《Twin Soul - Dungeon Fairies》 Prologue - Partners in Crime Prologue: Partners in Crime Graduation is a joyous occasion, but it is also a farewell to everything you knew. Careers, relationships, children, and more will all vie for more of your time afterwards. Hopefully, you enjoyed the novelty of childhood while it lasted. Unless you happen to be a child for eternity. *** A group of fairies have gathered in a field of flowers of every color imaginable. Younger fairies sit on their chosen flower seat as they raptly listen to the tales and wisdom of their teacher. Occasionally, one fairy will fly up to signify that they want to ask or answer a question. Their blue-skinned teacher idly floats before them with ivy green wings as she takes one last look at her class. As a dungeon fairy to a dungeon so old and ancient that she had long since lost count, she is allowed a lot of vacation time to teach the next generation of dungeon fairies. It sounds like a prestigious job with immense responsibilities, but the truth is that there isn¡¯t much to talk about. Dungeons can appear anywhere so there is no guarantee that the local flora and fauna will be the same. Politics can change at the drop of a hat. Random plot lines with runaway princesses or the church taking their slice of the pie may influence the growth of the dungeon. Even so, a dungeon fairy is crucial to the development of a dungeon. For without communication, how would a dungeon ever comprehend empathy? Without empathy, all that awaits inside its depths is an absolute death. Death is expected, but an absolute death to everyone who enters or lives nearby is a nightmare that must never be allowed. As such, any dungeon without a fairy may simply be destroyed for preventing the inevitable. Some dungeons may remain somewhat tame after losing a fairy, but every dungeon escalates when they perceive a threat. Every single one. With a brilliant smile full of hope and expectation, their fairy teacher bid farewell. ¡°It is time, my beautiful little pranksters. The new year has begun and so too will the land birth new dungeons across the mortal world of Averna. Our time together has been short, but I have faith in each and everyone one of you succeeding at life. And remember: ¡®We may be small, but we shine the brightest!¡¯¡± With a tumultuous cheer, everyone chanted the fairy motto. ¡°We may be small, but we shine the brightest!¡± And not a moment too soon as one by one, each student disappeared in a shine of light. Being dragged through space to their new home and lifelong partner. *** In an solitary room enclosed in an alternate dimension, a spherical core formed. It¡¯s foggy color was all that illuminated the room. A nameless consciousness had formed inside the core and began to investigate its surroundings. All it knew that it should eat and grow, but not why it was important. Suddenly, 2 lights began to coalesce inside the core¡¯s haven. Curiosity began to form within the core at something new and different, but held at bay by an equally powerful fear towards the unknown invading its domain. What should it do? What can it do? Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. These thoughts and more stopped as the lights faded away to reveal a couple of fairies glowing in their own resplendent colors. One fairy wore a simple pants and shirt with lightning designs embroidered on it. The other wore shorts and a tank top with the design of a dragon embroidered on it. Their hair was both a shade of purple, but their skin color was different. The fairies shared a look before the blue one approached. He pulled out a green bead from his pocket before tapping the core with it. The core was afraid and confused at what was happening, but it was soon distracted by thoughts filling its consciousness. No, not thoughts. Knowledge! Of language and people. Of monsters and dungeons. Of magic and skills. Of culture and religion. But a common theme amongst it all was of fighting for a variety of reasons. Everyone wants to survive and thus they fight. Excitement filled its crystalline body as it resonated with the idea of survival. Monsters and people would seek out its domain for their own survival. It too must survive at any means necessary. [No!] A voice resounded in its core. Instinctively, it could sense it came from the fairy in front of it. Or perhaps the other one. They give off the same presence, yet somehow different. Irregardless of who spoke, it tapped into its newfound knowledge and spoke back. [Why not?] [Survival is good, but you need more than just that] [A life worth living consists of more than just existing] Their words left it perplexed. It can¡¯t just survive? A life must have worth? Complex feelings bubbled up from within that it didn¡¯t know what to do with. It has to be the best. Anything less might end in its death. [How do I gain worth?] [That is why we are here.] [To help you in all matters.] [You may call me Tua Azure Lily. Personal name Tua. Mana name Azure. Family name Lily. You can call me Tua for we are partners from here on out.] Says the boy fairy with a body of blue. [You may call me Tia Hunter Lily. Personal name Tia. Mana name Hunter. Family name Lily. You can call me Tia for we are partners from here on out.] Says the girl fairy with a body of green. [Names? Do names have worth?] [A name defines you. Separates you from others of your race.] [A name is a symbol of your power. Of what you can do.] [Throughout life you will be named for many things.] [Some good. Some bad. Some embarrassing. Some Annoying.] It contemplated this name thing. It sounded pivotal to its existence. It wanted a grand name to boast amongst the hordes of intruders. To make them feel equal parts awe and terror. But what if it chose wrong? What if its chosen name made it appear weak? Pick another? No, each name would define a part of it. Frustration built up in its mind as it couldn¡¯t decide on any of the random names it knew of. At the peak of its frustration, the fairies¡­ its partners coaxed it with their soft fairy voices. [It is ok to not have a name for now.] [You have plenty of time to decide.] [For now there is something more important to think about.] [Building the greatest dungeon that no mortal has ever seen.] Yes, now that was a job worth considering. How can a core have worth if it has no dungeon? It¡¯s glorious naming ceremony can wait for it had rooms to build and monsters to spawn. No loot though. It doesn¡¯t want more intruders. Chapter 1 - I spy a fairy Chapter 1 - I spy a fairy [Like this?] [It fits perfectly now!] In front of me stood a bookshelf made of wood. It took the core a few tries to figure out what we wanted without a blueprint, but it eventually got it correct. Glancing over to my brother, I can see him still typing away over the dungeon system console. I could never comprehend how he can do such monotonous tasks for so long. [Remind me why these books are important if you already know everything within them.] [For starters, you don¡¯t know them yourself.] [Also, we may not be good at explaining the things we do