《Harvest Dungeon》


 1 Chapter 1 - Farming?

    I glared at the small neon green sprout that was growing out of the dirt. I personally felt it was stupid to glare at a plant. While alive, I knew it wasn''t sentient so no matter how much I glared at it, it wouldn''t notice or care. Yet the care instructions for the plant said I had to feed it my negative emotions, so here I was glaring at a tiny little neon green sprout. Nothing happened.


    With a sigh I rubbed my forehead. I was doing something wrong, that was obvious, but what?


    I looked around hoping to see something to inspire me. There wasn''t much to see. I had been here for two days and nothing had changed. It was a twenty feet by thirty feet space split into six ten by ten squares forming a rectangle. Four of the squares were dirt plots. Another was the home of a rough wooden shack, and the last was where everything else was. A well, two wooden bins, a fire pit and a storage shed that looked more like an outhouse.


    It wasn''t much, and worse I knew that it was a prison. Beyond the borders of the six squares was a endless green meadow with the hints of mountains, a forest, and a large body of water in three directions, while in the last direction the endless meadow seemed to continue on without end. I would give directions, but I had no idea which way was North or any other direction. The sun didn''t rise here, there was just light, then at night the light would fade then change to imitate moonlight. Yet nowhere in the sky was there any signs of a sun or moon, just light coming from somewhere.


    If I tried to take a step out of the six squares I would be stopped by a barrier and nothing I had tried was able to break the barrier. Unfortunately I was limited to my fist and the few farm tools I had available to me. Nothing seemed able to do any damage to the barrier. Or at least that was my impression. I couldn''t actually see the barrier. Every attack I used was repelled, gently, as if trying to make sure I wasn''t harmed.


    I didn''t get any inspiration.


    I looked back down at the little sprout but it hadn''t changed in any way.


    With another sigh I grabbed the watering can by my feet and poured some of the water onto the sprout. Water rained down on the sprout gently for a few moments then the water ceased despite the fact that I was still holding the can like I was watering the sprout. The water didn''t stop because I had ran out. The watering can itself was special. It only allowed me to use a specific amount of water per plant. No more could be used on the same plant until it was time to water the plant again. As I couldn''t see anything unusual about the watering can I could only call determine that it was magical, or a technology so advanced it seemed like magic. Either way I had no idea how it worked. However seeing that the watering can allowed me to water the sprout made me relax. I wasn''t doing anything wrong. The instructions had stated that the plant only absorbed negative emotions after it stopped absorbing water.


    Then why didn''t I try and water it first? Simple, I am impatient.


    During those two days I had planted another crop in the four dirt squares, I didn''t have much of a choice if I wanted to eat. They were the simplest and easiest plant available to me. Blue Dandelions, they grew quickly in comparison, and sold for twice the price of their seeds. That money was just enough to afford food while I tried to find a way out of this prison.


    The results? I was trapped. I couldn''t find any way out and I hadn''t seen anyone the entire time I had been here.


    While holding the watering can I walked over to the storage shed, opening it up I saw the hoe, and sickle which were the only other tools that had been provided to me. Like the watering can they were magical, the hoe made perfect holes or rows for whatever I was planting, and did nothing if I was just swinging it around for fun. The sickle harvested the plant without excessively damaging it despite the fact that I had no idea what I was doing, and given how clumsily I handled the thing, I thought it was closer to a miracle. I set the watering can on the shelf made for it then closed the door. If the sprout wasn''t ready yet there wasn''t much I could do.


    Glancing around again hoping for some kind of change then seeing nothing I headed for the shack.


    Inside the shack there was a cot that barely fit my six feet two inch height, and was too small for my broad shoulders. It was uncomfortable but still better than the floor. I had already tried.A thin blanket was folded up neatly at the foot of the bed. It wasn''t a magic blanket that folded itself. I had folded it myself because other than the cot there was no other furniture in the shack. If I wanted to sit down I had to use the cot.


    Floating in the very center of the shack was a clear crystal three inches in height and a inch thick. It floated four feet off the ground. If the floating didn''t give it away as abnormal the faint glow it gave off should.


    The crystal was the heart of this whole place. A repurposed dungeon core.


    I had no idea what a dungeon core was or how it could be repurposed but I also didn''t have anyone to ask.


    I walked over to the crystal and set my hand on it. A screen appeared in front of me as soon as I touched it.


    Dungeon Core(Repurposed) Level 1


    Dungeon Master(Temporary) Jason Nellis


    Dungeon Size6 tiles


    Funds5 Bronze


    Below the Dungeon status were options for the crop store, general store, dungeon expansions. There were more options farther down but all were grayed out and titled, ''Insufficient Level'' so I had no idea what there were. The general store had meal bars and other luxuries to make my life easier, though I couldn''t afford any of it. The dungeon expansion allowed me to add more ''tiles'' to my area but the price for that was too much to consider. An expansion of two tiles cost ten silver and would change the tile grid to a four by two, a three tile expansion cost fourteen silver changing the tile grid to a three by three.


    I could eventually repurpose the tiles, but that was grayed out so I had no idea what I could do with each tile. In some ways this place reminded me of a game I had played before, just more imprisoning with no contact with neighbors.


    I opened the crop store option.


    Crops Available


    Blue Dandelion5/10 Bronze


    Red Grass10/17 Bronze


    Blue Grass12/21 Bronze


    Neglism20 Bronze/ Varies


    I focused on the Neglism which was the crop I had planted outside.


    Neglism - a dangerous plant the invokes and feeds off of negative emotions. A useful component in creating status cures and poisons. The quality of the negative emotions determine the fruitfulness of the harvest. Lowest quality Neglism pods sell at 10 Iron while the highest quality have been sold for Gold. Caution to farmers, negative emotions evoked by Neglism can cause depression, bursts of extreme rage, jealousy, greed, suicide, murder, and in some cases apathy so extreme the farmer in question remained in a vegetative state until he died of natural causes.


    Neglsim will begin to invoke and absorb negative emotions shortly after sprouting. Once Neglism begins to absorb negative emotions it will no longer need to be watered. Neglism is harvestable only after absorbing sufficient negative emotions to produce lowest quality seed pods.


    Neglism is only recommended to be grown once, as all memories and thoughts used to create the negative emotions fed to the Neglism will no longer invoke negative emotions.


    The descriptions for the other plants were much simpler describing the kind of soil it liked and how long it would take to grow. Given the soil I had outside the Blue Dandelion was my only choice besides Neglism.


    There were harvest guides that came with the crops, and besides the seed pods, almost everything else on the plant could be used or sold. A reduction of the sap that wasn''t available for sale as it had no shelf life interested me as the consumer would gain permanent increase to their to status effect resistance.


    The warnings that went along with the crop scared me a little. Unfortunately with the long growth time of Blue Dandelion, twelve hours, which was short compared to the growing time of Red and Blue Grass which was one day, made it impossible to save any money as I still needed to eat. The Neglism was my only chance for extra cash. As I was sure I couldn''t escape I hoped I could find something else in the upgrade options, or at the very least make my life a little more comfortable. There was a pretty comfy looking bed in the general store for three iron.


    More importantly given the choices available to me in the store, whoever put me here wanted me to grow the plant. That or spend the rest of my time constantly growing Blue Dandelion and living off of what little I could get from the profit made on those.


    Satisfied that I remembered the information about Neglism correctly I moved to sit on the cot then closed my eyes. I could try and sleep but I didn''t bother. I had already slept a lot since arriving. There wasn''t much else to do. Watering could only be done every two hours. I had watered the Blue Dandelions every two hours once before, there had been no change in the final harvest so I didn''t bother now. I would try again in two hours with the Neglism because I needed to feed it my negative emotions for it to grow. I had plenty of those. How I got here, my girlfriend, my parents, and if that wasn''t enough I was sure I could come up with a few more.


    Then again as dangerous as the Neglism sounded the last line in the description sounded like the ultimate therapy session. Maybe that was the real reason I had chosen to grow it, though the extra money was definitely a close second. This cot didn''t even have a pillow.

 2 Chapter 2 - The Dangers and Rewards

    I sat unceremoniously on the dirt as I gazed up at the sickly neon green trunk of the Neglism as sweat poured off of me like a faucet.


    With a groan I closed my eyes in a vain attempt to stop the visions. It didn''t work, I knew it wouldn''t, but I was a little hopeful. With my hope dashed into pieces I resigned myself to the visions.


    While there were warnings about the Neglism in the information I had been given, and I had taken those warnings seriously, I was completely unprepared for how effectively the Neglism invoked my negative emotions.


    Truthfully I thought I would have to feed the emotions to the plant. Think them through and allow myself to feel the emotions that came with the memories rather than keeping them bottled up like I usually did.


    That wasn''t the case. The Neglism was slurping up my negative emotions through a straw with a big happy smile like a kid given its favorite milkshake. I had absolutely no power to stop it either. The entire ''farm'' was in the range of the plant. I had already tried to run from it. Completely pointless. The walls of the shack did nothing to stop or even slow the extraction of my worst memories, making me relive them, then magnifying my emotions to make them more tasty.


    I could guide the memories I was willing to experience. I had started out small, or at least what I considered small. How I got here. There wasn''t much to it. Or at least that was what I had thought.


    I had just gotten out of work, I had spotted my ex girlfriend on my way out. That was abnormal as we both worked for the same company and had caused more than a few awkward moments. The Neglism wanted to latch unto those uncomfortable feelings and suck them all out but I pushed it away, proving that I could guide the memories, but scaring me a bit in the process. Despite that I kept going. I had plans to meet a friend, for a drink. I showed up at the bar we had agreed to meet. He had texted that he was running late and told me to order without him. I wasn''t a big drinker, and only went to bars with friends. Sitting alone at the bar sipping a drink, by myself, made me feel really uncomfortable. Like a alcoholic that couldn''t wait to get his next drink. Probably just an overreaction, but I had been struggling against the urges to drink myself into a drunken stupor at the time, so I felt it was a very real possibility.


    Just as I was finishing my second drink and about to call my ''friend'' and see what the hell was taking him so long or if he had just decided to blow me off. I had seen her. Kind of hard not too. She was gorgeous. Maybe it was the alcohol, but I thought my tolerance was better than that, but she was even prettier than my ex. Long midnight black hair that curled in small rings down her back. A pair of enchanting dark blue eyes set into a angelic face, and a killer body encased in a tight yet modest pale blue dress. More importantly she was staring straight at me as she approached.


    Of course I was sure that it was all a coincidence and I wasn''t what she was coming over for. Until I glanced around. Despite having finished my second drink, it was still early. The bar was nowhere near packed so while I was at the bar, there was plenty of empty space if she wanted to place an order. On top of that I had set myself apart from the rest of the patrons and my melancholy attitude had convinced those few near me not to get any closer. If she was coming towards me then it had to be because she wanted to speak to me.


    I wasn''t wrong. The beauty walked right up to me and looked me over just as intensely as everyone else in the bar was gazing at her. "Hello Jason Nellis, you will do just fine." she told me with a brilliant smile that caused my mind to stop working for a moment. Then just as I was beginning to be able to think again and wondered how the hell she knew my name everything went dark. When I woke up I was here on this tiny little farm prison.


    I didn''t think that there was a lot of negative emotions tied into this memory besides the anger that I had been targeted to be brought here, and a bit of shame that I thought she might actually have been interested in me. That was what I thought. I was incredibly wrong. So very wrong. I had been stuffing all of my unhappy emotions into a lock box and ignoring them, for so long that I didn''t even register the emotions anymore. Of course I stated I had been melancholy, that is caused by emotions, yet I completely ignored that fact. There were reasons and emotions that caused me to have already finished my second drink rather than just nursing the first. Emotions that went along with the fact that I was drinking alone, and most importantly there were a lot of emotions that went with finding myself trapped in a tiny little farm growing things I have never heard of in a place without a sun, moon, or even stars. Lots of them. Didn''t think of any of that. Call it a comping method. Didn''t matter, the stupid plant didn''t miss them. It forced me to recall every moment of it, magnified the emotions so I couldn''t miss them and their effect on me, then slurped them up as happily as a fat kid in a candy store with a free pass to everything it could grab.


    That was when I really felt the fear. That set of memories, including the crushing fear that ultimately came with finding myself in an unfamiliar place and trapped unable to leave, were still tame compared to what I had inside of me with my girlfriend of three years throwing everything we had together over a misunderstanding, or the death of my parents when I was young and the subsequent years I was raised by my mother''s adopted sister that never liked her, and therefore hated me. There were all kinds of powerful emotions in those memories that I couldn''t deny, and many, many more that I had.


    I ran, I hoped that the distance or at least the walls of the shack would stop the plant from dredging up anymore of those painful memories. I was terrified and it was sucking it all up greedily.


