cave and since I was in control of the process this time around I was able to make the surfaces smooth from the beginning rather than having to go back and redo it like I was doing with my first room. I used up more than half of my energy to create the new dungeon room but it definitely felt like it was much easier to do than I thought it would be but after smoothing out the area from the space I just created to the place I had previously stopped my smoothing process at I was able to notice that it required less energy than it would have prior. Could I be getting more benefits from the mana transfer and the core repair process than what is being mentioned, since my energy status doesn¡¯t give me a unit or actual amount rather it only gives me a percentage equivalent being 100% is full energy and 0% is completely out of energy which means that I can¡¯t do anything until it refills. I have been particularly trying to keep my energy level above 10% as going below that makes it harder to do things as well as making it harder to think or observe things clearly. Luna seems to notice me connecting the smoothed path to the edge of the area that I had made them the first time, which prompted her to go explore what I had just done. She noticed the new arched entrance to the new area between two patches of tilled soil that have just started showing signs of plants sprouting up one being a blueberry bush and the other being wild strawberries since they were both called berries I thought it might be suiting even though one grows on a bush and the other grows closer to the ground. I also made sure to make the entrance more accommodating for her so she doesn¡¯t have to crawl through it, even giving a little extra height in case her parents are taller than she is. She guides herself through the arched tunnel and into the new room, her hand on the wall as she follows it around and I go ahead and make the room connect to my core room so by the time she makes a circuit around letting her know that it is about the same size as the first cave room of my dungeon, she would then notice the glow from my core filtering into the new room. I don¡¯t quite make the path to my core room as accessible as I still desired to restrict access to my core room so it¡¯s still a crawl space but it is nice and smooth with a softer clay floor path, which she seems to appreciate as she follows it to my core room. She sees that I have planted more mana grass since the last time she was here but little else has changed, so while she was in here I decided to show her my process of filling in the original crawl space that connects to slowly adding new dirt and stone from the surface of the walls, floor and ceiling until the was completely filled in. Luna seems to have some understanding that I want to remain in the deepest part of my dungeon but that I can¡¯t move my core yet so my actions don¡¯t seem to be taken with hostility much to my relief. Luna, ¡°Looks like you have been busy, did you make the new room for us?¡± I responded with a yes where she smiles at the little lump of clay rising beneath her hand. Luna, ¡°And the new crawl space is a lot nicer, but I want to ask does it have a be so narrow or is it for a particular reason?¡± I responded with a no with a little stalagmite pressing against her hand and then followed it with a yes lump of clay replacing it, and letting her come up with her own conclusions. Luna makes her own guesses which I decided to go along with. Luna, ¡°I heard that most dungeon core¡¯s are usually in the deepest part of the dungeon and that they are usually very difficult to get to, in order to protect themselves, is that what you are wanting to do?¡± I respond with another yes only to hear her laugh a little bit before she then calls out the contradictions. Luna, ¡°But you know making the crawl space have a hard and rough texture would be a better deterrent than making it out of soft clay right?¡± I responded with a yes followed by poking her knees letting her know that I did it for her, although I can¡¯t really tell her that it is so that it¡¯s easier for her to get to me for the mana transfer, granted it seems letting her come up with her own assumptions is better for both of us as she seems to have become happier after my response. She happily placed her hand gently on my broken core and initiated the mana transfer herself without my need of setting up the request like the first time. filling the mana flow from her into myself was exhilarating and I quickly dumped all but five mana into repairing my core. [Mana condensing process initiated, partially successful. Mana absorption efficiency improved to 19%, mana storage improvements detected, current mana storage is 5/195(500). Data storage has repaired new plant and monster schematics. Monster spawning is still inaccessible due to mana related errors. Plant spawning is still inaccessible due to mana related errors. Monster breeding options are available, breeder requirements have not been fully obtained, more mana required, more biomass resources required, more energy required for use.] The improvements are always greatly appreciated, and seeing new features getting repaired and getting unlocked is exciting as well as feeling more pain fading away with each mana transfer and mana condensing session, which I have am thinking it has a minimum amount of mana required for it to happen but since I haven¡¯t had as much time to save up mana I didn¡¯t improve by the same amount as last time, but every little bit helps and it will just make it easier to save up mana each time. Luna looks a little tired but not nearly as much as she did the first time, and she started to head back toward the new room, but I moved a mana grass and salveaid plant right next to the crawl space to let her know to take some before she leaves. Luna gives me a shy thanks as she collects the herbs and she heads out returning to her siblings she lets them know about the new room. The first cooked meal in the dungeon and deeper conversations Luna¡¯s siblings were happy to hear about the new room and were eager to help her move their bedding into it. Along the way of moving things her brother commented on how it is much darker in the new room, although there is a slight glow from my core coming from the crawl space and a little bit of the firelight coming from the first room it isn¡¯t that much. Luna, ¡°I know it is a lot darker so for now we are going to put the bedding right near the entrance against the wall between the entrance and the pathway to the core room so we can use the little bit of light available, also since it¡¯s so dark we are only going to be using it for when we go to sleep. The rest of the time we are going to be in the first room to take care of all of the other tasks needed to be done.¡± I take a hint and go through my dungeon plant database to find one of the light producing plants to plant in the new room, glowing moss and luminescent shrooms which much to my dismay cost 6 and 8 mana respectively per plant where as even the berry bushes only cost 3 mana which is why I haven¡¯t planted more than one each. looking into the plants more to understand why they are so expensive mana wise I find that they are both are alchemical ingredients that can be made into mana potions or mana poisons¡­. I really don¡¯t want anything to do with mana poisons right now especially with my current situation but it doesn¡¯t say anything about what they do straight as is like the salveaid or mana grass. Should I just do a little glowing moss since it¡¯s cheaper and see how Luna responds to it, she seems to know a bit about plants, could she also know about how to use the moss to make mana? I wait until I can afford to plant some of the moss and I select a place to grow it, I raise a small textured post in the center of the room and plant the moss on it. It¡¯s going to take longer to grow to maturity than the rest of the plants so far but it should start growing enough to start producing a glow within a few days at most. I checked back in on Luna and her siblings to find her preparing to cook in the big pot she makes a nook in the fire that will cup around about half of the pot and she places some hot coals and ashes under the empty pot as she uses it to flatten it out level then she starts cutting up some of the produce she had brought from the village on a wooden board. Luna, ¡°Hey Rocky do you mind going to refill the canteens back at the river? I¡¯m going to use all of what¡¯s available in the soup so we are going to need more, I think you might have to do more than one trip too.¡± Rocky, ¡°Sure thing sis, should I try and catch something down by the river to add to it or should I just come back with the water?¡± Luna, ¡°Well, having something else added might be a good idea, how about trying to catch something on your second trip or grab something that won¡¯t take long since I want that water to have plenty of time to make a good broth. If you can¡¯t catch the fish, then clams, crawfish or frogs would also be good options.¡± Rocky, ¡°You got it! I¡¯ll be back soon!¡± Luna finished dumping the water from both canteens in the pot and handed them both to her brother and waving him on his way before she returned to the pot adding in cubed potatoes and carrots into the pot followed by some finely diced greens of some sort, then after she cut the roots off an onion and pealed the papery outer layer she plopped the entire thing in. She seems to be thinking about what else to add and I decided to offer mana grass and salveaid, which got a laugh from her. Luna, ¡°I am not sure my siblings will be happy with the soup being that bitter, but I appreciate the thoughtfulness, I might sneak some into a tea when I bring some next time though. Also I noticed that you had planted some salveaid near our first sleeping spot, was that for our use?¡± This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. I responded yes excitedly as I made the lump of clay bigger than usual, much to my befuddlement but I probably was just happier than normal because she noticed. Luna, ¡°Umm, does that mean that I wasn¡¯t supposed to take the ones from your core room, just the ones that you have offered me?¡± The sudden timid and uncomfortable response she displayed made me feel panicked because although I prefer them to just stick with the ones I have offered them or planted for their use I didn¡¯t mind her taking the ones from my core room that first time since it is what I have to offer for her helping to repair my core¡­. I don¡¯t know how else to explain so I do something drastic and move all of the salveaid and half of the mana grass into the room with her, all in my attempt to show her how much she can have. Luna is stunned by my sudden display and makes her own educated guess to what I meant. Luna, ¡°Are you saying that we can use these? Or this many?¡± I give her a double yes as I put the mana grass back in my core room but I have the salveaid moved to line the wall where they used to have their bedding. She observed where I had relocated everything and she took note of it. Luna starts cutting up some beets, dicing the leaves and stems while cubing the bulbs like she had done with the potatoes, before adding them into the pot that is starting to steam. Luna, ¡°Does having the mana grass around your core help you recover?¡± I use a smaller clay lump to respond. Luna, ¡°Is that supposed to mean a little?¡± I wish I could smile back at her but a large lump of clay would have to do for my response instead. Luna, ¡°Oh! So I was right, you were using the size to try and give more details.¡± She continues cooking while she talks with me about whatever questions seems to come to her mind that she thinks I can answer. Luna, ¡°Do you enjoy talking with me?¡± I give her a big lump of clay for my response and am rewarded with her laughter. Luna, ¡°Did you miss me while I was gone yesterday?¡± I replied with more clay. Luna, ¡°Does your core hurt? Does the mana transfer make it better?¡± Yes and yes again. Luna, ¡°Would you be able to recover without my help?¡± I respond with a very small clay bulge. Luna, ¡°Does that mean yes but slowly? I respond with a normal lump of clay. Luna, ¡°Well, I hope you recover sooner rather then later. It would be nice if you were able to communicate more that just yes or no questions.¡± I use a lump of clay to make my agreement known. Luna, ¡°Oh! I just remembered that dungeons have names! My name is Luna, and my younger siblings are Rocky and Misty. Would you happen to have a name as well?¡± I respond with a stalagmite the size of her thumb as a no I don¡¯t have a name. Luna, ¡°So no name yet, would you like one?¡± I give her some clay. Luna, ¡°hmm, I don¡¯t know what to call you yet. Most of the dungeons that¡¯s I have heard about are usually named after some of their distinctive features be it from the monsters that appear most frequently or from the environments that persist throughout the majority of the dungeon or even the most common elements present. The Scorching Dungeon has a lot of fire type of monsters and hot environments, and the Spiders Nest is gloomy and dark with all sorts of spider monsters for example. I guess you don¡¯t have anything to distinguish yourself from other dungeons yet.¡± Her brother returned with the filled canteens and a large frog, he is dripping wet as he hands them over to his sister. Luna, ¡°Now I thought I told you to wait until the next trip to refill the water before you go catch anything.¡± Rocky, ¡°Well, it was right there where I was filling the canteens so I thought I should just go ahead and grab it, I didn¡¯t mean to fall in when it tried to escape. At least I didn¡¯t let it get away and now it¡¯s going to be dinner!¡± He grins mischievously as his sister dumps the water into the pot of boiling soup making it stop boiling for a while before the steam starts rising again. She hands the canteens back to him and he runs off right away. Shaking her head she starts cleaning the frog and adding it¡¯s meat to the pot leaving the skin bones and whatever inedible organs were left behind. Luna, ¡°Are you able to use any of this? Otherwise I will be throwing it away outside.¡± I responded with a yes and absorbed it once she raked it off of her cutting board and onto my dungeon floor, it didn¡¯t take long to absorb and it netted a point of biomass. Since my stockpile of biomass has dwindled I am happy to be receiving some to replenish it. And a few frogs later the pot is bubbling up from the thick stew and the siblings had wood bowls filled and they enjoyed their first cooked meal in my dungeon. I let my attention wander around with their happy chatter in the background, as I plan to make more rooms although I think I will make them smaller, maybe just a little bigger than the space needed for sleeping arrangements. I will have them budding out from my second room, Luna¡¯s spot will of course be the one closest to my core room. Sometimes I wish I could talk with her to find out how I should do the living arrangements for them, but I will have to do what I can until she makes her own suggestions for what I should do. Tragedy has struck Plenty of time is left in the day as I plan on how I want to expand as I send my dungeon flesh out into the mountainside and I even had the great idea of expanding up and down as well as continuing to branch out on the same level I have been working on currently. I have a small room just about double the size of the bedding that Luna shares with her siblings made, having it branched from the second room and connecting it to my core room and then I made another room of the same size next to it again branching out from the second room. They don¡¯t have a hallway like the one between the first and second rooms as it is more along the lines of smaller circles attached to a bigger one with a good arms length of compressed earth between them as support. I don¡¯t have the energy to do another one yet but I will do that later, instead I decided that I should continue investing in mana grass in my core room since it is definitely raising the mana levels slowly and helping me absorb more mana over time, so I get just a few to replace the locations that I had salveaid plants growing. I checked back in on Luna and her siblings to find them finished with their meal and cleaning up. They are apparently going to have their stew for multiple meals as they have put the lid back on after adding some more water and giving it a little stir and moving it to the side of the fire where it would be kept warm but won¡¯t get hot enough to burn. They take the cutting board, canteens, bowls, spoons and her cooking knife to wash at the river. I wonder how far away the river is from here, I will probably reach it someday if I keep expanding myself but I can¡¯t help wanting to know. Luna returned with the others and put everything away before grabbing the empty cloth sack that they usually use for gathering food they forge for as well as a hatchet that was next to the pile of firewood and the three of them headed out again. They make multiple trips out for firewood and food as they fill the skillet with fruit and nuts, they also have the firewood line up alongside the wall inside the first dungeon room. About the fifth trip the two younger siblings stayed in my dungeon and while the youngest one was put down for a nap the other one stayed to watch over her. Luna had gone back out and came back with a bunch of vines no thicker than her little finger she has her brother join her in removing the leaves which I was all too happy to absorb for the biomass. I had no clue what she was doing at first but by the time the sun was setting she had finished making a basket which she promptly filled with the various nuts that were still in their shells. The siblings gathered for another round of stew before bed and they used one of the canteens to rinse their bowls pouring back and forth and then drinking the water before putting the dishes together and getting everyone washed up before going to bed in the new room. Once the younger siblings were asleep, Luna snuck into my core room and noticed that I had made some more changes but she didn¡¯t take the time to explore them. Luna, ¡°I will be heading to the village for more supplies in the morning and I won¡¯t be back until late evening at best. So let¡¯s do another mana transfer now and then when I get back from the village tomorrow.¡± I give her my clay affirmative and indulge in the wonderful feeling of mana flowing into my core followed by the mana condensing process. My core glows bright turquoise before fading into a normal level of glow, while I receive my update from System. [Mana condensed, repair moderately successful. Current mana absorption efficiency is at 23%. Mana storage is at 0/204(500). Energy efficiency improvements detected. Dungeon breeder available for purchase¡­ not enough mana available, not enough energy available, not enough biomass available¡­new data schematics are available for repair.] I am left feeling great after the mana transfer and the new progress towards repairing my damaged core. I really feel like I¡¯m starting to get somewhere and I can¡¯t help but look forward to the next time, as I am hoping that it will push it to the final stage of mana crystallization that will finish filling the worst of my cracks then I can focus on filling in the missing chunks that had fallen away when I broke. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. I think once I finish the crystallization process I should be able to right myself back onto my pedestal, but I think when I do I will make sure to change the pedestal to be wider at the base and the whole thing will be shorter¡­. Safety first as I don¡¯t want another mishap. I prompted Luna to have some mana grass before she headed back to sleep next to her siblings. The night somehow felt lonely. Luna and her siblings woke up early and ate more stew and added more water and potatoes to it before Luna headed out with their dirty clothes and the empty backpacks. She didn¡¯t take a canteen this time, but since both canteens were next to the cookware I assume she left them there for a reason. I miss her already, I rarely find her siblings as interesting to watch, the youngest in particular is really quiet and doesn¡¯t do much for me to watch. Although her brother is more active he wonders off and does only a few things primarily talking care of the youngest and refilling the canteens, or gathering nuts to add to the new basket. It is late in the day around sunset when an emergency occurs. [Warning! Dungeon manager is in danger! Dungeon manager has taken significant damage outside of dungeon! Would you like to activate the Dungeon recall system?] [Yes/No] Yes! For the sake of everything save her!!! [Error! Insufficient mana resources, target of recall will have to use their mana reserves as well as they will need to approve the transfer] Hurry up and ask her! I approve on my end! [Warning! Transfer in progress! Warning damage to core! Warning damage to core! Warning damage to core! Warning damage to core! Warning damage to core! Warning damage to core! Warning damage to core!] The warnings fill my awareness and pain wracking me everywhere my dungeon flesh bleeds through my walls in a dark brown slime, while my core goes bright and flashes suddenly summoning a sobbing Luna who has her clothes torn and disheveled, she has bruises and a busted lip marring her tear stained face her dark brown eyes look fearful and her wailing is heartbreaking. My core dims more than ever before and cracks spread until another chunk falls away and breaks! I panic but can¡¯t do anything about either of our current issues. Without any mana left from the transfer we are both left helpless as we watch my core crumbling apart until it finally stops degrading. [Warning mana absorption efficiency has dropped to 2%! Warning mana storage is at 0/34(500). Warning dungeon is over extended! Advised action¡¯s available, abandon areas not currently in use. Request immediate mana transfer, error dungeons registered inhabitants are out of mana, searching for additional course of action. Error no additional options available] Systems warnings blare through my awareness which is reduced to a hazy fog as I try to carry out whatever actions I can to reduce my burden. I retract my dungeon flesh that I had sent outward and give up the area outside the entrance to my first dungeon room, then I collapsed the second small room that hasn¡¯t been put into use yet before I finally got a notice from System. [Dungeon size has stabilized, energy recovery restored] Seeing that I am no longer over extended I calm down slightly and stop myself from collapsing the small room I had made for Luna since I don¡¯t want to have to redo it later like I will for the other room. I decided to raise some supporting pillars in my first two dungeon rooms since they are a lot larger than my core room and the room I made for Luna. Finally bringing my awareness back to Luna and her siblings I found that the two younger have evacuated outside and are both scared seeing my blood equivalent seeping through my dungeon surfaces and a room collapsing seems to have been quite a shock especially for the youngest. Luna on the other hand is still in my core room trying to hold my core together so no more pieces fall off, sadly it seems whatever breaks off starts to disintegrate as if it can¡¯t exists once separated from me. Luna tries to do mana transfers but can¡¯t because all of both of our mana reserves were used up to save her from whatever was harming her. Luna keeps sobbing and apologizing for some reason I can¡¯t understand, but now isn¡¯t the time for that we both need mana and healing, so I prompt her to eat the mana grass with a light prod from some soft clay near the base of one of the patches of mana grass. Luna cautiously removes her hands from my core and starts eating the mana grass raw as her sobbing subsides and reduces to silent tears and a runny nose. She does a mana transfer immediately after she gets a point of mana to transfer to me, although I received it I am unable to trigger the mana liquifying process to fill in the new cracks. She looks depressed when the usual bright glow failed to occur. I try to calm her down using some clay to wrap around her hand that she is supporting herself with and I give her a gentle squeeze then I use a little energy to move a salveaid plant next to her and I prompt her to use it on her injuries. She is very exhausted by the time she finishes and I nudge her towards the exit so she can explain what happened to her siblings, and so I can find out what happened as well. Luna is very distraught as she passes through my dungeon towards my exit as she sees the collapsed area and the slime coming from the walls and ceiling, I am in the process of reabsorbing the slime from the floor as she passes. I start repairing my dungeon flesh and the remaining dungeon rooms while I absorb my slime like fluids. Luna shocked her siblings, who didn¡¯t see her return but now see her coming out of the dungeon, the sounds of their reunion are muffled as I can¡¯t seem to hear what¡¯s going on outside of myself. They take their time crying and holding onto each other before coming back in and adding some fresh wood to the fire. They settle down before Luna starts to explain what happened. What happened, now what will be done Luna started her tale of her visit and how everything suddenly went wrong. Luna, ¡°I had gotten back to the village without incident and I was able to sneak in the Barkley¡¯s barn and stored the luggage where we usually leave the things that we are returning to the village. Everything went smoothly and I was able to get the items to pretend to be returning with that our parents had gathered while I was gone, and I made it home safely. I joined our parents in the fields to help them with the remaining harvest and to get updates on what is going on. The Barkley family has been sneaking more stuff out to the camps that are likely going to be the ones that most of the villagers are going to, the hidden vale their cousins found in the woods near the base of this mountain and on the opposite side of the village where the river connects to the lake there¡¯s a curve in the cliff that makes it¡¯s location difficult to find until you get right in front of it, although it is the closest to the village since the bandits aren¡¯t likely to cross the river once it starts snowing it should be a good place to hunker down. Our parents were able to inform them about our location and that it is a good sized cave not far from the river descending from the mountain, so some of the families are deciding who wants to join us here. Someone was going to join me on the way back but I got teleported back here instead. We were going to bring more clothes and cookware as well as much food as possible both jar preserves and fresh produce and another blanket if there was any room for it.¡± Luna looks shaky as she tells of where things went wrong. Luna, ¡°I went to go act as a waitress at the tavern for dinner like I did last time, although they have always been rough and rude people, they were worse than usual. The constant noise of drunks is already unpleasant but they were very grabby, trying to grope me whenever I passed by and eventually one of them had grabbed me and pulled me into his lap and when I tried to get out of his grasp he got angry and hit me, most everything became a blur after that since more than one person hit me and they wouldn¡¯t let me go as they ripped my clothes and I was so scared that I started screaming for help and when I got a notification that I could get teleported to the dungeon core I couldn¡¯t help but agree with the teleportation.¡± Luna looks saddened and conflicted before she continued speaking. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Luna, ¡°Unfortunately doing so seems to have caused the dungeon to suffer greatly, it¡¯s already damaged core is even more damaged and as you saw inside earlier it made the dungeon bleed and some of it collapsed.¡± Luna exhales depressively before she stops her wide eyed siblings from talking just yet with a raised hand. Luna, ¡°I am going to focus on transferring mana to the dungeon in hopes that it can repair itself, also I won¡¯t be going into the village anymore since it is better for me and probably others as well if the bandits keep thinking that I just disappeared. At most for the sake of getting supplies I will be going to collect the supplies and returning right back so unless we get notes the only way to get news will be from running into some of our hunters or someone at the supply drop location.¡± Luna takes a couple of deep calming breaths before turning serious. Luna, ¡°Now we are going to seriously focus on preparing for the winter. Rocky you are going to have to watch over Misty so I am going to give you tasks that you can do here and close by, you will be in charge of keeping the canteens filled with water and collecting food where you can find it wherever you head out. When I bring back vines to make baskets with you and Misty will remove all of the leaves, and once I get a way to wash and dry the dirty clothes then the two of you will fold and put them away. We are going to stay busy so be ready.¡± Rocky, ¡°You can count on me, I won¡¯t let you down! I can even handle going to get the supplies too!¡± Rocky stands up and shows his little arm muscles and tries to make himself look bigger and braver than earlier had me believe. Luna doesn¡¯t take his nonsense seriously but shows her appreciation for his thoughtfulness. Luna, ¡°I know that you could handle it but since I am going to be out hunting and setting traps anyways it will be better for me to go get it on my way after setting up the traps and then collecting whatever got caught on my way back. Meanwhile you taking care of the area near the dungeon with Misty will be more efficient.¡± Rocky, ¡°Oh, alright, if that¡¯s what¡¯s best then I¡¯ll get it done. Just make sure you stay safe and don¡¯t let those bandits near you again.¡± Luna gives a halfhearted laugh and smile while a teary Misty tugs on her sleeve. Luna, ¡°What¡¯s the matter Misty? Are you alright?¡± Misty, ¡°I don''t want you to go, can¡¯t you just stay here with us? Momma and daddy are going to come here soon can¡¯t they bring everything then?¡± Luna, ¡°Sure, I guess I could do that too, but I bet everyone is worried with how I disappeared so I think I should meet them on the way at least once before I stay here full time.¡± Misty mumbles her own okays. Luna, ¡°Now let¡¯s eat a little something before bed I¡¯m just going to have an apple myself but you two can pick something else if you want as long as you have enough to sleep through the night soundly.¡± They each make quick work of some fruit and berries before going to bed, while Luna returns to my core room to give me all the mana she refilled since earlier and she eats a little mana grass before she joins her siblings in their bedding. She falls asleep quickly from her exhaustion but she sleeps restlessly with enough tossing and turning to wake her siblings more than once before daylight returned to announce the new day. Vulnerability and emotions Luna wakes up looking rough but she starts the day stirring the soup and scooting it closer to the fire that she builds back up to get the slightly warm soup to get bubbly hot. Luna, ¡°We will be finishing the soup today so we can make a new batch later, so eat as much as you guys want.¡± She ladles out generous portions into everyone¡¯s bowl and offers to refill them once they finished, the contents are more watered down than they were when they first made it as most of the chunks of vegetables and meat have been eaten and the thick broth that had a deeper pinkish color has cleared up to a more a thin transparent pink tinted broth. Luna comes to my core room to transfer some mana to me and I feel like I¡¯m getting close to being able to condense the mana into a thin layer of liquid mana just enough to fill the smallest cracks and not nearly enough to smooth out the rough edges but I am still happy with any progress towards repairing my core. I seem to get more lost in thoughts then before as my awareness drifts around my dungeon, so I have decided that the only thing I will use my mana for now will be repairing myself and later mana grass growing until my core room is completely filled with them! They go out and collect fresh water and food down by the river and then they head to the woods for firewood, forging and a heaping pile of vines. Speaking of vines my own vines over the entrance are just now reaching a length that they are starting to cover the entrance a little bit and have gotten to the thickness of Luna¡¯s thumb and I seem to be able to move them around from their bace if I expend some energy for it. Luna prepares to leave and I suddenly want to stop her from going since I know that if something happens again I will be unable to save her like last time, but in the end I just sulk as she heads out and I hope she returns from her last trip safely. I busy myself with helping her siblings by absorbing the leaves they remove from the vines as well as spilled soup and other food scraps like the remains of tree fruit that they leave on the ground, I am starting to think that they are finding my absorption of things to be amusing to watch. I noticed that my absorbing ability is degraded as it takes at least twice the time to absorb and it takes more energy to absorb things as well. I feel like I have become weaker then before and I feel impatient to recover as on my own I replenish only 3 mana in an entire day so most of my mana is actually from Luna giving me hers. I have decided to make the new path to my core room connect with the room I made for Luna since it¡¯s something I want to do anyways and also because I don¡¯t seem to have the capacity to redo the room I collapsed. I pretty much just copied everything that I did for the tunnel connecting to the second room, making the arched walls and ceiling smoothed stone and the dungeon floor being soft clay. Luna returned as I was finishing up the tunnel, again reminding me that I take a lot longer to complete tasks, much to my own frustration. Luna is carrying two rabbits in one hand and she is keeping the other hand on an over stuffed satchel that looks to be the one she had left behind in the village as well as one of the backpacks she also left behind is now on her back also stuffed to the brim with a rolled up pelt tied to the top. Rocky seems to have heard her call him because he left to go assist her even before she had gotten within my view. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. The sight of Rocky having trouble hefting the satchel and rabbits back to my dungeon mad me remember his big words from yesterday about how he could handle it, and I just had to think he would have ended up having to do at least twice the trips just to carry back the same amount of supplies as his sister managed in one. They drop everything off in the first dungeon room and Luna heads straight to my core. The transfer this time around finally triggers the mana liquidation needed to fill the cracks and although the improvements are underwhelming in comparison to before it still makes me feel a little relieved. I think I will plant a new mana grass later tonight when I get the mana to do so since Luna has been using up a lot of mana grass to speed up her mana recovery and in return helping me recover faster, and it takes a few days for the plants that are harvested from to recover back to full for another harvest. Luna sighed with relief when she saw that the mana transferred triggered my core repair for the first time since her teleportation. Luna, ¡°Thank goodness, I was afraid that it had stopped working and that you were unable to get repaired after you had saved me¡­..could it be more difficult now because there is more damage than before?¡± I use a small lump of clay to say yes, and when she bites her lip and scrunches her eyebrows I use the same lump of clay to try to cup it around her hand that she has on the dungeon floor. Her eyebrows still somewhat scrunched but she forces a smile and lightly grasps the clay back. Luna, ¡°You know, I sometimes think you are more thoughtful than most people, even though you can¡¯t talk you still seem to find a way to make me feel like you really care about me.¡± I form another lump of clay for her and she gives a sad laugh. Luna, ¡°See, look at you making me feel better when it seems everyone else is too busy, sure my siblings mean well and are trying to help out where they can but what about the adults? They are so busy that they are going to spend more time playing pretend and building their camps and barely bothering to check on me, I practically felt like I had to claim that I was alright just so I don¡¯t end up being a bother, even though I really am not okay.¡± Luna cry¡¯s quietly for a moment, just wiping her tears before she continues. Luna, ¡°I am scared and I don¡¯t want to go back at all, but I have to go retrieve supplies from the barn because they don¡¯t have anyone available to deliver the supplies to a meeting point halfway here, yet they have people who have the time to deliver supplies to the other camps! I just want to call them out for being biased and choosing to support the camps being run by the more prominent families from the village more than us, they haven¡¯t even sent anyone to check on our location since the first two camps were surveyed and picked to be the primary locations. The only reason mom met me on the mountain was because everyone thought I literally disappeared or died, and she didn¡¯t want my siblings to be left alone and without resources! I about couldn¡¯t believe how my own mother had shown up soo happy to see me alive and well and after giving me hugs and kisses she went back to work mode! I don¡¯t really care about the fuss created by my sudden disappearance, and I don¡¯t care about how they are having to make changes to their stupid plans because of it! Why would she choose to go back instead of coming back here to really make sure that we are alright!¡± Luna¡¯s tears keep rolling down her cheeks and her nose starts to run with snot as he quiet sobs keep getting mixed with sadness, anger and frustration. My simple little efforts to comfort and calm her seem useless at this moment and I can only wait until she gets herself back under control. Luna, ¡°I don¡¯t know what I should do and I don¡¯t know if I should care about what happens to the others since I don¡¯t feel like they care much about me in the first place. Should I just stay here and do my own winter preparations, just forget about everyone else?¡± I don¡¯t know what to say but I let my own emotions and personal logic speak I give her a big lump of clay as I want to shout yes! I don¡¯t want her to go back, I don¡¯t want her to get hurt again and I don¡¯t want her to have to help people who are only concerned about getting what they want done and not about Luna¡¯s well being! I can¡¯t stop her if she really wants to go but since she asked I won¡¯t let my opinion be left out. She smiles at my core and carefully caresses it. Luna, ¡°I will help save you just like you saved me, I won¡¯t let you regret it, better yet I am going to and to make it and investment with a return! We can keep working on communication and I can help you with whatever I can figure out!¡± She seems to have regained her spark and she heads back to her siblings to unpack the new supplies. Resolution Luna leaving from my core room returns to her siblings to in pack and to talk to them about the trip and what she plans to do. She unpacks the food and cookware, organizing it with the stockpile that they have already started to accumulate while she tells them. Luna, ¡°I met mom on the way to the village, she¡¯s the one that was bringing the supplies but she passed it off to me so she could go back to the village. Although she was happy that I was okay, she wants me to keep going back to transport supplies. Even though I won¡¯t have to go into the village for the supplies I don¡¯t think I will be going back there anymore.¡± Rocky, ¡°That¡¯s alright sis I can go get the supplies for you! You don¡¯t have to worry about it anymore.¡± Luna looks touched by her brother¡¯s words but she shakes her head and explains her opinions. Luna, ¡°I don¡¯t plan on using their supplies, we are actually doing a lot better than I had originally thought or even hoped for and I will admit that I am actually really upset that nobody has come up here to check on us. After how my conversation with mom went I don¡¯t think she would have come as far this way had they not thought that I might be dead, and I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if she would have just taken the two of you to the camp hidden in the woods near the base of this mountain instead of staying here. She informed me that the person who was going to join me coming back to our camp decided to go to one of the other campsite¡¯s when I disappeared, and other plans seemed to have been changed because of the uproar my disappearance caused. So I feel like they have made me out to be the cause of a problem and I just don¡¯t want to let it go! If you want to go back and get supplies then get the rest of our clothes and blankets but don¡¯t take their food unless it¡¯s something that we brought here fresh because I think the dungeon might want to absorb something new like it has been doing so far.¡± She pointed out the berry bushes that I have been growing and the spots that I have started growing some of the other things that they have brought back to eat. Rocky doesn¡¯t seem to fully understand but he doesn¡¯t argue. Rocky, ¡°Okay sis I think I understand, I think I will wait for a couple days before going to get our stuff, and I will remove the preserved foodstuffs for others to take.¡± Misty, ¡°Sis I want to help more so we don¡¯t have to go back and mom and dad will come here instead, so umm, would you mind teaching me how to make baskets like the one you made for the nuts?¡± The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Luna smiles at both her little sister¡¯s initiative as well as her brother¡¯s effort to be responsible and help wherever possible. Luna grabs them both up into a hug and thanks them both generously. They then take the rest of the luggage to the other room and organize the clothes before she takes the new hide bedding to the room that I had made for her, laying it out and putting her own clothes together to act as a pillow. Luna smiled at my core from her position on her bedding and I can¡¯t help feeling touched, I wonder if I really wanted her closer to me the whole time? I want to do more for her and I feel impatient to try and hurry my recovery along so that I can help make their living arrangements in my dungeon will out do that lousy village! Before she got up I used the soft clay floor under her bedding to make it sink and mold to her a bit gently, I had even made the layer of clay extra thick as it¡¯s as thick as her arms can reach, so having it sink some didn¡¯t make it loose it¡¯s softness rather it just made it match her body shape. She giggles and she runs her hand along the clay I had just manipulated. Luna, ¡°I scan only guess what you are meaning and do, but I will let you know I feel like it is comforting and I appreciate the attention.