know.] [In the future, people will spend a lot of time in this library.] [More people, more mana.] [But what if I don¡¯t want more intruders.] [Bookworms generally can¡¯t fight to save their lives.] [The magical ones obviously have magic, but they are almost never physically strong.] [Shouldn¡¯t we focus on monsters and traps first though?] [Can¡¯t have monsters unless you choose amongst your free species.] [Otherwise, you need to make an entrance to gather them yourself.] [Speaking of which, when can I make an entrance?] [Anytime. Can¡¯t have a functional biome without samples and you don¡¯t have the mana capacity to support more than a few monsters that a child can deal with.] [Alright then. I think I will open up my 1st entrance in an orchard. Close enough to intruder dwellings that you can steal everything we need.] [I better get moving then.] [Be careful. Don¡¯t get caught. Stay hidden.] I could hear the concern in its voice at the mere thought that I might die. Perhaps if we were different fairies, but not us. [Yea yea!] I wiggle my hand at it for a bit before flying off through the newly made portal in an empty room. It had such a dad personality and hopefully it won¡¯t understand a mother¡¯s personality. Before I left, however, I heard my brother mumble something. [Its everyone else who should be careful...] *** On a plain apple tree, a rip in the fabric of reality appeared. It began as a line that gradually became large enough to fit a grown adult before it expanded into an elliptical shape. Once the portal had finished stabilizing, a green fairy flew out of the portal. Inspecting the surroundings, my gaze landed upon the portal. [Edgy, but perhaps something more accessible. I don¡¯t trust the edges of this portal.] Saying so, I then project my opinion through our soul link to my brother. [On it!] *Thump* Looking behind me I saw a young girl who dropped a basket half full of apples. Her gaping mouth is all the warning I got before she ran off. ¡°MOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!¡± The sheer volume of her voice nearly made me crash into the soil. I knew children just had the right kind of shrill pitch, but still. Earmuffs are definitely being added to this impromptu shopping trip. Shaking my head to clear the slight headache I received, I then telekinetically lifted the basket and threw it through the portal. Afterwards, I flew into the village proper before anyone can respond to my presence. It was a fairly mundane village with self made log cabins. Humans went about their daily life supplying the village with food from their orchards and livestock. A plume of smoke drifted from what I assume is a smithery for daily village necessities. Children were playing with toys in the plaza while their mothers watched over them. Pity their lives will become more chaotic from the influx of pure mana. Still better than being near an actual city. Everyone who saw me flit by were befuddled for a few moments before realization sunk in. A clamor had arisen in the wake of my presence as people knew what I symbolized. For good or ill, change was coming. Before long I had approached a cabin somewhat bigger than the rest. If it¡¯s not the mayor, then it must be the guy with the fattest wallet. I conveniently unlocked the door with a bit of telekinesis and glided inside the house. Inside was a bunch of plain furniture for a living room made of polished wood. A few paintings of old men and women lined the walls. A couple of cotton sofas sat a healthy distance from a fireplace. I could hear noise from what sounds like a kitchen, but there was no need to steal kitchen supplies. Maybe in a few months or years we can have flying cutlery to fight our foes. As quickly as possible, I flew deeper inside the house in my quest for valuables. Ignoring a priceless vase and some woman¡¯s purse, I then came upon a quaint study room. A few documents were haphazardly spread across the desk with 1 of the papers laying on the floor. Leaning against the wall was a bookshelf so I eagerly snatched up blueprints numero uno and dos for this trip. A book by the name of ¡°Princess Knight vs Black Knight¡± which sounds like a superhero comic. The other was a picture book called ¡°Scenic Views from Around the World.¡±Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Nothing else of importance was revealed after a quick look around so I flew out of the room with my spoils and promptly crashed into some giant face. ¡°Ugh¡± *Thump* If it was just me, then it would be a minor inconvenience. Unfortunately for this guy, being slapped by a book moving at the speed of a fairy¡¯s dust is not a pleasant experience. I took advantage of him stumbling back and flew faster through the house. It¡¯s not cowardly if I am perfectly capable of defending myself, but why give people the chance. In another room is some teen with wild bed hair that is laying on the bed while reading some thin book. A brief overview of the room tells me I hit the motherlode as there are action figures, posters of heroic figures, stuffed toys, and board games. Being the conservative entrepreneur that I am, I took 1 of everything available. If the noise I made did not alert the teen, then the giant of a man who charged inside definitely did. ¡°Dad? Wait, what¡¯s going on?¡± Says the dumbfounded young man after removing the book from in front of his face and realizing the oddness that was his room at the moment. His father ignored the question in order to stare unflinchingly at me in all my glittery fairyness. My response was to simply shove him aside with a tidal wave of flying loot. ¡°Sorry, I don¡¯t do married men!¡± I yelled towards the fallen giant. A quick flap of my wings sent me soaring past the faceplant giant and into the hallway. I could still hear some woman humming a tune in the kitchen as I fled the premises. Whoever was in that kitchen must have really been in a world of their own to miss everything that happened. Surrounding the cabin was a horde of villagers all gawking at my fairy visage riding a flying pillow while being trailed by a conglomeration of random objects. ¡°Nothing to see here folks. Just standard dungeon fairy procedure. You know how it is. Also you should expect an increase in monsters wanting to feed off the ambient mana, bandits wanting to make a quick buck, nobles wanting a slice of the pie, guilds wanting full control of the territory, priests wanting to spread the word of their faith, and last but most important of all¡­ family wanting to know where their relatives are after they didn¡¯t return from a delve into the deep dark depths. So um yea. Have fun dealing with all the chaos in the future. Bye-bye!