    Neither the meager distance, or the thin walls was enough to stop the memories. One by one I was forced to relive each of my worst moments my emotions blown up to be even more intense and painful. I came back out in a futile gesture in taking back control of the flood of memories. The Neglism was enormous, a tree in the middle of my dirt plots glowing a sickly green, thick blade like leaves covering its branches while small vivid yellow flowers grew everywhere on the plant.


    The memories continued to flow despite my vain attempts of steering them towards less unpleasant memories. I collapsed by the plant sweat running from my head in equal portions to the tears from my eyes and snot from my nose. My stomach hurt from all the sobbing while my throat burned from all the screaming.


    The lose of my parents, my life with my bitch of an adopted aunt who hated my mother, my years with my ex and the realization that she really did pack her bags and left as fast as a rabbit fleeing a fox when she found the engagement ring I was holding onto for our friend so his nosy girlfriend didn''t find it before he proposed. Every little thing was drawn out and blown up so I couldn''t ignore it, every argument with my aunt, every fight with my ex, the fact that the last words I said to my parents before they died were flippant, uninterested.


    Then it was over. The flood of memories abated and disappeared leaving me laying on the ground listless.


    I have no idea how long I laid there, none at all. I wasn''t registering the flow of time in any way at all. The sky could have darkened into its semblance of night and back to day for all I knew. I did recover though. As painful as they were, they were just memories. I had lived through them and survived. Now was no different, just highly concentrated.


    When I was finally able to move again I felt amazing. The description had been right, the Neglism had invoked and feed on my negative emotions, I just underestimated how it invoked my negative emotions. Even more importantly I didn''t feel anything from those memories anymore. An enormous weight I had unknowingly been carrying around with me letting it slowly grow heavier every day, was completely gone. I felt refreshed and free for the first time, despite being trapped on that tiny farm. I laughed so long and hard that my stomach started to cramp.


    I stood up slowly and looked at the Neglism, it was an enormous tree with hundreds of branches laiden with sickly yellow and green seed pods. The information for the Neglism didn''t recommend growing it a second time because the memories wouldn''t feed the plant again, yet I couldn''t see anyone willingly choosing to to go through that a second time. I felt amazing now, but the price for it was steep.


    I considered starting to harvest the immense plant but decided not too. I reached up and grabbed the closest pod and tugged it off. It practically fell into my hand. I smiled to myself then grabbed a second. The first I would sell so I could have something nice to eat, the second would stay with me as a momento to remember the lessons I had learned. My parent''s death wasn''t my fault. The hate my aunt had for my mother wasn''t my fault, nor was how she treated me, she was just a bitch. Not that I didn''t act out, but she was a bitch first. The break up with my ex wasn''t my fault, but then again we weren''t nearly as perfect for each other as I had thought we were which was probably why she ran so fast. So maybe I was partially to blame for that one. Either way I wanted a good meal and some sleep. I could harvest the Neglism in the morning, or when I woke up, I had no idea what time it was, and I didn''t care.


    I did know that I was going to be more careful of what I grew in the future. I had never thought plants could be so dangerous.

 3 Chapter 3 - Vanessa

    I dropped a seed pod into each of the storage bins outside of the shack then went inside to access the crystal. The standard screen I had seen earlier appeared followed by two notifications.


    [Neglism pod placed in sale crate.]


    [Neglism pod placed in storage crate.]


    Selecting the storage crate notification I shifted the Neglism pod into storage. As a standard feature he received a small storage space where he could put things he didn''t want out but didn''t want to sell.


    The bin outside were where I placed and retrieved the items that interacted with the system. I had nothing but the Neglism pod in my personal storage though in truth I had no idea how big the storage space was.


    I then selected the pod in the sale crate. A price appeared beside an image of the pod. Seeing that they were offering five iron coins for the pod I was overjoyed. The currency of this place had been a part of why I had chosen to grow the Neglism.


    Unlike the various fantasy stories I had read where the currencies were made of bronze, silver, gold, and then some other precious metals if there was a higher denomination. Here the currencies were bronze, iron, silver, gold, platinium, mythril. Not that I had actually seen any coinage, it was all virtual in the crystal.


    When I realized there was a different denomination of currency between bronze and silver I realized it would take forever to earn enough extra coin to purchase the new fields.


    With my total profit from the Blue Dandelions only being twenty bronze coins a day, and I had to use that for food as well as savings, I knew it would take too long. Especially when each increase in coin cost a hundred of the previous. One iron was worth a hundred bronze, one silver was worth one hundred iron, and so on. The cheapest expansion would cost a hundred thousand bronze coins and I earned fourteen extra a day as the three meal bars I ate cost a total of six coins. Let alone I would have to make a few other comfort purchases so I didn''t go crazy. It would take years.


    There was a level associated with my repurposed dungeon core, but it didn''t level up on its own, I had to purchase it. The price of my level increase was a silver coin. It was a lot cheaper than the expansion, but I had no idea what I would get for increasing the level. A better crop would make everything better, but I didn''t know. Which was the problem, I had no idea how this place was supposed to work and no one to ask. So I chose the Neglism to get a enough money that I could do both, hopefully.


    I sold the Neglism pod then opened the shop and bought the comfy bed set I had spotted for three iron coins. It immediately shifted into my sale bin for retrieval. I had no idea how that was going to work but I was hopeful. Second I paid for an actual hot meal of cheeseburger and fries for eight bronze coins before I headed for the door.


    I was more than a little disappointed when I found the cheeseburger meal and a toy bed in the sale bin. I wanted to smash it as soon as I saw it pissed at such a cruel joke. I resisted and brought them both into the shack. The toy bed could be a reminder not to trust the shop blindly.


    As soon as I entered the shack the crystal dungeon core flashed.


    [Place Comfy Bed Set?]


    I stared at the screen for a few seconds before agreeing to place the bed. Immediately a pale green grid overlay appeared in my vision. I chose the opposite corner from the cot. Then the toy bed in my hand disappeared and the full sized comfy bed set appeared in the room. Good thing I didn''t smash it.


    With a smile on my face I ate my food with relish then crawled onto the bed to sleep.


    A loud scream woke me from the first good sleep I had gotten since I arrived at this terrible place. I was still pretty sleepy so it took me a moment to realize that if I had heard a scream then something had changed and change was good. When I did I was out of the bed in a second and out the door then next.


    I did not expect to see the same woman from the bar standing in front of me staring at the Neglism with a shocked expression. Even without the alcohol she was still as attractive as I remembered her. Rather than a dress she was wearing a pair of tight blue jeans, a white blouse, and brown boots. Her hair was left loose and blew gently in the wind, it wasn''t as curly as I remembered but it still fell in waves down her back.


    "Where did that come from?" the woman asked looking at me as I stepped out of the shack.


    "Grew it. Where am I?" I asked her.


    "Why would you grow that?! Didn''t you see the warnings?" she asked nearly hysteric.


    "Not a lot of choices. Where am I?" I asked her again.


    "Oh no he didn''t!" the woman growled so angrily that I the man she had kidnapped and placed in this prison backed away from her.


    The woman marched angrily past me into the shack and up to the crystal. I followed behind her curiously. While I wanted to get out of this place. After three or so days, I still had no idea how long feeding and recovering from the Neglism had taken. I was ready for a distraction of any kind. Besides as much as I wanted to grab her and pin her down while demanding answers and a way out of here. I understood that getting me out of that bar and to this place, wherever it was, couldn''t have been easy. Just because I didn''t see anyone else around didn''t mean there wasn''t, so I would be patient, for now.


    "Access Log!" she demanded angrily.


    To my surprise a window appeared in front of her that I could see myself.


    The woman stared at the log for several long moments reading through everything before she waved her hand through the screen dismissing it.


    "Why did you only sell one Blue Dandelion per batch? Where are the others?" she asked turning to face me. She was still angry but it didn''t seem to be focused at me.


    "Only one seed came with each purchase." I replied wondering what she meant.


    The woman closed her eyes while she visibly grinding her teeth. After a moment she seemed to reach some kind of internal decision then turned back to the crystal. "Send copies of logs and number of seeds in each purchase to all supervisor and overseer levels of management." she ordered.


    The crystal flashed brightly then went back to the way it usually behaved.


    "Seems I owe you an apology." she said turning back to me.


    "You kidnapped and dropped me in this prison alone, for no reason. An apology is the least of what you need to do." I growled back at her.


    "I am not apologising for any of that. That was going to happen whether I grabbed you or another girl did it. There aren''t a lot of people who can sync with the crystals." she told me.


    I frowned at her than glanced at the crystal then back to her.


    "No I am apologizing because it looks like a fan of mine made things unnecessarily difficult for you. From what I could see he adjusted your starting crops so that half of them were useless, and you were only sent partial shipments of seeds when you bought the Blue Dandelions." she told me. "You should have been able to grow twenty five per tile for each purchase of seed. He also hid that information from you."


    If that were true then the Blue Dandelion wasn''t such a trash crop. At ten bronze coins a piece I would have earned two and a half iron coins per tile, ten coins for all four. Paying for the extension or the level up would still have taken some work, but it would not be impossible.


    That didn''t matter though, I didn''t want to be here.


    "Send me back." I told her.


    "No can do, one way trip." she replied moving over and sitting on the edge of my new bed.


    "What about you?" I asked doubtfully.


    "Same deal. One way trip." she replied.


    "Seriously?" I asked her surprised.


    "Yep. the only way out of here is through the sale bin." she replied with a sigh. "And no, that won''t work for the living. Just so you know."


    I stared at her for several long moments trying to figure out if she was lying or not. I wasn''t an expert but she didn''t seem to be. Unfortunately all the anger I felt towards this woman had been sucked out by the Neglism. Not that I forgave her, not at all. I just didn''t have any of the rage. Instead I could think rationally.


    "Why?" I asked her.


    "Huh? Why? Why you? Or why are you here?" She asked in return.


    "Both, plus who are you and why are you here if you can''t go back?" I asked.


    She was silent for a while, but I was patient. I had plenty of of Neglism pods to sell and no rush to harvest them. Said so in the harvesting instructions, they couldn''t stay up there forever but I had several days before they would drop on their own.


    "Well, my name is Vanessa, and the easiest to explain would be the why you. There are only a so many people who have the constitution to sync with and use the crystals. I think on your world it was something like one in a million give or take a few thousand. Then we had to find people who wouldn''t be missed, or would be quickly forgotten. You fall into the latter as your coworkers will just assume you left to get away from your ex. Our need for core operators overruled our desire to follow the rules and give you a chance to refuse or escape, mostly escape." Vanessa replied.


    "As for your other questions¡­" Vanessa started to say then stopped as the crystal flashed once.


    She got up off the bed, which was good as her sitting on my bed was starting to give me some ideas. Apparently lust was not an emotion Neglism feed on.


    Vanessa touched the crystal then a screen appeared in front of her. Again I could see and read what was on it.


    [Investigation begun on Trellion Owark, initial determinations confirm improper treatment of Crystal Operator Jason Nellis. Compensation for the sale of lacking Blue Dandelion crop has been determined to be necessary. Compensation for inconvenience and allowing reset of system, One level up marker.]


    [4 crop placements, 24 seeds withheld per crop tile, four crop tiles, standard price of grown Blue Dandelion 10 Bronze. Total compensation 38 iron coins, 40 bronze coins. Deposit made immediately.]


    Vanessa stared at the screens for a moment then the crystal flashed again.


    [Investigation complete. Trellion Owark confirmed to be Neglism pod supplier for creation of Euphoria. Employment terminated and warrant issued.]


    "What is Euphoria?" I asked as it seemed to be the reason I had such a hard time, besides Vanessa.


    "A drug made from Neglism seed pods that gives the user the same feeling you experienced after feeding the plant all of your negative emotions. Without any side effects or need to experience the negative emotions like you did." Vanessa said with a sigh. "It is highly addictive and illegal on almost every world. If the status drugs and poisons made from Neglism weren''t the best out there the plant would have been outlawed too." she explained.


    I stared at her trying to wrap my head around everything. Some asshole who was mad at her set me up so I had to grow his drug plant? What the hell have I been dragged into! Then again if those drugs were real I wanted a couple of cases for myself.


    "We need to harvest that thing and quick!" Vanessa told me anxiously.


    I frowned, "Why?" I asked.


    "We aren''t the only ones here. If Trellion lets anyone know you have a fully grown and unharvested Neglism here they will send people over to steal the pods and create some more negative memories to feed the plant!" she yelled as she went towards the door.


    Shit!

 4 Chapter 4 - Protection

    I followed her out and ran for the storage shed. I grabbed the sicile from inside then ran for the enormous plant. I had thought I could just harvest all the pods and feed any new negative emotions I came across staying in this prison so I had a constant supply of the pods. Seems that wasn''t the best of ideas.


    Vanessa was quickly picking all the pods she could reach one by one. I ran past her and swung the sicile at the trunk. A normal sicile wouldn''t be able to handle a tree trunk, but I already knew it wasn''t normal and it wouldn''t hurt to give it a try. Besides after seeing the mini bed I had another idea.


