《Hightailing It》 K1 - Its a Small World The light was blinding. Words... fuzzy. Smells and sounds painful. Claws digging into dark, red wood, jaw so tight that fangs dig into mouth. Tail held body steady as mind focused. A voice called. Not one, but many; a chorus in head. Feeling deep in gut calling out. Not instinct of race, but deeper. So loud that thoughts hazy. Blinding light faded away, now only sunlight from large archway. Big, clear jewel on stand in center of room. It thrums and voices grow louder. A blink and claw touches gem. The touch is warmth of something deep, and the gem lit a small spark inside. A nod without knowing. Haziness disappearing as the chorus of voices speak in my head. I blink as I noticed that my thoughts straightened up, that words came more easily. My senses no longer overpowered me and my body felt like my own. The script I was born with had ran its course. I stepped back from the dark red wooden pedestal that held the translucent square gem and looked around at the large room I was in. Everything was the same wood including the floor. I held my tail to my chest with shaking claws as I hesitantly stepped toward the open archway. An overcast sky let through bright sunlight that fell upon a massive tree. It towered a hundred times my height into the sky with its dead branches forking everywhere over the muddy brown and rich green that was my new home. So many thin trees dotted between the thick, murky swamp that surrounded me that my mind told me creatures hid in them. I stumbled back into my hole that was the carved out inside of that huge tree and sat down with my back to the pedestal. Petting my tail with my claws soothed me before I began to laugh. "Kekeke!" The cube-shaped gem, the dungeon core, had chosen me! I didn''t know what to do with the core or the dungeon or any of the new feelings of responsibility about either of them, yet even I understood that I was both blessed and cursed within the first few minutes of my life. I screamed and bolted toward the archway! My clawed feet tore into the wood that restored itself in the next second and I jumped through the archway to go outside. Or is what I wished but instead I slammed into an invisible barrier and crashed to the ground. My claws feebly raked at the barrier, at the swamp and world beyond this room that my instincts and mind longed for and I howled out all that until my throat was raw and lungs burned. I didn''t know much, or rather I didn''t know anything at all, but I was conflicted already. My language was something I was granted by the dungeon much like my body was, that I knew. The world? Other creatures? Goals? Nothing except what my instincts are telling me. That I was created by this dungeon, that I was a [Dungeon Master], and that I couldn''t leave here. I plodded back to the pedestal and took the cube-shaped core in my claws, sat on the ground, and felt my instincts guide me. I tapped on a flat side of the core and it shimmered to hold text of the language I knew on it in a listed display. A tiny bit of energy from deep inside my stomach disappeared. >Building >Creatures >Items >Status I knew what the words meant and what I was supposed to do with them now that I had read them. Build the dungeon, put creatures in it, create items for it all and then... why? The last one didn''t give me a feeling like the others did so I tapped on it. >Dungeon >Creatures Oh, it came to me suddenly what this was. I chose the status of the dungeon first. >10 / 10 MP >2 Spirits >Floor One: 1 Core Room >1 Creature More feelings about the words came to mind as if air bubbling to the surface of a swamp, slowly and with difficulty but with a burst of sudden clarity. I could barely feel it, the magical energy that the core put out. It was very faint even when I held it in my claws. The spirit thing was probably that, literal spirits. Why else build grand dungeons full of monsters and treasures if not to tempt beings into traveling inside them? It wasn''t like we creatures of the dungeon could leave. I giggled depressingly at that thought as I went back to the and chose the sole creature of this dungeon. >Name: N/A >Class: Dungeon Master Lv.1 >Race: Kobold >Gender: Female >HP: 17/17 >MP: 15/18 >STR: 2 >DEX: 3 >AGI: 3 >VIT: 5 >INT: 5 >WIS: 3 >CHA: 2 >LUK: 11 >Skills: [Dungeon Interface Lv.1], [Second Heart Lv.1] >Perks: [Draconic Ancestry] Was this good or bad? I knew numbers at least and that these were low numbers, but how weak was I? I had more mana than the dungeon core at least and that made me feel better for a moment, and then way worse because that meant both I and my core were the weakest. That realization made me nervous about invading monsters. The archway loomed over me letting that daylight filter in with nothing between me, the core and something far stronger than a recently born kobold. I hurriedly opened the part of the interface and felt a little bit more energy drain out of my stomach. >Traps >Rooms >Hallways >Designate Core Room The dungeon had ten mana to use but I didn''t know how much anything cost. A trap would be nice and I felt myself smiling at the thought of some beast walking in only to fall into a deep pit full of spikes. Something about that imagery satisfied a vindictive part of me. As great as that would be I was weak and if they were cleverer than me it would be horrible. >Short Straight Corridor - 5 MP >Short Curved Corridor - 10 MP >Long Straight Corridor - 10 MP >Long Curved Corridor - 20 MP I tapped on the names trying to make the thing give me information. How long was long, how short was short? This wasn''t helpful at all! I couldn''t even afford one of the options because just a hallway was expensive. I stood up while holding the dungeon core and walked to the far side of the room. How did this work exactly? I tapped the name but got nothing. Maybe if I held it? Kekeke, I see, I''m pretty smart. A pale light came from the core to envelop my claw. So if I just... The dark red wooden wall quickly evaporated when I touched it with the light and unfolded into a corridor just over twice my height and over a dozen steps long. That was good for five mana, probably. I need a room now but do I have enough? >Simple Round Room - 10 MP >Simple Square Room - 10 MP >Large Round Room - 25 MP >Large Square Room - 25 MP >Room Options Well I didn''t have enough for a room then. How fast did mana recharge in the core? Nothing on its status told me that. Wait, the large room options are slightly duller? I held a claw on them and nothing happened, yet when I did so on the simple square room the light from the core once again covered my claw. Did it already recharge? I held my claw to the end of the corridor and the light began to disperse into the wood. My stomach lurched as I felt cold and hungry from energy draining from inside me. So that''s the way it works. The wood fell away to reveal a new room that was as if someone stacked four of the corridors side by side. So it takes mana away from me when the core doesn''t have enough? That''s good, really good, but made me exhausted in the process. Checking my status told me I had eight mana left. After experiencing the feeling enough I could tell that just using the interface cost me mana. Was it because I was using the skill? Only thing left to do was to designate the room as the Core Room. I opened the interface again and held down on . Just like all the other times a light transferred from the inside of the gem to my claw. I touched the ground of this new room and in the next moment the wooden pedestal from earlier rose out of the ground in the center of the room. Well it''s an improvement at least. I could look through the entrance of this room through the hallway and see the archway leading outside. Maybe not too much of an improvement then? Ah, I knew exactly what was needed! As big as the cube-gem-core-thing was it was also super light. I could hold it on one claw if I had to. The familiar sensation of energy draining from that pit in my stomach as I opened the interface on the surface of the core was beginning to hurt in a weird way. Like inside but not really there? >Weapons >Armor >Magic >Furniture >Food >Misc. Was a door furniture? I smiled at the thought of getting any of these other item things. Magic and weapons would make me strong. but right now I needed to hide my important things from any beast that crawled into the dungeon. Turned out there are a few different kinds of doors, half of which didn¡¯t sound like it. Who would want to buy a or for one mana when they didn¡¯t sound like something that could protect me. Obviously I went with the for five mana. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. It was truly simple, a dark red door made of the same wood as the tree grew out of the side of the wall. Two small blunt hooks were poking out from its middle and the frame with a bar of wood laid across it. Oh, it came with a lock! How nice, how very nice. Yet as nice as it was I was feeling sick. It hurt in that weird not-there way and I was extremely tired. At least I had a door now so it was feeling very safe, I opened the interface to check my status in hopes that it would tell me what was wrong with me when my last tiny bit of energy¡ª __________________________ Alarm shot through me, an almost physical sense of danger, and jolted me awake. That not-real hurting in my stomach was gone although the sense of exhaustion was lingering faintly. If it wasn''t being fully recovered from whatever made me collapse that woke me up then what did? The new core room wasn¡¯t any different and I was leaning against the simple pedestal in the middle that my square gem that was the dungeon core sitting on it. Wait... wasn''t I holding it before? I tried to pull it down and it remained fastened to the pedestal. No matter when I climbed up and used all my strength and weight to budge it, it smugly remained where it was. As if taunting me at how weak I was. No, the core is my friend! It would never be smug to me like that so something must be holding it there against its will. I felt like I knew what it was at the back of my mind, knowledge that I never learned but came from elsewhere. Focusing on that feeling made it click. My scales tingled as I warily looked toward the door leading out to the entrance room. It must be there, right? I crawled over to the door as silently as I could, wincing each time my claws clacked against the wood floor, before holding an ear to the door. Although muffled I heard it, the same noise that I made yet softer, that sharp clacking in simple succession. Something with claws was inside my dungeon. I hugged my tail as I tried to think of what to do. Surely I would think of something! While I may be weak I was very smart, after all I had figured out so many things already like how to use my skill and even to make a room and door. Could I use the core to somehow get rid of the invader? Ah, maybe it would leave if I waited long enough. As quietly as I could I crawled back over to the core and tapped on its clear surface, yet nothing happened. Did I have to focus on using the [Dungeon Interface] skill? I tried doing that and felt resistance from the gem as it refused to open that list. It took my mana for trying to use it anyway! What, how greedy. Maybe it just needed more? I tried twice more and each time was refused by the core. Okay then, be that way you dumb gem thing. If the dungeon wasn''t going to help get rid of its intruder then it was up to me! Not. Kekeke, go out and fight? Ask someone stronger please. I am a weak kobold and am far too smart to do something like that. What if its large and has sharp teeth? I don''t know what kind of beasts even exist but surely there are things far larger than me. Ah, wait, it didn''t sound too heavy when I listened. I went back to the door and waited. The soft click clacking of claws was light, although louder than my own. Perhaps it was only something about as big as me? I flexed my claws and stared at them. Were they sharp, or at least sharp enough to hurt something? I poked my scales and didn''t feel as though they were that sharp. Ah, why even work myself up to going through the door. I had a door! It even had a bar to prevent something from opening it. Yes, that''s why I''ll just wait for it to leave. There was nothing in my dungeon but me and the core anyway. No treasures or creatures here for you, invader! Go on and leave already, please. So I waited, and waited, and waited some more. This was taking forever. It had been... a long time, probably. Long enough that the sounds had stopped and was making me nervous. The tingling of my scales hadn''t gone away and the weird sense of alarm I had in the back of my mind told me the dungeon was still occupied. Maybe it was sleeping? Yes, that was most likely it because it had been a very long time after all. My claws might not be the sharpest but if it was something asleep and unguarded? It would be easy. The hard part would be sneaking up to it. I didn''t think I was very sneaky with these claws but should I try? Still no sounds. Alright, I lifted the thin bar of wood off the door as quietly as I could and nearly dropped it because of the weight. Ah, that was scary. Putting that aside it was time to see what my invader was doing. Was it actually sleeping? It hadn''t made a sound in a while. I slowly pushed the door open and made an important discovery. The door opened toward the hallway. Why this was important was because almost immediately it struck something with a dull thud. Ah, yes, it was certainly a thud that was unlike striking something made of wood. Wood of which is the only thing in the entire dungeon. The tingling in my scales intensified. Almost immediately the invader slammed into the door and I found out an important critical error. The door opened both ways. "No, no! Stupid door!" I cursed as I pushed against the door trying to keep it shut from whatever monstrous creature was on the other side trying to get in. Its claws raked at the door as its high-pitched bark made me shiver. I wasn''t strong enough to prevent it from slowly pushing in and it finally managed to get in its snout and use it as a wedge to fit its head through the door''s crack. Its red-orange fur with white muzzle was the face of death with fangs longer than my limbs and black eyes that were darker than whatever void it spawned from. It wanted nothing more than to devour my spirit and revel in whatever dark intentions it came here with. No, there was no way it was a beast of such incredible terror! Not with such measly strength that I could almost hold it back from pushing through the door. That was the smart me talking and the dumb me was terrified out of her wits. But with those thoughts I felt a haze lift and the demonic beast was gone. In its place, as it pushed open the door I had backed away from in my fear, was a growling fox roughly my size. I didn''t know it was a fox until I saw it and something in my head matched those words. At least this mysterious source of knowledge let me know what would eat me. It was very kind in that way. I scrambled out of the way of the fox''s lunge and got my feet under me. It ran at me without waiting and clawed and bit at me. Even the sight of such deadly sharp attacks made my tail quiver as I fled around the room for my life. While I wasn''t strong with big muscles or a lot of weight I was quick on my feet! That dumb fox couldn''t catch me as I ran and dodged away from its pouncing. Maybe I could lock it in this room? Ah, that thought was worthless as the fox reminded me why I made it in the first place. My dumb core caught the eye of the fox and it changed targets to something that wouldn''t run away. I didn''t know how much the core could take and definitely didn''t want to find out what happened to me if it was destroyed. The fox lunged at the pedestal before I could intercept it and its fangs scraped across the core''s surface without a single scratch. Except that I could feel my very real energy, not like the weird-deep energy inside my gut, be drained away to the core. Was that how it was? So it didn''t have any health on its status because I was its health? Isn''t that extremely bad then!? This dumb beast could kill me without ever touching me! Dumb core, why couldn''t you just move like me? If I was going to go down it wasn''t going to be for the core''s sake! I charged at the recovering fox who was confused why the core wasn''t knocked to the ground. Maybe it not being able to move was a good thing? There was nothing to use as a weapon except that large bar of wood but the fox was much too fast for me to use that. Claws, I hope you''re sharp. With a yell of courage and bravery, or so I imagined instead of the fearful crying whine I thought I heard, I tackled the fox and raked my claws across its chest. At the same time its claws scraped against my scales and tore off several before kicking me off. I tumbled across the wood floor and held a claw to my leg. It was beginning to wet with my blood and it felt like fire in my head. The fox was at least worst than I was. Kekeke, scales are much better than your fur, dumb fox. I bet you wish you were born a kobold now. Ah, maybe I made it mad. It charged me unlike its lunges before and followed me as I tried to run away. My leg tripped me up and the fox wasn''t dumb enough to miss that advantage. Its fangs bit into my other leg and went through my scales with ease. Stupid scales, why couldn''t you stop its teeth?! But with its head biting my leg I had the perfect chance to fight back. The pain hurt a lot, enough that my claws were shaky and felt weak, but the dumb fox was just a dumb fox. It glared at me as it sunk its teeth further to spite me. Of course it didn¡¯t know that claws were sharper than eyeballs. I plunged them deep into the fox''s head and felt the entire beast go slack on top of me. Was it getting darker in here? No, it was already dark because there was no light, right? I could see just fine in the pitch dark somehow and it should be brighter since the orange sunlight was coming through the open doorway. Was I dying? I tried to push the fox off of me but its maw was biting my leg and I lacked the strength to remove it. So this was how it all ended, victor in my battle of wits and skill but to die from the wounds after. How tragic a tale it must be. The sense of alarm vanished as I guessed the dungeon recognized as every invader dead. In the next moment the fox''s body faded away like slowly becoming invisible. Even the blood on the me and the floor was disappearing! Well, the fox''s blood anyway. K2 - Getting Up I felt bad. It was my whole existence at the moment as I laid bleeding on the floor. After the voices told me I got skills and leveled up the pain lessened and I felt¡­ healthier? As if my injuries weren¡¯t the end of my existence and only at the point of merely ruining my life. I wasn¡¯t crying, alright? I definitely wasn¡¯t whining in pain as I tried to stand on two messed up legs just to get the dumb cube core off its dumb pedestal so I could figure out something. I was brave and smart enough to fight off a crazy beast! Maybe it was all the things I wasn¡¯t doing but the first list I opened on the interface, which wasn¡¯t refusing anymore, was the dungeon¡¯s and my own statuses. >12 / 12 MP >2 Spirits >Floor One: 1 Core Room, 1 Simple Room >1 Creature >Name: N/A >Class: Dungeon Master Lv.2 >Race: Kobold >Gender: Female >HP: 5/29 >MP: 21/22 >STR: 5 >DEX: 4 >AGI: 4 >VIT: 8 >INT: 6 >WIS: 4 >CHA: 3 >LUK: 12 >Skills: [Dungeon Interface Lv.1], [Second Heart Lv.1], [Claw Technique Lv.1], [Tough Scales Lv.1] >Perks: [Draconic Ancestry] I hadn¡¯t seen anything that used these spirit things yet but I didn¡¯t get one for the fox. Instinct told me that it was absorbed by the dungeon and that meant something. Time must¡¯ve passed long enough for the core to regenerate all its mana. Mine too, actually. I wiped my eyes because it was hard to read the list and gently set the core on the floor instead of on my legs. There was a lot of mana available to use for something for my injuries. My health jumped up a lot compared to level one! Skills are definitely something to look into getting. I want all the skills. For something to heal¡­ ? There might be normal ways to heal but who was going to do it, me? Well, if I could somehow buy skills like that I would. >Books >Scrolls >Runes >Potions Books and scrolls somehow seemed obvious at to what they did since the mysterious knowledge of words explained it as learning things. Potions too as magical liquids you drink. Runes were like potions but things you use once for a spell. So all spells weren¡¯t okay for drinking? I didn¡¯t bother looking at books as they were going to be beyond my mana range. When I opened it wasn¡¯t as simple as I thought. There was nothing there, not in any of the lists! Why even list them as an option? Wait, what? Just as I was going to close the list multiple things appeared! Okay, so none of the things look like they will help me. A lot of names popped up but they all sound weak and cost everything I have right now. Who would want a for twenty-five mana? I went back to and yes there were a lot of options now yet they were all the same weak sounding spells. Being as smart as I was it was easy to guess that it was the same in and . Also it no longer took mana to swap between these lists anymore! When I scrolled through the long lists of useless spells under runes and potions I found two things that seemed exactly what I needed, both for twenty-five mana. Wait, wait, what¡¯s this? When I tapped on the names it displayed something. Skill level up is the greatest! I love skills! >Rune of Minor Heal - 25 MP The lowest form of heal learned by any caster capable of wielding the Holy Arts. >Potion of Minor Recovery - 25 MP The weakest concoction of recovery developed with alchemy. When I checked these two out in the scroll list it was available for fifty mana. Definitely weak for these prices. I couldn¡¯t even afford the scroll so these were the best choices available. I didn¡¯t know what the difference between heal and recovery was. In the end I chose the rune of healing. It had heal in its name instead of something wishy-washy like recovery. This time a light didn¡¯t form in the core and shoot out to my claw, and instead it formed directly in my claw. Hey, isn¡¯t the difference in the [Dungeon Interface] skill too amazing? It was bark. A strip of dark red wood that was smooth on one side and rough-like bark on the other with a weird symbol and lines crudely carved into the smooth side. Why was everything I had made out of wood? If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. More importantly, how did I use this thing? Ah, I¡¯m such a dumb kobold. Why did I go with the rune over something easy to drink like a potion. Recovery may have been weaker sounding but at least any dumb creature could use it! Did I need to use mana to activate it? Oh, ooh! Nevermind, aren¡¯t I brilliant? ...How do I use mana? I stared at the rune in my claw intensely as I sat there, in my Core Room with its door unbarred, with one leg bitten to the bone and the other cut by claws, body in pain and mind frustrated at this whole thing. Focus. That deep energy that I always felt being pulled from my stomach was probably mana. I could feel it somewhat after having it pulled out of me so often. With just that feeling I tried to do it myself, pulling it slowly up from that pit in my gut and to the rune in my claws. It was hard. Way harder than using it with a skill but I eventually dragged a little bit of that mana to the rune. It activated with a brief flare of white light that enveloped me. The gouges in my legs knit back together to my amazement before it suddenly stopped halfway through. The scabs that had formed disappeared during the healing so they began to bleed yet again. My blood would¡¯ve also been healed, right? I was sure I¡¯d be fine. Checking my status showed I healed ten points of health. That was okay for the cost, but I wanted to get my claws on the spell itself. I doubted it cost twenty-five mana to cast the actual spell. My legs had stopped hurting a ton and was a dull ache instead even though they still bled. It wasn¡¯t that I was resistant to pain but that the rune healed the deep wounds and now I just had shallow injuries. I had thirteen mana left and the dungeon was dry. Now that I was capable of limping it was time to prevent this mess from happening again so easily. >Pit Trap - 5 MP A small pit ten feet deep. >Spike Trap - 5 MP A small set of sturdy wooden spikes. >Arrow Trap - 10 MP A small hole that will shoot a wood arrow when passed by. One arrow per delve. >Block Trap - 10 MP A small hole that will drop a heavy block of wood when passed by. One block per delve. All this new information was so great. Once per delve probably meant the weird alarm feeling and what caused the core to ignore me. Why did they cost more if they were only used once? So dumb. I made a pit trap right outside the door and filled the bottom with a spike trap. How did I do it when I couldn¡¯t climb down to the bottom of the pit? Obviously I put the spike trap on the floor then used the pit trap after. The floor lowered a square section I had put the spikes on to create a hole that anyone could fall into. Using all that mana had tired me out and I made sure to remember to get something to cover the hole later. Maybe something soft like a cloth or a really thin piece of wood? Kekeke, the thought of a dumb fox falling down and skewering itself made me happy. Yet I was so tired. I opened my status to watch how fast mana recovers and struggled to stay awake until I noticed a change. Apparently it was the same rate for both me and the core. My guess was like mana and health it somehow used all my attributes. As for me? I recovered one mana every¡­ well I didn¡¯t count perfectly so maybe an hour? No, it was definitely less but also more than thirty minutes. I may have drifted off somewhere while watching the interface. Forget it. My legs hurt and the mana wasn¡¯t coming back anytime soon. With how tired I was from suddenly fighting for my life and the awful blackout earlier I hadn¡¯t gotten real rest. It was weird to learn that I also had to sleep and, if my stomach was any clue, eat at well. I didn¡¯t have mana to create anything and the dumb dungeon ate the fox before I could so I decided to sleep. Yep, sleep would make everything better. My hunger would definitely wake me up but at least I can recover enough mana to heal fully. I hugged my tail and curled up next to the pedestal and set the dungeon core right next to my face. It was pretty in a weird way, its cube-shape and clear, see-through gemlike material it was made of making it seem fragile and also treasurable. With the door barred again there was no daylight to sneak inside so all I had to do was close my eyes to see pure darkness. I didn¡¯t remember drifting off to sleep but did remember that for all it was, the first day of my creation was really good. I felt a little less weak. K3 - Do you speak? After I slept long enough that my hunger drove me to wake up I had enough mana to buy another to use on myself but found out that my legs had already healed. It wasn''t perfect, the scales hadn''t grown back yet and the fang marks were scabbed over but overall I was just fine. Maybe it was my higher vitality and [Tough Scales] skill? Speaking of skills I didn''t know what any of mine actually did. Maybe since my [Dungeon Interface] leveled up it would show me it? Except of course not. When I tried to tap the skills for information it didn''t do anything. Since I had twenty-eight mana to use, sixteen from me and twelve from the core, that I didn''t need to spend on that rune I wondered what I should do. I was feeling secure with my new spiky pit trap but felt I could use another one. No, wait, wouldn''t the best thing be if they never even got close to the trap? Before anything at all though I looked through the interface lists to find me some food and water. It felt wrong, like I shouldn''t need these things as a dungeon creature, but what else was I going to do? Hunger didn''t feel good. Most likely thanks to the skill level there were a dozen items on the food list, mostly fruits and berries that sounded native to forests or swamps like the one my dungeon was in. Something stuck out though amongst the choices. >Rosefur Fox Meat - 5 MP - The meat of a Rosefur Fox that is native to the Rosestone Swamp. I bought it half because I wanted to eat meat and because it was a way to show my victory over the fox. So things that the dungeon absorbs become things I can make with the dungeon''s weird system. The chunk of meat was as big as both my claws and surprisingly bloodless and clean. I most definitely didn''t tear into it like an animal and savor its juicy tenderness that had the hint of justice or enjoy the wet tearing sounds that my claws made when ripping the meat apart into bite-size chunks. All of this not-eating had made me thirsty, yet there was no water option in the list. Considering berries cost one mana to buy I tried to get something called a . Instead of a single berry like I thought it gave me five, each a small yellow oval that smelled sweet. Kekeke, I used five mana to get twenty-five berries and crushed them all in my mouth. The sweet juice and peel was enough for now since there was no way I was spending all my mana on a just for water. And so I was feeling good, full and overall happy. A great start to my second day of being alive, or at least of being awake. I didn''t count the times I slept and wondered what to do. Ah, the trap idea, of course. I unblocked the door and went to the entrance room, carefully jumping over my spiky pit trap, and looking out at what I now knew was called the Rosestone Swamp. Who knew what horrible monsters lurked inside the swamp? I had a feeling that even if the dumb fox was mighty it was the lowest of the low in this place. When I looked for a good spot to put my second trap, I couldn''t decide on the wood block or arrow, I noticedthat you could see my pit trap from the entrance! That was not good, extremely not good. I spent five mana on another . Now that there were two doors for this corridor and when you opened the first one you could clearly see the pit trap I decided the block was a good choice. With the core in claw and it glowing with the light that waited for me to touch where I wanted to place it I ran into a problem. I was too short to touch the ceiling. Even standing on the dungeon core I was just a little short with a jump. Fine then, dumb trap, I didn''t want to use a wood block anyway. I instead put an arrow trap around the level where my head was on the side of the wall one step past the door. Perfect, now anything that walked past would get a sharp wooden arrow for their trouble! "Kekeke," I laughed. With that I had used almost all my mana for the day and went back to the Core Room and sat near the pedestal staring at the core. Although it used a lot less mana to browse the interface now I couldn''t afford to waste it in my boredom. I used the core as a step to get on top of the pedestal, the bland wooden stand that rose out of the floor, and kicked my legs to pass the time. That was all I had: time. Since I needed a bit of mana every day for food and juice I was going to have a lot of time to myself. What should I do with it all? I wanted more mana but didn''t know how to get it. My mana rose with intelligence which rose from levels and skills, but it took mana to use skills. Maybe if I got better at using mana? That energy in my gut was there but faint since I had used it all on the dungeon. When I tried to move it like I did in order to use the rune it complied, like breathing really thick air through a stuffy nose. It was still hard to do, just moving it from my gut to my claw and then back took a couple hours, but I did it over and over until I got tired and I went to sleep. When I woke up I bought myself more meat and berries and put another on the opposite wall of the corridor so that something would get hit by two arrows. The holes were hard to see until you passed right by them and by then it would be too late. With the twenty mana I had left I made another and behind my core room and then made that into my new core room. Now it was two rooms away from the entrance and extra safe. And that was all the mana from the last day and sleeping. It was boring staying in the core room all alone, even if I was practicing moving the tiny bit of leftover mana around in my body, so I went to the archway and gazed out at the swamp. Every now and then I would see more dumb foxes running in the distance far from me and a huge shadow moved across the swamp with heavy thuds, thankfully so far away I didn''t have to worry about it ever sneaking up on me, and I enjoyed the feeling of the light on my scales until it went away and darkness came. At night it felt more dangerous to sit in the open so I retreated back to the core room to sleep. But sleeping on the hard wood was becoming annoying. I was a smart kobold and master of a dungeon, why was I sleeping on wood floors? I opened the interface on the dumb cube and went to the item list to find what I wanted. I had noticed it when I made the other door. >Grass Nest - 2 MP - A small bedding made of bundled grass. >Twig Nest - 2 MP - A small nest of intertwined twigs. >Rosefur Nest - 15 MP - A small bedding made of the furs from Rosefur Fox cubs. How could I ever deny the chance to sleep atop my enemies corpses? Since I recovered about twenty mana across the day and the core itself had reached its limit too I bought two of the nests and put them in the core room. They were just large enough for a kobold to sleep in comfortably and were a nice orange-red collection of small furs that were stuck together with some kind of paste that didn''t smell at all. Why two nests? Obviously because being alone was becoming boring. In the morning it was time to summon my first creature! -------------- I should''ve expected this. All the signs were there but I didn''t pick up on them. I wanted my first minion to boss around, and that minion will be summoned, but I had something else to do before then. >Kobold - 10 MP - A small draconic being that enjoys digging and making traps. >Rosefur Fox Cub - 5 MP - A small fox cub that is born beautiful but can intimidate its enemies. First off, that description of kobolds is entirely untrue. I feel like it''s attacking my choices I''d made so far. Secondly, I took the core and went to the hallway. With a motion I summoned my first ever creature. White light grew into a fox around my size with sharp claws and wicked fangs. It was a cub!? This was the same fox that invaded my dungeon days ago! My scales tingled as I imagined what an adult fox must be like. The fox appeared dizzy and unwell as it stumbled to its feet and struggled to look at me straight for longer than a moment. I vaguely recall that my first memory was... odd. Was that how all dungeon creatures were? "Fox, come here," I said and pointed a claw at a spot in the corridor. It stared blankly at me before doing as I said. Yes, good, that was perfect. I opened up its status on the core''s interface to see how amazing these foxes really were. >Name: N/A >Class: N/A >Race: Rosefur Fox >Gender: Male >HP: 15/15 >MP: 4/4 >STR: 3 >DEX: 4 >AGI: 4 >VIT: 4 >INT: 1 >WIS: 1 >CHA: 3 >LUK: 1 >Skills: [Intimidate Lv.1] >Perks: [Rabbit Hunter] What''s with this incredibly strong body it gets born with? Of course it''s a dumb fox, I nod at the status agreeing with me. Low intelligence and wisdom. Actually, all it had going for it was its physical stats. I was way smarter and something I didn''t really pay attention to was how much luck I had. It started with one but I had twelve. That was probably why I was a dungeon master, it was pure luck. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. The cub yelped as I kicked it into the spiky pit trap. "Kekeke, dumb fox. Show me how great my traps are," I taunted as it fell. Sure enough the spikes at the bottom of the deep pit did their job. The cub tried to land on its feet but was skewered by three of the wooden spikes. It wiggled gruesomely while yelping in pain before finally going still and fading into nothing. Worth every mana point. I did notice that the chips and splinters of the spikes repaired themselves moments later. If I went by how the arrow traps work then whenever the dungeon isn''t in ''delve mode'' it recovers and repairs itself. I went to the entrance room and summoned two more fox cubs. They were going to be the front guard for anything coming through. While they might not be smart they were still mean in a fight. Next I held the core in my claws and summoned my first true minion. White light formed into a shape only slightly taller than me. It, he had mottled brown scales, a tail shorter than mine and straight horns where mine were curved. Overall he was ugly and looked way less smart than me so he was perfect. Just like the foxes it took several moments for him to come to attention and even then it felt like he wasn''t all there. "Hey, do you speak?" I asked. He blinked at me and looked around at the room before turning back to me. "Speak," he said. From his tone I could tell he truly was a perfect minion. The foxes sniffed and roamed around the entrance room and occasionally looked outside but were otherwise unimportant until something invaded. I snapped my claws to get his attention as his gaze kept drifting toward the archway. "Do you need food? Water?" I asked. He shook his head. "No, Master." I grinned at the title but wondered why I was the one who needed food. Probably because being a dungeon master made me smarter and greater than a normal dungeon creature? Kekeke, that was fine with me. Maybe I shouldn''t have spent so much mana on this minion''s nest, but that was okay too. He was going to earn it. Eventually. Now that I had summoned my minion and two distractions I wasn''t sure what to do with them. If they didn''t need food or attention to just meander about I didn''t need to worry about them, right? I checked my minion''s status and was shocked to find out that he had just two and ones! Even the dumb foxes got fours in some stats. He didn''t even have a skill, only a perk called [Expert Reflexes]. Perks were a thing my mind told me were rare things that one earned by doing amazing things, getting them by leveling higher, or being born with one. Every creature was born with one, but I didn''t know they would all be different. Each of the foxes had a perk that was about hunting even if the interface didn''t give me details on them yet. My own sounded awesome but was it really? This minion''s perk was at least something I could guess at. That and none of them had a class. While I knew what a class was because of the weird knowledge that the dungeon granted me I didn''t know how to gain one. "Minion, fight me. I need you to get a class." "''Kay, Master," he said slowly. Without warning he ran and swiped at me with his claws. I stepped out of the way and gently ran my claws across his side. I wasn''t going to actually hurt him because healing him would be too expensive, although I didn''t expect my minion to understand that or do the same for me. I was a step ahead of him every attack and landed rakes that would have disabled or killed him several times. My stats were slightly higher, that was true, yet it wasn''t as simple as that as to why he couldn''t touch me. Every time he attacked I just knew that with my speed I could step out of the way and place my claw just so and it would land. We continued for over an hour until he was so exhausted he couldn''t stand up and I was breathing hard. It still didn''t look like he gained a class. What was I missing? There wasn''t anything in the list so I went back to and the list had changed. >Summon Creatures >Creature Options Why did it suddenly change? I had no guesses but didn''t question it. >Give Classes >Give Skills Oh, here it is! I opened the lists to read them and clacked my fangs. There were very, very few options and all of them required me to use spirits. I only had two and knew to gain more I had to have things die inside my dungeon. The option to give my minion [Claw Techniques] and [Tough Scales] was there but cost a spirit each. It was interesting but also stupidly expensive. >Hunter - 10 MP / 1 Spirit >Trapper - 10 MP / 1 Spirit >Sentry - 10 MP / 1 Spirit >Digger - 10 MP / 1 Spirit All these classes failed to live up to my own and sounded incredibly dull. Perfect for minions and dumb animals then, but to actually use limited resource on them? I could summon two more foxes instead of giving one a class. It seemed so useless. For my new minion though a [Trapper] or [Digger] sounded useful if they helped me with the dungeon. "Hey, minion. What class do you want to be?" "Class?" He blinked. "Maybe¡ª" I didn''t care what he wanted. In the next moment I tapped him in the chest with a glowing claw. It faded into him and I could see the way it clicked in his head and his eyes appeared sharper, his stance more steady. Although he still looked incredibly dumb. "[Trapper], Master?" "Kekeke, yes. Why, did you want to be a [Digger] instead? Too bad, I need more traps to be safe from the foxes." He stared doubtfully at me. "Don''t question me! Now, did you get any useful skills?" I could always check his status if I wanted but to be honest I was enjoying talking to another kobold. So far it was the second best decision I''d made today. The first was obviously testing my spiky pit. "It was [Simple Trap] and [Light Step]," he said. I waited for him to explain further and he shrugged. "And? What traps can you make? Do they appear with mana or do you need stuff to make them?" "Ah." He touched the floor and tight string appeared as it connected to two tiny raised lumps of floor. "Mana." I ran a claw along the string to inspect it. The spell had raised the floor just a little bit and created the string through it, no wider than I was tall. It was at a good height to get stuck on a foot and when I tested it myself it was strong enough to trip me up, although it broke when I did so. It faded away after it was used. So it was good for when I was invaded but not for preparing like the dungeon''s traps were? The lumps of raised floor didn''t disappear though so we waited for maybe ten minutes before they too vanished. "A good spell. You sure you don''t need food?" My minion nodded. "Yes, Master. No food, only need magic in dungeon." "Then rest for now, we fight again after." While we rested I went over the morning and felt a grin creeping up. Although it had cost me a spirit point I now had another kobold with a class, and a tripwire was a good simple trap if he could put it next to a pitfall or a sneakier trap. Even in a fight it was good since it was quickly cast. I glanced dubiously at my minion. Probably not in battle though. We fought again and this time I had to take him more seriously. A class and a couple skills made a world of difference. While he now could understand we weren''t trying to kill each other, my [Claw Techniques] put me above him when it came to landing swipes but now I could barely land a hit on him. While he was still clumsy using his claws he could react far faster than I expected. Good, I needed skilled minions. We had foxes for being slaughtered while us kobolds took down the enemies. After several hours of fighting and resting I landed a good counterattack on him and knocked him down for the last fight. My stamina and body were a lot better than his as well so he tired out sooner than I did. I sat down and began resting. "Enough, that was good. We rest until we sleep." I didn''t think training would pay off so quickly! Kekeke, my minion had no hope to beat me now. Hmm, that won''t do. I can''t let him be weak now that I''d given him a class. I''d have to show him how to use his claws and fight with him more so he could also get this skill. I sat up and waved at him. "Get up, minion. Follow me." I was about to lead him back to the Core Room but I paused to spend some of the mana to summon four more foxes. Yes, what a good group of beasts to take down any invader. My minion locked the doors as we passed through them and went to the Core Room. I set the core on its pedestal and pointed at the second fur nest. "That was is yours to sleep in. Be grateful." He nodded and curled up in the nest almost immediately. There was still hours left before I bothered to sleep so I bought my dinner from the dungeon and began to practice with the mana inside me once again. I didn''t know what I would get from doing so but I knew it was something, and something was always better than nothing. Right before the day was over and I was about to go to sleep the chorus of voices spoke to me again. Wasn''t I amazing? K4 - A Foxy Time on this floor has been reached> The longest message I¡¯d ever seen popped up. Standing up on my minion¡¯s shoulders let me finally put that right above the two arrow traps in the first corridor. The plan was to do the same layout of traps for the other corridor before this annoying message came. ¡°Why is there a limit?