¡± She gets up and heads back out and decides to teach both her siblings how to weave a basket since they have enough vines for them each to do one and although there isn¡¯t enough daylight left to finish they can still get them done by the firelight. I watched them nearly the entire time only checking up on the plants and their progress when they seemed to all be continuing to weave without the need of guidance or correction. Some of the plants that take longer to grow like the bushes and vines have shown a good amount of progress and although they are not done growing they should reach maturity soon enough. All of the salveaid plants have finished maturing including the ones that I had planted after Luna and her siblings had arrived, on the other hand the glow moss seems to have a ways to go before it can produce any significant amounts of light for the second dungeon room, as it has sprouted but hasn¡¯t started to glow yet. I was thinking about closing the extra tunnel to my core room but since the second dungeon room still needs the light it gets from my core I will have to leave it be for now. They finished their baskets and get started with preparing dinner Rocky starts reheating the soup for the last time while Misty gets started on organizing the food into the newly made baskets, root vegetables in one basket, fruit in another basket and leafy greens in the last one, everything else stays in the places they were originally. Luna starts the process of skinning the rabbits and impressively does an exceptionally good job as the made the minimal cuts and pulls the fur off the rest of the rabbit until it is completely flipped inside out and detaches from the rabbit. She continues with draining the blood and removing its innards while I helped disposing them by absorbing them. Luna finished up by deboning the rabbit meat and putting it in the skillet with a whole onion and garlic cloves before adding the lid and putting the skillet just close enough to the fire that it will make the onion and garlic to release their juices. By the time Luna finishes preparing the rabbits the soup is done reheating the Rocky has filled everyone¡¯s bowls. They wash up with a damp cloth before they start eating, and they polish of the last of the soup with seconds before using the empty pot to hold the dirty dishes that their plan to wash by the river in the morning. Nightmares and growing remedies Luna ends her night doing a mana transfer before going to bed and happily seeing my core light up briefly now that the mana liquifying was successfully done now all the mana can go directly into condensing the mana to eventual crystallization. My mana absorption efficiency raises to 6% but my mana storage has only increased to 0/39(500), could it be that the mana storage is more related to the undamaged mass of my core? regardless even the smallest amount of improvement is very much appreciated and worth the efforts of trying to save up the mana for it. I have Luna eat a little mana grass before she heads off to bed in her new room and she spends a few moments staring at my core before she falls asleep. Luna seems to be happy when she goes to sleep facing my core but it isn¡¯t long into her sleep that she starts to toss and turn restlessly. I don¡¯t know what exactly is going wrong with her rest as I don¡¯t recall her having trouble sleeping calmly before but now she is definitely not getting good sleep. I go through my dungeon plant database to see if there¡¯s anything that can help her sleep comfortably, I find a few common plants that can be used to aid sleep and since they were all one mana each I decided to invest in them once I get the mana to get them started. I go ahead and prepare patches of soil to grow the lavender, chamomile, and valerian root and I wait for a point of mana to come in before planting the first one, the night is nearly over before I was finally able to plant some lavender and then I would have to wait before I can do anything else. I thought about the collapsed room again but it seems like it would have to wait until I can get to 10% efficiency on mana absorption and 50 max mana storage, which leaves me wondering how it relates to the my ability to expand myself. The day begins with Luna cooking the rabbit meat in the skillet that had been kept warm overnight by the fire, the onion and garlic juices having remained trapped inside the skillet with the rabbit meat helped get rid of the gamey smell and flavor that usually accompanies the meat of wild animals. Luna is telling Rocky and Misty about how certain wildlife that they will be hunting will need to be treated in similar ways to get rid of the odor and help with the flavor of the meat mentioning that although garlic and onion is currently the best they have to treat it, there are several other plants that can reduce the gamey taste and smell. They choose to eat some fruits before they head out to wash up all the dishes from last night and to refill the pot with water as well as refilling the canteens. Misty and Rocky carried back the canteens and other dishes whilst Luna carried the pot full of water, which she put onto the fire right away when she returned and she added everything from the skillet into the pot. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. She took out the cutting board and made quick work of some carrots and potatoes before scraping them from the board into the pot, then she diced up some leeks and parsley which she also added right away. With the prep work done she grabs the basket with nuts in it and passes it to Misty and the basket with fruits to Rocky and they head out with the goal of filling them both up. I manage to get chamomile planted by the time they returned both baskets full and a bunch of new vines to make more baskets later. Their rabbit stew needed but a little more stirring and some additional herbs before they started eating the hearty meal. Misty was later left to remove leaves from the vines and start making new baskets while Rocky was sent to gather firewood and Luna went to check the traps for game. The day passed onwards with very little that I could do aside from absorbing leaves and food scraps, which left me feeling anxious and agitated. Just seeing how much her younger siblings were stepping up to help out and them patiently learning how to do things and then taking the task over seems to make me feel like I am the only one falling behind in pulling my weight so to speak. Luna returned with vines and firewood instead of game since none of the traps were lucky enough to catch something for them to eat. Misty¡¯s new basket was filled with the other vegetables that were being kept with the cookware, and Luna informed her that the next basket would be getting filled with mushrooms tomorrow as she has found several locations with eatable mushrooms, which she would teach them how to identify them. They added some more water to the pot and some leafy greens before they dispersed to do their own things, Misty takes a nap while Rocky went outside beyond what I could see and Luna came to my core room. Luna eats more mana grass and follows up with a mana transfer to condense the liquid mana filling my cracks, I glow bright turquoise before returning to my regular luminescent state. [Mana absorption efficiency at 8%, mana storage is at 0/46(500),] With more to do in the day Luna heads back out to gather plants that she wants me to absorb and plant, which I embarrassingly must admit to just tilling the soil in preparation for the plants to be planted in once I have the mana to do so and I start with the ones that only cost 1 mana and I put off the rest. The day started to fly by and before I knew it they had already had dinner and were heading to bed. Luna of course stopped by my core again and did another mana transfer which brought me back to 10% mana absorption efficiency and 0/49(500) mana storage. Luna goes to sleep after watching my core for a while and like the two previous nights she tossed and turned repeatedly and she wakes up looking like a mess with her fur tangled and needing more brushing than usual. I had planted another mana grass in my core room and I had gotten another crop plant started during the night and although I partially realized that I haven¡¯t stuck to my plan of only growing mana grass, I quickly come to terms with it as since I have been getting repaired I have also started getting mana accumulated more quickly as I am not generating mana like I had when I first woke up and added mana grass to my core room. Even if my mana storage isn¡¯t recovering at the same rate as before it isn¡¯t much of a problem since I haven¡¯t ever gotten it to max out in the first place and I am unlikely to do so anytime soon anyways since I will be putting everything into my core repair and planting processes. Before I even knew it another day passed and I accumulated enough recovery to retake the collapsed room with my new mana absorption efficiency rate raised to 16% and mana storage raised to 0/62(500). I can feel the improvements and I can¡¯t wait to start making more improvements around here! Raccoons, Renovations, and a Kiss?! The days all seem to start and end with Luna giving me a mana transfer and then she also manages to make time during the day to do one or two more rounds of mana transfer, which has significantly improved my recovery rate. I could hardly wait to remake the room I was forced to collapse and when I finished it I wanted to do more since they can¡¯t really use it until I can get some glowing plants in there to provide some light. I have found that although Luna and her siblings can see well enough in low light levels they really do still need some light to see as their night vision isn¡¯t quite as good as ¡°a real raccoon¡±. After over hearing the siblings mentioning that they had come across a wild raccoon in the woods around dusk when they were returning from their usual forge and gather trips, I became interested in what exactly was a raccoon. From what I could gather from their talk about it over their dinner, it has a tail like they do with striped rings around their fluffy tails and a dark fur mask over their eyes, they tend to have fur in various shades of black, brown, and grey whilst they have a size like a large house cat, which I don¡¯t really know what a cat is but apparently it¡¯s small enough to sit on Misty¡¯s lap. Although Luna tells her siblings how raccoons wash themselves and their food they seem to have a bad reputation and get related with trash and mischief as well as theft and banditry. Which may be why their parents are trying so hard to be accepted into the village even though they have been living there since before Luna was born. Apparently because beast-kin often have the same traits that their respective beast have it is common for beast-kin that are similar to nuisance animals to suffer from discrimination while those who have traits of favored animals tend to be not only favored, but they are also respected more highly. This is also why a lot of the beast-kin that turn to banditry are also beast with bad reputations, like raccoons, snakes, crocodiles, crows, hyenas and various others. Although the bandits in the village are mostly humans and there aren¡¯t any raccoons, the stereotypes are hard to ignore when society refuses to recognize them as individuals rather than a collective. Luna reminded Rocky of the time a couple years back when he was accused of stealing from the general goods store when it was actually one of his friends who had stolen the item. Only to then get accused of being a bad influence and not being allowed to play with his friend anymore. Their parents had said that they were just looking for someone else to blame and it just happened to be him, but it really was more likely because of him being a raccoon beast-kin. Their parents had tried to shelter them and always made great efforts to be upstanding citizens of the village but now it feels like it has failed to pay off those efforts. Luna tidied up after dinner and sent her siblings to wash up before bed, before she came to my core room and noticed the restored room on her way. The smile on her face fills me with joy that she noticed and is happy with what I have done. The mana transfer goes smoothly and bumps me up to 23% mana absorption efficiency and a mana storage of 0/86(500). Luna is a little more talkative today as she strikes up a conversation. Luna, ¡°I noticed you were able to fix the collapsed room, I take it that¡¯s a good sign that you¡¯re on the mend and trying to fix things up right?¡± I respond like I always do with a lump of clay pressing into her hand. She laughs quietly and asks. Luna, ¡°Hey, since you are able to create rooms, tunnels and pedestal structures what else do you think you can make? Would you be able to make some shelves for the cookware and food? Because it would be nice to get some things off the floor and organized to save some space.¡± I raised a platform and watched her reaction to see if I had done what she wanted. Luna, ¡°Ah, well that¡¯s not exactly what I meant¡­ umm¡­ maybe hollow out this section from here to here.¡± She points out what she wants me to do and I somewhat accomplished the task although since my dungeon flesh runs through it I can¡¯t get the walls of the structure as thin as she wanted so I had to adjust the outer side to be thicker, which seems to have surprised Luna with her wide eyes staring at it and then her running her hands over it. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. From my observations of Luna she seems to like inspecting things and using her hands to feel things out most of the time, which obviously makes me quite glad whenever she approves of the job I do when making anything. Luna, ¡°This is starting to look like a shelf, but I wonder why you expanded it and made the shelf walls so thick? I really wish we could talk like I do with my siblings.¡± Her sad sigh frustrates me into doing something stupid and I thin it out letting some of my dungeon flesh be exposed, which makes my dungeon instincts protest, especially when a wide eyed Luna decided to start touching it! I struggled to stop myself from snatching my dungeon flesh back out of the shelf, but I could only resist for so long and the tremors that went through them seemed to have fascinated Luna as her hands immediately touched, stroked and poked my dungeon flesh until I could handle it no longer! I pulled my dungeon flesh back out of the shelf and into the safety of the dungeon floor, which caused the shelf to collapse and break apart, caving in on itself very much like how the small dungeon room collapsed when I removed my dungeon flesh from its walls, ceiling and floor. Luna looks stunned at what happened and yet still manages to somehow sound excited. Luna, ¡°Oh my goodness! That¡¯s you, like really what makes you up, not just your walls or your core. So that¡¯s what you use to make changes in your dungeon and what¡¯s holding it all together. It also seems like it is sensitive to touch, are you able to feel with them? And how much can you feel with them?¡± I feel like I was flustered by her response, her excitement was greater than I thought it would be and I wanted to make her react even more as it seems to excite me as well. I realize that I was more focused on resisting the urge to retract my dungeon flesh, than feeling the sensations that were going through them from her contact. So with embarrassment and tentativeness I answered yes, it¡¯s me, and yes, it is what I use to make changes and keep my dungeon up, as I raised a pillar next to her from the rubble and then I exposed a tendril for her to touch. She looks to also be embarrassed for some reason and the reddish flush that spread from her cheeks to her neck made me think of her as endearing. Luna reached out and just barely grazed the surface of my dungeon flesh, immediately making it tremble and my desire to retract it strike but I was able to pay more attention, it¡¯s definitely sensitive so I answered with a large lump of clay to emphasize how much I could feel from her touch. Luna somehow manages to become an even brighter shade of red and before I could properly process the situation she does something that I couldn¡¯t comprehend at first but definitely led me into a strange spiral of thoughts and emotions. Luna, ¡°So you¡¯re extremely sensitive, I hope that it isn¡¯t in a bad way, I hope that it feels good because if it does then you might appreciate this!¡± She leaned towards my exposed dungeon flesh and her lips gently made contact with my dungeon flesh and I felt a strange surge! The mana laced air in my dungeon suddenly fluctuated from my core to the entrance to my dungeon and back as my emotions felt like they overloaded. She didn¡¯t bite me and I wasn¡¯t harmed in any way but I feel such a strong mix of excitement, fear, and happiness that I don¡¯t understand how I should respond to her and I feel like I am in a daze. Luna is the first to react. Luna, ¡°What was that! Are you okay?!¡± She looks over at my core with a bit of concern and she looks like she might cry. I respond quickly hoping to avoid her becoming upset without reason, the clay I pressed into her hand receives her grasp and almost a gasp followed by a couple of tears and a smile??? It seems that I am not the only one who is having emotional overload¡­. Luna, ¡°I got concerned that I might have done something wrong when that gust happened so suddenly¡­..Is it possible that, that was you talking a sharp breath? I know that you don¡¯t normally seem to breathe but I think that definitely felt like you had breathed all of the sudden.¡± I don¡¯t know how to answer her accurately, I don¡¯t even know if I could do it again but I wouldn¡¯t mind trying to do it again, it didn¡¯t hurt me to do it and more than anything else I think it was interesting if nothing else, so the best I could come up with was making a small circle of yes and no answers. Luna stairs at the ring of tiny stalagmites and lumps of clay in bafflement that looks like she could be just as confused as I am currently. Luna, ¡°Ummmm, could it be that you don¡¯t know or have any idea about it?¡± Thats an easy yes, so, clay for my Luna, and an awkward smile for me. And while I am contemplating the situation I also realize that I for some reason hadn¡¯t already retracted my exposed dungeon flesh nor have I covered it up! Not only that but Luna seems to have noticed before I realized it! Luna smiles mischievously at my core and then at my exposed dungeon flesh¡­. Luna, ¡°Well seeing as you haven¡¯t retreated like earlier, may I assume that you liked what I did?¡± I don¡¯t know but I think maybe so I decided to make a ring of yes no¡¯s with the lumps of clay being a bit larger than the stalagmites and a little bit of clay in the center just in case because I wanted it to be clear that although I am uncertain about it I think I am leaning toward liking it. I think it could be my dungeon instincts that keep nagging me to keep my dungeon flesh covered that might be amplifying the confusion. Luna smiles and looks like she was possibly going to do it again! I couldn¡¯t help but get excited thinking about the prospect that I felt tingling even though she hasn¡¯t done anything else yet. Luna looks back at my core red faced and eyes lowered cutely as she asks me with a gentle and playful voice. Luna, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t mind doing it again, if you want another kiss~!¡± I give a big yes! Even before I realize it myself! Sadly rather than receiving another kiss, it seems the moment will not be going further as Luna wound up so embarrassed that she ended up running out of my dungeon! Rocky, ¡°A KISS! What the heck sis!¡± Rocky and Misty seem to have been woken up by the gust of wind that I had accidentally made, and they had come over through the tunnel connected to the second dungeon room without my noticing as I was hyper focused on Luna and myself. I don¡¯t understand why Luna ran off but could it be that she didn¡¯t want her siblings to know what we were doing? Is a kiss a lot bigger of a deal than I thought it was? I hope she comes back soon and explains everything, as I don¡¯t think I am capable of explaining anything of what happened to her siblings. Although Misty just looks curious, Rocky is looking at my core like he¡¯s expecting answers!!!!!! Explanations and making furniture Things became really strange once Luna had fled from my dungeon and I had to just do my best to get through everything while she was away and that apparently included getting some sort of special approval.?!?! Rocky had tried to ¡°give me a talking to¡± which apparently their dad should have been doing for some reason??? I don¡¯t quite understand what it was really about but he kept trying to explain that his sister is really important and I have to be good to her, I can¡¯t be hurting her or making her cry and I have to make sure that she will be happy¡­. Which I think that somehow I have already failed, since she has cried quite a few times in my core room already¡­ I already know that Luna is very important and not just to me but to her siblings as well, so responding with a yes there couldn¡¯t have been wrong. I think that I have only been good to her so far so confirming yes to that was without question. I don¡¯t think I have ever hurt her and I don¡¯t have any intentions to cause her harm so agreeing to that was obvious. And making her happy, well haven¡¯t I been trying to do that already??? So another yes answer to that was without hesitation. Yet, I feel like I am missing something important here and I don¡¯t think I am going to get a clear answer from him. Despite it already being dark out Luna was gone for quite some time, and when she did finally return I couldn¡¯t help but notice that her fur was wet!?! Did she go and fall into the river? That can¡¯t be right because her clothes would definitely be wet too but they are mostly dry¡­? I don¡¯t know how am I supposed to respond here and am almost grateful that I am not able or expected to respond, followed by feeling depressed for the same reason. Rocky and Misty were waiting for her in the first room by the fire, Misty was excited at first but now she looks like she is just fighting sleep, while Rocky looks like he is serious and doing something important. Luna looks frustrated but she thankfully seems to have decided that it is best for everyone to talk and to explain things as she goes. Luna, ¡°Well we all have some things to talk about, but I think it might be best if we get comfortable for it.¡± She prompts me without delay and gives me instructions along with her guiding me with her hand motions. Luna, ¡°let¡¯s start with a table and chairs for us to sit down at. Can you raise a platform about this big and this tall, now make a back to it about this tall and this wide, great that¡¯s a chair. Now let¡¯s raise a pillar in front of it then create a flat top surface and spread it out this much, you can have it thicker near the pillar but try thinning it out near the outer edge of the circle, awesome that¡¯s a good table. Now lets put another chair here for Rocky and one over here for Misty, and a canteen for water in case anyone needs it, and we can set down and get started!¡± I changed a layer of the stone into soft clay where their bottoms and backs would contact the chairs, which was nicely received. Luna looks proud of herself for a moment before falling back into embarrassment, her face spreading a reddish tinge all the way to her neck. She clears her throat and requests for Rocky to ask his first question. Luna, ¡°Well, I will start explaining things one at a time, so Rocky how about you get us started with what you want to know about first?¡± Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Rocky, ¡°So, can I ask what led up to you kissing a dungeon and how exactly that seems to work?¡± I also look forward to finding out so I mentally thank Rocky as I focus on Luna. Luna, ¡°Ahmm, well, let¡¯s see, I guess since I noticed that the dungeon has recovered enough to repair the room that collapsed and I was curious about what else could it make and asked about making a shelf to put some of the cookware and foodstuffs on so we could get them off the floor and whatnot. Well it turns out that the dungeon doesn¡¯t actually seem to know what furniture is and it needs more details to make anything for the first time. So I had to describe it and point out where I wanted it to make changes and it did it for me, but I noticed that when I requested that it hollow out a section for the shelf it had hollowed out exactly where I said and by how much I wanted it to but it had added to the outer layer to keep a certain thickness. I asked about it and it showed me that it had to be that thick because it has this part of the dungeon that is required to be inside of all the dungeon surfaces otherwise they would fall apart like what happened with the room that collapsed. And you know me, I had to get a feel of it, and I let my curiosity get the better of me and did so without thinking about asking first and it¡¯s smooth and slightly slimy and it wiggled under my touch until it retracted itself suddenly and the shelf crumbled and collapsed into rubble. I commented on it and asked about its sensitivity and since it seemed uncertain and it raised a pillar from the rubble and exposed itself for me again, which I was extra careful and just barely made contact for just a few seconds at best, which made it tremble and it responded that it is very sensitive. So I guess I thought since it can really feel through it then maybe it might be able to appreciate a kiss and I wanted to try it, so I did and it made that gust of wind and well I think you probably heard the rest didn¡¯t you.?¡± Luna is all fidgety and red faced, which I enjoy seeing, but as most of what she said is just recounting what happened and only her thoughts were shared to an extent I don¡¯t quite have much of an answer here. Luckily Rocky follows through for me and agrees because his question points out what we need to know! Rocky, ¡°Okay, so that¡¯s most of what happened but I want to know what made you want to kiss the dungeon in the first place!? you didn¡¯t do it just to know what it felt like did you? So when did you start getting the feelings to want to do it?¡± Luna, ¡°Well I think it¡¯s just that it built up slowly¡­. I mean the dungeon has been really helpful since the beginning and has been really thoughtful in its own way, like how it makes the dungeon floor under our bedding into soft clay and how it has smoothed out the interior of the dungeon so it isn¡¯t as rough as well as it planting medicinal herbs and food for us. If that wasn¡¯t enough it also saved me when I was in danger and teleported me to safety even though it cost the dungeon too much and I think it almost died because it had tried saving me even though it was still damaged. Even if it can¡¯t talk I think it¡¯s actions are worth way more than any of the guys who do nothing but spout flowery words but don¡¯t do anything to help when it counts!¡± She clearly voiced some anger and frustration at the end there and I readily agreed with her. Rocky sits there for a while thinking hard about everything before he asks his next question. Rocky, ¡°I guess I can see what you mean about all that, I guess it makes sense that you would fall for someone who would do all that stuff and risking themselves for you isn¡¯t something to take lightly. I know that I am no expert but doesn¡¯t that mean the dungeon is really serious about you? Since I don¡¯t think anyone risks almost dying for just anyone.¡± Luna, ¡°I know right! I haven¡¯t really asked yet though, because I¡¯m afraid that it might not understand the question or concept kind of like how it doesn¡¯t know about furniture until it¡¯s been explained what it is and how to make it. And I don¡¯t know how I should explain about relationships or romance and such, I mean where do I even start with it?¡± Rocky grins mischievously. Rocky, ¡°Hey dungeon, I already asked you some questions about you being good to my sis and treating her right and I think you both really like each other so I just think you should give it a try and see how everything goes. After all I don¡¯t think anyone else would know about how a person and a dungeon can go about a relationship so you just have to figure out how to love each other on you guys own. Now sis I know dad should be the one having the talk with you guys but I think it¡¯s your life and as long as you are able to find your own happiness then it doesn¡¯t matter what dad or mom for that matter, think about your partner. So for whatever it matters I want you to know that you at least have my blessing and I will be on your side if you need me and I know Misty will also be on your side too.¡± Misty had already fallen asleep and I had made her section of the table into soft clay for her head to rest on. Luna looks emotionally touched and she goes over to hug her brother and gives him her thanks. A few moments later after they separated and decided to go put Misty to bed she threw out a very good question. Luna, ¡°So, what now?¡­..¡± NSFW, exploring Luna Where do we go from here is a great question, in fact it¡¯s so great a question that I wish I could really ask it myself. Should I just follow their lead and do what I can to respond well? The younger siblings go back to bed and Luna returns to her room and lays down on her bed as well. She gazes over at my core for a while before she says anything. Luna, ¡°You know, I might be really tired right now but I just don¡¯t want to fall asleep yet, and I kind of wish we hadn¡¯t been interrupted earlier, but I think that that talk was need before things get more complicated and confusing than it needs to be. So, umm, since we are going to try being in a relationship is it strange that I want to do more with you?¡± Well I was also looking forward to continuing earlier to so I agree with that and why would it be strange wanting to do more? I also want to do more! I decided that I might as well try exposing some of my dungeon flesh at the edge of her bedding and see where it goes from there. Luna looks at me curiously and gently reaching out to touch me while she speaks softly. Luna, ¡°I never thought I would be in a relationship like this before and I might be nervous but I think I want to break the ice and just go for it so I can get past it.¡± I have no idea what ice she plans on breaking because I don¡¯t think it¡¯s cold enough for there to be any ice yet¡­. I think there¡¯s some other meaning behind breaking ice so I should just listen to her and try following her queue. My dungeon flesh trembles at her touch but I resist retracting it or covering it back up despite my instincts harassing me to do so. Instead I want to try more like Luna had mentioned herself, so I try making a new tendril from the exposed area much to my instincts displeasure, but I succeeded in making a tendril branch out and I try using it to wrap around Luna¡¯s hand as my excitement continues to increase. Luna seems to be delighted with what I have done and she seems to be fascinated by my touching her as she shyly asks me. Luna, ¡°Would you like to touch me as well? I don¡¯t mind and I¡¯m curious where you would want to touch and what you like.¡± I responded with a yes as soon as she asked, and once she threw out the inquiry I decided to start my exploration of feeling her. I started with her hand that I was already touching anyways and decided to go from there and examine everything. Her hands are dexterous as I move my tendrils around it, he nails are a little sharp but not so much that they would cut anything without her putting some pressure behind them. Her skin is soft and smooth with a fine layer of fur that is soft and delicate even though it isn¡¯t as thick as the fur of her head, ears or tail. Her arms are much the same except they aren¡¯t capable of as much movement as her hands. From there I decided to explore her head and face, since it would be more efficient in progressing my exploration. She trembled as I continued from her shoulder along her neck and up to her face, her breathing rhythm changing slightly as she looks at me with soft eyes and a smile as I continue making little lumps of clay bubbles rising and lowering underneath the hand she is supporting herself with. I follow her jawline and touch her long soft fur and then the shorter fur of her ears which suddenly started moving, the twitching and flicking of her soft furry ears excites me greatly and I wonder why I haven¡¯t noticed just how fascinating they are, I couldn¡¯t help but indulge in their curious movements while I passed a larger lump of clay into Luna¡¯s palm. Her face flushes red and she eventually has to request that I move onto another place as she had started squirming all over. I go across her smooth forehead, along her nose, around her eyes, across he cheeks and then I got to her lips¡­. I paused and remembered what happened when she kissed me and I started to try caressing them with the tip of my tendril. She makes a strange sound and parts her lips at my touch, making me hesitate before she licks my tendril and then puts it in her mouth to let me explore there as well, the warmth and moisture of her mouth is very pleasing and my dungeon instincts seem to be happy to be covered up in this way even though it is still protesting about all of the exposed parts. Her tongue feels somewhat like my tendril but it feels somewhat different in texture on its top and underneath it, whereas her teeth feel hard and the ones in the front are slightly sharp particularly the pointy ones, and the roof of her mouth feels like a hard surface is just underneath the moist skin surface, and the inside of her cheeks feel soft and pleasantly malmble though they can only stretch so much, I still had to convey my pleasure at the sensations. I ended up getting a scare when I tried touching the back of her throat as she suddenly choked and I felt her teeth pressed against my tendril enough that I had retracted myself from her mouth immediately and I needed a moment before continuing. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. I made sure to give her her a bigger no response then I would normally use to emphasize that I really didn¡¯t like that. I absorbed some of the moisture that remained on my tendril from her mouth, while she apologized for startling me, as she hadn¡¯t expected to react so strongly to the stimuli, so she suggested that we avoid the back of her throat for the time being. She decided to open up the back of her dress and guided my tendril to start back near her neck which I was plenty happy with. I gently followed the contours all around, just tracing its lines and curves before I went to explore her back, her shoulders blades that seemed to glide around with her arms movements and her spine curved back and forth under my tendrils touch. I carried on back up along with side which also seemed to bend and curve in pleasing motions, that accented the softness of her skin and fur very nicely. Luna rolls her body so that my tendrils carry on to her chest, he soft but perky breast brings on more fascinating reactions from Luna as she moves into different positions than I have ever seen her in before and she has become flushed with a pinkish tinge on her tanned skin. Her reactions bring me greater joy than I thought possible as I look forward to seeing what she will do next, as her breath has quickened and she has started making soft noises that I find very welcoming, I keep exploring her enthusiastically. I wrap my tendrils around her chest from the bace where her soft delicate skin starts to curve from it hanging, then to the perky reddish nubs that feel to have a thicker layer of skin, then up the gradual slope up to her neckline and then back down between her breast. Luna is making more sounds but doesn¡¯t seem to be actually saying any words which I find to be a little strange but I find that I like the sounds she makes so I don¡¯t mind and I just continue on happily. Her stomach is nicely toned with muscles and a visually appealing set of lines for my tendrils to trace which has her squirming much like several of the other places I have found along her body so far. I enjoy all the different movements she makes and I continue as her twisting and turning motions prompt me. I follow the crests of her hip and then curve around her soft fluffy tail letting my tendril coil all the way around multiple times before I get to the tip of where the tail bones end and I amuse myself with the fur there, I make it swirl and flop and spread and I bundle it together until Luna requests that I stop teasing her. She had clamped her tail between her legs and only relaxed as I started to uncoil from her tail and moved onto her feet that had pressed against me. I feel around her heel and trailed along her foot finding her feet to have tougher skin then elsewhere and her arch of her foot is ticklish from the laughter that I got out of it , it must be a good thing. The claws on her feet look like they have been trimmed down and don¡¯t have any of the sharpness of the ones on her hands. Her ankle has interesting contours and going up the leg that rigidly only moves at the joints I noticed that her legs also have some well developed muscles and smooth skin that has soft short fur. I get to her thighs that although they are also muscular they seem to have a thicker soft layer than the rest of the body excluding her breast. I wasn¡¯t quite done with feeling them out when I came across a slimy substance that was between them and Luna pulled her dress skirt up and out of the way to reveal her slimy wet panties. The tan cloth had darkened with its wetness and Luna looked at my tendrils, her eyes moist and face red as she speaks to me with a trembling voice that draws my interest to a hyper focus. Luna, ¡°Aah, Th-at¡¯s the most precious place!¡­.umm, it¡¯s where you have to go to make babies¡­.. and it¡¯s also the place that will feel the best!¡­ for both of us I think¡­¡± I didn¡¯t think she could get any redder than she already was but she proved me wrong, and she brightened as her temperature rises and her breathing becomes more of a panting as my tendrils approach her precious place and I notice the slime increases as it spills through her panties. As I am touching the moist cloth she tears up pulls the side of her panties open to expose the moist soft fur and flesh inside, which I gently touch and caress the different textures as Luna covers her mouth to muffle her sounds that she keeps making. I am also surprised as she starts rocking her hips and pressing herself against my tendrils, her breathing has made another change in rhythm but she seems to not want to stop, as my act of starting to retract my tendrils were met with her chasing after them I decided that it must be fine to continue. I let my tendrils slide Happily inside her warm, moist and softest precious place, and I agreed that it was definitely my favorite. I feel like the precious place must have been made particularly for a tendril to explore and the best part was that it felt like it continued to change in interesting ways every time I or Luna moved, which she kept doing so without stopping. I was enjoying it so much that I had my tendril split into multiple while inside her to explore all of its passages and to see how much room there is inside her precious place. I slowly spread out inside her and let more of my tendrils inside her as she presses herself against my tendrils to assist me in filling her. I become increasingly enthusiastic with how Luna is so eager to be explored by me and my tendrils and I become confused, conflicted, concerned, but also excited when I discovered a lightly blocked passage that gently tore to expose another area! I could tell that she bled when it tore but aside from a light wincing she didn¡¯t seem to care about it much as she continued pressing herself against my tendrils, her legs are to either side of the location where I had my tendrils coming out of my dungeon floor as she muffles her sounds and she scoots herself closer and closer a little bit at a time. I decided to let her do what she wanted as she drove my soft tendrils deeper inside her every time she scooted herself to the source. It didn¡¯t take long for Luna to reach her limits and I couldn¡¯t fill her any more than I already have. Luna looks tired but very happy as she starts falling asleep with my tendril¡¯s still inside her, she occasionally moves her hips and makes herself move back and forth around my tendrils so I decided that she must be wanting me to move around inside her. I obliged with gentle movements that mimicked what she had been doing as I slid some of my tendrils length out of her and I only dove back in when she started to make fussy noises at my absence, I took almost to daybreak before I had fully retracted my tendrils. I didn¡¯t want to leave her sprawling out in the floor only half in her bed so I controlled the floor to make her roll back into her bed and I maneuvered her blanket with a series of stalagmites to cover her up. With that done I can now say that I have successfully explored Luna¡¯s body and I have let her know what all I liked and didn¡¯t like about it. I¡¯m also very glad she seems to have enjoyed it just as much as I did, her body wound up being more fascinating than I thought it would be. I wonder what else we will do together later? The first rainy day, village gossip. Rocky takes charge in the morning, heating up the soup, serving it up, and even cleaning the dishes before putting them onto the new dungeon shelf I made. He doesn¡¯t go to wake his sister and instead he takes Misty with himself to gather some more vines from the location where Luna had shown them before. They return with a big heaping pile of vines for Misty to get started with removing the leaves and making baskets with, while Rocky heads out to gather more firewood. They go about the day much like they usually do going from one task to another only stopping to eat or rest as needed. It isn¡¯t until about midday that Luna finally wakes up, she stayed laying there awake in her bed for a while before she got up and wiped herself down making sure she cleaned herself well enough to get rid of the sweat and slimy residue. I felt a little regretful that I couldn¡¯t really help her out but I did what I could to assist such as moving one of the canteens of water to her room so she didn¡¯t have to leave to get it herself, which she was very appreciative of. She changed into new clothes and bundled up the dirty clothes and bedding, her face gaining a little pink on her cheeks and her fluffy ears lowered and her tail swishing slightly under her dress skirt. She goes to wash the laundry and is caught in the first room by her brother who grinned mischievously as the knowing look in his eyes made Luna freeze in her tracks and her fur fluff while her face went red all the way down her neck. Rocky, ¡°Don¡¯t worry Misty slept through it so you don¡¯t have to give her the talk. On another note it looks like it will rain soon so you might be able to just wait for it instead of having to take the wash to the river and back. Also the dungeon made us some shelves so we would like to know how are you wanting to organize the kitchen supplies?