    The trunk cut like soft butter but didn''t fall over. I reached up and touched the trunk then looked back at the storage bin. "Store." I said aloud hoping it would work. If the sicile, hoe, and watering can were magical why not the storage bin?


    Nothing happened for a moment then to my delight the trunk, its branches and all the leaves and pods shrank down into a mini tree which then flew through the air and landed in the storage bin. Feeling elated I placed my hand on the stump and repeated the process. The stump and all its roots shrank down and flew over to the storage bin leaving a large hole in my dirt tile. As I said earlier every part of the plant was useful.


    With the Neglism stored in my storage I gave Vanessa an impish grin as she stared at me in shock holding an arm full of the pods, then headed back into the shack. "Set the pods in the sale bin." I told her before going through the door. For some reason I felt rather proud of myself.


    When Vanessa followed me in she had a serious look on her face. "How did you know about that feature?" she asked me.


    "Guessed." I replied honestly. "The other tools are special and large objects can be shrunk down to fit into the bins." I said then nodded at the bed as I reached for the crystal.


    [Level Up marker awarded.]


    [Eight Neglism pods placed in sale bin.]


    I decided to sell each of the eight pods for forty iron coins doubling what I had available. Then I looked at the first notice to appear. "What is the level up marker?" I asked.


    "It does what you are guessing. They could just give you a silver coin but they want to ensure you use it to level." Vanessa replied moving to sit on the edge of the bed.


    As attractive as she was I could ignore her most of the time, until she sat on my bed. As I thought about it I realized what it meant when she said she was stuck here too.


    "Why are you here?" I asked her again.


    Vanessa sighed. "Do we need to have this conversation now?" she asked. "Even if we removed the Neglism from your field it doesn''t mean that the guys who show up won''t cause us problems."


    "Then how do we protect ourselves? And why didn''t I have any protection before this?" I asked.


    "Huh?" Vanessa asked confused then glared angrily as she got off the bed and walked over to my side. Being that close I could smell her, it was a pleasant aroma, something like honey and apricots. She touched the crystal bringing up the main screen then scrolled down to looking at all of the locked options. She frowned seeing all the grayed out options. "Use the level up marker. They did say they would reset the system with the level up." she told me.


    I had no reason to refuse. I couldn''t stay as I was. I selected the screen that indicated the Level up marker and used it. The crystal flashed brightly for a moment then my screens disappeared. A second later the crystal''s glow disappeared for a split second only to reappear even brighter.


    [System reset.]


    [Dungeon Core(Repurposed) Level 2


    Dungeon MasterJason


    Dungeon GuideVanessa


    Dungeon Size9 tiles


    Funds37 Bronze 80 Iron


    Available options


    Crop Store


    General Store


    Dungeon Expansions


    Guardians


    Minions]


    "This is what your screen should have looked like when you arrived, except the level, and the funds. Now select the guardian option." she told me.


    "Can''t you?" I asked. She seemed to know more and was clearly able to use the crystal, why was I even needed here?"


    "No can do. I can access the menu and the logs, but any purchases or changes to the dungeon are out of my control." she explained.


    "You keep calling it a dungeon. What does that mean?" I asked. "While it is a prison I don''t think it looks much like a dungeon."


    "It''s not a prison, the barrier is there for your own protection. We aren''t the only ones here. There are plenty of other people, monsters, and beasts out there." she replied.


    "Monsters?" I asked skeptically.


    "You just grew a plant that ate negative emotions and are going to be skeptical of monsters?"


    "You have a point." I replied grudgingly.


    [Available Guardian slots: 2


    Available Guardians:


    Earth Golem50 Bronze


    Stone Golem1 Iron]


    Vanessa groaned. "One of each. It''s better than nothing." she said.


    "Why not two Stone Golems?" I asked, they were twice the price so they should be the better model.


    "They aren''t the same type of golem. Each excel at different things. The earth golem can attack using the ground beneath its enemies feet. The stone golem can conjure up stones to throw at its enemies." she replied. "With them and the newbie barrier we should be fine."


    "Newbie barrier?" I asked.


    "The barrier keeping you in here. It will only stick around until something strong enough to break it shows up or you reach level five." she replied.


    I frowned, "How much will that cost?" I asked aloud wondering how much longer I will have to wait before I could get out of here.


    "Not the dungeon, you." Vanessa told me.


    I stared at her like she was an idiot. I didn''t have levels.


    Vanessa sighed then cradled her head in her hands. "I will murder him. I swear if I ever get my hands on him it will be done slowly, agonizingly slowly." she muttered to herself. "You didn''t have any kind of tutorial did you?" she asked looking up at me.


    I shook my head. "Kind of a figure it out yourself kind of thing." I replied.


    "Then you did even better than I could have hoped for." she said then sighed again. She seemed to like to sigh.


    "Later, we can talk about it all later. Defense first then talk." she told me then looked at the screen again. "Bring up the guardians."


    I wasn''t a fan of her bossy attitude, and in truth our ''dire'' situation could only be confirmed by her, but it was better to be safe than sorry. So I did what I was told.


    [Earth GolemLevel 1 Upgradeable]


    [Stone GolemLevel 1 Upgradeable]


    Without her telling me to I selected the upgrade screen both looked the same.I could increase their mass, density, responsiveness, and energy. All for a price. Though there were limits to how much upgrading could be done. At level one each could only be upgraded once. Going with Vanessa''s suggestion I upgraded the energy of the earth golem and the responsiveness of the stone golem.


    "Couldn''t we get more guardians?" I asked.


    "Nope, it''s just like the upgrades, we can have one guardian per level. Besides they aren''t small and take up a lot of space. If we had too many you wouldn''t have anywhere to grow the crops."


    I had way too many questions. I hoped tonight would come soon.


    Grabbing my hand she pulled me towards the door. I stared at our hands as I was pulled along. Of course I had held hands with a woman before, I had been with my ex for three years. We were even living together. However my ex''s hand had never felt so warm and soft.


    Outside I was able to see my new guardians. Vanessa was right they were pretty big. The earth golem stood twelve feet tall while the stone golem was fifteen. Both were nearly as broad as they were tall. Shaped roughly like humans they stood completely still on two of my empty tiles taking up nearly the entire space. Looking around I realized that with the level up I might have gained three tiles, but the golems took up two and the last had a building constructed on it. The new tiles expanded from the house side of the six tiles so the new building was next to my shack instead of on the other side of my tool shed.


    "Oh good, I was afraid that wouldn''t show up." Vanessa said looking at the new building. "We can merge and upgrade them later."


    I had no idea what she was talking about.


    Looking at the space were the Neglism had disappeared from, the hole the stump had left behind had disappeared just as thoroughly as the waste I left behind the tool shed since I arrived. Now only a flat tile ready to be worked was there.


    I looked at Vanessa only to see her gazing out at the grassland that surrounded my farm.


    I followed her lead. I didn''t see anything initially, but I had stared out at the same field many times during the first couple days I had been here. There wasn''t much else to do between planting and harvesting. After a few moments I noticed a something that hadn''t been there before. Staring at it constantly I realized it was a dirt mound that rose just above the grass. As the grass stood three feet tall it was a large pile of dirt. Even more interesting was the fact that the pile of dirt seemed to be moving. I nudged Vanessa and pointed to the mound of dirt.


    She stared at it for several moments before snorting. "It''s a slime." she told me.


    "Seriously?" I asked. I was far more used to the idea of the comical blue slimes from video games. However I kept a watch on the slime and when it reached the border of my farm it pressed against the barrier that kept me in. Doing so let me see that it wasn''t really a mound of dirt but a dark brown slime full of dirt, more like a moving mound of mud. However as calm as Vanessa was about it the slime was over three feet tall and just as wide. Before I could even consider panicking a large rock went over my head and landed on the mud slime causing it to splash like any other puddle of mud would.While the stone was able to pass through the barrier with no trouble, none of the mud puddles came inside the barrier. Several earth spike rose up in the larger puddles then nothing. After a few moments the earth in front of my feet shifted and a small glowing brown gem a half inch in diameter appeared.


    "Slime core, it''s the only valuable loot those things have." Vanessa said.


    "Gather the slime and spread it on that tile." I ordered the earth golem indicating one of the dirt tiles. "It makes a good fertilizer." I told Vanessa. Who blinked at me in surprise.


    "It mentions it in the instructions for the blue dandelions. I just thought it was the brand name of a fertilizer rather than an actual monster." I told her before she could ask. Then bent down and grabbed the slime core.


    "A man who reads the instructions? Is the world about to end?" Vanessa commented with a smile.


    "Come on, time is money, I need to replant the fields if I can''t leave, and then some food would be good." I told Vanessa heading for the door to the shack.


    I still didn''t want to be here, but the company of a beautiful woman did make it more bearable. If what I suspected was true, I might not even want to leave.

 5 Chapter 5 - Why

    Before I could reach the door to the shack I felt Vanessa grab my hand and stop me. I looked back at her curiously.


    "Over here first." she told me indicating the second building.


    I looked at it curious as to what it was so I nodded and followed her to the other building. It looked identical to my shack making me wonder if it was the place Vanessa was intending to stay?" However the moment we stepped inside I knew I was wrong.


    "It is a normal perk of being sent here. That asshole wanted to make your stay as uncomfortable as possible, probably thought it would help the Neglism grow." Vanessa told me as I nearly cried at the sight of a toilet and a bathtub. Yes I nearly cried. After several days of having to take care of business behind the tool shed and coming up with creative and not necessarily effective means to clean myself. Plus several days of having to pull up buckets to douse myself in to wash myself, the sight of a relatively modern bathroom was heavenly.


    "It still isn''t perfect yet, there isn''t a heater on the water so it''s pretty cold, and the toilet is just a hole in the ground like those you see at campsites, just not as smelly, but it is better than nothing." Vanessa told me.


    I nodded, "We can upgrade that right?" I asked.


    "Once we have the money yeah." Vanessa replied.


    "Good. What about the cleaning supplies, soap, shampoo, toilet paper?" I asked emphasising the last one.


    "We can buy it in the general store. Though there is an initial stock in here now." she replied.


    I nodded then pulled off my shirt as I headed to the tub, there was a shower head attached to the tub, and even if it would be cold I was determined to get clean.


    "Hold up." Vanessa called out.


    I looked back at her a pleading look in my eyes. I was never a fan of camping back home. I also made sure to bath daily. While I wasn''t obsessive about it I prefered to be clean.


    "How about we handle the planting then get you some new clothes before you get clean." Vanessa suggested.


    I considered it for a moment, then considered the fact that after I cleaned up now while in my clothes so they got clean too, I could just wash again before I changed. I turned the faucet of the tub and stuck my hand under the water. It came out icy cold, maybe even worse than the water I pulled out of the well with the bucket. As much as I wanted to be clean I didn''t think I could handle more than one icy cold shower.


    I reluctantly followed Vanessa out of the building and back to the shack.


    "We can also merge the two buildings into one so we don''t have to go outside to bathe or use the restroom." Vanessa told me as we walked.


    I nodded, it would be nice, but I would have to see what the price was for that. At the moment I didn''t have a ton to spare until I had a chance to separate out the Neglism pods from the rest of the tree.


    "Let''s see what you have available for planting." Vanessa commented.


    I gave her a look, did she always have to phrase it like she was giving me an order?


    Vanessa didn''t seem to notice, instead she looked rather distracted.


    I touched the crystal and noticed a few notifications had appeared.


    [Sorting complete.]


    [312 Neglism pods placed in storage bin. 1832 Neglism leaves placed in storage bin, Neglism trunk and branch system placed in storage bin, Neglism stump and root system placed in storage bin.]


    I stared at the notification stupidly for a moment before smiling. It seemed the bins had an even more useful feature than I thought. Out of curiosity I tried to shift the pods and leaves to the sale pin. The crystal flashed then a prompt appeared.


    [Action requested requires transfer upgrade of storage and sale bin. Do you wish to purchase this upgrade for 200 iron coins.(Price can be deducted from sale of merchandise.)]


    I gave it some thought then agreed to the upgrade and sales of the two items.


    Storage bin transfer feature: Cost 100 iron coins.


    Sale bin transfer feature:Cost 100 iron coins.


    312 Neglism Pods:Sale price 5 iron/15 silver 60 iron


    1832 Neglism leaves:Sale price 10 Bronze/183 silver 20 bronze


    Total profit:15 Silver 43 Silver 20 Bronze]


    Seeing the money that poured into my account I smiled.


    "That should help out a lot." Vanessa commented.


    I looked over at her only to see her still distracted. I rolled my eyes then pulled up the available crops in the crop store. The menu had changed a bit since the last time I saw it.