¡± With a wave I bid adieu to the masses and head towards my new home. Hopefully, cosier than I left it. Seeing that the apple tree had grown larger to accommodate a rotating door that can fit at least 2 people at once made me think everything would be just fine. Maybe. *** [What took you so long? Were you hurt? Why do instruction manuals taste so weird? Do i need to go on a murder hobo dungeon spree?] [Chill. Give her a moment to get a word in edgewise.] After a few moments pass for my sister to catch her breath and for all of the loot to be eaten, she began explaining her adventure to it. I am already aware so I tuned it out. [If I had to describe the experience, then I would say it was too easy. The people here acted like deer caught in the headlights. It¡¯s almost as if there are no dangerous monsters near the village.] [That¡¯s a good thing right?] [Not exactly.] [It means that this village can¡¯t fight its way out of a paper bag if a stronger monster does appear which it will now that your leaking mana is acting like a beacon to anything and everything.] [To put it succinctly.] [They need help.] [Badly.] [Oh. But I don¡¯t want to help them.] [That¡¯s fine.] [But as a dungeon-][You need to learn-][How to help others-][To help yourself.] [That makes no sense. Helping them hurts me.] [Think of it as a business.][You make a small amount of profit in mana from each person.][But you can increase that by investing in them.][Costs you in the short term.][Helps you massively in the long term.] [I see, but I have just 1 question. Why do you 2 keep finishing each other¡¯s sentences?] Looking at it, we both shrug our shoulders. *** Interlude of Villagers *** 2 tables and a sofa have been pushed together in order to serve as a conference meeting. At 1 table sat the village head, the owner of the largest orchard, the blacksmith, and the herbalist. All of them would technically be considered big names to outsiders, but are just ordinary people living their ordinary village life. At the second table were a few witnesses to the incident. A young girl, a mother of 3, and a couple of sheep herders. On the couch lay the son of the village head who is just reading his book as if none of this matters. The village head¡¯s wife has served everyone juice, tea, or milk depending on their preferences. Alcohol is not a staple of this village¡¯s crops and its too expensive to have regularly. [I thank everyone for coming to speak with me today regarding the sighting of a dungeon fairy and what this means for the village.] [Stop being formal and just tell it how it is. We are all gonna die aren¡¯t we?] Yells the blacksmith. [Not if we act quickly. We just need to hire some guards and get the adventurer¡¯s guild to come.] Says the mother of 3. [With what money? The reward for first sighting of a dungeon is nowhere near enough to hire some guards. Much less trustworthy ones.] Says the sheep herder. [Then we just have to hope a few adventurers jump on the bandwagon to a new dungeon.] [Before or after some noble rushes here to swindle us for all we have?] Says the orchard owner. [Perhaps beseeching the church would be the safest. Nobody would openly mess with pious devotion.] Says the herbalist. [That¡¯s good and all, but which one. They all have their quirks.] Says the 2nd sheep herder. At this, everyone has a heated debate about which religion would have the smallest effect on their ordinary village lives. Seeing that their arguing would not be coming to an end, the village head banged the table in order to get everyone quiet. [Enough. Why don¡¯t we leave the decision to the children in the room before we are at each other¡¯s throats for something so trivial.] [Emma sweety, which deity do you like the most.] The village head¡¯s wife kneels before Emma and asks her in a soothing voice. Emma, for her part, took a small sip from her glass of juice before answering. [Hmmm, I like the story of the champion of love who serves the goddess of light. Me and my friends are deciding who gets to marry him when we grow up.] It took a moment for everyone to process her words before shrugging it off as a childhood crush. [The goddess of light is very popular amongst women and children isn¡¯t she.] Says the mother of 3. [Mhmm.] Hums the herbalist. [Now, Jeremy, what about you?] At this, the young teen on the sofa marks his spot before closing the book. He coughs for a second to clear his voice. [All of them.] Says Jeremy. [Uhm Jeremy, you can only pick one.] Says the father in exasperation. [They are a pantheon and must at least work together on the surface.] Says Jeremy. [Even so, their infighting might kill us all!] Says the blacksmith. Everyone else hums in agreement. It¡¯s no rumor of how legendary the fights between religions are. Heaven forbid they unleash a crusade upon the world. [And that right there is the heart of the matter. You see, any city with more than 3 churches can¡¯t afford too much infighting due to the risk of another church catching them flat-footed.] Explains Jeremy. Everyone pondered his words and admits that it sounded plausible. [Or at least that¡¯s what was written in a book.] Says Jeremy as he lays back down and returns to reading his book. [[[[[[[Arrgh!]]]]]]] Chapter 2 - Critters Galore Chapter 2 - Critters Galore *** POV of Core *** In a large room filled with books stood a couple of brightly shining fairies and a mostly omnipotent ghost of a core. [Now that my work is done, it¡¯s time for you to work your dungeon magic.] [And how would I do that. The books are already borne of my magic.] [By turning some of them into critters.] [Critters? Is that some kind of insect?] [Critters are like baby monsters that even children can fight with ease.] [Didn¡¯t you say the same thing about my options for monster spawning?] [Yes, and both are true.] [The difference is that critters don¡¯t have a core to passively empower their flesh.] [Thus you don¡¯t need to spend much mana to keep them alive.] [But if they can¡¯t fight, then what good are they?] [Everything must begin somewhere.] [And a strong foundation will help you far into the future.] The core pondered these opinions. It always felt a bit of doubt towards their ideas, but assurance towards that they would never willingly harm it. All things begin with trust or so its partners said. So it followed their vague instructions for the creation of a critter by circulating the mana in its core into a book. Its mind sunk into the process as it began to imagine what it would be. Something helplessly weak, but still viable. The pages turned black as magic runes for basic cantrip spells formed on them. An eye formed and began to constantly move throughout the book in order to get its bearing. The spine was infused with telekinesis magic in order to grant it enough power to move by itself. So long as it stayed within the dungeon, it could fly and hit intruders with a weak breeze. One of those horror books mentioned random movement to be scary. Perhaps these critters can at least scare away all the intruders. Or at least give them cold shoulders. [Good! Now you just need to make a giant statue of the critter.] [As scary and powerful as you can imagine an evolution of it.] [Okay.] Its mind sank once more into the process of creating a book of horror. A faint shape of a giant book formed on top of a pedestal. Teeth formed of paper lined out the sides. Glowing, blood red runic script was transcribed on the black pages. 