¡± Luna looks both grateful and conflicted about what was said and then she put the laundry down near the entrance before going over to the shelves and taking on the new task. Luna, ¡°Well, let¡¯s see here, I think we should have the heavy metal cookware on the middle shelf so that we don¡¯t have to stoop down for them or to have to reach up and risk dropping them since they are going to be the ones that we have to use the most often. The baskets of food can be kept above the middle shelf since you are tall enough for retrieve them without much risk of dropping them. The jars of preserved food can go on the very bottom shelf since we won¡¯t be needing them anytime soon, and the wooden cookware and dishes can go above that since they are lighter than the metal stuff it shouldn¡¯t be a problem even with the frequency of use. The baskets of food that needs to be used up sooner will go onto the middle shelf with the metal cookware so even Misty can reach it and to be a reminder to cook with them first to avoid the food spoiling before we can get to it. Also the food that needs to be cooked before it can be eaten will be closer to the fire same as the pot and skillet, while the food that can be eaten as is will be further away from the fireplace.¡± Luna organized everything as she spoke and as the floor space was cleared I slowly moved the shelf into place against the wall and fused them together making it sturdier and saving space at the same time. Luna looks Happily at the tidied area and then looks over at the fireplace with some thought her hand on her chin and her ears cocked before she seemed to finalize what she wanted to have done with it. Luna, ¡°Let¡¯s fix up the fireplace while we are working on the kitchen area. Could you raise the fireplace on a platform about this high, now make give it a little raised edge about as wide and tall as the width of my palm. Now let¡¯s hollow out a bit of space under it that can be used to dry wood as well as help spread the heat into the room more, since it¡¯s starting to get colder we need to start thinking about how to keep the place warmer so we don¡¯t end up freezing.¡± She seems satisfied with my handy work as her tail swings back and forth happily under her dress. Luna, ¡°Once Misty finishes some more baskets let¡¯s go through the food and separate things out a little more and make sure we move whatever is needed to be eaten soon to the respective baskets for cooking and eating raw. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Misty do you think you can handle going through the food every couple of days to remove anything that spoils and keeping up with what needs to be eaten soon?¡± Misty, ¡°I think I can handle that, since once we have plenty of baskets I can use more of my time to do that.¡± Rocky, ¡°Oh, yeah sis I want to let you know that if tomorrows weather is clear enough then I plan on going to grab the supplies, and see how our parents are doing. I don¡¯t think we should let anyone know that you are still around and I think we should keep the dungeon a secret, at least until it¡¯s fully recovered and big enough to fight off any invaders that might want to steal its core¡­¡± Luna, ¡°I agree, I only told our parents about the dungeon to keep them informed but I don¡¯t think they really believed me. Also I think you should stay away from the girls that go to the tavern, I don¡¯t think some of them will keep quiet, some of them are gossipers and I think a couple of the girls that are choosing to spend their time with the bandits might have gotten too close with them for my taste.¡± I see a look of disgust on her face as she informs her brother of some of her suspicions. Rocky, ¡°I am not surprised, I know a few of them who were sleeping around just from overhearing some of the guys talking, that Piper girl even slept with one of my friends who had only just turned thirteen at the time as well as old Boris who has children older than you! and she¡¯s not the only loose girl in the village either, granted none with as wide of a striking range as Piper, some only sleep with guys who have something they want, others stick with the best looking guys, and some only want to be with guy with better social connections or standing. They really are the worst!¡± Luna, ¡°I agree, I have already heard about a few of them even before the bandit problem started, you wouldn¡¯t believe how much gossip women talk about while they are sewing, also I think it¡¯s Felicia who is sleeping around for status, as I have heard she¡¯s slept with all the the village head¡¯s boys, even sleeping with the twins at the same time which is why she got caught in the first place. And now I think she has shacked up with the bandits leader, she was there when I was attacked and she never said anything to get them to stop.¡± I take note of the names mentioned in case those unpleasant people come as I don¡¯t plan on welcoming them. Luna and Rocky were going to continue their conversation when the patter of rain started and they went outside to get the laundry done. I was a little disgruntled as the rain made it even harder to see outside of my dungeon but as the rain poured down and soaked into the ground I started actually accumulating units of water! It is the first time it has rained since I was first woken, and although I have cleaned up a few spills this is the first time I¡¯ve accumulated enough to create a unit of the stuff, so now I have a new resource to use. I don¡¯t really know how much water is one unit so I decided to use the little room that has been left empty and I raised the floor of the entrance to it about halfway just in case and I harden the floor making it curve down in the center like a bowl before I decided to put a single unit of water in the room only to find out that one unit of water is just a little more than what would fit in the pot they use for soup. I want to let Luna know but I can¡¯t contact her while she¡¯s out of my dungeon, so I decided to try taking some ground outside. I carefully expanded outside and I go ahead and make a visible path as I proceed so Luna can see where I am progressing to, while I absorb the water from its surface as I go. I look forward seeing her reaction as I headed in the direction I had seen them take the laundry, I find them with the laundry draped over some lower hanging branches that have lots of space to hang the clothes where they would avoid getting snagged by the wood. They rub the cloth against itself in all sorts of ways before moving onto the next item of laundry until they seem to have finished and started to collect the clothes and bedding that have been weighed down by the water content that they have accumulated. Luna notices my path and steps onto it as she heads back to my dungeon and I become excited to show her what I can do now! When she returns she requests me to make a few beams going along the wall in the first room about a foot away from the wall for her to hang the laundry on and then she tries to squeeze the water out. I decided to try helping and I have a section of the wall and ceiling clamp around the animal hide and absorbing all the water I can before releasing it. Luna walks over to the animal hide and checks it, feeling it all over before she is satisfied with her inspection. Luna, ¡°It is still a little damp but it is almost dry, thanks for helping us out. Now that clothes will dry a lot faster we shouldn¡¯t have to worry about the clothes going sour or trying to figure out how to warm them by the fire without leaving someone to keep an eye on it and prevent them getting burned while drying.¡± I then get Luna¡¯s attention and show her what I have done and what I can do now, she follows my lead of bumps on the ground and she sees the little partial wall I made in the entrance of the second small room and then she takes a while to notice the water in the dark room. Luna, ¡°You can make water now!?¡± I responded with a no, the stalagmite pressed gently against the bottom of her foot so as to not hurt her but still enough to make my attempt to correct her mistaken impression. Luna, ¡°Okay so you¡¯re not making it yourself so are you gathering it from the rain outside?¡± I excitedly respond with a yes, letting the clay form up under her foot. She thinks for a moment before she makes some suggestions for an ongoing project. Luna, ¡°If you are able to absorb water then maybe we could make an aquifer and a possible fish farm if we can get some aquatic plants and fish to get it started. We can also have indoor baths if we can heat the water up enough to avoid getting too cold then we could even stay clean throughout the winter without having to boil a pot of water and have rag baths. This is going to be great, I can already see a lot of potential uses you could make out of this new ability and resource, so for now why not expand out and try absorbing what you can while it is still raining. The system and the dungeon database Luna headed to my core for another mana transfer and by now it has become almost ritualistic to the point where I have gotten to where I can tell when her mana was full or not. I partly discovered this after I realized that ever since the teleportation incident she has been transferring all her mana every time, so I have found that although it¡¯s usually full when she wakes up it¡¯s not always full when she does a transfer when they take their midday meal break as sometimes it is too early for it to have finished refilling. Another thing that I noticed is that she seems to be slowly getting a larger mana capacity as well! I don¡¯t have enough information on the matter but could she be getting an improved mana storage over time or is it possible that it is improving because she is using it? I don¡¯t have any way to ask and somehow I don¡¯t think Luna really realizes it herself, even though she has gained at least a couple of points to her mana capacity it¡¯s definitely beneficial as it¡¯s also adding to my rates of recovery. With the combination of my improved mana absorption efficiency and her increased mana capacity I am about to finish crystallizing the mana in the cracks for the first time since I was damaged. Once I finished the first crystallization process I should be able to start another section of liquified mana and try to smooth out some of the rough edges in my dungeon core. I already know that this is going to be a long process but I feel like there is a lot more in play than System is letting me know, in fact I feel like I just don¡¯t get all the information as I should. I also seem to have features that I haven¡¯t been informed about yet partly because they are damaged or because I haven¡¯t gotten close enough to unlock them and some that require particular materials or resources in general, as has been hinted at with the breeder requirements. Although I don¡¯t think I have been informed of just what the required amounts are precisely I at least I know what resources are needed for creating it. I have done some exploring through my dungeon database on the things I have uncovered from things that I have discovered through absorbing the seeds of plants to the data that has been repaired for my dungeon plants because of it. To things that I have uncovered due to repairing my dungeon core, like the fact that I have a level 0 core, as well as a level 1 dungeon!? Somehow I feel like my core and dungeon are out of sync and I can only guess as to it being related to my core being busted but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s the only thing that it is. I think there are some things that I have to do or unlock in order to level up and although I have been trying to ask System about many things I would like to know it has gotten to where it rarely gives me any information at all! If that wasn¡¯t bad enough it¡¯s not notifying me about all the updates when I get mana transfers now, as sometimes it only gives me an update on my improved mana absorption efficiency or my new mana storage capacity, I don¡¯t even get any updates on my energy at all!!! I want to complain about it but who can I even complain about it to when I can¡¯t even talk to others other than yes or no responses I have to improvise! If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. I have been mainly focusing on repairing my core and only spontaneity doing more around my dungeon while only allotting a few mana to use each night to add more plants. Speaking of plants the sleeping remedies are about ready to harvest and the glowing moss has just begun to make a little glowing light in the center of the second room, granted it isn¡¯t even close to bright enough but since it¡¯s still growing I hope that it¡¯s level of brightness will increase over time. I now have a new plant called moist moss which requires a full unit of water for me to get it started as well as the normal plant requirements for mana, biomass and energy, but on the upside it is apparently able to produce more water which will drip from the moss, so I have currently placed one in the second small room that is now considered the washing room. Another plant that I have newly obtained, after Luna brought me some new plants to absorb, is a fire fern which requires me to absorb some hot coals and cost a whopping 15 mana and 30 energy just to plant! But since it is supposed to produce a little bit of light and heat I think it will be getting planted once it starts getting cold inside as so far the fireplace seems to be doing well to fend off the chill that is starting to be felt outside. Luna and the others seem to be trying to hurry up with their winter preparations as Luna went right back out once the rain had passed having only changed her clothes and drying her fur while warming herself by the fire long enough to avoid her getting sick. I don¡¯t know exactly what it means to be sick but from what it sounds like I am guessing that it would be like getting poisoned which from what my dungeon database says it can be really bad if they got sick. I don¡¯t know what it is that she went out to do but I would have to guess that she went to check on her traps out in the woods and maybe seeing what was effected by the rain. She returned a little muddy and had to get herself cleaned up again but she was ready for dinner by dusk and she sat down at the table with her siblings for a hearty meal. During the dinner Luna made sure to speak with Rocky about his trip tomorrow and her advice about it was continued from earlier. Luna, ¡°I went down by the river and looked at the path that we took to get here and I think you might want to stick closer to the woods because I noticed that not only did the river rise but it looks like a mud slide must have occurred further up stream as the water has more sediment stirred up than it should, and think there is a few spots along the river towards the village that might be at risk of wearing down. Just keep to the tree line and you should be fine just be careful about slipping and falling onto something that might hurt you, I plan on heading out to meet you on your way back but if I don''t see you before dusk I will assume the worst and try to find you, so don¡¯t make me worry and come back as soon as you can. If there¡¯s too much stuff for you to carry then it is fine for you to take whatever you can and do another trip tomorrow if you must.¡± They prepare a canteen for him and add a little salveaid to it, because although it may make the water taste bitter it will help with his recovery and therefore it¡¯s better for helping him get back sooner since he will not be needing as much time for breaks. They simply just chat before bed tonight from what they hope is in the supplies to who Rocky hopes to run into at the Barkley¡¯s barn. Luna does the usual nightly mana transfer and we are rewarded with completing the first crystallization process! [Congratulations! You have completed a mana crystallization process! You will be able to continue the core repair process through the dungeon database and are no longer qualified for Emergency System Support!¡­..You have met the requirements for core level increase but due to the core being damaged all level up rewards, unlocks, and upgrades will be on hold until completion of core repair¡­.. The System is now deactivating in favor of the dungeon database¡­¡­¡­the system has deactivated.] WHAT THE HECK! WAIT WHAT DO YOU MEAN I DON¡¯T QUALIFY FOR THE SYSTEM ANYMORE!!!! COME BACK HERE AND EXPLAIN!!! HELLO!!! HELLO!!! HEY SYSTEM CAN YOU HEAR ME!!!¡­.. Well shit¡­. I guess I should have seen this coming from earlier but this really bites. I guess I am on my own now¡­well not really, I still have Luna and her siblings but I feel a little bit lost now that System is gone, after all they were the only one there when I first woke up, even if they weren¡¯t the best conversation partner they were the only ones I could ask things and be heard by. Luna has gone to bed and I feel lonely¡­ Preparing for winter guests, renovations needed The day started just like any other as Luna comes to give me a transfer of mana and I condense all of her and my own mana to repair my core. This time it didn¡¯t take several times to build up enough mana to create a layer of liquified mana and I was able to start filling in some of the deeper gaps left behind from the chunks that broke off. Luna notices the new development and we were able to share the moment before she had to go eat and send her brother off. She repeated what she believed to be the most important for her brother to remember and she walked out with him as she decided to go check her traps along the way and back. She returned with a quail not too long afterwards and she started plucking its feathers which she gathered on a cloth and after she finished she washed them both before she put the feathers under the fireplace to dry and she gutted them bird before giving it a final wash. Unlike the rabbits and frogs from the times before she didn¡¯t remove the meat from the bones and instead she started stuffing it full of vegetables to the point that it looked like it would just rip right open, then she made a request. Luna, ¡°Would you mind letting me use some of your clay to cover the quail up with?¡± I eagerly go ahead and cover the quail with clay for her rather than giving her the normal reply as I don¡¯t normally have as many ways to assist with the cooking process aside from getting rid of the scraps or inedible bits, but with this I can do a little more than usual. Luna smiles at me actively assisting her and so she has me move it into the fireplace and cover it with the hot ashes for it to be left cooking until dinner tonight. In the meantime Luna and I have started working on a way I can assist with adding water to the pot, as so far I have over flowed it multiple times and I have been trying to come up with a way to catch a unit of water and then pour the right amount into the pot some it¡¯s lead to a container on top of the shelf with a slough that can be raised on the container for less water to flow through it down to the pot or lowered to have more water flow into the pot, and I made a mark at the point where the overflow would happen to avoid making it spill. Luna goes out again and returns with a lot of vines and she starts teaching her little sister, how to weave a mat from the vines and they work on it together until it got big enough to cover the dungeon entrance from the inside. They are quite proud of their work and I made a couple hooks in the wall to hold it in place and another one to hook it on when it is rolled up out of the way. So now there is my vines on the outside and the woven vine mat on the inside to help keep the place warm and hidden. Apparently they plan to make more for each of the doorways to help with maintaining heat as well as allowing them privacy. They make one more for Luna¡¯s room rather then for between the two large rooms as they still need the light from the fireplace to see well enough. Before I knew it, it was already time for Luna to head out to meet her brother so she grabbed an apple from the eat first basket and left. Only Misty remained and she went about checking the food and moving what needed to be used sooner to the two cook first and eat first baskets before she went to making one more basket from the last of the vines. I decided that I should plant some more dungeon plants that provide light to help brighten their living environment, the question is should I go ahead and invest in the fire fern for the heat needs of winter or should I stick with the glow moss that¡¯s cheaper? It seems like it would take about the same amount of time to grow it to maturity and they both can be split after they mature¡­ I wish I could ask Luna what she needs but thinking about how much time and effort she is putting into preparing for winter and how much she seems to be prioritizing for and warmth maybe saving up for the fire fern is better, and I might just be wanting to avoid using up so much mana. I decided I should stop procrastinating due to the mana situation and I till up some soil next to the wash room to plant the fire fern once I have enough mana to do so. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. I have decided to reserve some mana per transfer until I have enough to get the fire fern planted as I still want to prioritize repairing my core for all the obvious reasons. I have also had to slow down on my surface expansion as it seems to be putting a bit of strain on my dungeon flesh to be so far away from my core even though I have prioritized expanding into the areas where Luna and her siblings go most frequently I feel like I have made less progress than I think I have. I was thinking about making another room for each of her siblings as well but I might have to wait on that for now, at least until I get more leeway for expanding other wise I will have to give up some of the land that I had expanded into earlier. Luna and her brother returned with a couple of bags, one being the second backpack from before and the other one being a large sack with a drawstring wrapped around its opening to tie it shut. Luna has the drawstring sack while Rocky has the backpack that makes him look small, and the exhaustion is clearly visible on his face. They put the stuff down and Luna gives him some berries to snack on while he drinks a canteen with salveaid in the water. After giving him a while to recover they started discussing what happened at the supply pick up and what happened while they were away. Rocky, ¡°So I got there well enough, there was only a couple spots that got washed out but they weren¡¯t too big. Also, Rufus was the one on watch at the barn, and he had some news alright, Felicia is pregnant and it¡¯s most likely belongs to one of the bandits, so a lot of people are not happy about that especially since one of the other girls was raped not long after they had failed to rape you. Apparently they have been having to keep her sedated and under watch now because she seems to have gone crazy, he didn¡¯t go into the details of who it was or how she went crazy so we will find out more later if we catch Beatrice on the next trip since she¡¯s likely to know more. Also some folks are not too happy about you not coming back to help out because apparently mom let someone people know that you survived but don¡¯t want to come back and someone ended up letting the bandits know so now they are mad about one of their girls get away, and are taking it out on other people as if you were their possession that got stolen from them. Now mom is having to work in the tavern and the other girls are isolating from her to avoid getting caught in the crossfire. I decided that was probably the best time to bring up not needing as much food stock and that they can send it to whoever needs it more, making it as a token to help mom get treated better might be a better option than claiming that we are doing well enough that we already have plenty. You know how some people are if they want to be mean they might be doing it to get something out of it and it is better to give up what you don¡¯t need rather than letting it be known that you have plenty otherwise they will take the plenty and leave you in need¡­ or something like that I forgot exactly how that proverb was said. Also there¡¯s some winter furs and clothing in this batch as well as mom¡¯s sewing kit and a note from our parents too!¡± Luna, takes out the note to read and just summarizes its contents. Luna, ¡°Looks like mom and dad plan on leaving the village earlier and are going to give away whatever they don¡¯t have brought here so they want us to do a trip every day until they join us on the way back. Dad is planning to help the Barkley¡¯s camp in the woods down the mountain from here to keep us in contact with them through the winter, and we will have to take in the undecided people who won¡¯t fit in the other camps. So we will need to prepare for their arrival soon. Also most of the vulnerable villagers have already been evacuated to the friendly village and the rest of their family members will sneak out when the snow first comes so the snow can cover their tracks. I will say it I am not that happy about them sending people to us when nobody else has come to help us out with the preparations. But I figured that would happen as I never thought those two camps would be enough for everybody to fit even if some families were going to that other village, so I figured that we would have to expand our own camp and one of the reasons why I wanted to get everything organized while getting the preparations done as fast as possible, and why I want to make some areas off limits but I might need to reassess how to go about it.¡± Luna looks frustrated but she quickly comes up with some ideas for what we should do. Luna, ¡°I¡¯m thinking about getting the dungeon to make the second room have dividers in it or shrink it to make it act like a central hub with branching rooms maybe move the wash room towards the core room in the space that the second room is currently and fill in a tunnel to the core room. This room will be used as a common room for storing firewood and making and eating food, so we will have to make some other space for crafting supplies or materials, should we try widening the hallway to accommodate a strip of workspace or should we just make a small space between the branches of the common space and the family rooms. What do you think you can do before they get here?¡± I think that I will need to give up some of the outside but I raise an outline of my dungeon on the table and I proceed to make some changes in the design, showing that I think I will do. closing that one tunnel is a must and making another room in front of Luna¡¯s for her family and the washroom will be in front of where my tunnel was, then I make four more sleeping rooms and I widen the hallway and make a small room to either side and I stop there as I don¡¯t want to promise anything that I am uncertain about getting to in time. Luna, ¡°Looks like we will do fine if that¡¯s the case.¡± Well I better start moving things around and although I will keep my path towards the river and will have to give up the section of forest over time as I will likely need to to make some of my interior expansions. All sorts of changes That nights dinner wound up being the vegetable stuffed quail that was roasted in a clay shell that kept everything flavorful and juicy as its moisture couldn¡¯t escape from the clay shell that had hardened around it. They are their fill and put the leftovers into the pot with some more vegetables and water to continue serving as future meals like most of their previous ones have been done so far. Luna gave me a mana transfer and she ate some mana grass before she laid down and spoke with me about how she would hope for things to go in the future until she had drifted off to sleep aided by whatever sleeping herb she had decided to add to her canteen earlier during their meal. > I had closed the tunnel connecting the core room to the second room and divided the space of the second room creating the washroom and a room for Luna¡¯s family on the side closest to my core room and have the other side act as a common space that branches out into areas where other families can stay giving them an entrance area for storage or other uses and two or three sleeping rooms with soft clay floors. For Luna¡¯s family I made three sleeping rooms and a room for whatever they might need from a crafting room to storage space for the things that they don¡¯t want the other families messing with. I expanded Luna¡¯s personal room and moved it closer to my core room to incorporate more space for the room for her parents and a room for her siblings. I also widened the hallway and made a couple of small rooms that branch out from either side of it to act as spares for sleeping rooms or whatever else they need. I also made a room branching from the first room to store the firewood in and I changed the table with chairs into a curved bench along the wall with a curved table that follows it and another curved stone bench that follows it along, they are made for three people to a side and there are multiple going around the room opposite of the side made to serve as a kitchen space with a fireplace on either side and the original shelves and a duplicate mirroring it in the middle. It has been several days now and many things have been tweaked since the original remodeling plan, as some of the people who will be joining us have been decided and that is one of the things that¡¯s influenced the current dungeon layout, granted I plan to make further changes and improvements all the way up until the newcomers arrive. One of the things that I have been looking forward to that also helped with much of the planed changes was the maturing of the glow moss, the moist moss and the fire fern which I had immediately divided to make more of each and to scatter them where they were needed most. The fire ferns were designated to be in what remained of the second room to provide light and heat and we set them up in stone planters that can be slid around to where they would be needed most. I also made several spare stone planters to transplant the divided new plants that are sure to be done throughout the winter, as until the other residents can be trusted Luna thinks that it¡¯s best to avoid them figuring out more than necessary. Which is why she came up with the idea of using the sliding stone planters as a disguise for me moving the plants around. Now the moist moss has been divided into three, with two in the water catch I had made for assisting in cooking to slowly refill and be ready to be used even if I don¡¯t pay attention to refill it it can still be explained as the moist moss hasn¡¯t had time to refill the water catch yet. The largest portion of the moist moss has been left to the washroom and we made a function where the water can be drained into a room below it through a manual device that anyone can operate without my assistance and I will automatically absorb it passively. Luna also came up with the idea of making another device that would release water into the washroom in case it gets emptied and needed to be refilled faster than the moist moss can keep up with, so we created a room above and to the side of the washroom to store enough water to properly fill the basin of the washroom. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Now the glow moss had indeed gotten brighter as it matured and they also created a little amount of mana once it finished maturing, so it was decided to divide it up and plant them into each of the other families area so they could see and they can cover their sleeping rooms with a woven vine mat, an animal hide, or a blanket of their choosing as I have already made the stone hooks for them to hang whatever they want as a divider. All the rest of the plants have been planted in stone planters and are able to be moved around as needed be they for food or medicine and we plan on making it seem like new areas get unlocked over time as the place is full of hidden contraptions that get unlocked with exploration and we have even come up with locations where we will have the triggers and the places to open up to the new locations. The first room will have a trigger in the firewood storage that is a stone hook for a lantern and another one in the center of the room as well as the far side where the light of the fireplaces don¡¯t illuminate as well. Which will lead to the wall opening up between the stone tables and benches and it will lead down to a set of rooms underneath which I should have plenty of time to mess around with before getting discovered, since the center of the room gets light from both fireplaces and from the dungeon entrance whenever it¡¯s open, who would put a lantern there when they would more likely need the light in other places. And another place would be in the second room there will be another location to unlock with planters put in certain spots at the same time to unlock a path that will lead up the mountain and create a layer above the others that I would later connect with the lower sections. The planters puzzle will likely take longer as the imprinted images on the planters have to match up but they will be changed based upon what gets planted in them¡­ we haven¡¯t really decided on what placements and what not yet as I only have the path outlined and no rooms there much like the lower level one. I will admit that changing my dungeon layout has gotten easier and more interesting to do as I now feel impulsive to keep playing around with things and I wonder if it was the second mana crystallization process getting completed making it easier or could it be that I am just getting better at it over time. I also admit that I might have wanted to do more with my dungeon particularly since I had to give up all of my ground outside except for half of the path to the river as I have decided that I wanted to catch some river animals and plants for the creation of a dungeon fish farm since I found out that all of Luna and her family have favorite foods that were all located in or near fresh water like lakes and rivers! Luna has a fancy towards fish, her mother likes frogs, her father likes clams and shellfish in general, her brother likes crustaceans like crawfish and her sister hasn¡¯t quite figured out what she likes the most yet. So I want to surprise her with plenty of fish once I can manage making it to the river. Luna¡¯s family have finished getting all their stuff brought here aside from the last couple of packs worth which they will bring when they come, so their little living space and sleeping rooms have filled out nicely as they all have soft and warm looking bedding and even spare blankets and clothes that they have placed in woven basket chest that the sisters spent an entire day on each. Rocky had brought back quite a few pieces of baggage for some of the soon to be dungeon guests and they have been storing those bags in the living quarters for each family to assist with speeding up the moving process. One of the families that will be joining us will be the same one as the rape victim, they are cat beast-kin and they are coming particularly to get away from others after the incident as the daughter has developed a fear of men who look like her attackers to the point where her father and brother have started shaving their beards and dressing in bright colors just to reduce whatever resembling features they could. Another family that has decided to come is a rabbit beast-kin and human couple who have a couple of children who have hybrid traits such as their rabbit ears being located more closely to where a human¡¯s ears are rather than them being on the top of their heads like normal rabbit beast-kin, luckily they have their mothers floppy ears instead of the more erected ones that are more common in the village. As for the last family that¡¯s been confirmed to come is a couple who¡¯s children are Rocky¡¯s friends, they are a dog beast-kin family that had moved in the village shortly before having their children so they aren¡¯t related to the Barkley¡¯s and they don¡¯t their family to be absorbed by the Barkley¡¯s family just because they are dog beast-kin, yet the other camp being dominated by the cat beast-kin and the cattle type of beast-kin they would likely suffer mistreatment. Any other families that will come are left as unknowns until they arrive as Rocky has finished doing trips to the village and no news will come until they arrive. Now all we can do is wait until they arrive as it looks like snow will fall any day now and the supplies have been delivered where they will go except for the last minute finishing touches that every able bodied adult will handle the night that it starts to snow. The first snow The first snowfall happened as night fell and everyone went into action, Luna set a large kettle of water to be heated to warm the people who were going to arrive and both Luna and Rocky headed out to assist the people who should be on their way to our location. All they took was a small lantern that produced just enough light to see where they were going and they would be going through the trees to help hide the light and they also had a cover so when the moonlight was enough they could cover the lantern. One of the benefits they had as nocturnal beast-kin is that they quickly adjusted to the low light of nighttime and they didn¡¯t require nearly as much light to see by as other people might. Misty gathered the cups that were going to be used and added some salveaid to the boiling water to help rejuvenate the people who were going to arrive later as some of them were going to go back to retrieve whatever they had left behind until it is too late. Some people would still be in the village moving stuff to catch locations near the village where the items can continue getting retrieved over time, but tonight¡¯s priority is to get the most important stuff, women and women, and all the food, blankets and hides out so that the bandits will start to starve and freeze while not having access to anyone to take their anger out on. The only people who are going to be returning to retrieve stuff will be men who have better night vision as everyone wants to limit leaving a light trail to their location. It wasn¡¯t quite as long as I had thought it would be before Luna returned with the forward group, apparently just the women and children as they were all carrying luggage to their limits, I think I can only assume that the men had handed over what they had brought out and headed back for more hopefully depriving the bandits of everything they can before they get noticed. Luna showed the families to each of their living quarters and left them to prepare what they needed to put their children to bed and they passed out warm salveaid water to get the chill out as tonight was going to be busy. Many of the children were worn out from the rushed journey through the cold slurry while burdened with luggage so they were quick to fall asleep once their beds were ready and their bodies warmed. All the dirty clothes that were cold and muddy from walking through the melting snow that they had trampled through on their way here were gathered by the parents of each respective family. Luna¡¯s mother doesn¡¯t seem to be amongst them for some reason and I can only assume that she went to assist in retrieving as much as she can. Many of the mothers set about organizing their supplies into their rooms assigned to them and the odd individuals who were last minute to join the group were assigned the spare rooms some having to share a living arrangement with individuals not in their family as there weren¡¯t enough rooms available otherwise. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. Luna was running about to assist others until everyone was settled and a few of the women gathered in the first room. They talked for a while about if they were going to have some of their number to go out and meet the men halfway to help bring stuff back and if so who should stay to watch over the children? As it can be assumed anyone without children would be heading out while those with children would stay, and they would prepare their rooms to receive their possessions as we as putting up whatever they already had here. Some of the older children got up to help out with some of what they were able to do as the anxious vibe made it harder to wait patiently and keeping busy seems to help with the nerves. Luna headed back out with the ones who would head back to the halfway point to await assisting the men as a relay point while Misty took the time helping the others get settled in and then explaining how some of the special features were of the cooking stations and the washroom. She gives out a reminder to be careful not to waste water as it takes time to replenish and that families should wash in turns and do the laundry afterwards so when they empty and refill the water in the wash room they can have gotten more use out of it than they would otherwise. She also suggested that those who don¡¯t have a family should take turns washing and then doing their laundry together to remain efficient. Since there are two cooking stations available two different cooks can prepare meals at the same time and multiple people can eat at the tables without over crowding. Misty also shows the extra woven mats for hanging up over the entrance to their sleeping areas to help muffle some sound as well as providing a decent filter for the light from the glow moss as unlike a lantern they can¡¯t have their light put out. The next group returns with more stuff to put away and some individuals who will be staying rather than going back out about the time Misty had finished the tour and explanations, so she had to repeat herself for each group as they stayed. Several trips occurred by the time the sun started to rise to reveal the snow still coming down and the thickness of what had accumulated through the night and with the many different paths taken to the different camps which would make it difficult to identify what trail to follow. Everyone did well getting everything out that they could now we just have to wait and hear how everything goes with the bandits as they return. Which they do, dragging loaded sleds through a hidden animal trail in the woods that Luna guided them through before arriving. They pass things off to be unloaded by those who stayed while they drank hot salveaid water and were served breakfast by the women who had the best cooking reputation, one even pulling out her own stash of cooking herbs to help flavor the stews that they made in the largest cooking pots they had and another couple of women made a huge batch of dough together at one of the tables and they used a stone pot as an over to cook several fist sized bread rolls to have with the stews one with meat and the other with only vegetables. But even with the hearty meal and warm welcome the atmosphere that came with the last group was tense, and it didn¡¯t take long for someone to ask and be met with a rage filled shout! A man in hooded hunting gear, ¡°TRAITORS! That¡¯s what¡¯s wrong!