¡± I hissed and kicked the dumb core. ¡°Unfair?¡± replied my minion. How was it unfair? This was my life, my safety at risk, because of some dumb rules? Who even put these rules here? If there was a limit on how many traps I could put down, what other limits were there? With my wisdom increased from getting [Mana Manipulation] both me and the core were recovering two mana an hour. With thirty mana to spend still I wasn¡¯t sure what to do with my plans blocked off. Make more rooms or add more creatures? As I was considering my choices an alert rang in my head. The core vanished from my claws, no doubt going to its pedestal in the . A Delve had started. By the time I got out of the hallway it was over which surprised me since it was nearly instant. Of the six foxes I had guarding the entrance room one was dead and the rest surrounded two wild fox corpses. ¡°Oh, what good work.¡± I pet a couple of the foxes heads which they enjoyed and watched the wild fox bodies fade into nothing as the dungeon absorbed them. I didn¡¯t notice anything new, no options or extra spirit points, so I wasn¡¯t sure what absorbing them exactly did. ¡°Hmm?¡± That was odd. No, was it odd? ¡°Minion!¡± ¡°Master?¡± My minion walked up to me and nodded. ¡°Where is my dead fox?¡± He looked at the spot where the wild foxes were. ¡°Dungeon eat.¡± When I glared at him he cowered and hastily corrected, ¡°Dead! Dungeon fox dead.¡± Ah, what did I really expect? Of course I¡¯m the smartest one here so why would my minion know? He had random knowledge at times as a dungeon creature so I was a bit hopeful. ¡°Dungeon creatures revive, right?¡± I asked. It was a more specific question so maybe¡­ ¡°Yes. Need room,¡± he replied cautiously. I pet him on the head too like I did the foxes and hurried back to the . The difference of knowledge I got and my minion got confused me. Wouldn¡¯t it make more sense for me to know these things? There were currently three rooms: the entrance with the archway, the middle room, and the . I grabbed the core and brought it back to the entrance. Honestly I didn¡¯t know it vanished to its room when an intruder came so I could stop worrying about being caught with it. >Upgrade Rooms >Designate Boss Room >Assign Creatures It took all of my awesome self-control not to throw the core at someone. Why hadn¡¯t I seen this before? Of course I wanted a ! I tried to select it but got a feeling of rejection. First limits and now requirements? I mashed down on the message but it refused to tell me anything more. Well, if I couldn¡¯t have a boss then I should upgrade the rest of my rooms. >Kobold Lair - 25 MP The resting spot for all kobolds. Allows assigned kobolds to respawn, requires one bedding per kobold. >Fox Den - 25 MP A home for all foxes. Allows assigned foxes to respawn, requires one bedding per fox. >Rosefur Fox Den - 25 MP / 1 Spirit Requires Fox Den. Allows one assigned fox to become Rosefur Matriarch. Interesting! Kekeke, so if I made a I wouldn¡¯t have to worry, right? I would be able to revive, right!? Before I knew it I had already touched the floor of the which held our nests with a glowing claw. . Please redesignate the and try again> I blinked. Right, I moved the nests over to the middle room and tried again. I might have let my actions get away from me for a moment, but anyone would understand. This time it was successful. The dark red wooden walls slowly melted to resemble a crude cave, although the walls were still wood, with a spherical ceiling. The floor turned into packed dirt with sparse grass underfoot. A fire pit grew in the middle of the room and lit itself with a smoldering flame. The air grew warmer, something that was extremely comfortable over the normally cold rooms. I was giddy when I went to assign myself and my minion to the room. Finally, the fear of dying would be beaten! Ah, dying would still be awful but at least it wouldn¡¯t be the end. I opened the list and froze. I wasn¡¯t there. No, no, where was my name? I mean I didn¡¯t have a name, but my minion was on there! Clearly he was and when I tapped his name I got a very clear image in my head of him. The five dumb foxes were also there as well. Just not me! The core went flying across the room to land in my nest. Is this how you repay your debt, you smug core!? After I protected you and built your dungeon, you abandon me like this? I knew I was a dungeon creature since I had no memories before a couple days ago. Deep down in my spirit I knew, yet why was there a difference between me and my minion. Between me and the foxes? No, it wouldn¡¯t do anything if I continued to be angry at stuff I didn¡¯t understand. It was good that my creatures wouldn¡¯t die permanently. Wasn¡¯t that their role? Ah, I went over to the core and assigned my minion to the . At least his life was secure. I didn¡¯t want to have that spirit point wasted. My minion came into our new lair and marvelled at it. ¡°Is very nice feeling.¡± ¡°Yes, it is. I don¡¯t have more mana to make the right now so we¡¯re training.¡± I motioned for him to get ready and he held up a claw. ¡°Master, can ask?¡± This was surprising. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Claws no good. Feel bad. Give weapon?¡± That¡­ that was a good idea. I liked using my claws, especially the way they feel now that they seem sharper, but a weapon? I flexed my claw and debated on it for a moment. It was true that even after all our training, my minion still hasn¡¯t learned [Claw Techniques]. As was everything in my life, all weapons were made of wood. ¡°Dagger or sword?¡± ¡°Dagger is small, pointy sword?¡± he asked. I nodded and he agreed. Five mana bought him a dagger worth its cost. It wasn¡¯t sharp enough to cut scales but it was solid with a point that could still pierce. Well, not my scales without some serious stabbing, but the fleshy bellies of foxes would be no problem. Hours passed as we fought, my minion still falling behind when it came to landing a blow but he was growing incredibly annoying with how quickly he moved. The dagger was a good idea as where I could easily counter his claws, a dagger kept me at bay with its improved reach. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. It still wasn¡¯t enough to stop me from trouncing him when he got tired. After we finished I had enough mana to buy my meal for the day, especially since I got really hungry after training, and we began the night cycle. My minion, who I was thinking needed a name because he wasn¡¯t always going to be my only minion, played with his new dagger in his nest while I practiced [Mana Manipulation]. Before I slept I went to the entrance room. I had recovered enough mana along with the core to buy all the dumb foxes some . That left enough mana that I would reach my limit when I woke up and could upgrade their room. ¡°You all don¡¯t even appreciate them,¡± I muttered as I watched the foxes gather on their respective beddings. It was hard to believe they were just cubs and it made me think of what the room upgrade said. sounded powerful, but it would be my last spirit point. Did I really want to spend it? I¡¯d sleep on it. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª My scales tingled as I jolted awake. Again? I ran a claw down my face and kicked my minion awake since he was somehow still sleeping. ¡°Get up, lazy minion.¡± ¡°Whuh?¡± he blearily asked. He looked so carefree and sleepy, the exact opposite of how I was feeling now. ¡°You feel it?¡± ¡°Master?¡± So the weird alert I got was something only the [Dungeon Master] could feel then. That made some sense but made me suspect that if I didn¡¯t shape up my kobolds then they would get snuck up on. Not everyone could be as sharp as I was. Yelps and barks were so loud they were coming through the door as we neared the entrance. I decided to peek through instead of go in bravely and was glad I did. A monster twice as tall as my minions with fangs the as long as my limbs and paws as big as my body viciously tore apart one of my foxes with a snap of its jaws. Three of my own were biting into its legs with a fourth on its back, but it seemed unfazed. What was this monstrosity?! ¡°Minion, go help them!¡± I demanded. His feelings about it were well summed up in the look he gave me, but my orders were absolute and he snuck through the door. I remained behind to watch and retreat if I needed to. Hopefully his training would be enough. A howl tore through the dungeon that froze my blood and bones. It hurt to move, my body locked up with terror and it was even worse for my creatures. The fox on its back fell off like a bag of meat and the others biting its legs slid down without resistance. My minion recovered just as I did and boldly jumped onto its back. The visage of the beast twisted as his dagger found a place in its neck twice. It broke the spell on the fox cubs and they immediately went back to tearing into this huge beast. A paw swiped at a fox and sent it flying into the wall as three separate pieces, sliced by its claws and pulverized by its strength. It was barely as fast as one of the cubs, yet its strength was so much more that it only took one hit. While each bite of the cubs wasn¡¯t much, they added up as the beast¡¯s dark red fur became as black as its underbelly and maw when it was slick with its blood. A twist of its neck and a snap tore another cub into pieces and I watched a true feat of bravery in that moment. Minion leapt from its neck to its face and stabbed the crude wooden dagger in its eye. Of course the next moment it turned its head sideways and immediately devoured the fool, but his act was an amazing one still. It only took moments for it to crush the remaining foxes. Oh it looked incredibly hurt from its battle, but now I had absolutely zero creatures to send at it and wasn¡¯t liking my chances after all I¡¯d seen. Its eyes met mine. I could feel the beat of its paws as I dashed toward the , threw open the door, and turned back to chance a look before I closed the door. Ah, I could¡¯ve locked the entrance door¡­ It ran through the open door and triggered my traps. Finally they were being put to good use! A large block of wood fell from the ceiling and crashed into its head sending it to the floor and just in time as two wooden arrows shot out to pierce its neck. What good traps they are, it was such a disappointment that I had a limit on them. Somewhere in my head it told me there was a way to increase the limit but I ignored it. I had bigger things to worry about! Even my amazing traps hadn¡¯t put down the beast for good. ¡°Kekeke, stupid beast. You¡¯ll never defeat me. I am the great¡ªAhh!¡± It rushed to its feet and lunged at me, somehow crossing the entire corridor before I could blink. Wasn¡¯t it super slow before?! It was so surprising that I reflexively slammed the door closed. And promptly forgot that it opened both ways unless locked. met a giant beast head on with a sick thud that I saw part of the door splinter. I waited for my inevitable demise as I readied my claws. It wasn¡¯t going to take me so easily, and I was the strongest in my dungeon! ...Where was it? A low mewling came from the corridor and I peeked past the door. Ah, right, I had a spiky pit trap right outside this door. How did I forget about it? The beast had fallen head first into the pit and had several wooden spikes piercing it throughout, even a couple broken by its weight. I grinned and laughed in delight. Traps were the best! Of course now I had to wait for it to die so my minion, no, my chief minion because he was better than the rest, could revive. Minutes passed and it still wasn¡¯t dead. Go down and kill it myself? No, I am but a simple kobold. How could I do such a thing? Still, it was hanging on for a long time for something that was skewered and already injured. Could I have taken this thing if it passed the pit? That was an answer for another kobold less smart than I. The mewling stopped and what I was thinking as the ended. Whew, close call. Now, how long did it take for my chief minion to revive? My foxes¡­ well, they were only five mana. So that was an adult fox? The body disappeared as the dungeon absorbed it. If that was what one was like then I was definitely investing in that fox room. Having something like that on my side would be very good indeed. The dungeon started to repair the damage it took as I stretched and felt a pleasant crack in my spine. It wasn¡¯t an ideal way to wake up but the day had started already, no sense in going back to sleep. First thing was to check if I gained anything from absorbing such a powerful foe. Hmm, no, not that, oh I now had bone and hide equipment to choose from? Ah, so that¡¯s how it was going to be. I had gained one spirit point. H1 - Whats a job? A knock on the door made him roll over and blearily open his eyes. The sunlight of a new morning nearly blinded him so he decided five more minutes would be long enough for the sun to go away. Reality fact-checked him to his dismay. "Jera, get up! I thought you had an important thing today?" called his mom from the other side of his door. He grumbled out something only his parent would understand. "Alright, alright. Breakfast is ready for you when you''re up," she said with a motherly sigh. In the end it took him those five minutes to convince himself to get up out of bed so he could begin his day. He dressed up in his well-worn clothes, a long shirt and trousers since it was still chilly from winter just ending, before he started to strap on his leather armor. It was a comfortable weight on him now, much like his iron longsword at his hip. Jera went out to the kitchen to find a spread of bread, eggs and oatmeal. "Jeez, can we even afford eggs right now?" "What are you talking about? We can afford this much if its an important day," said his mom with a smirk. That smirk died when she inspected his armor. "Oh. I thought you were finally going to ask out that pretty girl, the one with the hat. You stopped bringing her around recently though, so Mom is worried." "Sera didn''t want to come over anymore ''cause you kept making those suggestions!" Jera glared at his mother as he scarfed down his food. "Me, suggestions? Why I never." "Mom, you literally asked her when the baby was due." "Because I need a grandbaby! What with you and your brother still working for the Guild I can''t help but worry." She sat at the table and began eating her own meal while glancing at the empty third chair. "Mr. Hammond told me yesterday he was in the need of an apprentice. I was wondering, well." Jera loved his mom, really, but hearing the same thing every day since his brother had taught him the [Swordsman] class and signed him up for the Guild he never thought of doing something else. Something... as mundane as becoming a [Butcher]. It clearly showed on his face since his mom trailed off. "Honey, I know losing a class is a huge leap¡ª" "I''m level eight." "¡ªyes, yes, but in town it''s safe. You wouldn''t need to risk your life for levels. Mr. Hammond hit fifteen last month and he''s only thirty-two years old." "And I''m half his level after only three years." "Alright, I get it. I don''t want to get you in a mood for whatever plans you have today." She smiled sadly. "So are you meeting up with that young lady?" Jera knew she wouldn''t stop unless he admitted to something. "Yes, I am. Sera''s cousin reached level five yesterday so we''re going to party up with her." "Ah. So..." She stared at Jera. He nodded and they finished their meal in silence. After rinsing off both their dishes and drying them he grabbed his backpack from near the door and sighed to himself. Slowly he backtracked to his mother and gave her a hug. "I''ll be back, okay? It''s just to the edges." "Be safe." Jera left his house and stepped into the city. A few morning carriages rolled along the dirt street trying to get their business done early and avoid the midday influx of foot travelers and merchants. Wood buildings, rarely higher than one story, were packed together side by side but to compensate had wide streets. It wasn''t as glamorous as one of the inner cities like Patlen or Riol, with their fancy stone streets and brick mansions Jera had seen once on a trip with his brother. At least his city has good public order and was a key trading stop for many. He hurried along in order to not be late for his meetup. As he neared one of the only three-story buildings as well as one built with an actual design instead of blocky structure he saw his partner relaxing against a large pillar underneath the entrance. She glared at him and gestured at a short, blond girl next to her that he didn''t know with long hair and was wearing nice blue robes. Sera, with her constant scowl and short brown hair was equipped much like him except with a more sparse armor placing to emphasize better movement. "Are you sorry?" Jera blanked. "Yes?" "You don''t even know what for. See, this is why I told you he was no good," said Sera to the younger girl. "B-But you always talk about how good he is and how lucky you are to have him as a partner." Jera felt the blood rush to his face and quickly glanced around to see if anyone was paying attention. Sera, being her usual self, sighed. "It''s true, but he''s so useless outside of work. I told him all week and he still forgets the time to meet. Whatever, this is the dumb [Swordsman] Jera. Jera, this is my cute and prodigal cousin, Claire." "Ah. hey. I heard you hit level five. Uh." Jera shot a look at Sera. "Congratulations on being a... [Mage]?" Sera punched him in the shoulder. "She''s an [Acolyte], you idiot! I"ve been bragging about her for weeks." Jera rubbed his shoulder. "Hey, I just thought since you were a [Mage] she would be one too. So, the big five, huh? What''s on the agenda today, captain?" Sera pointed a thumb into the building. "Let''s go and see. The original plan was to hit up the outskirts and see if we could get some easy practice in. Claire here hasn''t been blooded yet so I want something simple. Maybe some slimes or beetles." The group headed inside the large double doors and were hit with the loud chattering of voices, cheers and activity as dozens of people of all sorts milled about, sat at large tables eating and conversing, or grouped around a huge bulletin board off to the west wall. Near the board was a counter manned by two older men and one elderly lady. "Come on, Claire. We need to get you registered," said Sera as she gripped Claire''s hand. Jera followed behind enjoying the morning atmosphere. It would become hectic in a few hours when all the people like him, that is if he didn''t have Sera to constantly manage him, would normally get around to working. They waited in a brief line at the counter before the elderly lady could help them. "Welcome to Ardor''s Commission Guild. Ah, I''ve seen you kids around here. I''ll save you the usual spiel and you can tell this old woman how she can help." Sera leaned on the counter and gave a smile the likes of which he couldn''t help but be envious of. "We need to get my cousin registered and need some easy work. Maybe on the outskirts or somewhere around there?" "That sounds easy enough." The elderly woman handed Claire a sheet of paper and tapped the spot where there was a quill and inkwell. "You''ll have to read and sign it yourself, dear. If you can''t..." Claire stepped up with defiant eyes. "I can do that much!" "I expected as much," said the woman with a small smile and a glance at Sera. "For current commissions there are plenty of city submitted ones up on the board. The current ones open by the Guild are for any of the standard creature parts with a special on goblin ears." "Eww," muttered Claire as she finished filling out her form. "Why would you want their ears?" "To be honest we could use the entire body but it is often troublesome to haul bodies over long distances so adventurers usually only bring back the most important parts. As for the special, well..." The woman looked troubled. "There have been a lot of sightings recently and even a couple people have gone missing. A lot of creatures will be getting active now that winter is ending and in search of food." Sera patted Claire on the back. "Thank the lady, Claire. It''s not the Guild''s job to give out free information." "Oh. Thank you, Miss." "No, thank you for your efforts, Miss Claire. As of now you''re officially part of Ardor''s Commission Guild. It''s nothing fancy but we always appreciate the efforts of any brave soul willing to risk it out in the wilds. Even if you stick to only doing city commissions we are always grateful." Jera stepped up alongside Sera and placed seven copper pieces on the counter. "So when you say a lot of sightings, how many are we talking? Ah, sorry, but our plan is to blood Claire here and we don''t want anything too dangerous." The lady''s face steeled itself and took the coins. "Quite a lot. Normally the Rosestone Swamp is a fairly low level area on the outskirts and gets worse as you go deeper, especially north, so we don''t see goblin raids as often on our west side compared to the eastern section. Please be careful about going deeper if you spot any as there have been reports of larger than normal groups." Sera frowned while Jera listened. The swamp was massive, easily spanning days of horse travel in both north and southern directions, with no way to easily clear through it. It was also the only thing between the Riolu Empire from the tribes of beastkin that lived in the east. While they weren''t at war with them relations were usually hostile. Jera honestly didn''t get it but Sera was a different matter. "Thanks. Still up for it?" asked Jera. "It''ll be fine. You worry too much,¡± said Sera while slinging an arm around Claire''s neck. The elderly lady whispered to Claire, "Be tough." Since they weren''t taking a city commission the group left the Guild and headed out of the city. It was something that Jera and Sera had done too many times to count in order to level up and train their skills. They went along a route they were familiar with to head toward a specific clearing on the edge of the swamp. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. "So, um, why are we going to fight slimes or, ick, goblins?" asked Claire. "This whole blooded thing is because, well..." Sera laughed and hugged Claire from behind. "It''s because you haven''t killed a creature yet. It''s okay to be scared of killing, you know? As an [Acolyte] it won''t even be your job. If someone as cute and adorable as you had to be on the frontlines then me and Jera probably kicked it!" Jera hissed at her. "Hey, that''s not funny." Sera glanced back at Claire who was looking at her with wide eyes. "Oh, yeah, don''t worry about that. We''d have to fight some crazy thing in order to flub up that bad." "Why? Aren''t goblins dangerous?" asked Claire. Jera shrugged. "Yeah, everything is dangerous, but unless they''re old or are Hobs they rarely have levels beyond five. That in itself is rare unless it''s a whole tribe." "That and they barely ever get classes better than low tier! Even those are pretty awful so they''re perfect for us beginners. Ah, by the way Claire, can I ask what you chose? I know it''s like super rude to do so, but I''m just curious," said Sera. Claire squirmed and ducked out away from Sera''s hug. Jera thought she was probably only a couple years younger than him and Sera. She truly was gifted if she was level five at her age. "Ah, promise you won''t laugh?" "Promise," said Jera. Sera wavered on it before she too promised. "It was [Lesser Smite]." Sera burst out laughing to which Jera slugged her in the shoulder, also a minor payback for earlier. "It''s not that funny, jerk. It''s alright, Claire, just surprising." "An aggressive skill from someone so adorable! I know you should''ve qualified for [Lesser Heal] too. Ah, dang, most choose the heal if they can because getting [Heal] is a huge pain. Some don''t even qualify for it at level twenty, or so I hear." Sera inspected Claire closely then accused in a lower voice, "Where''s your weapon?" Jera wondered that too since the girl had chosen a smite skill. If Sera said she qualified for [Lesser Heal] then she at least had [Minor Heal]. It was always a pain lugging their bodies all the way back to town to get healing and it was far too expensive to carry a lot of recovery items. They had a couple for emergencies but at two silver per potion... Claire pushed Sera back and glared at her with teary eyes. "I use my hands, okay? A [Monk] at the church taught me [Fist Techniques] because I thought it was cool! I don''t want to be a healer, I want to be like you, okay?" Sera blinked and smiled warmly at Claire. "Aww, thanks. I won''t laugh anymore, I promise for real. Everyone always looks at me weird when I say I''m a [Mage]." She adopted a snarky tone. "You don''t wear robes! Where''s your hat or magic focus? Where''s my [Fireball]?¡± Jera coughed at that. "H-Hey! That was one time and a fireball would''ve really helped and my mom really liked your hat. Besides, I was joking!" "Don''t mind Jera though, he''s just a boring [Swordsman]. Hit things with sword, repeat. Every party needs a Jera." Claire nodded and they were nearing the edge of the swamp. Jera was seeing movement in the shadows of the trees and felt sweat on the back of his neck as his [Sense Presence] skill activated. So far it didn''t seem like anything more than maybe a single goblin, maybe two, something they could easily deal with. "There''s a couple maybe under the trees to our right," he said. "See? One in every party. Now let''s traumatize a teenager!" yelled Sera with far too much enthusiasm in front of said teenager they were probably going to traumatize. Claire ignored it because she was probably used to her cousin and instead glanced between the [Swordsman] and [Mage]. "So, um, is it me or are your names very similar?" Sera ran on ahead as Jera sighed. "We don''t talk about that in this party." "Oh, sorry. I''m just nervous," said Claire. It was true that her robes looked near pristine and if he was honest a bit impractical. Maybe for an ordinary [Acolyte] but if Claire favored fighting with her hands they would get in the way. Just more reasons Jera knew she needed practical experience and also why Sera insisted on this whole ordeal. Sera sprinted up to the trees and peered inside, the sunlight still filtering through the tree canopy but darkened as it grew thicker deeper inside. Jera focused on his skill and yelled, "More to your right, maybe behind that tree in the back!" Claire watched in confusion as Sera didn''t bother with a reply and took off according to his directions. Jera and Claire were catching up to her as they picked up their pace. An awful noise like a gurgling cry came as Sera rounded on a tree. It was short, almost childlike in stature with green skin, long ears and red eyes. Jera had seen enough goblins to know that this one was young, maybe born just before winter, and definitely out of its league. Sera kept a hand on her sword at her waist and went behind the goblin to flank it. Sera''s speed as usual was always surprising for a [Mage] as it was on par with his as a [Swordsman] despite her not getting any stats to agility. It just showed how hard she had trained to obtain physical stat skills since [Mage] gave intellect and wisdom. "Wow, she''s fast! Is it normal for you to be so fast, Sera?" asked Claire as they neared them. The goblin was panicking but knew that if it fled it would be cut down. To fight also meant to be cut down and no matter what anyone said even goblins as young as this one were smart enough to figure that out. Sera was focused and ready to strike at any moment but still smirked and answered. "No, not at all. You know I''m actually aiming to be a [Magic Swordsman], but actually doing it? Ah, it''s hard, truly very hard." Jera assumed the same stance as Sera. The goblin thought it was finally finished and tried to make a last ditch effort to flee only to be cut off by Jera. The two of them might have been a bit of an unorthodox pair but they had excellent teamwork to show for all their training. "Alright, Claire, it''s time. This goblin is young, maybe has just gained its class. Kill it by yourself," stated Jera. Claire backed up and looked to Sera for help only to find her looking stern in place of the wild and carefree girl she was. There would be no salvation there. The goblin sensed the situation it was in and reached down, slowly as it glanced between its captors, to grab a rock. While the two noticed what it did Claire had missed it entirely. Still, as cruel as it was, they couldn''t help her beyond saving her life if it came down to it. And then they would try again, and again until she finally succeeded or quit. Fighting wasn''t for everyone and this was a rite of passage. First blood went to the goblin. It threw the rock at Claire''s head and snatched up another as it ran at her. The rock smacked into her forehead so she flinched when the goblin smashed the rock into her knee. "Ahh!" She yelled and fell to the ground. Sera was about to step in when Jera shook his head. Claire rolled away from the goblin as it tried to bring the rock down on her chest and scrambled back to her feet, her robes now dirty and streaked with green and brown. Her eyes were tearing up and she was sniffling as she clenched her fists and took a stance with one foot forward. The goblin cackled, a grating noise no matter how much he heard it, and threw the rock at Claire. Claire snatched it out of the air and threw it back in one motion. That was impressive! It pegged the goblin in a similar spot to where Claire was hit, a vengeful move that Jera expected Sera might do, and burst forward to quickly close the distance in a couple steps. She even had a movement skill? "[Lesser Smite]!" It was a strike that Jera could tell was practiced. Even as he read the hesitation in Claire''s movements her punch didn''t falter. A golden energy enveloped her fist and when it struck the goblin''s head it exploded. Not just the light but the actual head. Jera whistled. Even with the level difference, Claire was only five. To kill a goblin in one hit when it should''ve taken two normally was impressive. Well, with her strength maybe that rock did more than a tiny bit. He wouldn''t have expected such a small girl would to take such skills. "Aww, you did it! Claire, I''m so¡ªClaire?" Claire''s face contorted and she broke down crying. Jera rubbed the back of his neck and felt awkward. He wasn''t ashamed to say he reacted the same way, although apparently Sera had wanted to kill another one right after her initiation. Sera looked between Jera and Claire and fumbled. "Ah, um, there there? It''s okay, see, you''re fine, just a bump on the forehead and oh your knee. You can cast [Minor Heal], right? Shh, hey," said Sera as she tried to soothe her cousin. Jera gazed around the area and deeper into the swamp. [Sense Presence] wasn''t picking up anything nearby, although further ahead there was a reaction. It wasn''t precise that far out at its level. It was going to be a long day. K5 - New friends The entrance room was a problem. Filling it with foxes might have been a good idea at the time, but I had a couple more attacks in the night by wild foxes after I had just replaced my own had them dying before my mana recovered to upgrade the room. Now I was thinking that upgrading it at all might be useless. Still, my only creatures I had to summon were foxes or more kobolds, who I didn''t have a powerful room upgrade for, so foxes were still my plan. In the morning I gathered up their grass nests and moved them to a new room off to the side of the middle room. It was a like all my others because I enjoyed how sharp it felt over the weird round shape of the entrance room. Also because it bothered me I created a matching room on the other side of the middle room so now I had one room in the middle with four connecting to it. Something about the exact evenness of it all pleased me. If the entrance was south of the kobold lair and the core was north, I was making the west room into the . With all the nests moved I checked on our statuses to see if I had enough mana to summon foxes and upgrade the room. >18 / 18 MP >2 Spirits >Floor One: 1 Core Room, 1 Entrance Room, 1 Kobold Lair, 2 Simple Rooms. >1 Kobold [Dungeon Master], 1 [Kobold Trapper] Hmm, the mana was already back after spending it last night? When I went to check my status I couldn''t resist the urge to laugh in glee. My wisdom had risen quickly thanks to my new skills and with my level I now had thirty-six mana and I was getting one mana back every twenty minutes! That was like... a lot of mana a day since the core also recovered at the same rate as me. And the most important thing was that I could spend just over fifty mana on something. Of course that meant I could easily summon five fox cubs and then immediately upgrade the room to a . As the white light was transferred from my claw the room warped. The wood floor melted then grew into lush green grass as high as my waist, the nests morphed into weird intertwined balls of grass that a cub was just big enough to curl up inside of, and strange enough of all was that the wooden roof broke in several spots to let sunlight come in. It was a huge change instead of the little one the did. While I waited for my mana to recover enough to upgrade it to a I watched the dumb foxes enjoy their new home and assigned each of them to the room so that if they died they would revive. Speaking of which my chief minion came back to life. He was sulking in the lair and staring at his dagger. Was it my job to go ask why he was sulking? Mm, I sort of cared because he was mine, right? Yet at the same time I was feeling amazing and didn''t want to have him infect me with whatever he was thinking about. I clacked my fangs and wandered into our lair to see what he was on about. There was still a few hours until I had enough mana and I really wanted to try and train more. The adult fox was a really close call, too close for comfort, and I wanted to be able to at least take a single adult fox by myself. Overly ambitious you say? No, isn''t it natural to want to be able to do something all my weak minions could do by myself? "Hey, lazy minion, get up," I said as I neared him. He was laying on his nest and carving a groove in the floor with his wooden dagger. He didn''t even look at me! I kicked him in the side. "Hey!" "Why? No enemy," he mumbled and failed to move. "Why? Me saying it is not enough?" He glanced up at me and returned to his dagger poking. "No." That stunned me. I thought all creatures had to listen to what I said, but maybe that was only the dumb ones? Minion wasn''t as smart as me but he still had a class. Hmm, if I couldn''t command him to stop being lazy how do I do it? What motivates lazy and probably sad minions? I kicked him in the side. He ignored me so I did it again harder. This time he slapped my foot away with his dagger and hissed at me. "What you want?" I threw my claws up in the air. "For you to not be lazy or sad or whatever! Lots of things to do and I need my minion." "Feh, minion," he muttered and rolled onto his back with his limbs spread out. "I bait and snack. Big fox eat one bite." I pulled at my horns in frustration. "It was just one dumb fox. A big one but it died too. Wait, are you sad you''re weak? That you got gobbled up so easy? Kekeke, my minion is a fool, huh?" He glared at me but the heat in his eyes died quickly. "Not fool. I level but still weak. Dying hurt lots too." "Kekeke! What a fool minion, so sad," I mocked. It was just too funny to me because I had known that truth since day one. A mere cub almost killed me at the very start but I had came very far since then! Dumb cubs were no match for me now and my new goal is the adult fox. "I''m smart, you know? Minion could always ask me. ''Master, how do I become not weak?'' the fool asks." He sat up and gripped his dagger hard. Oh, was this it? Did I finally get to him enough that he would attack me? Come on, do it and let me show you how weak you really are. Yet that anger died again and he slumped. I kicked him in the chest, held him down with my foot, and glared down at him. "Ask." He tried to push me off but couldn''t do it. "Master, how I be not weak?" I grinned. "By following me." He grumbled. "You [Dungeon Master], already follow." I stepped off his chest and clacked my fangs. "No, dumb lazy minion. Get up and follow me." When he finally climbed to his feet he followed me to the and was amazed at it like I was. It was definitely a different feeling with the grass both beneath our feet and brushing against our waists. "See these foxes? One nearly killed me on the first day. Now they stand no chance. Minion, how many days old are you? Keke, not many but still beat any of the foxes, right?" He nodded. "One fox? Easy. Two very tough." "But you leveled up. Now you''re stronger, maybe three foxes just for you. You were very important in the battle and I saw you stab the big fox''s eye. It didn''t see the pit because of you and died. Right then I thought that this kobold is now my chief minion. When I summon more kobolds he would be their leader." "But you Master." "Of dungeon. So stop being lazy and sad because you''re stronger and will get stronger. Death? Kekeke, that''s very scary for me. For you is just way to get less weak. Fight, level up, maybe die but why care?" "Not so easy because scary. You smart but..." "Yes yes, words don''t make it less scary or painful. But the big fox gave us a present. After I upgrade this fox room and make more kobolds I''ll give it to you," I said. "Really?" I kicked him so that he disappeared below the grass. "Yes, it''s my job to make everything not weak in my dungeon. I also don''t want to be weak and sad like a certain minion. Hmm, soon you won''t be the only minion. Maybe give you name." All laziness and traces of sad vanished from his face as he shot up to his feet. "Name!?" What would a good name be? Even I didn''t have a name but my minions could just call me master. If he was going to be my chief minion, then what about Chief? No, maybe if I made it shorter? Chif? Cef? Maybe all of ''chief minion'' then. "Yes, your name will now be Chion!" His eyes sparkled which was gross so I kicked him again. "Thank you, Master!" At least he was no longer moping in his nest. I went over to the core that was sitting in the middle of the room and basked in the sunlight. The entrance was the only other room with sunlight so it was nice to enjoy it in a safe room instead of a room that anything could burst through at a moment''s notice. Chion appeared to enjoy it as well and chased the fox cubs that hid and ran around the room as time passed. The original plan was to train while waiting but watching over my creatures like this was pretty nice. "Finally." My mana had recovered to twenty-seven, just enough to go through the interface and upgrade the room. I was waiting for an amazing change like both room upgrades had been but instead only two things occured. The grass took on a slight red coloring and a huge bundle of sticks and grass shaped like a small hut appeared. "Grab me one of the cubs," I told Chion. It took him seconds to tackle one of the foxes and haul it over to me. It didn''t matter which one was chosen anyway since they were all new summons. I tapped it on its head with my glowing claw and the cub changed with a flash similar to how basically everything was summoned in the dungeon. Sitting in front of us now was the same monstrous adult fox that had attacked us although considerably more friendly. I checked its status and was impressed by how much it had changed. All of its physical stats had been tripled, although it was still pitifully stupid, and it gained a skill called [Pack Leader] which I was guessing was a charisma skill although I still had no way to check skill information. Wait, it still doesn''t have a class? It was so strong it could tear into me already! I didn''t want to use my last remaining spirit point to give it a class no matter how it amazing it would be. I knew that we could gain classes somehow without me having to give them, but using the dungeon''s way was far quicker. "Ah, it not so scary now," said Chion before climbing up on the Matriarch''s back. Well, that was all the mana I had waited for and it was worth it to get done. We were soon going to enter the night cycle when the sun went away and I still wasn''t sure about my future, future plans. Future plans was to summon more kobolds and figure out what I needed to get a . I still had an empty eastern room and that pesky entrance room to do something with. It was dawning on me that my plans would never cease. That this was what it meant to be a [Dungeon Master] and I felt that same creeping fear, that longing of wanting to run away, that I felt the first minute I realized I had been chosen. Quit and pass it off to another minion? No, please ask a dumber kobold. The power and control I had, or at least that I would get in the future, would be worth it. That''s what I told myself as I enjoyed the fading sunlight. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª >Bone Dagger - 10 MP A crude dagger fashioned from a large fang. >Bone Sword - 10 MP A jagged blade carved from a long bone. >Bone Knife - 10 MP A short jagged blade carved from bone. >Wooden Bow - 10 MP A crude bow carved from a dark red wood and strung with twine. >Quiver of Bone Arrows - 12 MP A quiver made of hide that holds ten arrows. Replenished once per delve. That night, instead of summoning more kobolds, I stared at the weapon list. I had forty mana before I was going to sleep and I knew that a was on the menu. I enjoyed using my claws a lot, like a whole lot, but the temptation of more skills was there if only because skills gave you stats. Chion had gained the [Dagger Techniques] skill after coming back to life and I was figuring it out. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. His class was awful. Maybe it was all the classes I was able to give but each level only gave two of his stats a point. Mine increased every stat! He couldn''t use his claws because his strength was still a one while his dexterity was far higher. To learn skills meant that you had to at least be able to handle them. Sure I didn''t have much more strength than him when I got my skill but my reasoning was still good. That meant that I was capable of learning anything, right? I was thinking it over while also wondering what the difference between a knife and a dagger was. They were both short stabby weapons, or so I had thought. Maybe a dagger was more stabby and a knife was halfway between stabby and slashy? There was no way I was getting a sword and bows sounded hard to use with claws. My claws in particular would cut a string with ease. Bah, deciding was for kobolds with less mana recovery than I. A pair of good decisions later and I had a bone knife in one claw and the dagger in the other. Yep, as I thought, one was super pointy and the other looked like it could tear with its jagged edges instead of cut. "Chion, your reward," I said and tossed the dagger to him. He caught it barely by the blade and fumbled until he had the handle in his grip. Egh, he was drooling over it. Was it really that good? "What are you going to do with the wooden one?" He looked at me questioningly. "Both mine though?" "Keke, I see. How greedy. Do you want a shield too?" Chion spat at that. What did shields ever do to you? "Give armor." Well, calling it armor might be a bit much. We were naked except for our scales so anything could really be armor. I opened the list and wanted to throw the cube-core again. I couldn''t buy armor as a full thing apparently as they only came in specific pieces, each for five mana a piece. The reason is so that even dumb weak dungeons could put out full armor sets eventually? Of course I knew that! I was actually wondering why everything was able to fit a kobold. Did it go off the [Dungeon Master]''s race? It irked me like a little detail I should know but didn''t really care all that much about since it worked out for me. Although... giving armor to the Matriarch would be satisfying. A big, nasty armored fox? That idea was almost as good as my traps. With my remaining mana I got Chion a and . Yes, it definitely worked in weird ways since the cap had holes for his horns to go through comfortably. "Master, you best!" yelled Chion as he hurriedly put on his armor. I inspected him up and down and was incredibly satisfied with his appearance. He still was pretty ugly but he was a picture of competence with his daggers now hanging on the side of his tunic. It even had little straps to hold them! Core, are you actually smart and are creating things like I envision? The startled me enough that Chion noticed. I wasn''t ever going to get used to that since it was deeply unpleasant. "We have an invader. Go check it out." Chion fiddled with his tunic. "What if big fox?" I stood up and readied to kick him. "And if it''s a big fox?" "...I fight." That''s what I thought he meant to say. "Go now?" The urge to kick him was there, at the tip of my toes, but we did have traps in the hallway and nothing in the entrance room. Maybe it would just leave if we waited long enough. "Fine, we wait a little bit." And we did. I wasn''t overconfident in that my defenses were perfect but the sense of urgency wasn''t there. Chion and the Matriarch was enough to handle maybe even two adult foxes after they were hurt by the traps although it may be something even stronger than them. No, thinking that way was going to make me nervous. My scales tingled. Ah why did I think of that? An entire hour had passed and the alert hadn''t gone away. "Chion, go and see what it is." With his time excuse already used up he nodded and left through the door. I locked it behind him in case he was devoured by a monster, for security purposes. To my disappointment he came back uneaten yet the alert wasn''t gone. "Thing there. Trying leave but can''t. Small, green," reported Chion. That was... disturbing. It was trying to leave but couldn''t? What did that mean? I followed Chion over to the entrance door to peek through and saw what he was talking about. It was about as tall as us with long ears and green flesh wearing a big brown rag as clothing and had a pointy stick as a spear. Kekeke, the knowledge told me it was a goblin and that it was just as pathetic as a kobold! By looking at its dumb face I could tell it didn''t even have a class. What was truly interesting was that it clawed at the barrier that prevented me from leaving the dungeon. "Why can''t it leave? It''s an invader," I whispered to Chion. "Don''t know." I didn''t like the fact that invaders couldn''t leave. The best fight was the one that didn''t involve me after all. Now I had to choose whether to leave it in my entrance or kill it. I didn''t think that I would get something from killing it other than being able to summon a goblin, and if I was being honest I really didn''t want to summon such ugly creatures. At least the foxes looked nice and there was bound to be a handsome kobold eventually. "Go fight it, but don''t kill it yet." Chion snuck out into the entrance so quietly it surprised me. Was that his [Light Step] skill? The goblin didn''t hear a thing besides its own crying as it tried to escape and couldn''t. Right as Chion got behind it ready to pierce its neck with his new dagger the goblin finally reacted. It drew its pointy stick, because really it was not an actual weapon, and attacked Chion. "Waahh, [Pierce]!" We were both surprised for but different reasons. The stick moved far quicker than it should''ve and managed to pierce Chion''s tunic and scales and gave him a scratch which made him retreat. Of course he would when something so pathetic looking had managed to injure him with a literal stick! I rushed out into the room and signaled. "You speak?" Chion grumbled, "Master?" The goblin jumped in fright and frantically switched between pointing his stick as me and at Chion. "Who are you? Why can''t I leave? Now that I saw it up close I could see the signs. The way it held itself and that spark in its eyes that told me it had a class. Ah, I underestimated it because of the knowledge I got from the dungeon. Still, it really had an ugly and dumb looking face. I forgave the past me for the misinformation. "Chion, hold for a moment," I told him before focusing on the goblin. "I''m the [Dungeon Master] here and you''ve invaded it." "What? You lie, no dungeon here days ago!" Ah, that was true and sort of put how awesome I was in perspective. "New dungeon. Kekeke, little goblin, what am I going to do with you? Maybe chop you up and let the dungeon eat you or maybe have a nibble myself? How do goblins taste I wonder?" I was being entirely honest. Fox meat was really good but I had no idea what any other meat tasted like. Hmm, point in favor of killing it. "No! I don''t want to die!" it howled so loud it hurt my ears. "Shut up or I''ll make your tongue go first." It stopped and stared wide-eyed at me. "Hmm, maybe I won''t kill you but why shouldn''t I?" "Uh, because I''m good goblin?" It at least wasn''t dumb enough to think that would''ve worked."Oh, oh! I bring you things. Dungeon eats things that not goblin and you let goblin go?" I pulled out my new knife and stalked toward the goblin. It gulped and backpedaled but was blocked by the barrier. "Well, that''s a good idea, but how about this? I let you go and you bring me things. Stones, plants, bugs, even the swamp water. If you do I don''t chop you up and eat you. Kekeke, that''s such a good idea I''m glad I thought of it." "B-But¡ª" I, uh, didn''t really know how to work a knife threateningly so I went with the easier approach. My claws wrapped around its throat and I pulled it toward my fangs. "But?" "Very good idea!" I threw it to the ground and winced at the foul smell coming from it. Did it just...? Hmm, never had done it myself even though I ate food and berries. Dungeon, why did you make my body work on weird half-rules? "Then it''s a deal. Now, how about you go ahead and leave?" The goblin whined. "Can''t, Chief told me it take one day to leave dungeons!" All these creatures telling me things I really, really should know. Now I was getting an idea of what I should do with the entrance room. "Okay, fine. You stay here and then leave after a day. But in case you thought to run and never come back, maybe I help you a bit? I''m such a generous kobold! Giving you your life and help? Kekeke." The goblin rubbed its throat and eyed me. "What help?" I glanced at the stick and Chion snorted when he saw it. You just got your bone dagger and were already gloating? "You see his weapons? Aren''t they much better than your stick? If you leave and come back like a ''good goblin'' I''ll have a weapon for you. You want a dagger or sword? With that stick maybe you want a real spear?" Ah, I knew that look. It was the face of someone who had dreams. Actually I lied, I had never seen that kind of face before in my life, but I recognized the greed and ambition for what it is since I had the same feelings as well. "Deal. Maybe, maybe dungeon kobold give better spear if I get lots of good stuff?" I shrugged. "Why not? Come, Chion, let''s leave the goblin alone." "So we not kill it?" asked Chion in a whisper. "You didn''t hear me?" I whispered back. "Master speak strange gurgles. Same as goblin." Well now! It all sounded like the same words I normally use, but on second thought when I focused on that conversation I remembered different noises and words that all made sense to me. The knowledge of the language was just... there. Put in my head by the dungeon the same way it gave me the language of kobolds. I waved Chion to follow and we returned to the lair. "I promised the goblin its life and a spear, wood or bone, if it brought things back to the dungeon. Right now all we have access to is wood, bone and hide things with some magic that my skill got me somehow. Anything that goblin can get, if it doesn''t run away and bring its entire tribe back, is worth the mana to buy a cheap weapon." Chion clapped. "Master very smart!" It felt like he was insulting me and I resisted the urge to kick him. The reason I always kicked? Obviously because my claws are really sharp and I might actually hurt my minion. I didn''t have the hobby of breaking what was mine, unless it was a fox. They knew what they did. I laid back in my nest and tried to sleep but couldn''t. The annoying alert kept my senses on the edge. I had to endure a whole day of this? I clacked my fangs. It was going to be a long day. K6 - Even more friends I was calm. The center of control, a creature of such¡­ calmness that no other could compare. I repeated that internally over and over while my claws dug grooves in the floor. Sleep? Is it delicious? Nearly a day had passed, so very soon would I be rid of that pressure in the back of my mind, and I could finally get something done. So much potential wasted, my mana having long been at full, because the dungeon core refused me while I had invaders. Chion watched me warily from his nest, a dagger in each claw. How could he be wary of someone as calm and collected as me? I kept the deal in mind each time the urge to tear apart that little goblin came up. The things that it would bring would improve my options a lot, probably. I never did specify what it should bring, but anything at this point would help. I got up and Chion tensed. ¡°Finally!¡± My suffering had ended and the goblin had finally been able to leave. I dashed to the and snagged the dumb cube off its pedestal. I carried it back to the lair while bringing up the creature list. ¡°Get up, Chion, you¡¯re about to have company.¡± He relaxed his shoulders and put his daggers away on his tunic. ¡°More kobolds?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± White light bloomed in the lair as four shapes morphed into kobolds. Each of them stumbled to their feet with a particularly small one falling face-first to the ground in their confusion at suddenly existing. Ah, more minions, what a wonderful thing! Hmm, I didn¡¯t have enough mana to give each of them a nice fur nest like mine and Chion¡¯s, yet did they even deserve one? I bought them each a and had just enough mana to not blackout. Now that I had a lot more mana since I was first created having barely any made my not-stomach hurt and my head ache. I quickly assigned them to their nests so that they could revive when they died. ¡°Chion, here.¡± I snapped a claw and pointed to my side. All the new kobolds stared blankly at me when I snapped. Ah, they were going to be so dumb until they got classes. I was still wondering how to do that. Maybe the goblin would know? ...Why didn¡¯t I ask when it was locked in here!? Ah, I was so dumb. Past me, please rot in a spike pit because of how dumb you were. It even had a skill for combat and I just ignored it. Truly my worst enemy is that awful alert. ¡°Listen up, my minions! This is Chion, my chief minion. That makes him your¡­ chief? Yes, your chief! Anything he says you do unless I tell you otherwise. Got it?¡± They nodded their heads. I inspected each one and resisted clacking my fangs. Three of them were males just as ugly as Chion, all taller than both me or him, with a little more muscle. The smaller, clumsy one was a female who was annoyingly better looking than me with her longer tail and shiny scales, but my horns and fangs were far better! I wanted to mess her up but it wasn¡¯t like there were any good males anyway. Chion rested his claws on his daggers and looked impressive if one didn¡¯t know how lazy he was. ¡°I Chief. First thing is fight.¡± Really? It wasn¡¯t like it mattered, right? Ah, well, he was their chief and it wasn¡¯t like I had anything for them to do. My instincts told me to have them gather, hunt and other things normal kobolds probably did but as dungeon creatures they didn¡¯t have any use for that. Their whole existence was to fight and die for the dungeon. The kobolds began to fight with all their strength like Chion did whenever we first sparred. Well, a minute later the three males were dead and the female was bloodied but breathing. It would be a couple hours before they revived. Why did it feel like I wasted my mana summoning them? ¡°Was there a point to that?¡± I asked Chion. ¡°Yes, Master. Fight different, big ones stronger with claws, small one smart and quick.¡± He tapped on his dagger. ¡°She maybe use dagger or knife, big ones you teach claws?¡± ...Was my chief minion actually smart? No no, that couldn¡¯t be, right? I nodded as if I knew about it all along. ¡°Of course, I knew that.¡± Chion gave me a dubious look but stayed silent when I raised a foot. ¡°Lair okay spot, but maybe make room to fight? We get more minions later, will be crowded.¡± ¡°The east room then. I¡¯m still unsure what to do about the entrance room. I want it to be deadly and scary, but if it was I wouldn¡¯t have had the chance to make the deal with the goblin. Leaving it empty is bad, but what to do?¡± ¡°Room?¡± asked the bloodied little kobold as she approached. Ah, her voice was pleasant and easy on the ears. I slowly pulled out my claw that had magically appeared in her chest, blinked, and watched her drop to the floor. Chion frowned at the sight of her body fading away. ¡°Any ideas?¡± I ask Chion completely ignoring what just happened. ¡°Master eats and need drink. Is a lot of mana? Maybe make food room.¡± It was a good idea, but it really wasn¡¯t that much mana now and I was the only one who needed to eat. Although, even if they didn¡¯t need to eat, did dungeon creatures want to eat? Chion fidgeted at my silence and scrutiny. It could also lure things from outside the dungeon and trap them in here. As annoying as the was it was a fact of dungeon life. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll see what I can do when I recover. You want to spar until then?¡± Chion nodded and pulled out his wooden dagger. ¡°Yes, now Chief. Can¡¯t lose to minions,¡± he said with determination. Kekeke, I understand that feeling entirely. After all, it was how I felt every time we fought. We clashed for a few hours, taking breaks when he got exhausted, and worked on our skills. I still wasn¡¯t sure the exact way to gain skills other than practice or doing something constantly. That was how I gained [Mana Manipulation], although even with my practice every day it hasn¡¯t leveled. My [Claw Techniques] was growing close to leveling, a feeling of being on the edge of understanding something but not knowing the thing that would make it all click. There was no flash of light or sound when the kobolds revived. One second they were just there and crawling out of their nests. I created a wooden dagger and tossed it at the small female and smirked when it pegged her in the head. ¡°We¡¯ll do it your way, Chion.¡± He motioned for the female to come over to him. ¡°You three, come here.¡± Chion¡¯s observation was on point as they were taller and had more muscle or bigger claws than he did. I was an exception by simply being me even if I was the smallest of all the kobolds. ¡°Alright, dumb minions, I¡¯m going to show you how to use your claws.¡± One of them snorted and the other two looked at him in confusion. ¡°What, you have a problem?¡± Maybe he was truly dumb since he flicked his tail against the floor. ¡°You small, tiny claws. What teach?¡± Dungeon loyalty at its finest. I glanced at the other two. ¡°You two also think that?¡± One looked confused and the other slightly nodded. Well, even Chion was smart enough to not question me when I told him to fight me. I didn¡¯t wait or tell them to start, instead I ran up to the one on my right who barely nodded and swiped at his knee. He tried to block but when my claw hit his I dug into his wrist and threw him to the ground. Using that momentum I lunged at the foolishly brave one who was shocked into action and tried to rake me. What a useless rake, he only used his arm. I used my entire body to have my claws pierce his own and used my other claw to swipe his leg out from under him. His scales were flimsy and weak and I tore through him with ease. The confused one glanced at the two on the floor and readied himself. Oh, he looked like he had promise. I started off in a light run before jumping at him with a burst of speed. His claws struck my stomach but barely cut through my [Tough Scales] as I knocked him to the floor. My claw wrapped around his throat and I stared into his eyes as he understood I won. I got off him and walked over to the brave one who was climbing to his feet while clutching his knee. ¡°You¡¯re weak, far weaker than me. Big? Tall?¡± My foot crashed into his chest and sent him sprawling. ¡°I¡¯m your [Dungeon Master], and I rule here. If you don¡¯t like it you should get strong. Maybe I teach you how to get strong? Kekeke, but then you never be stronger than me.¡± I held two claws over his eyes as he stared wide. ¡°Insult again and I show you who strong, why I Master. Death not escape, dumb minion.¡± The lapse into basic kobold speech annoyed me as my emotions were running high. I kicked him in the stomach instead of taking his eyes for his rudeness, deciding that I actually needed proper minions and couldn¡¯t just kill them like I did on the foxy occasion. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! ¡°Now get up, I show you real way to use claws.¡± They all got up, the two who questioned me looking frightened but the confused one was staring in awe. I wasn¡¯t sure which look I liked more but both were fitting. I spent the next hour showing them what I was sure was my skill¡¯s knowledge on how to move my body or to angle a proper swipe. I knew I was still weak and it annoyed me, but nobody but myself was ever allowed to say so. I didn¡¯t have things to heal the kobolds after a second round of fighting in which they lay bloody and bruised on the ground while whining in pain. Did they revive at peak health after dying? Did healing naturally help or create any skills? Questions needed answers so I let them lay there as I checked on Chion. Apparently he was a softer teacher than I because the female was still conscious and wasn¡¯t covered in wounds. He was showing her a stab. ¡°No, like this. See?¡± She watched then tried to repeat it but like the other minions failed in moving right. There was no leg or body use, just throwing her arm out with the dagger at least pointing the right way. ¡°Going well? The other minions are done for the day.¡± Chion nodded slowly, his glance at the female unsure. ¡°I not wrong, she like me. Just something missing, maybe class?¡± ¡°No, a class helps but it isn¡¯t the problem. They just need practice until they understand.¡± I frown and shrug. ¡°Probably. You continuing?¡± ¡°Yes. Want succeed before more kobolds,¡± said Chion. I waved and went to gather my core to spend some of the mana I recovered. We had foxes and kobolds now so now I wanted to focus on the dungeon. The eastern room would make a good training grounds because I definitely wanted more kobolds. Chion¡¯s suggestion for the entrance room was interesting but I still wasn¡¯t sold on it. It wouldn¡¯t help defenses or increase our strength and would be mainly for me. Before I forgot I bought a for that goblin when it came back. There was twenty-eight mana to use, although that meant more around twenty so that I didn¡¯t have to feel sick. The entrance room was simple and pleasant as always and its emptiness somehow felt bad when I compared it to my other two upgraded rooms. How would I make it a food room when the floor was still wood? It was looking impossible but I browsed through the list on the core. There wasn¡¯t anything under other than actual food items that my [Dungeon Interface] skill had probably earned me. When it leveled up it granted me a lot of some things like different magic or food, but didn¡¯t get me better armor or weapons. Maybe it mainly increased the kinds of things I could get, but not the quality like stone or metal? I tapped on the last list under and got the biggest list I had seen yet, but sucked in a breath at one particular choice. Why was it hidden here of all places? >Games and Toys >Farming Supplies >Clothing >Small Objects >Tools >Crafting Materials >Workstations >Treasure Chests What was this magical list doing with all these amazing sounding lists under it? No, I calmed down and thought about it carefully. A dungeon couldn¡¯t function on the [Dungeon Master] doing everything. This was the first floor and my instincts for dungeons told me they could go deep, very deep. That meant I should be setting up some rooms for kobolds to maybe be able to improve themselves, right? A training room was exactly the kind of thing that would be good, but I ignored all these background thoughts as the idea of having looked me in the face. A chest containing a treasure that depends on the quality of chest and the room it is placed in. Can be opened once per delve. >Wood Chest - 10 MP >Bone Chest - 20 MP I was a smart kobold so the fact that I only had two chests available meant that they were important and not something my interface skill unlocked. That they could only be opened when I had invaders was¡­ displeasing. It also sounded like dungeon creatures couldn¡¯t open it. Kekeke, chests for invaders only? Then they should get bad treasure! Even if I was upset I was still a kobold of good taste so I created a and planted it right in the middle of the entrance room. It was a simple large chest that was made of splintered and chipped bones intertwined into a container as large as me.No extra treasure from being in an upgraded room! Just to make sure I tried to open it and couldn¡¯t. I clacked my fangs and kicked the dumb thing before sitting on it no matter how uncomfortable it was in order to show my superiority. ¡°Is that mine?¡± I jumped and fell off the chest in surprise as of course the goblin had chosen that exact moment to show up. It was naked and in its arms was its crude rag bulging with random things. The chest was immediately forgotten as I rushed over to the archway to see the goblin. It was still looking at the chest. ¡°Chests are for invaders only because the dungeon hates me. Kekeke, if you want it you¡¯re welcome to come in and get it.¡± Wait¡­ ¡°No, really, please come in and get it.¡± It eyed me warily. ¡°I be trapped for one day again. Is it good stuff in chest?¡± I laughed. ¡°Who knows? First chest for me too. If you don¡¯t want I don¡¯t care. What did you bring, goblin?¡± It hugged the makeshift bag of stuff. ¡°Spear?¡± I had dropped it when I fell off the chest and went to pick it up. Since kobolds and goblins were roughly the same size it was a proper spear for the goblin. It broke out in a wide smile and threw the stuff across the archway barrier. I was a kobold of her word and tossed the spear to the goblin who caught it with glee. Clearly items could pass through the barrier with ease. Before the dungeon could absorb the bundle of stuff I picked it up and sorted through it. There was several kinds of rocks, or at least they all looked different, along with some flowers and berries, a couple kinds of nuts, a lot of bugs, a frog that had a hole in its head, half a rabbit, and a very rusty fragment of metal. I dropped the rest for the dungeon and picked out the rusted metal fragment. ¡°Where did you get this?¡± The goblin was practicing stabbing with its spear and glanced over. ¡°Found it near rocks. Useless to me, not sharp.¡± True, it was dull and overall worthless, but it made the entire exchange with the goblin worth it. I gently set it on the floor and watched it fade away with a grin. After that I rushed over to the core and checked on . It was there under every kind of weapon now for three times the cost of a bone weapon. It was thirty mana for a and the ¡®crude¡¯ part of it was no doubt truth to its bad quality. Still, any metal was great. ¡°This very good spear! [Pierce]!¡± the goblin yelled and stabbed at a nearby tree. Surprisingly the bone dug the entire blade into the tree with ease and the goblin had to work harder just to pull it out. ¡°Say, little goblin, that¡¯s a good skill you have. How did you get it? You have a class, right?¡± I smiled as sweetly as I could and edged close to the barrier. ¡°Mind if we talk?¡± Fear etched itself on the goblin¡¯s face and gulped. ¡°What in it for me?¡± I clacked my fangs and really wanted to kick the goblin. ¡°You can open the chest and I won¡¯t kill you.¡± The goblin grew bolder and eyed the archway. ¡°I¡¯m safe when outside dungeon. Maybe, your friend¡¯s armor. I want.¡± Some hide armor for information? It was hard to keep my face straight at how good a deal it was. Instead I frowned and paused like I was thinking. ¡°Sure, one piece. Two if you have good answers.¡± The goblin sat at the barrier¡¯s edge, merely an arm away from me but also as unreachable as another world, and laid the spear on its lap. ¡°We talk peacefully now. Trade names?¡± ¡°Kekeke, I have no name. I am the [Dungeon Master] of this dungeon which also has no name,¡± I said. ¡°Okay,¡± it said confused at why we were nameless. Naming myself was in bad taste and no one else is worthy of naming me. ¡°I¡¯m Mudthorn, daughter of Quickspear, [Poker] of Redroots Tribe.¡± K7 - The Talk ¡°[Poker], is it a good class?¡± I asked. I doubted classes as strong as mine are common but poking at stuff didn¡¯t sound strong. ¡°Eh.¡± Mudthorn wiggled a hand and glanced at it, her, new spear. She introduced herself as a daughter even if I couldn¡¯t tell even by voice. ¡°Not good stat, but good skill. Easy to learn. I¡¯m level two now!¡± The way she said it with such pride made me appraise her more. She was probably level one just earlier today but even now I felt like I could destroy her with ease, or about as much ease as it would take to kill Chion. ¡°So someone can learn it easy. How? What¡¯s a good skill?¡± I could¡¯ve been less direct but I was tired after still not having slept. ¡°Why go [Poker] if it has bad stats and one good skill?¡± Mudthorn eyed me, probably wondering if I would uphold my end of the deal. At least that would be what I would think in her situation. ¡°Gain two skill when get class. You know? [Poker] gets [Pierce], very strong skill. Only [Poker] don¡¯t give vitality so very weak. Good for young goblins.¡± That made sense and felt why I could beat her. If we traded attacks I would automatically win with my [Tough Scales] and higher vitality. ¡°Only for young goblins?¡± ¡°Good to survive first months. After that young goblin have learned skills and change class. But good classes need Chief permission.¡± She leaned in and looked around suspiciously. ¡°Chief is weak in Redroots Tribe. Recently took [Shaman] class, very good class.¡± I nodded like I knew what she was talking about. ¡°How did he get such a class? How do you even get a class? Dungeon¡¯s way is weird, I must buy it from dungeon, it¡¯s really expensive.¡± ¡°Buy? Expensive?¡± asked Mudthorn. I had a goblin word for it but she must not know it. ¡°Takes lots of power, very hard to get more power,¡± I stated simply. ¡°Oh. Getting class like [Poker] easy. Do things like class a lot and get it. For [Poker] just poke things. Wall, ground, frogs.¡± Mudthorn glanced back at the tree she stabbed with [Pierce]. ¡°Trees. Good classes harder because need more things learned. Mother said Chief was [Dabbler], bad magic class but was high level before change.¡± Thank the dungeon I had an amazing class then because starting over sounded miserable. Well, she did say you only lose class skills but keep anything you learn naturally. ¡°You gain skills same way then? Practice one thing a lot?¡± I asked as I got up and went over to the core. Mudthorn had earned her armor pieces and I had barely recovered enough for two pieces. ¡°Yes, no, hmm.¡± Mudthorn got up and held her spear while thinking. ¡°Very good skills I don¡¯t know, maybe like good class. Only skill I have not from class is [Keen Hearing], but not get just from listening. I think got from wanting to listen.¡± A tunic and cap made of hide similar, but not the same, as Chion¡¯s appeared in claw and I tossed them at Mudthorn. She had watched with interest and surprise before grinning like a loon. It probably seemed like a good deal for both of us. So for skills, and my guess for higher tier classes too, was that intent mattered just as the actions and practice to get it. That changed things a little bit and explained why Chion couldn¡¯t learn [Claw Techniques]. He didn¡¯t want to while I did when I fought for my life. It cost a single spirit point to grant a class to a creature, but they could learn it if they were shown how. Yet even that might fail because they have to want it. Only the dungeon¡¯s way lets me force it. Making Chion a [Trapper] was probably a good idea in the end, but I was definitely going to save spirit points for rarer classes. ¡°All you want for this?¡± asked Mudthorn as she was slipping on the tunic. It had two loops for her to put her spear through so she did and snugly put the cap on her head. Where Chion¡¯s had holes for his horns hers had holes for her long ears. ¡°Maybe I bring back more stuff I get more armor?¡± ¡°Kekeke, maybe if it¡¯s better stuff? Rocks and dead small animals are too easy.¡± I motioned at the chest. ¡°If you want you can still take. I don¡¯t want you in my dungeon but I can¡¯t open the dumb chest myself.¡± ¡°Maybe later? Been gone long time, tribe might worry.¡± She grimaced and spat. ¡°Also maybe not, just weak goblin [Poker] go missing.¡± Sounded like she had a hard time. With the important information talked about I didn¡¯t have much to do until my mana recovered so we chatted about nonsense. Mudthorn was barely a month old and was aiming to get the [Impaler] class her mother had, a decent class and an older goblin¡¯s next rise from [Poker]. She didn¡¯t know of any goblin that had ever hit over level twenty because they would get better classes around ten or so and change. Usually they died before getting their levels back but the few were very powerful. Also people gained skills every five levels and a special thing at ten although Mudthorn didn¡¯t know what it was. Mudthorn was good conversation and was really interesting with her life outside the dungeon. It wasn¡¯t something incredible but I listened while we talked for a few hours before she had to leave or risk being eaten by large predators. It was actually why she hid in my dungeon before. Luckily nothing chased her in here! I grinned and waved as she left feeling refreshed spiritually even if I was exhausted. My mana was come back a little bit which meant that both me and the core had enough for at least one kobold each. I picked up the dumb thing and trudged back to the . Everyone was lightly sparring with Chion watching from his nest. I nodded to him and he ignored me even though he clearly saw my nod. When I changed course toward him he stiffened and nodded rapidly. Good. With two more white lights and twenty mana gone a pair of kobolds, one male and one female but both with shorter and slim builds, formed. I didn¡¯t have the mana nor the care to make them nests. ¡°You two won¡¯t revive so don¡¯t die until I wake up,¡± I told them before walking over to my nest and collapsing in it. Mine and Chion¡¯s were close enough that I could stretch and touch the edge of his nest. ¡°Order them or whatever. Gain classes by practice for specific role.¡± Before Chion could answer I had closed my eyes and passed out. Nothing save an intruder could prevent my sleep and maybe not even then. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Something heavy fell on top of me. The fact that it was breathing and frantically scrambling to get off me was good. It meant that I could be the one to end its breathing. Considering how rested I felt it the whole night had likely passed so I couldn''t use that excuse to ignore whichever panicking kobold pulled itself off of me. I cracked an eye open to see five onlookers with various expressions that all denoted some fear, Chion backing away slowly toward the fox room, and a single terrified kobold quivering barely two steps from me. Said kobold was the small female one Chion had been training. Our eyes met and she tried to escape but my claw was quicker and grabbed her ankle. Oh, she struggled but a newborn couldn''t contest me so quickly. She tried to speak but her voice locked in her throat as I sat up and stretched. What to do, what to do. The urge to kill the slightly-prettier kobold was high but since she would revive it was pretty pointless. To punish her, and then Chion for allowing it to happen, was good but I was still tired. It was honestly unfortunate to find out I was a rather happy kobold when waking up. The tears in her eyes did irk me though so I got up and began dragging her behind me as I went to the core room to buy me breakfast. Chion had a very particular look like he was relieved that I had chosen a sacrifice that wasn''t him. Kekeke, I changed coursed and sprinted at him, dropping the female and jumped to dropkick Chion in the chest. I landed ungracefully on my back but felt good since Chion flew all the way to the wall. "Next time don''t ruin my sleep!" "But Master, lair too small for training," he pleaded as he rubbed his chest. The lair was actually getting crowded now that there were eight of us, at least it was too small to also use it as a training room. Nobody used the fox den to train because the Matriarch always wanted to play too and she was too strong. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. "Fine, I''ll make the east room a training room after I eat." I got up and grabbed the female kobold by the ankle again and resumed dragging her. It was half punishment and half for my amusement. Naturally I wasn''t entirely cruel because I shared some of my morning berries with her. Share some meat? Please ask an older and richer [Dungeon Master]. I ate while browsing through the interface seeing what I could use for a training room. A couple weapons would be needed along with a rack to hold them. We could leave them on the floor but that seemed tasteless. What else did training rooms have? Did they need wood target dummies when they themselves would work? Oh, maybe for bow and arrows! I eyed the list... maybe one or two wouldn''t hurt. It definitely wasn''t because I was interested, only that some fun would keep dumb kobolds from doing even dumber things for their fun. Alright it was... where did that female go? I grabbed the cube-core and headed to the east room, passing through the lair and looking for my escaped victim. Sneaky, that one, to be able to wiggle out of my grasp without me realizing it. I''d leave her alone as reward for escaping. Before I forgot I made two grass nests and assigned the two kobolds I summoned last night to them. Now they could die in peace. The east room was plain like all the other rooms. I felt like it would be too small for what I wanted but I had already created it. There wasn''t a choice under the so I assumed it was unlocked later in my skill or there was no undoing rooms. First was checking my mana. I was at thirty-four and the dungeon had fourteen after the grass nests, so with recovering three an hour each I manage fifty or sixty mana across the morning. Was it enough? A small shelf, a cheap table with four stools and grass mat was fifteen mana total. Kekeke, I was so nice to put a large woven grass mat in the middle of the room. It looked nice and was soft to stand on. I bought one dagger, one sword and one bow, all wood of course, along with two quivers of arrows for thirty-two mana. The bow and arrows cost the most, with the dumb quivers only holding ten arrows that respawned either once a day or once a delve. Already I was feeling faint after using so much mana so quickly so I arranged the room with the table and stools off near the entrance and the shelf holding the weapons on the far wall. All it was missing was some wooden targets to use the weapons against. Thankfully the dungeon naturally repaired all furniture and weapons inside it so I never had to worry about broken things. The kobolds went quiet as I went through on my way to the fox den with the two newest ones confused about why everyone was fearful. Still no sign of that sneaky female although Chion had a weird expression. No matter, I wanted to toy with the fox cubs while I waited for mana. I froze a single step out of the lair. How did I take suddenly gaining this skill? Enjoy it because I loved skills and stats? Hate it because it said I''m scary to my minions? Kekeke, of course I loved it. Be frightened, dumb kobolds, of my wrath and terror! I felt that unlike my other skills I could activate this one by using mana. The memory of the fox cub appearing like a monster out of my nightmares came to me and I hesitated. Maybe I wouldn''t use it on my minions all the time. Maybe. I would try. I spent the next five hours enjoying the warmth of the sun that filtered into the and practicing my [Mana Manipulation] as normal. There was a vague feeling like it was about to hit a limit, probably a level up, so I was feeling excited about it. Should skills level so quickly normally? Mudthorn did say that she was a month old and just hit level two, although she was probably born as a baby. Dungeon creatures were summoned as new adults so maybe it was normal? When I once again passed through the lair everyone had vanished except Chion who was lazing about in his nest. "Where is all the minions?" He waved a claw with no strength. "Dead. Most, small female somewhere, maybe trap hallway." I paused. "Dead?" "Leveled [Dagger Techniques] and [Light Step] to two. Got excited," he said sheepishly. "Keke, any of the new minions get a class yet?" "No? All say they feel something, but nothing yet." So I still had useless minions that couldn''t even beat dumb fox cubs. I wandered back to the training room in progress to spend the thirty mana I had. It was becoming a pain to have to sort through the lists over and over to look for the exact things I wanted. Turned out that and were tools instead of furniture. It made sense but as tools that cost five mana each. I set two of each up on the opposite walls so that any kobold using a bow wouldn''t shoot someone practicing a sword in the head. Although... no, think of the future me that would have to listen to complaints. All that was missing was something for the table. >Wood Ball - 1 MP - Used for many things like catching, throwing or being chewed on. >Bone Dice - 3 MP - A set of four small cubes with numbers on them. Used in many games or for chewing. >Slate and Discs - 5 MP - A wooden square board with small grooves that comes with twenty small stone discs, ten white and ten gray. >Wood Swing - 5 MP - A wood board supported by two thin grass ropes. > Darts and Board - 20 MP - Six darts tipped with crude iron and a wooden board with colored areas from flower dyes. There were a couple more like blocks and a wooden throwing disc that said it could be chewed on. What was with toys and chewing? Ah, maybe it was added because of the foxes. That sounded fun so I bought one of those, a set of dice and the weird slate and disc thing. I kept the ball for myself and put the others on the table. I honestly had no idea what to use the things for but I would let the minions figure it out. Use it as a test to see which ones were smarter. As I picked up the core I saw a message on it that I didn''t open. Hmm? >Kobold Training Area - 25 MP / 1 Spirit - A room to train newborn kobolds in various ways allowing them to learn classes or skills quicker. Allows one assigned kobold to gain the [Trainer] class. You could unlock room upgrades like this!? Ah, everything was falling into place. Skills, classes, the dumb core interface; I was beginning to understand the importance of intent and appearance. I sat still and waited while counting the seconds until I had enough mana to upgrade the room. Six more, then four more, then two more. Minutes away from using my last spirit point on a room that my minions will never appreciate me for, but I didn''t care about that. I wanted powerful minions! Not one day had passed that I didn''t remember the fear of the fox cub''s first invasion or watching all my minions be slaughtered by the adult fox and barely saved by my traps. I knew that the foxes weren''t strong here, that there were monsters far beyond a classless fox or kobold. I tapped the upgrade and held the white light in my claw. This would be an important turning point for my dungeon, the point of when every kobold would have a basic class! The light was killed as the tore through my mind and the teleported back to its pedestal in its room. I got up and clenched my bone knife so hard the handle cracked. ¡°Chion, invaders!¡± I yelled and stormed back into the lair. Every kobold was there on their nests gazing around in confusion except my chief minion who was ordering the sneaky female. ¡°Go check entrance,¡± he said before addressing me. ¡°Kill or talk, Master?¡± If it wasn''t my single friendly goblin, and maybe even then, they are going to get such a stabbing. ¡°Kill, no questions.¡± ¡°Chief, Master,¡± the sneaky female said after coming back from the entrance. ¡°Green short things, many!