2 pairs of eyes, 1 for each side, were placed on the front and back of the book. [Done] Its presence sat there and admired its work for a long moment. [Alright. Now I can administrate the respawn mechanic.] Saying so, I uploaded my system script into the statue in order to function as a hub for book critters. Thinking that they need a name¡­ [What are you gonna name your monsters?] Says my sister by rudely interrupting me. Hearing my thoughts, she stuck out her tongue at me. [I haven¡¯t even named myself yet. How can I name others?] Says the dungeon core while ignoring out antics or just not noticing. [It¡¯s just a sub-species name.] [It¡¯s already a book so work from there.] Having the fate of another thrust upon it, it almost didn¡¯t know what to do. Its instincts rationalized it as something normal to do for the sake of organization. But it doesn¡¯t say how. As such it decided on something short and sweet for its 1st monster. [I name thee Ahrolla of the Booklet race.] Suddenly, light flashed from the core and shot into Ahrolla. It¡¯s body grew larger and its runic script became yellow in color. More pages in its arsenal were filled with the now yellow script. Its beady eyes that used to be simple now held a trace of intelligence within them. The booklet statue changed as the name of its race was written on a newly formed plaque on the pedestal. The core gazed upon its creation in wonder. Is this a name¡¯s worth? Will something similar happen to it when it gains a name. Its core shimmered even brighter at the possibilities. Perhaps it will transform into a cube or maybe a pyramid. Its thoughts came to an end as its partners made conversation. [You only had to name the species.] [Naming the individual is a game changer.] [Patience is good, but a snail will never get anywhere.] [Witty.] [But how much mana did that cost you?] Looking inside itself, its core trembled at the realization of what really happened. Its mana. Its precious mana was nearly exhausted. It wouldn¡¯t die if it had no mana, but it certainly wouldn¡¯t be a pleasant experience.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. [Don¡¯t worry.] [All dungeons experience mana exhaustion at some point.] [Just keep enough mana reserves as insurance in the future.] [We¡¯d be a couple unhappy fairies if we became unemployed so soon.] [Remember. I will remember-] It says before its consciousness dimmed to preserve power. Seeing this, the fairies had no choice but to wait for the core to regenerate its mana. Ahrolla, in the meantime, was making itself at home amongst its unintelligent cousins. A needle in a haystack. *** Several days later *** [hmmm] After a healthy yawn, it had awakened to find its domain in the same state as it was before. It only took a moment to find its partners. The sister was overlooking the portal in the farming field room while the brother was watching over its core. [Awake? I see your core is glowing brighter now.] [Yes. What happened?] [Not much. The villagers are too afraid of being murder hobo¡¯d so they are leaving the dungeon exploration to the adventurers arriving in a week or 2.] [Lots of time. Must prepare adequate defenses.] [Speaking of which, can you tame the sparrows my sister caught?] Hearing so, the core took a closer look at the farming biome it had created. Despite being newly planted, all of the crops were fully grown and ready to be harvested. On an apple tree was a pair of sleeping sparrows. Their green feathers making them nearly invisible amongst the leaves. It could feel a small trickle of purified mana being absorbed by the sparrows. The core followed its instincts and sent its mana toward then in the form of a request. Be Mine! Their eyes shot open and they let out a startled chirp at being awakened. Then their eyes glazed over as the request made itself understood to their animal minds. Power to fight off predators. A better future for their progeny. A home safe from the weather. An endless supply of food. What more could a bird want? And thus they agreed. Outwardly, there was no change to their bodies. Inwardly, the birds mana has been completely replaced with purified mana. They could feel the core¡¯s presence and more easily communicate with it now. But the greatest change was in the core being able to fully understand their bodies. Everything from their bone structure to their brainlike compass was integrated into the core¡¯s blueprints. As any new core would do after making a discovery, it consumed its mana in order to make several dozen more birds. It kept a careful eye on its mana reserves, however, so as to not fall asleep for a long period of time. For the finishing touches, it crafted a giant sparrow statue to serve as the respawn point. Once its fairy partner did its administration. A core creates and it was already feeling the itch to create more creatures. Suddenly, it was brought out of its reverie by a clapping near its core. *Claps* [Had fun?] [Yes. I prefer creating to managing. I want to create more soon.] [Go ahead and enjoy yourself. We will keep everything functional while you are gone.] [Good. Then I will finish that farming biome. More food and space for minions.] [Make sure to give them enough room for flight. Birds prefer evasion to being hit.] [I will keep it in mind.] *** POV of Tua *** With that, the core departed to do what cores do. The fairies understood this, but sometimes they preferred to have more conversation than with themselves. Looking to the booklet statue, Tua was filled with eagerness. Soon. Soon. Unfortunately, my thoughts of the future were interrupted. [When you are finished fantasizing, you can take my place watching the portal.] My sister¡¯s voice spoke to me through our souls. [Yea yea.] Saying so, I glided towards her in the rapidly expanding farming biome. Inside, I could see many new critters have been born as well as the creation of 2 statues. Alongside the apple trees were orange trees, strawberry bushes, blueberry bushes, and wheat fields. An impressive variety that is only lacking in creatures to feed upon all of them. Amidst the crop fields were plantling critters that were as tall as an adult¡¯s knee and their bodies consisted of the various crops in the biome. Their movement was sluggish, but they all possessed vines or branches for additional reach. Their respawn statue was one that displayed all of their figures instead of a single one. The 2nd type of critter the core had recently created all looked humanoid. Their bodies were made of interlocking wooden components like a doll or action figures. Their clothes were all very different and ranged from something that posh women would wear or armor that warriors would wear into battle. All of them were placed together as if in a group photo for their respawn statue. Seeing me note the changes, my sister laughed. [I didn¡¯t realize it would take so much inspiration so soon from that monopoly game.] Hearing her, I shook my head while making tsking sounds. [You knew full well what would happen when you raided some neet¡¯s room of his treasures. Take responsibility for corrupting a pure, innocent child.] [Nah. At