    Crops Available


    Blue Dandelion5 Bronze/ 25 seeds/10 Bronze


    Silver Shamrock20 Bronze/ 30 seeds/ 50 Bronze


    Amber Mint1 Iron / 16 seeds/ 60 Bronze


    Blue Grass12 Bronze/ 25 seeds/ 21 Bronze


    Winter Vine80 Bronze/ 6 seeds/ 30 Bronze


    White Ice Rose2 Iron/ 16 seeds/ 6 Bronze


    I stared at the list dumbfounded. "There isn''t any food, and I can''t even use half of these seeds!" I exclaimed angrily. I had hoped that things would change now that Vanessa was here, and it had improved, but this was unbelievable!


    Vanessa chuckled. "They can and will give you food crops later, but these are some of the crops they have a high demand for. As for not being able to use half the crops, that isn''t true, not anymore." she replied.


    I glared at her waiting for an explanation.


    "That asshole locked a lot of the things you should have access too, those aren''t locked now." she reminded me.


    I closed my eyes and took a deep breath then let it out. She was right and I hated to admit that.


    "They did you a favor for the trouble you have been in and gave you crops that only need two environments. The first three can be grown on the surface without any problems." she told me.


    "And the last three?" I asked.


    "There is a reason I call this place a dungeon. Now seems to be a good time to talk about it since our ''friends'' haven''t made an appearance yet." she told me.


    I thought about it then shook my head. "Not yet." I said then gave her a serious look. "First I need to know more about why you and I am here and how I was shut out of options that I was supposed to have from the get go?" I asked.


    Vanessa frowned for a moment then sighed and gestured for us to sit on the edge of the bed. I sat down, seeing no reason not to, then she sat beside me. Very close, our thighs touching despite the size of the bed. I wanted to shift away, keep my mind clear while we talked. I was still surprised by how attracted to her I was. Sure she was beautiful, really beautiful, but she was the one who had kidnapped me.


    "Did you guys put some kind of charm on me?" I grumbled shifting uncomfortably.


    Vanessa giggled. "No, I''m just really pretty." she told me with a smirk.


    I stared at her a bit surprised then shook my head.


    "We''ll start with that then." Vanessa told me. "As I said earlier you were chosen because you met our criteria. I wasn''t completely honest though. I chose you. I had a choice between a couple of different guys who fit the initial criteria. From there I observed each of you to get a sense of your personalities and how you reacted to my presence. When your mouth dropped at the sight of me, combined with how you handled yourself. Especially with your ex. Well you were the best choice for me. Though I stand by the fact that if I hadn''t chosen you the next girl would have, or the one after her. Our pool of people is limited and a handsome man like you with a calm temperament is a blessing for us." she told me.


    "Are you seriously say that the fact that I didn''t go nuts about my ex running out on me was why you chose me?" I asked.


    Vanessa smiled. "You forgot the fact that you are handsome and find me beautiful but yes." she replied.


    I groaned. I hadn''t alway been a calm person, too much grief. I learned to be though. My aunt didn''t want me in the first place and a grieving kid lashing out at the world was not something she was willing to deal with. Thankfully a kind school counselor had tried to help me figure out another way to handle my pain. It didn''t work, instead I bottled it up and developed the habit of analyzing the situation before reacting. With my ex I knew it was initially a misunderstanding. I hoped to clear it up and get back together, then too much time had passed and I would seem like the asshole at work if I reacted.


    "Don''t underestimate the other two reasons I picked you." Vanessa said looking up at me leaning in.


    I felt the blood rush south. The two of us sitting so closely together on a bed was making me feel like an awkward teen. While I was obviously attracted to my ex I had never responded to her like I was Vanessa.


    Seeing my reaction she smiled at me. "You are here to run the dungeon, I don''t have the ability to affect it beyond a few surface activities, as for why I am here? I work for the company that repurposed the dungeon core and put you here."


    My mind cleared in an instant the moment I had something other than her to focus on. Of course there was a company, she had said there were other girls and there had to be a reason to put me here.


    "I am their representative here to guide you on how to use the core, and encourage you to grow the products they need." she told me.


    I had no idea why, but the simple fact that she was just her job actually made me feel better. It was something she had to do, I was chosen for it. Then again it might have been my desire to not blame the beautiful woman I was desperate to get under the sheets with. Since it was her job I could push all the blame off of her and onto them. I also chalked up my attraction to that as well. She had a job to do, she was the carrot and she seemed to be very good at her job. Now what or who was the stick?


    "I''m not so sure they need a representative here to get me to grow what they want." I commented.


    "A part of the repurposing the core was a connection to their communication net and portal network. What is available to you from the shops are from the company. How much and what they offer you is controlled on the company side of the network and not the core. Kind of like your online shopping. What they made available is what they want you to grow and the reason you were sent here was to grow it, but it isn''t the only reason. This place is an untamed and unexplored world, there will be all kinds of things we can find here that the company will want.


    You aren''t the first they have sent down here, the first few didn''t have someone like me with them. Through trial and error they determined having a in person representative was the best way to identify goods that they might want and encourage you to continue working with them." she finished.


    It took me a moment to process what she said and what she hadn''t. The company who set all this up had a lot of control over me at the moment, but Vanessa was here for when they lost that control, when I could leave this prison of a farm. When I didn''t need their shop to continue surviving.


    "And we can''t leave?" I asked.


    Vanessa shook her head. "No, to use the core you were linked to it. Now that it is set on this world, you can''t leave. You can''t move it either, but I will let you try that on your own. Maybe you will succeed where everyone else failed. As part of that ongoing trial and error the company decided that I needed to be in the same boat as you to be able to work with you long term. So I was linked in as an assistant. Still can''t use it, but just as stuck here as you are."


    "But you weren''t here." I reminded her.


    She nodded. "I was given some time to spend with my family before I was sent here." she replied sadness making its first appearance on her face.


    That brought up so many other questions. "And if he didn''t want you to come here why didn''t he change that?" I asked, I still wasn''t convinced this wasn''t an elaborate scheme set up to make me compliant and agreeable. Not much I could do about it, not now at least.


    "Access. Cores are hard to come by and even harder to repurpose to suit the companies needs. Access to linking the core master and assistants are way above his level." she replied.


    "Then what did they change?" I finally asked as I had been wondering what it meant by repurposed.


    "A normal dungeon like those in your worlds games and stories feeds and grows off the life force of others. Your core has been altered to better absorb the ambient mana to continue functioning and grow through the absorption of the energy within the interdimensional currency. Each type of coin can hold a specific amount of energy based on the material it is made of, it is that energy and not the material that it is made of that is the currency between the worlds. You absorb that energy to grow and improve our dungeon." she finished.

 6 Chapter 6 - It Begins

    I took in her explanations my mind racing, but I had one other question I needed answering before I was ready to get to work. "Why are you here?" I asked her.


    Vanessa frowned, "I am the representative of the company." she replied.


    I shook my head. "That is your job. What I want to know is why are you here? You have family, probably friends too. So why this job? You can''t go back to see any of them."


    "That is pretty personal." Vanessa responded with a growl then sighed. "Though I can''t blame you for asking. It doesn''t make sense does it?" she asked.


    I shook my head.


    "Because I am the opposite of you. I have a big family who loves me, more importantly I love them all a great deal." she told me then paused.


    Everything clicked but I wanted to hear her say it.


    "Usually we had just enough to get by, but life happens, my little brother got sick, my older sister got hurt. There just wasn''t enough anymore. That''s when the company approached me. I have always been pretty, positive, and despite our situation, pure. They made me prettier, trained me, and offered a lot of money, all paid to my family for my services here. Obviously the better I do here with you, the more they will pay my family. Though it isn''t all bad. With some upgrades I will be able to keep in touch with my family. If we can make this place safe they might be able to come and visit." she added becoming more animate by the moment.


    Visit? Then it hit me, we can''t leave because we are linked to the core. That didn''t apply to everyone else. Which was why we were worried someone would show up for the Neglism, maybe even Trellion himself. I had noticed that before the reset I had been considered the temporary master of the core. He might have had a plan for the core and not just the Neglism.


    "Alright, so what else can I do as the dungeon master?" I asked.


    Vanessa gave me a smile. "There are a few things. The most obvious is expanding." she told me.


    I nodded. "What about the other climate crops?" I asked.


    "Same answer." she said her smile getting bigger. "It''s just that instead of expanding out, you expand down."


    "Dungeon, of course." I said feeling stupid I hadn''t picked it up on my own yet.


    Vanessa giggled. "Its fine, a lot has happened in a relatively small period of time." she told me.


    I nodded.


    The crystal flashed then gave off a chime. A moment later and a screen appeared in front of me.


    Incoming holo call, communication upgrade required. Discounted price of 50 iron offered, will you agree to upgrading communication system?


    I stared at the stupidly for a moment.


    "Yes!" Vanessa exclaimed excitedly.


    I looked at her surprised by her enthusiasm.


    "That''s something I need to talk to my family and it''s only a tenth of its normal price." she explained excited.


    Why would they do that? However it was a chance to get it cheap, besides I had a feeling I would need it eventually, not just to make Vanessa happy.


    I agreed to the payment then watched as the crystal core flashed brightly for a moment. Then a realistic holographic image appeared beside the crystal. Problem was I recognized the person in the image. While the companies evaluation of me being someone who wouldn''t be missed wasn''t far off, there was one person who would miss me. That person was the one shown by the holographic image. It was my cousin Candice Xavier. A bright bubbly beautiful blonde three years my senior who hated the way her mother treated me growing up. While we might be considered cousins, I had always viewed her as my elder sister.


    "Candice?" I asked suddenly frightened and angry. Why was she there, were they going to use her to threaten me? Why? I hadn''t gone against them.


    Candice''s image looked around the room then looked me and Vanessa over carefully. "This is so COOOL!" she said excitedly then danced around a bit.


    What in the hell? Then I groaned. Whether or not they were going to use her to threaten me was unclear, but Candice herself obviously didn''t know anything about it.


    "How did you even find this gig Jason? I mean long term immersion pod tester? Seriously?" she asked still dancing around excitedly.


    I glanced over at Vanessa hoping this was closer to the truth and everything else had been a joke.


    Vanessa shook her head.


    I sighed, I felt it was better to believe Vanessa at the moment. If this was all just a game, well I would wake up eventually.


    "Candice!" I said loudly to get my sister''s attention. When she got excited she had a tendency to go a bit crazy, reeling her in could take some effort.


    "Sorry." Candice said regaining her calm a lot faster than normal. "This place just looks so good. Once the testing is over I am sure it will be a popular game!"


    I nodded "So how are you here?" I asked.


    "You took off for three days without a word. When I went to look for you Envision Games contacted me. Let me know what you were up to. They even offered me the position of the store side company rep so you had a friendly face to interact with. Pay is much better than that assistant manager spot at the coffee shop." she explained with a smile then frowned. "Though the fact you signed up as for a year long immersion without letting me know is a bit irritating." she told me giving me her angry eyes.


    How the hell was it possible to feel guilty about something I didn''t do? Yet here I was trying to formulate an apology when I wasn''t even the one at fault!


    "Sorry Candice, it wasn''t his fault. He was a emergency replacement when our previous tester backed out. The company was supposed to send out notifications to the family but it must have gotten lost in transit." Vanessa spoke up covering for him.


    Candice gave me another glare then let it go. "Nice to meet you Vanessa, I will be your counterpart from now on. I hope we can work well together from now on." she said to Vanessa all smiles.


    Vanessa smiled back. "I am sure we will Candice, so what are you calling for, and introduction?" she asked.


    "Huh? Oh no. There was an update to the alerts about a Trellion. Seems he is the guy I am replacing, I heard he had given you some trouble. Anyways, the report is that he isn''t a threat anymore. He and another group teleported into your region but were wiped out. We are currently investigating the cause and if it will have any effect on you and your farm." Candice reported shifting into her professional mannerisms and tone.


    Seriously? Obviously the surprised showed on my face.


    Candice chuckled. "Until the investigation has been completed it is recommended that you continue operations as normal." she told me.


    I nodded. "Got it." I replied. I still had no idea how to think about Candice being drawn into this. I knew she hated her old job, she was seriously overworked and underpaid. Yet I didn''t like the idea that the company had access to her. Seemed like a carrot and a stick mixed into one.


    My worry over Candice didn''t let me think about the information she passed on.


    "Alright, we can talk again later, I still have some training I need to finish." Candice told me then disappeared.


    Obviously she was still mad at me.


    "Don''t worry about her. The company doesn''t have much of a presence in your world. They won''t hurt her. It would cause to many issues." Vanessa tried to reassure me.


    I wasn''t in the mood for that.


    "What could have taken our Trellion?" I asked.


    Vanessa shook her, "No idea, this area was supposed to be pretty safe. We didn''t find any dangerous beasts or monsters in the area, though there are several different ruins that you can explore later. Maybe there was something hiding in one of those?" she told me.


    I frowned, that didn''t sound promising.


    I opened the menu and selected the dungeon expansion option.