¡± So many stabbings. K8 - Welcoming Neighbors Three goblins stood in the entrance, each holding a different item, while I counted six more outside the archway barrier. One was holding a small fur blanket, another had a cool looking skull that was maybe a helmet, and the last held a pretty rock. The was open and outside the barrier three nasty, bigger goblins with orange skin were making a move. One of them picked up a smaller green goblin and tossed it through the barrier. When it passed through the chest''s lid snapped shut on its own. It sluggishly got back to its feet, went over and opened the chest. Chion and I were peeking out of the entrance door watching this scene while all the other kobolds were behind us in the hallway. "Why does it work that way? It said once per delve so why does it reset every time a new goblin comes in?" "Maybe dungeon way of helping us?" asked Chion. I hissed and watched the goblin take out a large sack made of woven grass. It clapped its dirty thieving hands and lined up with the other goblins. "Help us?" How would the chest resetting like this help us? I glanced from the bigger goblins to the chest and then back at the kobolds. Oh, if it reset like that then wouldn''t my traps also reset? Wait wait, what about monsters reviving? I held in a laugh since I realized what it meant. Sure, it was annoying but them looting the chest like this didn''t exactly hurt me. In fact, they were now trapped in here for a whole day! It looked like they were too dumb to realize they could toss the treasure out to the bigger goblins. No matter how much I wanted to slaughter all these goblins and get back to upgrading my dungeon I kept my patience. Remember, I was the picture of a calm kobold. Let the bloodlust flow and get rid of everything that¡ªwait no that''s calm at all. A fifth goblin was tossed through and looted the newly reset chest to pull out a bone sword. Every goblin, inside or outside, cheered as the small goblin held it up in the air and wiggled about in glee. Kekeke, be happy for now you dumb goblins. It will make your crying faces all the better. Chion gave me a look, one I no doubt gave him back as we shared a slight nod. I knew he was my chief minion for a reason. We each grabbed one of our minions and tossed them out into the entrance room. They scrambled to come back but we held the door shut. All the goblins went silent and their eyes fell upon the two kobolds who froze under the attention. Jeers and yells came as the smaller goblins tried to rush to kill the sudden enemy, although the big orange goblins watched in a way that reminded me of myself. Oddly enough no other goblin from outside could get in. The five inside the room dropped what they had taken and pulled out their weapons except the one who had gotten the sword. I said weapons but sharp sticks and pointy rocks didn''t really scare me. Seeing as they had no way out the two kobolds, both were ones I had tried to teach to use their claws, stayed close to each other and waited for the goblin''s charge. They did charge, but as they got close they split up and all screamed, "[[[[[Pierce!]]]]]" Sticks, rocks and a sword slaughtered my two kobolds with ease although they did get a good swipe at a goblin each. In fact, with his dying strength one of the kobolds brought a second claw around and embedded his claws in a goblin''s ear. By the sick squelch the goblin was died just before both my kobolds did. A single goblin that was banging on the barrier fell through. The chest snapped shut and the two kobold''s bodies vanished instantly. I kicked the door open as me and Chion tossed the three remaining kobolds out at the goblins. Three? Kekeke, I noticed that sneaky female retreating to the lair. Our eyes met and I laughed as I caught her and threw her into the entrance room! Classless kobolds against goblins that all had a class, most likely [Poker]. Mudthorn wasn''t kidding when she said it was a common but strong class. That one skill alone made goblins dangerous. "Kill them, my minions!" I yelled and then held the door closed before they could come back. With me and Chion holding it closed, yet still cracked open enough that we could watch the battle, they had no choice but to fight. Four of the goblins seized the initiative and attacked the kobolds quickly. Ah, it was a slaughter as the rocks and that sword skewered my minions and only then, while dying but in range, could they attack. Pathetic, but such was the way of dungeon creatures. Wait, the sneaky female had ducked out of the melee and used her own wooden dagger to stab the throat of a goblin! I clacked my fangs as Chion hissed in approval. "Open the chest!" bellowed the tallest of the orange goblins. A goblin nearest it threw it open, grabbed out a big ball of bone, and then kicked another green goblin through the barrier. So only a few could be in the dungeon at a time? The tingling in my scales calmed down considerably. It was a constant fear that a horde, sort of just like this one, would invade and overwhelm my dungeon. Thank the dungeon and all its weird and sometimes dumb rules. The kobold bodies vanished just as the two from earlier came from the lair ready for their revenge. It looked like I wasn''t running out of kobolds anytime soon as long as they kept sending in the weak goblins. They ran past us without needing an order, after I politely opened the door for them, and leapt into the group of goblins with yells of rage. Well then. "Want to go?" I asked Chion. He was a lazy minion but he knew better to shirk out of defending the dungeon. "Waiting," he grumbled as he touched his daggers at his side. "Big orange ones come soon. Want treasure but we now defend it. They seeing if us weak or strong." Kekeke, so they were doing the same thing we were! Chion, aren''t you being a little too smart? When did you notice what they were doing. Ah, my chief minion must be learning from me. I knew I was a great leader. Wait, the sneaky female took out another goblin! ...Why was she so strong? That couldn''t be right. As if to prove my suspicions correct the two dumb kobolds that ran out each managed to injure a goblin before dying. Not even a kill whereas she had two and only four injuries! I would have to watch out for the ones Chion trained if they were all going to be better than the ones I trained. Nevermind, since I trained Chion clearly all the credit goes to me anyway. One of the injured goblins grabbed up all the treasure and ran for the barrier. Hah, no way I was going to let that happen. I grabbed my bone knife and threw it as hard as I could at the fleeing goblin. I wanted the blade to sink into its back or something really amazing, but it pegging the dumb goblin in the head and knocking it out was still good. Maybe I should practice throwing stuff besides my minions? The tallest orange goblin growled and tried to step through but was quickly stopped by his two other orange goblins. So he was probably the leader or chieftain, huh? I couldn''t tell other than how tall he was because they were all equally hideous. One of his orange goblin minions grunted and spoke quietly to the chieftain who agreed, and it stepped through the archway. Chion stood up as the chest''s lid snapped loudly as it reset and drew both his daggers. My three previously dead minions showed up and charged with their own yells of rage at the four injured goblins. I didn''t really care about the minion battle that went on, eventually mine would win anyway. A bundle of treasure landed at my feet after Chion walked out and motioned at the orange goblin. Both me and that the chieftain had missed the sneaky female gathering up the treasure and then tossing it to me. She was on my ''to check what class she obviously had'' and also my ''to reward for being not so dumb'' lists. The orange goblin took a massive wood club off his back and with one hand swung to his side to turn the sneaky female into meat and bone paste. Ow, definitely as strong or stronger than an adult fox. Good luck, Chion. "Boatbreaker, son of Antlereater." grunted the orange goblin as he smashed his club on the floor. Chion responded to the introduction by tossing his wooden dagger with far more skill than I did at his eye. The orange goblin moved a step, caught the dagger in its toothy mouth, and then bit it into pieces. Chion watched it and swallowed in fear. With the pleasantries apparently done the orange goblin rushed Chion and swung his club. It was powerful, just hearing the air rush out of the club''s way made my scales tingle, but it was slow. Chion had the skill [Light Step] and was born with the perk [Expert Reflexes]. I didn''t bother to see what other kobolds were born with because they were all appropriately weak , but the sneaky female intrigued me. I''d check it out later. Chion dodged into the goblin so that his wide swing wouldn''t hit instead of dodging away, and stabbed his bone dagger into the goblin''s thigh. Seeing Chion and the orange goblin so close showed me just how much bigger the orange goblin was. He stood just under twice a kobold''s height! The goblin couldn''t catch Chion with its hand before Chion pulled out his dagger and dashed between the goblin''s legs. Still, Chion wasn''t fast enough to dodge a back-kick to the side, but stopped himself from being flung across the room back stabbing his dagger into the thick leg and holding on tight. A shimmer rose from the ground just as the goblin was going to turn and kick Chion off, a tripwire standing just above the goblin''s feet. His foot snagged on it and with his massive club unbalancing him the orange goblin fell. I could almost feel the impact as he hit the ground and Chion pulled out his dagger and leapt for the goblin''s exposed head. His dagger stabbed deep into the goblin''s chest, missing his face only because a large hand had grabbed Chion by the throat. Chion glanced at me and shrugged before the goblin crushed his throat and twisted. Kekeke, good work my chief minion! Such a role-model to the, oh, all my other minions were dead yet again. At least they managed to kill two goblins. "Boatbreaker!" roared the leader. The injured orange goblin, either our of stupidity or pride, kept one hand holding his wooden club at all times. He tried to sit up to see what his leader wanted but my foot pinned him on his back. Oh yes, I loved that look in his eyes as they quickly turned to me. All the green goblins had nice red eyes, but these orange goblins instead had a bright green. "Chi-ta-glrgl," he tried to say. Hmm, it seemed that the orange goblin came down with a sudden case of my-claws-in-his-throat. "You sneaky whelp, I''ll skin you for that!" yelled the Chieftain. "Sneaky, me? Kekeke, you all are the sneaky ones. Sneaky whelp, Snealp? Snep. That''s a good name for that sneaky female," I said with a glance at the pile of kobold mush off my side. "I-It speaks?" A huge hand came up to try and crush me, the orange goblin I was standing on trying to end my life even as he laid there choking on his torn out throat and blood. I admired his dedication as a minion and shredded his hand with both of my claws. A shiver went down my spine as I watched his eyes dull over and hand fall limp. "Boat!" The chieftain lunged and was barely held back by his last orange minion. "Chieftain, calm yourself!¡± "Yes, Chieftain, be calm like me! I am a perfect example of calm." I puffed out my chest in pride. "[[Pierce]]!" The two injured goblins went around behind me and tried to stab me with their sticks. Even if they were weak I wasn''t risking being hit. I''d seen how easily that skill went through normal kobold scales. Instead I grabbed the orange goblin''s arm and used it as a shield. Seeing the sticks sink into flesh easier than Chion''s dagger proved my wariness correct. With their weapons stuck I easily tore open those dumb goblin''s bellies. All my kobold minions were dead since no more had shown up, but now every goblin invader was dead as well. It was my win. "Thank you for opening my chests, dumb chieftain." "Treesplitter," he growled and his orange minion grunted in acknowledgement. "Bugeater, Foxchaser, Mucksplash." Three goblins that had crude but actual weapons like a stone axe and dagger stepped up. Oh, that was bad then. I dashed to the bundle of treasure and gathered it up before running back to the kobold lair. When I glanced over my shoulder both orange goblins and those three green ones had entered the dungeon. I closed the door and locked it with the bar of wood. All my minions sat up from their nests as I laughed. My scales were itching like mad! This wasn''t a dumb fox or a single goblin, it was two creatures that were as strong or stronger than me with three minions higher than level one. There was a minute as they looted the chest and tried to pass through the trapped hallway. "Chion, the Chieftain, other orange one and three strong minions are coming." The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. "Master, I leveled. I''ll take orange minion," he said while pulling out his daggers. I noted that his equipment looked fine and he even got the wooden dagger he threw back on reviving. Did that work for only stuff like that or would it also work if I gave them runes? I snapped at the sneaky female who startled and leaned back. "Very good, your name is Snep! What class are you?" "M-Master! Uh, I [Sneak]," she quickly replied. How obvious! Low classes were truly basic in name. "No attack skill, just hiding." "Hiding is good, very strong in dungeon. Try to kill one of the goblins," I ordered. The dungeon rooms upset me as I thought that there was no good way to force invaders to fight the foxes right now. We kobolds were the first line of defense, something I would have to consider for future floors. I put the treasure in my nest and tossed the bone sword to only thin male kobold. The others at least had claws worth something but I didn''t put any hope in any of the classless ones. I thought that maybe I should give them the weapons in the training room, but it wasn''t upgraded yet and I didn''t want to risk messing up the requirement for it. A yell of pain as the thump of the wood block trap came from the corridor. If only I hadn''t reached the trap limit for the floor. "You and you, when they open the door run and tackle someone." They nodded and stood in front of the door. Said door cracked as something slammed into it. Again and again the wood bulged and splintered before the bar of wood that locked it gave and the door swung open. The two kobolds did their duty and charged, their claws and weight thrown into their enemy. It was the orange minion sadly, and his extra weight and height made him unmoved by two small kobolds. Its fist caved in one kobold''s head as the other tore into the goblin''s thigh before also being crunched. It was encouraging to see that even if they were strong even the weakest of us could rend their flesh. It roared so loud my ears rang as its eyes turned entirely black and it charged at me. A tripwire sent it sprawling into our firepit, burning its hands and knees but not keeping it down long. Of course, it was long enough that I managed to tear into its face and dodge backward out of the wild punch. Kekeke, Chion''s trap skill was proving useful versus these taller creatures. When did he learn how to use it in battle? The three goblins stormed into the lair and began hacking at the kobolds. It was three against four, bad odds in our favor but Snep was a new factor. Chion leapt onto the orange one''s back, I recalled the Chieftain saying its name was Treesplitter, and began stabbing with his daggers. I definitely needed to get him a metal one now. "Whelp!" roared the Chieftain as he entered last. His eyes fell on me with such anger that I was terrified and gleeful at how mad I made him. He pointed a finger at me and said, "[Minor Ignite]." An arrow of fire as long as my arm shot at my head! It was so unexpected I didn''t have time to dodge and could only swat it out of the air with a claw. I felt my scales warp and scream in pain so much that I froze for him to shoot another one. I barely had time to scramble out of the way. I flexed my burned left claw and flinched at the the pain. My actual claws were still sharp but using it was probably out of the question. I didn''t revive like my minions. In fact, the only reason I was fighting right here was that I could see the core in the from here. Past me, why didn''t you at least put a door? Trying to keep track of Snep was rather hard, my eyes sliding off of her, until she sprang back up behind a goblin while using one of her allies as bait. Her dagger went in and out of an axe-wielding goblin''s back several times and it still had the strength to spin around to strike her. Treesplitter got out of the firepit with burns three times as bad as me not even including the stabs and my swipe. Chion split off to the goblins, him planting his wood dagger into the throat of the goblin Snep was attacking. The two double-teamed a second goblin that had used a spear to skewer two of my kobolds with ease, no doubt using a skill. "[Minor Heal]. Better?" asked the Chieftain as he clapped a white, glowing hand on Treesplitter''s face. Flesh sewn itself back together as the black and bleeding burned flesh turned light orange and wholesome. I clacked my fangs; he even had healing magic? That was my next top priority. "Thanks, Chieftain. [Lesser Strength]." Treespliter got to his feet and snorted with a flex. His muscles tightened and grew slightly. That must have been what he tore my door down with. This was extremely bad, Snep and Chion were finishing off the last goblin, and when I checked everyone else was dead. "Kekeke, what''s wrong Chieftain? Minions dead, so sad?" I edged around the firepit across from the two orange goblins that wanted my life. "Whelp, you die here. I break dungeon and become supreme as payment for Boatbreaker," he said with such finality I almost believed him. "Dumb goblin, you can''t beat me! This is a dungeon, my minions revive," I shot back and grinned. "All it takes is one of you dumb creatures to step through and then you lose." "I am not mere goblin, I am hobgoblin, Chieftain Rocktooth! Weak thing, die knowing my greatness. [Minor Ignite]." He fired off two arrows of fire at me, both grazing my ribs and sending waves of pain so hot it felt weirdly cold. Treesplitter rushed at me, but stopped when another tripwire appeared right at his feet. "Master?" Chion asked. All three small goblins were dead and he looked fine, but Snep was missing an entire arm! "Get the ugly one," I told my minions. They both glanced between the two hobgoblins and sent me a look. Why couldn''t they understand? "The big one! No, that one right there." "Treesplitter, you handle weak whelps?" asked the Chieftain. "No problem, Chieftain. It is my honor." Good luck, you two. The minions began their battle with Treesplitter charging at the two and trying to squish them with his huge fists. I couldn''t focus on their fight because the Chieftain had finally decided to try and do the same to me. Was he out of mana? I hoped so as I ducked under his fist and used my good claw to leave four bloody lines across his stomach. Dang, his skin is tougher than a normal goblins. He kicked and stomped as I ran around him and rolled across the ground as he brought both hands clasped together down at me. He struck the ground so hard the dirt floor spread in a cloud of dust. Eh, wouldn''t that have killed me? This wasn''t working. "Scary goblin, stay away!" I yelled and ran to the fox room. Of course I was just saying that so that he would follow me, but it didn''t mean I was lying. Just like I thought, the dumb chieftain smiled so wide he showed his pointy teeth and ran after me. Yes, follow me and don''t go to the ! I dove into the , the sunlight streaming down on the high grass with the Chieftain right on my tail, almost literally. He paused as he gazed around but didn''t see any enemies. Of course he wouldn''t, the cubs were short enough you could barely see them unless they were jumping along the grass! ¡°Coward, you die here. No running, no minions. I pay you back for my kin," he growled. I climbed atop the large twig nest and kicked on it. "Kekeke! Dumb, ugly, smelly orange goblin chieftain! You die here, no more running, and I pay you back for my minions." He appeared confused before the twig nest shifted and the Rosefur Matriarch climbed out along with the cubs poking their heads up from the grass. "Attack, my foxes!" "Tricks don''t work, whelp!" he yelled and smashed one of my cubs each with his fists when they lunged at him. Eh, yeah, these worthless cubs only mattered as distractions. The Matriarch, a fox as tall as the hobgoblin was, lumbered forward before taking off in a charge. The Chieftain''s punch met the Matriarch''s bite and even though it didn''t have a class it still had stats. Its teeth shredded the hobgoblin''s arm at the same time his fist shattered all of the Matriarch''s teeth. The other two cubs latched onto his leg and tore it up with their teeth and claws. I was sneaking in the tall grass as I watched. Go in and help? No, that was for less burned kobolds that had a second lives. The Matriarch backed off and pawed at its maw in pain which gave the Chieftain enough time to grab one cub with a hand and squeeze it dead. These hobgoblins sure were strong. He kicked his leg the last cub was on and sent it soaring across the den and into the wall with a loud thud. "Burn, [Minor Ignite]." Wasn''t he out of mana!? The arrow of fire struck the grass and immediately, magically, set the room ablaze. It spread so fast that I barely had time to tumble out of the wildfire into the corridor before it consumed me. The Chieftain was staring right as me with such stern hatred. Ah, I really did it, kekeke. A flaming Matriarch leapt out of the fire and landed on the Chieftain''s back, its huge body nearly sending the hobgoblin to the ground as it raked its claws on his back and shredded him bloody. I could see why he was Chieftain, he was far above my level right now, and I didn''t mean in class. He turned his head while he grabbed the Matriarch''s head, opened wide, and bit. His pointy teeth tore out the Matriarch''s neck and he tossed the lifeless fox into the fire. Chieftain stepped toward me, his blood pouring out of his back and the flames had blackened parts of his legs. Still his eyes never wavered. I crawled backward and laughed all the while. Was this it? A nearly dead hobgoblin''s final attack? "Kekekekeke, was it worth it? That little treasure chest, mighty Chieftain?" He stepped on my tail and pinned me to place, pain lancing up my spine. "Pathetic whelp, why come out if you put chest there?" I tried to answer but didn¡¯t have one even if the pain of him crushing my tail didn''t make me breathless. The Chieftain¡¯s breaths were ragged from being savaged and burned, something I found hilarious because it was his own fault. He struggled to raise his arms over his head, clasping together his hands to form a giant fist, preparing to slam them down on my skull. Or so he thought. Despite the agony of tearing the scales on my pinned tail, I stretched as far as I could and kicked him in his crotch. Chieftain howled and stumbled back off of my tail, barely catching himself. Before he could recover I swiped out his knees, my claws ripping through his tougher¡ªbut still not as good as scales¡ªskin, and therefore kneecaps. Still, his spirit wasn¡¯t going to give out before his body did! He roared, a blood-chilling sound that made me flinch in fear even with my resistance skill, and took a step forward. Yet, even spirit only went so far. He collapsed forward onto the ground, his big hand reaching for me. I watched him warily, making sure to stay just out of his reach, and ran a claw over my broken tail. "Good, stay down and die, goblin. Shouldn''t have touched my treasure." "Why create in front then? Stupid whel¡ª" I lunged and sunk my claws through his eyes, then pulled them out to wipe the blood on his head. "I''m not stupid." When I trudged back to the lair both Snep and Chion were laying torn apart near the fire pit with Treesplitter kneeling nearby and bleeding from so many small wounds that his orange skin was practically red. "Where Chieftain? No, no, he fall to weakling like you?" I clacked my fangs. "Dumb minions couldn''t even finish it." "Chieftain! Chieftain Rocktooth!" he screamed as if it would bring his leader forward. The bone sword the goblin''s had looted was near my foot, thrown there from all the fighting I guessed. It was sharp enough for the job. I picked it up, it feeling unworthy to be in my claw, and advanced on Treesplitter. He tried to get up but was too exhausted, had lost too much blood, and could only wait for me to approach. Like a dumb kobold he thought I was. He threw a punch when I got close and pretended to slash the sword, but when I stepped back it threw him off and he fell forward. I stabbed it into his arm, left it there, and plunged my claws into his throat before ripping it out. Unlike the Chieftain he still had soft goblin skin. I sat on my nest, my nice fur nest covered in both kobold and goblin blood and picked up one of the treasures that came from the chest. It was a skull helmet with holes that allowed horns, or goblin ears, through. I put it on and relaxed despite the horrible pain. C1 - Chief Minioning It was an odd feeling coming back from the dead. Chion had first imagined it as if blinking, one moment he was fighting and the next he would be in his nest waking up, his body fully restored to peak health and his mind rested. Instead it was reliving his death in great detail, the last several minutes of his life from his own eyes or even outside his own body. It was a... he didn''t have the word for it like his Master always did, but watching himself and the newly named Snep weave and dodge around Treesplitter made him think. When he should''ve leaned in instead of dodging out, him very poorly coordinating with Snep, a kobold still experiencing her first day in her class, what parts of the hobgoblin''s body he should''ve hit instead of what he did. Dying as a dungeon monster was a learning experience, but never an easy one. Every sense, from touch to taste, was replayed over and over. The only time it was ever cut short was when a wailing alert tore the reality into pieces and sent them back early to fight once again. And whether or not something was learned the experience would fade and he would find himself back in his nest, fully rested and restored with the phantom pains of dying still in the back of his mind. At least he had a comfortable nest. Not everyone revived at the same time, not that Chion knew the reason but he could make a couple guesses, so he found only himself and Snep coming back first. The kobold lair was back to normal, no blood or bodies coating the floor and every nest neat or messy like their owner enjoyed it, all while the fire pit burned hot and low making the air in the lair comfortably warm. First thing first, he checked his Master''s nest to see if she was there. More often she wasn''t unless she was sleeping, but this time she was there and still awake. He hissed in a low tone so she wouldn''t hear when he saw her. Burns had melted and blackened her left claw to the elbow and large areas on her sides. Her tail was clearly broken and torn at the middle and she was covered in dried blood. Yet when she looked at him he didn''t see a defeated or depressed kobold, it was a gaze that always made his scales tingle and gave him an urge to hide. "Chion, you''re back. Go get me the core." Not even a minute back to life and he had work to do. "Okay, Master." He stretched, although did it quickly in order to avoid displeasing his Master and getting another comment on his laziness, and hurried off to the . The core was something he felt absolute loyalty to, an odd thing considering it was a clear cube like a polished gem as big as his head, and it never mattered unless the core was being threatened in front of him by an invader. It was super light, more annoying to carry because of its bulk instead, as he carried it over to his Master. He wanted to ask why she didn''t go get it even though she was injured, but didn''t because it would surely result in him getting kicked or worse. Chion wasn''t one to test his Master''s temper even at the best of times. Master grabbed the core and began doing whatever a [Dungeon Master] did, weird boxes and letters that he couldn''t read popped up repeatedly. He was about to go back to his nest when he finally noticed her new headgear. It strangely was something so ''her'' that he hadn''t noticed it. "Scary helmet, Master," "Yes, it''s a very good helmet. Looks like a fox skull," she said with a grin. Master paused from using the core, glanced up at her helmet, and clacked her fangs. "Chion, go see if my bone knife is still at the entrance. I''m going to be angry if the dumb dungeon ate it. And see if there are goblins still out there." He sighed with a longing glance at his nest. "If goblins there?" Her sharp look sent him moving with a word before her attention went back to the core. Snep snuck up to his side as he entered the trapped hallway, the spike pit sitting right in front of the lair''s door. It took up most of the hallway, only a small edge near the walls and a part in front of the door enough for two kobolds to stand, or one hobgoblin as it turned out. Maybe it was Chion''s sense as a [Trapper] but the spiky pit was as useless as it was deadly. Nothing hid it from view and anything smarter than a fox would easily jump over it. Maybe he should suggest putting a false cover over it? "Why you listen to her?" asked Snep with annoyance. "Does nothing but insult and kill us. Barely fought and even ran away." Chion didn''t want trouble, and while he could understand any kobold''s annoyance at their Master, they were usually as dumb as Master often said. The thing with Snep was that, like him, her class boosted her intelligence. He doubted his Master ever bothered to look at their statuses. "She [Dungeon Master] so I listen," he said. That in itself should be enough for most dungeon creatures, although it had always bugged him. The fact that the [Dungeon Master] didn''t get any feelings of loyalty that the dungeon core did. "So? She mean and lazy. Always laying around in rooms, never practice," argued Snep. "You real leader, train me and others, helped me learn class." They entered the entrance room, a bland thing with only a big bone chest to its name. No goblins were around outside of the archway and he did, in fact, see the lost bone knife. No bodies or even that massive wood club had remained, yet this had. He didn''t bother trying to learn the rules and functions of the dungeon beyond what his instincts told him. Chion went to pick up the knife but Snep beat him to it, snatching it and dancing out of his reach. He held out an open claw, "Give it. Need to return to Master." "No! She not a good Master," hissed Snep, her grip tightening on the knife. "I... I say you good. She weak now, very hurt? I heard talk, she not revive when killed." He didn''t enjoy the train of thought that this conversation would go down. Snep was still young, although he knew that everyone including his Master was extremely young, and her relative youth was making her... what? Fearful, angry, power hungry? Chion couldn''t understand what Snep was aiming for, so he asked, "And?" Snep hesitated in speaking. A feeling teamwork and cooperation was something they felt very clearly, not as dungeon creatures but as kobolds, so betrayal like this was unsettling. "W-We kill her, and you become new [Dungeon Master]. Better, yes? Other kobolds would agree." Chion resisted the urge to plunge his daggers into her throat for saying it. "Snep, tell why you feel this is good action?" "Because! She lazy, never practice, always hurt or kill us because we revive, never fight!" Snep looked him in the eyes. "She kick you all time, at smallest thing. Is this good Master?" Ah, now Chion understood. "Not true. Well, some true but most not true." Snep stepped back at his casual denial of her accusations. "What not true? I see it! She never notice me sneaking and watching, so not tell me not true, Chion." "What does [Dungeon Master] do? Not her, but class?" asked Chion patiently. "It, uh," mumbled Snep. "Helps dungeon? Make more creatures." "Yes," he said. In his calmest tone, something he struggled to use because he was not calm at all, he explained, "They build dungeon, summon us to defend, and do lots of things. She make important decisions. Summon fox? Summon kobold? Put trap here, make room there." Snep snorted. "Stupid decisions. Useless traps and rooms." Chion quickly made sure his Master wasn''t listening. To even suggest she was stupid would get them punished... likely worse. "Shh, never say stupid to Master. Still, you not wrong, and she know that now. But all dungeon was one room, this room, at start. Now it bigger, we have foxes and us. We have classes, and Master trying to get all kobold class." "S-So, okay, but still everything I say true," muttered Snep. "Maybe. She hurt or kill, yes? But in fight, or training, we revive. Not big deal even if painful. We part of dungeon. Lazy?" Chion snorted, the lazier Master was the better because it meant he could be equally or more lazy. "Dungeon needs lots of mana, she rest to get more." He stepped forward and held out an open claw for the knife. "And she never fight? We die fighting Treesplitter, he live. Chieftain run after Master. She alive in her nest, so where hobgoblins go?" Snep wavered, glancing between the claw and the knife, before giving it to him. "She still mean and you better leader." Chion stared at the bone knife. "She mean, maybe. Me leader is stupid though, she tell me to be chief so I lead and help. Without her order?" He sighed longingly. "Being leader not fun at all. Being [Dungeon Master] must be awful. Poor Master. What if being [Dungeon Master] mean only one life? Scary, scary." She scratched her horns and lowered her head. "Okay, I wrong and Chion right. Maybe Master is good [Dungeon Master], but wish she act like Chion, like good leader." "Master is Master," Chion stated. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. He ignored the chorus of voices yet again and returned back to the lair with a discontent, but not treacherous, Snep. It wasn''t like he didn''t understand where she was coming from, but Snep was ignorant of what Master meant, of what she did. Being a [Dungeon Master] seemed easy right now, but he knew that this was her first floor. She would get more powerful, make the dungeon bigger, and his head hurt just imagining how awful it would be to be master of it all. Chion focused on the feeling inside him, of his link to the dungeon, and thought of his status. >Name: Chion >Class: Trapper Lv.4 >Race: Kobold >Gender: Male >HP: 19/19 >MP: 32/32 >STR: 1 >DEX: 18 >AGI: 10 >VIT: 6 >INT: 10 >WIS: 2 >CHA: 1 >LUK: 2 >Skills: [Simple Trap Lv.3], [Light Step Lv.2], [Dagger Techniques Lv.3], [Restful Sleep Lv.1], [Tough Scales Lv.1], [Stab Lv.1] >Perks: [Expert Reflexes] He had leveled up twice fighting the goblins and a lot of his skills grew, in addition to getting the [Tough Scales] and [Stab] skills. His dexterity was now double of what it had been and knew he was maybe as strong as his Master, yet he still felt like he couldn''t win. Snep had disappeared, as was expected of a [Sneak], because she didn''t want to be in the same room as their Master. That female would learn as she grew smarter and understood more, like he did, because when he was level one he too entertained ideas of being the [Dungeon Master]. He suspected all new kobolds did secretly. "Here," he said and tossed the knife to Master. "You took a long time, but good work anyway. I''m glad the dungeon didn''t eat my knife," said Master as went to tuck it behind her horn where she usually kept it, but it hit the skull helmet. Not to be beaten by headgear she wedged it in between the helmet and her horn. "Master doesn''t even use knife," he complained. It was a good weapon and could easily go to another weaponless kobold. "Master looks very bad, going to get better?" "Yes, it hurts a lot, but I''ll get something to heal. There are more important things to do." She glared at Chion and begrudgingly got to her feet and snapped her claw. By now every kobold has revived and looked to her. "Follow, you dumb minions. Snep, you sneaky female, you too!" Chion saw Snep crawl out from under her nest with an annoyed look at their Master, but frowned and glanced at Chion. They followed her into the east room which he thought was empty but turned out to be full of stuff! A table was set up near the doorway with little objects and a game board of some kind, there were targets with weapons on shelves, all looking more expensive than everything else in the dungeon. Master touched a claw to the core and it glowed with a white light, then she tapped that claw on the floor and everything changed. The floor changed from wood again to dirt like the lair, but this time it was extremely soft and fine as his toes sank into it with ease. The walls turned into wooden planks as torches popped into existence on them lighting up the room as well as making it warmer. The targets grew larger and into the shape of a goblin and hobgoblin while suddenly a large statue of a kobold appeared at the far end of the room, it using a sword and appearing like it was fighting a foe. Master grinned and laughed. "Kekeke, a good training room for my minions! Some of you may have classes, even if you didn''t tell me, but training in here will let those who have no class get one faster. Train, minions, and get stronger!" Master calmed down and looked to Chion. "Choose one kobold; they get [Trainer] class." Chion didn''t refuse or ask the kobolds who wanted such a class. Instead he picked out the small male and shoved him at Master. He shook in fright as Master tapped him on the head with a glowing claw and Chion saw the spark in his eyes that all creatures gained when they got a class. "Hmm, a class needs a name, but I don''t feel like you deserve one. Still, your name is now Trald!" Trald looked around and then at himself. "Trald good name. Thank you, Master!" "Keke, what a good minion," she said before hissing in pain and looking at her chest and tail. "You all do whatever minions do." Master limped out of the training room as the four classless kobolds all swarmed Trald and went to the weapons to try them out. While a couple liked using their claws, they all now had combat experience and felt maybe weapons were better after dying to the goblins so easily. Chion agreed and didn''t know how Master could stand to use her claws all the time. Snep stepped up to him and frowned as she looked toward the lair. "She hurt and still made room instead of healing. Maybe I wrong, but she said for us to get strong. For us to fight so she won''t have to? But that what we do. Ah, annoying thoughts!" She scratched her head in frustration. "Master being kobold is hard. Better if she was bigger, stronger creature." Chion smiled and patted Snep on the shoulder. "She smallest of us, but very strong. You understand eventually." Snep brushed his hand off and went to join the others as Chion wandered back into the lair. His Master was laying in her nest holding her tail and trying to find a comfortable position. "Master going to heal?" She clacked her fangs. "Yes, yes, I need to wait a few hours for the mana. I could get a rune but I finally have enough mana for a scroll. It supposed to be better but I don''t know why yet." Chion didn''t really understand what she meant but he knew enough. Her mana let her get things and upgrade dungeon. His own mana recovered so slowly, not even a single point an hour, so he wondered how fast she recovered hers. What was expensive and what was cheap? Truly, he didn''t want a class like hers and was content being her lazy minion, even if it did get him kicked more often than not. "Should tell, Snep talked about replacing Master," said Chion sadly. It was important enough that even though he explained enough that Snep calmed down, his Master deserved to know. Master licked her fangs and flexed her good claw. "That sneaky female did? She try to get you to help?" Chion nodded and waited for his Master''s judgement. "You think I''m a bad [Dungeon Master]?" she asked with heat in her voice. "No," he said and looked around them. "New [Dungeon Master], work very hard. I know, I''m Master''s chief minion." She relaxed and he ignored the fact that her claw was twice as deadly as his dagger and only a single lunge away from his throat. "Good. Snep going to be a problem? You''re chief minion so I expect you to handle it." He nodded. "No problem." Master stared as Chion and then at the training room. "Dumb Snep, just because her tail is nicer..." He ignored that too and went to rest in his nest. Just the two of them relaxed without speaking for a couple hours before his Master asked, "You and Snep did very good against goblins. I was thinking of a reward, maybe another dagger, but do you have anything you want?" Chion briefly touched a claw on his wood and then bone dagger. They were each a reward for good fighting, and another reason he knew his Master was a good one. They were all minions meant to die over and over, why reward them? He thought of what Snep would want. "Maybe better dagger for me. Snep... she sneaky. Maybe hiding thing and better weapon?" "Just as I thought. Kekeke, you minions are so easy." Chion curled into his nest, a fur nest that was on pair with the Master''s while everyone else had grass. It wasn''t a bad thing to be easily read. A glow made him peek up at his Master in time to see a scroll of thin hide appear in her claw. She grinned wide, showing all her fangs, as she held it up. Nothing happened. "...What?" Master stared at the scroll in disbelief. "Fifty mana and it wants me to use my own to activate!?" Fifty... that was a lot. He listened to his Master complain about the core and lists and mana for another hour before she quieted down. It was rare to hear her talk that much. He looked up when he heard crinkling after having finally gotten comfortable in the silence. His Master held the scroll in his hand and was concentrating. The scroll burned with a white flame, the words written on it disappearing before it too consumed the scroll entirely and ash fell. White light enveloped his Master and her injuries healed, the burns fading away and her tail straightening out. Except it didn''t stop. The glow increased before blinding him for a moment, and it when it faded his Master had changed. She was entirely white, and when she looked at him with those eyes, a swirl of sky blue and dark red, he flinched. K9 - Breath of Fresh Air Yes, weird voices that rambled on in my head, how smart you must be to figure it all out. I was feeling good since the nearly healed me in full. Turned out that scrolls used the user''s mana to cast and also likely the stats as well. It had confused and angered me at first because I thought it was like a more powerful , but those things were the weakest version of the spell and only needed the touch of mana to activate. That was what I guessed since my perk, which I figured was useless, had now activated. Voices, you''re worrying me with how much you were talking. It was enough to make my head hurt! Are you done? They calmed down for now but I was still wary since I didn¡¯t like hearing dozens of voices speaking over each other inside my head. The little lists and alerts on the cube were much nicer. I stretched my arms and legs and even my tail. For some reason I felt good, like really good. Hmm? ...Why was I white!? My scales had changed from the mottled brown or reddish brown that all kobolds here were born with to a fairly pleasant shade of bluish-white. I actually liked it a lot more than the dirty brown I had been. Kekeke, now Snep had nothing on me! It wasn''t like I wanted to be the prettiest kobold, but wouldn''t it be bad if I did have minions that were prettier? Really, we could all be the ugliest as long as I was the least ugly. I glanced at Chion and nodded to myself, he was the perfect example of a chief minion in that regards. The fact of Snep''s traitorous thoughts and that other dumb minions were jealous of my position frustrated me. Truly I was a benevolent kobold since I didn''t unassign them all and kill them permanently. Still, it wasn''t a big problem as long as I stayed the strongest or had good minions like Chion. Although if he rebelled I might be in trouble... The sight of him snuggling into his nest while peeking one eye at me banished that thought. Such a lazy minion would never do such a thing. "Master, you okay?" "I''m fully healed, the scroll is much better than a rune. It takes too much mana to create, but casting was far easier. How could I get scrolls cheaper," I wondered. Could I make a room for it? Give a kobold a class that involves making them? I did see and somewhere in the dungeon lists. "No, you real okay? All white now, scary eyes." "Really?" He nodded slowly. I stared at Chion and reached for my [Intimidate] skill. Most skills it seemed you had to call the name out to activate, at least of the few I had seen, but [Intimidate] was something I just had to think about activating. I wasn''t sure why but I made sure to remember it. Just because the spells the Chieftain threw at me or the attack skill the goblins used had to be called didn''t mean that there wasn''t a skill that could make them silent. Scary, scary, an enemy who could silently throw arrows of fire or sneakily [Stab] you like that. Chion jumped back and rolled out of his nest, his claws having pulled out his daggers in a roll. I immediately cancelled the skill and he visibly relaxed. "Why scare!?" It would probably be bad if I said it was on a whim, right? "You said scary eyes, I wanted to know how scary. How was it?" "Master, please don''t scare." Chion dove back onto his nest and mumbled, "Scary at first look, like big white monster with death eyes. Fear passed after moment, but still scary look until turn off." So it was only really effective for the first use but maintaining it wasn''t as good? Thinking back to when the foxes used the skill on me Chion was right. It was only level one but it would be good to level up. Maybe I should use it on my dumb minions? Chion eyed me as if reading my mind and shook his head slowly. "Young ones might die." "They revive, but you''re right. I''m not that mean," I said with a small snort. Chion muttered something but I ignored him. I had very little mana and a lot of things to do that needed it. Were there even things to do that didn''t require mana? Training and fighting were simple and probably useful since I had made a training room. Could a level one [Trainer] even teach me anything? Speaking of classes, I pulled up the dungeon''s status to see just who all had a class. It wasn''t that I didn''t want surprises, but that I wanted to know who was useful. Naming every creature that got a class so far was... it would be hard, probably, beyond the first floor. Should I push that duty off to Chion? >5 / 18 MP >3 Spirits >Floor One: 1 Core Room, 1 Entrance Room, 1 Kobold Lair, 1 Rosefur Fox Den, 1 Kobold Training Area >1 Blessed Kobold [Dungeon Master], 1 Kobold [Trapper], 1 Kobold [Sneak], 1 Kobold [Trainer], 4 Kobolds, 4 Rosefur Fox Cub [Rascal], 1 Rosefur Matriarch [Guardian] I choked and even forgot to throw the core across the room like I would''ve. My dumb foxes all had a class now!? Was it the hobgoblin chieftain? It was the Chieftain, huh. Helping take down such a powerful foe must''ve let them all gain a class somehow. I didn''t want to look at their skills or stats because it would make me think less of my kobold minions. Thinking back on the fight, most of the goblins and hobgoblins were handled by Chion and Snep, although I finished all every one of the hobgoblins. A couple of kobolds scored a single kill, but that wasn''t enough to get a class? It would probably let them get one by training quicker than if they didn''t. I sat in my fox fur nest, the echoes of excited kobolds and wooden weaponry coming from down the hall, staring at the clear cube . The goblin raid had taught me a lot, stuff I had been thinking on for hours now, and in the end I came to the same conclusion: my first floor was awful. Past me wasn''t dumb, it was just current me was smarter and has experienced more. My minions were good, that wasn''t something I failed on, but the dungeon itself was a problem. My entrance room had a chest in it, useful and awful because it gives invaders treasure and a reason to come in. Now that I knew that the treasure would stay with the dungeon if I killed them I should make chests in good rooms for better stuff. I need invaders to come and die for the dungeon to grow, to get more spirit points, which likely came from strong invaders since I got one for each hobgoblin. The was useful where it was because what invader would care about it, the being in the center and first line of defense. The trapped hallway was... it wasn''t all that useful. It had weak traps and the best one was in plain sight. I was going to fix that but there was nothing I could do about the wood weapon traps. Right now it was the that frustrated me because it didn''t defend the . Entirely my fault, of course, but still frustrating. I still didn''t have a way to move or destroy rooms and If I made a room behind the fox den then what would I do with the empty room? It came down to leaving the foxes off in a useless room or having an empty useless room. Empty useless room it was! After witnessing a classless Matriarch savage that powerful hobgoblin what else could I summon that was of equal power to protect my core? ...I opened the list just to make sure. Okay, good, it was the same with the exception that now I could also summon goblins. No hobgoblins though so that was probably an upgrade for a room like the Matriarch was. Or it was a class, I had no clue how hobgoblins worked. Were they just adult goblins? With the weird thing with my [Draconic Ancestry] perk earlier I had gained a new skill. Kekeke, it was an incredible sounding skill, [Healing Breath]! That scroll didn''t heal me entirely, there were still some warped scales on my sides and my tail ached, but I didn''t want to waste any mana on such simple things. It wasn''t that I liked being hurt, okay? My mana was simply far too valuable and I had priorities, such as creating a new . With the wisdom increase I got my mana was recovering one every fifteen or so minutes! Chion eyed me as I got up and began heading off to the fox den. Before I left though I asked, "Just going to sleep all day? The dumb ones are busy training without you." He waved a claw lazily and curled up. "Sleep is my training. Let new one handle. Trald? Is his class." "Hope it ends up being a good class." I left Chion and kept note that both he and Snep still needed their rewards. Kobold rooms were lit by torches or the fire pit, mainly to keep the air comfortable to us because we could see perfectly fine in the dark, but I always enjoyed the fox den. Warm sunlight, the pleasant grass and dumb foxes to kick around when I felt like it. The Matriarch loomed over her cubs as they played, her presence drawing my eye naturally. She had a class, one that didn''t sound simple or low, and when she turned her head to me I paused. It was always a curious thing at how a class changed a dungeon creature. Maybe it was like that for everybody, but I didn''t feel like I could call the Matriarch a dumb fox anymore. The cubs on the other claw were still stupid despite getting classes as one bit down a little too hard while playing and the other cub went limp. The Matriarch bent down and picked up the killer cub in its maw and held it there as it squirmed and whined. I understand your pain, Matriarch, I really do. At the back of the den I created a short corridor and another simple room before designating it the . The tension I felt lessened as the core was behind yet another defense. Would I ever feel safe? One floor, three floors, ten floors, how far did I need to go before I didn''t have to worry about invaders? Probably not long if I kept fighting the invaders myself. With just enough mana left for some food and berries I bought my meal, with two different kind of berries instead of my usual, and ate in peace inside the fox den. Watching dumb foxes play-murder each other was soothing. Eating and watching my kobolds train would be just as soothing but they were far less cute. I slowly stopped chewing my goblin meat, a decidedly chewier meat over the tender fox meat but still delicious, as a came. And then it went. Then came again, and went again. Nothing after that so I scarfed down my meat and headed toward the entrance while munching on my berries. They were tangy and sour over the overly sweet . Chion, my loyal chief minion, was asleep so I kicked him to wake him up. He cracked an eye, waited for me to finish my berries because I found out I really enjoyed sour things, and I pointed at the entrance. "Two alerts came and left. Two things came in and died." He got up and stretched before following me to the entrance room. I did note that doing this kind of thing, checking on invaders like this, was definitely not something a [Dungeon Master] should do. Ordering minions to go check it out and getting a report was what I should''ve done, but I was curious and I brought Chion. I opened the door, not bothering to peek since there was nothing invading, and saw Mudthorn sitting in front of the archway with a massive bug by her. It was bloated, a blackish purple, with torn wings and a really long mouth like a needle. It buzzed softly but was bleeding from stab wounds. "There you are," said Mudthorn before breaking the bug''s body and tossing it into the dungeon. An alert whisked through my mind before quieting as the bug died and the dungeon began absorbing it. What was I going to do with really big bugs? I flexed my claws at the sight of my friendly goblin. No, that was wrong, we weren''t friends. There was a goblin word for enemies in agreement over something, so we were exactly that. That fact wasn''t lost on the goblin as she stayed outside the barrier, hand over a pile of random stuff, eyeing me closely. Chion stayed near the door, claws on the handles of his daggers, and I approached the archway. "Here I am." Mudthorn shifted, glanced around the swamp, and idly thumbed her bone spear. The spear she got from our deal. "Still have agreement? I bring stuff and you give better reward?" "Was it better stuff? You already have some armor and a spear." "It was better stuff!" she said with a growl before taking a deep breath. "Okay, okay, I''m sorry." Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.An apology made things slightly better. "Sorry for what?" "You mad, I get it. Many goblins come, right? It my fault," she said throwing her hands in the air. "That why you so angry?" I wasn''t sure if I was feeling or acting angry, so I turned to Chion. "Am I angry?" Chion shrugged. "Master always angry at something." I kicked him for that, denying and agreeing with it all the same. There was a lot to be mad about, alright? Invaders, the dungeon, dumb minions, invaders, the interface lists, skills and classes, invaders. I always knew that my dungeon would be attacked, but for some reason it did, in fact, make me angrier when Mudthorn admitted it. "Okay, your fault, I understand. It was a lot of strong goblins, you had no choice, huh?" Mudthorn got up and dusted off her tunic. "Was tell other goblins where get good stuff or give my stuff." "That... they were strong! Why didn''t they take your stuff anyway?" I asked genuinely curious. "Lots of goblins here now, big gathering of tribes. They Rocktooth tribe, my tribe bigger and stronger. My chieftain [Shaman], but theirs [Dabbler] still. Was. They dead?" she asked. I snorted, "Of course they''re dead, or else I''d be dead." "No? Dungeon creatures come back?" Her eyes widened a bit as she understood something. I clacked my fangs and ordered Chion to go get the core for me. He hesitated a moment but obeyed. "Won''t tell, swear!" "It isn''t important anyway if invaders know. If they get a chance to kill me then the dungeon is already dead," I said annoyed anyway. "So what did you bring anyway to trade with? I don''t need useless things." Mudthorn perked up and grabbed a really big black claw along with a bright red gem. "I got red shiny rock, big snake fang, and magic flowers for best stuff." That was a fang!? I tried to imagine a snake that was as large as the Matriarch but couldn''t. Literally, my mind told me what a snake was but I had no basis for it. It still sounded horrifying. This time I was at a loss because what Mudthorn had to offer sounded useful. "Good, very good, but what do you want for them?" "...You have magic?" Chion came back and gave me the core. I had barely six mana between me and the core since I had just made a room and eaten. "Little items that cast weaker spells one time." "Not... what word, enchat?" Mudthorn struggled to think and it was at times like these that I thanked the dungeon for its weird language gifts. "Enchanted," I corrected. "No, if I did you think we wouldn''t have them?" "But, you must have good magic. You changed!" accused Mudthorn. "Was mud, now really pretty white. Still know is you because still scary kobold, but..." Why did everyone seem to think I was scary and angry all the time? I was a perfectly calm and peaceful kobold! "That''s because I''m a [Dungeon Master]. Anything else? I have lots of things, probably." "Then, um, potions?" Ah, I did have those, didn''t I? Still expensive, just like the magic runes, but they held different effects and names than spells. "Still expensive, worth five spears, but yes I have weak potions." This... this whole conversation suddenly struck me as odd. When I first met Mudthorn she was like one of my new minions, something I could crush in my claws even with her attack skill. When she came back she was still dumb, but now she had changed. I glanced between Chion and Mudthorn, and instinct told me they were roughly the same strength. My instincts hadn''t lied to me before. Mudthorn''s spear was chipped and ragged and her tunic and cap were far from pristine. She asked, "Five bone spears, really?" Not bone spears, just the wooden ones. "Then, I give everything for two potions?" Even with my really good mana recovery two potions would take over six hours to get enough for. The snake fang would maybe give me a snake room or something nice, the gem I didn''t care about at all but it was shiny, and the magic flowers interested me. I questioned if they were truly magical, but they glowed a soft blue so maybe. "Take several hours to get two potions. You know what kind of potion you want?" I asked. "I can choose?" Mudthorn sounded amazed. "Really, really? Then, maybe healing one and fast one?" I browsed the list and the only healing one sounded like the . As for a fast potion there were two. "Attack fast or run fast?" "Run fast, please," pleaded Mudthorn. "A lot of big monsters. Have to run if can''t hide or fight." "Several hours to wait then. Outside looks dangerous, you can wait inside here if you want," I said. Mudthorn squinted at me. "It safer in dungeon?" I clacked my fangs and stayed quiet. Was I so easy to read? "I have things to do, I''m very busy. Do whatever goblins do then and come back later." She nodded, scooped up all her things, and walked off. "Trade not go well?" asked Chion. Right, he couldn''t understand goblin speak. "No, it went well enough, just her rewards are far more expensive this time. I think she''s about your level now, she''s a lot smarter than before." No matter how clever she becomes I still need her until I get a way to gather things outside the dungeon on my own. I''d rather bargain with Mudthorn than have to deal with invaders to get those things. We walked back to the lair as I thought about what to do for hours. I didn''t lie, I was busy, but everything I needed to do involved mana and with it promised away I was actually free. Chion went back to his nest to curl up. "Don''t you get tired of being lazy?" "Good thing if can be lazy, mean not fighting and dying," he said as if obvious. I flexed my claws feeling annoyed at that. I had a lot of energy I needed to release, probably due to that anger I didn''t have, so I headed off to the training room. Let''s go see what my dumbest minions were doing. The lack of doors was still something I wanted to work on, just another thing I needed more mana for, when I entered. Kobolds practicing their various weapons and striking targets with dedication to become stronger was something that wasn''t going on. Instead, all of my minions were crowded around the table I had made, although they had moved it to the center of the room. Trald sat on one side and a nameless kobold on the other, the weird board with grooves and stone discs between them, as they played. Everyone immediately froze when they noticed me, but I waved a claw for them to continue and they hesitantly did. "If move here, you jump over, and piece yours. Take off board," explained Trald as he demonstrated with a gray stone moving over a white stone before moving the stones back and letting the kobold do it. The kobold then took the white stone and set it aside. Trald moved a white stone, I guessed they were his pieces since most were on his side of the board, diagonally one space. He put it directly next to a gray stone. Wouldn''t that mean the kobold can take that piece? That was exactly what the kobold did and cheered along with another kobold standing behind him. Although I had put the game items on the table for kobolds to use whenever all the weapons or targets were being used, I didn''t expect everyone to be distracted by it, let alone to invent a way to use them so soon. "You figured out how to play?" Trald nodded and continued to slowly play his side into the kobold''s pieces. Was he intentionally losing? "Class gave skill [Basic Knowledge], let me know how to use things I touch. Not very good, only enough to know." I grinned and clapped him on the shoulders. "That''s great! Useful skill, what was the other one?" His shoulders tightened as he stared at the board. "[Posture]. Is stupid skill." The game finished with the kobold winning, Trald obviously had given the game up as he taught it. It was a simple game it seemed, each person with ten stones moving diagonally across the board. I gestured for the kobold to get up, which he did in a hurry, and I sat across from Trald. "No skill is stupid." I reset the board and looked to him. Snep was skulking around behind other kobolds just on the edge of my vision. Must she always be so sneaky? "Which goes first?" Trald moved a white piece and I responded with a gray piece. We played a whole game, one I won if only because he explained the rules to me as we did and gave me easy pieces while teaching. Was it his class that made him like that? I didn''t think any other kobold would willingly lose so easily. His movements, if I compared them to others, were more... clear than others. All except mine, naturally, but there was a way he picked up the stone and spoke that was pleasant. "Two good skills and a good class," I said after another game, which I won again although this time he didn''t give it to me. This was actually really fun! He gave me a look and I reset the board. "Try to win seriously now." I trounced him and only lost four stones to his nine. Apparently you also lost if you couldn''t make any moves. Snep pushed Trald out of the chair, which he flailed about in surprise since he didn''t hear her walk up, and she quickly reset the board. "My turn. Ready to lose?" "Kekeke, talking to yourself?" The hours passed as we played the game of stones. I did lose a couple times to Snep only because she played really fast which made me play faster so I made mistakes. Trald had started to teach the other kobolds how to use those dice, I missed the details because Chion''s curiosity got the better of him and he joined. I used my not-gut feeling to guess how much mana I had and took a moment to buy a potion when I had just enough and then bought the second one when I could later. "She must be cheat, how can win so many times?" complained Snep to Chion just as I beat her again. Ah, the feeling of winning without risking my life was amazing. I should invest into more games for this room. Training with weapons? Was there such a reason? "Because she Master," was all Chion said. I laughed, grabbed the core and headed back to the entrance room. I was late by an hour but Mudthorn didn''t know that. She was there, waiting at the edge of the archway, looking more ruffled than before. Blood coated the blade of her spear and she tapped her hand on her leg. "About time! I wait so long fox came and attacked me," she said. "Cub?" Mudthorn nodded. "Where''s the body?" She pointed at a gory mess further down the swamp. "Was hungry. Got potions?" I held in my claw two stone cups with a lid of hide tightened around the tops. My guess was that you needed to tear off the hide or poke a hole it in to drink from them. "A and . The one with black juice on it is the recovery potion." I had a bought some more darkberries and the potions looked the same so I marked it. Clearly I was far too kind and thoughtful, but Mudthorn didn''t think so from her expression. "Energy burst sound dangerous." "It said it made you move quicker, I don''t know how." The interface''s lack of detailed descriptions struck again, it saying the obvious like ''it''s a potion of energy to move faster. She had wanted one to move quicker, although I would''ve preferred the . Twenty-five mana was too much to toy around with just to test potions though, and even then too much for trading unless for really good items. Mudthorn tossed all the stuff she had brought through the barrier before I carefully tossed the potions to her. She caught them and while they were small to carry in hand, they were too big to fit in a leather loop. Mudthorn frowned before smiling brightly at me. "Hey, can I get belt? We friends and I bring better stuff next time." There was a hide belt for five mana, which would put me at two and make me feel nasty and dizzy, but I grumbled quietly because I still needed Mudthorn. I bought it and threw it angrily at Mudthorn. "It''ll be part of your next deal." It had loops just the right size to put the potion cups in, the shape of the cups being that they could be put in from the top of the loop but hang safely. Unless, of course, something hit them or Mudthorn tripped. Not my problem though. "Now go on and don''t be telling any more tribes about me!" She winced. "No more, okay." I whirled on her and wished the barrier didn''t stop my claws inches from her face. I hissed, "Who else?" "My tribe, honest. Chieftain smart, think deals and trade better than invading. I''m messenger, but he might visit soon." The fear in her eyes satisfied me for the moment and I relented. "Fine, if that''s all." I went to grab the bundle of stuff but noticed it was already gone. Dungeon, please at least let me see what you eat before you do so. What was all the not-best stuff? I glared at Mudthorn who turned and ran off. I really wanted to dig my claws into something. I kicked the core down the hall and quickly made my way back to the training room. Chion was about as strong as Mudthorn, right? K10 - Minion Management The door to the lair splintered as the wood bar locking it fractured in half. Another echoing slam sent the door tumbling to the ground in pieces. Two dusty white claws of pure bone gripped the edges of the doorway and hauled itself into the room. There wasn''t a speck of muscle or flesh on the abomination that towered above us, its height even taller than the hobgoblins, although it didn''t lessen its strength it must''ve had in life at all. Two wooden arrows were struck in between its ribs and the wooden block lodged in its collarbone, a testament at how useless my beginning traps were. Red fire burned in its skull''s eye sockets that flared when it roared. How did a dead thing even make sound? Chion gripped his new , a matching one held by Snep next to him, as they flanked the thing on its sides. Their role was to deal whatever wounds you could even do to a creature like this. DId you break its bones until it stopped moving? Nobody knew and we were down Trald who had been the first to die. It was just his luck he was outside-watching in the entrance room when the thing came lumbering in. Two of my still classless kobolds, of whom I pitied because they truly were training hard to try and get one, stood side by side in front of it with the wooden swords from the training room. They weren''t looking to try and hurt it but instead use the swords to block and try to survive beyond the first hit. The last two were near me in the back with bows, again from the training room which I was beginning to think doubled as some sort of armory, were shooting it with arrows. As huge a target was the abomination was, it was also a skeleton and those arrows did little or missed entirely. It was mindless, angry, or both as it swung its claw in a wide sweep at the sword kobolds. For all its weird dead strength it was slow and clumsy. Chion and Snep didn''t hesitate to take advantage of that fact. "[[Stab]]!" Chion drove his dagger through one of the leg bones, cracking it and sending splinters flying. Snep''s own [Stab] was far less powerful, merely chipping the other leg. A tripwire sprouted between the legs, but even damaged the abomination''s strength cut through it without resistance. Its claw struck the first kobold who blocked it with the sword, but didn''t have anything else to stop it from slamming him into his nearby ally and sending both flying across the room. They smashed into the wall next to me, plopped wetly to the ground, but were barely still alive. An arrow soared into an eye socket and the creature let out a howl and tried to claw at its face. Good, let it be distracted as my dagger kobolds chipped away at its legs more. The sooner we unbalanced it the quicker it would end. I turned to the two near-dead kobolds and inhaled. "[Healing Breath]." It was like something thick and wispy was forming inside my mouth and throat, leaking out between my fangs. The mana inside me drained a little bit, somewhere around ten points if I guessed right, as I halfway-spit, halfway-breathed out the weird substance. It was fairly pleasant despite my descriptions. It flowed over the kobolds, the white wispy smoke flowing into their wounds and sealing them shut. I didn''t know the exacts of my perk [Draconic Ancestry], but this skill it gave was incredibly useful. I had never used it before but the thought at being able to heal multiple things like this was incredible. I could heal myself with it too! Unfortunately it wasn''t powerful at level one, but it was enough to fully heal my dumb minions. A leg broke into pieces, the one Chion was working on, which sent the monster down to a knee. It had gotten the arrow out of its eye and turned on those who had injured it. More arrows missed its head or bounced off bone, a good effort from my minions since they hit a hard target at least half the time! Its claw swung around to rend Chion. He ducked and rolled under the swipe, but unfortunately Snep wasn''t as agile. Her sneakiness didn''t appear to be working on this monster, maybe because it didn''t have normal sight? Its claw shredded off her legs and threw her away from me. Well, she wasn''t getting healed. "Go!" I ordered my sword kobolds who glanced between me and the abomination. They bravely nodded at each other and charged the abomination before being torn to pieces by its other claw. It was enough to let Chion climb onto its back, tap its claw, then leap onto its head. A grass rope formed around the wrist and tethered itself to the wall nearby. Was that a new skill or something unlocked by [Simple Trap]? Did some skills grant multiple abilities!? I made sure to question him after the battle for an answer. Snep, surprisingly, wasn''t dead yet. She threw her daggers, both iron and wood, with far more accuracy than my poor archer kobolds. They pegged the abomination in each of its eyes distracting it for Chion. "[Stab], [Stab]!" With the force of his skill he severed its spine at the neck and sent its head to the floor. Whew, it finally died. A flailing foot smushed Snep as it fell into the fire pit. Chion was sent flying off and landed at a bad angle across the room. Okay, so it didn''t die after losing its head, it just went wild and couldn''t see. Go in and finish it? No, no, a wild swing could rip apart a peaceful kobold like me. "Shoot it until it stops," I told the archer kobolds. They were decidedly calmer than everyone else, maybe because they enjoyed not having to be close to the monster. Fifteen arrows later it stopped with such suddenness that it unnerved me. The tingling in my scales slowly died down as the went quiet. I walked up and kicked the dumb hulk of bones. What even was it? "Who''s still alive?" Chion croaked out, "Still here." "Master, I still alive. Also got class!" yelled one of my archers. "Me too!" cheered the other. Finally, maybe that meant that my other ones would also get their class. "What class did you get?" ""[Hunter]!"" They stared at each other and hugged one another. This was coming from two of the bigger kobolds who I tried to teach [Claw Techniques] to, one being the one who looked down on me because I was small. Didn''t they seem too different now? "I got skill [Pierce] and [Sense Presence]," said one. Hmm, since they got classes that would mean I needed to name them, right? Yet, I didn''t really want to. When I thought of all the monsters that were going to be in my dungeon, and thinking up a name for every one that got a class, which should be all of them, made me clutch my head. "Me too! [Pierce]," said the other as he pulled back his bow and sent an arrow flying. The arrow spun unnaturally and flew faster than it should have. We all watched it smack the ceiling and shatter into pieces. "Good skill!" I clacked my fangs and went over to Chion. "When did you learn that new trap?" He rubbed his legs, one bent in a bad angle, and I wanted an answer sooner so I used [Healing Breath] on him. He deserved it anyway for doing the most work. He smiled and stretched his leg. "Is still [Simple Trap], but new use when hit level four." "...How is your skill already that high? Wait just a second," I ran to grab the core, sprinting past the playful foxes, and brought it back to the lair. When I checked Chion''s status he was already level four, the same as me! His stats overall were far worse than my own, but he had really high dexterity and intelligence? No, no way. My minion couldn''t possibly be this smart. He smiled and shrugged at me, knowing full well what I was thinking, so I kicked him in the side. "Oof, Master, you never asked!" "I''m asking right now! It''s important to know skills can have new abilities and not just become more powerful," I hissed. "But your dungeon skill gave new options. Master said let have magic stuff," complained Chion as he rubbed his side. I didn''t even kick him that hard and he even had [Tough Scales]! Why this lazy minion... He was right. Why was I so dumb!? I flailed on the floor and rolled around as the massive skeleton faded and was absorbed by the dungeon. I needed a list of skills, or to create one myself so I could figure out really good skills and bad skills. [Pierce], now that we knew could be used for bows and blades, was an incredible skill. Mudthorn, that dirty goblin, must''ve already knew it when she said it was a very, very good skill. I hoped my last two kobolds got good classes, otherwise I was going to force them to try and be a [Hunter]. I didn''t see anything in my lists that explained what that bone creature was, however all my bone items now cost one mana less than usual. The core sat in my lap smugly mocking the fact I didn''t know this crucial information. Why was information so difficult, and why did everything strike in the middle of the night or at dawn? Sometimes I wanted to be like Chion and sleep a little bit longer. The dungeon''s mana was near max and mine around thirty, my [Healing Breath] had taken eight points to use each time. These fights where I had to watch over or even participate were becoming more dangerous. Bigger and more terrible enemies were appearing, and I needed my biggest defense my dungeon could give me. I hovered over the option and tried to use it, but it still gave me the message that I didn''t meet requirements. What were these requirements? I wanted my boss monster to hide behind! Fine, more minions would have to do it instead. I bought two more grass nests, our lair barely big enough to have all these nests around the fire pit, but ignored that fact. Most of the time we kobolds were spread about except for during Delves. Come out two more kobolds! White light formed into the usual taller-than-me kobolds, male and female, with their unfocused eyes and jerky movements of just being born. I assigned them to their nests so they were permanent parts of my dungeon and pawned them off onto Chion. "Trald better hurry back," muttered Chion as I instead focused on the new notification on the core. "Master, you scaring new ones," said Chion with a nervous tone. I pulled down my cheeks to hide my wide grin and carried the core off to the empty north room. My skill leveled up, finally it became level three, and I was praying to the dungeon that it gave me more information. Descriptions, items, options, anything at all that would help me understand what I needed to do. I was struggling since every other day I was being limited or finding out stuff I wanted to know from the start. The bone monster didn''t give me a spirit point despite being stronger than the hobgoblins. Why was that? How did rooms increase my minion limit? I went to the list and held a claw on a room. The description hadn''t changed at all but I did get more kinds of rooms besides square or round rooms, such as rectangular and hexagonal rooms. I froze. Wasn''t that incredibly bad? I clutched my horns and resisted a yell of frustration. So I had summoned all my allowed minions and I couldn''t create more rooms to allow for more minions. Then what about my boss? Did a boss room and the boss monster count against the creature limit? I went back to the option and stared at it hard wanting it to reveal its secrets to me. My skill had leveled up, surely that did something? I held a claw on it and got the same message back about requirements. I yelled and slammed a fist down on the core! What was I supposed to do? A list opened. I took a deep breath and stared at the cube, the dungeon core, and waved away the list to go back >Upgrade Rooms >Designate Boss Room >Assign Creatures Normally to go into lists or buy or use something I had to hold a claw on the option for a moment. Tapping on it had done nothing. Yet... I tapped on . The final room of a floor that creates a creature based on several factors such as room and creature type, average item and treasure chest quality, and floor theme. >Requirements needed >1 / 1 Core Room >3 / 3 Upgraded Rooms >15 / 8 Creatures >1 / 3 Treasure Chests >Can only designate an empty room If I could hug my [Dungeon Interface] skill I would''ve. Tapping on things now granted more detailed information! To get that as well as more available things to buy in lists all from a single skill level? Amazing, great, wonderful. Maybe now I could start figuring out what in the unnamed dungeon I should be doing as its [Dungeon Master]! But to think I needed to put out treasure chests to create a boss room. I tilted my head back and forth as I stared at that requirement. I vaguely understood it, something inside my head was telling me it was part of my purpose, part of what made a dungeon a [Dungeon], but I couldn''t honestly say I liked it. Just the single chest in my entrance room had caused me headaches. The part about the boss depending on various factors made me uneasy. I didn''t get to choose my own ? Did it work only at the creation of the room or did it grow as I develop the floor? The requirements, if I counted right, needed half the limit of creatures and rooms before I could make one. All this thinking was tiring me out, but it came down to that I needed to put two more treasure chests somewhere. The obvious choice would be one in the fox den and the other in the training room. With all the kobolds and nests in the lair there wasn''t room for one, and I made sure to make any future rooms all big ones. Better bigger than smaller! A chest containing treasure that depends on the quality of chest and the room it is placed in. Can be opened once per delve. >Wood Chest - 10 MP >Bone Chest - 19 MP >Stone Chest - 25 MP >Tribal Chest - 30 MP >Rosestone Chest - 50 MP >Crude Iron Chest - 60 MP Do... do I save for one of the really expensive chests? It said that my boss depended on it, but that would also mean letting any invader that reached it get a treasure worth from that chest to maybe use against my boss creature, or even me. From the treasure that came from a basic putting any of the better chests in one of my upgraded rooms meant that any treasure would be really good! I wanted it, but also wanted to spite invaders and put wood chests everywhere, but that would weaken... Why did this have to be so hard? Chion poked his head into the room and walked over to me. "Something wrong, Master?" This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. "Hard decisions, my chief minion, very hard decisions," I muttered. He looked over my shoulder at the core and its lists, but I knew he couldn''t read them. "To get a I need to put treasure chests in the dungeon." Chion snorted and said, "Put bad chests if reason." "Obviously," I shot back. "But the better the chests are the more powerful my will be. It also counts how good my rooms and minions are, even our equipment!" "Master, remember I said dungeon make it fair? When chest open with every new enemy, but we also revive. This make fair for invader, but also for dungeon. Better treasure, stronger boss, better minions, better treasure. Is like circle." I softly kicked him in the leg. "Quit being smart and go be my laziest minion." Chion chuckled. "Then give your fur blanket." Fur blanket? Oh, one of the treasures the goblins had gotten. I waved a claw and shooed him away. "Yes, sure, go take it from my nest, but not the shiny rock!" It wasn''t that I liked the shiny rock, but I hadn''t figured out what it was yet. It was a rock, and shiny, but what mysteries did it hide? Definitely not because it looked pretty in the fire light. He scampered off with a smile having achieved his original goal and I thought on what Chion said. A circle, or cycle, of the way the dungeon worked. It was usually in my favor but at times like this I didn''t enjoy it. Was I going to weaken my first floor because I didn''t want every invader having a chance at my best treasure chests? It was hard to look toward the future when this single floor was my entire world right now. It was my entire life. I gave up. Sure, it was a dramatic choice that I could internally debate about, but in the end treasure involved Luck, an actual stat, and to even get the chests they would have to tear through my entire floor. If the boss was stronger because of something as simple as spending more mana on chests, as well as upgrading all the rooms, and ended up killing any invaders then that treasure would just be mine. Now it was the decision between sixty mana for the iron chest or fifty mana for the rosestone chest. What was the difference? My newly leveled skill could answer that! A decorative treasure chest made of a stone with a gem-like appearance found in the Rosestone Swamp. Has an increased chance of dropping stone and lower quality items decorated with rosestone. A sturdy treasure chest crudely forged and eroded by nature. Has an increased chance of dropping armor and weaponry made of very low quality iron. I hugged the cube-core while kicking my legs. I loved my skill''s new ability so much because it was telling me things at last. The dungeon was incredibly vague about so much. Now, the choice between chests was still difficult to decide on. One gave any item that was more pretty and usually stone while the other focused on equipment that was actually made of metal, no matter how poor. Since I could just get my minions equipment I went with the as my main choice. Rooms affected the treasure too, right? The fox den and training room were my final choices since the was in the entrance room and there was no room in the lair. That reminded me that I needed to upgrade the entrance room somehow because it would improve my boss. Using a spirit point on it wasn''t necessary since I didn''t have any minions assigned there. Looking in was all my current rooms, a hobgoblin room, and now something called a that let any minions that died in there come back as undead of the same level they were. Hahaha, more abominations for two spirit points? I ignored that awful option. Speaking of spirit points, even better information barely gave me anything on them. Energy gathered by the dungeon from those with powerful souls. So far I had gained spirits from hobgoblins and scary adult foxes, each above my own level at my guess, so I got more spirits the higher level and more dangerous the foe. Of course, that is, if they had a soul. That was why the abomination earlier didn''t give any. I had been thinking and toying with the interface for a really long time and my mana had recovered in full. With this new level up it didn''t cost any mana at all to browse the interface! I thought it just leveled up by using the skill a lot from browsing, but actually summoning and changing things using it probably helped a lot more. [Dungeon Interface Lv.4] was so far away but I was already giddy from wanting to get it. "Master?" asked Chion as I walked through the lair. Most of my minions had revived by now, only the two sword kobolds were still gone, and Snep was nowhere in sight. I swore I would get a skill just to find her sneaky tail if only to spite her. "Ignore me," I said and went into the training room. Trald was in here practicing his archery, his skill letting him know the basics. It was hard for him because he said [Basic Knowledge] was just that, knowledge without the ability, so it was good for teaching but it failed to let him become skilled without practice. He watched me walk over to the kobold statue at the wall and create the next to it. It was made entirely of the gem-like stone making it exceedingly pretty to look at, but reasonably sized since anything from something I could hold in my claw to a piece of armor could appear inside. To large folk, at least. I kicked it for being taller than me. "Wow, that beautiful. Look like statue guarding it," said Trald. Hmm, it did, didn''t it? "This is your room, Trald," I said patting him on the back. "Make sure to keep greedy invaders away from it." He chewed on his fangs and slightly shook. "T-Thank you, Master. I will do very best!" It would take five or six more hours to get enough mana for the last treasure chest I needed so I decided to be productive and have Trald train me in some weapons. I still greatly enjoyed the feeling of using my claws but knowing how others fought when using weapons would help me. Not only that, but having Trald train me should help him level his class. I took a bow and quiver off the shelf, a reminder that I needed to get my new [Hunter] pair their own, and waved to Trald. He had the second set with him, his grin fading, as he glanced at the bow in his claws. I asked, "Show me how?" He appeared hesitant as he gripped his bow with a claw and took a very straight stance. "Okay? Shoot arrows is tougher than blades. Arrow fly many ways and hard to hit... exact? No, precise." That was something I already knew, although I let him continue talking. I copied the way he held his bow, claw just below the middle section, and he drew out an arrow. Since our arrows were bone they sharper than wood but also a bit more brittle with fins on the backs to help us hold it with our claws. "Hold here and place here on string. Claws sharp so careful not to cut string, like that," he said watching me as I copied what he demonstrated. "Little spot here fit on string. Now pull back and release at target." When Trald pulled back his bow and released the arrow it spun toward the arrow target, but then twisted in the air and thunked against the wall. He stood still, lowered his bow, took a breath, and turned toward me. "Try?" Hmm, holding an arrow like this was easy enough, the fins of bone really helping my far sharper claws keep my grip, as I fit the arrow on the bowstring. When I pulled back to aim at the target I snapped the string with ease. "Whoops, too much strength." "Go slow, feel when string very tight, then let go," said Trald as he shot another arrow. That one missed the target as well. Thankfully the dungeon enjoyed keeping things neat and proper when we weren''t under attack so the bow repaired itself in a minute. I nocked the arrow again, pulled to just when I felt that maybe the string would snap, and let go. The arrow flew twice as fast as Trald''s did and stuck itself in the very outer edge of the target. "Kekeke, I actually hit it." I nocked another arrow, slowly going through the motions of correcting the my grip of both the bow and arrow so I didn''t break anything, and let loose another arrow. This one sunk into the opposite outer ring, still not even close to where I was aiming, but it made me feel good that I could hit the target. "G-Good shot, Master," said Trald with slight frown. Ah, I eyed his two missed arrows and set the bow back on the shelf. Maybe not archery then? "Bow and arrows aren''t my thing. It doesn''t have the feeling I want," I explained. "It''s why I like my claws, but I was just thinking about how enemies won''t use claws only. It''s good to know how to use weapons so I can know how to fight against them." Trald set his own bow and quiver on the ground where he was and followed me over to the shelf. I picked up a wood sword and tested its handle. "You know how to use a sword?" "Little, skill show enough to use right way, but..." He picked up the bone sword, it having found its way in here for whatever reason. The way he held it looked different from mine and he changed the way he stood the moment he picked up the weapon. It was completely different than how he stood when using the bow. "Show me. Attack," I said and moved to the middle of the room. "Master!? I couldn''t, mean, attacking you?" He backed up and was about to put the sword back when I hissed at him. Trald stopped, then hesitantly joined me in the middle of the room. "Is useless." I held up the sword waiting for his strike, knowing that he and I were holding and standing completely differently. I tried to mimic Trald but it was uncomfortable. "It''s not useless, just attack. Fast or slow, show me how an enemy with sword would strike." Trald slowly stepped forward and swung from the side. It was very slow with no intent or strength behind it. I smacked the sword so hard it fell out of his claw. "Faster." He picked up the sword and did the same swing but slightly faster. I held my sword out to block but he pulled back before he hit. I hissed and slammed my sword into his, cracking both wood and bone and sending it to the floor. "I asked you to train me, show me, but you do this." "I can''t show anything." Trald tenderly grabbed the sword off the ground. "Skill shows me how, tells me how, but doing it so hard. Attacking Master useless. You already better than me without training." This is why dumb minions are so troublesome. I snapped my claws and waved the sword around. "Yes, I''m stronger. Beating me in a fight? Kekeke, I''m the strongest in dungeon, but I have no idea how to fight with this. Swinging hard? Am I a dumb goblin?" "No," muttered Trald. "But knowing doesn''t make me good at training. Being [Trainer] doesn''t make me stronger! Early I got crushed easy by bone thing. So easy, and after death I watch how useless I am over and over." This was the first time I was hearing about how it was after a dungeon minion died. Was that what went on? That they had to relive or experience their defeat many times over? That sounded... useful. Cruel or harsh, maybe, but it would be something I would gladly take advantage of if I could. Of course, I had no intention of ever dying. "Come back and hear everyone do good. Cas and Ras get class, Chion and Snep beat bone thing, they get strong." He stared at the over by the kobold statue. "[Trainer] still weak even after level up. Can''t even hit target with arrows." Did Chion name those two or did they name each other? "And?" He whirled on me and held the sword tightly. "Can I change class? Get stronger class? I want to fight!" "And you can''t fight as a [Trainer]?" Trald grit his fangs and barked, "No! Is weak class, dumb class. What is good skill? No skill is good! Can''t beat fox cub alone, let alone goblin or strong monster. Chion said you gave him class. Can you give me stronger one?" "No," I stated. He yelled wordlessly and charged me, swinging the sword with all his strength. I waved my own sword into his, knocking him off balance, and caught him by the throat with my open claw. "Weak. That was pathetic, Trald." I tossed him to the floor, him rubbing his throat as he glared at me. "Of course weak! That¡ª¡± He shut up when I kicked him, softly enough to not hurt my dumb minion, and pointed at his sword. "I meant that swing. Your first two were good, far better. Kekeke, you think your skills, your class is weak? Why, because you don''t have high strength or dexterity for using weapons? "You get to know how to use anything you touch, even if it''s only a little knowledge. [Posture] has changed the way you walk and stand! They''re skills to let you learn and train others, but especially yourself." I tried to mimic his earlier swings but knew I had poor form. Tears welled up and flowed down his cheeks. Ah, I made my minion cry. "I want to be strong fast, like you. When you said protect treasure, I..." I patted my poor minion on the head and helped him up. "You are a [Trainer] with very good skills. You are strong, and you will make others stronger. While they will level and grow by fighting, you will by doing what your class is meant to. So you have to practice a lot and teach yourself! It''s not just weapons, you dumb kobold!" Confusion was plain on his face so I grabbed that face and turned it to the table. "The game." "Oh," he said. "Yes, oh. You can learn anything, yes? All those minions are stuck to their classes. Snep is sneaky, Chion is lazy¡ª¡± "But he¡¯s [Trapper]." "¡ªThose two others will use bows, but you can learn to do it all. It only takes you a lot more time. If you want something to learn then ask me." I ran a claw over my horns and stretched my body. "Now quit crying and show me how to an enemy uses a sword. Then we''ll go to daggers and knives. You