least I didn¡¯t grab any hentai. The only real tragedy is the misconception the core will be under when it thinks that women fighting in heels is a completely normal thing.] She says with an exaggerated sigh. Understanding this, I look back to all the female figurines and noticed that they did all have heels. Just thinking of fighting like that without magical assistance made me internally cringe. [Maybe it will be better since they are not made of flesh?] [I will hold my breath and since I don¡¯t need to breathe, I can hold it for a very long time.] Saying so, she soared through the portal in order to loot more items for the dungeon. *** Interlude of Churches *** Inside a well-lit room was a single figure clad in black robes. He stood alone as he read and reread a letter he had received. A bit of divination had confirmed the contents as he could indeed see a dungeon in a small village. This meant that he had to take measures quickly before other factions got there. As such, he activated the dormant magical circle in the room. Gradually, illusions of shadowy figures appeared in each empty circle until all were filled. A meeting between the leaders of the Church of Darkness. [What have you called us for pope?] Says one of the shadowy figures. [I have received a letter detailing the birth of a new dungeon in a small village.] Says the pope. [I¡¯m assuming you don¡¯t need us to conquer or slaughter.] Says another of the shadowy figures. [Correct. I need 1 of you to go there and claim the territory for Darkness.] Says the pope. [Out of those of us here, the best for inducting village folk would probably be Despair.] Says one of the shadowy figures. [I wouldn¡¯t say that. None of them have truly suffered enough to be swayed by me.] Says the Champion of Despair. [Who else but you? My concept of Demon isn¡¯t going to get me any favors.] Says the Champion of Demons. [And my concept of Death is one that people try to ignore.] Says the Champion of Death. [Don¡¯t forget my concept of Fear. Only the insane follow me.] Says the Champion of Fear. [My concept of void is more neutral, but it can also be mentally taxing for them to comprehend.] Says the Champion of Void. [But still.] Says Despair. [It seems you have been outvoted Despair. Thus it falls upon you to uphold the honor of Darkness.] Says the pope. [Yes your holiness.] Says Despair reluctantly. [I will upload the village¡¯s information to you communication bracelet. You are all dismissed.] Says the pope. [Yes, your holiness.] Everyone says reverently. As one, each of the illusory shadows vanished from the room. The pope sighed at another day of work and politics. Sometimes he wished he wasn¡¯t so competent in his youth to be lumped with the desk job. Chapter 3 - Fae are a Mysterious Bunch Chapter 3 - Fae are a Mysterious Bunch ***POV Tia *** I was in a log cabin with several other figures. On the bed was a woman giving birth. By her side was her husband resolutely holding her hand while going pale at all the blood. The midwife was giving her encouragements to keep her pushing the baby out while her assistants helped by providing water when needed and learning by example. My healing magic helped soothe the pain she was feeling. [Just a little more!] [Urgh!] [You can do this!] [Argh!] [1 more push!] [Ungh!] [Waah!] [Its a boy!] says the midwife before quickly cutting off the umbilical cord.A bit of magic was used to quickly remove the last bit of flesh attached to the belly button. Luckily, his belly button was an inny and he won¡¯t be ridiculed for being different. Sad, but it happens. No hair adorned his head, but that will come in time. The midwife held the child for a moment before one of her assistants gave her a brown cloth to wrap the baby in. After the baby was securely snug and had nodded off into lala land, she then handed the baby to the tired and newly minted mother. [hmm hmmhmm hmm] The mother hums while gently rocking her baby. Over her shoulder, the father looks longingly as his child while thinking about what it means to be a father. Is he ready? Will he do a good job like his parents did for him? Would he stay in the village and inherit their land or will he run off to fight in far off lands. These questions and more troubled him before the mother scolded him. [Stop acting like a deer caught without its antlers and hold your son.] Says the mother in a whisper. [Right. I am gonna hold him. Not a big deal. Just carrying a baby. Ea-] Says the father before being interrupted. [Don¡¯t make me hurt you.] Says the mother. [Yes dear.] Says the father curtly and silently to not wake the baby. His hands reach out and slowly but surely grasps the baby. Lifting the baby causes him to notice how small, weak, and fragile the baby is in his large hands. Yet this boy carries the potential to surpass both parents. Unknown to him, tears fall from his eyes while his wife calmly looks on with tears of her own sliding down her cheeks. After both parents settle down, they turn to the green fairy in the room. She had silently watched the family pour their hearts out while occasionally probing the mother and her baby with magic to make sure they were healthy and no further complications would arise. [Thank you for all you have done for my family.] Says the father. [You have no idea how much this means to us!] Says the mother. [It was my pleasure!] [I have been thinking and I would like you to be my child¡¯s godmother.] Says the mother. Her words shocked everyone else in the room, but they smartly kept their voices down as they tried to refute her. [Dear. are you sure? There is no going back after this.] Says the father with a hint of worry in his voice. [Daughter, you don¡¯t even know this fairy. She could steal your child from you.] Says the midwife in a harsh tone. Her assistants nodded their heads and hummed in agreeance. [I have made up my mind and I trust this fairy. I must for without her my child would be motherless.] Says the mother firmly. These words silenced her relatives concerns as they all knew health complications during childbirth were dangerous without an experienced priest nearby. [Are you sure about this? My blessing will make your child different and people tend to dislike those who are different.] [Yes and I won¡¯t take no for an answer after all the help you gave us.] Says the mother solemnly. [Then so it shall be.] With the fairy¡¯s acceptance, the mother began the naming ceremony. A prompt from the father got him to do his part in things. [I, Jack Demitri Lemmings, as your father I grant you the first name of Xavier.] [I, Maria Jamey Lemmings, as your mother I grant you the middle name of Ente.] [As your parents, we welcome you into this world as a member of the Lemmings household.] [I, Tia Hunter Lily, as your godmother I grant you my blessing. May your life be filled with wonder.] With each naming, Xavier glowed slightly as mana branded his very soul. It was not painful so the baby was not awakened in the middle of the process. Once the blessing began, however, everything changed. The air itself trembled gleefully as