    Expand Surface: one side, 3 tiles - 12 silver(at price)


    Expand Surface: two sides, 7 tiles - 25 silver(slight discount)


    Expand Surface: four sides 16 tiles - 50 silver(large discount)


    -


    Open subterranean level: 1 level - 4 silver


    -


    Activate spatial expansion: 1 to 2 - 8 silver


    Activate spatial expansion: 1 to 3 - 24 silver


    -


    "The dashes are upgrades that you aren''t able to access even if you have the money." Vanessa told me as she leaned over my shoulder to see the screen.


    "Why?" I asked.


    "The dungeon runs off of the ambient mana it draws in. The expansions that are available are the ones it can support with its current ability. Upgrades to the cores ability to draw in and process ambient mana will increase the options for you.


    "Sounds like that is fairly limiting." I commented.


    Vanessa nodded. "There is a limit to how much that kind of upgrade can improve. For later levels we will have to explore other options to powering the dungeon.


    I nodded. "Alright, most of this is pretty straightforward, but what is the spatial expansion?" I asked.


    "It applied spatial magic to the floor giving you more space. Each floor can only match the surface level. With the 1 to 2 expansion your three by three on the surface becomes a six by six without using any more than the actual three by three you have access to. Unfortunately it doesn''t work on the surface level but it can stack with the next level. Kind of like a pyramid. The surface is the peak and each level down gets wider." she explained.


    "You mean if I get the 1 to 2 and open the third floor I would have a twelve by twelve grid to work with?" I asked.


    Vanessa nodded. "As long as you buy the 1 to 2 for both floors, yes. You also get more guardian and minion slots when you open a new floor. So I would recommend the subterranean level and the 1 to 2 spatial expansion. Then you can add defensive measures with the guardians and minions or just set up the tiles for farming."


    I frowned. The money from the Neglism was going to disappear really quickly. Unfortunately I had nothing better to do and the expansions she suggested made sense. I would get a lot more space to work for the same amount of money as the smallest surface expansion.


    With that thought I bought the recommended expansions.


    Notifications confirming my purchases appeared then a new screen appeared.


    Access dungeon configuration?


    I clicked on yes then I saw an outline version of the two floors one above the other. There was two blocks on the surface level that were interconnected. I could guess that they were the shack and bathroom. The toolshed, bins, and well were all on their own box not connected to any other.


    Besides those the other tiles were all blank.


    I was getting a feel for what Vanessa meant by dungeon. I had heard the terminology in some fantasy novels before. Also with safety as something I needed to consider I wondered if I could move the house to the lower level. I reached out and touched the symbols then tried to drag it and drop it on the lower floor. It worked as easily as I could have hoped. With that done I noticed the purpose of the screen was to allow me to place the access points between floors. I selected the previous location of the restroom shack and a corner of the lower floor. Even though they weren''t the same corner it didn''t see to care. With the house, restroom, and floor access set the dungeon configuration screen closed on its own.


    I pulled my menu up again only to see that the guardian and minion options had disappeared to be replaced by dungeon configuration.


    I might be a farmer, but it seemed I really was a dungeon master too. A slow smile spread across my face unknown to me, but Vanessa noticed it. She smiled too then leaned back to get comfortable. Relief apparent in her expression.

 7 Chapter 7 - Set Up

    I stared at the grid display of my dungeon, specifically the new lower floor. It was a six by six grid with two spaces in the lower left corner already in use by the shack and bathroom. The lower right corner contained the floor access to the surface. While in the dungeon configuration I had several options that I could use for each of the tiles. There weren''t a lot of them but they were all a flat rate of 20 bronze per tile. I also had access to tile soil reconfigurations for different crops, those could cost a bit more depending on the extremity of the change. I considered walls to create a dungeon like experience, some pits for traps, and there was a two by two grid space called the arena that would change on its own to maximize the strengths of the guardians or minions I assigned to it.


    I wasn''t sure the best way to set up the dungeon. I could trust everything to the protection of the two golems on the surface level, and farm all the available tiles down here. I learned that once I summoned the guardians for the new floor, I didn''t have to leave them on that floor.


    As I didn''t have any new guardians I summoned another rock and earth golem and upgraded them like I had the previous ones all for three iron coins. With those bought I shifted the stone golem to the surface and then moved the floor access to the center tile, then moved the tool shed tile beside my shack on the lower level. All the tiles besides the one with the mud slime were changed into arena tiles. The two by two grid only meant I had to use a minimum of four tiles, the shape and total number weren''t limited to the two by two shape. In total I changed seven tiles into arena tiles. The tile with the mud slime would be planted as shifting the mud slime would be too difficult to be worth it. As I was curious to know how much the slime helped I planned to plant blue dandelion there as I was already familiar with what it normally looked like when harvested, and it had the shortest growth time of the crops available to me.


    I had the last earth golem set beside my floor access on the lower floor. If something was able to get past the golems on the surface I hoped they had been injured enough that the earth golem would be able to finish them off. Was it a good defense plan? Probably not, but it was what I had to work with.


    With those decisions made I decided it would be best to decide what I was going to plant. Shifting out of the dungeon configuration I opened the crop shop. I only had six crops available but I needed to know more about them to be able to plant them.


    The silver shamrock wasn''t that different from the blue dandelion, it just took longer to grow. The profit for the shamrock was also a lot better despite needing twice as long to grow as the dandelions. It also grew in the same kind of soil so I knew I would plant some of that. The amber mint was a bush, unlike the shamrock and the dandelion I could get several sellable portions from each bush instead of just the one plant. It explained why the sale price was so much lower than the buy price. According to the harvest information I could get between ten to fifteen harvests per bush, at sixty bronze per sale, it was a lot of money even with the three day grow time. Even if I only got ten per bush I would gain nearly a silver in profits. It needed more fertile soil to grow in, which would cost me an additional three iron per tile but the change would be permanent. I could grow the amber mint in the same tiles multiple times without having to pay for the tile improvement again.


    It was the other crops that I was the most curious about. As with the blue grass which I was partly familiar with the winter vine needed colder climates. While I could change the soil making it more fertile, I didn''t have the ability to make it cold. However, whoever was choosing my crops seemed to account for that. Blue grass was the hardiest of the crops, and didn''t need the cold, it needed to have the reduced light that came with colder climates. I could manage that with my tile reconfiguration. More importantly the blue grass had a warning about the cold it put off as it grew.


    Winter vine needed the cold, not just reduced light. It also produced two harvestable products, its leaves and a few ice roots. The number of ice roots were dependent on the amount of cold in its area. The ice roots could be sold or used as a source of cold, which was exactly what the white ice rose needed. It had to be planted with or very close to a source of ice or cold energy. Given that I didn''t have any of that I couldn''t grow white ice roses yet.


    With that in my mind I went back to the dungeon configuration to plan out where I would put my crops. As I wasn''t sure how cold the blue grass would make my dungeon I decided to just experiment with it and plant more of the normal type of crops. I chose the ten tiles above my shack and changed them to a more fertilized tile that would work for the amber mint. I also chose a three by three area where I dimmed the light for the cold crops. As it didn''t change the soil composition it only cost twenty bronze per tile for tile configurations. With that set, I left the dungeon configuration and returned to the crop shop. There I bought the seeds I needed. Ten packs of amber mint, eight packs for silver shamrock, five blue dandelion, eight blue grass, and one winter vine.


    "All done?" Vanessa asked making me jump. I had been so focused on what I was doing that I actually forgot she was there.


    I looked over at the raven haired beauty, I had to pause as I admired her incredible figure and angelic features. All the irritation I had been feeling about being stuck here was gone. Yes the Neglism had absorbed all the negative emotions in me, but put face to face with the woman who kidnapped me and finding out that I couldn''t leave had created some new ones. That was all gone.


    I have no idea why, but I was starting to like being here. I didn''t have a lot, or any control over my life at the moment, but that could change, and I was really enjoying having control over the dungeon. It was just a start, but I liked it a lot more than I had the life I had before.


    With that realization I didn''t resent Vanessa or even her unnamed mystery company as much. I was also happy I would still get to interact with Candice, though I knew that came with its own set of downsides and risks. As I couldn''t control it I would just accept the good parts of it while keeping an eye out for trouble.


    "Like what you see?" she asked me with a mischievous grin.


    "Isn''t that the point?" I asked in reply as I stood up and stretched. I had just spent nearly forty seven iron coins to change and shift everything around, buy the seeds, and prepare my defenses. I still had minions I could buy, but I would put that off for now.


    Outside of the shack I saw the lower level for the first time. There was light despite the fact that I could see the stone ceiling above. Like the surface level the light seemed to just exist with no obvious source. It was incredibly annoying not understanding how that worked. I would have to ask Vanessa about that later. As I had designated in the configuration the lower floor was just a large cavern with a stone ceiling and walls. I noticed that the stone that made up the ceiling and walls was the same gray stone that made up the stone golem. Outside of that it was the same as the upper level, a bunch of dirt tiles. The ten tiles in front and to the left of me were a darker brown than the other tiles. Those were the more fertile tiles for the amber mint.


    With some resolve I headed for the storage shed to grab the hoe and get to work. Even if the hoe was magical cutting down the amount of work I needed to do. It didn''t change the fact that I had fifty two tiles I needed to plant. That would take time and effort.


    Vanessa followed me around helping out by carrying the extra seeds and watering can as I setup each tile for the crop it was to receive, used the hoe to prep the soil, planted the seeds, then used the hoe again to cover the seeds back up.


    The hoe allowed me to skip a lot of steps and made it easier on me as I didn''t need to learn how deep each seed needed to be planted so they would properly germinate. I was still stiff and sore by the time I finished in the lower level. The cold crop tiles were pretty dim though it didn''t make sense to me as the light changed the moment I stepped onto the tile. There was something weird about this place. Then again there was nowhere on Earth that I could grow a crop to maturity in twelve hours. The times for all my crops didn''t make sense. Then again neither did my dungeon or my magic tools. Maybe this place really was a game, or a world where the laws of nature I had grown up with didn''t hold sway. No matter what it was I had no way to leave so I just kept chugging on. I headed towards the floor access which was a shimmering portal in a circular stone reminding me of a stargate. Made me wonder why they didn''t just us stairs, then I remembered the spatial expansion. While taking up the same amount of space as the one above, this level was in some kind of space pocket or something like that. So of course the portal was a better choice than stairs.


    I eyed my earth golem for a moment then stepped into the portal.


    Back on the surface level I relaxed a bit. There might not be a sun, moon, or stars, but the view made me feel less trapped. I considered moving the shack back up to the surface level for the view but dismissed it. There was danger here, it was better to be safe than sorry.


    I quickly worked the single tile up here that I intended to plant. The soil was different wetter almost slimy. I ignored it and planted the dandelion seeds as I intended then watered the tile. Only a quarter of the water I needed to water a dandelion tile flowed out before stopping. Seems the mud slime fertilizer decreased my need to water the crop.


    With all the crops finally planted it was time for a shower, clean clothes, and a hot meal. That alone lifted his spirits. Yet I stayed on the surface level for a while gazing out at the sea of grass that surrounded my farm. I wanted to know what else was out there. More mud slimes would be useful too.


    A soft rustle in the long grass caused Vanessa and I to look behind us only to see a beast head peering at us from behind the newbie shield. It took me a moment to realize that it was an enormous mouse, or at least that was what I thought it was, the ears were too big, and the head too short for a rat. But the fact that it was nearly three feet tall made the difference between a rat and mouse irrelevant. The mouse was a light brown in color with dark brown eyes.


    We stared at each other for several moments before the mouse screeched at us angrily baring its teeth. As soon as it got aggressive two large stone landed on its head smashing it into the ground. The mouse squeaked pitifully obviously hurt by the sudden attack. It shrugged the attack off though and shifted around a bit to stand up. Earth rose up around the four limbs of the mouse catching it in place. Then another volley of stones smashed into the mouse''s head. This time the damage was more than it could take. It fell back to the ground blood running down its head.


    Yet even after four boulder strikes the mouse continued to breath. I bit my lower lip then ran for the edge of my farm and struck out with the hoe. The hoe passed through the barrier smoothly hitting the head of the mouse.


    I had no idea what the hoe would do, but nothing at all was not what I expected. Hitting the mouse was like hitting rock. It looked soft and cuddly but it was a lot tougher than it looked.


    Earth flowed up into the mouse''s mouth and suffocated it. It didn''t look like a pleasant way to die.


    As soon as the mouse died the earth around the mouse corpse shifted to bring the mouse inside my barrier. The hoe might have been allowed outside as it was an attack like the stone, but I was sure I still wasn''t allowed out.


    The mouse was pretty big, not quite as big as I thought it was, but still a whole lot bigger than I had ever seen a mouse get. It was only two feet tall at the shoulder and three feet long without the tail. I was surprised it was able to take such a beating.


    I reached out to touch the mouse''s fur out of curiosity, but before I could touch it I felt an energy flow through my body.