think I''m training to fight because I magically know how? Practice is hard, Trald, but it makes you stronger." He stood up, wiped his face clumsily with his claws, and picked up his bone sword. "...Sorry." First Chion, then Snep, and now Trald. If my minions kept having dramatic issues I was going to need to assign a minion to specially handle them. I was a [Dungeon Master] and all I wanted to do was make my dungeon and hide behind it all. Did other dungeons have these issues? He took a stance like he did before and when I was ready swung at me. It didn''t have the power behind it that a true enemy would have due to Trald''s low stats, but the strike was smooth and clean when I blocked it with my sword. I grinned and pushed his sword off mine. "That was very good." Trald stared wide-eyed at me. "I, uh, leveled." He flinched when I smiled widely. "Kekeke, I told you so. Now let''s continue." "Master," said Trald as he glanced from the statue, the chest, to me and then at his own claws. "Thank you." I sighed. Dumb minions. K11 - Being The Boss "Listen up!" I stood atop the new sitting next to the Matriarch''s nest in the . All my minions were gathered below me with the Matriarch sitting to my side. She was just as tall sitting as I was standing on the chest! I swore she had grown more since she got her [Guardian] class. "Because I am so amazing and smart we are soon going to have a for this floor," I said. Each one of my minions had different reactions to the news, the negative ones were marked and noted in my mind for their treachery. "Before I get down to upgrading the room behind me, I want to take today to thank my minions." Snep, I saw that! I snapped a claw at Chion and he rolled his eyes and slung an arm around a disbelieving Snep. "So, I am granting all of you a gift of your choosing. No weapons or armor though, each of you will be getting something eventually. Bows for Ras and Cas, swords for Baf and Daf, and eventually things for our newest kobolds whenever they get a class." Chion''s naming sense left a lot to be desired, but I wasn''t going to take the duty back. Hopefully, as chief minion, he would pass on the naming duty to someone with a better vocabulary. Maybe Trald would be up to it? He gets a lot of charisma as a [Trainer]. "What kind of stuff?" asked Snep suspiciously. I set a foot on the cube-core next to me and pointed a claw at it. "Nothing expensive. Hmm, ah, nothing made of rare materials. Otherwise I don''t care. If I run out of mana then I''ll just get it later for that minion." The Matriarch nudged me gently with her nose and growled lightly from her throat. Strangely enough, by the weird language function the dungeon granted me, I understood that. It still surprised me as until now she hasn''t ever ''said'' anything. Now I knew that even without the ability to speak I would be able to understand any intelligent minion I got. "Easily done. Nothing for yourself?" She shook her head. Fine with me, although I wouldn''t forget a reward for the large fox for future deeds. I bought four and tossed them to the [Rascals] nearby. One for each of the dumb fox cubs to swat, chase and chew on instead of each other. "Who''s next?" I asked. Ras and Cas stepped forward with each other. The two taller males were always together recently, or at least recent enough that I started noticing, and they nodded to each other. Cas spoke up, "Me and Ras wondering how felt eating stuff. You eat lot, know because need to. Maybe..." "Want goblin meat!" said Ras. "Maybe fox meat," started Cas but a glance from the Matriarch made him change his mind. "Other animal meat?" Chion had brought this up to me a while ago about the idea of making a food room of some kind, although the talk was about what to do with the entrance room. Maybe it was time to try to realize that room? I had a lot more options now than I did back then. I bought two big slabs of meat for five mana a piece, one goblin and the other was rabbit even though the slab was even bigger than an actual rabbit. I tossed it down to them and they immediately began tearing into it. Were they sloppy eaters or was I a bad eating role-model? No, couldn''t possibly be me, so they must have bad eating manners. "Let''s ignore the highest levels for now," I said looking at the three thinking on their gifts. No doubt being the smartest of my minions they would want something more than food. "Baf? Daf?" Both of them took the longest to revive yesterday but they both came back with the [Scrapper] class, our first class that gave vitality. Instead of the [Tough Scales] skill they got something called [Tough Stuff] which was weaker than the scales version but applied to themselves as well as everything they wore. That and the [Dirty Fighting] skill made them perfect to match up with a [Hunter]. Except that apparently there was friction between the [Hunters] and [Scrappers]. I didn''t care, I didn''t want to hear their problems with each other. As long as they defended the dungeon and could work together on that everything was okay. If even that became a problem... Chion could handle it. Baf had already been a tall kobold but his class had made him grow slightly so he was easily the tallest of all kobolds. "Say get sword later? Then I want good nest like Master''s. My nest too small." A little more expensive than I was expecting but I couldn''t really blame him. I bought a and threw it to Baf, who caught the bundle of furs and hugged it tightly. I bopped the Matriarch on the nose when she nudged me. "Don''t whine and take it as a compliment that your fur is great and soft." Daf was the polar opposite of Baf in appearance, a thin female that had gained a little height and muscle from her class but didn''t look like she was someone who fought up close. "Good, Baf always complain about nest even before. Master, any more games Trald can teach?" Trald perked up and said, "Something new?" "Anything. Disc board always busy by Snep," said Daf with a hiss as Snep. "She must cheat cause always wins." "Lies! I win because I''m smart," Snep shot back. Chion rolled his shoulders and tightened his grip on Snep. "Chion, defend me!" "Watch your pieces carefully," said Chion. Snep bit his arm ineffectively. Games, games, something that Snep couldn''t be sneaky at. Both options were expensive but if it kept my minions happy and distracted so they didn''t badger me with their problems then a few hours worth of mana wasn''t much. While I had really expensive options for games, most just higher quality materials for the same game, it was a choice between or for twenty mana. "Two choices, Daf. One is for a throwing game and the other looks to be a game involving thin wood plates. Trald would know more, but your choice?" "Darts," answered Daf immediately. No doubt something involving plates would be something Snep could be sneaky at. How could someone be sneaky at throwing things? I bought it and tossed it down to Daf. It was a big, round circular wood board with colored areas that smelled like flowers along with a wood box that had six colored wooden darts tipped with iron, three blue and three red. Daf grabbed Trald by the claw and dragged him back to the training room. "Wait, my gift!" he yelled. I waved and gave him a nod which he gave up to his fate. I would get to him later. So that left my two newest kobolds, nameless and classless, and my two arguably best minions. I pointed at the two new ones and gestured. Being so young and classless made thinking difficult so I waited for them to organize their thoughts. I was a calm and patient kobold. "What is..." The female kobold looked to her partner. "I don''t know." The male scratched his side looking just as confused and indecisive. "Maybe some shiny?" Chion subtly gestured with a claw, something I took as for me to choose. Dumb minions were dumb, but I liked that they tried. It was fifteen mana and under the list that sealed the deal, although I was beginning to feel bad to give Cas and Ras cheap food. It was their choice and with how much they were enjoying it I was going to get another request for meat soon. I waved the pair of kobolds close and held down a to the female. "You two can do anything you want with them, but share it." She took it in awe, grabbed her partner and they went off near one of the nests to began inspecting the various colored stones and rocks in the sunlight that streamed into the fox den. Those two had the most sense out of all my minions and I had high expectations for them. "Chion, Snep, what do you two want?" I asked still feeling pretty good and generous. Snep suckerpunched Chion in the side which made him finally release her from his grasp and ducked away. "If truly a gift then I want your knife. Not too much, yes?" I pulled the bone knife from out between my horn and my skull cap. "This knife?" Snep nodded, held out her claws and quickly opened and closed them in a ''give me'' manner. She wanted this knife over any gift? She already had an iron dagger so I couldn''t understand why she wanted it, but it saved me on mana and I was wanting to replace it soon enough anyhow. I placed it in her open claw to her confusion? What was that look for? "See? Told you so," said Chion. "What?" I looked between my two strongest minions, not including a certain giant fox, and got annoyed. They were just asking to get kicked, but today wasn''t such a day. Calm and patient kobold, calm and patient. "I''m watching you," said Snep before she backed into the grass and hid from my senses. Chion shrugged and made to follow her. "Nothing for me, you low on mana, yes?" I wiggled a claw. "A little bit, but it isn''t a minion''s job to worry me." "Then make boss room for us minions. Hard fighting knowing if fail we all die," he said solemnly. "Ras, Cas, come along." The [Hunter] pair slurped the last of their meat and licked their claws looking fairly pleased. At Chion''s call they immediately got up and followed him. With that all my minions, except Trald, were satisfied and I could go back to focusing on the dungeon. When Chion was at the edge of my hearing I heard him ask, "How was it?" So he was still curious after all. I jumped off the chest and wandered over to the back of the fox den and exited through the doors. Yes, finally, I had put up a at every entrance and exit! I thought long and hard about putting metal doors instead of wood ones, but waiting for that would delay my by too long. The back room was empty, no longer the new because I needed an empty room. Obviously the core wouldn''t stay on the first floor so I went with what my gut was telling me on how to organize my rooms. The gifts had gotten more expensive than I thought, draining me and the core all the way down to less than ten mana. I waited several minutes to get a couple points of mana back, enough that I would only feel horrible and sick when it dropped low instead of blacking out, and chose the option of the day. >Yes >No It surprised me when I had checked on it after I created my last chest. My early memories were hazy but I knew that when I was first created, the had a limit of ten mana and started with two spirit points. So far the mana limit for the core had grown by two for every simple small room. Going by how most wood purchases were ten or less mana, as well as minions, the requirements of the first floor could easily be done in a couple days! The protection of a boss creature would have been amazing to have earlier, but even a smart [Dungeon Master] like me couldn''t figure it out due to the horrible lack of information. I held a claw on . The core glowed with dim white light in the blackness of the empty room. That light drained out of the core into the floor and suffused itself into the ground and walls. I rubbed my head as the lack of mana hit me as hard as it usually did. The wood floor, that of the massive tree the dungeon was born in, melted into thick mud with pools of swamp water strewn about. Tall reeds and hollow logs were placed around as the walls became slick and aged with overgrown ivy coating its entirety. A canopy of thick leaves replaced the ceiling as the light of a fading day streamed forth. A smoldering campfire sat in the back of the room near a large hut made of twigs and hides. A white light formed into a kobold, one that was a head and a half taller than me, with thin yet strong muscles, murky green scales instead of the usual mottled brown or red-brown, and sharp red eyes. I shivered at how... I didn''t have the word at how in awe I was of his looks. The white light didn''t stop there as once he was fully formed it created him a thick tunic, trousers and cap of hide and armored with bone. Across his back was a thick wood bow different from the ones I had bought for my minions, with iron tipped arrows in a quiver at his side. If that wasn''t enough two more lights emerged to his sides before growing to as tall as he was. Two adult foxes, not on par with the Matriarch but still more impressive than a cub, pawed at their faces. There was no glassy look to their eyes that newborns had, no confused posture or questioning dullness. I stepped back as he took a step forward, repeating so until my back was against a wall and he was in front of me. Towering over me, those sharp eyes looking down on me... I kicked him in the leg. "Back off!" He grunted deeply in pain and fell to a knee, but his gaze never wavered from mine. "You are my Master then?" Impressive. I had kicked with my full strength, something that would maimed or killed any of my minions except the Matriarch, who was grudgingly always the exception. "Yes, of course I am. Who are you to question me?" He rubbed his leg but stayed kneeling as it put him on eye level with me. "I am Vurg Krithix, the of this room and of the First Floor." "You already have a name?" I asked. "Yes, you are my first so I''m still unsure of what was supposed to happen. Information is hard to get unless you experience it first, even with certain useful skills." Vurg lowered his head and motioned with a claw that had his fox minions lower theirs as well. "Firstly I thank you, Master, for summoning me to defend our home. Second, I wish to comment on how beautiful you are. While I know I have just been born, inside my head is the knowledge any kobold leader would have and you are truly unique." Another shiver shook my core. It, he, Vurg was too different, far too different from my dumb minions. "T-Thank you, of course I am. I''m the [Dungeon Master]! But, ah, let me also compliment you on your scales and horn. Such a pleasant shade of green isn''t seen so far." He stood up and looked himself over. "Truly? Ah, I see. My status says that I am not a plain kobold." Status, huh? I went to the core to bring up his status but was stopped by a couple of open notifications. >Yes >No I clacked my fangs at this news. "Vurg, is there an entrance to the second floor in here?" He nodded and waved for me to follow. I picked up the core and we went over to his hut, Vurg pulling aside the grass curtains to reveal a homely interior with a big wooden hatch on the ground in the back. When opened it revealed a set of crude stone stairs leading down into darkness. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. I went down since us kobolds had clear vision even in said darkness, the stairs were straight and maybe twenty short steps before they leveled off and led into an open half-sphere stone room. There was a familiar pedestal made of stone in the middle but nothing else. "Master, is everything okay?" called Vurg from above. He didn''t follow me down? When I went back upstairs I asked, "Can you not go down below?" "No, Master," he said with a shake of his head. "While I may roam my own floor I cannot leave it, and when an invader comes I will be locked in here until they arrive at my door." I expected as much since it would be too good to have a that could be anywhere on the floor. Having Vurg pop out and ambush any invaders would have been a great tactic. He held up a claw after a moment. "Although, perhaps there is an upgrade for me to do so? I have knowledge that there should be a set ot upgrade options for a [Dungeon Master] to grant me, although I cannot say what they possibly are." Dungeon, dungeon, always giving my minions knowledge of their roles but never giving me these things. My skill level up is amazing, but still I feel so clueless. I looked for it in the lists and found that where there was there was now a new option instead. - A set of possible upgrades or expansions for the boss, its minions or the room itself. Limited to picking one option with an additional one added every five floors. >Vurg gains an additional Rosefur Fox [Stalker] - 20 MP / 1 Spirit >Upgrade Vurg from a [Fox Tamer] to a [Rosefur Rider] - 25 MP / 1 Spirit >Spawn two [Hunter] kobolds as reinforcements after two minutes - 30 MP / 1 Spirit I only had one spirit point left and every option required it, but every option was incredibly good. The decision should be my choice as a [Dungeon Master], but I didn''t know the capabilities of Vurg even if i looked at his status, so I explained the options to him. "Which one would you choose if you could?" Vurg sat down on his nest, a collection of small animal furs that didn''t feature a single fox skin, and toyed with an arrow. "That is a difficult decision, Master. My foxes are powerful as they are and a third would be incredible, so that is a known quantity. To change my class to a [Rosefur Rider] is an uncertain advantage as it would mainly increase my stats and change my skills. I doubt the dungeon would include it if it were truly poor..." I agreed. "I know a little of classes. To upgrade to a higher tier is good, you would get stronger everything, but it would increase your personal power only. I found out that there can only be five invaders at a time, and even the strongest can be taken down by numbers." The image of Rocktooth, the goblin chieftain that had invaded, being so wounded by a few fox cubs and the Matriarch was very vivid. Of course right now it would be a five against three situation, but an additional fox or two kobolds after a couple minutes could change that. "A kobold [Hunter] might not be as strong as a fox [Stalker], but they will be capable of using bows and arrows as support." Vurg smiled at me. Ah, I rolled my neck to look anywhere but at him. "True, and a delayed arrival could easily let them get a surprise attack, although it would depend on me to last those minutes. I think that might be the best option if there my enemies maximum group is set to five." I stood up quickly and calmed my tail down as it had been swishing side to side. Let''s just pretend that didn''t happen. "Alright! I will upgrade that as soon as I have the mana then. You said you may roam the floor? Good, then let''s introduce you to your fellow minions. "That would be nice," he said and followed me out to the fox den. His own foxes had followed him out on curiosity and were shocked when they met the Matriarch, a fox that was a head over even them. The Matriarch slowly walked up the foxes, nipped at their ears, and began grooming them in turn. "A mighty defends this room! Are we not sure she isn''t the true floor boss?" Although he said it with amusement there was an undertone of seriousness. Yes, she would be the test of the powerful single creature versus many. If they could tackle her then defeating an upgraded Vurg wouldn''t be as difficult. "You can tell she''s strong, huh?" "As a [Fox Tamer] I can, although I don''t think I could tame that one." I started at that. "You couldn''t beat her?" "No, I could win if it was a fight because a is born at their peak strength. I cannot grow as a normal dungeon creature will, but taming is a matter of wills. If she was younger, perhaps, but not as she is now," said Vurg. Beating the Matriarch in willpower, huh? I could, I definitely could. I definitely didn''t peek at her status page just to make sure. While I was on the statuses list though I did check out Vurg''s. I was curious at just how strong he was along with his foxes. >Name: Vurg Krithix >Class: Fox Tamer Lv.5 >Race: Wild Kobold >Gender: Male >HP: 59 / 59 >MP: 52 / 52 >STR: 5 >DEX: 26 >AGI: 18 >VIT: 18 >INT: 10 >WIS: 22 >CHA: 5 >LUK: 2 >Skills: [Fox Empathy Lv.5], [Quick Step Lv.5]. [Tough Scales Lv.5], [Bow Techniques Lv.5], [Pack Tactics Lv.5], [Frenzy Call Lv.5] >Perks: [Swift Hunter], [Swamp Safety] >Name: Sweet / Bitter >Class: Stalker Lv.5 >Race: Rosefur Fox >Gender: Male / Female >HP: 73 / 73 >MP: 11 / 11 >STR: 22 >DEX: 18 >AGI: 22 >VIT: 17 >INT: 3 >WIS: 2 >CHA: 14 >LUK: 1 >Skills: [Hide Presence Lv.5], [Bite Lv.5], [Thick Fur Lv.5], [Distract Lv.5] >Perks: [Natural Predator] Kekeke, they were all so strong! So that was why he wouldn''t grow stronger naturally. I tapped on the skills and perks but still didn''t get any information for them. They explained themselves mostly, but how did [Pack Tactics] or [Distract] work? Finally, I allowed the tension that had been built up to drain out of me knowing that I was secure for now. Nothing that had invaded could beat my , and I felt that the decision to buy the those chests was worth it. It also showed me that skills were incredibly important as shown by how the skill levels compared to class levels made them stronger than me or Chion despite us being level four. Truthfully I had slacked off on practicing so my skills had fallen behind. Chion was becoming a bad influence on me. "Oh, they''re adorable," said Vurg. I snapped out of my thoughts to see him approach the two newest kobolds playing with their shiny stones. Their eyes went wide and they looked between me and Vurg. He rubbed their heads with a claw. "Oh, do not mind me, young ones. Continue on." "Master?" asked one of them. "He is Vurg, our for this floor," I said and gestured for them to continue on. "Come, Vurg." Vurg smiled as the two hurriedly began to gather up their stones to place back in the stone jar and joined me. We made our way to the lair when he asked, "The youngest?" "You are actually the youngest you know, but yes. They are still without a class, but it shouldn''t take as long as it did the others," I said. "Why? My knowledge says it is common for a kobold to gain a class usually within a week or two at the fastest." asked Vurg. That shocked me. "Really? It must be different for dungeon creatures because usually it is a few days at most." "If you have invaders often come and they fight then that sounds reasonable. Intent and affinity are important to the way the world works. A dungeon is very clear-cut on what needs to be done so roles can be filled quickly," explained Vurg. Dungeon, please give me this knowledge instead of my minion. Although, I do enjoy listening to him talk. We entered the lair to see only Chion in his nest as usual. I said ''see'' but he was snugly hidden under the fur blanket. I know he must''ve heard us talking but he still wasn''t more interested than staying under the covers. I sighed and pointed at the nest. "That there is my chief minion, Chion. If you need to know or have anything done just talk to him if I''m not needed." The fur blanket moved just slightly to reveal Chion''s glare. "Master, please don''t give more work." "I''m hoping that all the work will give him a good class, maybe something like [Chieftain]." Chion whined pitifully and gave a pleading look to Vurg. "It... shouldn''t be too much of an issue, but I will keep it in mind, Master. I see many nests but where are all the others?" I looked at Chion. He pointed at the training room and pulled the covers back over his head. "The training room. To the right leads to the entrance room and the left is an empty room now that the has been moved." "A training room, is it? I see, that is why it shall take less time." "Trald, our [Trainer], is still adapting to his role but he is a good minion," I said as we entered the hall to the training room. As good as he was Trald could stand to be more confident in himself, currently even our youngest classed kobolds had him at their whim. Either way, it wasn''t my job to manage that. Probably. The chorus of voices were loud from the other side of the door. Vurg was about to push the door open, but paused since I didn''t step forward alongside him. "Are you not coming?" "I just saw all of their dumb faces earlier before I summoned you. My minions can be shy when I''m around so I''ll let you go introduce yourself instead," I said. Just from the tones and the way they talked, even if I couldn''t understand the words through the door, told me enough. Normally I wouldn''t mind, but Vurg was... impressive. "I see." He lost his smile. "No you don''t, you dumb boss minion. Look at me, am I not amazing and smart? You are equally amazing, but next to me," I said and shook my head. "How can you compare?" Vurg grinned at that. "Apologies, my Master, you are kind enough to let me have all the attention." "Yes, don''t forget it. I''m your [Dungeon Master], they are my minions, and you are their floor''s ." I stepped up to the door and kicked it inward. Everyone froze. Trald was talking to Ras and Cas near the archery targets with several arrows embedded in them. Baf was posed in mid-throw of a dart, aiming not at the board but instead at Daf who held two swords in a cross in front of her chest. All eyes focused on me before sliding over to Vurg. "Minions, here is your !" I pushed Vurg in and shut the door. Yes, that was possibly the best introduction I could have ever given. I went back to the lair, dodging out of the way as the door flew open and the two nameless minions ran by, one clutching the jar in its grip but neither sparing a glance at me. I laughed and closed the door before going to Chion''s nest. His claw caught my kick before it his leg. "Not even curious about Vurg?" Chion sighed as if he gave up trying to get any rest and crawled out from under his blanket. "Always curious, but more curious than tired? Never. But curious why Master here and not with others." "Am I to hold all his claw through meeting his allies? The meeting is different if I''m there, both he and you know that." "Is different, but not why Master think," said Chion. "Kekeke, you would be so bold a minion to claim to know how I think?" "Sure." Chion shrugged. "All kobolds know you are [Dungeon Master]. After changing to color race, Master is still Master. We all know, even troublesome minions. Not normal kobolds, but dungeon creatures. You go on and grow dungeon. Sure, if Master dies maybe one of us become [Dungeon Master]." "If I die? An invader that powerful would already break the core." He nodded. "Probably. But Vurg is , but also show what we maybe become like. What''s words, role model?" I kicked at Chion but he threw the blanket at me and rolled to my side. Oh, this minion was going to get such a beating. He grinned and pulled his wood dagger out. "That sounds like treachery, Chion. Suggesting that I''m a bad role model? I''ll show you how great I am!" Chion witnessed my greatness up close and personal. Hours later Vurg still hadn''t come out of the training room, nor had any other kobold. Chion had revived for the third time, cracking his neck and slashing with his iron dagger in practicing something only he could see. After his first death I ordered him to use the iron dagger because my conversation with Vurg rung a bell. Of course Chion would stop if I were to actually get maimed, but some injuries were nothing considering we both needed real practice. My [Claw Techniques] and [Tough Scales] had leveled once and I even gained [Throwing Techniques Lv.1] after stealing his bone dagger off his tunic and pegging him in the head with it. Maybe now I would be able to have the blade land first! Using [Healing Breath] I patched myself up and picked up the core off of my nest. "Master great, truly great, what a dumb minion I am," said Chion. Was he being sarcastic, mocking me, or genuinely speaking? Maybe all three given the tone, but I wasn''t sure. A fourth death wouldn''t hurt, right? He held up his claws and sat on his nest. I snorted at him. "Leveled a little in skills, and now level five [Trapper]," said Chion. "How is my laziest minion leveling this quick?" I scrutinized him and couldn''t tell anything different. "Some of my skills leveled but I''m still level four. So far I''ve leveled when invaders died in the dungeon, but I''m also thinking that I level from building and expanding." "I''m [Trapper], level mainly by traps. Rest help recover mana, use trap skill, level up." I stared at Chion. He wiggled a claw. "Not exactly that easy, been fighting lots, but easier than others. Snep level by sneaking, she almost four. Trald have it hard." Hmm, yes, I was going to forget about the last couple minutes. Chion was just my lazy minion, the laziest in fact. "So I have a second floor now, but to work on it I have to finalize the first floor. Apparently I can''t do anything to build or upgrade rooms after that, probably nothing at all." "Haven''t done yet?" asked Chion. "You are still curious about eating meat?" Chion slowly nodded. "Then I have an idea for it and hope it won''t cost a spirit point. Hopefully, if I''m right, it shouldn''t." Chion perked up, his tail thumping under his blanket. "A good idea?" "Kekeke, it''s a great idea." H2 - Adventuring Business "Why couldn''t we do something other than goblins?" asked Claire as she tugged at her new clothes. Sera suppressed a chuckle at her cousin''s discomfort in her new garb. It was incredible at how switching from a blue priestly robe to a soft yellow short sleeve shirt, grey shorts, and several pieces of leather armor could change her impression. No longer did her cute cousin look like an [Acolyte] but a fledgling [Monk]. "Why yellow and grey?" asked Sera instead of answering. "Aren''t Current''s colors blue and lavender?" "Because it''s safe experience and money." Jera was walking ahead of the group keeping an eye out as they neared the edge of the Rosestone Swamp. For the last week they had been traversing out to the edges to fend off roaming goblins. It was a cheap, ongoing mission given by the Commission Guild as the number of goblins continued to swell despite many low level parties doing their best. "Thank you, Jera," said Claire politely before glaring at Sera. "And yes, blue and lavender are the colors of Current. I, however, worship Luminous. It''s just that Ardor only has three temples and the Great Fire Goddess'' temple requires you to worship her to enter." "Oh, that makes sense. Wait." Sera sped over to Claire and placed a hand on her head and shook it back and forth. "Cousin dear, Luminous is a Beastkin God." Claire tried to remove Sera''s hand but even though she was a [Mage] she possessed high strength due to her skills. She wasn''t carrying around a sword and aiming for a class like [Magic Swordsman] for nothing! "Ack, let go, jeez! There''s nothing wrong with worshiping any god, no matter your race. I don''t understand why everyone makes a big deal about it!" "Because they''re Beastkin Gods! Ugh, to even suggest worshiping them, let alone a Creature God, where did my cute cousin''s common sense go?" Honestly, Sera wondered where it went. Beastkin were so savage and vicious, letting their instincts and old traditions control them. She had never met a nice Beastkin before, although she hadn''t truly met that many, and Creatures were the eternal enemy of Beastkin and Beings alike! "Agh, Sera!" Claire tapped on her hand and she realized that she was squeezing a bit too hard. Sera released her cousin''s head and ruffled that blonde hair to try and cover for her lapse. "That hurt, jerk." Jera ahead of them sighed. "Look alive, girls, because we have some company. Besides, Gods and racial hostilities make no sense to me. As long as they don''t mess with me and my friends they¡¯re okay." "Says the guy that has us out here constantly to kill goblins and take their ears back for money?" snarked Sera as she drew her sword and looked around. They had come upon the edge of the swamp, the tree line where most goblins would be hiding out for scouting or spying, to once again do their duty. Constantly doing these kinds of missions didn''t help them out besides earning some living expenses. Smacking around weak goblins was barely worth the effort for leveling their class or skills. Claire tugged at her clothes some more, obviously not used to wearing them even after a few days, but she had learned that fighting with her hands while wearing a robe was awfully unwieldy. "Do I need to prepare anything? I heard some stories from visitors and my seniors about adventuring, but it was nothing like this. It sounded... so cool." Jera had that look, the one when he was tuning his senses or using his skills to find enemies. "It''s stuff you learn or research when actually adventuring. We''re just walking out of town and then coming back at nightfall, no need to do anything fancy. Three goblins a dozen or so feet behind that big tree right there." "Three? Wonder why there''s so many just on the edge like that. What''s the danger like?" asked Sera. "Doesn''t feel that dangerous, probably level one or two each. Claire, you want to go in before Sera charges?" "Hey!" Claire shuffled her feet and peered into the swamp. "I barely managed to handle two last time. Um, maybe let Sera go?" "Knew you were cute for a reason. Besides, taking two on without being hurt is really good. Even a three or four level difference isn''t enough to defeat multiple enemies without getting cut or stabbed a couple times." Sera twirled her sword and rolled her shoulders hard, holding the tension in her muscles for a moment just to feel that slight burn. She ran toward the big tree Jera pointed out with a smile. While she didn''t have a footwork skill like Jera or a movement skill like Claire she had something neither of them did. Sera rounded the tree to see three small goblins peeking out from behind the roots, each dressed in dirty rags and wielding crude wood weapons. The magic that ran throughout her body, all the energy that originated from a roaring fire in her lungs, raged as she drew upon it and pointed with her offhand. Even against weak goblins she kept her sword ready to block any thrown rocks or spears. "[Minor Ignite]" Unlike a novice''s flame her spell sent a short spear of raging fire at her target. Although she had neglected it a bit ever since getting a better skill it was still her highest level skill! The flame spear struck one goblin and set him ablaze, scorching his skin and slaying him within seconds while he screamed. The other two abandoned all thought of fighting someone who could set them on fire at will and scattered, each taking off in the opposite direction while leaving their ally to his awful fate. ¡°[Minor Ignite].¡± Another arrow of fire flew toward one of the goblins, but it ducked under a large root and escaped certain death. Sera clicked her tongue and ran after the one she didn¡¯t shoot at. Her wisdom wasn¡¯t high enough that she could afford to waste spells at the beginning of the day. Although she wasn¡¯t as fast as any agility based class, she had enough to easily catch up to a goblin when sprinting. Sera leapt over a bush and around a tree before catching the fleeing goblin in the shoulder with her sword. Flesh parted and blood splattered and the goblin stumbled to the ground. Another strike, one the goblin tried to block with its arm, put it down. Jera and Claire caught up after a minute. ¡°I know, I know, one got away.¡± ¡°It went further along the edges, not deeper, so we should chase it down safely,¡± said Jera. He waved at the dead goblin as he started heading in that direction. ¡°Come on.¡± Claire looked between the two confused. ¡°Does it matter if one got away?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be back for you, buddy,¡± said Sera to the dead goblin. The group picked up the pace with Jera in the lead. ¡°Yeah, it sorta does. So far it hasn¡¯t mattered because we don¡¯t miss one, but goblins are smart. Well, smarter than animals anyway. They¡¯ll run back to their tribe and get reinforcements, or they won¡¯t and decide we¡¯re too much trouble. Depends, really. I wouldn¡¯t be worried, but Jera hates leaving it to chance.¡± ¡°Because your luck is horrible,¡± he said as he rounded a tree, paused for a moment, and began backpedalling and waving at them to turn back. ¡°Just like that.¡± Claire glanced around nervously. ¡°Like what?¡± ¡°We¡¯re heading¡ªor not, damn.¡± That worried Sera. ¡°What?¡± ¡°[Sense Presence] is telling me the goblin met up with a hob and is coming back.¡± Sera was going to wave it off since their group could easily handle one hobgoblin. ¡°Except I think we missed another because two goblins and two hobs are heading toward us from the edge.¡± Claire squeaked. ¡°Hobgoblins!?¡± Sera cursed. ¡°Okay, uh, three huh? Maybe they¡¯re weak?¡± Jera pushed the two toward the deeper parts of the swamp. ¡°Maybe, maybe not, my skill isn¡¯t that high level yet. Goblins mutate into hobs when they get twenty strength and vitality, so even weak ones are difficult to put down.¡± ¡°So we could do it, right? I mean, one for each of us?¡± asked Claire hopefully as they increased their pace to a fast walk. ¡°Sure, we would win, but even that it wouldn¡¯t be easy or without pain. You have a heal skill but I¡¯d rather not risk it at all.¡± Jera shot Claire a look. ¡°Rule number one, Claire, is that survival is priority in our job.¡± Sera laughed and sheathed her sword since carrying it in hand was slowing her down. ¡°It¡¯s true. Sure, we could take them and maybe only break a limb or three, but what if more show up. What if they weren¡¯t the weakest? The Guild¡¯s recommendation is that you only fight things five levels lower than you at all times. Risky business otherwise.¡± ¡°Okay, I understand. What is our plan, though?¡± asked Claire. What was with her cousin and the difficult questions. Sera was glad Jera was in charge of the boring stuff and she was in charge of the fighting. Jera jumped over a pond of swamp muck and led them into the denser trees. ¡°To hide and wait them out. They won¡¯t chase forever, but with them so close to the edge and cutting off our way out it¡¯ll be either a fight or them running us down in the plains.¡± ¡°I knew we shouldn¡¯t have been hunting goblins for so long. We made them mad and they waited for us,¡± complained Claire. ¡°Psh, nah, it was only luck. Goblin¡¯s aren¡¯t that smart, cousin of mine,¡± said Sera. ¡°Unless they have a [Shaman] or something leader-like,¡± muttered Jera. True, unless that. A [Shaman] was a mid-tier class and extremely rare, but heard of often enough among large goblin tribes. Although they¡¯re a pretty big deal and often get large bounties placed on them, and Sera hadn¡¯t heard of any appearing. They traveled pretty far into the swamp, over an hour as a quick pace as they chatted among themselves, before Jera held them up. ¡°...That¡¯s weird. Over here.¡± Jera helped Claire up a steep slope and walked through deep brush, went past several trees that were twice as thick as the ones on the edge, before they stopped at a clearing. It was still hidden from the sun, a massive canopy covered the clearing, but there were no densely packed trees or bushes. Only sparse islands of mud amongst the deep swamp and absolutely giant roots poking out of the ground, ones that led up to perhaps the largest tree Sera had ever seen. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°First time seeing a Rosepine,¡± muttered Sera. ¡°Woah,¡± breathed Claire. ¡°How old does it have to be to get that big?¡± Jera climbed up the hill the tree rested on and came to stop at a weird archway. It was as if someone had cut out a huge chunk of the tree and them made a round room inside it. ¡°Not old, they actually grow to that size in a decade or so. Weird.¡± He motioned for the two girls to come up, and when they looked through the archway they agreed that it was weird. Inside the tree was a round room, abnormally round with polished walls and grass ground instead of wood like it should¡¯ve been. But that wasn¡¯t what they focused on. ¡°Bunnies!¡± said Claire as she ran inside picked up a brown rabbit. ¡°Why are they all here?¡± Dozens of rabbits of various browns and greys hopped around without a care. Small mounds that were burrow entrances were here and there. Claire was smiling as she held the bunny in her arms, it¡¯s survival instinct completely gone and it being perfectly docile. ¡°Sera, Jera, look!¡± Jera ran a hand down his face as Sera sighed. ¡°It was our fault. I mean, I didn¡¯t expect her to just go inside, but that¡¯s not on her. She¡¯s adorable, look at her! How could she ever resist?¡± ¡°I know, I do, but it¡¯ll be mostly mine since I brought you two over here,¡± complained Jera. ¡°What are you two talking about?¡± asked Claire. Sera wanted to smack her cousin, but instead just pointed at the edge of the room. Claire turned, no longer blind to everything but the rabbits, and saw the waist-high chest of pale bone sitting near the wall as well as the door off to the side. ¡°...Oh. Oh no.¡± Claire tried to go to her team, but banged into the invisible barrier of the archway. ¡°It¡¯s a dungeon!¡± ¡°Yes, we know,¡± shot Sera. ¡°And now we¡¯re going to have to stay in it for a day.¡± ¡°Sera. Exactly how much do you like your cousin?¡± asked Jera thoughtfully in a tone as if he was asking about the weather or a food. ¡°Jera.¡± He cupped his chin, examined the room, then turned to Sera. ¡°How much, maybe down to a number. One through twenty?¡± ¡°Twenty-thousand.¡± Sera crossed her arms. ¡°We¡¯re not leaving her here.¡± Claire started. ¡°You¡¯re going to leave me?¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± Although only a foot or two separated the [Acolyte] and [Swordsman], it might as well been a world. ¡°It¡¯s suicide, probably?¡± ¡°Come on, it¡¯s only the first level of a dungeon. I bet it¡¯s not even old enough to be dangerous. It¡¯s not like those stories of a hundred year old dungeon with immortal creatures on the first floor as strong as something ten times their level. I know for a fact it¡¯s not registered!¡± Sera swatted as Jera who ducked away . ¡°Even so, we¡¯re not exactly a hero¡¯s band here.¡± ¡°But but, how can it be scary? It has bunnies!¡± argued Claire. Sera stepped through the archway and put an arm around Claire. ¡°It¡¯s a day. Surely it won¡¯t be that bad? This is how much I like Claire. Now, about how much exactly do you like me, sir [Swordsman]?¡± Jera rubbed his temples and stepped through. ¡°I knew you would be the death of me.¡± ¡°Relax, it¡¯s only a day. We camp out in this¡­ bunny room, pray the goblins don¡¯t find us, and then leave tomorrow. Although even if they did find us we¡¯d totally win since only two could enter,¡± said Sera. ¡°Or they could shoot us through the barrier and drive us deeper inside for cover.¡± ¡°Or that. Hey, that¡¯s a chest, right?¡± Sera walked over to the bone chest and rapped a knuckle on it. ¡°Yep. Wonder why it¡¯s here?¡± Claire now had two bunnies, one in each arm, as she joined Sera. ¡°Because it¡¯s a dungeon?¡± Jera sat down and concentrated. ¡°Dungeon¡¯s always mess with skills. I can¡¯t pick up anything with [Sense Presence] and I¡¯m low on mana.¡± ¡°Jera, chest, questions, answer.¡± He glared at Sera. ¡°Sera, chest, dungeon choice, open it or shut it.¡± ¡°Wow, rude. Claire, want to open it?¡± Claire wanted to, clearly she did, but the rabbits in her arms were clearly the young girl¡¯s focus. Truthfully rabbits were a hard find except as a rare meat since they were preyed on by basically everything. Even Sera wasn¡¯t immune to the bunny charm. ¡°Can¡¯t.¡± Sera grabbed the lid and heaved with far too much strength. The chest opened with barely any force needed, the hinges smooth and silent despite its material, and a single item was inside. ¡°Since there was a chest in the front we really should¡¯ve opened it and entered one at a time. They reset each time someone resets the delve,¡± explained Jera. ¡°Although the chest will have junk if it¡¯s not in a good room. Bone is pretty good for a first floor chest.¡± ¡°Shh, shush and look at this!¡± Sera pulled out a bracelet with five different rabbit feet hanging on it along with several small claws and teeth. ¡°Ta-da, a magic bracelet!¡± Jera sat up and stared at it. ¡°Huh, really is, although it¡¯s super weak.¡± ¡°Woah,¡± said Claire with wide eyes. ¡°Actual magical equipment?¡± ¡°Lucky find,¡± said Sera with pride. How dare Jera call her unlucky? ¡°The magic is really weak, I can barely get anything with [Sense Magic], so thematically I guess it would be a point of agility or dexterity? If we could get a few of these, then it would be really worth it. Want it?¡± Claire backed up and squeezed the bunnies. ¡°It¡¯s made from dead bunnies! You¡­ you can keep it, Sera.¡± Sera slipped it on her left hand so she didn¡¯t mess up her dominant arm. Even the slight weight of the bracelet might mess up her swordsmanship. ¡°Awesome dungeon so far, a chest and rabbits. You sure we can¡¯t go deeper?