green mana surged forth into Xavier and abruptly caused him to cry out. This caused his parents to grow concerned, but it lasted for only a few moments. Once the blessing appeared to have finished, Maria began to rock her child and sing a lullaby. After a few minutes, Xavier drifted off into sleep and everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Now that everyone had a moment to assess the situation, they began to notice a mark upon Xavier¡¯s head. Upon his forehead was a tattoo of a green fairy that was dancing. [Uhm, ma? Is that supposed to happen?] Says the father. [Hmm, that normally only happens if the godparent is a powerful figure of legend. Equal to a dragon. Otherwise, the only noticeable changes would be a boost to the blessed person¡¯s physique and/or magic.] Says the midwife. [I actually expected more to happen. I must be getting rusty.] Says Tia with a pout. [That¡¯s perfectly fine. This was more than I could even hope for our child to be given.] Says Maria while clutching her baby to her chest as if Tia would take back her blessing. [But we are grateful and if you ever need anything of us, then ask away.] Says Jack with a beaming smile. [Oh and if you see Jeremy, give him our thanks for sending you to us. Our child might not have a mother without him being nosy.] Says Maria. [Thank the Mother of Terra!] Says the midwife. [I will. Bye-bye!] And with a wave I departed from the happy family. It always feels good to help others in need. *** Chief¡¯s House *** [So, do you have the goods?] I say to my partner in crime. [One ¡®Rise of the Valkyrie Knight¡¯ coming right up.] Says my new bud, Jeremy. [Doesn¡¯t it annoy you that I am taking all of your favorite books?] [It did at first, but then I realized that I can probably get replacements from the dungeon. You are giving out copies right?] Jeremy says while raising a single brow at me. [I doubt you can take them out of the dungeon, but you can safely read there. As long as you don¡¯t wander off into the budding ecosystem, nothing should be too dangerous.] [Advice like that can make me a lot of silvers you know.] Says Jeremy with a wink. [And attract the wrong attention.] [True enough. Read far too many biographies of survivors mentioning how quickly that can go wrong.] He says while shrugging. [Just curious, but how many books have you read?] I ask as I find him to be a surprising font of knowledge on this world. A bit too much for a normal child of a village chief. [That number is either in the 3-digit range or the 4-digit range, but don¡¯t take my word for it.] His eyes glance up as if pondering his life choices before giving up with a sigh. [You could probably give my brother a run for his money in this incarnation.] [This incarnation?] His brow furrows as if perplexed by my answer. [Reincarnation without all the exaggerations.] At my words, his eyes open wide before he quickly pulls out a notebook and pen to take notes. [Then do you mind enlightening my ignorant self in what reincarnation is really like?] He says with a winsome smile. [What would you like to know?] [Are you akin to an all-powerful deity?] [In soul? Sure. In faith? Not so much.] [So does that mean you are a walking calamity capable of enacting Ragnarok, the end of times?] [Not really. It¡¯s extremely difficult to retain any cheaty powers you possess into the next life.] [Have you stared death in the face?] [Yeah and he is a pretty swell guy. We have tea together every time me and my brother dies for whatever reason.] [Final question. In your honest opinion, what is the meaning of life?] [My opinion can be and most likely is wrong, but I would say growth is the meaning of life. Unfortunately, life grows the most from conflict. Sad, but I have never seen a sustainable society without some form of conflict. Even angels need something to fight to retain their moral stance.] His pen had quickly jotted down my responses before finally letting it go with a sigh of relief. He shakes his left hand a little to let the tingling abate. [Hey Tia. We are still friends right? I mean, I am pretty young and weak and a whole bunch of other stuff compared to you.] [Of course we are friends. Just think of me as an S-Class adventurer with a bit more know-how than the usual sort who reach that rank.] [Only S-Class?] [Until the dungeon gets stronger.] [That may be a while. Dungeons don¡¯t exactly spread like bunnies.] He says with a snort. [Then use your well read mind to help us grow faster than bunnies.] He looks at me for a moment before shaking his head. [If we are doing this, then I better get 1st class seating in the dungeon.] Dull-lidded eyes gazed at me as he plainly spoke his response. [Only if you bring snacks.] [Deal!] *** Inside the Core Room*** [I see you are intent on corrupting our nephew and/or niece with these Knighty Knight books.]If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. [It¡¯s not the worst that could happen.] [Then what would be the worst? Excluding death and imprisonment.] [Boredom.] [We already have plans in place to keep everyone entertained. No need to go overboard with it.] [You are such a conservative! Going overboard is exactly what¡¯s necessary to get the job done and then some.] [Or completely miss target.] Our sibling bickering came to an abrupt end as we felt something enter through the apple portal. A man in white priestly robe with pink hearts took his first steps in the dungeon before side-stepping as another person entered. In came a rather small and frail man wearing clothing clearly made from plants and adorned with far too many flowers. The grass embraced his feet like a lover instead of being crushed by his foot falls. Before he could get out of the way, another person has jumped through and trampled him onto the ground. She looked completely like a goth with all the black clothing, belly piercing, and black makeup. She had calmly walked off to the side to evaluate the environment as if she hadn¡¯t just stepped on someone. [Did you really have to jump on me? You could have broken my spine!] The flower man said with frustration as dirt stains literally fell off him as he stood up. [Then despair at your inability to move out of the way of incoming traffic.] The goth lady says without missing a beat. [Is that how you want to play it? Perhaps I should change the dye in your clothing and makeup to pink again.] Flower man says while emitting a bit of his divine mana. [Maybe I can even make you irresistibly cute by turning your hair into flowers for a change.] Malicious chuckles leak from his throat at the thought of sweet vengeance. Goth lady looks at him with a frown. [No flowers and absolutely not pink. Do you know how hard it was to replace the last set of clothing you ruined?] She says with brimming hostility at the memory of their reluctant ride together to this quaint village. [Now now children. Like it or not, we are all in this together. Possibly forever.] Says the priest of hearts. Goth lady and flower man looked like they swallowed bitter tea as they quickly looked away from each other. The comedy skit was