    ----------------------------------------------------


    Level Up


    Level Up


    Current Level: 3


    ----------------------------------------------------


    Seems like I do have levels.

 8 Chapter 8 - Fear for the Future

    I had levels, it was an odd thought. I had been young once, who was I kidding,I was still pretty young. The point was I had played plenty of video games that included levels.


    The level of my dungeon didn''t really mean much to me, more things I could access but it didn''t mean the same as having my own levels. The reason? With levels came attributes. Attributes that could make me stronger, faster, smarter, and... wait. Was there magic? My tools seemed like they were magical and nothing about this world seemed to make sense. Was this some kind of fantasy world? Would I be able to cast spells?


    "Deep breaths." Vanessa told me watching me worriedly.


    She must have thought I was freaking out, I wasn''t, I was incredibly excited. Probably too excited. I took a few deep breaths to calm down. I couldn''t spazz out right now. Going full nerd in front of a beautiful woman would be shame me for at least a few minutes.


    "Better?" she asked me.


    I nodded then smiled at her. "So I have levels." I stated.


    Vanessa eyed me warily for a moment but my grin never faded. Eventually she relaxed when she realized I wasn''t pissed. "Yes, you have levels." she agreed.


    "You guys are marketing this whole thing the wrong way." I told her. "There are tons of people in my world who would sign up for this place if they knew they could gain control of a base and gain levels." I told her.


    Vanessa stared at me surprised. "Seriously?" she asked.


    I nodded. "Yep, we got a lot of people who dream of the chance to live a real life video game where improving has more to do with how well you can kill beasts and monsters than which college you graduated from, or how well you can kiss your bosses ass." I replied with a smirk. "Adding a beautiful aide into the mix, and some might even pay you to come here." I added with a laugh.


    Vanessa frowned, "Maybe, I am not a part of marketing, but remember this place is not a game, no matter what Candice thinks. This world is incredibly dangerous, if you die here you will not wake up in a game pod." Vanessa told me obviously worried.


    I nodded then finished reaching for the giant mouse touching it and running my hand through the soft looking fur. Oddly enough it really was as soft to the touch as it looked.


    ==============================


    Absorb Giant Mouse?


    ==============================


    The prompt that appeared in my vision surprised me. The screens had only appeared in front of me when I was working with the core in the shack.


    "You should absorb it." Vanessa told me. "It probably doesn''t say it, but absorbing the bodies of beasts and monsters will give you a blueprint of them so you can summon them as a minion or guardian."


    I had no idea if I would ever need mouse minions, but if I had the blueprint of the beast I could probably make a mouse fur blanket. The fur was ridiculously soft, I wasn''t so bad I wanted underwear made out of it but a blanket would be amazing.


    I shook my head to clear the thoughts. I had no idea where the underwear thought came from, but I remembered the silk boxers I had been gifted once. Those things were amazing, though I think this fur is better.


    I shook my head again, I really needed to get off this train of thought.


    "Status." I said out loud hoping it would do what I thought it would.


    ----------------------------------------------------


    Name: Jason


    Level: 3


    Available Points: 10


    Strength: 10


    Agility: 11


    Vitality: 11


    Fortitude: 10


    Intelligence: 11


    Wisdom: 11


    Perception: 13


    Dexterity: 11


    Luck: 13


    Charm: 9


    Resistant to negative status effects


    ----------------------------------------------------


    Ten attributes? That was a lot. I had ten available points so that must mean I got five a level. I tried to concentrate on a particular attribute to see what information I could get out of it. Nothing.


    I was curious about the resistance to negative status effects, was that standard, or did I do something to gain that? Feeding the Neglism came to mind but was that enough to earn a resistance, and how much of a resistance was it?


    "You really need to work on these screens, how am I supposed to know what each attribute will do if I put points into them if there isn''t any information about the attributes?" I complained.


    Vanessa looked a bit uncomfortable. "The company hasn''t put much focus into that aspect and left it to what comes naturally with this world." she told me.


    I looked over at her. "So your company has nothing to do with my level?" I asked to clarify.


    Vanessa shook her head. "No. That is a natural change that comes with arriving on this world." she replied.


    Hmmmm, interesting. "I wonder if I should be worried that my luck is an unlucky number." I muttered changing the subject.


    I could guess what most of the attributes were based on their name, didn''t mean I didn''t want more information though. I needed to know if there were links between them, like having a high strength only worked if my fortitude was high enough to handle the increased muscles. I didn''t really want to experiment with that if I could help it. This place wasn''t exactly swimming in beasts or monsters to raise my level so I could fix any mistakes I made. Though I admit I was less than pleased seeing that my charm was my lowest attribute. I wasn''t that bad looking. I was curious if adding all my points into my charm would make Vanessa melt in my hands, but I doubted it. Besides it would be a waste of points better used elsewhere.


    "No, for humans of your world ten should be the normal peak while fifteen should be the extreme peak." she told me.


    "Huh? Normal peak and extreme peak?" I asked.


    "A normal person shouldn''t be able to get a score of more than ten in an attribute, however there are those who can surpass that limit with either great genes or hard work. Fifteen should be the absolute highest score you can get on your world." Vaness told me.


    Should I tell her most of mine are ten or higher? No not yet.


    I stared at Vanessa for a moment then thought ''Status''. Nothing. I guess it was too much to hope I could see her information.


    "What else do you know about the attributes?" I asked.


    Vanessa frowned not meeting my gaze, "I was more concerned with learning how the dungeon is supposed to operate." she told me.


    I sighed, "Your company loses a lot of cores don''t they?" I asked.


    Vanessa stared at me surprised. "How did you know?" she asked me.


    "You focus on farming, and don''t give any help to make us stronger, how are they supposed to survive in a dangerous world?" I asked in return.


    "Other companies have done it." she muttered.


    I groaned. I was getting an idea about the company that she worked for, it might not be a small new company, but this dungeon core thing must be a new project. They probably bought another company''s research then dove in head first expecting to make profits right off the bat. Whoever was promoting this project must have a gilded tongue.


    "How many other cores have the company sent out?" I asked.


    "I can''t tell you that." Vanessa replied uncomfortably.


    "Were we all placed in the same area?" I asked.


    "I can''t answer that either." she replied.


    I sighed. "So a lot, and we are scattered all over, probably intending to populate the areas where we survive, brutal and inefficient." I commented. "What about your family?" I asked. "If we die, what about them?"


    "They will receive a large payout if we fail." Vanessa replied.


    "Life insurance. Got it." I said then looked out over the grasslands again my mind racing. This place had huge mice, mice weren''t solitary creatures, or was I thinking about rats? Didn''t matter there would be more, and I doubted the giant mice were at the top of the food chain. The difficulty my golems had in killing that one lone mouse worried me. It hadn''t attempted to break my newbie shield, probably couldn''t, but that was on its own. If there was a horde of them, or whatever it was that ate the mice?


    I turned my attention back to the prompt and agreed to have the dungeon absorb the giant mouse. It might not be much but it was at least something. Seems like I will need to explore the minions option a bit more. I also needed to take another look at the shop. I had a gut feeling that the hoe wasn''t a weapon, and couldn''t be used as a weapon. Which would explain the lack of effect my swing had on the mouse, instead of my weak human arm strength.


    If that wasn''t the case then this place wasn''t going to let me live for long.


    First though, I needed that shower, and something to eat.


    "Come on." I called for Vanessa then headed for the portal down to the next level.


    "So what now?" Vanessa asked when we were on the lower level.


    "Need that shower." I replied.


    "A good idea." she told me. "Though you might want to consider upgrading it for hot water first." she told me.


    I frowned then nodded. I wasn''t looking forward to an ice cold shower. It would work if that was all I had, but if the upgrade wasn''t too expensive I would more than willingly pay for it.


    I went into the shack first approaching the core.


    "Hey!" Candice said cheerfully appearing beside the core.


    "Hey." I replied. I was fairly tired, with all that had happened I forgot that Vanessa''s appearance had interrupted my sleep. It was starting to catch up to me.


    "Looks like you''ve been busy." Candice said looking at something only she could see.


    "Yep, gotta earn my keep." I replied.


    "Is he behaving himself Vanessa?" Candice asked.


    "Better than I expected him too." Vanessa replied giving Candice a smile.


    I ignored the both of them. I was a man on a mission. Pulling up the shop I started searching for the upgrades to the shack and the restroom. I found it quickly in the general shop, more due to the lack of options than my own skill at navigating the different screens. The price of the heating/cooling element for the shower was only ten iron coins, well within my budget. However I spotted a package deal farther down for one silver, selecting it I saw a tiny house package, it united the shack and restroom into one building, added the water heater/chiller, and threw in a spatial expansion of one to two. The house wouldn''t take up any more space than it already did but would increase our livable space significantly. I had the money, but I was loath to use it so quickly. Then I noticed that there was some basic furniture included. Table, chairs, and a wider bed. My comfy bed set was nice, but it would be tight for two. I doubted Vanessa was going to jump into my bed immediately, but I could always hope.


    I firmed my resolve and paid for the expansion. Everything changed immediately. The room got bigger while the bathroom connected to the shack, then walls appeared with a door to separate the bathroom from the rest of the room.


    "What did you do?" Vanessa asked in the now larger room, it was still pretty small, but much better than a ten feet by ten feet room.


    "I bought the tiny house expansion set to give us some more breathing space." I replied.


    "That should come with furniture." she commented.


    "Probably in the bin." I replied.


    Vanessa shook her head and pointed to a counter that had appeared on the side wall near the door to the bathroom. There was a sink and a cabinet set into the small counter. On the counter was a box that looked similar to the bins outside, just smaller. It was barely big enough to fit an overloaded plate of food. "We don''t have to go outside to get the furniture or our meals anymore.


    Even better. "Great." I told her. "Want to set it up while I get that shower." I told her despite phrasing it like a question.


    "Jason!" Candice yelled indignant.


    I paused and looked back at her hologram. "I have not had a shower since I got here." I replied seriously.


    Candice winced. "Fine, but be nicer in the future." she grumbled.


    I rolled my eyes then opened the door and went inside. I was happy to see that the bathroom was even more modern now, almost looked like home. It was smaller than when it was its own building, but that was fine we didn''t need a lot of room in the bathroom and that extra room had been transferred to the main room giving us more space to live in.


    A knock at the door stopped me from turning on the water.


    Before I could open the door Vanessa opened it for me. Locks didn''t seem to be included in the tiny house expansion. However seeing what was in her hands, my complaint died in my throat. Apparently locks weren''t included, but fluffy towels were. I was starting to see a pattern here.

 9 Chapter 9 - Suspicions

    ----------------------------------------------------


    Note From Author:


    Sorry for being away so long. For those who have been reading this series, you should be aware that I have done some editing and revisions to the previous chapters. There have been no major plot changes(It is only eight chapters) but I think I was able to clarify somethings a bit better than I had the first time. Many of the changes will probably go unnoticed by you but I did them to give me some wiggle room later for some of the things I have planned. Thank you all for reading and I hope you enjoy the story as it continues on. I plan to release two chapters a week for now as I still have other projects.


    ----------------------------------------------------


    I had to admit, the hot water alone was worth the price. Standing under the shower head letting the hot water rain down over me rinsing away the dirt, filth, and stress, felt absolutely amazing.


    Outside of feeling amazing, it was giving me a chance to really unwind and catch up with everything that had happened today. Vanessa''s appearance, and then Candice''s.


    Vanessa was incredibly attractive, and despite everything else I was more than a little interested in her. Which I felt was a bit odd since I usually wanted to know more about a woman before I jumped into bed with her. I had my share of one nighters in college, some were fine with a quick tumble, but those girls seemed to be few and far between. At least amongst the girls I knew anyways.


    After Melissa I wasn''t willing to believe in love at first sight, and in truth I could recognize that what I was feeling felt a lot more like lust than love, but the attraction was still there. Even thinking about her now was starting to get a reaction out of me.


    I closed my eyes then shifted so the water fell onto my face. I tried not to think about anything, but given what I had been through that was hard.


    Candice had said that I had only been here three days, but it felt like much longer. Especially without a toilet, or toilet paper.


    Thinking about Candice got me to wondering how I should feel about the company pulling her into all of this. I smirked then wondered for a moment how they did it. Candice was overworked and underpaid, but she loved her job. We had even argued a few times about it. I thought she was qualified for a much better paying less time consuming job, while she didn''t, she felt she made enough to get by on, and loved what she was doing.


    I shook my head then stopped as I realized something. I had no idea what she did. She had been working at her current job for two years, but in all that time I had no idea where it was or what she did. Whenever we discussed it she would talk about her coworkers and their antics, but always steered away from what it was she actually did.