¡± He and other men look out right ready to kill somebody and the people who were here froze at the mere mention that anyone from the village would betray them in anyway. But who and what did they do! I can only wait for answers! The wrong that was done, introducing the parents The hunter only carries his last name Blazkowicz, in honor of his parents who had passed before finalizing what they wanted to call him, so most people call him whatever is suitable, like now they can him hunter. His wife Daisy who was in charge of the vegetable soup calmed him down before softly asking. Daisy, ¡°Now tell us what happened, who is the traitor and what have they done?¡± Hunter, ¡°All the Ramington family that hadn¡¯t already left when the bulk of us villagers left, played us! They were to get those bandits sloppy drunk and spike the drinks and food with sleeping medicine and follow everyone out once they were done but they didn¡¯t do it and they stayed there with the bandits as nothing more than a distraction!!! Now the bandits know most of the villagers have left and they are helping the Ramingtons and the villagers who joined them to collect all the remaining goods in the village, going through our houses and stripping them bare like common thieves in daylight! The head of the Ramingtons is the same village head who had suggested the plan in the first place and now they have shown their true colors I think they might have planed to use this to take over the whole village and get rid of the unwanted competition!¡± He gritted his teeth audibly and his knuckles turned white from how tightly he clenched them as Daisy tried to soothe him. Hunter, ¡°If those traitors or bandits show up I will rip them apart and once I tear them limb from limb I will scatter their bodies and keep hunting them down till they feel like they are living in hell!¡± Daisy, ¡°Now now calm down you don¡¯t want to scare the children!¡± She whispered something in his ear and he sulked but quieted and they retired to their room and they closed all the improved doors which were the woven vine mats that Daisy had padded with hide blankets on both sides of the woven mats, making them have the best doors in my dungeon and the most efficient in blocking out any of their sounds, which they were making plenty of. The rest of the people remained in the first room and didn¡¯t comment on the couple who left, instead they focused on what to do now. A particularly rough one to deal with was a literal black sheep beast-kin, Coaley who has sat in the floor crying and getting comforted by some of the other women. She was sent ahead with all her clothes, her personal sewing kit and her own bedding, as her parents had promised to join her once they had finished doing their tasks to help the village, they would be bringing everything else and she had even stood her ground to save the room next to her for her parents only to find out that she had been abandoned and left with nothing else to her name, she had never been the favorite child but she never thought she was neglected, that is until now. Everyone could tell her situation at a glance and no one would question her about being a spy as some can already guess that the Ramingtons had also used this incident to get rid of the undesirable members of their family, recognizing the ones sent away either married another race of beast-kin or had traits that were not considered favorable, be they the color of their wool, a messed up horn, or a handicap of some kind physically or mentally. The men left the ladies to care for the girl and they focused on the issue at hand. A orange and black cat beast-kin named Tom, speaking up firmly before anyone else could take charge after hunter. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. Tom, ¡°I am going to start with vengeance will need to come but right now we need to survive and prepare for the worst. I don¡¯t think any of us here are stupid enough to believe that we won¡¯t be attacked, and as the smallest of the three camps we are the most vulnerable even if they might choose the other two camps because they are closer and easier to get to when they start and they¡¯re likely to catch people who are out in the woods hunting and gathering before they strike any of the camps. I will say one advantage we have is that aside from knowing that this camp is a cave up the mountain just a little ways from the river no one¡¯s really got much of an idea of what this place is like and seeing the place now, I don¡¯t think anyone would be expecting what this place is really like and I hope that it stays that way! Now we need to start keeping a lookout for any activity from the village but we also have to prepare for traitors popping up not just in our camp but in the others as well. I also think that we need to be ready to fight, like the hunter mentioned granted let¡¯s be honest we wouldn¡¯t have had to put up with bandits in the first place if we were able to handle them in the first place, instead let¡¯s be smart and pick off the bandits and traitors when we catch them out hunting for supplies or getting firewood once they run out of supplies.¡± A human named Greg follows up on Tom¡¯s input. Greg, ¡°I second them, those bastards had been fooling around with us and it¡¯s caused us a great deal of hardships, my condolences for your daughter and all the women who were forced to endure dealing with the bandits, and I propose that we shouldn¡¯t allow them to get away with any of it. I say we have to kill the worst of them and I suggest selling the rest as slaves to the city or something to get some reparations for what they have done to the village and us villagers. Sure we can¡¯t take them until after the thaw and we can only take them a few at a time to prevent accidents but I think making them slaves would serve them right for what they have done.¡± Another round of agreements and even a few demands for all their women to be made prostitutes and the men to be sent to the mines were met with unanimous approval. I also wished to express my approval as making the ones who had hurt Luna should be made to suffer for what they did to her! More conversations started spreading out and too many speakers made it harder for me to catch them all so I decided to focus on my Luna and her family. The Coons had headed to their living quarters to have a talk and to have the parents meet me, which I was conflicted about as I didn¡¯t have much of a positive opinion about them with the little I have found out about them. The mother Rita and the father Rimmy seemed to try covering up their raccoon tails more than I have noticed in the other beast-kin and they avoided wearing black or dark colored clothing the darkest being brown which seems to be the most common clothing color amongst the villagers. They were brought in and instantly stunned by the sight of my broken core, as Luna introduced me. Luna, ¡°Mom and dad, this is the dungeon core that saved me from the bandits, it was already broken when we first got here but when it saved me it¡¯s damage got a lot worse pieces had broken off and a part of the dungeon even collapsed! I have been giving it my mana to help it repair itself and we have been making good progress lately which is great because when it was damaged from teleporting me it had been a lot harder to repair then it is now. Umm, also it has been super helpful and supportive not just letting us use it as a home but its helped with providing plants we can use as food and medicine as well as helping with whatever chores it can assist with like disposing of waste and scraps such. So, please get along well.¡± Her parents hadn¡¯t had time to react before Luna bombarded them with her introduction and requests that had them listening more to understand the situation. Right before they could start their response Rocky also chimed in. Rocky, ¡°Also sis is trying to have a relationship with it since it¡¯s treating her better than anyone else has and done more for her than any of those halfhearted suitors combined. I already support their relationship and I think it¡¯s going well for them, so don¡¯t try talking her out of it!¡± Both parents, ¡°WHAT!?!?!?!?¡± The befuddlement on their faces shuffled through more expressions than I could catch and the mother had to take a seat which I reluctantly supplied out of courtesy, and received more shock from doing so. Something tells me that this is going to be annoying in one way or another and I just hope it doesn¡¯t take long. A family breaks down Luna¡¯s mother seems so stunned that she is probably trying to escape from reality, whilst her father doesn¡¯t seem to know which emotional response is more appropriate for the situation as he attempts to address things. Rimmy, ¡°Now Luna, I know you know how much effort your mother has put into trying to get you a good and respectable suitor for years now and it looked like you were doing well with that Ruffas Digger fellow, and he¡¯s a bread of dog beast-kin that looks well with raccoon beasts-kin so you should definitely be able to have fine looking children. He has always been polite to you and he has even brought you flowers on multiple occasions, he even enjoys your cooking and likes your favorite foods so you won¡¯t have to make many changes. I know you are probably very pent up with how long you have been on heat suppressants but couldn¡¯t you just hold out for a little longer surely we can find someone you can be happier with? I have only ever heard stories about people who were used as monster breading tools by dungeons and even after they get rescued they were all crazy in one way or another, and we don¡¯t want that sort of thing happening to you! Now, I don¡¯t mean any offense to the dungeon here and it seems it¡¯s treating everyone well but I can¡¯t help but worry about it with what little I know.¡± Rimmy shakes his head in his hands and he sits down next to Rita as he lets Luna say her piece. While I contemplate what I have just learned about other dungeons and what sort of meaning it might have on my future progression. Luna, ¡°Yet, can you tell me where Ruffas is because he¡¯s not here, in fact he¡¯s never once come here since I first started this camp, nor did he help supply this camp or check on my safety when I had gotten attacked or anything! instead he¡¯s been diligently delivering supplies to the Barkley¡¯s camp and checking in on his cousin when she was working a shift at the tavern to make sure she was safe and now he¡¯s staying at the Barkley¡¯s camp not mine! So, if that¡¯s not a clear enough answer for me then I must be blind and dumb! Now as for your concerns about the dungeon we are still figuring things out and I have already thought about some of the implications, since you aren¡¯t the only one who heard about some of those things. after all I have always spoken with travelers who have visited the village. From some of the things I have concluded I can already guess that I most likely won¡¯t be enough to handle helping to make enough monsters for his dungeon. So I am sure he would need other women to function normally, but I also know that he won¡¯t end up neglecting me like a normal man would end up doing.because I know that the dungeon can focus on me while also constructing new dungeon features and also assisting with cleaning up messes all at the same time! Currently I think this dungeon is really young but clearly curious, it¡¯s always interested in learning new things and exploring new places despite its limitations in doing so. So I think I will have some time to prepare for when he can breed with me, and whoever I find that might want to join me, otherwise I will also resort to capturing one of those traitorous whores who were watching me and later Tammy getting attacked and raped, see how they like being on the receiving end!¡± This appears to have shocked both her parents quite strongly as he mother finally raised her voice in sharp chastisement. Rita, ¡°How dare you! I know I haven¡¯t raised you to be such a hateful person as to wish harm upon others like that! Much less for you to actively try to make someone else suffer! Has it already corrupted you to make you its own? You have to snap out of it!¡± Rita looks like she was going to slap Luna and I wasn¡¯t about to have it! A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. I shot up a wall between them faster than I have ever raised a wall before and the sound of her hand colliding with my wall confirms that I was right to do so. Her mother seems nearly delirious as she aims for my core next! I decided to completely wall her in! I feel shaken and so does Luna, as she saw how her mother responded, not just the failed slap but the attempt on my core, which I think she¡¯s even angrier about than I am. Rocky and Misty don¡¯t seem to know what to do and Rocky looks like he regrets having told their parents about Luna and my relationship. Rimmy on the other hand is trying to calm down Rita, who is shrieking like mad. I even over hear some things that I think Luna and her siblings should be privy of, so I made holes for sound to carry. Rita, ¡°After everything that we have done! This Damn dungeons going to ruin everything! We have already given up so much to get a better life and at this point we might as well just sell her off to the highest bidder back in the city! How dare she not recognize all that we have done for her! Had we stayed back in the city instead of coming here in time to have her born here instead then she would have been a street urchin destined for the brothel! Yet here we raised her well and taught her skills to get her a forager job and we even made sure to make preventative measures so she wouldn¡¯t get an unsavory job like thief!¡± Rimmy keeps trying to soothe her rage while bearing with the high pitched screeching of his wife. It seems Rita had been playing the good mother role while she really had her own selfish plans for her children as her next comment even rattled Rimmy! Rita, ¡°Fine! I guess we still have the other two and Misty is turning out even prettier than her sister so we can still marry her off well!¡± CRACK! The sound of Rimmy smacking her across the face echoed as Rita froze stunned and he looked frightful! The children were horrified by what they heard and it¡¯s implications, from their parents really having come from the city rather then another village, to the fact that they were being groomed to be married off or rather possibly sold off! Rimmy looks like he¡¯s coming out of his initial shock and he speaks coldly to his wife. Rimmy, ¡°Rita, I married you and got you out of that horrid place to save you from being sold to the brothel like your mother and I won¡¯t allow you to sell our children off when I had gone out of my way to give you AND them all a better life! You may have forgotten why I married you but I haven¡¯t and I haven¡¯t forgotten my vows! I had vowed to to give you a better life and that I would make sure that OUR children would have a good future and live happily! If you plan on throwing away our children¡¯s happiness for some bull shit kind of reason then I will choose OUR children over you!¡± Rita, ¡°!!!Wait you can¡¯t do that!!! I¡¯m your wife!!! You can¡¯t just throw me away! We can have more children if you want but you only have one wife! You can¡¯t replace me!¡± Disgust covered Rimmy¡¯s face at her response to him, even after all the emphasis he had placed upon the importance of their children to himself, just to be met with her view of children as replaceable and herself as being more important than their children! Rimmy, ¡°In that case I will divorce you! And if I can find someone who actually cherishes children then I¡¯ll marry them instead! Because while you seem to think that they are replaceable I don¡¯t and I am not willing to continue living with someone who¡¯s as heartless as you!¡± Rita gets in raged and tries to attack Rimmy and I had to put a wall between them for him to finish saying what he wanted to. I now have a much worse opinion of Rita and an incredibly good one of Rimmy, so I lower the wall between Rimmy and his children whom are all tearful about this chaotic situation and what they learned as somehow it seems that they have started realizing why some things didn¡¯t make sense which do now with what they have learned. Rimmy seems shell shocked by the situation and how it unfolded, he¡¯s lost for what to do but he sees his children and sorrowfully goes to them. He gets down on his knees and apologizes. Rimmy, ¡°Looks like I was the blind one here, I don¡¯t know how or what I can do to make it all up to you children, I don¡¯t even know what I did wrong and I don¡¯t know what to do going forward. So, I¡¯m just going to say that if you guys need me for anything let me know and I¡¯ll do whatever I can to help, I will respect your decisions and help make things work out, we will just figure something out along the way. Now Misty, sweetheart I won¡¯t go looking for a man for you, instead you just tell me who you have a fancy of and I¡¯ll go make sure he¡¯s a good man and I¡¯ll tell you everything I find out for you to make your own decision. On another note Rocky, I¡¯m going to offer to teach you how to hunt and fight if you want to learn, since I used to be pretty good as I was a bouncer when I was just a little bit older than you and then I spent some time guarding and hunting before we settled down here as farmers, so I might could teach you a thing or two. Luna, I don¡¯t know how to go about your relationship so just know that I am here when you need me and I will do whatever needs doing to make sure you all are safe and happy.¡± Luna leads the charge of piling on the hugs while crying, incoherent words spill out from the lot of them as the don¡¯t really take turns talking and I can¡¯t follow the conversation well, only catching snatches of apologies and thanks and awkward tearful laughs and promises. Now the big question I want to ask is what should I do with the angry Rita, as I really don¡¯t want her near my core or core room any longer than necessary¡­.. How long are they going to keep crying in a huddle??? New inhabitants registered It took a long time for the family to calm down and get back to settling matters before they headed to bed. The most important being how to address Rita and then how to start finding out who might be okay with life in a dungeon or how we could help convince people that I am more of a benefactor than a danger. With Rita the temporary solution is to lock her up in one of my inaccessible rooms and just keep her alive and away from everyone else with some excuse of her being sick or something until the truth can come out safely. The next is making people like living in my dungeon more, so they suggested that I slowly do things to further accommodate the people living here, finding misplaced items and placing them near the person looking for them being the easiest and the other being making additional adjustments to my dungeon when I hear what the people want through their random comments throughout my dungeon. Luna also has some interesting thoughts about who might be interested in becoming my inhabitants or companions. Luna, ¡°I think Tammy might be interested since she was there to see me get saved from the bandits by the dungeon teleporting me to safety, and she was one of the ones who at least had called out for help when I was attacked. But after she was attacked and raped she is clearly living in fear particularly over possibly experiencing something like that again, so letting her know that it was the dungeon that saved me and that it could do the same for her if she registered as a dungeon inhabitant then I think she would be willing to do it if only for the possibility that she could be saved if something horrible happens to her again.¡± Rimmy, ¡°I can see your point, I think her family would follow along as well if they find out that she joined and seems to recover from some of her fear. I noticed that her family is extremely caring about her and they have been cautious about her well-being and they have gone to quite the lengths to help avoid her experiencing anything that might frighten her. So I think you might want to consider talking to her and her mom as a friend and perhaps start with doing some activities or chores with her to re-socialize her, since that might help them get comfortable with you and then you could slowly show or mention the dungeon to her.¡± Luna, ¡°That¡¯s what I had planned, I was thinking about showing her mom the clothing chest Misty and I had made from vines and offer to teach her daughter how to weave the vines to make her own, maybe trying to help her have something that she can do inside to stay busy might help her feel more confident and it¡¯s a perfect way to start showing her one of the dungeon benefits. The dungeon absorbing the leaves we remove from the vines might help her adjust to it on her own and I could tell her that although the dungeon can¡¯t really talk, it can still listen to her and help comfort herself with the few ways it can communicate. I think she would appreciate just knowing that she could be protected at anytime anywhere in the dungeon and that she isn¡¯t alone, since she has apparently needed at least one of her family members around her at all times ever since she was attacked. I can try taking to her mom in the morning and see what she thinks about the chest and us spending time with Tammy.¡± The plan sounds good to me and I have started to listen out for moments where I can help out throughout my dungeon, trying to start out subtle and slowly progress things. Someone having trouble reaching a hook for a lantern or door covering and I lower it when they look away or go get something to stand on. The water catches ran out while someone was cooking and I refilled them without waiting for them to leave to fetch water themselves. Another person having trouble finding something and I find it and move it into view. These little helpful things seem to be getting positive responses without being too obvious as some people seem to think they might have just been mistaken and convinced that they might have just been wrong earlier but overtime they should start mentioning these things to others. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. Hopefully this helps build up a positive reputation for myself that will make everyone more willing to stay and cooperate with us. Luna, ¡°In the meantime I think that it¡¯s about time we all get registered as dungeon inhabitants and find out more of its features. I initially wanted to wait until the core wasn¡¯t so damaged because I was afraid of how fragile it was and that an accident might happen but I think since the last few repairs seem like they have made it a little more durable it should be fine and it might also allow for more people to give it mana too!¡± Rimmy, ¡°That might be a good idea, so let¡¯s get started.¡± They line up at my core and they register one at a time. [Rimmy Coon has been registered as a dungeon inhabitant, qualities for dungeon guard has been detected, qualities for dungeon farmer has been detected, positions are available would you like to have positions offered through the dungeon manager?] [Yes/No] Yes¡­. You don¡¯t sound like System¡­ are you the dungeon database? ¡­¡­not going to respond huh? Luna apparently had gotten the prompt and relayed the information to her father who decided on the dungeon guard position. [Congratulations on your first dungeon guard, you and your guard will receive benefits for every invader killed, captured or repelled from the dungeon, benefits will be proportional to the value of each action. Physical rewards will be given through dungeon loot system which will be scalable by dungeon level. More information can be requested through the dungeon database and the dungeon management systems] Luna seems to have finally been able to unlock the dungeon management system now that there is someone to manage. It doesn¡¯t have a lot of functionality yet but it looks like new positions will unlock those features, right now she can call up a map of my dungeon and the locations of inhabitants, and she can pull up the details of the positions that are available and how they get rewarded, apparently guards can get equipment and stats such as increased health, strength, stamina, etc. Rocky is next and he¡¯s eager to find out what he might qualify for. [Congratulations, Rocky Coon has registered as a dungeon inhabitant, as an inhabitant that hasn¡¯t yet reached maturity the trainee position is available to improve overall skill development for future placement, would you like to offer this option to your inhabitant through the dungeon manager?] [Yes/No] Yes! Luna excitedly explains about trainees and their benefits which apparently includes accelerated growth of stats related to their training and mentoring bonuses that allow mentors to receive a reward for successfully training their trainees properly and the trainees will be rewarded with dungeon loot related to the area they successfully trained to become. If that wasn¡¯t enough they can continue training in other areas as a trainee until they reach maturity without consequences as they can choose their positions at that time. Misty was next and she quietly and gently touched my core as she was added to my roster of inhabitants. [Congratulations, Misty Coon has also been registered as a dungeon inhabitant, the dungeon trainee position is available for this inhabitant until maturity as well, another position is available as a dungeon guide but it will remain dormant until maturity has been reached. The dungeon manager will be notified to inform the inhabitant.] Had I not known that system was gone I think I would have believed that it had gotten smarter all of the sudden, as apparently the dungeon database seems to actually be more advanced as it is more capable of communicating information than before, it¡¯s information seems to be organized and accessible anytime unlike systems which never stored information after informing about it but now Luna or I can pull up the information through the dungeon database and it¡¯s accompanying dungeon management system. It looks like the more positions are opened up the more options will emerge for Luna to use her dungeon management system and the more it will become capable of doing. Things seem to be going well as they all do a mana transfer and I am happily surprised to complete another mana crystallization process although it seems like the sensations seem to vary between the people transferring mana to me, I am left with my curiosities as they leave to prepare their dinner. They cook some simple stew to have with the bread another villager made earlier and Rimmy went out hunting before it got dark while Luna went to check her traps. Both of them returned with prey and they were able to clean and prepare them to add to their stew for later and to offer some to another cook who had taken up the other cooking station who gladly accepted. I decided to enlarge both fireplaces as I noticed that they were not the only ones that would leave a pot of stew warming through the night and both fireplaces seem to have become more crowded and would be optimal. That night I decided to try to add firewood to the fireplaces by putting it on the back ledge and raising the outer edge until it slides into the fireplace. Luna gives me another mana transfer even though she hadn¡¯t even recovered half of her mana yet and she seems to be extra sweet tonight as she covered her bedroom doorways and she put up another one for my core room. Luna, ¡°I¡¯m a little anxious about what¡¯s happening and what will happen in the future so would you mind letting me know that at the vary least you still want me and that you won¡¯t just get rid of me?¡± I am shocked that she would even think that I might get rid of her! After all she¡¯s not only my first dungeon inhabitant but she is also my only dungeon manager! So how should I handle calming her anxiety??? Soothing vulnerabilities Luna seems like she¡¯s wanting contact with me so I give her access to my dungeon flesh which she gently grabs and kisses. I decided that I would wrap her up and I cradle her amongst my dungeon flesh, as I made it very much like a nest that she could comfortably sleep in. I moved her blanket from her room to my dungeon core room and I covered her up which confused Luna for some reason. Luna, ¡°I forget that you don¡¯t think like most people, but I think this is nice. It¡¯s different from what I think I was originally looking for but it might be better for now¡­. Just promise me that when you get access to your breeder you¡¯ll choose me as your first¡­¡± Luna is blushing with embarrassment as she snuggles into my dungeon flesh shyly. I agree with her on that, after all I had planned to do so from the beginning, but since I was wanting to make her as secure as possible I decided to see if I could get her access to the dungeon feature for the breeder. I take quite some time trying to figure out what to do as I perused my dungeon database for a way to let Luna have constructive permissions and then letting her have the breeder placement as well as the resource requirements. It didn¡¯t take it away from me but more like it gave her access to see my dungeon building panel which has only a few functions and categories. The special dungeon building features includes the dungeon breeder which requires some hefty amounts of resources to construct, and the dungeon monster spawner which is still too damaged to create as it is way more complex, as it will construct a dungeon monster from a combination of biomass and mana while using my energy resources to create it all in a short amount of time. Luna received the new information through her dungeon manager system about her new access to my dungeon construction information. Although she can¡¯t directly make changes to my dungeon herself she can now see what is available and how much it cost. Since she can see what I can get and it¡¯s cost she can decide to have something made with my available resources and I will get it done for her. Luna looks excitedly through the new information before she asks me some questions. Luna, ¡°Looks like you still have a lot of damaged things to repair¡­. While the cost of your breeder is a lot higher than I thought it would be,¡­. even if it is cheaper than the monster spawner. 300 mana is no joke! and that¡¯s just for a level 1 breeder, and the biomass required being 150 on top of requiring 50% energy! No wonder you haven¡¯t been able to make it yet!¡± Luna strokes my dungeon flesh like she does with smoothing out her fur. She looks somewhat solemn as she thinks carefully about what she has learned. Luna, ¡°The breeder is a level one item so,¡­. Doesn¡¯t that mean that you were supposed to be able to afford that in the beginning had you not been damaged?¡± I realize that she¡¯s definitely right about that as the 500 that has remained in parentheses since the beginning must have been what I should have had as my original base of mana storage. I responded with a simple yes. Luna, ¡°So weren¡¯t you supposed to be born as an adult???¡± I seem to have missed something important here??? Luna goes red in the face before she awkwardly says something with her own conclusions as I haven¡¯t given her any response yet! Luna, ¡°If that¡¯s the case could it be like you have been stuck on heat suppressants since you were born!? This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. Dungens are supposed to have a lot of monsters in them, even newly discovered small ones can end up having a hundred or so monsters in it, but you don¡¯t have any monsters yet!¡­.. Are you really going to be okay???¡± I don¡¯t really know but I think I might be feeling a bit of stress about it and although having inhabitants has helped I feel like I am missing something that I need to have already had. I answered with an uncertain ring of small stalagmites and clay with a stalagmite in the center this time to have the answer lean towards a no. Luna¡¯s eyes seem to tremble and her fluffy ears droop, she pulls one of my thicker tendrils of dungeon flesh into her embrace as it she was trying to hug me like she does with her siblings. I can¡¯t help but feel like a surging wave of energy went through me and I have this obscure sensation or desire to embrace Luna in some way that¡¯s more than what I am currently capable of doing right now. I have to pacify myself with wrapping her up more, with my dungeon flesh embracing around her snugly, I then have a tendril squeeze her hand gently, as I try my best to convey my feelings to her. We ended up holding each other throughout the night as she had fallen asleep clinging onto my dungeon flesh and I kept her wrapped up warmly. Luna started her day transferring her mana to me, surprisingly enough she did so through my dungeon flesh as she was still half asleep. So she has suggested having the others try to do the mana transfer the same way so that they don¡¯t have to come to the core room all the time. Luna seems to want to be one of the few allowed in to my core room and I don¡¯t think I see any problem with doing so. I¡¯m sure having the mana transfers getting done through my dungeon flesh would also be more convenient for everyone¡­. I wonder why Luna still insists that she wants to keep doing her transfers in my core room instead though? I don¡¯t mind and I actually feel a little more happy about it than I think I should be. Luna warmed up the stew from last night and served it to her family and a couple of villagers who exchanged some bread, butter and milk for a couple of servings. Luna decided to have a cold box fashioned for the foods that were better kept cold. She has me make a container much like the planters we made before, except giving it a lid that can seal air tight. After which she had gathered snow from outside and filled the base with it before adding the jar of milk and butter inside then closing it up. Luna made the announcement to the women in the dungeon that she was testing out a cooler box and that she¡¯d reveal how it turned out in the evening. Luna also used this time to catch Tammy¡¯s mother Tina, asking her about how Tammy was holding up and if there was anything they could do to help her recover. Tina, ¡°That¡¯s mighty kind of you Luna, and I think you are probably the closest person who could relate to what our Tammy had gone through¡­. I think the worst thing is that she¡¯s been afraid of men and she fights sleep like it would be the death of her. I have to admit that I am getting exhausted, I wasn¡¯t young when I had Tammy in the first place and now I might as well start calling myself old.¡± She deflated as she spoke, looking smaller as she explained the situation. Luna, ¡°I am sorry to hear that, but maybe let¡¯s try some sleeping herbs that I had to start using for my nightmares and restlessness, they go well in a tea but I also eat them raw when I don¡¯t feel like making tea.¡± Luna runs off to her room and harvests the parts of the herbs needed and she returns to Tina. Luna, ¡°Here try these tonight and let me know if they help her too!¡± Tina, ¡°Ah, my grandmother used to use lavender and chamomile all the time, I might try some of her old recipes as well if this helps.¡± Luna, ¡°I might suggest to see if Tammy feels well enough to try making the recipes with you too as I have found keeping busy has also helped me to keep my mind off what happened. It might not work for Tammy since she couldn¡¯t escape and ended up hurt way more than I was, but I think it¡¯s worth a try.¡± Tina, ¡°That it might, I had forgotten that¡¯s how I made it by day by day when I had miscarried before I had Tim and Tammy, I just needed to get my mind off of it even though I was still lost I got by. I am not sure what else to try, but if you don¡¯t mind would you mind finding if she might be interested in doing something with you or the other girls?¡± Luna, ¡°Well I have been making clothing storage chest with my little sister Misty. I have recently started teaching her how to weave vines into different useful items like the baskets and the mats we made for everyone¡¯s doorways. Misty seems to have taken a liking to it so I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll love to show off her handiwork, maybe Tammy might also enjoy it and maybe she would feel better after making something nice for herself.¡± Tina, ¡°That might be a good idea, we left our dressers back in the village and are currently using our bags and pillowcases to store the clothes currently so I will definitely be able to praise her plenty over it. let¡¯s see if she is interested.¡± They shoo the men out of the area and have Tammy and Tina go to see the chest Luna and Misty made. They had stripped the bark from the vines before using them so the woven chest was smooth and wouldn¡¯t snag the clothes. Tammy seems interested but she seems anxious and fidgety. Luna, ¡°If you want, I can have my dad out hunting and get my brother to go spend some time with his friends so it¡¯ll just be us girls here.¡± Tammy stutters. Tammy, ¡°Is, that, really, alright???¡± Luna gives a soft and caring look while making her voice more gentle than usual. Luna, ¡°It¡¯s not a problem, Rocky has been missing being able to spend time with his friends, and my dad is wanting to get some target practice in with his bow before dealing with bandits. I would suggest us cooking together too, if it wasn¡¯t for all the traffic in that place.¡± And so it was decided that Tammy would come stay over once Luna had the vines needed for them to make a chest. Having Tammy join us. Luna went ahead and left the dungeon to go gather the vines for weaving the clothing chest, returning not terribly long after, as I think she might have run there to get back sooner. The vines had frosted in the snow so the leaves were wilted and cold. Luna, ¡°I have brought the vines, would you like to get started?¡± Luna spoke to Tammy and her mother Tina. Tina, ¡°Well, I was going to go cook something to eat for dinner, so should I leave you girls to your crafting and I will bring the food once it¡¯s done.¡± Tammy looks nervous and anxious about that but she nodded her approval anyways and looking like she might regret it as soon as her mother was out of sight. Luna, ¡°Come along Tammy, we¡¯ll go work on this in my room.¡± Tammy follows cautiously and quietly. They arrive in Luna¡¯s room which looks like everyone else¡¯s room aside from having another smaller covered doorway not quite opposite of the one they entered. They settled in nicely and started stripping the vines of their bark and wilted wet leaves. After they settled into the task and Tammy seemed to relax some of her tension I decided to slowly start absorbing the waste pile from the bottom of the pile so as to not be immediately noticed. As they finished stripping the vines they dried them off with a cloth hand towel, before they continued on to the weaving process using a simple over under pattern for each of the panels that would make up the chest. The extra bits of vine that were left sticking out were sniped off with garden shears, taking the longer useful pieces and putting them back with the other vines and the short bits that can¡¯t be used in with the scraps pile. This is when Tammy seemed to have noticed that the pile of vine scraps wasn¡¯t nearly as big as it should have been. She doesn¡¯t say anything about it rather she just keeps looking over it nervously as they start to use another vine to connect the panels together with each other. So I purposely absorbed a vine scrap as she was looking at it, getting her to react. Tammy, ¡°!!!L-Luna!¡± She stutters and points to the scrap pile, looking concerned as she doesn¡¯t seem to know what to say, I can guess that she might want to avoid being seen as crazy. So I do the same thing once Luna looks so she knows what I have done. Luna chuckles and calms Tammy down. Luna, ¡°Oh, it¡¯s just cleaning up for us, everything¡¯s going to be fine. You probably just made it happy for having noticed it helping out, since it is shy but it does like having its work recognized.¡± Luna totally must have made that up but I won¡¯t disagree. Tammy looks confused as she asks for clarification. Tammy, ¡°W-what do you mean?¡± Luna, ¡°Oh yeah I forgot nobody believed me when I first found this place, so I guess it didn¡¯t stick around when I told people that the place I found was a dungeon willing to help us. You remember how I got teleported to safety when I was attacked? Well it was this dungeon who saved me, I¡¯m sure it wouldn¡¯t mind meeting you if you want?¡­¡± Tammy seems to have frozen up as she processes the information before she speaks determinedly. Tammy, ¡°Could it do the same for me!?¡± Luna uses her intuition to respond to Tammy¡¯s vague question. Luna, ¡°If you¡¯re asking about the teleportation thing, it does have requirements to activate. First off is that it can only teleport its registered inhabitants and it only knows to do it if it gets notified that you are in danger. Meaning you will take some damage which will then alert it about you getting harmed, then it will use the teleportation to save you. Now the teleportation requires a lot of mana so not only does it require the dungeon to use its mana but it also requires you to accept it using your own mana before it triggers. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. There wasn¡¯t enough mana when I got transferred and it damaged the dungeon quite badly, I was afraid that it would die because it saved me. It was awful the core started to break apart and a empty room collapsed while the dungeon bled through its walls, and it had to temporarily erect pilers to support the two largest rooms, which was before the first room was expanded too! Luckily we have been able to slowly help it recover with mana transfers to repair its damaged core.¡± Luna gauged Tammy¡¯s responses while she said what she had and she decided to continue as Tammy has gotten a spark in her eyes and has leaned in to focus intensely on Luna¡¯s words. Luna, ¡°Another thing is that not only can you talk to it anywhere in the dungeon, but it¡¯s also able to make changes to the dungeon if you want it to which includes putting a wall between you and someone else if they endanger you.¡± Tammy, ¡°Can I become an inhabitant?¡± Luna, ¡°Yes you can, If you want to that is.¡± Tammy, ¡°I do, please let me become an inhabitant!¡± Luna then uncovers the pathway to my core room and has Tammy follow her along, as she also moves aside the cover at the other end of the crawl space and giving Tammy the first glimpse of my turquoise glow. Tammy looks around in wonder, seeing all the mana grass plants that I have accumulated around my core, as well as seeing my broken core laying on the ground. Althouh I have smoothed out the rough edges with the past few mana crystallization sessions the area where I had the most damage is still concaved inward with an uneven surface. Tammy, ¡°Wow! This is amazing! It feels so magical here like we just stepped into a fairytale! What do I do now?¡± Luna smiles at Tammy who seems to be smiling for the first time since arriving, not the forced smile she has been giving her family and others, but a real smile even though it seems faint and like it could disappear at any moment. Luna shows her, sitting next to my core she gently places her hand on my core and gives me a mana transfer, making me glow brilliantly for a moment before she informs Tammy. Luna, ¡°Now, what I did was I transferred some of my mana to the dungeon core. I just decided on my intention to give it my mana and how much I wanted to give it, but in your case you would be giving it your intention to become one of the dungeon¡¯s inhabitants and you would be registered. I can hold your hand if you¡¯re nervous.