nice and all, but we had bigger problems. The core had noticed the intrusion and turned its focus away from its ever growing number of creations. Once it got a good sniff of the mana passively being released by these intruders, it became absolutely terrified of how much more powerful they were than it. [Wait!] [Stop!] We tried to warn the core, but it was too late to stop the inevitable. Its emotions had permeated throughout the entire dungeon. Fear crashed down on our minds before we quickly pushed it down and attempted to coax it with our own emotions. In the meantime, all we could do was watch the travesty through a nifty dungeon screen that live streamed the entire dungeon. The critters that had yet to truly become monsters had felt its fear and looked towards the disturbance in an eerily foreboding manner. Without even a moment to spare, each and every single critter charged towards the intruders. Each of the intruders had calmly noticed what was going on and patiently waited for the critters to arrive before they started butchering them in an extremely casual fashion. A wooden action figure in a dress had somehow lunged at flower man with its rapier, but only got entangled by vines for its trouble. [Bloom] He said and it had quickly withered as flowers bloomed across its entire body. Without even taking a single step, he had easily dispatched everything and anything that came at him. Branches from a tomato plantling attempted to grasp the priest of hearts, but moments before it had ensnared him it had abruptly decided to hug itself and wriggle as if it was the happiest day of its life. The priest of hearts then smiled and snapped his finger towards the plantling which caused it to slump with an exaggerated sigh. It laid there heartbroken with ketchup stains dripping down its body. Goth lady had walked towards the hordes of critters unopposed and cut them all down with her scythe. Anything that attempted to get close to her would suddenly wail in grief or collapse helplessly onto the ground. The sparrows had it the worst as they all crash landed in a bird pile. It was as if she was pruning a garden rather than fighting. In no time at all, the ground was littered with corpses that soon began to fade into mana. The intruders were none the worse for wear. Leaving my brother to protect the core, I moved to confront the intruders. A wooden glaive formed in my tiny hands. It might not do much, but it can at least distract them from the real threat that is our magic. I flew out of the core room and through the library before I entered the farming biome. Inside, I could see the group collecting some of the monster drops until they noticed me gliding towards them. [Hi! I¡¯m Tia. Do you mind introducing yourselves before explaining why you are here? The core is a bit concerned about why such powerful adventurers would be here.] I say while obviously gripping my glaive as a warning. [Oh! It¡¯s the dungeon fairy. Nice to meet you. I¡¯m the Champion of Love, Felix.] He then gestures to his companions. [You may call me Nicholas, Champion of Blossoms. I like the crop fields, but the core could use a few more flowers for perfumes and dyes.] Nick clearly wanted to say more, but a pointed look from goth lady silenced him for now. [Name¡¯s Dorothy and don¡¯t you go forgetting it. I champion the Despair within Darkness.] Dorothy says while pointing her thumb at herself. [That¡¯s nice and all, but why are you here? This dungeon isn¡¯t even ready for the weakest of adventurers yet. Idiots? Sure. But not people who know what they are doing.] I say while tilting my head in confusion. I expected A or B rank tops for checking out the dungeon. Not S-class priests from several churches. [Tell me about it. I am just here because the Encroaching Darkness could use more territory and resources.] Says Dorothy [Same for the Mother of Terra. Which is why-] Says Nick [The same is true for the Heavenly Light.] Says Felix while cutting Nick¡¯s spiel off. [With a bit of careful direction, a dungeon can be guided down a path that is beneficial to our churches.] [And what would you consider beneficial?] [Fairy dust, magical herbs, and unicorn blood are immensely useful for potions.] Nick states as if reading a shopping list. [My dust is off-limits.] I say while angrily flapping my wings in the fairy equivalent of flipping someone off. [Not a big deal.] Dorothy says while rolling her eyes at me. [We brought a live fairy for the dungeon to absorb or contract if you still have a slot left.] [The core does have 1 slot left.] I say after quickly checking the dungeon fairy menu. [Good! That just leaves us to discuss the elephant in the room.] With Felix¡¯s words, the other two focused their gazes on me. [What would it take for the dungeon to build, at the very least, a shrine to our deities.] [Why would you need one? I doubt anyone would come down here to pray.] [It¡¯s not for prayer exactly. It¡¯s more of a conduit to channel faith in exchange for favors.] Says Nick. [Adventurers like convenience and deities give them that convenience.] Says Dorothy. [All it costs is a display of faith suitable for that specific deity.] Says Felix. [You do realize this is a dungeon and not a luxury resort right?] [How it is implemented isn¡¯t important as long as it exists.] Says Felix. [Most usually become deadly traps in order to spite people for forcing it to build something it doesn¡¯t want.] [One of our dungeons turned it into 1 of its greatest death traps, but heavily rewards whoever reaches it.] Says Dorothy fondly. [Our church turned it into a racing competition among the elite. Whoever completes it the fastest gets 1st pick for vacations. Drove the core bonkers though since it didn¡¯t get the reaction it expected. Good times.] [Luckily some of our dungeons are more tame and less murder hobo.] Says Nick with his eyes on the floor in reminiscence. [I rather not deal with more venus fly traps that leave me covered in extremely, sticky slime even after I free myself.] He visibly shudders in disgust at the memory. [Took me 5 showers to get it all off.] Taking a moment of contemplation, I mentally consult my brother and the core for their opinions. [What do you think? I am personally against making alterations to our game plan.] I say to them. [Can we fight them off? If not, I don¡¯t think we have a choice. For now.] The core¡¯s thoughts were actually¡­ funny. I suppose we aren¡¯t awe inspiring for a dungeon defense. [We can fight them off, but it will likely overburden our bodies. Not a good idea since they might just send a larger group of even stronger individuals to crush us. Best not to mess with highly influential individuals until we can back it up.] Tua says to us. [Then what would you two suggest?] Core asks us ponderingly for a safe plan of action. [It can be incorporated into the 3rd floor.] [An easier trial for the religiously devout?] [Won¡¯t help them for the 10th floor.] Tua¡¯s response caused us all to grin. We could even feel the core radiating feelings of a malicious grin. People are gonna hate and love that floor. [Then