    For a while I had thought she had just been promoted to a corporate position with the company that owned the coffee shop she used to manage, but that wasn''t the case. Candice didn''t know it but I had tried to figure out where she was working to surprise her on her birthday once. Instead I had learned that the coffee shop, while having several stores in our city and those around it, were owned by an older couple who managed everything themselves. There was no corporate. I hadn''t thought anything of it at the time, Candice had always had her quirks. However now? I knew she loved me, and she felt bad about how things were when I was growing up, but I couldn''t see her giving up her job for me, not if they were telling her I was doing immersion pod testing for a year. Was there something else they had told her? Or was it all a ruse? Make me think they had access to Candice in case Vanessa couldn''t get me to do what they wanted.


    It was a lot to consider. Yet the more I thought about it, the more convinced I was that the company rep Candice wasn''t the real Candice. So what should I do? Test her? That was a given, I needed to know if she really was my sister or just an impersonator. Then what? Should I blow her cover? No, if they thought I believed she was Candice then they would think they had one up on me. If they realized I knew the truth then, well, I didn''t actually know what they would do. I doubted it would be good. They had already kidnapped me, Candice couldn''t be that much harder. I didn''t feel I could trust Vanessa, she was a part of the company after all. She might be stuck here too, wait, was she?


    I groaned shifting out from under the water then quickly soaped up before getting back under the water to rinse. Nothing had changed. Vanessa was here with me, but I couldn''t trust her or anything else. Everything was just too fishy. I had been here two days before Vanessa showed up. In that whole time I hadn''t heard or seen anything. Now she is here and not only does the imposter Candice appear, but so did two monsters that threaten my farm, and more importantly me. The timing of her appearance was also suspect. What were the odds that she would only show up after I had grown the one plant that was obviously the one they wanted me to grow. Though if that was the case why had there been other options? Was it the Euphoria? A bit of truth amongst the lies, some kind of laws against out right forcing someone to grow the neglism.


    It was too much to think about on such a small amount of information. I just had to keep my eyes open and pay attention. If I could leave this place I had no idea how. Realizing that I was probably still being lied to and cheated ruined all the good feelings I had started to have for this place.


    With another sigh I stepped away and washed my hair before getting under the water again.


    As for a plan? Keep doing what I was doing. There wasn''t much else I could do until I hit level five. Then I could see if that barrier really did disappear, and look into finding a weapon. See if that would make a difference against the mice and slimes.


    Clean, refreshed, and a plan in my mind I shut off the water pulled away the curtain to find that my clothes were gone. The towel Vaness had brought me was where I had left it, but my clothes were gone.


    She must have come in to grab them while I was in the shower. I was a bit offended that she invaded my privacy like that, while being a bit disappointed that she hadn''t just joined me. Though it did solidify the impression that the company wanted her to play the role of little wife. How far that was supposed to go would be seen when I left the bathroom and saw how she arranged the furniture. Would there be one bed or two?


    Once I was dry I peered around kind of expecting to see clean clothes folded up and left for me, but there wasn''t anything of the kind. I wrapped the towel around my waist then opened the door to the main room.


    Candice was still there standing by the orb as she spoke with Vanessa who was moving around the room with a speculative look on her face as she pushed the furniture around. There was a small table with two chairs, two dressers, and two beds. The wide bed and comfy bed were set close together against the back wall, but there was still a foot and a half or so of space between them.


    I couldn''t say I wasn''t disappointed, but I also had to admit I was expecting it.


    "Umm what happened to my clothes?" I asked catching the two women''s attention.


    They both turned to look at me.


    My question about whether Candice was really my sister disappeared. The looks both of the women gave me were like hungry predators looking at a well cooked side of beef. Never once in my entire life had Candice ever looked at me like that, not even in jest. We might not be related by blood, but we considered each other as siblings and treated each other that way. She would appraise my and give her honest opinion on how I was looking, but never the lust filled gaze the hologram was giving me now. It only lasted a moment then the imposter seemed to realize what she was doing and fixed the way she was looking at me.


    I hid my thoughts in the back of my mind as I smirked at Vanessa like I hadn''t noticed how the fake Candice looked at me. "See something you like?" I asked playfully.


    Candice snorted. "Why would she want to look at you." she retorted.


    "Wasn''t talking to you." I replied back my eyes on Vanessa who still seemed rather impressed. I was in good shape, not the best, but still good enough to be impressive. "So my clothes?" I asked again.


    "I was going to try and clean them, but given their condition, it would be better if you just replaced them." Vanessa replied eventually. "Some of the stains weren''t going to come out."


    I nodded though personally I wondered why it mattered, we were stuck on a farm in a world well removed from others. There was no one else but us. I wasn''t prepared to go around naked, but a few stains on my clothes weren''t something to worry about, not when there were more important things to buy with that money. Rather than voice those thoughts I decided to just go along with them.


    I strode over to the dungeon core while trying not to feel self conscious under their gazes, accessed the general store and bought a set of clothes that looked a bit better than the ones I had been wearing.


    I went over to the small bin on the counter grabbed the clothes then went back into the bathroom to get dressed. I dressed quickly then rejoined the women. In the main room.


    Now that I was sure that the Candice from the company wasn''t my sister I felt relieved that my sister wasn''t in any danger. However that still left the fact that they were trying to fool me, and if they were willing to lie about her, what else were they lying about?


    "Two beds?" I asked playfully. "Wouldn''t sharing a bed help save space?"


    "It would." Vanessa replied as she shifted the location of the table then strode over to me getting really close, almost touching me, then looking up into my eyes, "But I don''t think you could handle me yet." she told me with a smirk.


    I opened my mouth to retort but she had already moved past me to the bathroom, closing the door behind her. "My turn!" she shouted through the door.


    I glared at the door as fake Candice started to laugh behind me. I gave her a glare too then headed for the dungeon core. Looking through the selection I chose a meal of steak, baked potato, and steamed broccoli for my meal. I also took a look at the growth times of the new crops to be sure I knew how long they were going to take and get an idea when they needed to be watered next. Once I was sure of the times and when I would need to water the crops I sat at the table to wait.


    "Did you get all your training finished?" I asked the fake Candice as I would my actual sister.


    "Most of it. It''s more company policy than anything else. Lots of warnings not to give you special treatment or it would be unfair to the other testers." fake Candice replied casually.


    "How many other testers are there?" I asked.


    "I can''t say." she replied just like Vanessa. "Though to be honest I don''t know. They only have me working with you at the moment."


    I nodded then frowned. "What about time off?" I asked her. "Will there be anyone if I need assistance when you are off?" I asked.


    Candice nodded. "Yeah, your time in game is adjusted so that the hours you are most active are when we are at work." Candice replied. "Outside of my hours there is another woman who will act as my backup. I haven''t met her yet, but I am told she is fairly nice." Candice reassured me.


    "Just make sure they don''t overwork you." I told her trying to sound like a concerned brother. I was never a good actor so I hoped I did well.


    Candice nodded then looked away from me focusing on something on the wall.


    "Speak of the devil! I have to go Jason. She just showed up. I will let her know to introduce herself when she gets set up. See you tomorrow!" she told me happily.


    I nodded. "Alright laters." I replied.


    Candice smiled then disappeared.


    I walked over to the orb as I was reminded that I needed to find a weapon in case something worse than the mouse came to investigate.

 10 Chapter 10 - Temptation

    I stared at the orb for a few moments before I reached out to touch it and activate the store function. When the screen appeared in front of me I left my hand on the orb as I gently caressed it. I remembered the odd appearance of the orb when it had leveled up. It had been very brief but I was sure I saw symbols in the light.


    As my hands ran over the orb I tried multitask sorting through the screens looking for the weapons I could buy.


    I had no idea why I was trying to multitask like that, but I had the distinct impression that I didn''t want anyone to know I was examining the orb. Maybe I was just being paranoid, then again I had been kidnapped. As I looked at the screen that held a surprisingly miniscule number of weapons I could feel that there really was something hidden on the orb. A glance at the orb told me that what I was feeling wasn''t visible. Probably why I hadn''t noticed it during the first couple days I was here. That and being scared out of my mind.


    Having found evidence of what I was looking for I dropped my hand with a sigh as I frowned at the screen. I focused on it completely as I did need to find a weapon I could use. I knew the symbols were on the orb but couldn''t look at them until I was sure I was really alone.


    On the screen there were four weapons, a knife, short sword, spear, and hatchet. Nothing else. Worse it seemed these weapons weren''t magical like my farm tools, and the stats on them were pretty bad. Yet if they were all I had to choose from then I should buy one and see how it worked when the next slime, mouse, or whatever showed up to take a look.


    The door opened behind me. I glanced back to see if Vanessa was done so we could eat. Vanessa had indeed walked out of the bathroom, but she was only wearing a towel knotted beside her breasts giving me a very good look at her generous cleavage and long legs. Her hair was still damp and clung to her in a rather erotic fashion.


    "I forgot to get a change of clothes." Vanessa said with a smirk as she walked ever so slowly across the room to a pile of clothes that had been left out in plain sight on the smaller bed. I had been to preoccupied with finding a weapon and looking for signs of symbols on the orb to notice. Though in truth it wouldn''t be the first time I had been described as unobservant by a woman.


    Vanessa grabbed the clothes from the bed gave me another smirk then sashayed back to the bathroom. The entire time I wasn''t able to pull my eyes away from her. Only after the door closed behind her was I able to blink, or breath. I shuddered as I remembered how spell bound I was by the sight.


    Something was very wrong here. Yes Vanessa was incredibly beautiful, but when she wasn''t in the room I could admit she wasn''t any more attractive than Melissa, Candice, and several of their friends. I had spent a lot of time around beautiful women, some of which was even intimate. There was no way Vanessa should be affecting me as much as she was without some kind of external stimulant. Of that I was sure. I just had no idea what it was.


    Shaking my head I returned my attention back to the screen. I had no idea what I could do to prove Vanessa was using some kind of charm or whatever on me, and even if I could, then what?


    Of the weapons I decided that the spear would be the best fit for me. I honestly didn''t want to get that close to any of the monsters that were out there. Plus I had spent time learning some martial arts. Which included the bo staff. I was nowhere near an expert, probably because I had wanted to learn to use the sword, but my teacher refused to teach anyone how to handle a bladed weapon. A spear wasn''t a bo staff, but it was at least similar, at least more so than sword. Hopefully, with some practice I would be able to figure it out. Honestly I wasn''t hopeful, but I didn''t think removing the spear head would help me out at all.


    "What are you looking at?" Vanessa asked me surprising me so much I felt like I was about to jump out of my skin.


    I looked back to find that the bathroom door was open and she was standing only a foot behind me peering over my shoulder. Worse she was wearing a very thin black nightie that while it covered her appropriately, it clung to her curves hiding very little.


    "Weapons." I replied trying with great difficulty to raise my eyes up from her generous breasts.


    "Weapons? What do you want with those?" she asked seeming surprised.


    "Did you forget about that giant mouse thing earlier?" I asked. "What happens if one of those things gets through the barrier?" I asked.


    Vanessa stared at me in shock for a moment then started to giggle. "They can''t. The newbie shield is pretty strong, a lot stronger than you are giving it credit. So strong in fact that if something does get through we are dead, there will be nothing that either of us can do. Weapons strong enough to handle such a monster would require stats neither of us have." she told me.


    I frowned, that was how weapons in games worked, then again I did have a status screen and attribute points, points I still hadn''t decided what to do with.


    Seeing my doubt Vanessa rolled her eyes. "Yes you can wield the weapons even if you don''t have the stats for it. They are more like guidelines for where you need to be too use it effectively. Given the weight of some of those weapons it only makes sense as you wouldn''t be able to even lift them without the required strength." Vanessa explained.


    That made more sense, I begrudgingly admitted to myself.


    Vanessa giggled at my expression.


    I groaned as the giggling caused jiggling.


    Closing my eyes in an attempt to avoid the tantalizing view and difficult to control urges that came with it. "What about when the newbie shield disappears after I reach level five?" I asked.


    "That will take a while." Vanessa replied.


    "I already reached level three, and that was after killing one slime and mouse!" I retorted.


    "That is your own fault. You attacked the mouse yourself. It might not have caused more than a single point of damage but it was enough to register you as an active combatant which gave you a larger portion of experience when the monster died." Vaness replied.


    "Huh?" I asked opening my eyes and looking at her.


    Vanessa groaned. "Do you think one slime and one mouse is all your golems have defended us against?" she asked me then gestured at the orb.


    I frowned thinking of what she was implying but tapped the orb and searched for information on my golems. To my surprise each of the golems that I had placed topside had already leveled up to level six. With a kill count of a multitude of dirt slime and a few giant mice. I shifted into my dungeon configuration and switched out my dirt golems so the one in the second floor could also gain some experience. Looking at the kill counts I noticed that each one gave the golems experience, experience that was split with me. For the most part it was a small number, all except for one where I recieved as much experience as the golems had. Vanessa had been telling me the truth and the proof was in front of me.


    "So?" I asked after a while.


    "So we have time to grow and get stronger before the shield comes down, unless you go up there and pick fights with the monsters that can''t even get to you." Vanessa replied dryly.