¡± Tammy seemed hesitant for a moment before she shook her head and approached me tentatively getting down on her knees and leaning forward to reach out and touch my core letting her intent flow into my core and she registered smoothly. [Congratulations on your fifth dungeon inhabitant, Tammy Feillis. Positions are being repaired, multiple inhabitants sharing a skill has repaired a position to an adequate degree. Dungeon weaver is now available. Dungeon cook is now available. Dungeon gardener variant of the dungeon farmer position is available now. The dungeon manager has been informed for the inhabitants position selection.] Luna informed Tammy about the availability of positions, and informed her that she can change positions whenever she wants, when Tammy seemed hesitant. Tammy, ¡°If that¡¯s the case then for now I think it¡¯s best for me to take the Weaver position since I don¡¯t think I¡¯m ready for the other positions yet¡± [Congratulations on your first dungeon weaver position, they will receive extra bonuses for using materials from your dungeon] Tammy received her notification on her new position and they returned to finish her clothing chest. They managed to finish it and talked for a little while before Tina arrived with a meal to share with everyone. They had stewed vegetables that were preserved in a fish sauce that the cat beast-kin favored to eat with almost everything, and some wild turkey that Tom had hunted earlier in the day. Around dusk they decided to head there separate ways with Tammy and Tina returning to their respective rooms with Tammy¡¯s new clothing chest which her family praised and made requests for her to consider making more for them if they made something for her in return. Tammy having already had a good day and realizing what her family was trying to do she decided to smile and go along with them. Tammy, ¡°Sure, I don¡¯t mind making one for all of you, now that I know how to make them I just need the vines to get started, so I¡¯d like to get enough to make them and a little extra to try making something else with it too.¡± Her family seems delighted and both her father and brother decided to go out in the morning and find some vines before the cold ruins them, as although they are still useful the cold will eventually make them too stiff as winter progresses. That night Tammy and Luna both were speaking to me about how their day went and what not else long into the night. Luna was right, Tammy is definitely the clingy type as she had me give her some clay to cling to as she fell asleep much like how some people cling to their blankets or pillows. She seems like she has made me her lifeline and she seems to be adjusting to my existence rapidly. Tammy asks me if I would mind growing her some vines in her room for her to weave since they would allow her to harvest them herself as well as getting more rewards from dungeon materials being used. Her rewards for making her chest, even with help, was an improvement to her dexterity trait as well as a skill improvement for preparing the materials she uses in her weaving. She receives benefits for everything she makes with her weaving position but she receives more benefits for making something for the first time and for doing it herself or teaching a trainee. Also since there will be more benefits for using my dungeon materials for her crafting I can¡¯t help but agree. I expanded her room slightly and made little ledges that I plant the vines to grow from, and I even went through my dungeon plant database section and picked out all the different types of vines that I could give her. Some of the vines that I gave her will have different lengths and thickness, but some have special traits including the passion vine which has flowers that can be used to help treat Tammy¡¯s anxiety and sleeping problems with the added bonus that it is also a fruit bearing vine! I planted one for Luna as well and I planted another one in the commons area having them grow from the walls. I have a few other vine varieties but they might not be a good idea to grow in someone¡¯s room. The scorching vine as it sounds it creates its own heat and it will burn out competing vegetation, and the constrictor vine is a carnivorous variety that entangles its prey and then tightens its grip until the prey dies at which the vine will burry it near the roots for the nutrients¡­.. Both of these I put in their own small rooms as I have a feeling that they will be very useful once grown. The scorching vine will be great for heating my dungeon, and I could probably try to use the constrictor vine to catch prey for my inhabitants to enjoy. I should probably spend some more time searching for useful plants in my dungeon plant database to experiment with, but for now I should call it a night as I think I will start expanding my dungeon and exploring the outside. Renovating in the night I decided to start my renovations from my first room as I expanded a section in the wall and I added a couple new shelves to help declutter the other cooking shelves that have become over burdened with all the many foods and cookware that everyone has compiled. Next, I moved onto the hallway and the two rooms there. I add more planters along the hallway since there was room to do so without hindering traffic and I raised the hallway ceiling by a heads worth before I moved onto the rooms. One room had a single man in it, who seems to be one of the people who would fill positions as he does hunting, foraging, as well as farming and handiwork. The man is pretty large as he¡¯s a mixed human of unknown origins, so the already limited amount of space in the rooms is a tight fit, but it is made even more so by his tools and the accumulated materials he has collected. Making it the primary priority for expansion, I elongated the rooms doorway as I scooted the room deeper into the rock wall and then I make it into an entranceway for his gear. I add hooks to hang his weapons on and I make a space where he could prep hides so he can stop doing that in his sleeping space. Then I follow that up with expanding his sleeping room raising the ceiling and widening the interior while giving him a larger section of clay for him to lay on. I even gave him some space to one side of his bedding to put his backpack and a clothing chest that Tammy will probably make in the future. I almost got concerned about walking the fellow while I was working on everything but he simply rolled over and readjusted, clearly taking advantage of the new room available to him. Next is the room on the other side of the hallway, the resident of the room is the hunter Greg. Although he isn¡¯t as large as the other guy, he is still crowded in his room with all his stuff in the same place he sleeps. I expand it out similarly but without the need for extra headspace, just adding a entryway and giving him some room along the side of his bedding. I lengthen the hallway and move everything from the second room onwards back to allow me to keep the walls thick despite the expansion I had just done, granted I left my core room alone and simply curved the tunnel between my core room and Luna¡¯s. I start going through the other bundled rooms and I expand their entryways and I adjust the spacing for now as I don¡¯t have much energy left after scooting everything back. All in all, I have probably expanded two to three times the original size of my first room on top of moving everything around. I decided to continue expanding towards the river as I continued from where I had left off slowly expanding bit by bit. I have discovered that I have less strain expanding closer to the bulk of my dungeon so thickening the path I take over somehow reduces the strain but I still find myself reaching my limits. I have managed to get three times the distance that I used to be able to see from the entrance to my dungeon by the time the sunlight arrived and the people started to wake up. I realized that I might have let my dungeon instincts ruin the plan for being a little more subtle in the renovations¡­. I can¡¯t seem to get rid of the itch to expand more as if I were on the verge of a breakthrough that I am impatient to have. I know I have to do something about this and I can¡¯t help but feel frustrated at not knowing exactly what to do to get the fix for it. I decided that I would only do nightly renovations where everyone else has access and I would work on the isolated areas during the day. I might also have a put my outdoor exploration on hold until I accomplish whatever I need to do to calm down. The noise from the other villagers wakes everyone up aside from Rita who¡¯s been isolated in a closed room I have branched off from Rimmy¡¯s room which is only opened up enough to periodically give her food and let some fresh air in there. While no one seems to have noticed the general movements of their respective rooms they did indeed notice the additional space in rooms and the addition of new entryways as well as the new shelves. Everyone seems surprised but not all in a bad way, granted that doesn¡¯t stop Luna from giving me a talking to while her father and brother try to help settle the situation positively. Apparently having everyone checking their belongings to make sure nothing was missing and also inspecting the changes to make sure nothing harmful was done managed to calm people down. Luna, ¡°I thought you were going to be subtle? Yet you,¡­ you realize people would notice suddenly having an entryway that they never had before right?¡± I shamefully respond with two small lumps of clay and watch as Luna puts her hand over her face and mumbles something under her breath before she wipes her face. Luna, ¡°Okay, I realize you haven¡¯t ever really been subtle with any of your remodeling or expansions aside from when you were unable to do so in the first place. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. So let¡¯s just say you can¡¯t really be subtle when it comes to expanding yourself, should I write that up as being a dungeon thing?¡± I perk up at her sharp observation and I give her a lump of clay which got me an exasperated sigh! Luna, ¡°Well if that¡¯s the case I guess it can¡¯t be helped, we will let people make some of their own decisions about the situation and then we will talk to them and get them incorporated as inhabitants as soon as possible. Dad said that he believes Greg is likely to join us and that was even before you just upgraded his room, so I think I will try approaching him today to see if he would be willing to become a dungeon inhabitant.¡± Luna looks like she is a little frustrated but she adapted to the situation and she moves forward with new plans. Luna, ¡°Well you started the mess so I want your help to fix it! Lets also test to see if you can register someone as a dungeon inhabitant through your dungeon flesh. Since we aught to do some things here and there too convince them just be ready to do something if I tell you to.¡± She headed out to the public kitchen where most everyone was still gathered and conversing about the changes that happened overnight. Luna is soon caught up in the conversation. Daisy, ¡°Ah there¡¯s Luna! Luna dearie, over here. Would you mind telling us what this place was like when you first found it?¡± Luna, ¡°Well this room was half its current size, and there wasn¡¯t anything here, it was just a rough cave that could have been used by bears. Except that there wasn¡¯t any signs of animals around here and the cave was to clean smelling. If that wasn¡¯t enough by the time I returned from gathering some food and water, it had smoothed out much of its surfaces and made soft clay under the deer hide my siblings were sleeping on.¡± Teri Woofer, the mother of Rocky¡¯s friends, speaks questioningly. Teri, ¡°I don¡¯t recall being told about that, but I can see no one would have believed it unless they saw it themselves¡­ Luna would you mind sharing what you know about this place, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s bad since all the changes seem to have been beneficial for everyone, but I am a bit antsy without knowing.¡± Luna, ¡°Well, I am glad that you noticed, I had in fact reported that it is a dungeon that¡¯s willing to help us. But as you mentioned, no one believed me when I said it, and here we are now.¡± Daisy, ¡°That is quite hard to believe honestly, but it has been helpful and I don¡¯t feel any hostility that you would usually find in most dungeons.¡± Luna, ¡°I think that may be because the dungeon is seeing us as prospective inhabitants of it, since it doesn¡¯t have any monsters yet. In fact I registered as an inhabitant and it saved me from being raped by the bandits, by teleporting me to its core room.¡± Greg, ¡°Oh really, so was it renovating to butter us up, so we would become its inhabitants? So what even does it get out of us inhabiting it?¡± Luna, ¡°Well, it doesn¡¯t have monsters so it¡¯s probably wanting a replacement for the lack of them. And in my case I have been giving it my mana for it to repair its core, and I have also been given a position as its dungeon manager.¡± Tina, ¡°Dungeon manager? So wait a minute does that mean you changed your job from forger to dungeon manager?¡± Luna, ¡°No, I haven¡¯t lost my forger job, rather I have gained an additional position of a sort.¡± Harvey Woofer, ¡°Do these additional positions have benefits like how jobs help you advance your skills in that area? Luna, ¡°Yes actually, although we are still figuring things out you can gain improvement of skills as well as stats and in some cases you can gain dungeon loot that is supposed to scale up with the level of the dungeon.¡± Coaley, ¡°So there additional benefits to having a dungeon job on top of our original jobs, and it doesn¡¯t seem like there is any real downside.¡± Luna, ¡°I think the biggest thing is that the dungeon jobs seem to have more benefits when they lineup with the dungeon ether by using its materials and facilities or by protecting it and retrieving things that might help it, such as new plants for it to absorb and replant.¡± Dave(the big odd job¡¯s guy), ¡°Makes sense, dungeons are technically living organisms, it¡¯s just that they have a symbiotic relationship with monsters in order to survive and function properly. So, if we are replacing the monsters, then shouldn¡¯t it expect the same from us as it would from the monsters it would have spawned?¡± Luna, ¡°I think it would rely on our help to protect itself if it were to be attacked, but if we are living here, wouldn¡¯t we protect it anyways?¡± Tom, ¡°You have got a good point there, we would be protecting it simply because we will be protecting ourselves, so it wanting us to stay actually has benefits for it¡± Jasper(single young adult farmer), ¡°Both sides benefit so why not just cooperate?¡± Samson(an apprentice builder), ¡°I heard that dungeons will use monsters and captured females to breed monsters and even rare cases even males can be used too! Is that something we should be concerned about if we stay here?¡± Luna, ¡°I can let you know that this dungeon doesn¡¯t have that functionality yet and it has given me the ability to place it when it does become available. I have decided that I will try having a relationship with the dungeon, since it saved me at the risk of its core collapsing and many other things that make me feel like it could work out. So when it¡¯s recovered enough I will let everyone know before I have its breeder placed in the dungeon and I will be its first. Anyone who¡¯s worried about it can wait until after it finishes with me to make further decisions if necessary.¡± Tom, ¡°And by what do you mean, wait until it¡¯s done with you to make our decisions? Are you saying that we should let you go get raped and impregnated with monsters, before deciding on what? Moving out? Where do we go from here?¡± Luna, ¡°I don¡¯t think it will just start attacking people out of the blue, and it won¡¯t be rape because I am willing to do it! It¡¯s already done more for me than any suitor has by a long shot, and in all honesty I trust it to protect me more than any man from the village! I don¡¯t think anyone would have to leave but by then I would think that the other village camps would be able to take some people in with some food resources if anyone wanted to leave.¡± Tina, ¡°Luna, dear I have no intention of being intolerant of your own personal decisions of your partner but we simply don¡¯t want to put anyone at risk of getting raped by the dungeon, especially my daughter! She has been through enough already and I can¡¯t have her suffer another mishap like that. So I request that you hold off until we can move out safely before you open a possible can of worms.¡± Luna, ¡°I don¡¯t mind waiting and as I said, I will be letting everyone know beforehand just in case to avoid any potential accidents. I don¡¯t want anyone to be put in a bad situation so I would wait until everyone is ready to leave or wait and see how it goes, depending upon what everyone decides to do.¡± The chatter rises and falls throughout the conversation and various people make their voices heard, some taking turns and others taking over each other. The back and forth continues for a long while as Luna ends up bombarded with questions and comments of most of the people present and she answers them as well as she can. I occasionally make little signs of my approval or disagreement under Luna¡¯s foot which she was able to respond to adjusting her response in a way that might qualify as her speaking for me. Granted I didn¡¯t have much opinion about many things and I just left most of it to Luna¡¯s judgment. Near the end, I wound up having to create and move things around to show that I am able to understand people and that I am willing to do as I am asked. I was able to get a lot of interest from everything that I did and although no one had become a dungeon inhabitant today I have a good feeling that someone¡¯s sure to request to become one eventually. Level 2 dungeon penalties The next several days were hectic, some people did become inhabitants and got positions which helped further unlock more available positions. Greg and the other hunters decided to join up and got positions as scavengers, which is a position that rewards them for whatever they bring back into my dungeon. The rewards also vary based upon what they brought back, plants give them boosts to forging and harvesting, identifying and quality improvements. While bringing back prey hunted or caught in traps provided improved tracking and spotting prey, and improved trap setting and identifying locations suitable for the traps. All positions provide stat boosts as well but it seems like stats are not given as frequently while dungeon loot is given out more often, granted the dungeon loot isn¡¯t that significant as I am still low level. They were able to unlock several new positions and some of them have been trying out the different positions just to figure out what benefits each one has. We experimented on registering people as dungeon inhabitants through my dungeon flesh only to discover that Luna was required to act as a mediator for it to work. I also discovered that I have a much stronger instinctive aversion to exposing my dungeon flesh to people who aren¡¯t registered as inhabitants, even if it is to register them in the first place! Rimmy also decided to reveal what happened with Rita which was quite the event as Tina even struck Rita after having found out about what Rita was going to do to her children. With the plans to sell of the village traitors to the city it wasn¡¯t much of a change to add Rita to the list of people who would be sold off. Rimmy had also decided to reveal the truth about their origins as city dwellers before eloping and becoming farmers, and he even prepared a letter of introduction to the brothel that his family worked for generation after generation. Although no one can go there until spring thaws the roads and they have prisoners to sell off, the letter of recommendation also has an apology letter to his family and the owner for having been tricked into eloping. The prisoners would be sold only to them rather then putting them up for auction which would get them less money but it would also be much easier and time saving on top of allowing Rimmy to make amends with his family. Another big change is that since everyone now knows that I am a dungeon, I no longer have to conceal my expansions. The new floor level beneath the kitchen area is now exposed which is great news for me, because my dungeon instincts have been very strong in pressuring me to expand my dungeon and I found it out to be particularly for the second floor more so than the first. I am enthusiastic today as I have plenty of energy to expand my second level as I had been previously using most of my energy to resist my instincts and to make changes for my residents. I go crazy expanding and adding things, I create a room across from Rita¡¯s prison cell, carving out the area as I take control of the space. I make it as large as the kitchen room and I line the walls with planters which I filled with various plants, being particular about making all of them be food sources. I organized them out by what type of food source they would be, which ones would be eaten raw on one end and the ones that require cooking to eat on the opposite side while the ones that can be eaten either way would be in the middle. I still couldn¡¯t be satisfied so I dug the room down deeper until it had the highest ceiling I could manage, even requiring me to put some support pillars around halfway between the walls and the center of the room. Then I planted some trees in the center, still sticking to keeping them all to the food theme and I also decided to put some planters around the base of each pillar to have food bearing vines grow up them too! I feel amazing as I had definitely got carried away with developing my dungeon and I received a notification as I had finished my handiwork. [Congratulations on making a second floor room in your dungeon, you have met the requirements to level up your dungeon! As your core has been repaired sufficiently to receive some of your previous and current level up upgrades they will be unlocked shortly.] [Level 1 dungeon rewards being added¡­. All mundane plants will have their mana requirements reduced to a minimum, grass level plants will require a maximum of 1 mana, all vine level plants will require a maximum of 2 mana, all bush level plants will require a maximum of 3 mana, all tree level plants will require a maximum of 5 mana.] [Level 2 dungeon rewards being added¡­.. dungeon flesh will be reinforced, range of expansion from the main dungeon region has been improved, durability improved, recovery rate improved, range of material manipulation improved¡­..your actions of exposing your dungeon flesh has been noted, warning there are many dangers to exposing your dungeon flesh, use caution as the consequences have yet to be determined.] [The presence of inhabitants have been confirmed, the presence of various facilities have been verified, the Kitchen and Dining Area will be officially designated as the Kitchen!] [The Kitchen will provide a passive food preservation feature, food nutrition loss will be reduced when prepared in the kitchen] [The Washroom facility has been designated and expanded on, waste management recognized, sewage treatment into fertilizer¡­. Fertilizer has been designated as a new resource for enhancing plant growth rates.] The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. [A Greenhouse has been developed, the room designated as the Greenhouse will automatically make use of fertilizer resources as needed and will provide year round food production.] [A Prison has been detected! Prison facilities have opened up a new category in your dungeon database menu, new positions have been added for the prison facility, dungeon food spawned in the prison will automatically have additional effects.] [A prisoner has been detected in the dungeon prison, your actions have been noted. Prison passive effects have been activated¡­ submission effects have been automatically selected.] [Failure to detect dungeon monsters!!! Warning failure to obtain monsters has consequences! You have been penalized for having failed to meet the minimum monster quota!] [Failure to detect a monster spawner! Warning there are consequences for failing to possess a required facility! You have been penalized for the missing facility!] [Failure to detect a breeder! Warning there are consequences for failing to possess a required facility! You have been penalized for the missing facility] [You have failed to comply with standard dungeon requirements on multiple accounts, all other level up rewards have been revoked until further notice!] [Multiple dungeon requirements having failed to be met has warranted penalties, side effects have been selected to encourage compliance!] My mind is boggled by the intense wave of notifications but although the ones at the beginning were something I had been looking forward to seeing I am horrified by the ones that followed! I make sure to have my notifications sent to Luna as I can¡¯t help but panic! Luna returned to my dungeon at a sprinting pace and she is out of breath by the time she arrives and it causes the people in the kitchen to be startled. She comes to my core room and she grabs her father along the way, who is confused by her actions but he doesn¡¯t fight her and simply follows her. She speaks with concern immediately as she enters my core room. Luna, ¡°Was that your level up notifications?!!!¡± I respond with a yes as my anxiety spikes. Rimmy, ¡°A level up! That¡¯s great news! I¡¯m sure everyone would want to celebrate, especially since it also means that the rewards cap will be raised!¡± Rimmy looks excited and happy but notices somethings wrong, his daughter looks worried more than happy and he stops to ask. Rimmy, ¡°Wait a minute, What¡¯s going on, Luna what¡¯s wrong?!¡± Luna looks like she¡¯s about to cry as she informs him. Luna, ¡°The dungeon leveled up but most of its level up rewards have been removed and it¡¯s been given penalties for failing to have met certain requirements. The dungeon will now start to suffer side effects that will force it to meet those requirements. It will not only have to get monsters but there¡¯s apparently a minimum number required that isn¡¯t mentioned! It also has to create a breeder and monster spawner otherwise it will keep suffering penalties!¡± Rimmy blanched more than I thought he could as he started to get concerned about the situation as well. Rimmy, ¡°What are the side effects so far?¡± I don¡¯t really know yet but the itch to create more dungeon rooms is already creeping back in and I am concerned that it is going to be worse than before¡­. I make a map of my dungeon on the wall of my core room and I draw out new areas to convey my desire for expansion and Luna gets the idea. Luna, ¡°So far I think it¡¯s going to make it want to expand more than before¡­?¡± I responded with a huge lump of clay saying yes and implying a lot. Rimmy, ¡°Well that¡¯s not so bad, It just means it¡¯s going to become a bigger dungeon and there will be more space for people to make use of.¡± Luna, ¡°No, I think it may be a bit bigger problem than we might think it is, since the dungeon leveled up because of it meeting certain expansion requirements. So if it can¡¯t help but impulsively expanding itself then it might level up again before we can get the requirements met to avoid additional penalties. If that wasn¡¯t bad enough apparently locking Rita up in a cell has also effected the dungeons level up, and it¡¯s created new positions to go with it. Right now none of us understand what the consequences of that is but it seems our decisions have ended up affecting the direction it will level up.¡± Rimmy looks darken as he realizes that they as inhabitants have been having a much greater impact on the dungeon than they thought and they might have unexpectedly already made a mistake that could have lasting consequences. Rimmy, ¡°I think we had better inform the others who have become inhabitants and have them help come up with solutions.¡± They summoned up a meeting in the new greenhouse room for the inhabitants to discuss the situation. The talks were held from around noon all the way into the night before it ended and there were some suggestions for things to try. The Hunter suggested having me avoid expanding for now would be the best option for avoiding another level up before being ready. I don¡¯t know how much I would be able to resist as resisting requires energy and that energy seems to be getting stored outside of my access, which is giving me a sense of foreboding that I haven¡¯t experienced before. I will try to resist for as long as I can because I agree that continuing to level up without meeting the requirements that I am getting punished for could become increasingly damaging to me, so I have to at least try. Luna has redoubled her promise to me as well! She has promised not only to be my first mate when we unlock my breeder but she¡¯s also decided to birth monsters to try meeting my quota, which we still don¡¯t know how many I need. I am having concerns about that and what effects it will have on Luna, because I don¡¯t want to risk losing her since she has become increasingly more important to me as time passes. Some of the other ideas that were presented was to try capturing some live animals and see if they could be registered as dungeon animals in hopes that they could mutate into monsters as animals sometimes do in regions where high mana levels are present. If the animals can mutate into dungeon monsters then it could likely help me meet my quota and save Luna a lot of hardship, as apparently pregnancy and giving birth can be a difficult process which could even lead to death. The very thought of Luna dying is unacceptable, I can¡¯t tolerate the thought of losing her in anyway so I reject relying solely upon her for my source of dungeon monsters. The hunters have decided to devote the next few days to capturing live prey for my sake. I can¡¯t help but feel indebted to them for their efforts to help me out of this situation, and I impulsively thought about improving their living spaces as a thanks. I¡­¡­Wait a minute,¡­ what was that! I had just decided to avoid expanding so isn¡¯t improving their living space completely contradictory to that!¡­.. I think something is wrong here! I try to convey what just happened, but I can¡¯t figure out a way to let them know what¡¯s happening! How do you even convey that your thoughts are being influenced by your instincts!?! Even Luna¡¯s usually spot on guesses have failed me this time as she seems to have thought that I must be impatient and she has left to see if she can catch a live animal for me before the others. Even in the dark of night Luna headed out with bait and traps that wouldn¡¯t kill the captured animal! All for my sake, Luna is going out of her way in an above and beyond fashion! I really can¡¯t let anything happen to Luna, she¡¯s definitely the best inhabitant there ever was! I¡­¡­. I feel like I can¡¯t think straight? Whats going on?!?! I want to make a new room just to focus on something only to realize that I fell in the trap again! This is starting to look really bad, how long do I have to keep this up, I was already dealing with a vague itch to expand and now I¡¯m having invasive thoughts that keep trying to trick me! I Need Help!!! Consequences and expansions I don¡¯t remember how many days have passed since I got my failure of a level up, all I know is that I feel like I am going crazy. I have a hard time focusing on many of the residents of my dungeon often forgetting to refill the water catches in the kitchen until they get my attention and ask for it. I feel distracted constantly wanting to let my mind wander off to plans for expanding in one way or another and I have also guiltily made slight expansions to existing rooms, not enough to be noticeable, just a inch here or there. The itch to expand has become a deep ache that refuses to go away, I have even tried creating and dismantling a pillar repeatedly to try to stave off my expansions, to very little reprieve. Luna and a few others seem to be getting concerned about it too as they have noticed I have started using distractive methods like that as if it has become an obsession¡­..which it probably has. I¡¯m so tired and my mind feels like it¡¯s been fried, I have even started having trouble paying attention to Luna and Tammy, both of whom have made their concerns for my wellbeing known to me in our conversations. Tammy is even afraid that her mom might make them leave, and she¡¯s wondering what can she do to convince her to let them stay if she does. She is even wondering if she can be as bold as Luna, which she didn¡¯t elaborate on. Luna, has also gotten concerns over the future as the inhabitants have decided that the breeder should be saved up for and gotten as soon as possible to offset the penalties for not having it. The breeder being chosen to be obtained first mainly because of the two options available for creating monsters it is by far cheaper, and therefore sooner to become obtainable. My mana storage capacity is about ready for the breeder, so once that¡¯s done it will just be the biomass needed for it to be placed, Luna¡¯s going to inform everyone about it and they will go outside of the dungeon until Luna and I finish breeding. They have even decided to build a temporary shelter outside of the dungeon just for the event when it happens. Everything seems to be progressing well enough despite my current condition, or it was until tonight. I received a notification that grabbed my foggy attention and snapped it to clarity. [The dungeons resistance to expansion has been recognized as detrimental to its wellbeing, as the side effects seem to be inadequate as an incentive a more extreme penalty has been imposed] [Failing to expand a required amount over an extended period of time will result in damage to the dungeon, as expansions require the movement of dungeon flesh it has been determined that the damage effect will target dungeon flesh that has stagnated movement along the dungeon perimeter] [There is dungeon flesh that already meets the perimeters for punishment! damaging process will commence! 3 2 1 Warning your dungeon is being damaged!!!!] AHHHH I wish I could scream as the pain is instantly all over the place and it is overwhelming my senses and my judgement, as I barely have time to send my notifications to wake Luna up as I go to quickly repair and expand my perimeters!!! My entire dungeon shuttered in agony as my walls cracked and bleed its slimy dark brown blood as I jumped around repairing and expanding the most painful areas first as the closer to my core the worry it was. I quickly made a new room branching off from my core room having it arch around the side that¡¯s been neglected and I even put a spiral staircase going up a level as well as one going down. I made a room both above and below my core almost as if the rooms could be used as a shield against the pain that keeps flooding in. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. I move onto other areas that I can¡¯t think of what to do other then pushing the walls outwards as I expand and some cases I had to actually use my resources to expand outside of the mountainside that I had already taken over as I drill my dungeon flesh outward just trying to make the pain stop!¡­ I have no idea how much time passes, but Luna finally got my attention as I was repairing my damaged walls in the kitchen and I finally noticed how panicked everyone was. Some people have already left my dungeon and are apparently staying in the temporary building for the time being. The sun is up, and Luna looks worn out, with her fur frazzled and her voice raspy from over use. Luna, ¡°Can You hear me now?¡± I spare her a lump of clay while I continue repairing myself. She follows where I am working as the tries to stay in my Luna, ¡°Are you okay now?¡± No! I am not okay! I¡¯m in pain! I fill the room with stalagmites and stalactites that bristle all over any surface that isn¡¯t obstructed! Luna, ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, we are sorry, none of us thought you¡¯d be punished for resisting the urge to expand at least we couldn¡¯t have imagined it would be like this anyways¡­.. I don¡¯t know how we could apologize to you for what it¡¯s cost you but I want to do something if I can, I just don¡¯t know what I can do to help.¡± I have to admit I didn¡¯t mean to be aggressive towards Luna it¡¯s just that I am currently in a lot of pain and I don¡¯t have much of a tolerance right now. Luna has always done so much for me but I don¡¯t feel like I can do much for her and I feel like I have been neglecting her. I want to apologize but the best I can do is to use my dungeon flesh to hold her hand and give her hand a gentle squeeze as I can¡¯t actually say anything to her myself. I¡¯m just happy that I can send her some of my notifications to let her have some idea of what is happening. I progressed through my dungeon with Luna as I keep repairing myself and expanding here and there, some being minor expansions and others being completely new additions particularly the new levels above and below the existing floors. I finally felt relieved in the expansion department and now I feel an overwhelming urge to give the new rooms uses. I connected the new room below my core room to the green house room with a arched hallway and I started filling it with medicinal plants like the ones for sleeping aid and healing herbs as well as mana grass, then I started organizing it to have pools of water tucked around the room with little plant covered barriers. I¡¯m not quite satisfied yet so I make a concealed space underneath the pools and I plant some of the scorching vines in to help heat the water. Feeling like that might not be enough I also chose the pool that I put the existing scorching vine under and I planted a few fire ferns around it. Sure it will be a while before the plants start growing and fill the space out but I think I can already imagine how it would turn out, and I added some glow moss that I took from some of the larger existing ones to add to the walls and ceiling space of my new rooms. I also planted some of the luminous mushrooms that I had neglected to plant before because I didn¡¯t have the mana to spare back then, having them act like little light hubs scattered throughout the room. I navigated Luna to the stairs to take her to the crescent shaped room and I started adding shelves along the walls and I created a raised bed platform which I moved her bedding onto and I placed her woven clothing chest next to it. The room is mainly lit up by my core¡¯s light but I planted a few nooks with glowing moss and luminous mushrooms to eventually add to the lighting. I continue to the room above my core room and I create a bunch of mana grass around the edges and I create some tables and various types of seating all with soft clay cushioning that could be covered with pelts for added comfort. I then created a chimney all the way to the surface and I planted some bushes around the surface to grow and scatter the smoke which gave me the idea of having the chimney branch out to scatter the smoke out even before it reaches the surface. I followed up the chimney with a nice large fireplace and cooking station for Luna and possibly Tammy¡¯s use. I had then made a tunnel from there to Tammy¡¯s room and I gave her a hidden door to access it so she could get to the new room and have more places to go without running into men. Although she seems to be doing better particularly around the children she seems to hold up longer before the stress makes her want to make a run for it, I still think she needs to have more spaces that she can feel safe in. I have Luna take a walk around my dungeon to show her everything as aside from the new rooms and tunnels I had only expanded other rooms by the minimum amount too make the pain stop and I patched up all the damaged sections. I even walked her down the new tunnel that I had unknowingly created under the pathway I was making to the river, so I added a ladder and a lid like door that can be used to get to the surface. Luna was quite surprised about its existence and she decided to ask me about it. Luna, ¡°I didn¡¯t know you had stretched yourself all the way out here, what were you planning to use this for?¡± I thought about how to respond and so I tried drawing some of the river food they had brought back before, starting with drawing the frogs and crawfish then the fish, watercress and cattails. Thinking it wasn¡¯t enough I drew a pot of water on the fireplace. Luna, ¡°Umm, I guess you wanted to make it easier for us to get food from the river?¡­.¡± I replied with a yes lump of clay and I gently squeezed her with my tendril of dungeon flesh. She smiled sweetly and squeezed me back. Luna, ¡°You might not know but most of the food there is out of season now and won¡¯t be available until spring. Also not to be offensive but aside from making a map of yourself you seem to be quite bad at drawing¡­.¡± I don¡¯t like admitting it but she¡¯s definitely right as I don¡¯t seem to have a talent for it, which makes me wonder why I can make such good maps of myself? The animals, and the coming Winter Festival! I walked Luna back to the main dungeon and a meeting was set up to discuss what happened. She had already informed everyone about the notification that I had received and sent to her, so they have some idea of what was going on but they like to discuss things. Luna, ¡°As I mentioned earlier today, the dungeon received a notification that its resistance to expansion was considered detrimental to its survival so it was penalized to force it to expand. Now we don¡¯t know how often it will make him expand but it seems to have varied degrees of effect depending upon where his outer edges are. It has led to a few new rooms which don¡¯t have enough light right now to make use of but it seems like it has planted some plants that will help with that over time. Until then we will have to use lanterns or take a torch to light your way if you go to those areas.¡± Samson, ¡°Do we need to worry about the dungeon collapsing? Because I don¡¯t know who all experienced it last night but the walls in my room definitely cracked and started leaking stuff, even though everything is fixed now I don¡¯t feel comfortable with what happened.¡± Well neither do I! Luna, ¡°Well I highly doubt that the dungeon was very comfortable with it suddenly getting damaged all over the place including its core room!¡± Jasper, ¡°I can understand his concern about the ceiling possibly falling down onto him, but I definitely think Luna has a point, I don¡¯t think the dungeon will intentionally damage itself. It¡¯s just trying to survive and for a dungeon that means expanding itself and making monsters to protect itself, we just happen to have jumped into the mix and it¡¯s been willing to try and provide us with the best living conditions it can. So rather then complain about it bleeding on you and your stuff why don¡¯t you come up with something to help fix the problem that caused it to happen in the first place!