¡± ¡°...Maybe. I admit that it feels young, nothing like the horror stories. The League is adamant about warning people off dungeons since they can grow quickly. Even two or three months is enough to get a first floor up to its limit, although you¡¯re right. I haven¡¯t heard of one being in the swamp this close to Ardor, although it¡¯s really not that far from Brakkahorn either, maybe double the distance?¡± ¡°Those filthy dogs can¡¯t have our new dungeon!¡± spat Sera. ¡°Unless it¡¯s a death trap. Then it¡¯s all theirs.¡± Claire sighed at Sera before tilting to one side. ¡°Do you hear something?¡± Jera quieted down and quickly stood up. ¡°Something¡¯s in the hallway.¡± Before either of the sword-wielders could pull a weapon the door opened with a grumble. ¡°Stupid Snep, do this, do that. Just cause¡ª¡± It was waist-high, had mottled brown scales with dark green eyes that were really closer to black, with a red fur tunic although no pants. It froze, eyes flicking between each of the humans, and it screamed. Sera brought up a hand, pulled at the fire within her lungs, and began morphing the flame. Jera stepped forward and went to pull his sword. Neither were faster than the kobold that already had a bow in its claw. An arrow made of bone was nocked and fired before the two finished their motions. Normally they would defend or dodge or even take it and cut the monster down. Except the arrow flew directly toward Claire. Jera spun and slashed at the arrow, trying to cut it in mid flight, but missed by a hair. Sera knew she couldn¡¯t do the same thing with magic so instead cancelled her spell and shoved Claire out of the way. Claire, for her effort, was like a deer caught unaware. Frozen in body and thought as she was shoved out of the way, although not quickly enough. Blood splattered with a squelch as the arrow sunk deep into flesh, destroying the brain and killing in a single motion. Two screams pierced the air, one being the kobold as it ran away down the hallway. The other was Claire as she cradled the dead rabbit, an arrow piercing its skull. ¡°Mr. Fluffytail!¡± Sera sighed in relief and Jera cursed under his breath at missing the arrow. If they weren¡¯t so caught off-guard he could¡¯ve done it with his high [Sword Techniques]. ¡°Claire, are you okay?¡± Claire was crying on her knees and putting the poor rabbit on the floor. ¡°I¡ªI¡¯m fine, I guess. But my bunny¡­¡± There was literally dozens of bunnies, although Sera could now guess why there were so many, and patted her cousin on the back. ¡°Better him than you. Well, Jera, they know we¡¯re here now. Once again we have a fleeing creature going for reinforcements, but this time we can¡¯t run.¡± Jera peered down the hallway with difficulty as it turned extremely dark without any source of light. He pulled out a torch from his backpack, soaked the end in oil from a flask, and lit it with his flint and iron. ¡°It spoke in common tongue, and it¡¯s draw and shot was good, but not legendary. You were right, it¡¯s young enough that we aren¡¯t going to be murdered by a single dread creature. Kobolds though¡­ They¡¯re worse than goblins for sure.¡± Claire sniffed, kept her other bunny tight in her arms, and asked, ¡°Why? I know they¡¯re like, lizard things, but the Guild says they¡¯re around the same threat level, right?¡± ¡°In the swamp, sure.¡± Sera sighed and pulled on her magic, keeping it tethered briefly in her hand for a spell. It took concentration and a decent level of [Mana Manipulation] to do so, but it would let her loose her spell in an instant. ¡°In a dungeon? Goblin¡¯s at least have to use light to see. Kobolds can see perfectly in the dark, have claws, and are stronger than goblins by a bit since goblins mutate quickly.¡± ¡°Although in a dungeon you can never know what to expect,¡± muttered Jera. ¡°Pioneering a dungeon of your own level, and five is the limit for the first floor, is often considered a death sentence. But hey, not like we have a choice, right?¡± Claire gulped. ¡°We can always stay here?¡± ¡°Sure, but that gives them time to prepare,¡± laughed Sera. ¡°Catch them by surprise and then assess what we¡¯re going to do. Right behind you, Leader.¡± Jera scoffed. ¡°Today was going so well too.¡± H3 - My First Dungeon Claire was scared. She knew she should be terrified, maybe more, in her current situation. Locked in a Dungeon, a place made by the World itself to oppose the Great Gods if her teachings were correct, without preparations or equipment for such a thing. Let alone the fact that she was barely level five and her cousin and partner (boyfriend?) were only around eight or nine when it''s recommended to be at least level ten. Yet she was also incredibly excited. Claire clutched Mrs. Whitetail in her arm, the rabbit simply accepting its fate without resistance, and mentally prepared herself. All the stories she had heard of epic adventures and tales of fighting creatures most monstrous made her want to be an adventurer, the reason she was going the class route she planned on and even the God she had chosen. Adventurers generally had three career choices in life: the League of Delvers, Explorer''s Union, or Commission Guild. To explore and dive into a death trap for untold rewards, to bravely pioneer the unknown world, or to mercenary for a city. She loved the idea of fighting, the concept of battle as told in grand tales or campfire stories, but actually fighting was terrifying. Yet as horrible, awful and cruel real fighting was, as much as she hated taking something''s life, there was no hiding the complete utter thrill and rush of adrenaline that came with the battle. It worried Claire that maybe she was a bit too much like her cousin Sera at times. It both was exhilarating and sickening when her fist collided with a goblin''s skull, a sensation she both regretted and loved about learning [Fist Techniques]. Should she really be so introspective at a time like this? Yes, yes she should, because she was trying to get her head in the game. Jera peered down the hallway, the orange light of the torch revealing nothing but a long, plain wood floor and walls. Wait... "Really?" muttered Sera incredulously. Jera took a small stone out of his pouch and tossed it down the hallway while Sera giggled to herself. The stone bounced all the way down before dropping into an pit at the end. He said with a sigh, "Really, a pit trap just like that? Guess that''s what a first level is." "Have neither of you been to a dungeon before? You two sounded like you knew a lot about them," said Claire. "We''re both aiming to be a [Magic Swordsman] in our own way, and both plan to join the League when we''re high enough level, so of course we studied up on them. This is our first dungeon though, I mean, we aren''t really swimming in magic gear and the nearest dungeon used to be several days away and over forty levels deep," explained Sera. Jera shrugged and stepped into the hallway. "This is actually a good chance¡ª" Two quiet puffs of air shot a wooden arrow from Jera''s sides. His hardened leather armor protected his left side but the arrow sunk into his right hip straight through his shirt. It made him stumble for a moment at which a wooden block twice as large as his head slam into his skull from above sending him crashing to the ground. "Jera!" yelled Sera as she ran over and pulled him to a sitting position. He rubbed his head and held a hand to the arrow in his hip, his sword having clattered to the ground when the wood block hit him. "I''m fine, sort of. Ow, that really stings," he said before waving Claire over. "Claire, cast a heal after Sera gets the arrow. I''d do it but... Man, I didn''t even see those. Who puts all these traps in the first hallway?" Sera relaxed a bit since Jera was being casual about it, although Claire felt that he would be that way even if he were seriously injured. She grabbed the arrow and with a quick jerk yanked it out. "Wooden, huh? Probably barely dented your health, but that block sure knocked you over good." Claire walked into the hallway, wary of any other traps in the darkened corridor, and only now noticed the small holes in the wall or the larger one in the ceiling. The pit trap had taken her focus enough that she didn''t even think to look for more. "This kind of hallway must be something that turns a person into a [Rogue]." "No doubt," agreed Jera. Casting a spell, or rather using a spell skill, was always weird for Claire. Each person''s mana felt different to them, although it wasn''t exactly unique to every individual. A [Mage] might feel it tended toward their preferred element like Sera or it was something about how they thought mana should feel like. Many of the other healers, whether they be [Cleric], [Acolyte] or [Priest] always had similar feelings. Light, fresh air, a warm breeze or the rays of the run. Her skin felt colder, not unpleasantly but simply cool while a pool of something was dredged up from her feet and through her legs into her hand. The world always dimmed to her sight, as if the shadows grew slightly deeper for a moment, as she spoke. "[Minor Heal]." A golden light flashed over Jera and both his injuries disappeared instantly. Although she didn''t have the [Mana Manipulation] skill even after months of practice, she was used to the feeling of mana since she volunteered to heal at every opportunity. There was a reason her [Minor Heal] level four and so close to five. "Thanks," said Jera. Sera grasped his hand and hauled him to his feet, then handed him his sword and torch. They walked over to the pit trap glancing at the walls, but the other two relaxed when they looked inside. Wooden spikes littered the bottom, their points gleaming in the torchlight and dangerously sharp. "All five traps in the first spot, huh? Unless it''s a special dungeon or has a skill, we don''t have to worry about traps." "Well, as far as we can guess it is a kobold dungeon. They love traps," laughed Sera before she scowled. "Although the traps are never the issue, is it? It''s always the monsters." "The monsters?" asked Claire. "The limit to the first floor should be fifteen, and if we''re unlucky they''ll all be kobolds in a large room. Bad odds for us since only Sera has a ranged attack, but if we''re lucky it''ll be less or even small. First floors have always been recorded as being both strange and simple because it''s usually just whatever it gains or learns first." Claire imagined them three being in a melee with fifteen kobolds and shuddered. "Maybe it''s just more bunnies like Mrs. Whitetail?" Sera clapped a hand on her shoulder. "Claire, maybe you should let the rabbit go." She squeezed the bunny harder. "But..." "You can grab one or three on our way out, okay? You can''t punch things with a rabbit in your hand, now can you?" Sera was right, it would be awful if her new bunny went the way of her other new bunny. Claire set the bunny down back in the room full of its brethren and hurried back to her party already missing the warm fluff ball. It was just so rare to see an actual rabbit, especially one that didn''t bolt away three times as fast as she could run! "Okay, I''m ready." She watched Jera edge around the spiky pit since it took up most of the hallway near the door but left enough space to place a foot and more than enough to stand in front of the door. It was made to probably help the kobolds fight in the corridor, sending arrows down it without the fear of being rushed. Claire muttered,"Strange that they didn''t do that though." "What?" asked Sera. Jera pushed on the door just light enough to crack it in order to peek into the room. They were surprised it wasn''t locked, and then further surprised when a few pairs of eyes peered back through it. That surprise tripled when the kobolds yelped and threw their bodies into the door. That was how they found out the door opened both ways and everyone gained a new appreciation for the spiky pit of death. It was lucky that Jera chose to open the door since he had enough bulk and strength to catch himself and push back. Sera jumped over the pit and slammed into the door. Their combined strength beat the kobolds back and sent the door flying open. The room was sweltering compared to the chilly outside. A dozen nests of either grass or furs were spread out around a pit that housed a burning fire. Eight kobolds were inside the room, all the same mottled brown color but each dressed in differing equipment. All three humans immediately noticed the one in the back though. Eyes like the open sky dyed crimson stared at them with open contempt from beneath a fox skull helmet. Claire expected hatred or anger, maybe even fear like all the goblins displayed. Its, although Claire felt it was a her, scales were beautifully white with curled blue horns. She spoke, a voice like clear spring wind, "More invaders, huh? Shoot them." That snapped Jera and Sera into action. Two kobolds in the back, one of which she recognized from earlier, nocked a white arrow on their bone bow and sent it flying with a yell. "[[Pierce]]!" "Behind!" yelled Jera as he pulled the door shut. They all ducked behind it right before the two arrows struck, and then poked out through, the door. He threw it back open before Sera shot off a flame toward a kobold near them. "Claire with me, front line. Sera, get the archers!" "Got it," said Sera as she leapt into the fray. Two kobolds with short swords and shields made of bone, crude things that looked more jagged than sharp, pincered her as she ran by. She wasn''t graceful like Jera with her swordsmanship, her parry was more battering the other weapon with her sword than a proper technique. Jera stepped in and swung in a single smooth motion making the other kobold block with his shield instead of keep with his strike. "It didn''t break?" muttered Jera in surprise. His sword wasn''t the best, but considering his strength and it was hard iron against bone it should''ve cut or smashed the shield to pieces. Still, the kobold was shuddering behind his shield trying to recover from the blow so Claire thought it was time to make a move. So many creatures in such a small room was an alien experience. At most they had fought three goblins at once in the open field and even that felt like it was too many, and she didn''t possess the teamwork and trust that Jera and Sera had with each other. With some concentration she felt her feet get heavier, as if tensed and ready to spring, before she kicked off. Claire blurred for a moment as she used [Energy Burst] to clear several feet from the door to beside the shield kobold and threw a punch. Her fist, mildly protected by thin leather gloves, smashed into the kobold''s head and sent him to the ground. It didn''t feel like punching a goblin; its hard scales refused to tear or rip. Sera leapt over the fire pit, sending a [Minor Ignite] toward one archer as she brought down her sword on the other. The magical fire engulfed the poor kobold with ease, charcoaling its scales and snuffing out its life as swiftly as fire burned oxygen. The other archer blocked with its bone bow, barely deflecting the blow but shattering the bow into pieces. "Good work you two," said the white kobold. Claire had missed it but it ended up behind Sera. Jera was fending off two kobolds for a moment so he was unable to help in time. Sera spun upon hearing that voice of what likely the leader, but the white kobold kept to her blindspot and sank both its claws into Sera. Through her armor. It then ripped them out and leapt away from Sera''s retaliating blow. Claire had to hurry over and heal her! What kind of kobold can just claw through hardened leather like that? "Sera! Damnit," said Jera. He tried to go over to Sera but every step he took was blocked by a kobold. The one with the shield went left and the other that didn''t wear armor and had only a sword went right. Jera dodged a sword to his leg and swept his open hand over his sword. "[Icy Blade]." He changed his grip to a two-handed style as the sword gained a blue sheen of ice, mist falling off of it due to the heat of the room, and had a thin, solid icy blade extend from its tip by several inches. Claire had wondered why Jera didn''t use a shield! With his extended reach he parried a blow from the shielded kobold and expertly maneuvered into range of the shieldless one. Its eyes widened and then glared in acceptance before Jera sliced through its stomach with abnormal ease. It sputtered something Claire thought sounded like ''useless again'' before it died. Claire was about to sprint over to support Sera when agony exploded in her leg. She kicked out reflexively and saw that a kobold edged into her field of vision. She worked to ignore the sharp and hot pain in her leg and faced her new opponent. Every person that aimed to be an adventurer of some sorts was trained and taught certain skills. One of which was learned brutally but necessarily: [Pain Resistance]. "Never useless, Trald," said the kobold that had stabbed her in the leg. It twirled its iron dagger in its claws while keeping its other claw on a bone dagger as its side. "Hmm, weakest one? Chion, take other." Claire backed up only to see another kobold shrug and run over at Jera. Where had they come from? A door was open to their right that hadn''t been! These two new kobolds weren''t like the others, this Claire knew. They had metal weapons and were covered in various armors ranging from bone, leather and even some metal parts. Claire yelled, "Strong reinforcements!" "Damn," cursed Jera. Sera was clutching her side as the blood poured out of her armor with each vigorous movement, but was fighting off the white kobold with some difficulty. No doubt if she wasn''t wounded she could easily best the leader kobold, but those claws were something they didn''t watch out for. "Sera, use a potion!" ordered Jera. "Didn''t want to waste the money, but no choice, huh?" Sera slashed wide fending off the white kobold for a moment enough that she snagged out a wood vial and tore the cork on top off with her teeth. A quick drink later her wounds had vanished and she stood straighter. "Let''s see how you handle me now." The white kobold clacked her fangs. "Healing is it? I wonder how many of those potions you all have?" Claire barely noticed the glint of light off the dagger as it cut at her throat. She dodged the lethal attack by a hair''s breadth letting it instead open up her shoulder. Right, she had a dangerous enemy of her own and couldn''t afford paying attention to the others. They were far more experienced and a higher level than her anyway. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. "Only us left? As usual, need others to level," complained her enemy. It disturbed her that these kobolds could speak, although their voices were rough and accented unlike their leader''s. Claire chanced a glance around to see it was true, only the leader was left versus Sera, the other dangerous one was facing off against Jera and she had her own. Three against three. Had her party already cut down seven kobolds? She didn''t even notice when the two near Sera, ones without any armor and or even weapons, were slain. Her mana gathered in her feet again as she turned and showed her back to her enemy. One on one fight? Clearly this monster was dangerous and skilled! Claire used [Energy Burst] to appear behind the one Jera was fighting and threw a heavy punch. Golden light gathered in her fist as she brought it down. "[Lesser Smite]!" "Chion!" the one behind her yelled, but was too late. Her fist slammed into its back, light exploding into physical force, and tore through him with ease. Or so she expected, but only his scales were shattered and his leather tunic torn instead of like what happened to goblins. When she tried to pull back her fist she found something thin was wrapped around her wrist that was tethered to the ground. It kept her off balance enough that this kobold, Chion, sank a dagger into her ribs dangerously close to her heart. No matter how many health points you might have, it merely let you last longer through horrible wounds. Lethal and fatal injuries were still that. Although she had heard that if you had high enough health and vitality you could last over a day without your heart or even lungs. Those were the thoughts that ran through her mind as she felt the dagger break a rib. Although not without cost. Jera opened the kobold from head to toe with an overhead strike, the magical ice far sharper than normal. "[Minor Heal], [Minor Heal]!" Desperately she called upon her skill, its magic working through her body and healing up all her injuries. She felt that she had maybe half of her mana left. Jera stepped and flowed around her a moment later to parry a dagger that was aimed at the base of her neck. "There you are. Must be a kobold [Rogue] or something, I can''t even sense it with [Sense Presence]." "Master, hurry and¡ªstupid Master," grumbled the kobold before it too was engulfed in flame from a [Minor Ignite]. That didn''t stop it from throwing its dagger as Sera in a last revenge effort before the fire consumed it. Unfortunately Sera was limping from one leg and couldn''t cut it out of the air with a sword so it sank into an exposed part of her sword arm. "W-Where did the white one go? Oh, Sera, hold on!" Claire ran over to Sera and cast [Minor Heal]. Sera''s injuries vanished under the magical light, and she looked toward Jera. He nodded and gestured to his legs which had several long cuts that bled badly. "Didn''t take a single scratch until that armored one came up. It conjured traps that messed me up enough for it to land several hits." "[Minor Heal]. Really? You couldn''t have been fighting for more than several seconds!" exclaimed Claire. "It was good, probably level five or so with a couple extra skills. Definitely a young dungeon though, those last three were probably the oldest and the white one was the [Dungeon Master], no doubt about that. I''ve never even heard of a white kobold before. How was she?" Sera grimaced and rubbed her thigh. All of them were bloody even if their injuries were gone, and this was just the first room. "Good. Don''t know if you caught much of the fight but after I cut down the archers she stepped in and got a cheap shot it. After that though, even after healing, she was about a match for me without magic. I was going to step it up but after you got that one with the daggers she bailed out of the room." "I saw her claws go through your armor," said Claire. "Yeah, skill or not her claws were sharper than my blade. I''d put my bet on either magic or high [Claw Techniques]. It makes monster''s claws way sharper, whereas [Fist Techniques] makes our hands harder." Sera laughed and grinned. "Still though, that''s what, nine dead? First level can only have fifteen or so monsters so that means five left, the white kobold and a boss room if there is one." "No," stated Jera flatly. "I mean, no boss room. We need at least two more people and level ten to match a boss. Even then that might be too risky." "Are bosses that strong?" asked Claire. Sera ruffled Claire''s hair which made it stick up everywhere due to her bloody hand. Claire swatted Sera and pushed her away before trying to sort out her hair. To think they could become so gross and dirty within several minutes. "Yeah, they start out really strong but don''t ever grow like normal dungeon creatures. They''re supposed to be easily as strong as five of their level equivalents, which would be five for the first floor." Claire was level five so she tried to imagine five of her fighting one creature and still being beaten back. She shuddered. "We aren''t doing the boss," said Jera again. "I got it, I got it, jeez. No boss, but the other rooms, right?" Sera clasped her hands together and pleadingly stared at Jera. He sheathed his sword and sighed. "Yeah, sure. No real reason not to, I guess, if this is the level they''re at," he said kicking a dead kobold. "You said the left room?" "Yeah, that white one ditched to the left room," said Sera motioning toward the door. The room was square with a door on every side, so directions felt relative to where they entered from. Claire looked around the room, gaze pausing over every nest and dead kobold, before asking, "What do we do now?" "I would say loot the bodies, but there really isn''t anything here, huh? The armor they wear is tiny, weapons too." Jera picked up a couple of iron daggers, the handles were too small for his to hold properly but he strapped them to his belt. "A kid could probably use these, or we could get a a few dozen coppers for the metal at least. Cut off the horns too, I think the Guild pays five copper per kill." "Aw yes!" cheered Sera who quickly began butchering the bodies for the horns. Claire didn''t feel right to do that to something that talked, that spoke their language, even if it was a creature. The door on the right wall was open and she was curious so she walked over to it. She pulled open the door to see nothing but a hallway of darkness with light at the end, just barely. "Wait for a moment, Claire," scolded Jera. She knew it was dangerous! It wasn''t like she was going to go ahead alone. Minutes later they had packed away the kobold horns and proceeded down the hallway. Jera led in front with his torch, freshly lit from the fire pit, with Sera and Claire side by side behind him. The door at the end had a silhouette of light around it showing that it was lit inside. And it was also barely ajar. Jera pushed open the door and relaxed when there was nobody inside. "This must have been where those reinforcements came from. It appears to be a training room. That''s... unique. I don''t think that I''ve ever read about a first floor with a creature training room." "Just like you''ve never read about a white kobold, huh?" mocked Sera. "Oh, my, gods. What in the gods in that!?" The room was exactly like something you would see near the guild. Wood floors, polished walls, training dummies and archery targets on opposite sides of the rooms. A shelf of various bone weaponry laid off to the side, but what really attracted Claire''s attention was in the middle. A table sat in the center of the room with several small stools huddled around it. Atop it was a wooden board with colored stones in various places on the grid as if in the middle of the game. Claire knew the game, as did most children in Ardor, as it was a common and cheaply made set. Over on the other side of the table were wooden cards scattered about, half of them on the floor, with odd pictures carved on them but still recognizable from the numbers and letters. "This is their home," muttered Claire in realization. This wasn''t just a dungeon or where they lived, but it was a home. It made her feel... she wasn''t sure exactly but her stomach hurt as she gazed around with a new perspective. The room with a bunch of nests, the bunny room, this new training room. The others hadn''t heard her as they gathered around a statue of a warrior kobold in a brilliant pose. Or, she corrected, it was the glittering gem chest next to said statue. Claire''s realization took a backseat to the wonder and glory that was this massive chest made from the ruby-like stone. Growing up in Ardor made it impossible not to recognize it.. "A rosestone chest! How! Why? Can we take this out of here?" Sera hugged the chest and squeezed so hard her muscles trembled. "I want it so bad, so very bad. This alone is worth hundreds gold easy. We could be rich!" Jera was marvelling at it as well, if only because none of them had seen such sheer quantity of rosestone. Although it naturally formed due to the swamp''s natural magic and it made it far more common than gems, it was still similar enough to a precious gem to be worth a lot. "A hundred gold? That... that sounds like a lot," said Claire. She had never held a gold coin before but had at least seen one every now and then in the church''s coffers. "It''s like, a million coppers!" yelled Sera. Oh. Wow. "Yeah, but you know chests can''t leave the dungeon. They crumble upon exiting the dungeon. I understand, I really do, but at least it will give us something when we open it." Jera ran a hand along the chest longingly. Claire did too after a moment just to feel and appreciate it. She wasn''t likely to ever touch actual rosestone. "What I''m wondering is why it''s here. There was a bone chest in the entrance which is rare enough, but for the [Dungeon Master] to be able to make this kind of chest..." "Nobody knows how dungeons really work. Sure, we know it''s run off of mana and a lot of history and interrogating smart [Dungeon Masters] let us know stuff, but beyond that? What if it''s actually something easy to make because the dungeon spawned in the Rosestone Swamp? Who even cares? I don''t!" Sera threw the lid open before anybody could object. "Claire''s luck is higher than ours by a lot so she should''ve opened it, Sera! You''re always like this," said Jera even though he didn''t truly seem upset. Claire was a bit disappointed that she couldn''t open it. "Oh. Oooh!" Sera dug into the chest and pulled out a knife. A dull grey stone knife that was properly sized for a human and well made. All three of them stared in wonder at the several rosestones as big as a fingernail embedded in the handle. A line of rosestone ran through the middle of the blade and a stone as big as the tip of a finger sat at the pommel of the knife. "We''re rich." Jera stumbled and fell to his knees as Sera danced with the knife held in the air. Maybe it was the fact that the chest took away the splendor of such small stones, or that she couldn''t really comprehend what they meant in terms of many, but Claire knew that it was far more than killing goblins could earn. "H-How much, um, do you think?" Sera inspected it closely. "Eight small gems, they look like they aren''t really thick, and that line of it is probably worth a gold or two each. The pommel stone is so nice and round it would be worth a few! Trading it in... ugh, they''re going to tax it hard since we aren''t part of the League, but even then maybe like ten gold. That''s a thousand silvers or a hundred thousand coppers. This, this right here is why we risk life and limb!" Jera tried to stand but his legs were weak and shaking. "I just can''t believe it. A couple weeks ago my mom wanted me to change over to be a [Apprentice Butcher]. They make like eighty coppers a day. What if there''s more?" Sera''s grip on the knife tightened, but she jumped as if scared to break it and put it in her pack carefully. "The other rooms. I used a lot of mana and I don''t have the best wisdom to recover it. I think I''m at a quarter, maybe a third. I could make it to over half if we rest most of the day." "Same, around a third right now, although my full is like your half," said Jera with a smile and shrug. "Perks of the class! Claire?" asked Sera. "I''m low, as in I don''t think I could even heal someone right now." Claire "Although it only takes me around eight hours to recovery in total." "I think it''s around half a day for me. Twelve or thirteen hours? Ah, my mana capacity isn''t near you two''s probably," said Jera. "Over an entire day for me. Hey, being a [Mage] means having high capacity! It''s better to cast a lot once than to cast a little but recover quicker, okay?" "I didn''t say anything." Jera whistled. "Well, we are sort of locked in here for a whole day. It''s nicely lit in this room and the floor isn''t dirty so maybe we could wait it out in here?" suggested Claire. Truthfully she would''ve preferred if they camped in the bunny room, but it was next to the entrance outside and if anything saw them, like goblins for instance, they would be ambushed and attacked. "Sounds good." "Alright." They didn''t bring supplies or camping gear with them since they were supposed to return to town at night, but they could make do. First though Claire went over and picked up the bar of wood that sat next to the door to put it on the lock handles. With that door barred they could at least rest in relative safety of being snuck up on. Sera giggled. "Still can''t believe we got the knife. Maybe we could buy some real good armor? Hard leather isn''t exactly superior to metal most of the time. Ugh, I¡¯m thinking too small. How do you even spend this much money?" "Easily considering good magic equipment goes for hundreds of gold. Once people come here to loot these chests the value of rosestone might dive a bit though," said Jera. He walked over and squatted on one of the small stools. Claire thought he looked a bit funny sitting on it, but when he gestured to the cards and board she smiled and joined him. "Might as well pass the time doing something fun, right? Still, this is a weird room. Training I could understand, but games?" "I call winner," called Sera. H4 - The Delve Most of a day had passed since they had entered the dungeon. What was supposed to have been a several hour long rest turned into them talking, whittling away their time and then taking turns sleeping once they finally relaxed and knew no danger was coming to pass. Mana and fatigue was recovered before the party decided to finally go out. Claire watched Sera stretch after a warm-up of striking the kobold-sized training dummies. She knew they were going to be stuck in here for a day, but to actually do it was mentally exhausting. This was just the beginning of what Sera and Jera were planning to do as a future career? Definitely not her flavor of lifestyles. ¡°Alright, we ready? Explore the remaining rooms then leave, simple plan, right?¡± Jera sighed as if he didn¡¯t believe his own words. ¡°Sure, sure, simple,¡± said Sera. ¡°And no boss fight, no matter the possible riches. Even though I think we could do it, totally. Eh, we already struck it rich once so I can give it a pass. So, the white one.¡± They were gathered near the door in the training room and each of them glanced at it. All day and night, every few hours or so, one of them would notice the door barely open and those freaky eyes peering at them. Jera shrugged. ¡°To be honest I¡¯m not sure.¡± ¡°Sure about what?¡± asked Claire. ¡°To kill the [Dungeon Master] or not,¡± replied Jera. ¡°It¡¯s¡­ not a thing we¡¯d ever thought we could or be in a position to do. Dungeons are a weird thing that sits between being a threat and menace and something that grants resources to kingdoms.¡± ¡°Yeah, which is why I voted to leave it alive,¡± said Sera. ¡°It managed to somehow have something near a gem on its first floor. That¡¯s pretty amazing for us, and eventually for Ardor. Who knows what it could do with a few more floors.¡± Claire looked to Jera. ¡°And killing it is better?¡± Jera scratched his head and shot a weak glare at Sera. ¡°Because if it could do this on the first floor, who knows what it will do later. Dungeons aren¡¯t something that stay silent for long. If they get to powerful or grow too deep they can affect the world outside and around them. Some even gain the ability to remove the normal barriers and rules. It doesn¡¯t affect us now, but in a couple years? The Riolu Empire has a bounty out on all dungeon cores by default, enough to set us up for a few years precisely because of this.¡± Sera scoffed. ¡°Dungeon calamities rarely ever happen.¡± ¡°So Sera wants the dungeon to grow richer while Jera wants to prevent something that might happen in the future? I don¡¯t know, this seems above us. Why not, um, kill it if it fights us and leave it if it hides? I mean, the League has way stronger people for decisions like this, right?¡± asked Claire as she looked between the two. Sera hugged her tightly. ¡°Aww, when did you get so wise?¡± Claire tried to shove her off and was only rescued because Jera was a kind soul. ¡°Must be the all that wisdom she gets.¡± ¡°Jeez, are we going to go? I don¡¯t want to be in this room any longer,¡± said Claire. ¡°Yeah, being in dirty and bloody clothes, let alone sleeping in the smell and feeling for nearly a day, as well as¡­¡± Both girls shot him glares. ¡°Okay, yes, moving on. I¡¯ll lead?¡± Sera opened the door and pushed him out. ¡°Yes, please do.¡± He led them on after relighting his torch and they went back to the nest room. As soon as Jera opened the door the slight twang of a bow came from across the room and a bone arrow sunk into Jera¡¯s leg. Claire held him up from stumbling while Sera stepped forward with a flame forming in her off-hand. That white kobold laughed tauntingly and ducked back into the hallway on the opposite side before Sera could attack. Jera grabbed the arrow and yanked it out with a slight grimace and grunt. ¡°Didn¡¯t hit anything bad, I can walk it off. We don¡¯t need to waste mana here.¡± ¡°Was it waiting for us this whole time? Seriously, what the heck? Okay, I take what I said back about keeping it alive,¡± said Sera. ¡°Nearly a day for one arrow.¡± ¡°Are we sure we don¡¯t want to just leave?¡± asked Claire as she waved at the door leading to the entrance, and more importantly, bunny room. ¡°Honestly? This is the only chance to experience a dungeon that we¡¯re going to get for a long time. Might as well, whether for the knowledge, experience, or rewards,¡± stated Jera with a smile. ¡°It¡¯s what I hope to do in a few years for the rest of my life.¡± ¡°However short it may be,¡± added Sera. ¡°What? Delving has a pretty high death rate. Live hard, live fast, live rich or die young! Yeah!¡± ¡°Noooo, that¡¯s awful, Sera.¡± Claire walked over to Sera to hug her but her cousin dodged around her and went off to the northern door. ¡°Shush, no time to talk about all these things we¡¯ve already been, uh, talking about. Dungeon time!¡± Sera threw open the door and waved Jera forward. Even though he looked like he could talk about all those things some more, even he had an unusual fervor to him that Claire hadn¡¯t seen before. Future careers, huh? ¡°But man, boring styled rooms and simple halls. First floors really don¡¯t have much flair, do they?¡± Sera tapped the wall with her sword. ¡°I¡¯m not saying it¡¯s not cool, but like, where are the cathedrals and ancient ruins with hidden monstrosities?¡± ¡°That¡¯s exactly what we don¡¯t want. Not even level ten yet,¡± shot back Jera. He carefully opened the next door so that he didn¡¯t suddenly ambushed like he has half the time so far. ¡°Clear.¡± Sera and Claire entered after him and it was a bit boring. Same wood walls, same wood floors, some wood shelves and a wood table. There was a single book on the table, open with some small charcoal sticks off to the side. ¡°Aw, even the book is blank.¡± Sera rifled through the pages and tossed it in her pack afterward. ¡°Oh well, free book.¡± Claire frowned at the room, that ache of guilt in her stomach coming back as she took it in for what it was or would be. It felt wrong when they looked around rooms like these, without the creatures to fight inside. Like they were invading someone¡¯s house. Clearly her two allies didn¡¯t feel the same at all. Was it her just being weird? ¡°Come on, Claire.¡± Sera and Jera had already started heading back and Sera turned when she noticed Claire wasn¡¯t following. Right, head in the zone. There were still monsters left to fight and that, at least, wasn¡¯t something she felt any weird sense of guilt over. Not yet, anyway. ¡°One way left.¡± Jera led them over to the last door and opened it normally before suddenly pausing. An arrow struck the inside of the door. He swung the door open in time to see a white tail disappear as the door on the far end closed. ¡°Thought it might try that again. Why not when it worked once?¡± ¡°Because we learn from our mistakes?¡± replied Claire. ¡°That was¡­ nevermind, let¡¯s go. If it¡¯s more kobolds we should have me and Claire in front while Sera hits them from the back with spells. If it¡¯s not, we should probably do that anyway.¡± They crossed the hallway and Jera prepared to open the door. ¡°Learn from our mistakes, right?¡± Sera punched him in the arm. ¡°You¡¯re the one who told me to go get the archers!¡± ¡°So I did. Okay, on three. One, two,¡± They all tensed. Sera had her sword in hand as well as holding her spell hand off to the side, ready to shoot fire. Jera tightened his grip on his sword and Claire felt oddly out of sync since she didn¡¯t have weapons or spells to ready. ¡°Three.¡± Jera pushed the door and it swung open to reveal bright daylight. Their eyes had grown used to the darkness and torchlight so it momentarily blinded them. Beams of daylight came through odd holes in the roof that fell on lush stalks of grass that came up to their thighs. An arrow struck Sera in shoulder. Up on top of a large hut of sticks, grass and tree branches stood the white kobold, bone bow in hand with a couple of arrows. ¡°Kekeke, invaders trying to sneak in? Should get out while you have the chance.¡± Another arrow was loosed but Jera was there. With a perfectly executed slash he cut down the arrow in mid-flight as Sera pulled the arrow out of her shoulder and sent an arrow of her own back at it. ¡°[Minor Ignite]!¡± ¡°Scary, scary!¡± said the kobold as it dove off the hut into the grass. ¡°Why must invaders always use fire? Where are the nice, not-fire spells at?¡± ¡°You okay?¡± asked Jera. ¡°Yeah, walk it off, right?¡± They entered the room, Sera behind Claire and Jera, as they looked for the kobold. The grass rustled around them in a way that sent shivers down Claire¡¯s spine. She could see the grass flutter here and there but how¡­ There was no wind! ¡°Monsters in the grass, on both sides!¡± Jera turned immediately to two of them. ¡°Got them, four fox cubs and¡ªoh gods.¡± Another arrow came out of the grass but missed them entirely. Claire and Sera looked around but Sera snapped. ¡°What?¡± A fox cub, a Rosefur Fox to be exact since they were native to the swamp, shot out of the grass at Claire. It was big, as was this mutation¡¯s particular trait, easily coming up to her waist even as a cub. ¡°[Lesser Smite]!¡± Her fist caught the fox in the maw, her glowing hand shattering teeth and exploding the poor fox¡¯s head into mush. Claire didn¡¯t come out of it unscathed. Bloody, jagged lines covered her right hand where the teeth bit down. ¡°[Icy Blade]. Damn, they¡¯re quick!¡± Jera as made his sword into the two-hander and tried to cut down one that ran past him, but another arrow made him deflect it instead of kill the cub. ¡°I can¡¯t use fire or I¡¯d send this whole place up,¡± complained Sera as she dodged a cub that lunged at her face. ¡°Good, don¡¯t use fire! She wouldn¡¯t like it,¡± called the white kobold. ¡°Oh, there goes a dumb fox. Nevermind, too late.¡± Sera managed to score a large gash against a cub that tried to take her leg and Claire tried to finish it off but was harassed by another. Jera was distracted from the cubs as he faced the large hut with his sword readied. ¡°It¡¯s a fox, but it¡¯s big. Why does it have to be so big?¡± ¡°An adult?¡± asked Sera. Teeth bit into Claire¡¯s leg right after she glanced at Jera. The fox cub was strong and the fear to pull back and run would¡¯ve made it worse. Luckily Sera had her back and stabbed her sword into the cub¡¯s head. ¡°Oh, two down. Kekeke, time to get serious.¡± Claire jumped when the large hut moved and fell to pieces as a massive red paw cleaved through it. Oh, it was a fox, but it was definitely too big. When it stood up and shook off the remains of the hut it was nearly twice as tall as Claire! The white kobold was riding on it¡¯s back with the bow. ¡°Oh crap, [Minor Ignite], [Minor Ignite], [Minor Ignite]!¡± screamed Sera as she sent flaming arrow after flaming arrow at the hulking fox. Each one scarred the fur black and the huge fox growled but staggered. ¡°Not body shots, take its legs,¡± commanded Jera. He charged at it and put all his body weight into a wide slash. His sword, magically enhanced with cold sharpness, cleaved into the paw and tore out with a lot more resistance than he expected. Even his sword wasn¡¯t long enough to dismember the paw completely, a fact he immediately regretted. ¡°Hey, stop that! [Healing Breath],¡± spoke the white kobold to everyone¡¯s horror. White smoke, wispy and cloying, blew out of the kobold¡¯s maw with a heavy breath and coated the huge fox. It flowed into the wounds and did exactly what nobody wanted, excepting the kobold: healed them. ¡°Squash them, Matriarch. Squash!¡± A paw slammed into Jera before he could dodge and sent him flying across the room. It wasn¡¯t an extremely fast attack but as Claire watched him crash into the wall and roll to the floor she could feel the strength this thing had. ¡°Jera! I thought we weren¡¯t going to do the boss!?¡± Sera cut down the fox she had hit earlier and screamed, ¡°It¡¯s not a boss! What the heck is this thing doing on¡ªwhy is it getting bigger!? Oh damn, it¡¯s the cubs.¡± As the cub died the Matriarch¡¯s red fur deepened slightly in color and it grew just a little bit bigger, but considering it towered over them already every inch felt noticeable. It stepped forward, one paw at a time, and nearly crossed the room with just those few steps. Sera two-handed her sword, dodged a paw swipe that had an air rush following its wake, and yelled, ¡°[Flaming Cleave]!