we accept. Shortchange them. Build them up early. Greater fall later.] The core says in its preferred manner of broken sentences. Even with knowledge of proper speech, it still prefers to speak in a non-person manner. [Alright. I will broker the deal with them.] Snapping back fully into my body, I shake my head to clear out the dissonance in perspective. The champions had waited patiently for me as if used to fairies having secret conversations with the core. [We have come to an agreement. Your shrines will be on the 3rd floor when we actually reach that point.] [All of our shrines? That¡¯s gonna ruffle some feathers. I like it.] Dorothy says with a smile. [Of course you would enjoy the conflict.] Says Nick while shaking his head. [Conflict is but a means to an end. It¡¯s their suffering that I truly enjoy.] Says Dorothy. [You must be one of those fangirls for Vicky¡¯s Illusion Show.] [You act like guys don¡¯t watch comedy either.] [They are fangirls too.] [This is not the time for you children to have your back and forth. Tia of the lovely fairies, I thank you for gracing us with your presence. Please take these gifts of ours while we make ourselves scarce.] Saying so, Felix promptly opened the bag he was carrying on his back and took out a covered cage and some herbs. He also placed a variety of colorful feathers on the ground. Nick and Dorothy followed his cue with a quiet grumble and removed their gifts as well. Obviously, Nick had placed an assortment of flowers and roses while leaving a note detailing what everything is used for. Dorothy, on the other hand, had gifted us with many items favored by goths. Black roses, black booty shorts, a spare whip, green ectoplasm, jack-o-lanterns, a wolf skull, spiked choker, a few seeds that looked more cursed than safe, gargoyle and reaper figurines, vampire fangs, an assortment of jewelry, a butterfly mask, a corset, and mana crystals. Her wide variety of gifts left the men in the group speechless for several long moments. [How on Terra did you hide so much in that little bag?] Says Nick. [Not my fault you men don¡¯t know how to pack things properly.] Saying so, Dorothy walks away and jumps through the apple portal. [Women truly are mysterious beings.] Smiling, Felix follows her out through the portal. [Mysterious my foot!] Nick scoffs as he steps through the portal. As soon as the intruders left, we had to make a final decision. So I flew back to the core room to speak in person rather than in our minds. [So, what are we gonna do with the cage? You gonna use your final contract slot or do you want me to go stabby stabby.] [Tia, be nice. Fairies are supposed to help each other when in need.] [The dungeon comes first and contracts aren¡¯t guaranteed to be loyal. The sparrows are simple minded enough to be ignored. A fairy can be harmless, annoying, and/or downright toxic to the dungeon.] [Speak first. Decide after.] With the core¡¯s response, I set about removing the cover to see the final intruder for the day. Inside was a small, winged boy that looked similar to us. The exception was his gray skin that has not been touched by magic. He isn¡¯t- [Hey sis, he¡¯s clearly not a fairy. All fairies are magical.] [Then what is he?] [A pixie.] [Our non-magical cousins.] [Physically stronger than fairies.] [More violent than fairies.] [Embodiment of the saying, ¡°size isn¡¯t everything.¡±] [I don¡¯t get it. They wanted fairy dust but didn¡¯t give us a fairy? I can¡¯t just turn an apple into an orange.] [Technically, you can.] [Evolution is the name of the game.] [It¡¯s like the saying, ¡°the grass is always greener on the other side.¡±] [A pixie can sacrifice their physique for magic.] [A fairy can sacrifice their magic for physique.] [But why would someone give up what they know for an unknown?] [Then let¡¯s ask him and find out.] [Hey cousin, why were you captured by mortals?] The pixie twitched at our words and looked at us with anger. Understandable really. I wouldn¡¯t want to be caged and then sold off or possibly killed by an all devouring piece of crystal either. [Why bother asking if you are going to enslave me anyways?] [Slavery? We have no real need or want of something like that.] [Lies! I heard you make a deal with those blasphemers!] [Woah! Calm down cuz! We aren¡¯t going to force you into anything.] My brother¡¯s reply caused the pixie to frown. [All we want is to hash out an agreement and then you can go about your business. It¡¯s not like contracts guarantee loyalty. At best you would just feel encouraged to remain within the dungeon for the increased power, mana, life span, and revival opportunities. Nothing more, nothing less.] My brother explains to the pixie. [With that being said, can you give us your name?] It took a few moments, but he finally decided to at least give us his name. [My name is Maui of the Spooky Tribe.] He tells us. [Well then Maui, mind telling us how an illustrious pixie such as yourself was caged like a fledgling bird? Pixies aren¡¯t exactly easy to catch. Much less keep your eyes on.] A frown formed on his face as Tua directed a question at him. [The stupid heart guy was consecrating our home. It was either face him in battle or lose the land we thrived on for centuries.] In his distress, sobbing noises began to leak from him. [We tried. We really did. But we were just a joke to him, for all that our bodies are blessed with a physique that is deceiving for our size. It was only after he finally grabbed me that he stopped destroying our home.] His lips quivered as if remembering something even worse. [When I looked back to my family for help, they just looked at the ground instead of helping me. My family, my friends, everyone I ever knew and loved just watched as I was pixie napped.] We quickly embraced him from the sides. Amongst the fae, family is sacred. Thus we understand his pain to be severed from his. [There there.] [It will all be okay.] It took a few minutes of giving him a group hug, but he finally calmed down and cleaned his face. He didn¡¯t want to talk about his loss anymore and we wouldn¡¯t bring it up. [Are you fine to continue?] [I am good.] The small sniffle I heard left some doubt, but I wouldn¡¯t challenge him on it. Men deserve some dignity. [Then to make things simple. What do you want out of this arrangement.] [What do you mean?] [Contracts are malleable to an extent.] [Take the sparrows for instance.] [The longer they guard the dungeon, the more mana they are provided.] [It¡¯s a pay by the minute kind of deal.] [But you don¡¯t have to guard anything.] [Or live in here if you don¡¯t want to.] [So, what do you want?] He pondered on his answer for a few moments, before his mind latched on to something with ferocity. [Power. Enough power so nobody can cage me again.] He hissed his reply in a manner that almost threatened to spill water down his cheeks. [That is acceptable.] Tua began to write out a contract on his system interface. [Just as long as you remember that power alone can¡¯t make you happy.] He finishes his nugget of wisdom just as a contract was offered to our cousin.