¡± Dave, ¡°Boys stop your bickering, first then let¡¯s see about working something out we know it¡¯s getting close to making its breeder, so we should focus on getting the animals to turn into monsters, since just keeping them in the dungeon might not be enough. We have their cages scattered around but I think we might want to try reserving a room with a higher mana density for them to try and make them change sooner rather than later, even better if we can feed them mana grass and have it mixed in their water.¡± Luna, ¡°I think we can do that if we rotate which plants we harvest from since I think the dungeon just planted a bunch more. Also I think we can use my old room since the dungeon seems to have made me a new room and already moved all my stuff, without asking me I might add. No, I¡¯m not really upset about it I was just taken by surprise.¡± I was concerned that I might have upset Luna but she quickly reassured me that it was alright to avoid a misunderstanding. I am so glad that I seem to be able to pay more attention again after so long of feeling like I wasn¡¯t all there. I go ahead and I modify her room for the animals that I hadn¡¯t noticed until now, there¡¯s a doe with her fawns, a few rabbits and squirrels, a raccoon, a muskrat, a chipmunk and a mouse¡­. So I expand her room to make a small stable for the deer and then I make a bunch of small cubby spaces for the rest having the medium size animals along the bottom and the smaller ones over them and I prepare doors that have open spaces in them that are just a little bit too small for any of the animals to escape from. I rejoin the conversation even as I continued working on the room conversion process. Rimmy, ¡°Then let¡¯s get started on infusing some water with the mana grass and see which of the animals will eat the grass as is once we are done here and move them to their new room.¡± Tom, ¡°I have another question, Luna, everyone has been noticing that the dungeon hasn¡¯t been paying much attention and sometimes it takes more than one person to get its attention for things like refilling the water catches in the kitchen in particular, is that something that will still be a problem now that it¡¯s expanded itself?¡± I apologize I didn¡¯t mean to ignore anyone, but now that my mind is clear I don¡¯t think that it¡¯s going to be a problem anymore. I do my best to communicate my intentions to Luna who conveys it well. Luna, ¡°I don¡¯t think it will be a problem anymore since it seems expanding helped it recover from that.¡± The Hunter, ¡°Well if everything is better now than let¡¯s get everyone back in here and start working on what needs to be done rather then standing around and chatting all day.¡± This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. He walked outside to retrieve his family and everyone else from the temporary shelter outside, and Harvey followed after to help as well. The others acted a little out of sorts for a moment before they also headed to get things done. Dave, Greg, Tom and Rimmy gathered and transported the animals to their new location, while Luna and Rocky gathered the mana grass and assisted Samson, Tim and Jasper with tearing it up and adding it to the animals food and water supply. I later tried to get Luna¡¯s help to see if I could register the animals as inhabitants of some sort which seems to have worked granted they were registered as dungeon livestock which Luna said it made sense. We figured out that non-sapient creatures don¡¯t really have a say in getting registered unlike the sapient ones so far who have to give their consent, which might have something to do with the difference in assignment when registered to my dungeon. Luna talks to me about the things that she believes I have missed while I was out of it, starting with what was up with the guys earlier. Apparently they are competing for the girls attentions because of something called the Winter Festival, which is a celebration that happens every winter that is often held in part to mark the middle of the season as well as to give young people a good opportunity to find a partner. Although the Winter Festival lasts for a week normally and is marked with all sorts of activities each day from food cooking and eating competitions one day to puppet shows and plays followed by games and sports then there is the singing and instrumental music which would compete for who would perform on the last days big event, the winter dance! This year is going to be different as the camps are separate from each other there won¡¯t be many of the activities and therefore there will only be a few events done in each camp reducing it to just a couple of days. Our camp being the smallest by far we will have the least amount of things to do so the dance and the food will be the biggest things happening and everyone will just do a talent show for entertaining the children. Even though the Winter Festival is still a good ways off the guys are apparently already looking forward to it and possibly getting a girlfriend or maybe a fianc¨¦e if things go well. Luna even mentioned that they already checked with her and made sure that she really wasn¡¯t going to be available as an option before they started focusing more on Coaley and Tammy. Tammy seems to be the favorite but because she is still having a hard time being around men she still runs off from their attempts and she takes a long time to recover from the stress of the interaction. Coaley also recognizes that she¡¯s their second choice but she doesn¡¯t complain and is rather happy about the attention after having been neglected, and she doesn¡¯t care if her family doesn¡¯t approve since they aren¡¯t here they don¡¯t have a say. Even Greg seems to occasionally put himself up for offer to the available young ladies, but he¡¯s mindful that he¡¯s only a few years younger than any of their fathers so he doesn¡¯t push for it like the guys closer in age to them. The children on another note don¡¯t seem to care as much as they seem like they plan on dancing with each other without restrictions as the pairings are not as important and they seem to just want to see who can dance the most or the best. I don¡¯t know what a dance really is all about but I know how to take a hint since it¡¯s related to getting paired up with a partner and forming a relationship I think that means that Luna and I will be considered as partners so I should find out more. I might not be able to ask people normally but I can watch my inhabitants and listen to whatever they say about the dance. Rocky plans to dance with all the girls near his age and he receives some direction from his father Rimmy. From completing the girls outfit and looks to getting them snacks and drinks when taking a break from dancing. I resent not being able to talk, but I can easily get Luna something to eat or drink! For some of the other guys they seem to practice asking the girls to dance or talking about what a nice night it is and if they might want to spend some more time together and such before they go to bed and I listen in elsewhere. The Hunter and his wife hold each other and rock back and forth in circles for their children to mimic. While the Woofer¡¯s play music with tap shoes, tambourines and a jawharp, as the mother leads her children in song. Dave and Greg seem to be making trinkets and practicing talents that might be entertaining for the children. I have decided that I definitely want to prepare for and participate as much as I possibly can with the winter festivities. I was already planning on upgrading all of my inhabitants living quarters when I have to expand myself again, so adding a large room to hold the dance in shouldn¡¯t be too much trouble. I also try absorbing the snow and ice from the surface above my dungeon and acquiring a new ice resource which interestingly enough, transfers to my water resources reservoir as it melts¡­ I still don¡¯t understand where the resources are actually being stored but it seems like there isn¡¯t any way to control the temperature and prevent the ice from melting. Regardless I¡¯m eager to see what new plants have been unlocked with access to the ice resource, and I am pleased to find new elemental varieties of plants that I have already. Frost moss is the ice variety of moist moss and it cost about twice as much in mana but luckily it only cost one unit of ice similar to how the moist moss required one unit of water. So I decided to plant them in the ice boxes Luna and I had made as they should improve them by keeping the inside environment colder than before. There was also a frost fern variety similarly to the fire fern which also produces a little bit of a frosty glow similar to the warm glow of the fire fern so I planted a few of these as well to play around with later as I stick them in the hallway to the river for now since I don¡¯t want to freeze my inhabitants and I don¡¯t have anywhere more reasonable aside from outside which would be bad if the glow gave us away. Another one was a vine variety called the chill vine that similarly to the scorching vine it uses its ice elements to freeze out competing plants from its environment. So, I planted just one in the place I had previously kept the scorching vine before putting it in the space beneath the little pond I recently made. I see that there¡¯s a new divide between the mundane plants and beginner elemental and mana plants, so I¡¯m assuming that there are more advanced plants that will be unlocked later when I level up. I¡¯m looking forward to my level up even with the threat of increased penalties which I can¡¯t really shake off. I¡¯m at least comforted by the fact that I just have to finish acquiring enough biomass and by then I will be recovered enough in the mana department to make the breeder that will reduce the penalties by one at least right away. The night carries on and everyone eventually drifted off to sleep including Luna and Tammy who had stayed up late talking to me mostly checking on how I was doing and making sure that I would wake them up if anything happened. I promise and I wait through the night for morning and looking forward to everyone else waking up. Reorganizing and harvesting The morning is met with the itch to expand nagging at me again and I decided to move Luna¡¯s family into a new area of the dungeon. I chose to expand the second floor level right under their current living area and give them an upgraded living quarters that would connect to the new room that spreads out under my core room. I provided them each a room with a shelf and a raised bed where I moved their current bedding onto, followed by putting their clothing chest down at the foot end of the bed. I moved some glowing moss to the room where the three bedrooms meet, so now both of Rocky and Misty have their own room instead of having to share and their stuff that was having to be placed in the shared storage space for their family is now in their own rooms. I make a nook in each of the rooms that I will put some glowing moss later when I can split more off the other plants, but it will be suitable for now and it¡¯s clearly an improvement over their previous rooms as it¡¯s more than doubled their living quarters. The hallway from their living quarters curves downward to connect to the medicinal garden as I have taken to calling it. I plan to move my other inhabitants moved down here as well and I¡¯m going to convert the old rooms to be used for other purposes. The Coons old living space is now going to be used for the animals so I opened it up by making their sleeping rooms merge with their living and storage space. Then I give the animals more room in their pens where as I add a shelf to store their feed and I create a water trough to keep the water and mana grass mixture in. I even decided to split the larger mana grass plants and put them in planter nooks in the wall to help raise the mana level in the room as well as provide a quick harvest location dedicated solely for the animals use. It will probably take a couple more days to see if the animals internal mana reserves have increased but The Hunter seems very confident that the method of feeding them mana grass and water will improve their chances of converting to monsters even faster than just moving them closer to my core. With my expansion itch fixed for now I decided to move some of my plants around as my first floor hallway is completely lined with planters and the same can be said for the second room. The second room that houses the washroom and the toilets on the side closer to my core room and an large open space that branches out into the different living areas of the Fellis¡¯s family, the Hunter¡¯s family, the Woofer¡¯s family, and the three younger single individuals. I decided to keep the fire ferns in the hallway and the second room for now but I go ahead and split the ones that are ready and put them in the greenhouse room and the medicinal garden room so as to help with the lighting and heating of those rooms. The plants that produce food have their planters moved to the greenhouse room while the plants that have medical properties are moved to the medicinal garden room. I realize that I haven¡¯t been planting many plants that don¡¯t have information of having any specific purpose like food or medical properties or vines that can be woven in various useful things but I think that I might start in earnest after I get the more important things taken care of first. I left the vines in the wall space and just spread out the ones that needed more space to keep growing, they help keep the place looking nice and they are in good reach for Tammy to collect for her weaving. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Tammy has her brother and the young men assisting her when she needs to collect more vines as her parents are encouraging her to get out and do somethings every couple of days now. From what Tammy told me last night her parents are thinking about having her get out every day soon since she seems to be doing a lot better around the guys then she had been before. I also caught her parents taking about if she could have a child with some she likes it might help her get over her fears since she has been spending a lot more time around the young children. Tammy had started making some woven toys for the children like vine dolls and woven crowns for the girls and woven sword belts and shields for the boys which the boys would have to find their own stick swords to pair with them. She has been steadily improving her techniques and increasing the number of different types of things that she can weave, as she seriously accomplishes her own goals for weaving and accumulating rewards for herself. Because of my low dungeon level she doesn¡¯t really get anything impressive from my dungeon loot system but she does get more vines that have particular traits such as being thinner or more elastic than others or even carrying a nice scent. She is now trying to use the loot vines to make more delicate items including hats and a vine version of chain mail. I catch Luna coming through and I show her the things I changed and I also encouraged her to get the plants that are full of ripe foods harvested. Luna was happy to oblige as she gathered the people from the kitchen and they went down to the greenhouse room to harvest the first major harvest since they arrived. Luna had been harvesting in moderation prior but since the greenhouse effects were quite effective with the availability of fertilizer and the year around growing effect making the yield much greater than before. Although I had planted most of the plants right before I had leveled up, the effects have gotten the fastest growing plants ready to harvest already. Now that these plants have grown to the point of being ready to harvest from they will start to regrow whatever has been harvested right away. This means that harvesting from the plants more regularly will produce more food than the people in my dungeon can consume it, and to avoid too much waste they must preserve it or they must send it to a other camps. I don¡¯t really mind the food going to waste since it¡¯s a sure way to accumulate biomass, but the villagers seem to really value food a lot and they aren¡¯t okay with food being allowed to spoil. Harvey Woofer and the Hunter were selected to go trade the extra food for things like milk, cheese, and a couple of chickens that might lay eggs on occasion. Since the Barkley¡¯s managed to get all their farm animals out they surely would have the resources they would be asking for and fresh fruit and vegetables would be good for barging especially if they promise more to be delivered for the Winter Festival. It¡¯s not often that such fresh produce is available during the Winter Festival but when it is it¡¯s highly valued for the festival cooks that want to make an impression during this time. They have even paid nearly a ransom¡¯s worth to the rare winter traveling merchant who would occasionally come through from warmer regions that grow winter season crops. So surely the produce would be warmly received and the desired goods would be offered in exchange. They both head out before midday with a backpack and two woven baskets each, all loaded up with produce, some that were already in the kitchen and the rest that they had just harvested. If all goes well then they should be returning just as nightfall starts getting too dark to see, since they will be sticking to the deeper parts of the woods the whole way to the hidden glade and back they will be able to use a lantern on the way back without much worry. Rimmy and Greg talk about what news they might bring back since our camp hasn¡¯t noticed any activity from the bandits up this way it¡¯s likely that the other camps have more information about what¡¯s going on. Dave also throws out the possibility that they might end up coming back with more people if the other camps were struggling with food shortages or lacking space and other supplies since none of them managed to finish securing all their originally planned supplies because of the Ramingtons betrayal. I am excited at the prospect of more inhabitants coming here so I almost hope that even if there is no shortage that maybe someone curious about our ability to procure fresh produce will come, or maybe even a cooking enthusiasts that just wants access to fresh ingredients would be great for us. I wonder if Luna would be able to convince them into the dungeon cook position, as I¡¯m sure they would be able to get better benefits from cooking with the food that I have grown. I can hardly wait for their return just to find out everything. The other camps news and the first monster Everyone mainly went about their day as usual with the little exception of talking about the coming Winter Festival and what everyone is planning on doing for it. The anticipation for the men out trading with the other camp is only second in comparison of conversation material, which I would have thought that would have at least temporarily overshadowed the Festival conversations. While cooking the conversations tilt toward what everyone wants to eat and who will cook what based upon who is better at cooking what. I even find it quite interesting that the things people mentioned wanting just yesterday seemed to have changed today and I haven¡¯t really determined if they forgot what they wanted or if they just changed their minds. Things seemed to go smoothly up until late evening and I get a notification that I had been impatiently awaiting for longer than I actually remember. [Congratulations on your first monster! You have mana saturated a common field mouse and it has become a common dungeon mouse! Dungeon mice are quite common early stage monsters that don¡¯t truly have any elemental affinity but they are very easy to adapt to an element based upon their environment.] [Warning dungeon monsters are instinctively driven to protect the dungeon they belong to and they will attack non dungeon inhabitants that get too close to the dungeon core! As a low level dungeon relying upon adopting inhabitants and other creatures its best to keep the residents separated away from your core and monsters.] [Low level dungeons have more agency to explore their chosen survival path within reason, as you make more evident progress you will be rewarded with benefits that will improve your capabilities in such areas.] [Having successfully converted a mundane creature into a dungeon monster you will receive a reward to further assist you with future mutations, and upon reaching your monster quota you will receive further upgrades] [The use of common mana grass was used in mana saturation that converted a mundane creature into a dungeon monster, you will unlock the upgraded version of mana grass with your next level up as a bonus reward!] I am so excited with the great news and I share my notification with Luna right away as I go inspect my new dungeon mouse! I find it in its pen with the other smaller animals and I noticed it¡¯s distinct change of eye colors from black to a deep blue and it¡¯s fur looks to have become more glossy and full. But it is looking in the direction of the closest non resident and making pacing motions in agitation! I know I don¡¯t really have much fondness for the non registered people who live in my dungeon but I don¡¯t dislike them enough to wish ill upon them especially when most of them are related to people who have registered as inhabitants of my dungeon. Should I plan on moving them further from my core room? If I move Greg to the second floor level and I turn it into a tunnel going away from my core room I can make the rooms there house the unregistered inhabitants. Then I can move the three young single people to new rooms and make their rooms into a new wash room and toilets and have them connect with the unregistered residents side and close the side that connects to the second room. I will probably be busy as I will also make another washroom and toilets for the second floor. I could also try extending downwards and towards the Barkley¡¯s camp location and maybe make a new entrance there for the unregistered residents to be further away from my core room and monsters¡­.. I might be over reacting so I should wait for Luna¡¯s input. Luna is informing everyone about the new dungeon monster and what it means based off of the information in the notification. Luna, ¡°Although, the dungeon mouse doesn¡¯t seem to pose a threat the fact that it might see unregistered individuals as invasive we should plan to keep it away from them for the time being and we should prepare for the same to be the case for other animals that become monsters. I know that the children have been sneaking in to pet some of the animals and unfortunately we have to put a stop to it unless they get registered I don¡¯t want any of them to get attacked if any of the animals transform and start seeing them as a threat.¡± Teri Woofer, ¡°I understand that the monsters are going to see us as a threat since we haven¡¯t registered as the dungeon¡¯s inhabitants but what about all you who have registered? This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. Are you going to start seeing us as a threat too! Are we going to be kicked out or attacked if we don¡¯t join you as the dungeons pe-People! Luna looks angry. Luna, ¡°Well, I don¡¯t have anything against you all staying but I do have a problem with you starting to call us the dungeons pets! Sure you fixed it part way, but I am not stupid! If you don¡¯t like it here then ask your husband whenever he gets back and find out what the situation is at the Barkley¡¯s camp and if they can accommodate you guys. You can even take extra food and resources with you if you need to buy your way in there!¡± Teri, ¡°Well maybe I should! Since I already noticed that the dungeon has been showing favorites, after all the only times we could get its attention was when someone registered helped us! You say your not stupid well then maybe you can figure out what that means! It might be starting with just ignoring us but how long until it decides to separate us? Or what if it decides to push us out!? If it¡¯s going to see anyone unregistered as hostile then we won¡¯t be able to have anyone visiting from the other camps or anywhere else for that matter! I plan on leaving as soon as my husband gives us the good news about moving to the Barkley¡¯s camp!¡± Luna looks like she wants to yell at her and is only stopped by her father Rimmy intervening. Rimmy, ¡°Now look here, Ms. Woofer, no one¡¯s thought any less of anyone who hasn¡¯t registered as dungeon inhabitants and we are all in agreement to help anyone who wants to leave in anyway we can because we do care about your wellbeing just as much as we care about each others. You won¡¯t be mistreated, regardless if you stay or leave and we will support you however you need us to. The only thing that we were concerned about was if the children were to accidentally be exposed to danger if an animal became a monster while they were there. We can move the monsters to another room that they don¡¯t have access to but we haven¡¯t decided where we should move it or if we should move all the animals somewhere else while we¡¯re at it. We just need to keep the children away and safe until we come up with a solution.¡± Daisy, ¡°I am also concerned about the children, but I don¡¯t think that we should over react, we just have to keep the children away until a solution can be reached that is suitable for the current situation.¡± Teri, ¡°You are missing the point Daisy! We¡¯re going to be forced to become inhabitants or we¡¯re going to be isolated and mistreated or worse! It is a dungeon after all, how far can we really trust it!¡± I am guilty I guess because I really was just planning on moving them further from my core room¡­. But I still find it difficult to take such criticism when I have still done a lot for them yet they still treat me like I am untrustworthy! I want to throw a tantrum but that would just prove them right about me won¡¯t it! What do I do in this situation! I just let Luna and the others shout back and forth with intermediaries of being calmed down to continue talking more civilly. I could hardly wait until the men returned from their trading trip. They brought news too! Harvey, ¡°Well, they will take us in, but they seem to want Max to be paired up with the diggers girl who¡¯s about his age, and they want Honey to be paired with Cain Barkley since he¡¯s apparently taken a fancy to her back in the village.¡± The Hunter, ¡°Their camp has locked up a few members of the Ramingtons that was discarded in their camp and they have a couple traitors imprisoned as well. They had an incident with a villager out gathering firewood getting caught by bandits and bargaining to be let go by giving the bandits information not only on supplies and residents in the camp but also the frequency of them getting supplies outside the camp and where they were gathering stuff from. They have had to change their routine and now only use groups to do any gathering and the places that they were still gathering winter forge from have been given up as they got picked clean. We can assume that the bandits are running low on food, which isn¡¯t much of a surprise given how they were eating, even with the Ramingtons food stores they can¡¯t keep eating like before otherwise they wouldn¡¯t last the winter. Even if the Ramingtons were keeping their own belts tight they would still have to send people out to restock frequently enough to prevent running out before spring.¡± The news was good and bad in its own right but I feel like it just helped things along in a way. Teri, ¡°Well I can understand Max since his heat should hit next year or this summer if it¡¯s early, but Honey she is only 9 which is 5 or even 6 years away while Cain has already had his heat and I doubt he¡¯ll wait for her, she would just end up as his spare mate for when his real partner is pregnant!¡± Harvey, ¡°That¡¯s still not that bad a deal if he supports her when she gets pregnant too, and anyways it¡¯s still a long way off he can still change his mind and it won¡¯t be hard to help her find someone else.¡± Teri, ¡°Ah, well you are right, and I think Max likes that Sandy Digger well enough to take the offer, we will do it. Let¡¯s inform them that we accept, just make sure they have a place for us before we pack ourselves up to leave.¡± Well although I guess that¡¯s one group I don¡¯t have to worry about once they leave. I wonder about the others. Coaley looks worried and she¡¯s pulling on her fleece before she makes her own announcement. Coaley, ¡°If they are locking up anyone related to the Ramingtons then doesn¡¯t that mean that I don¡¯t have anywhere else to go even if I wanted! I haven¡¯t done anything wrong yet I would be treated just like a criminal just because of the family that abandoned me! Fine! You know what I will register as a dungeon inhabitant! I won¡¯t be thrown away again even if I end up as a spare! At least I will still have a place to belong!¡± Coaley is stressed out and bawling her eyes out in frustration. I don¡¯t mind her becoming my inhabitant as it actually makes me happy, but I don¡¯t want to see her being cornered in to it like she seems to have been. I want to comfort her but I don¡¯t have many options so I just drop her blanket from the ceiling above her head and I prompt Luna to go comfort her for me. It takes some time to calm her down but she eventually tired herself out from all of the crying she did, and we decided that it would be best to hold off on registering her until she wakes up in the morning and has a conversation about it with Luna. That leaves the Hunter¡¯s wife and children as the only ones that would be unregistered aside from Tammy¡¯s mother. Not bad at all I think it would make things easier for remodeling the place and it¡¯s going to be easier to transition everything over to a new layout once everything is decided. I can¡¯t wait to get started but I will wait until I get the next expansion itch before I get started. Renovations to solve the itch. And broken things. It wasn¡¯t until early in the morning that the itch to expand hit again and I got started with my next group to move to their improved living quarters. I chose the Felis family for the move since their living arrangements were next to the Coon¡¯s old location since I might as well go in order. Much like the Coon¡¯s new living quarters I have their new place use the same branch off from the medicinal garden room except they will be on the right side of the tunnel so going to the left is the Coon¡¯s place and the right side is the Felis¡¯s place. I give the parents a much larger room as I make their raised bed double the size of single person beds and I give them a small table next to the bed as well as a shelf for storage and I place their clothing chest at the end of the bed, a nook in the wall over the small side table is where I put some of the glow moss from their previous living area. I prepare Tammy and her brother Tim¡¯s rooms much like I did with Luna¡¯s family members with the normal single beds, but after thinking about it I decided to slightly increase the bed size to have a little extra room for everyone who is considered an adult, just in case. I also added a small washroom and a toilet to the forked path for the two families to share rather then having to go all the way upstairs just to use the facilities. I plan to do the same for the others later but for now I think I will remodel their old living space once they finish moving their belongings as I let Luna know and had her help me inform them properly. I was happy to see that it made a good impression as people know that Tina is not registered as an inhabitant, so it doesn¡¯t look like I¡¯m being overly biased about who¡¯s situation I improve being based on who¡¯s registered as my inhabitants. Rather, I should show that I am simply trying to be efficient and going in order as I relocate people from the first floor to the second floor, leaving the only person that I clearly favor is Luna! I have some time before I continue my work on converting the old rooms and I listen to some of the conversations and other things going on in my dungeon. The children are in the greenhouse trying to climb the trees that are now about three men tall and the biggest branches being about as thick as Dave¡¯s arms. The Hunter and Greg are talking about which areas they plan on hunting today and whose checking which traps on their way back. Dave and Samson seem to be planning on crafting something out of wood with each other¡¯s help. The ladies in the kitchen talk about who likes what food and how they prefer things cooked or who dislikes what food as children seem to be picky eaters who sometimes need to be tricked into eating properly. Luna is helping the Felis¡¯s family move their belongings to their new living quarters and she is taking extra care to assist Tammy during the process. I moved Tammy¡¯s vine garden into her new room as they are a nice addition for decorating the room as well as being a great resource for Tammy to keep up with her weaving. Jasper, also decided to assist in the moving process and he attempted to get close to Tammy as he completed on how nicely her newly woven hat accommodates her lovely black and grey ears. He seemed to do well as he even made her blush and giggle at all the flattery he presented her with as he helped carry luggage and supplies from one place to the other until the task was completed. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. And Harvey left with some goods to trade while he went to inform the Barkley¡¯s about their decision to accept the proposal and to ensure that the would have a proper place to stay before they relocate. Everything was going well and I had just gotten started on changing the old living space. Having Tammy¡¯s old room merged into the space for the animals while separating it from the rest with a thick wall of stone. I then closed their old entrance and had their neighbors receive an expansion which gave the three children their own sleeping spaces where the Felis¡¯s living space had been. Then I removed the children¡¯s old sleeping room that they had been sharing and had the space given to the next in line, even though they would be leaving. The additional space was divided between giving the parents a little more room and splitting the children¡¯s room into two slightly smaller rooms but overall still giving them more space total. Around the time I was about to modify the Woofer¡¯s living space, an accident occurred in the greenhouse room. Rocky and Brussel had been climbing on the same tree and while Rocky had been standing on a branch, Brussel had been pulling himself up onto the same branch when the additional weight was too much and the branch broke off. Both of the boys took a tumble hitting other branches on their way down to the ground, resulting in them having cuts and scrapes as well as Rocky with a broken wrist that swelled up right away. Everyone was wound up in a tizzy as they made sure everyone was okay and that only the two boys had been hurt before they were treated with salveaid to speed up the recovery process on all the cuts and scrapes. Rocky had to have his wrist splinted with a wooden splint and wrapped in leather hide to bind it in place for however long it might take to heal. Luna prepared a canteen full of salveaid water to speed up the healing process as much as possible and she made sure that he¡¯d drink it all down each day until he gets better regardless of how much he complained about it being too bitter. Now as for the broken branch from the apple tree they were climbing, it still hadn¡¯t been long enough for it to start growing fruit but it could be used as firewood, which there was already plenty of so I decided to just absorb it for now. Low and behold I had just got a chunk of biomass from that branch and I realized that I must have been dumb for not realizing it sooner. Plants are biomass and where as they cost a particular amount to plant they seem to be worth more once they are grown than they originally cost. Add in the fact that the plants will regrow the damaged or harvested portions can¡¯t I just use some purely as a source of biomass!?! I decided to plant a tree that grows fast and can handle having large amounts harvested for biomass. I go through my dungeon databases plant selection and I look for a tree that would be quite forgiving of me harvesting its wood frequently while also being in a reasonable price range for me to grow it. I find the crape myrtle, which not only grows fast but it can do well getting cut back 25% yearly, but as a dungeon variety its not only going to grow several times faster but with the year around growing and fertilizer enhanced it should be able to be harvested even more frequently! I also increased the sunflower, potatoes, radish and pumpkin crops which all grow fast but they will also produce food and some additional biomass. The sunflower manly only has its seeds harvested to be eaten so the rest of the plant can become biomass, while radishes and potatoes often have parts cut off as scraps which is more biomass for me. The pumpkins outer husk is usually disposed of after it¡¯s seeds and flesh are scraped out to be cooked and eaten, again leaving me more biomass once they are done getting the food from it! I planted extra produce of various types more for the biomass left over but also for the speed of production, I will make it so they can¡¯t keep up and as mundane plants in didn¡¯t have to pay quite as much as I used to. I feel excited as if this really goes as planned I will have enough to purchase the breeder after the harvest of biomass from the greenhouse, granted I will be harvesting anything that I can including the vines that I had been reserving for Tammy to weave. only the plants that act as light sources or mana grass will be allowed to be divided without becoming biomass! I watched the biomass reserves slowly increase as it shouldn¡¯t take long now I could even absorb entire plants to use as biomass if I don¡¯t mind replanting them afterwards. As for my mana reserves they should reach the required amount after a few days since I have been able to do a layer of mana crystallization daily since my inhabitants have been generously giving me mana every day. I feel like I won¡¯t have to worry about leveling up anymore now that I am so close to my goal of getting my breeder as well as dungeon monsters as the rest of the animals can¡¯t be to far behind in becoming dungeon monsters like the dungeon mouse. I feel like today was a very good day despite Rocky getting injured when he fell. Maybe I should look into new plants that can assist with the healing process for his wrist? New monsters, the other camps offer, and Tammy鈥檚 condition I went through my dungeon plant database and found a plant that could speed up Rocky¡¯s recovery from his broken wrist, so I planted two comfrey plants in the greenhouse just to speed up their growth so he can use it sooner. He should appreciate it after all the more knowledgeable mothers advice to help him heal faster was to change his diet to be focused on increasing leafy green vegetables, sweet potatoes, and beans which he wasn¡¯t too happy about. I also got some new notifications! [Congratulations, your chipmunk has mutated into a dungeon monster! Dungeon chipmunks favor woodland environments and have a higher chance to gain the nature attribute when they are raised in the appropriate surroundings.] [Warning! Dungeon monsters will instinctively protect the dungeon from non-inhabitants, as a dungeon relying on outside inhabitants you will need to create safety measures to prevent conflict from occurring within your dungeon.] [Congratulations, one of your squirrels have mutated into a dungeon monster! Dungeon squirrels favor woodland environments and have a higher chance of gaining the nature attribute when they are raised in the appropriate environment] [Warning, dungeon monsters do not get along with those who are not dungeon inhabitants! Remember to make safety measures to prevent conflict!] [Congratulations, your muskrat has mutated into a dungeon monster! Dungeon muskrats prefer wetland like environments as they are simi-aquatic creatures. Dungeon muskrats have a higher chance of gaining the water attribute if they are raised in the appropriate environment] [Warning, reminder that dungeon monsters are not fond of those who are not Inhabitants of the dungeon, you will need to make safety measures to prevent conflict in your dungeon!] I excitedly sent the notifications to Luna so she would also be aware of the new monsters as I go take a look at their changes. The dungeon chipmunk also developed blue eyes like the dungeon mouse had, and it seems like it has improved claws and its cheeks look fluffier. The dungeon squirrel has the the same shade of blue eyes as well, and its gotten sharper claws along with a fluffier tail that may have also gotten a little bit longer. Lastly the dungeon muskrat again with the same blue color eyes as all the others¡­. There¡¯s definitely something up with that, could it possibly be a sign that they are dungeon monsters? regardless it¡¯s gotten sharper claws and it¡¯s fur seems to have gotten more water resistant and it¡¯s webbing between its toes seems to be more expansive while its tail has gotten slightly thicker and longer. I think I should probably relocate the dungeon monsters to the preferred environments but I don¡¯t want them to possibly harm anyone. Maybe I should prioritize making a room for them where they won¡¯t be around those who aren¡¯t inhabitants? Then again I don¡¯t want to end up neglecting the residents more than I seem to already do subconsciously so maybe I should just try to continue moving them to the better room locations. I¡¯m not really going to expand again until I get the itch for it again as it seems like as long as I do, I can avoid the painful punishment of having my dungeon damaged as well as trying to extend the time before I level up again at least a little bit anyways. Luna and many residents are happy to hear about the new dungeon monsters, and some have suggested that they might be good to have in the greenhouse room and the medicinal garden. Only the suggestion was shot down because the children have been playing in those rooms lately and the children aside from Rocky and Misty are not inhabitants. Which prompted the children to request becoming inhabitants so that they could play with the animals and the problem would be resolved easily! Children are the best, I don¡¯t know why the parents had to become so much more complicated as only the mothers seem to protest against it. Teri is definitely the most vocal about not letting the children register while Daisy only has a few concerns and mentions that she has been thinking about registering herself soon before she decides on if it¡¯s better to have her children register as well. Tina is halfhearted about the children waiting to register as it seems Tammy must have recently told her that she has already registered as a dungeon inhabitant and that she has taken up the dungeon weaver position. After hearing that Daisy was planning on registering herself Tina decided that she might as well join then as well. Teri wasn¡¯t happy about the lack of support from her fellow women but she bites her tongue as she will be leaving soon and it will no longer be of her or her family¡¯s concern. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. It wasn¡¯t much longer afterwards that Teri¡¯s husband returned with more dairy products and news for his wife. Harvey returned in the evening, with his backpack filled with jars of milk, cheese and butter that he got for the baskets and the produce in trade. Once the goods were settled he gave his report. Harvey, ¡°There isn¡¯t really any room for our family to move in right now and most everyone is using shared housing even having the young children of multiple families sharing a room to cut down on needed space. That is aside from the families that primarily helped build the camp in the first place and those who have special jobs like the blacksmith, herbalists or alchemists. The Barkley¡¯s and the Diggers are willing to put us up with them since they plan on making us family, but they want to solve the problem of overcrowding so they want this camp to take in some others in return.¡± He looks over at Luna who has apparently been designated as my interpreter. Luna, ¡°Are you okay with receiving some new residents?¡± She asks me and I happily respond with a yes lump of clay that¡¯s larger than the usual size to give emphasis that I really do want more residents, especially if some of them become inhabitants! Luna, ¡°Yes the dungeon is okay with new residents and even seems happy to have them.¡± Harvey, ¡°Okay then, I hope things go well with them when they get here.¡± Luna, ¡°We can probably leave the hunter¡¯s place as is when we relocate them to their new living quarters, so that the new people can make use of it when they come. I think as everyone who lives in the new location we will see how it goes with moving the dungeon monsters over there to the two largest rooms.¡± I can definitely do that so my clay response is raised under her foot and she nods with certainty as she smiles. They take a little while to determine what produce and baskets should be taken as trade next, as between Tammy and Misty plenty of baskets were being made for them to be used as a trade resource. Misty has been actively perusing her trainee skills and has been trailing behind Tammy at a good pace even though she still spends most of her time with the other children. They have also been working on woven vine sleeping mats/door covers to trade to the other camps since they don¡¯t have the luxury of having soft clay under their bedding and they are probably also short on furnishings they plan on making clothing chest later as well. Daisy and Tina started taking about what possible positions they might try to take advantage of once they become registered as dungeon inhabitants they both think they would do well as dungeon cooks but they are hoping to unlock a seamstress position to help them get benefits from mending and making clothes from the furs that have started accumulating. Jasper has fully taken up the task of harvesting the produce from the greenhouse room and changed his position to dungeon farmer so he stays indoors and focuses on that task which he was better at than hunting. Coaley on the other hand has been trying out the jobs she qualifies for, cook which can give a slight flavor and fullness boost when prepared in a designated dungeon kitchen. Gardener has a slight quality improvement over the plants they tend and a chance to increase the farmer¡¯s chances of producing new variants or increased crop yields. So pairing a farmer with a gardener position inhabitants will complement their abilities towards getting even better returns from the greenhouse and garden. Coaley also tried the weaving position with Tammy but she apparently didn¡¯t enjoy it as much as Tammy and Misty does. She has been contemplating the possibility of swapping between two positions depending upon the task she will be working on at the time. Luna is busy assisting with the transition from one position to another as well as helping out wherever she is needed, be it cooking, harvesting, hunting or tending to the animals. Luna is also working on turning some of the furs from her and her father¡¯s kills into winter clothing, particularly for the winter dance as they have leeway than most. Since they were able to get all their clothes and other small items that could fit in the backpacks, unlike those who waited until the last minute to get out in just a few trips. Coaley is probably the one that is the worst off in the dungeon because of having only done one trip and having nothing but a couple cotton sheets and her own clothes. She has had to borrow others cookware and she has been dependent upon the others being willing to share meat from their hunts and her access to the produce that everyone is sharing. I think she may be getting pressured into accepting the advances of the guys because of her poor position even though she seems quite upset about being their obvious second choice as they clearly continue trying to appeal to Tammy first and only resorting to Coaley when Tammy is occupied. Tammy seems to be fine with their advances while she¡¯s out around others but she seems to be having breakdowns when she manages to get away and have some time to herself. I have tried helping her calm herself down as I have gotten to providing her some chamomile frequently for her to be able to make herself some calming chamomile tea in the private kitchen I made for her and Luna. I have even given her a secret passageway from her room to the private kitchen, which I have it hidden behind her bookshelf which I can open and close for her whenever she needs me to. I have even gone to the extent of planting more calming plants in the private kitchen room from some of the seeds that came from the original plants I planted in the beginning. I really hope that Tammy will be alright but sometimes she seems like she is getting better and at other times she seems like she might be getting worse. I don¡¯t have any idea what I should do and I don¡¯t seem to ever be able to get Luna to her during her breakdowns in time, as whenever she arrives Tammy goes back to acting like everything is fine and she just needed a break to calm down. Why won¡¯t she just tell someone that she¡¯s still not okay? I¡¯m confused why she seems to be pretending that she alright when she probably really isn¡¯t¡­ I wish I could tell someone but nobody seems to be able to understand what I¡¯m trying to tell them! It¡¯s just so frustrating that I feel like I¡¯m helpless as what I can do feels too limited and I¡¯m getting more worried every time she breaks down and then hides it from everyone else. Had those calming plants not already gone to seed I would have had to invest in planting more just to help keep enough in stock. I have managed to get pretty good at adding wood to the fireplace in the meantime as well as adding water to the kettle that Tammy uses for her tea, with how frequently she has been coming here to calm her breakdowns down. I wonder what else I could try to do to help her more but I don¡¯t know what might work¡­ Rumors, residents, and monsters The days seem to have passed quickly as various things happened. Tina and Daisy both registered as my dungeon inhabitants and unlocking the seamstress position they were wanting which they both immediately put to work as they focused on making apparel for the winter dance. The rest of the squirrels became dungeon squirrels and I also made it to the mana threshold for getting my breeder! I will also have the biomass in just a couple of days so I don¡¯t have to rush and absorb my plants for immediate biomass. I might be swayed by a romantic rumor that I heard the mothers talking about, apparently babies conceived on the day of the four seasons dances are born extra lucky as they seem to have fewer miscarriages. Tina believes it quite heavily as both of her surviving children were conceived on the day of the seasonal dances and she plans to try again as she misses having little ones around. Tina even made a joke that it would be magical if both she and her daughter were to both conceive on the same day and possibly even give birth together as well. Tammy seems nervous about this but she forces herself to laugh along and agreeing that really would be magical. Samson seems to have overheard the ladies talking in the kitchen and he runs off excitedly as he returns to working on his own outfit for the winter dance as well as preparing some sort of gift for his desired partner. I have already relocated the Hunter¡¯s family with their hallway to the medicinal garden room being spaced as much as one of the cooking stations is long, from the other two families hallway. I even moved the rest of my inhabitants that were single into a new hallway that has each of their improved living quarters alternating between which side of the hallway their room is on and I will move them again if they partner up with someone else. The Woofer¡¯s are set on leaving and they opted to not move simply to avoid having to move again afterwards. They will be taking all of their possessions in a few trips as they will take two clothing chests full of items in the first trip as well as four backpacks full of items and a couple baskets. Harvey will come back for the other two clothing chests and refill his backpack each time until all of their belongings have been moved to the Barkley¡¯s camp. In the meantime we will be using the old rooms for the new residents that are soon to arrive so I have spruced them up a little having decided to make them raised beds a making shelves in their temporary space. Before I can follow back up with the conversation in the kitchen I get another well welcomed notification! [Congratulations, your rabbits have mutated into dungeon rabbits! Dungeon rabbits prefer the mountain, woodland and grassland types of environments and they are more likely to gain the earth, nature and wind traits when they are raised in the appropriate environments.] [Warning, dungeon monsters are protective of the dungeon core and will see non-inhabitants as intruders. Make sure to take measures to prevent conflict] [Congratulations, your raccoon has mutated into a dungeon raccoon! Dungeon raccoons prefer woodland and wetland environments and they have a higher chance of gaining the shadow, earth, water or nature traits if they are raised in the right conditions.] [Warning, dungeon monsters are protective of the dungeon core and will see those who have not registered as dungeon inhabitants as intruders, Make sure to take measures to prevent conflict in your dungeon.] Of course I share the news and I head over to inspect their changes! Again they all got the same blue colored eyes and all of them got improved claws and fur which is nice but somewhat boring now as that seems to be the most common changes for newly mutated dungeon monsters. I can¡¯t wait for them to level up and acquire elemental traits, hopefully they will have more variety to the changes if they can get different elements. Now all that¡¯s left are the couple of chickens and the deer, which is definitely taking longer to mutate as the deer were among the first animals acquired but they look like they are going to be the last ones to mutate into dungeon monsters. In the meantime another trade trip was made and returned with some of the new residents and their first round of belongings. They are the CorviDae family, which are avid-beast-kin, that have many bird like traits. Their hands have talons and are scaly until the upper arm and the legs are very similar again up to the thigh. They have feathers and they have wings on their backs as well as feathered tails which does allow them some degree of flight. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. All of the ones that have arrived to drop off their belongings are male and they plan to do a couple of trips before the whole group arrives. I ended up having to add more rooms in a cluster as apparently they will be staying together as a flock. The oldest of the group and supposedly the father of the group seems to be Talon, who has glossy black feathers and a sharp beak like nose and dark black eyes. His brother, Magnus, has a smaller stature and some white bands on his feathers. And his sons, Karmon, and Jay, have solid black feathers and blue, black, and white patterned feathers respectively. Luna explained that Avids and a few other species are beasts kin sometimes have a possibility of genetic randomness where their offspring may have the traits of the origin beasts relative species rather then the exact same breed although the chances of them being the same increases if both parents are the same breed of beast-kin. So from my understanding a crow and a crow would be more likely to have offspring that are also crows but still have a possibility of having a raven, but a raven and a crow could end up with offspring of any species of Corvids! That also helps explain why the Woofers were similar but were different breeds of dog beast-kin. Although cases of the parents of similar species having offspring that are a hybridization of their origin beast traits, breeding with a beast-kin of another species altogether will almost certainly show both of the parents traits blended. Also even though beast-kin aren¡¯t fully bound by their origin beasts diet they do usually have their favorite foods all among the foods that their beasts relations would have in their diets. So the CorviDae family has happened to bring over one of their insect farms that happened to be one of the conflict sources that had them choose to leave the Barkley¡¯s camp, as not many people are willing to share housing arrangements with people who keep bugs for food. Even though they aren¡¯t the only kind of beast-kin that are insectivores they are the only residents of the village who were, ever since the family of woodpecker type of beast-kin moved to a neighboring village. These new residents seem to have noticed that I¡¯m a dungeon because of the mana and airflow within my dungeon, shortly after entering the kitchen. Luna is quick to pick up on the conversation and explains the situation, from my willingness to help everyone out with whatever I can, to the registration as dungeon inhabitants with positions and of course the issue of dungeon monsters being territorial against non-inhabitants. The CorviDae family seems to understand and they plan to register as a family once they have finished moving in as they don¡¯t believe that there is any significant issue with regards to registering as dungeon inhabitants especially if they are planning to live here through the winter. They settled in for the night in their new living space as they will head back for the next round of belongings in the morning and while they are at it they have thrown out the offer to assist the Woofer¡¯s in taking their belongings to the Barkley¡¯s camp since they would both be heading that way anyway. I look forward to seeing the other new residents especially since it seems like they will be joining as dungeon inhabitants once they do! I am also curious about if the different types of bugs they bring are able to become dungeon monsters as well or not. I might see about offering mana grass to feed the bugs just to see what happens. Luna and I talked happily about the new residents and their potential to unlock new positions as the adults apparently met each other in a dungeon and they were adventurers before settling down and raising a family together. Not only that but Talon¡¯s wife Stella has worked as a merchant and all of them have farmed their own bugs for their own food sources as well as farming their favorite seeds, fruits and nuts! They hold a high level of importance over family, food, hunting and trinkets as they have been influenced strongly by their beast traits in those areas. So there¡¯s a good chance that they have different qualities that would open positions that I haven¡¯t unlocked yet. And Luna seems to be happy that there¡¯s going to be more girls coming here as she thinks Stella¡¯s daughters and sister might be helpful in supporting Tammy¡¯s recovery as well as giving the current guys other girls to chase. I wasn¡¯t the only one who caught Tammy¡¯s awkward laughter earlier and Luna seems to be noticing that Tammy has been going through a lot of chamomile, lavender, passion flower, and valerian root lately and she seems to be putting the pieces together finally. Luna, ¡°I am starting to think that Tammy¡¯s not doing as well as she seems to be, she has been going to the private kitchen a lot lately and she has been going through the calming herbs faster than I think is normal.¡± I responded with a huge lump of clay as I tried to emphasize that she¡¯s on the right track and that Tammy is by no means alright. Even though I have been doing my best to help her, I am unfortunately unable to help as much as someone who could talk to her and comfort her properly. Which is why I have continued trying to get Luna to catch Tammy and give her the proper attention and support she needs, but I still haven¡¯t been successful in getting her there in time. Luna now seems to realize that I have been trying to get her to help Tammy with all those times that I have led her to the private kitchen where Tammy would be or had been just before she got there. Luna, ¡°So, that¡¯s why you kept leading me to our private kitchen. You were trying to get me to help Tammy? But she always seemed to have just been there to calm down or relax with some tea, maybe even just her trying to get some time to herself after dealing with others¡­. She even said so!?! What are we going to do? We can¡¯t actually help her if she doesn¡¯t want help, or at least be willing to let us know that she needs help in the first place.¡± I agree with more clay and I try to convey what I have been doing to try helping her out with everything that I can assist her with and Luna seems to get the picture. Luna, ¡°Thank you for trying to help her out, I am sure she really appreciates it, but I still think she needs to talk to someone about it and she might need to have more time away from the guys, since being around them seems to be stressful for her right now. Maybe I should see about getting all the girls together for activities that can help her get more time away from the guys. Having her socialize with other females might help her destress and she might decide to open up about what she¡¯s going through¡­..hopefully.¡± I agree again with her as I press another lump of clay into her hand before re absorbing it like I always do. It¡¯s really late when Luna finally drifts off to sleep as some of our later conversations became difficult to understand with her practically mumbling everything and I had to tuck her in multiple times to get her to finally just go to sleep. I really like it when she talks to me but I prefer it when I can understand what she¡¯s talking about in the first place so I can respond properly. But, I can¡¯t say that I don¡¯t like her occasionally acting this way as it¡¯s interesting to see how different her behavior can vary depending upon her state and what¡¯s going on. I wonder what all I will get to see when the dance that everybody is looking forward to comes. Activities for the girls, winter decorations The morning was met with the hustle and bustle of the Woofer¡¯s moving out and the CorviDae family assisting them with gathering up and carrying their belongings as they leave as a group. They left with a light meal that they could eat on the go and short farewells that promised to see each other again. Luna went ahead and decided to start gathering the girls up including the children and proposed that until the day of the winter dance once the daily tasks are completed that they would work on the decorations for the event, the outfits for the dance, or other things that might help make the event more lively. Everyone seems to like the idea especially with the mother daughter bonding that this will provide. Some decorative baskets for the foods that will be able to be placed in them and some macram¨¦ and woven vines would become the primary wall decorations. Which I have decided to add to with stone hooks to hold them up in place and making stalagmites and stalactites with glowing moss along the walls that will complement the decorative pieces they make. They work on the decorations for the kitchen first and there is talk about which room to make for the actual dance to be held in. But since I am planning to make the dance room later today as I have gotten into the rhythm of when the itch hits and how much I should build to get my fix. I won¡¯t be doing it all at once as I have worked on taking over the space I plan on putting it, as it¡¯s going to be connected to the greenhouse and the medicinal garden as well as my pathway to the river so it will have plenty of space. I have also started splitting fire ferns and glow moss whenever the plants are ready to split and I have also been planting the seeds of pretty much all of the plants that are producing them. Since I want the place lit up nicely with light I even found out how to get the luminous mushrooms to spread, apparently their mycelium needs fertilizer and water to spread and multiply. So, I have been playing around with how to go about it and I have made slopes and nooks that have a moist moss at the top and dripping down onto the luminescent mushrooms that I planted on loamy soil with fertilizer provided to feed them. After a few attempts I have established more than I thought I would and I have started planting some individual ones in the hallways as lighting and decoration. Things seem to be coming along nicely as I have planted many seeds in my gardens and I have many flowers in bloom while also having plenty of produce being produced as they are in an endless cycle of flowering and producing without being halted with the usual winter reset. Because of the constant flow of produce increasing as more seeds get planted and grow to produce even more, we are now having to preserve some of the food as it otherwise would be impossible to get to it all. This is opening up new opportunities for trade with the other two camps, we will be collecting more jars from the other camps, filling them with jams, jellies, and marmalades. The fresh produce will be sold by the basket and the preserves will be by the jars to trade for whatever our camp needs. Rimmy and Greg are planning on going to the camp on the other side of the river as they have found a good place to cross without too much trouble even though they have to back track a little. If things go according to plans they should be able to leave early and get back late. They are hoping to see how that camp is doing and if they need to send some people this way we will be happy to have them especially if they can come before the winter dance. As everyone is hoping for more people to come and participate as it¡¯s supposed to be a lively event with food, music, entertainment and dancing all into the night. The more the merrier they say as my residents talk about taking turns singing and playing music for each other so everyone can have a turn dancing. Stolen novel; please report. Even the cooks will take turns keeping the food and drinks table clean and with plenty of things to eat and drink, so it won¡¯t run out during the dance. The excitement for the festivities seems to increase as preparations are made and completed in stages. The men are particularly vigorous with excitement as they hunt for particular furs to make not just clothing but also bedding and rugs. Some of the men who know a little about carving also carve not just wood but also deer antlers into decorative jewelry for them to present to their partners or to decorate their rooms. A little after most everyone had their lunch, the CorviDae family returned with more of their belongings and a couple more insect farms which the brother will stay and care for. The rest flew back down the mountain to the Barkley¡¯s camp as they plan to bring the children with their next trip first thing in the morning. Dave and Greg¡¯s old rooms ended up being the temporary location for the insect farms as the location would be convenient for when the CorviDae¡¯s cook with them, and they will only be using the fireplace and cooking station that is the closest to the insect farms to avoid complicating things. Magnus joined the guys for a short hunt before dark and to work on their own preparations for the winter dance and it¡¯s other possible activities as they put it. They seem to doge some of the younger children¡¯s questions about what they were preparing for as they respond with ¡°You will know when you are older.¡± Everyone seems to be getting along well with each other and the overall mood in the dungeon is pretty happy and excite able. Even fairly late into the night some individuals were still active in their rooms. That trend seemed to follow into the next day with only a brief period of quiet before morning came and those who had slept earlier got up and started their morning routine¡¯s. Tina baked bread in a clay pot on the fire and Daisy filed the breads with freshly made fruit jams for everyone as the men would wake up and take the quick meal with them out on their hunts. Apparently it¡¯s more for materials for the winter festivities than for stocking up on meat as we already have a good supply in the kitchens iceboxes. Sometimes I don¡¯t seem to really understand why they do some of the things that they do, but I don¡¯t mind it and I find myself enjoying it as I join in assisting them whenever they ask. The girls have been talkative and are working on clothing today, from warm fur coats, boots, and dresses to jewelry. I am looking forward to surprising them with the room I am crafting for them to use for their dance, as I am slowly opening up the space and I will connect the hallways to it just before they start trying to turn an existing room into the dance room. I am even already putting plants in there to decorate it as I make use of the fire ferns and frost ferns as well as glowing moss and luminescent mushrooms all over the room and I scoured through my dungeon plant database for an assortment of flowering plants to add as if I were addicted to the task. I find flowering vines of all sorts to go up along the pillars supporting the room much like the greenhouse except I am going to add a secondary floor that can look down at the dance floor. I think I will add a hallway that will connect closer to the kitchen as I will have this upstairs location of the room reserved for the people to come eat away from the dancing but they will still be able to watch the others dancing. I also make a few sections below for the music and singing to be performed and a section for the talent show based off of what I think might be needed from what I have seen the others practicing. I also put a couple of benches for people who need to rest between rounds of dancing or whoever might be waiting for a dance partner, as apparently the ladies start out sitting as the men come up to them and invite them to the dance floor. The ladies have the option of accepting or declining the invitation but it¡¯s not that common as every time they decline someone it becomes less likely that someone else will risk asking. This is because being declined makes them move back in order of asking for a partner, which is why the married couples go first followed by the hopeful bachelors and then the children finishing up with the unfortunate ones who failed their first dance request. This one is supposed to be a little different in that once the married couples have their dance they will switch to being singers and musicians for the younger couples. Also since the parents don¡¯t want the children to interrupt the individual¡¯s who go off for alone time everyone who goes off will take turns and will return until the children are all to bed. I have started trying to mimic some of the etiquette for the dance that I have seen the others practice as well as attempting to preform as a dance partner. Daisy and the hunter as well as Tina and Tom ended up as my reference material as I practiced. I exposed my dungeon flesh and I branched it and bound two different tendrils together having the base of each act as legs that go up and twist together as they spread out together to make a torso and then two branches formed arms then a bundle coiled up to make a sort of head. I have no choice but to admit it looks bad, I don¡¯t think I could win any aesthetic contest in concern of looks, but I am at least passable in functionality. I can¡¯t actually step like a person would but after several attempts I have managed sliding the surface of the dungeon floor around my tendrils as I move them around. There is a travel limit and there is the issue of them getting tangled up with my other tendrils but I have come up with a solution of retracing my tendrils and having the ones in the next section recreate my dancing figure to continue onward. I really just want to get faster at doing it so that I can have it continue onward and match Luna¡¯s usual walking pace and maybe a little faster just in case. After all I want this dance to go well and be a night to remember for years to come! The CorviDae鈥檚 move in as inhabitants! It was later that evening when the CorviDae family arrived this time with some of their girls. The mother Stella having black and blue feathers much like the stellar jay she was named for. Her daughters Raven who looks much like her father and verdant who seems to be a green Jay are both newly mature whilst the youngest daughter Ebony who has a smaller black birds feathers is almost Misty¡¯s age. They are all carrying luggage and their backpacks are carried in their front rather then on their backs like others usually carry them. All the adults are carrying more insect farm¡¯s which they have join the other insect farms located in the hall rooms near the kitchen. I am thinking about just enlarging Greg¡¯s old room out until it has plenty of space to host all the insect farms without over crowding them or stacking them on top of each other, as apparently that¡¯s how they had to manage at their previous location. Since they planned to get everyone here and register as inhabitants I have started working on making them their new living quarters branching off the same hallway as the Hunters family. I made the parents room and their children¡¯s rooms bundled together like I have for the others and then I added a space before adding the siblings rooms to ether side of the path much like I did with the single bachelors rooms. Since the mother apparently has two siblings staying with the last of their belongings I made their rooms last. After having Luna direct them to their new living quarters they sent the men to go get the last of their belongings as the girls organized their stuff into everyone¡¯s rooms. The guys have figured out a path down toward the other camp that is clear enough for them to fly low and get there quickly so they should make it back tonight. Which with the excitement of the new residents joining us my inhabitants have decided to throw a welcome party which they will celebrate with a bunch of food that everyone can enjoy. They take into consideration that aside from insects most Corvids like to eat fruit, nuts, seeds and small animals, so most of the foods will be prepared with that in mind as those are most likely to be their favorites. None of them know how to prepare the insects as a meal nor do they have their own supply of them so they Inform Stella in case she wants to prepare them for the party. Stella was quite happy with the news and she informed everyone about who likes what so as to narrow down the menu, and she happily offered to show the other cooks how they prepared their insect based meals. They politely agreed but they didn¡¯t look quite as enthusiastic about it as I thought they would be as they always seemed so excited to learn how to cook a new dish and exchanging recipes. The plan is that once they finish the meal they will be registering as inhabitants and selecting their new positions right away, and in happenstance the children who haven¡¯t registered yet will also do so then. I am looking forward to it as I will surely get new positions unlocked and everyone that¡¯s staying here will finally be registered as my dungeon inhabitants! Stella¡¯s sister Maggie is planning to finally settle down with Magnus which she had been putting off for years now because she didn¡¯t feel ready despite Magnus having been persistent with his pursuit of her as a mate. Stella¡¯s brother Krow on the other hand still wants to wait until he finds someone who catches his interest before heading out on his own so he plans to go help Maggie with her young until he finds someone or they mature like Stella¡¯s. The oldest daughter Raven has been planning to find a mate this year and has even thought about possibly going to where the woodpecker family had moved to see if she could find someone there because she wants her children to be able to fly at the least so she¡¯s sworn off any of the wingless races and that¡¯s really limited her choices. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. The other brothers don¡¯t seem to care as much about ensuring that their offspring have wings but they do seem to want someone who is okay with cooperative breeding as they don¡¯t want to be separated yet, unlike their older sister who seems impatient to get out on her own. Verdant is also looking for a partner and although she is hoping to find someone who is an avid like herself she¡¯s open minded as long as she can still enjoy her favorite foods, and they are open to having a big family as she gets lonely easily. Ebony just seems like she wants to run off and play with the other children and she isn¡¯t really interested in the more adult conversations going on, which after a few attempts she does manage to sneak off to play in the greenhouse room with the other children. Rocky is a little down as he can¡¯t climb the trees like the others so he¡¯s stuck playing on the ground as they play. Ebony who can¡¯t fly yet isn¡¯t really interested in climbing so she was apparently happy having someone staying on the ground with her even if it was more due to an injury then just keeping her company. The food was eventually finished and the last of the belongings arrived with the remaining CorviDae family which set off the party. The chatter was greater than usual as there are now more people then before and everyone seems to be getting to know each other in more depth than they had back in the village. I had thought that the people from the village were very close to each other and knew each other well but apparently that is only true for those who dealt with each other regularly or were in the same groups, as any sizable community will have individuals who don¡¯t know each other well. Some people were clearly avoiding the insect dishes but a few residents at least gave them a try, but poor Greg seemed to unfortunately not be able to eat them as his attempt ended up with him vomiting in a bucket. It was quite fascinating though as it¡¯s my first time witnessing food rejection and realizing that it is actually quite the ordeal, leaving him worn and unsettled. Concerned I searched my database and found peppermint and ginger that can help with the nausea and vomiting for future use but I happen to discover that the chamomile I planted for Luna and Tammy can also be used to help Greg now! Regardless I add the two new plants to my medicinal garden for any future needs that they might come in handy for. With the meal wrapped up everyone gets registered, netting me plenty of new positions, lookout, insect farmer, insect breeder, exotic cook, nest maker, aerial scout, high flyer, sky dancer, dancer, aerial hunter, etc. All the children have obtained the trainee position while the CorviDae¡¯s that have already matured have negotiated amongst themselves to have them each take the positions that are uniquely available for them. Talon with aerial hunter, Stella with exotic cook, Magnus took aerial scout, Maggie took insect breeder, whilst Krow took insect farmer, Karman took high flyer, and Raven took sky dancer, Jay took lookout, and finally Verdant took nest maker. [Congratulations for your new inhabitants, a special reward for you and your inhabitants will be given upon milestones in your leveling process as you continue unlocking new positions new quests will be added to accompany and develop your dungeon to make you uniquely successful in the paths you have chosen to explore.] [Congratulations for unlocking new positions, you and your inhabitants will receive benefits for your efforts, new quests will be available upon your next level up.] [Cooperative quests will become available upon your next level up, these quests will require your inhabitants to assist each other in completing tasks that will benefit the dungeon and their fellow inhabitants. Some quests require the dungeon and inhabitants to complete a goal together as well.] [Congratulations timed quests will also be available for the dungeon and inhabitants. Timed quests will have greater rewards but they will later have penalties for failure. Current timed quests can be accepted or refused without consequences but some timed quests will not be avoidable without consequences.] I am delighted and yet concerned about the notifications I received as I share them with Luna as I have now gotten into the habit of doing. I¡¯m starting to feel like I can¡¯t get a notifications without it having bad news tacked onto whatever good news I receive. Though I see that my inhabitants have taken the news quite well as they seem to have become quite excited and they are eager for me to level up quickly. I think about it and I feel like it might not be a bad idea since I now have dungeon monsters and I can now get my breeder at anytime. I don¡¯t feel panicked about it and I am more than happy to continue expanding myself as it has been having me do lately. In all actuality I seem to enjoy expanding myself and making new useful rooms very much especially when I see how much my inhabitants appreciate and enjoy them. I am definitely looking forward to expanding again while everyone else sleeps tonight and I look forward to seeing them react to the new room for their dance as they seem like they were starting to decide that the medicinal garden would be the best place for the dance and they will be making the decorations for it when they get up. So it¡¯s finally time to unveil my surprise for them to enjoy, I particularly look forward to Luna¡¯s expression when I lead her to it in the morning! The dance room and a level 3 dungeon I connected the various paths to the new dance room, the kitchen to the second floor of the dance room and then the greenhouse and medicinal garden to the base floor of the dance room. I also connected the path towards the river on the opposite side of the dance room which will help me expand that way later. Now since that¡¯s done people can find the room when they wake up so I can focus on adding more touches to the room. I have flowering plants added all over the place, from flowery vines trailing up the pillars or wrapping around railings. Flowering bushes in planters along the walls and bordering the stage for the musicians as well as the performers for the talent show, and also to ether side of the benches for the women when they are waiting to receive their dance invitations. I make carved paths for water that run along the the walls in a water slough that would create the babbling brook sound that Luna said was relaxing one time when she had returned from the river before it had started snowing. I find the water sounds needed more texture added to the paths to create the sound she most likely meant so I added curves and little drops here and there until I had the whole room echoing with the sound of the water flowing through the carved walls. Some spots had a little splash zone so I added small ledges with plants that have higher water requirements to decorate them, which then lead me to plant mana grass all along the edges to create a green trail alongside the walls. The water sounds softened just slightly as some of the sound was muffled by the greenery and I planted new mana grass in my core room where I had transplanted the mana grass from. I also thought more lighting would be necessary so I moved patches of glowing moss to trail along the path above the water slough where the light will leak through the greenery and reflect off the water. This effect was quite appealing and I couldn¡¯t be happier with how it turned out, the light looked like it was also dancing to the sound of the babbling river in the walls. I had to create a water catch at the top and bottom to hold the water as a reservoir to keep the water flowing as I had to put a constant absorbing spot on the bottom. I would occasionally add water to the tank at the top which I also added moist mosses all along the tanks roof just to keep making more water and slightly reduce how frequently I would have to refill the tank. I have fire ferns and frost ferns to add more colored light as the red, yellow and orange of the fire ferns looks warmer and cheery with the heat they also produce, and the white and light blue light the frost ferns produce is more calming and chilly with the coldness that they emit. I decided to have them alternate around the room to create some spots that are warmer and other areas that are cooler without allowing ether locations from being too hot or cold for my inhabitants. I felt inspired and I wanted to keep going but I wasn¡¯t sure what else I could do currently as it is fairly well lit up now with all the glowing plants, and I have already made the furnishings, I even put the smaller flowering plants on tables and everything else I could think of. But I desired to keep constructing more! I expanded the path towards the river a few sleeping room lengths and I added a new washroom and improved toilets between the Hunter¡¯s family and the CorviDae¡¯s family area¡¯s right where the hallway forks to their two different living quarters. The bachelor hall already has their own washroom and improved toilets, making there be four locations so far. I add a few more empty rooms to the bachelors hallway for future inhabitants to move into right away. Then I decided to make another level where I made two different rooms one filled with all the fire type plants and the other filled with all the ice type plants, as once they grow and fill the room I could possibly make vents that connect them to other key locations to act as heating and cooling whenever it¡¯s needed. I also extended the hallway to the prison room and pushed the prison in the direction of the Barkley¡¯s camp, even having the hallway slope downwards until it is technically on the level that would be the third floor region of the dungeon. I partly did so because I really don¡¯t like the prison or Rita who is the only prisoner for now, and I would like to keep prisoners as far away from my core as possible. I still feel like I¡¯m not done yet and I make another family hallway like the two before but I only make three bedrooms at the end of each since I don¡¯t know who will end up living there. I feel like I am in a frenzy of improving things as I split plants that can be split and I move things around, I even made the pools of water in my medicinal garden more secluded. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. I have the itch that I am on the verge of breaking through some sort of barrier and I want to breakthrough it! So I continue on to make another room, off of the private kitchen, this time it¡¯s a private garden that I planted all the plants that are used for teas, snacks and desserts and I applied the greenhouse effect to it as I dubbed it the treat garden. [Congratulations on leveling up your dungeon to level 3! You have some special rewards for completing special tasks before you leveled up!] [You have unlocked the level 2 mana grass early for using mana grass to speed up the process of mutating your mundane animals into common dungeon monsters. Level 2 mana grass will produce an increased amount of ambient mana and will have a slight glow effect from the mana present in the grass while it will also improve soil quality and the slight possibility of magical resources developing.] [You have unlocked new quests for the many positions that have been unlocked for your inhabitants triggering quests is as simple as starting an action that is related to the quests.] [You have acquired the number of monsters required of a level 1 dungeon, this will alleviate some of the penalties for not having dungeon monsters, but you have not met the monster quotas for the level 2 or 3 dungeon. Please aim to meet your dungeon monster quotas as you level up as failing to do so can impact your survival chances negatively!] [Expanding your dungeon can allow you to support your population of dungeon monsters and inhabitants, but it also increases your survival rate, please continue expanding and exploring your region as many new things can only become available to you as you find new resources.] [Warning you are missing 2 required facilities, the breeder and monster spawner have not been placed yet! Enough resources are available for the breeder, please place it soon! The monster spawner cost more than the resources you have available currently please finish repairing your core to meet the required mana quota and acquire the biomass needed to complete the monster spawner and its placement!] [You have created rooms with particular purposes in mind, they will be established as designate able rooms!] [The bedroom has been established, it will provide traits for rejuvenating your inhabitants by improving sleep quality and granting improved clarity when waking up, natural healing is improved during sleep so the effect will be greater in designated bedrooms. Your inhabitants are vital for your defense and future development so this location has been selected to also improve their fertility rates as they have been associated with the process for reproduction.] [You have obtained a special variety of ballroom, the creativity displayed has granted you additional traits in tandem with its creation! The ballroom effects have been expanded! The Ballroom will provide inspiration and energy to your inhabitants! Fatigue will be reduced and skills related to the venue will be improved at a increased rate. The arts of singing, dancing and musical performances are improved to a greater degree while the environment will improve other artistic skills and performance skills to a minor degree. An additional effect has been made for the ballrooms intended purpose, the greater degree of festivity and positive atmosphere the greater favorability increase will occur between your inhabitants as well as with yourself!] [The medicinal garden has been established! medicinal plants and an atmosphere designed for healing has granted this place with a passive healing aura for all inhabitants and a additional healing qualities will be added to each of the water sources that will be infused with the mana residing in the dungeon. The secluded sections that have been made to allow privacy can also be used to improve intimacy between inhabitants as well as fertility repair to those whose natural fertility is impaired.] I am quite happy with the results as it seems that the penalty was lessened to an extent but it is still present to ensure that I will continue leveling up and encouraging me to obtain whatever I require to be successful as a dungeon. I share the news with Luna as she wakes up from the bright lights that came from my core. Luna, ¡°You leveled up again! Oh wow, there¡¯s quite a few useful things here! I¡¯m sure everyone will be happy with the improvements that¡¯s for sure!¡± Luna gets dressed and she looks around before pointing out a corner of her room that¡¯s not as occupied and she looks at my core as she speaks shyly. Luna, ¡°I think right over here will be a good place to setup your breeder, but if it¡¯s not too much trouble I would like it if you made it so I can see your core because I want to see you when we really do it for the first time!¡± I get excited about it but I remember that we have to let others know before placing it and I still feel like having it done after the coming dance will have the biggest impact on us both. So unfortunately I resigned myself to opening up the space so that it will have a second doorway access to my core room in that space and I cleared the things that could be in the way, but rather than placing my breeder there I left it empty. As Luna was about to ask me about it I put a stalagmite under her foot to tell her no I am not placing it yet. Luna, ¡°¡­¡­.Oh! How could I have forgotten! We have to let everyone know about it first and come up with a plan just in case things get out of hand.¡± Luna remembers our obligations and she runs off to gather everyone for the announcement¡¯s. which as she gathered everyone I directed them to the entrances of the new ballroom, but preventing entry until Luna finishes gathering everyone. I let her be the first person to enter as I secretly think of this as one of my gifts to her. The reactions are priceless as there are many ooh¡¯s and aah¡¯s from everyone as they spread out in the spacious room looking at everything and listening to the water flows, even trying out the benches and tables was part of the examinations. I think I can call it a success as some people start singing and dancing to music as they test out how the sound will travel through the room. They are absolutely jubilant and it takes some time to calm them down for Luna to give them the rest of the announcements. Luna, ¡°Alright that was definitely a grand surprise for everyone, but there¡¯s more news as the dungeon has recovered enough that it can now get its breeder so we need to decide what we plan on doing in regards to that. That¡¯s especially important since it has also just leveled up to a level three dungeon and it¡¯s received another warning about it missing required facilities. The dungeon still has some more repair needed to be done on its core to meet the requirements for the dungeons monster spawner but we already planned to get that last. So what¡¯s everyone¡¯s thoughts on the matter and how should we proceed?¡± The plan The announcement raised a few questions from the CorviDae family as they were apparently not fully informed about my situation. Talon, ¡°You mean that this dungeon doesn¡¯t already have a breeder or monster spawner on top of it also trying to recover its core from apparent damage? How did it get damaged in the first place?¡± Luna, ¡°Well it was damaged when I first found it and it had apparently had its core pedestal knocked over by an earthquake which made the core break and almost died. It was a new dungeon that hadn¡¯t yet placed its base facilities yet as it was literally just the core room and a little cave. Yet it was still willing to help out with what it was able to do and over time it has been recovering, so now it¡¯s able to get one of the missing dungeon facilities and it is willing to accommodate our opinions on what to do.¡± Talon, ¡°I personally don¡¯t think that will be a problem as long as we don¡¯t go into the dungeon prison or breeding rooms since we are considered it¡¯s allies after registration as inhabitants. Dungeons don¡¯t just snatch up people to breed and it can¡¯t afford to lose any allies because it doesn¡¯t have the monster population to protect it from outside threats. It¡¯s not my first time in a dungeon and frankly from the ones that I have been in they usually have to have the monsters capture invaders for it to breed or the monsters offer themselves up to be bred. Aside from that most dungeons just spawn monsters from pods that form up in particular rooms like an insect hives larval room, which usually are found on every level. large dungeons might even have several monster spawners per level! So, I¡¯m Voting to just go ahead and place the breeder somewhere safe and away from anyplace that might cause problems.¡± Luna, ¡°Thanks, for the information and your vote! Does anyone else have any information to share before voting?¡± The Hunter and Daisy, ¡°We will be voting for it to go ahead, just place it where only you have access to it when you are ready for it.¡± Daisy gives Luna a knowing wink and smiles happily. Rimmy, ¡°I¡¯m for it whenever you feel like you are ready and I want you both to know that if things go out of hand and it needs more than you can handle giving it, then go ahead and have it use Rita as a seedbed if it can alleviate some of the burden from you.¡± Tom and Tina, ¡°We still have a few worries about it but we think it¡¯s probably going to be alright, just make sure it it doesn¡¯t take anyone without their consent otherwise we will likely fight it if something happens to our family. But we¡¯re still very grateful for all the benefits and we hope it doesn¡¯t come to anything bad, since we personally are happy for the possible fertility increases because we plan to try for a baby soon.¡± David, ¡°I don¡¯t mind you doing as you want just be accountable for whatever happens.¡± Greg, ¡°I have no complaints, especially since it was kind enough to ask when you could have just placed it without telling anyone, I think that is already showing its pretty trustworthy to me.¡± This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. Samson, ¡°As long as it¡¯s not going to snatch up all the girls then I will accept.¡± Jasper, ¡°I guess it might be okay, but should we make any preparations just in case?¡± Luna, ¡°We probably can, I was thinking about our previous plans and preparations of having anyone who¡¯s unsure go stay in the temporary shelter outside the dungeon until after it¡¯s got its first fix. Everyone else can stay inside if they think it¡¯s fine and safe to do so.¡± Tim, ¡°As long as my sisters safe I¡¯m fine with it but just in case I want to be by my sisters side when you do it so I can protect her if anything goes wrong.¡± Luna, ¡°Just as before I will inform everyone before I place it just in case so nobody will be taken by surprise.¡± Koaley, ¡°I think I will go to the temporary shelter just in case when you do it, I just want to make sure to be safe rather than ending up sorry. I will come back if nothing goes wrong though!¡± Tammy, ¡°Umm, I think it¡¯s okay.¡± Magnus, ¡°Just get it done with if it needs to be done in the first place, why are we even voting on this!¡± Stella, ¡°I agree, if it needs it anyways then why are we voting on possibly intervening or restricting it?¡± Maggie, ¡°I think it might be romantic to have your first time on the day of the dance! After all I heard dungeons have a guaranteed pregnancy rate, so you will surely become pregnant when you do it! You will definitely have lucky babies then!¡± Luna, ¡°Th-That¡¯s Just an old wives tale! But I agree it would definitely be romantic.¡± Krow, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter to me what you want to do.¡± Raven, ¡°I don¡¯t mind, I heard that dungeons just give the closest monster types to the mothers species. If that¡¯s the case then it wouldn¡¯t matter much to me since even if it decides to take me as a mate to breed since at least my offspring will be guaranteed to be able to fly.¡± Verdant, ¡°Wait! Does that mean that we can have lots of babies if we mate with it? What should I do?! That sounds nice but I also want to share my nest with someone I can cuddle up with!¡­..¡± Luna, ¡°Umm, you don¡¯t have to mate with the dungeon, it¡¯s gotten the fertility increase in the bedrooms, so you shouldn¡¯t have any trouble with whoever you decide to take as a mate.¡± Karman, ¡°Calm down sis there¡¯s plenty of guys who won¡¯t mind being your mate, just wait until the dance at least! And I think you should do what is best for the dungeon, after all it¡¯s acting as our new village now and if we can¡¯t let it do what¡¯s best for it then we shouldn¡¯t be allowed to stay here anyways.¡± Jay, ¡°I think it¡¯s fine either way since it was okay leaving the decision to us, it¡¯s probably not that worried about it.¡± Everyone who¡¯s mature seems to have put in their own input and for the most part it seems like I have been given the go ahead with only the few exceptions that have added conditions to it. Luna seems flustered and wasn¡¯t able to keep up with everything that everyone said as she only managed to add in responses to a few people before someone else said their piece. Luna decides to put it of for a little bit some that the temporary shelter can be made to accommodate everyone who is wanting to be outside of the dungeon when my breeder is placed. I think it¡¯s reasonable, but I find it interesting that they are so concerned while others seem to be fine with it, in fact I was quite curious about the CorviDae sisters possible offer. Regardless I plan to have Luna as my first partner as I promised her, and everyone else will have to be taken afterwards. I have a few references as to what we will be doing once I have my breeder as some of my inhabitants are quite frisky with each other, Daisy is especially energetic in that area and the Hunter has to work hard to keep up with her. The discussion wraps up while I was off in my own thoughts and Rimmy gathered up everything up for trade with Greg before they headed out to the other camp. We are all looking forward to hearing the news about how they are doing there and if anyone wants move from that camp to come here. A few guesses on who might come passes around but since I don¡¯t know who they are talking about I feel like I only wound up confused about who would and who wouldn¡¯t come. As some of the conversation veered off to who they wanted to come here at some point but I missed whenever they had shifted the topic. So I decided that I would just leave the conversation alone and just wait for whatever response we receive from Rimmy and Greg when they return. Luna Seems to be organizing the ladies to start adding their own decorative touches to the Ballroom in the meantime and I pass the time happily watching her go about getting things done one after another. News from a divided camp Rimmy and Greg returned just after dark, but they weren¡¯t alone as they returned with some people from the other camp. I had spotted them on my path to the river so I went ahead and opened up the hatch and got their attention so they could get out of the cold sooner as the weather is getting worse. They let a small family of turtle beast-kin in first as Rimmy had the parents come down the ladder like stairs before passing their child down to them. They were heavily clothed with bear hide cloaks and thick deer hide clothing over their regular clothes, if that wasn¡¯t enough they also each seemed to have cookware with hot coals carried by each of them. The back packs they used were modified with long straps that allowed them to carry them over their cloaks rather than under them and the father also had two satchels, one slung over each of his sides while the mother had one larger one than she carried in front of her. The turtle family have leathery and rough skin on their faces and limbs but they have practically shell like scales on their back and torso region, the colorful dots speckling the shell like scales on their backs showing that they are all the same species of turtle beast-kin. I adjust the rooms as needed and everyone settles in quickly and gives their greetings before eating a hearty meal the ladies had prepared for the men¡¯s return, and then calling it a night. I also added a couple extra fire ferns to the turtle family¡¯s living quarters, as I was informed that cold blooded beast-kin like them are effected by the cold weather more than others as it would put them in a simi hibernation state. Apparently more people will arrive in the next trip but that¡¯s just because they couldn¡¯t pack up and leave in time for them to be able to make it across the river by night fall. As even the ones who did come only managed to make it to the river pass by sunset, so had they waited for anyone else they would have had to wait until tomorrow to avoid getting trapped in the snow or risking the dangers of trying to cross the river in the dark. The people who did came were able to carry all their possessions with them and were also in the worst living situations of their camp. Their relocation isn¡¯t just better for them as their absence will mean that there will be more resources and space available to the people who choose to stay which can allow for that camp to make improvements that they couldn¡¯t afford to do previously due to limited resources and space. The nights seem too be getting longer and colder which particularly for the above ground areas it requires more resources to keep people warm and fed. Before everyone headed to bed the men were talking about setting up regular trades with the two other camps and escorting the ones that want to join us back here. The CorviDae men volunteered to alternate between the camps since they can fly and reduce the tracks that would be left behind and that they would inform the other camps that have people who want to come here that they will escort them every other trip just so that they don¡¯t make too obvious of a trail. They also want to come up with multiple paths that they can use to change the route up and possibly confuse any of the bandits or traitors who could potentially come across their tracks.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. Although it would mean having to send three people to carry the same load as two on foot but simply by being able to find more routes and disperse tracks seems to be worth it in the exchange as our camp is still the most vulnerable. Even though it is more difficult to reach then the Barkley¡¯s camp and it is the furthest away from the village, it has the smallest population and fewest fighters available. In fact the Barkley¡¯s camp is trying to train their people to fight in one way or another be it through setting up traps or using bows and arrows to attack from a distance or close combat mobbing with numbers or hit and run fighting. The lake side camp on the other hand plans to just hunker down for the winter and then head to the neighboring villages in that direction as soon as the snow starts melting as they plan to forfeit reclaiming the village since we were betrayed by the village head¡¯s family. The racial divide between the villagers seems in part due to the Ramington¡¯s family being so clear cut with their betrayal and how they disposed of their unwanted family members as well as the villagers who they had lived aside for generations. This was further aggravated by how the camps had been divided out as the Barkley¡¯s family which had the second largest racial population all chose to support only their camp primarily and only doing the bare minimum to support the other two camps, which for Luna it was limited to providing their barn as a supply point. After witnessing everyone clinging to their families and racial groups it had that sort of mentality spread, and consequently certain people wound up separated from their race in favor of their own family. For those choosing their own family over their race they have in some cases received chastisement from their peers or even bribes to switch sides, causing considerable conflicts for individuals who have chosen partners from another race. Apparently some couples have even split up during this upheaval and although I don¡¯t quite understand the full significance of the situation, I do understand that them parting ways would also mean that they would be looking for a new partner that they feel would support them better in this situation. So the Winter festival¡¯s dance seems to have been given more importance than normal even in the other camps that have less leeway with their resources as well as lacking a proper place for the events to be held, as it used to be held in the town square and along the main streets of the village and now they are considerably more crowded and restricted to what they can do. But that just seems to be giving everyone more reasons for them to work hard to prepare for the dance and whatever other events and activities that each camp will do. The food preparations are already underway for things that can be prepared ahead of time like jams and jellies that will be used for the deserts as well as making extra to send out to the camps for trade purposes, mainly to get the jars that would have been emptied of their contents as winter progresses. I have also found out that among the beast races that have distinguishing characteristics, they are quite particular about emphasizing their beasts features in their attire. Those with horns decorated and accented them with simple jewelry, ribbons, or floral plants. Ones with distinctive tails also displayed a very similar desire to make them stand out with their decorative touches much the same. Distinguishing their racial identity seems to have quite an interesting level of importance as they brush fur, prune feathers, polish claws, wax shells/scales, and more. Although it seems like they might be desiring a emphasis on their own racial identity due to the conflict between different races cultures and authority, I luckily have a overview that allows me to see what really is going on. Beast-kin seem to see their distinctive features as being their most appealing features, so they¡¯re really just aiming to make what they see as their best features stand out as much as possible because they want to look their best for the dance that everyone is looking forward to. I can¡¯t help but look forward to all the new people who will come and all that I will be able to learn about them and through them as they help me expand my understanding of this world. I look forward to experiencing the dance and everything that it entails as seeing how excited and happy everyone is about it I also feel similar as this will be my first time experiencing a festival ever. I feel so hopeful for the future and everything that will happen from here on, especially with everything that will soon happen between Luna and myself. The dance part 1 The days passed quickly as new people arrived and got adjusted into my ever expanding dungeon, with each individual registering as my dungeon inhabitants in their own time. The place is fully decorated now with winter patterned macram¨¦ and woven vines all around all the major rooms and several of the private rooms. Everyone seems to have completed their ensembles for the dance and many have created instruments to play music on during the dance. They are all enjoying a hearty meal tonight as the dance is tomorrow and they plan to have the dance dispersed all throughout the day and all throughout the night. They will have the talent shows as intermissions to give the musicians a break from playing music and let the dancers rest their feet. Also the adults will be taking turns sneaking off to mate with each other without the children being aware. It felt like a good yet exciting night and even with the handful of restless people it still lead into an early morning wake up call. Dressing up in their winter fur dress and suits and decorative touches made of carved wood, metal, and bone as well as winter seasonal flowers. The adults who finished getting themselves ready first started transferring the many foods and drinks to the dining area of the ballroom. Following suit shortly afterward were the musicians who quickly set up their instruments along the stage before everyone else finished gathering to eat their first Winter Festival meal of the day. Everyone seemed to chatter more than usual as conversations were filled with compliments about each other¡¯s apparel and what songs they each hoped would be played while they dance with their partners. The meal didn¡¯t last as long as I thought it would as I noticed many people ate less than usual and only a few ate more than normal. Music started playing and the ladies all went to sit on the bench¡¯s where they would wait to be asked to dance by their partner¡¯s. The first group that participated as dancers were all the adult couples who already had children, since they were guaranteed to dance with each other and so they can finish their dance and disperse to other tasks that support the dance. Watching as they paired off with each other one at a time from oldest to youngest of their group they danced to some local songs that celebrated their many years together and the many memories they made together and the hope for them to enjoy many more years and memories together. Once they finished then they dispersed to keep the food in top conditions and keep the place tidy, as well as swapping out some of the musicians. One couple from that group was the first to sneak back to their room to mate all the while they were sharing their hopes for a new child to welcome into their family. The importance of having children seems to be so high that I am surprised that there aren¡¯t many more then there is already. The next group were the already paired up adults who don¡¯t have children yet, they excitedly dance to music and songs that encourage them to work together through thick and thin as well as songs full of hope for their future together and where they hope for it to take them. I noticed that they seem to have decided upon the songs for each group to go with some sort of important meaning that they want their dances to convey to their partners. A short break for the musicians and some changes with whose doing what as well as the return of the ones that snuck off to swap out with the next pair from their group. Since there¡¯s enough people moving around to distract the children from noticing too much, each grouping will have a couple sneak out at a time and they will notify the next couple of their group upon their return to swap out. The singles group is next starting from the oldest single male asking for his choice of partner and going on until to the youngest mature male makes their attempt. This group is the first to receive any refusals from the ladies that are asked to dance and although there¡¯s not many the ones that were unlucky enough to be refused they will end up having to wait until after the children start their dance. I decided that technically I am the youngest of this group since I don¡¯t think I count as a child but I am also really the youngest here too.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. They were about to start the groups dance session in earnest with the youngest of their males receiving their dance partner when I decided to reveal my surprise. I started raising my tendrils out of the dungeon floor where the men had stood before approaching the ladies to ask for the dance. I didn¡¯t form it up as quickly as possible partly to make it more dramatic as I make my entrance known. I expanded my two main tendrils and made them branch out in a the right places and then I made a show of having them quickly intertwine perfectly snapping into place to make a humanoid figure. I then made smooth clay coat it and then I used moss to make pseudo cloths and I used the new glowing mana grass as hair. By now everyone has noticed what I am doing and the place had gone quiet in what they were witnessing and as I finished I made my figurine act as if it was walking over to Luna, I made the ground slide around my tendrils and made the correct gestures to ask for a dance from Luna. I still can¡¯t talk and unfortunately I can¡¯t make a notification to send her my message but I have the perfect solution as I use the face area to make a ring of just noticeable stalagtights and clay lumps. Letting Luna see it clearly before I add a larger clay lump in the center and then clearing it I then made a stalagtight in the center before clearing it again, all just to ask her yes or no for the dance. Luna reached out to hold my out reached tendril hand as she laughs with delight that fills me to the brim with joy! Luna, ¡°Well if this isn¡¯t a surprise I couldn¡¯t have even hoped for, just how did you come up with something so creative! Of course I will dance with you!¡± Her announcing her response seemed to restart the festivities of music and dance that had paused during my display, so I lead her over to the best area for me to be able to move around for our dance. My figure and Luna get many interesting reactions from the surrounding people but I don¡¯t mind as I find their reactions to be amusing in many cases. Luna on the other hand seems to have become quite flushed from it as the rose pink shows up splendidly upon her tan skin. We started our dance and I unfortunately discovered a miscalculation on my part that I failed to notice in all of my secret practice sessions. With me having to shift the ground around my tendrils to move my pseudo legs, it¡¯s also effecting the ground underneath Luna¡¯s feet too!!! I keep tripping her up on accident even as I try my best to limit the surface I effect making her stumble over and over again as I have to catch her repeatedly to avoid her falling down!!! I feel so embarrassed and I start getting flustered and nervous that I might have accidentally made her night worse than her not having a dance partner in the first place. Luna looks quite flustered as well, as she also realizes the problem, but to my surprise she started laughing instead of getting upset at me!?! I remake a questioning circle around my figures face region as I don¡¯t understand her reaction and I want to know what I should do. Luna, ¡°I don¡¯t know what exactly I was expecting but this seems to be quite the predicament that we have gotten ourselves into! (giggles) But why don¡¯t we just make the best of it for now¡­.. let¡¯s try having me keep my feet planted and see if you can just try moving the surface to mimic what my steps should be to go along with yours.¡± I try and I find that I have to keep the ground around us as mailable clay for it to work out as letting it become stone kept leading it to breaking and cracking as I moved our footings in contrasting directions at times. We start to get the hang of it as our groups songs about new beginning and the start of a new chapter in life as well as hope for something more to continue, wraps up. The children all start their dancing to songs that all seem to be about the joy of being young and having fun in life, and appreciating the little moments that they can have together and some simply silly but catchy songs that seem to be more about the easy to dance to cadence of lyrics and music. The children are very care free in there dances a some just hold hands and run around or jump in circles with one or more partners as they don¡¯t seem to care about rhythm or elegance like any of the older inhabitants. The cutest by far definitely has to be the three and four year old human and water deer beast-kin that simply hugs each other and rocks each other from side to side without really going anywhere. The last few bachelors and bachelorettes pair up with each other until all the available ladies were gone and the sad remaining men resigned themselves to taking up other roles for those who aren¡¯t dancing. By now multiple couples have snuck off and returned from the many locations that have been used for these matting escapades, not just the bedrooms but locations including the gardens, pools, bathrooms and even the kitchen and prison have been used by these intimate couples. This observation has really broadened my original understanding of the matting process as before everyone mainly kept it in their bedrooms but now it seems to be in all sorts of places and in all sorts of ways. More breaks are being taken now and the talent shows are acting as intermissions between the waves of music and dancing. All sorts of talents are shared from knife throwing and archery to juggling and bird calls, even little puppet shows and funny little skits and jokes are done for everyones enjoyment. Luna made commentary on things that she believes I wouldn¡¯t know about, which I greatly appreciated as even though my responses are very limited I still enjoy her spending time to explain things to me. Granted with all do respect sometimes I just like listening to the sound of her voice regardless of what she is actually saying, I don¡¯t ignore what she¡¯s saying as I usually give her the majority of my focus. The talent show takes a break for everyone to return to dancing or eating which from what I understand is how the day is going to continue. By alternating between dancing and talent shows they can change people out from the musicians position and give the dancers a break, also having it where everyone can wonder off to eat the banquet of food whenever they get hungry or thirsty. It makes it feel like there is a lot more going on than just having the dancing in the first half and the talent shows for the rest of the day. Things seem to be going very well as people are enjoying themselves all over my dungeon and I am learning so much from this experience that I am looking forward to my time with Luna even more than before. The Dance part 2 (Tammy鈥檚 breakdown) Things seem to be going pretty smoothly with how couples from each group would return to send off the next pair, so much so that I think that they must have organized the order in the days prior when I wasn¡¯t paying attention. Its about this time that I noticed that it was Tammy and Samson¡¯s turn to head off to be intimate with each other. It was only shortly after leaving the ballroom that they were in the hallway towards the rooms when I felt something was off with Tammy. She had definitely started slowing down her usual pace and started being fidgety, so I thought I had better pay attention to be ready to help where I could if needed. Samson also noticed her hesitation and slowed down as well and he instead began walking closely with her as he tried to carry on a conversation with her. He seemed to be trying his best to cheer her up and calm her nerves with simple every day pleasantries and asking how she¡¯s been feeling and if she¡¯s been enjoying the festivities so far. Hoping to get her in the mood and past her nervousness he showers her with praise from her looks to dancing and singing as well as her intelligence and other talents and skills. She slows down to a stop with her face blushing enough to notice even with her dark skin. Samson seems to take this as a sign that she might be ready, so he places one of his hands on the wall next to her and goes to place his other hand behind her as he starts to lean in to kiss her. Tammy tenses up when he puts his hand on the wall and she freezes as the other starts to go around her, then she panics as he goes in for a kiss! She leaves her claw marks along his face as she tries to push him away in her frantic and wide eyed state she cries out in panicked throat strained sobbing screams! It¡¯s hard to make out precisely what she¡¯s saying as her panic has her jumbling everything up together. But it¡¯s clear she¡¯s repeating various no¡¯s and saying that she¡¯s scared over and over as she slumps to the ground against the wall, clearly having a panic attack as her breathing is frantic and restricted from the tension in her neck. Samson is shocked and even after a short moment of recognizing that he¡¯s bleeding he focuses on Tammy and her current state. He panics and starts crying out for help, not for himself but for Tammy as he doesn¡¯t know what to do and he seems to be frightened that he¡¯s done something horribly wrong. I have alerted Luna of the emergency situation as I used my figure to grab her hand and start running to Tammy¡¯s location, granted I had to make multiple new figures along the way to avoid getting too tangled up and so I didn¡¯t fully make them like the one during the dance. Clearly a lot of people noticed the commotion and a few people followed while others tried to regain the children¡¯s attention. I quickly prepared calming herbs and hot water for Tammy while I try getting everyone needed to help her to her as quickly as I can manage. Tammy¡¯s parents and brother were the ones who I prioritized in getting to her while I blocked off the route for any men unrelated to Tammy¡¯s situation. Luna and Tammy¡¯s mom Tina were immediately set to the task of calming and comforting Tammy as soon as they arrived. Unfortunately Tom seems to have misunderstood what happened even with Samson having been head calling for help. I had to move my sloppily formed figure in between them as both Tim and Tom were about to attack Samson. I tried to convey what happened accurately but it takes a while for them to calm down and drop the hostility towards Samson.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. Luckily Tammy¡¯s panic attack calmed down just enough that she was able to solve the issue by explaining that she had a panic attack because he tried to kiss her and she had a flashback of when she was raped even though he didn¡¯t hurt her and had been nothing but nice to her. Her words were a jumbled mess as her sobbing never stopped and her nose is running, its a good thing her mother and father knew what she was saying because I could barely decipher what she was saying and I had watched what happened myself! She hadn¡¯t intended to hurt him either as clawing him was an accident which made her panic attack worse, she kept trying to apologize as if she was afraid that he would retaliate if she didn¡¯t appease him. Which Luna was able to guess that Tammy was afraid that he would retaliate against her like the bandits had when she tried fighting back to get away from them and they responded by beating her unconscious as they gang raped her. She felt like it had suddenly happened again even though it didn¡¯t, just leaving her scared and confused more than anything she kept apologizing and weeping. Tammy also started apologizing to her mother for failing to be able to attempt to have babies together as she wanted to have that mother daughter bonding experience like in the storybooks but she just can¡¯t do it because she can¡¯t forget about what those men did to her. Finally communicating what should have been talked about a long time ago but where she feared that she had failed her family her mother soothed her with careful consideration. Tina, ¡°I¡¯m so sorry for having pushed you into trying to do something that you weren¡¯t ready for, especially since you were still dealing with the trauma of that incident. It was real thoughtless of me to have believed that you had gotten better so soon, I think that I was just pushing my own hopeful wishing on you because I didn¡¯t want you to be scared forever. I thought that the best way to help you get over the horrible experience you had was to have it overwritten with a good intimate relationship with someone who would be kind and gentle with you. I¡¯m sorry for having rushed you and not waiting for you to be the one to tell us when you¡¯re ready to take the next step to recover, I just don¡¯t want you to end up alone because you can¡¯t move on from this mess.¡± Tammy cries and embraces her mother her speech still difficult to decipher through her strained sobbing. I can only guess that she¡¯s apologizing for not saying anything about her situation sooner and that she kept quiet as she was forcing herself because she wanted her family to be happy, she just didn¡¯t want them to worry all the time and she wanted everything to go back to how it was before she was attacked and raped. She doesn¡¯t like living in fear all the time but she just can¡¯t escape it, be it her fear and anxiety around others or the nightmares that have haunted her ever since the incident. I finished the calming herbal tea with Luna¡¯s assistance and Luna served it to Tammy who¡¯s now wrapped in a blanket and being held by her mother. I had softened the floor and wall she was sitting on to help her be as comfortable as possible. The girls seem to have a handle on things with Tammy now and although I keep most of my awareness on them in case they need anything at all, I know that the situation with Samson also needs attention. I provided salveaid for treating his wounds while he spoke with Tim and Tom about what happened from his point of view. He apparently wanted to take things slowly since they would have more than one time to get away from the ballroom, he wanted to see if she would be receptive to kissing before trying to see if she would be comfortable doing anything more intimate. He was even planning that if she wasn¡¯t ready for sex then he was going to wait even though he really does want to have sex with her he wants her to enjoy it. So even if she was only ready for kissing he would just aim to give her the best kissing experience possible during the winter dance festivities. He was hopeful that he could really establish their relationship as a couple even if all they did was hold hands, talk with each other and kiss. Had he known that she would have such a breakdown then he would have just walked around and talked with her the whole time so that she could get comfortable with him over time, even if he didn¡¯t get to kiss her it would have been better than having hurt her unintentionally. The regret is so evident in his face as he looks like he is also about to break down in tears, but he tries to keep himself together because he is afraid of possibly aggravating Tammy¡¯s situation even further. He decides that he should back down for now and just try to love her from a distance, he will help keep other guys away from her and he will leave her gifts and speak to her from a distance until she is ready to approach him. He has also decided to train to fight seriously so he can help kill all the bandits that had made Tammy go through this horrible situation in the first place, because just maybe if she knew that her attackers were dead and unable to hurt her ever again then maybe she might recover sooner. Tom and Tim agreed as they both had planned to do the same to help reassure Tammy that it would never happen to her again. They have already been training whenever they go out hunting and they invite Samson to join them as they have been getting the Hunter to teach them how to improve their skills with different weapons and traps. The conversations wrapped up and it was decided that Tammy would need to go lay down and rest so Luna and Tina take her back to her room while the guys head back to the ballroom. Everything seems to have been settled and the situation that¡¯s left is the curiosity of others who¡¯s attention was drawn when I had led Luna and Tammy¡¯s folks out in a rush.