¡± Her sword ignited into red flames and it cleaved through the paw. She had aimed it at the thinnest point but still couldn¡¯t dismember it. The Matriarch had simply grown too large for their ordinary one-handed swords. The red flames scorched hide and ignited the fur keeping it ablaze where the sword had struck but didn¡¯t spread. Claire kicked a cub that had bitten into her calf and then broke its legs with a several punches. Her breaths were ragged and her mind full of worry for Jera so she ignored the pains in her legs and ran over to her friend. He was awake, holding his side and struggling to get up. Jera¡¯s leg was bent at an odd angle and he coughed up blood as he used his sword to prop him upright. ¡°Heal me, quickly.¡± ¡°[Minor Heal], [Minor Heal].¡± One heal was enough to right his leg and deal with some of his back, but she wasn¡¯t wrong in using a second heal when she watched his chest pop out on his left like inflating a balloon. In a few seconds Jera looked back in fighting order if she ignored the torn armor and horrible amounts of blood. ¡°[Icy Blade],¡± said Jera as he ran a hand over his sword again. The ice redoubled and the icy extension of his blade doubled in length. He grimaced and cast the spell again so he soon had a sword that was as long as a spear in length. ¡°That should do.¡± She couldn¡¯t feel it behind the rush of adrenaline but the physical impact of an arrow slamming into her shoulder sent Claire sprawling. Jera quickly helped her up and dodged a second arrow. The kobold reached for another arrow and found none. It clacked its fangs and threw both the bow and empty quiver to the ground. ¡°Useless bow. I didn¡¯t even want your stupid bow skill.¡± Sera rolled underneath the Matriarch and used [Flaming Cleave] to leave a long burning gash on its underbelly. The fox yelped, a deep and rumbling bark instead high pitched, and turned into a demon. That was all Claire could say as she screamed and knew it wasn¡¯t her alone as Jera yelled and Sera ran for her life. No, remember, this was supposed to be a weaker monster! ¡°[Healing Breath]. Come on, where is¡ªthere it is.¡± White smoke flowed over the Matriarch and healed it to full again. How could one skill be so powerful to heal that in one go? Even her [Minor Heal] couldn¡¯t heal the fox¡¯s wounds without three casts. A bone knife sank into the fox cub¡¯s chest, killing it and leaving no cub left alive. Jera dashed forward while the Matriarch was busy growing and yelled, ¡°Kill that stupid kobold!¡± His new icy sword cleaved through the front left paw as he ran by and sent the Matriarch stumbling to the side. Unluckily the healing smoke was still in the area and sealed up the dismembered limb. ¡°On it!¡± yelled Sera. The white kobold was knocked off of the Matriarch¡¯s back when it stumbled and she ran after it. Claire couldn¡¯t fight the Matriarch, such a monster would kill her with one blow, so she chased after Sera to help take down the kobold. ¡°Where did it go?¡± They saw where the kobold had fell but it was nowhere to be seen. ¡°Claire!¡± Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.Those horrifying eyes peered out from beside her as she felt two claws sink into her stomach. Claire screamed as the pain slammed into her, the strength in her legs giving out. The kobold jumped back as Sera¡¯s sword swung where its arms were. ¡°Careful, that almost hit me. Ah, the fiery girl, better protect your young one!¡± Sera stepped in front of Claire and deflected the kobold¡¯s claw swipes with her sword. The screech of nails against the iron blade hurt her ears but Sera refused to move. ¡°Claire, heal!¡± Right, she should heal. Her guts were definitely not supposed to squirm and feel like were eating them. That was a thing she could do. Claire drew upon her mana, the weird shadowy tingling rising up to her insides instead of her hands, as she said, ¡°[Minor Heal].¡± The relief was instant as all her injuries, except for the arrow wound in her back, were roughly healed. Claire shot to her feet, unsure of how long she had been zoned out, to see the Matriarch fall to its knees. Jera was limping around it, dodging the wild swipes the Matriarch was putting out, and Sera had her left arm at her side as it was bleeding from four huge gashes by the elbow. The kobold wasn¡¯t unscathed though since it too had blood coating its beautiful scales from many cuts, most of them shallow. ¡°Healing is cheating, dumb humans.¡± ¡°Like you can say that!¡± snapped Sera. ¡°Claire, how many you have left?¡± Claire went to Sera¡¯s side. ¡°One. Any potions?¡± ¡°Haha, no, only Jera has one. Damn things are two silvers at the cheapest!¡± Sera glanced to Jera but had to slash to prevent the kobold from taking advantage and cheaply striking her. ¡°Jera has the big fox done.¡± The kobold laughed, that annoying laugh, as it stepped back preparing to retreat. Except it stopped, grinned wide showing its fangs, and stepped forward. ¡°Invaders, always invading, can¡¯t you just wait until I finish a floor or two? So unfair.¡± The floor shook as the Matriarch crashed into the ground and breathed its last. Claire saw Jera run around to flank the white kobold but stumbled as a cub jumped onto his back. A cub? ¡°Ahh!¡± yelled Sera before she slashed out wide and cleaved a fox cub that had snuck up on her into two. Two long scratches on the back of her leg began to bleed. ¡°Oh, oh no no no. Jera, reset!¡± Reset? The white kobold dove at Claire and tried to rake at her legs, but Claire met the claw with a fist. All she could think of was sharp as her knuckles cracked against the kobold¡¯s claw, the nails digging through her skin and muscles with abnormal ease, but she felt good as she sent the kobold backward. Ignoring the pain in her hand she spun and delivered a left straight to the kobold¡¯s head while channelling that golden glow. ¡°[Lesser Smite]!¡± Light exploded but it was wrong. There wasn¡¯t the usual feeling of gore or death following, just the scene of the kobold catching herself from falling to the ground. Its eyes were wide and stared at Claire in confusion. Then it spoke in awe, ¡°So that is what immunity is.¡± ¡°Yeah, okay, you have to die,¡± stated Sera coldly. ¡°[Flaming Cleave].¡± A red hot flaming sword, something that brutally wounded the Matriarch, swung for the kobold. It was out of position, unable to dodge or roll away, not that Sera would have left it the opportunity. It brought it¡¯s claw up in an uppercut to connect with the sword before white smoke enveloped it. ¡°[Righteous Claw].¡± Claire expected an explosion, a clash of elements like she often heard in tales, or something amazing. In the back of her mind she also expected the obvious, Sera¡¯s flaming sword to cut through the kobold¡¯s feeble attempt of survival. It¡¯s claw hit the sword and continued, and the sword¡¯s blade fell to the ground. The red fire turned those white scales black and broken, but that was it. ¡°A great skill! Kekeke, what was that about dying, human? Pretty sure I heard one of you call me stupid.¡± All mirth left its face as it stepped forward and swiped again, that same white smoke trailing with the strike. Sera tried to block with her broken sword but the claw shredded the remains of the weapon as well as severing two of Sera¡¯s fingers. Claire was frozen and didn¡¯t know what to do. Her smite didn¡¯t work on this kobold and it was more powerful than her when it came to bare handed fighting. Now it had a skill that could cut through metal with ease? It stood at half their height but it felt like it lorded over them. ¡°I¡¯m not stupid.¡± It brought both claws up and at Sera but had to jump back to dodge a long blade of ice that sliced down where it would¡¯ve been. Jera stepped up and brandished his sword. ¡°Sera, fingers. Claire, heal her.¡± That snapped them out of it. Sera picked up her fingers from the ground and Claire hurriedly cast [Minor Heal] while holding them in place. When the golden light dissipated Sera flexed them and smiled. ¡°I owe you so much, Claire. Best cousin ever.¡± The three spread out and surrounded the white kobold before it could escape to the door behind them. It grumbled while looking around, wary of any sudden moves. ¡°Healing is very unfair. Where are my awful minions at?¡± ¡°I finished off the rest of the cubs. Nothing is here to help you,¡± said Jera. He made a move to swung but the kobold responded by bringing a claw up. They stopped when neither were willing to go through. It grinned. ¡°One punchy human that can¡¯t hurt me, one caster human low on mana and with no sword, and one swordy human that with a sword I can maybe break. Then here I am with claws. My dumb minions always tell me my claws were bad and I should get a weapon.¡± Jera coughed as a dagger dug into his ribs. One of the armored kobolds had snuck up behind him, it trying to sink their dagger into him again but they lost an arm to his sword for that attempt. It screeched and ran over to the white kobold. ¡°You should! Master, heal? No arm hurts lot.¡± ¡°¡°Jera!¡±¡± Claire and Sera ran over to him and he waved them off. Claire couldn¡¯t cast any more heal spell so all they had was a potion between them. It didn¡¯t occur to any of them that a reset would also bring back the kobolds. ¡°Snep, you took forever! Where are the others?¡± asked the white kobold. ¡°Others fighting two big hobs. Didn¡¯t know how bad here was,¡± said this kobold, Snep. It was strange, putting a name to a creature that spoke like them. ¡°We¡¯re running. We had it, but didn¡¯t expect a reset. Damn, I forgot that could even happen,¡± cursed Jera as he held his sword at the ready. ¡°Followed by the goblins. Hah, knew that low luck was going to bite me eventually,¡± complained Sera as she brought a flame to her hand. ¡°Can¡¯t we run? Oh, but then they¡¯d get us from the back. Just why did it have to somehow have holy immunity? How does that even happen!?¡± cried Claire. The kobolds stopped talking and turned to the party. ¡°Master?¡± ¡°So tired, should¡¯ve just let Vurg handle it.¡± The white one sighed then shuddered. ¡°Again?¡± What did it mean, again? A shadow fell over them causing the three humans to stare up and behind them. Red fur and sharp fangs loomed over them, although not as tall as before. The Matriarch had respawned and it glared down at the party with annoyance. ¡°Goblins. I¡¯ll haunt them,¡± said Sera. ¡°No time for jokes, dodge!¡± yelled Jera. They scattered as a large paw swiped at them. Claire was clipped on the shoulder, barely even grazed by the claw, but it tore a chunk out of her and sent her tumbling into the grass. Sera launched [Minor Ignite] after [Minor Ignite] at the dagger kobold but it managed to dodge each fire arrow even with a bleeding injury from a severed arm. What kind of mental fortitude did these dungeon creatures have to fight through such an injury? Then again, Claire wondered the same about them since they had brushed death within this dungeon more times than she had in her entire life. Which had been a flat zero times. Jera and the white kobold were fighting, his icy blade solid enough that her smoky claws didn¡¯t shatter it, and it looked like Jera was on the winning side for skill and technique. At least until the Matriarch stepped up and forced him to run. They were going to die here. Even if they somehow killed the kobolds and escaped the fox, there was a whole room of kobolds blocking their exit and apparently goblins beyond that. Claire wasn¡¯t one to give up, often she was one who didn¡¯t quit even after everything had gotten worse. Likely a trait that she and Sera shared. Yet like the white kobold had said, she was tired. ¡°Claire, get up!¡± Sera finally managed to kill the dagger kobold by letting it stab her hand. It couldn¡¯t do anything when she caught its only arm and roasted it with a spell to the face. ¡°We need to help Jera.¡± ¡°Right,¡± muttered Claire. What exactly could her fists do against the giant fox and crazy kobold when she had no mana? Weapons? She plucked the iron dagger from the kobold¡¯s corpse, it being the size of an eating knife to her, and followed Sera into battle. Even now, with the fear and despair, the thrill of adventure was along for the ride. As they reached the fight the Matriarch forced Jera to dodge right into the white kobold¡¯s reach and it managed to claw out his hand, following the way of Sera from earlier, and lost a few fingers. Worse was that he dropped his sword which it then quickly grabbed before either he or Sera could reach it. ¡°And now no weapons for you humans,¡± it said with glee. ¡°Strongest invaders yet, but I¡¯m still the best. Keke¡ª¡± The door exploded off the wall and slammed into the Matriarch with such force that it sent the giant fox to the ground. It wasn¡¯t enough to keep it down, but as a golden light in the form of a sword formed above it, everyone stared in awe. ¡°[Put To The Sword],¡± said a light, almost carefree male voice. It descended on the Matriarch and skewered it. Golden light enveloped the giant fox and slowly it grew quiet. ¡°¡ªke?¡± It was a moment where everyone held their breath, humans and kobold alike, as he stepped through the doorway. Garbed in a decorative purple robe that folded over itself several times from shoulder to knee with golden hems and simple brass adornments. He was tall as he stepped through, not too muscular from what Claire had expected, but that wasn''t the most surprising thing of all. Jera sighed, the despair heavy in his breath. "We''re dead." "Damn, no, why did one of them show up?" spat Sera. "Don''t give up!" His gaze swept across the room, calculating and bored, as he took them in the same way they were inspecting him. "A minotaur?" asked Claire. Yes, this new arrival was not Human or Elven, not even a Being, but had a big nose, long floppy ears, black and grey coarse fur across his body and two small white horns jutting out from his temples. That, and the fact that his bovine head and short tail were far more obvious. "Worse, a Cowkin," hissed Sera. "A stupid beast that thinks they''re people when they''re just smarter than average monsters pretending to be like people." Wow, that made Claire flinch. She knew Sera had problems with Beastkin, but... "Actually, I think he''s a [Judgement Priest]. That sword skill is something they get pretty soon," commented Jera in a tone that fully spoke that he expected to witness said skill up close and probably personally. It was powerful enough to kill the giant fox in one stroke! "Like a class makes them any better than a monstrous Creature." Jera ran a hand down his face, his eyes never leaving the approaching cowkin. "That means he''s like four times our level." Sera choked. A flash of white made Claire turn in time to see the kobold sprinting for the exit door. Something the new arrival didn''t miss a beat on as he threw a hand forward, although it was only two large fingers and a thumb, and spoke loftily, "[Holy Bolt]." Golden light gathered into his hand and then shot out as a beam, one that was quicker than any arrow, and struck the kobold in the back. Yet, when the light cleared the kobold stood at the door, arms covering its face, and eyes wide in terror. There was a moment of surprise between it and the cowkin before he smiled wryly and said, "That''s interesting." "Go away!" screamed the kobold as it escaped through the door leaving all the present invaders alone. Jera picked up his sword which the kobold had dropped to run and readied it even though he knew it was certain death. Sera did the same, her palms heating up and turning red as she gathered her mana. Only, did they have to fight? Claire looked at the cowkin, at the way he looked back. Before her allies could do anything Claire stepped up. "Um, hi?" He chuckled and nodded to himself. "You''re the [Acolyte] then? Yes, appropriate colors except yellow is a bit off. Gold, my girl, you need gold, not buttercup yellow!" "You don''t get to--" Jera slapped a hand over Sera''s mouth and pulled her back. "Ah, um, I''m not--money is a bit, well," Claire stared at his robes quality and than smoothed out hers, even though she was blood-soaked and torn. He nodded as if receiving true wisdom. "Ah yes, monetary concerns of a foreign land. I thought this was going to be a boring side-quest but it''s looking up already." Jera cut in before Claire could respond. "Side-quest?" "Ah hah ha, that''s right. I''m Krol Dream, a wandering priest. Mm, well, off you humans go." He waved them away before heading toward the door the kobold left through. "Kobolds are dead, goblins too, so you should be safe." Jera dragged a fussy Sera toward their escape, but Claire was rooted to the floor. Krol Dream? The colors were one thing, but the name was something any member of any faith would know! It took more willpower than she had to not fangirl in awe. "You''re the [Chosen of Luminous]!?" Krol stopped, turned, and then beamed. "My name has spread even to humans, has it?" Jera and Sera were hanging around the doorway, but Claire waved them off when Sera waved at her to come. How could she leave when she had an actual hero of her patron god in front of her? No, she didn''t want Sera to blow this for her, to meet someone akin to an idol or celebrity! After all, Claire had no trouble with him being a Beastkin. "Well, as an enemy," replied Claire with a wince. "But! But, I can''t believe you''re here. Really, how? Why?" Krol rubbed her head and opened the exit door, a golden light forming in his hand to light the way. "For a couple reasons, but one being you, little girl. A human believer, one to take my dear God''s name in faith as an [Acolyte], is unheard of." "Haha, you''re kidding," said Claire. Churches talked and taught about all the gods, Great or Minor, from all races. To say that it''s unheard of was silly. Krol thought on that as they walked through the hallway. "Maybe for others, but Luminous herself said it''s been a very long time. Long enough that she sent me on a little quest to prevent this adorable human''s death." Claire missed a step. Right, they had been at death''s door only to be saved by, from what she''s hearing, divine intervention. Her cousin and friend must have already left her behind because Claire didn''t see them following, but she felt safe even though Krol was a stranger she met moments ago. "Right, the certain impending death. So, um, you said a couple reasons? What are the others?" K12 - Final Meeting I barreled through the door to my and barred the door. Such a thin, pathetic wooden door that I had. Next time I was going to save for metal doors on everything. Something that would keep out the monstrous invaders! If there was a next time. That animal thing, a cowkin by my granted knowledge and what the human had said, was dangerous enough that it killed the Matriarch in one spell. Stupid invaders always messing up my daily plans. I had them dead, victory in my claw, and then it all fell apart. Even leveling during that fight with the magic human, the level that gave me the [Righteous Claw] skill from what I could only think was my [Draconic Ancestry] perk, didn''t mean anything even though it was a skill that let me turn that fight onto my side. My only hope was that maybe Vurg could beat back the cow beast. Vurg stood next to his fox minions, grooming them with his claws, as I sprinted over to him. What was he looking all relaxed for? "A really powerful invader is heading this way. Enough to kill our big fox in one spell. Everything is up to you." My wild kobold boss was a symbol of hope and strength to my minions. His stats and skills were impressive and I had no doubt now that he could''ve handled the humans. Yet watching his scales pale and tail quiver in fright even as his face remained stern didn''t help. He spoke softly, "One hit? With her undamaged prior?" I nodded. Thank the dungeon I was immune to his spells for whatever reason. Maybe it was just the element his magic was specialized in, like the girl with flames and the boy with the ice sword? No matter the case I knew I couldn''t fight him even without his spells. "Some kind of mage that uses holy spells." "A [Priest] or [Monk] then. Any armor?" asked Vurg. No, he didn''t have any armor in the brief moment I saw him, did he? Some kind of cloth or softer clothing, all one piece to cover his body. Come to think of it, the colors of that cowkin''s stuff matched the younger girl human''s. "No, a full-body cloth thing." "Definitely not a [Crusader] or [Paladin] variant then." Vurg grabbed his bow and nocked an arrow. There was a small pouch on his hip that he took and coated the arrow, and the rest in his quiver, with viscous green liquid inside. "A paralytic venom made from swamp snakes." The door splintered as something heavy smashed into it. Both Vurg and I jumped as another blow cracked it into three pieces that barely held together. Vurg''s two foxes went to the right and left, out of sight and hopefully in a good ambush spot if they focused on us. I focused on the buzzing inside my head, a feeling from earlier that had asked me in the echoing voice of the world. >Trap Enhancement >Creature Modification >Delve Management I didn''t want to rush the choice as all three sounded amazing, but when it was coming down to definite do or die moment I didn''t want it to be because I didn''t pick a skill that could''ve helped. The trap skill would''ve been my first choice, something I could''ve really put to use on my second floor when I established it. The creature skill I didn''t know about but the last one was something I knew, just knew, that would let me use the during invasions. It would be my luck that all of them would probably require me to use the dumb core. The skill floated on the tips of my claws as I felt how to use it with instincts. It wanted the core, something structured to channel it through, but I could use it without my [Dungeon Interface] even if I didn''t know exactly how it would work. No time like the very immediate present! I touched Vurg''s legs and cast, "[Creature Modification]." Parts of Vurg entered my head in detail, each body part or even beyond that, filled my mind. It was hard to focus on exactly how everything would be affected, but I knew I could only do one modification and that it was temporary. Perhaps in the future and at higher levels it would be different, but I wasn''t sure if I was going to have a future at the moment! That awful cowkin shattered the door into pieces and walked, no, strode into the room. Behind him was that blonde human staring at him with awe-struck eyes. Yes, now looking at the pair I noticed they were matching colors. Was this their reinforcements? Vurg let loose three arrows, two at the cowkin and one at the girl, in a rapid motion that would make my pathetic [Hunter] minions stare in awe. Inside my mind I focused on his legs and rushed through the skill. No time to think and feel what did what! My mana, of which I was running very low on due to my substantial skill usage, drained to fuel it. Vurg''s leg muscles thickened as his scales stretched. I expected a spell, something big to block the arrows. Maybe even a swift dodge out of the way. No, the arrows thumped against his purple garment and fell to the ground while he caught the third in a large hand and snapped it with his fingers. It was easy to imagine that arrow being my neck. "[Frenzy Call], [Quick Step]!" yelled Vurg. His handsome green scales turned red as the foxes of to the side grew bigger muscles and longer teeth while their red fur deepened its color to crimson. The rush of air rocked me as Vurg disappeared from next to me and landed in front of the cowkin. Bitter and Sweet, his tamed foxes, flanked the cowkin on his sides perfectly and all three struck as one. It was a show of perfect teamwork and execution with nothing but a skill call. I knew it wouldn''t end the fight but I just wanted to see that this monster could bleed! "[Protection]," said the cowkin in his airy and carefree manner. "Good try, very good. As expected of a boss, although you''re a little too fast for one not specialized in speed." A golden barrier spread around him and the human girl that stopped the fox bites and Vurg''s blades with ease. They struck at it again and again but it failed to budge. "Wow, amazing. Would I ever get skills like that?" asked the annoying human pest. Why was she here when her other dumb companions weren''t? No, focus on the true threat. "Perhaps, little one. Perhaps your Path will be similar to mine, or wildly different, I can''t say. However, I could teach you the [Protection] spell if you want. It''s not so difficult an [Acolyte] can''t learn it," said the cowkin as if he wasn''t currently in a fight. Perhaps he wasn''t, that we weren''t even a threat to him. It made me grind my fangs. A casual wave of his hands and four words made my scales tingle. "[Put To The Sword]." Three golden swords, smaller than the one that struck the Matriarch, formed over Vurg and his pets. The two that sunk into the foxes, even with them trying to dodge the mystical blade, killed them in seconds. I was already running to Vurg and leapt into the sword that was aimed for him. A dumb, suicidal move that I wouldn''t ever make for my minions, but a gamble I had to take because otherwise my death wouldn''t matter. It struck me and shattered. No pain, no death or searing burns of whatever the light was made of. Vurg blinked at from where he threw himself to the ground in an attempt to dodge the spell. Yeah, don''t get used to me saving you. That''s what your entire existence is supposed to be for me! "So very interesting! So this is what my God meant," said the dumb cow beast with awful cheer. "How can it even survive that?" asked the even dumber human in wonder. I clacked my fangs and ran at the cow man. I wasm''t something to be analyzed! The white smoke that came with my skills coated my claw as I drew upon my mana and had it coalesce there. My claws were sharp enough to cut a metal sword. "[Righteous Claw]!" "[Protection]," spoke the [Priest]. The golden barrier shrouded them again, but when my smoking claw struck it I cleaved through it like air. My claws should''ve sank into the cow''s leg or torn something vital, but he displayed that absurd speed again and met my claw with a golden lit punch. My nails broke into pieces, as did the bones in my claw, but finally it happened. Four thin red lines were drawn across his hand, each slightly oozing red blood. Everyone stared at the wound even as I exhaled [Healing Breath] onto my hand. Then the cow laughed. "You wounded me! That''s a dangerous skill there. Take note, girl, because that kobold''s skill get''s stronger the more ''in the right'' it thinks it is." Was it? I honestly just thought it made my claws sharper with magic or something, but it made a weird amount of sense. "[Holy Bolt]." Two beams shot at Vurg. He dodged one using that instant move skill but the second had predicted where he was going and incinerated him. The top half of his body was obliterated into nothing leaving only his still-twitching legs in a swampy muck puddle. I hissed, a guttural feeling of rage I hadn''t felt since my first battle with a fox cub for my life. Was this how I was going to die, then? My mana was nearly gone, maybe enough for a single claw attack, but skills weren''t everything I had! The cow stepped forward to meet my claw with a fist when I lunged at him. It was like striking metal stronger than iron, whatever that may be, because there was a sharp screech when my claws met his thick hide. He must have been pulling his punches because my [Touch Scales] had cracked in every matched hit instead of shattering every bone like before. "I refuse to die here to you, ugly cow!" I roared as I swiped left, up, down low, struck with both claws and pivoted to a heavy blow using my tail''s weight to increase the momentum. Every trick my [Claw Techniques] had taught me was put to use, even the fact that my feet counted as claws and I tried a stealthy attack. Yet he met every blow, withstood every strike without a single drop of blood shed, before finally I couldn''t move my arms. Bones cracked and scales broken, crimson blood pouring out of so many wounds I felt lightheaded. There was barely any mana inside my not-stomach, that well of my magic, but I pulled on it. And broke. It wasn''t enough. Nothing I could do was enough to fight this invader, so powerful he was that only those four lines marked that I had even existed to him. Lines that were already fading from sight as they rapidly healed. My knees hit the ground as I collapsed and I stared at my foe. Nothing was behind me, beyond my boss room, other than my . I wasn''t one to give up to death, but what else could I do? "Well, that''s that then," said the cow man. "Do you yield?" I snapped my fangs at him. Even with my arms useless, mana depleted, and strength gone I wouldn''t yield. "Never." "Um," muttered the human. The worry in the tone grated because I couldn''t tell who it was for. "What are you going to do with it?" "Her," corrected the cow. "She." A powerful hand lifted me up onto his shoulder and carried me to the end of the room. Inside the hut was a green chest made that was made of vivid green scales. It hadn''t been there before so it must be the boss chest. The life of my boss condensed into a reward his killer. "Go ahead and open it. I saw your friends getting that red chest inside that other room, so this one is yours," said the cow. The girl hesitated, eyes glancing between it and the cow unsure if she should. "Just open it, you stupid human," I spat. It wasn''t as if I wasn''t curious, that I didn''t want to know what items were worth the life of my , but still. ¡°Hope you get garbage.¡± She flinched at my words and hesitantly opened the chest. The creak of the hinges when the lid was lifted up must have been for dramatic effect or something because I couldn¡¯t think of why a magically spawned chest of scales would sound rusted. When seeing the so-called treasure I burst out laughing. Truly, that was the worst thing anyone could have possibly gotten! In the wide empty space of the green scaled chest was a small red fox, tiny even compared to the likes of the Bitter and Sweet, Vurg¡¯s pets, or even small compared to the those [Rascal] cubs. My own victorious cackling quieted when the cow chuckled in cheer. ¡°What luck! An extremely good find, girl, very good.¡± The human picked the tiny sleeping rosefur fox and cradled it in her arms and also picked up a necklace made of twine and animal fangs. ¡°It¡¯s so cute!¡± ¡°Hey! That¡¯s just a dumb fox, it¡¯s not good as all. It can¡¯t even fight anything and look at how weak it is,¡± I spat. The ugly cow monster priest that had killed every one of my allies and minions patted me on the head like a child, an action I wanted to bite the offending fingers off but knew would more likely break my fangs, and shook his head. ¡°An animal companion with a bonding trinket is a rare find. Sure, it may require time and care to raise it, but the reward will be worth such a companion.¡± What was he saying? I didn¡¯t understand at all. ¡°It¡¯s just a weak, dumb fox.¡± The human girl at least looked like she received a priceless treasure. Ugh, I would never understand invaders. What was so good about shiny rocks and now foxes? I¡¯d rather have whatever this cowkin¡¯s robe was made out of and some rarer metal! He went over to the wooden hatch that led to my nonexistent second floor and I squirmed. ¡°Hey, stop you dumb beast. Stop! I swear I¡¯ll kill you if you go down there. Human, stop him!¡± I couldn¡¯t get more desperate, a new low really, to ask a human for help. She was better than this cow though because I could at least take her in a fight, but him? I tried so had and all I had left was to plead. Pathetic. ¡°Hmm, no barrier?¡± he muttered as he threw open the hatch and walked down the stone stairs. It wasn¡¯t a long walk, every step down was achingly long from atop his shoulder, before he came to the empty room. The only room on a floor that I haven¡¯t established. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. My . ¡°Wow,¡± whispered the human girl. The stupid, translucent square gem half as big as I was sat upon its equally stupid pedestal in the center of the room. I hated the fact that they could see my , let alone be near enough to touch it. It wasn¡¯t worth the awe the human was showing, but her expression was better than the cow¡¯s. ¡°Only one floor so far? With the levels of your kobolds and guardians I thought you would have had two or three. Certainly, you had enough mana for the construction,¡± he said. I hissed at him knowing he spoke the truth. Of course, that was only the truth if you counted on knowing how a dungeon worked, something I didn¡¯t at all in the beginning. ¡°Why is that?¡± I didn¡¯t want to answer but he gave me a curious look. ¡°Ignorant cow, you think everything is easy? You come into the world knowing how to cast spells or covered in equipment? I worked hard to make my first floor, to help my minions become strong!¡± Remembering the glowing golden swords slay my most powerful minions in one strike angered me, yet also showed me how far the top was and how low I still stood. ¡°What use is three or four worthless floors with weak monsters! It wouldn¡¯t have stopped you.¡± He shrugged. ¡°True, but I see. Time spent on your allies, was it?¡± The human shifted uncomfortably, as if she remembered something awkward, and it made me want to tear her apart. Having these invaders, these strangers, stand here and what? Judge me, question my decisions and choices? I¡¯d take death over this feeling. ¡°Just do it already.¡± ¡°Do what?¡± asked the cow as if he didn¡¯t know. As if this wasn¡¯t why invaders came here. ¡°Shatter it. Kill me and leave,¡± I hissed. ¡°I won¡¯t be your pet.¡± ¡°Um, are we going to do that, Krol?¡± asked the human. He set me down on the ground not too gently and everything about me sang in agony for the brief moment my body found itself relying on my non-existent strength to stand. ¡°No, not at all! Well, actually yes, that is what I intended to do before I got here.¡± Krol, that was what the human called him, rubbed his neck and smiled wryly. ¡°My Goddess only asked to protect her newest human charge and maybe, if that charge liked, receive training as an [Acolyte] should from a [Priest]. Yet my Goddess hinted at something else, although her amusement can be a bit weird, especially when it comes to quests.¡± I kicked him and only received a burst of pain from my body and a broken toe for my trouble. ¡°I knew it!¡± ¡°But when you miraculously survived my attack, and that was definitely something qualified as a miracle, I understood since I am Her [Chosen] and a [Judgement Priest].¡± Krol laid his huge hand on my head and channeled that golden magic. So here came oblivion after all. ¡°[Heal].¡± It was unlike my own healing skill which was comforting and warm. His magic looked holy but felt like darkness. Still, the power in it dwarfed my own and it righted every grievous injury I had. ¡°...What?¡± I flexed my claws and glanced toward the human. As much as I wanted to tear them both apart I knew I couldn¡¯t. It wasn¡¯t just the fact that this monster could and would slaughter me, but I felt¡­ I wasn¡¯t sure but while I wanted to do violence I wasn¡¯t entirely sure I should. The human stepped back and hid near the stairs. Her eyes fell upon me and I met her gaze. Yes, we had scores that would be settled, but not now. ¡°Um, well, I¡¯ll wait for you at the top, Mister Krol. And about that training, er, apprenticeship? I¡¯d be honored, but are you sure? We¡¯re¡­ I¡¯m well, and you¡¯re you know. Isn¡¯t it bad?¡± ¡°Others may view it as so, look upon us and judge, but that¡¯s not my or our concern. We can talk about it later if you¡¯d like as I¡¯m unfortunately stuck in the dungeon for the rest of the day and night.¡± ¡°R-Right. Well!¡± She nodded rapidly and then retreated upstairs. Leaving just me and my jailor alone next to my big, shiny weak spot. ¡°So if you¡¯re not killing me or breaking my dungeon, just what do you want? Healing me doesn¡¯t change anything.¡± He sat down so that we were eye level, and more importantly his face was closer to my reach, and the way he stared at me was unnerving. Was it a skill? ¡°Let us talk real quick, shall we? Ah, but first, introductions. I am Krol Dream, [Judgement Priest] and [Chosen of Luminous], the Minor Goddess of Destiny. Or Dreams, or Fate, or all other similar words.¡± ¡°Two classes? No, that one, a title? Perk?¡± I asked. ¡°A very important and powerful perk. One granted by a God,¡± he replied smoothly. I clacked my fangs. Perks were still a thing I had no information about other than apparently everyone had one and mine granted me skills. ¡°I¡¯m the [Dungeon Master] of this dungeon. What do you want?¡± He frowned. ¡°That¡¯s it? What about your name or the dungeon¡¯s name?¡± ¡°We have none!¡± I yelled. ¡°What do you want!?¡± ¡°Well that can¡¯t be. Even Creatures have names,¡± he said with a snort. ¡°Your minions have names I heard. Why not you?¡± Why was he going on about this? I didn¡¯t need a name chosen by my minions or myself! It was just so¡­ pathetic to name yourself. ¡°Because!¡± Krol inspected me, his eyes lingering on my claws to which I motioned to claw out those offending eyes, and he grinned. ¡°Then I¡¯ll gift you a name. No need to thank me, vicious little kobold.¡± ¡°What, no! Shut up and tell me what you¡¯re going to do!¡± ¡°Hmm, you use your claws rather well. To injure me even though I must be almost thirty levels above you and far older still is very impressive,¡± he said. I was going to retort but my mouth went dry. What did he say, thirty levels? ¡°The sound was glorious, one of effort and skill. A sharp tapping almost.¡± I stepped back from his contemplating expression now extremely aware of how out of depth I was. Knowledge of just what monster I was fighting earlier made me truly fear. It was just a number, but that knowledge was so much more terrifying than seeing him slay Vurg with ease. ¡°How about Tiktak? It sort of sounds like your claws on wood and stone. Tiktak Taklak. Spelled with k¡¯s because your a kobold,¡± he beamed with pride. What was with that atrocious and lazy naming sense!? I didn¡¯t want some stupid name thought up on whim! I wanted a powerful, intimidating name that would ring terror in my opponents. I went even whiter with dread at hearing the chorus inside my head confirm it. ¡°No, no, nonono. I refuse it! Why was it registered?¡± ¡°Oh, it actually went through? Then well met, Tiktak.¡± I wanted to scream but it came out a gurgle. Krol continued on without a care. ¡°As for the future, I think I¡¯ll have an apprentice to teach but I¡¯ll have to report your dungeon to the nearest tribe. Brakkahorn should be on the other side of the Rosestone Swamp, and I assume the children will report back to Ardor. ¡°I¡¯m afraid your days will be full of adventurers of all kinds, many wanting the treasures you put out and will be satisfied with that. Others though will want your .¡± He gestured at the pedestal. ¡°Shattering one grants the person who breaks it a rare skill. A powerful skill based on the dungeon itself.¡± ¡°Then why won¡¯t you break it?¡± I shot back. ¡°What use would such a skill at your level be worth to me?¡± True, a cold part of me knew that anything gained from me now was worthless to someone of his level. ¡°Maybe when you¡¯re older and stronger. It will be a glorious fight. Until then, I think¡­ One month.¡± A month for what? ¡°I¡¯ll ask the kids to hold off reporting or selling their treasures for one month. Meanwhile they¡¯ll have the chance to enter here for that entire time.¡± Krol laid a hand on my shoulder. ¡°And during that time you would, how to put it, let them run around on your first floor. They wouldn¡¯t come to the core room as you work on doing whatever a [Dungeon Master] does for the your floors, but you aren¡¯t to help your allies fight back.¡± What this thing that pretended to be kind was telling me to do was so¡­ so¡­ I didn¡¯t even know the word for pure opposite of what my instincts and class was telling me to do. Yet, to have a month to prepare for an onslaught of invaders? ¡°You won¡¯t be with them?¡± His eyes sent my scales into a tingly frenzy. ¡°I would know if you went back on your word, Tiktak.¡± My new name sounded strange, but also comforting as if it had been mine for my entire life. I slapped his hand off my shoulder, an act that he humored, and agreed. It really wasn¡¯t a choice since it was that or death. ¡°Fine! But if they die on their own it¡¯s not my fault, okay?¡± ¡°Sure, that¡¯s the risk they take if they choose to do so.¡± Krol Dream stood up and headed to the stairs. ¡°Such a curious Creature. I¡¯ve never met a [Dungeon Master] before, not like this. Tell me, if you want to of course, how did you survive my spell?¡± ¡°[Holy Damage Immunity], you stinky cow. I¡¯m a Blessed Kobold!¡± I said with pride. Not even his terrifying spells could hurt me if they were holy aligned. ¡°Ah, I see. And you wouldn¡¯t worship a particular God, Great or Minor, would you?¡± he asked. Something in his tone made me wary, but I shook my head. I didn¡¯t know of any deities. ¡°Much thanks for answering. Blessed, huh?¡± Krol walked upstairs to do whatever he was going to do with the human girl and the other two stupid humans. I allowed myself to relax and slump against the core¡¯s pedestal. It stood there, proud and smug as usual in its safety I granted it, and I wanted to cry. So I cried. How long I was there I forgot. Eventually the vanished from my mind and even still I didn¡¯t move. Conversations hit me, words spilling over in my thoughts, as my head felt tight. One month. He called those humans kids so they must be young. If they were that strong, then what were adults like? I still didn¡¯t understand why the cow priest left me alive, to give me a chance at all. Was it for the humans, for the next-to-come invaders, or himself and his Goddess? ¡°Master?¡± asked Chion as he poked his head around the corner. I could tell I looked truly pathetic by the way he reacted when I looked up. He said nothing further as he walked to me and helped me up. Things blurred as Chion did stuff and otherwise let me sit. He went back up and nobody came down after that. For all my fire, my anger and thoughts when my enemies were in front of me, when they left I felt all of it die out like a bucket of cold water was dumped on my emotional flame. Enough, I had sat here for too long. When I made my way up to my floor and out of the hatch in Vurg¡¯s hut I was met with eyes. Every one of my minions, barring the foxes of course, were gathered around in the waiting for me. Nobody was feeling better than I was. They were used to dying, fighting for the safety of their home and the dungeon itself. So was I, really, except for the dying part. Yet to have been so utterly beaten by a single foe, to be so helpless, it was¡­ Vurg was lying among his two pets, his companions, looking better than I knew he felt. ¡°You did your best.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything at all. I am this floor¡¯s boss and I did nothing. Not even a single scratch in my only fight.¡± I sighed, knowing full well what he felt, and kicked him lightly in the leg. Unlike everyone else Vurg was static. He wouldn¡¯t grow stronger like us, he was born at his peak strength. ¡°Get used to it, know this feeling, and use it. So what if you don¡¯t get new skills or level. Are you dumb? Get smarter, use better tactics, become creative!¡± Even though I was speaking to him I kept my voice loud so all my minions could hear. ¡°We aren¡¯t beaten yet, not dead or destroyed, because of mercy. The monster that came in here gave us a chance, although he will regret it. After a month there will be many invaders and we¡¯ll fight.¡± Chion and Snep looked to each other, my oldest and strongest of minions. I would be depending on them more than all the others. ¡°And those humans that came here will come back, again and again. For our treasures and for our lives. We¡¯ll give them neither!¡± Well, some of us wouldn¡¯t. Probably. Snep, contrary to her usual snarky and contemptuous self, asked weakly, ¡°And if it not enough?¡± I snorted, and refused to jump when white smoke came out of my nose. ¡°Then we¡¯ll die permanently. But that is then and this is now. We train, get better equipment, and grow stronger. I¡¯ll build our dungeon and we¡¯ll gain new minions!¡± It was Chion, the true centerpiece to my kobolds, that restored their spirits. He laughed, a low and terrible thing, ¡°What are more deaths? As long as we take invaders with, all is good!¡± ¡°Yeah!¡± yelled Trald. Ras and Cas, Baf and Daf, the two nameless ones I¡¯ll have to reward for no doubt getting their classes. Vurg, Bitter and Sweet, and the Matriarch and her cubs. We weren¡¯t done yet. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª >Name: Tiktak Taklak >Class: Dungeon Master Lv.6 >Race: Blessed Kobold >Gender: Female >HP: 89/89 >MP: 78/78 >STR: 23 >DEX: 13 >AGI: 10 >VIT: 22 >INT: 18 >WIS: 24 >CHA: 11 >LUK: 16 >Skills: [Dungeon Interface Lv.3], [Second Heart Lv.1], [Claw Technique Lv.5], [Tough Scales Lv.4], [Mana Manipulation Lv.3], [Fear Resistance Lv.2], [Intimidate Lv.1], [Healing Breath Lv.3], [Throwing Techniques Lv.2], [Bow Techniques Lv.1], [Righteous Claw Lv.2], [Creature Modification Lv.1], [Pain Resistance Lv.1] >Perks: [Draconic Ancestry], [Holy Damage Immunity]