    "Stronger how?" I asked.


    "The more minions and guardians you have the stronger you are. If you can promote your dungeon to level three or even four and open those floors you gain access to more guardians and minions." Vanessa replied.


    "What about the ambient mana requirements? Didn''t you say if it wasn''t available then the core couldn''t support it? There wasn''t an option for another floor." I reminded her.


    Vanessa paused seeming to be in thought. "I did say that didn''t I." she responded.


    I nodded.


    Vanessa groaned. "Seems I messed up." she told me. "When it comes to floors in your dungeon you can''t have any more than the level of your dungeon. In that instance the other floors aren''t available because you didn''t meet the prerequisite, not because your core can''t support it." Vanessa explained.


    I wasn''t sure what to say to that. I couldn''t fault her logic, the golems were mine, connected to me through my link to the dungeon. Having more of them could only be a good thing, plus there was the minion option that I hadn''t even looked at yet. "Tomorrow." I told her. "I am far too tired to even consider that until tomorrow."


    Vanessa nodded. "Sounds like a plan." she replied then gave me a sultry look that was just shy of causing me to rip her thin nightie off and bending her over the closest bed. I had to close my eyes and breath a few times, I wasn''t this kind of person. That was the gist of why I was sure she had to be using some kind of charm on me, why I wanted that to be the reason. I wasn''t an uncontrollable beast only moments and a smile away from becoming a rapist.


    "Problem Jason?" Vanessa practically purred.


    "Enough!" I told her angrily, "Stop trying to seduce me Vanessa, from this moment forth you will stop it, do you understand!" I told her angrily, in the back of my mind I was sure I was being a bit unreasonable but I had never felt this out of control since my parents had disappeared, and I didn''t like it. Sex was fun, something you shared with the person you cared for in an intimate loving fashion. Adding some rough play was fine if that was what was desired, but this wasn''t anything like that. What I was feeling was completely beastial, an urge to take her right here, right now, her opinion on the matter be damned until I was finished sating myself whether that be after one round, or when the ''sun'' came up, it didn''t matter.


    "Jason?" Vanessa asked hesitantly.


    "I don''t know what you did to me, but unless you want to hop up on that bed and spread your legs for me right now, no more teasing or taunting me, or that is exactly where we are going to end up and I won''t care how many times you tell me to stop." I replied to her being as honest as I could. I felt like a monster saying it, and I couldn''t even think of what she had to be thinking of me hearing it, but I felt the need to let her know where I was, because I didn''t want to be that monster. More importantly I felt it would help with the guilt if I did eventually reach that point. I felt disgusted in myself for even thinking that it was a possibility but I didn''t feel I could trust myself anymore. Vanessa seemed to be like a drug to me and the more time I spent with her the stronger my reactions were becoming. Maybe it would be better if I slept outside tonight.


    "Shhh, its okay Jason, let me contact the company, maybe they have something that can help." she told me all the joking and teasing gone from her voice, replaced by what seemed to be honest concern. Then again why wouldn''t she be, I did just warn her that I was almost ready to force myself onto her.


    With my eyes closed I tried to rationalize it, but the only conclusion I could come up with was one I was becoming a monster, or two she had to be using some kind of spell, charm, drug, whatever to make me like her more, and it was probably working way too well, because honestly I didn''t think I would be able to remain productive like this. If it kept escalating we wouldn''t be able to leave the bed until one or both of us broke our hips.


    "I''m so sorry Jason, it wasn''t supposed to be like this." Vanessa said soothingly.


    I frowned wasn''t she supposed to be contacting the company? Wait, what wasn''t supposed to be like this? Was I right?


    I opened my eyes then froze as I saw that Vanessa was standing close to me her hand raised as if she wanted to comfort me, yet at the same time another Vanessa was standing by the dungeon orb. The other Vanessa was as naked as the day she was born, but despite her nudity I didn''t notice anything except her back. On her back were black runes formed into a heart shape creating a spell that explained everything that I was going through right now, however they were runes that shouldn''t be here. I could read the runes and understand exactly what the spell was meant to do and how. They were the runes in the puzzle game Rune Shift that I had been playing since before my parents disappeared. The magic runes from a game, the simple fact that those runes were appearing here seemed far more important than the fact that there were two Vanessas.

 11 Chapter 11 - An Answer but More Questions

    I stared at the nude Vanessa''s back for several long moments as I tried to admit to myself what I was seeing.


    "Seems you found out my little secret." Vanessa commented while the second Vanessa looked over at me with a nervous smile.


    I didn''t bother acknowledging her I just stared at the rune heart. It was a spell I had seen before in Runic Shift, it was the Succubus Heart, a love charm that made those affected by it more prone to comply to the users suggestions. It also increased the sexual interest the target had for the user. At least that was the normal Succubus Heart. While the spell could was able to be scaled causing less or more of an affect, this one was just botched.


    "That''s the problem." I muttered to myself when I noticed the issue in the spell. Normally the spell was supposed to be like an electric circuit the energy flowed into the target did what it needed too then flowed back out reporting the changes that had happened to the spell framework, if changes needed to be made to meet the demands of the spell the energy sent out was altered. This spell didn''t have that last part so the framework had no idea what was going on and was just pumping out more and more energy into me.


    "Yeah sorry. I was nervous and had an expert place it before I came here." Vanessa admitted to me. "The idea of being stuck on a world all alone with a complete stranger, no matter how well you reacted with your ex, scared me, alot."


    "You got fleeced." I retorted, I felt a lot calmer now than I had just a few minutes ago. I knew what the problem was, the fact that I knew I wasn''t becoming a monster, at least not without external stimuli, reassured me immensely. The desire was still there, but knowing what the cause was made it easier to control myself. It was indefinitely harder to control your mind when you yourself were afraid you were falling apart at the seems.


    "What do you mean?" Vanessa asked both Vanessas staring at me as I moved to stand behind the nude Vanessa. She looked really nervous but didn''t move away from me.


    "This is the work of an apprentice at best, and they still botched it." I replied.


    "You know Runic?" Vanessa asked seeming surprised.


    "Of course he knows Runic, Runic Shift is popular on his world." the nude Vanessa retorted.


    "Not everyone plays." the clothed Vanessa replied defensively.


    I reached out to trace the part of the spell I thought was the problem, it couldn''t resist caressing her skin as I did so. She shivered under my touch but didn''t pull away from me. "This spot." I said aloud now that I was sure. "They didn''t form the runes completely and they are misaligned." I told her.


    "Umm, I don''t know Runic." the clothed Vanessa admitted. "I could never understand any of it when I tried Runic Shift."


    "What can we do?" the nude Vanessa asked.


    I could fix it myself if I had access to mana, but I didn''t have¡­. I had attribute points and a status page.


    ----------------------------------------------------


    Name: Jason


    Level: 3


    Available Points: 10


    Strength: 10


    Agility: 11


    Vitality: 11


    Fortitude: 10


    Intelligence: 11


    Wisdom: 11


    Perception: 13


    Dexterity: 11


    Luck: 13


    Charm: 9


    Resistant to negative status effects


    ----------------------------------------------------


    Mana wasn''t listed anymore than health points were, but in every game I had ever played before Intelligence and Wisdom were always related to magic. Making a decision I dropped four points into each intelligence and wisdom and the last two into perception.


    ----------------------------------------------------


    Name: Jason


    Level: 3


    Available Points: 0


    Strength: 10


    Agility: 11


    Vitality: 11


    Fortitude: 10


    Intelligence: 16


    Wisdom: 16


    Perception: 15


    Dexterity: 11


    Luck: 13


    Charm: 9


    Resistant to negative status effects


    ----------------------------------------------------


    It might not have been the best idea, but if I could use the runes of Runic Shift here, then that changed everything.


    Concentrating on the runes I tried to imagine drawing energy out to fix the runes. It didn''t happen immediatly but after a few moments of concentration I was able to feel warmth flow into my finger, I had no idea where the warmth came from but that was irrelevant at the moment. My finger started to glow a pale blue just like how the character in Runic Shift appeared when he was about to draw or change runes.


    Smiling happily I traced my fingers over the runes on the nude Vanessa''s back i quickly fixed the runes that weren''t drawn out correctly then shifted the ones that were out of place. I wasn''t exactly sure how I was doing what I was but I had played countless hours of Runic Shift wishing I could do what the character was doing. I had memorized how the character moved his hands whenever he was doing something new. Following the movements of his hands I was able to imitate how to fix and move runes without harming them or the subject. It wasn''t easy and I messed up a few times, but I persistently kept working to fix each of my own mistakes and those of the original creator.


    As soon as the spell had been corrected the rune spell on her back flashed a light blue for a moment then changed back to the normal tattoo like appearance they normally had. A moment later I could feel the change as the circuit of energy was completed and the spell framework realized what it was doing to me and worked to correct it.


    I sighed in relief as the overwhelming bestial desire started to fade slowly from me. Then I felt the fatigue I was incredibly tired now. It took all of my willpower to stay standing.


    "Is it done?" Vanessa asked.


    I nodded silently my eyes taking the opportunity to admire the nude Vanessa. Now that I wasn''t scared I was about to force myself upon her I felt like it wouldn''t hurt, plus in the end, she still was a very attractive woman. Before I could really see much the clothed Vanessa reached out and touched her double''s arm then the nude copy disappeared like she hadn''t existed.


    I stared at Vanessa for a moment a bit shocked by everything that had happened, and just waiting to see how she would explain her way through this. Instead of speaking she touched the orb and selected something. "Lets eat, I can explain once we have put something into out stomachs. Plus it should help you recover your energy." she told me.


    As if it was suddenly reminded that it had been a while since it ate, my stomach rumbled its consent so I nodded.


    I sat at the table as Vanessa went to the bin on the counter to pull our meals out. She set my steak, potato and vegetable meal in front of me then sat down across from me with her own sandwich and soup meal.


    "I''m sorry." Vanessa told me first before she started to eat.


    "Company policy?" I asked as I cut into my steak.


    Vanessa shook her head. "No, but it is recommended. The company will pay for it if we chose to go down that route. I chose too, the company gave me the option of using their expert or finding my own. I chose to find my own. I was trying to save a few extra coins for my family, obviously I got fooled." she told me then took a big bite out of her sandwich which was full of what looked like ham and a lot of melted cheese. She moaned as she chewed slowly.


    "And the two Vanessas?"I asked.


    Vanessa hesitated for a moment, well it was more she chewed her food for a moment before swallowing. "I am not human. I am a Gemini. I can split into two identical copies of myself. We share the same thoughts though, kind of a two bodies one mind type of thing." she explained. "The company hires my kind because we can satisfy the needs of the operators better than a human female. Though it was supposed to be a surprise for a while longer, something to add some spice into our fun later."


    "So the flirting wasn''t just your way of torturing me?" I asked.


    "I already said it wasn''t supposed to be like that." Vanessa complained. "I am here for the long run, when the company gives us our training they make sure that we understand that we are going to eventually end up in our operator''s bed. It is just supposed to take some time, some harmless flirting, get to know each other for a little while, maybe caressing and kissing, then eventually we would sleep together. Not whatever this was on day one." she told me.


    "So what we were supposed to live together while playing at dating, then what act like a married couple after a few weeks?" I asked a bit surprised that she had laid it all out like that. Then again after what she had caused there wasn''t any reason to hide it any longer.


    "What part of long run didn''t you get?" she asked sulkily. "We are going to be here for years. Becoming a married couple is the best option for both of us."


    I couldn''t fault her logic, not really, we were here together, alone, any kind of support we needed would have to come from each other. However that was in the case that we were both really trapped here. I was less than willing to buy all of this now that I knew they had someone or something pretending to be my sister. For all I knew this was all a carefully crafted script she had memorized in case I figured something out early. Though if that was the case, they needed to hire a better script writer. My biggest issue at the moment was that I had no idea how to judge what information I was getting as true or false. I couldn''t assume everything was a lie, I wouldn''t be able to function like that, but it was also obvious that not everything was true. Vanessa had already told me they weren''t using a charm on me, and look how that ended up. I could believe the idea that she did it of her own accord because she was nervous, but was that the truth? Did they have other back up plans since that one fell through?


    I was silent for a while as I tried to think about everything unsure how to proceed. Per their previous statements I couldn''t leave, so they couldn''t offer me a way out of here since I didn''t trust them. Unless it was in a body bag. Which I wanted to avoid at all costs.


    "Any other surprises I need to know about?" I finally asked Vanessa as I finished my meal.


    Vanessa hadn''t eaten much, instead she had nervously picked at it while she watched me nervously.


    Vanessa seemed to think about that for a few moments then shook her head. "No." she told me.


    I frowned, if there wasn''t anything then it shouldn''t have taken her so long to reply.


    "Is there anything that I don''t need to know about yet." I asked curiously.


    Immediately Vanessa nodded then her eyes widened and glanced over at the orb nervously.


    I stood up and walked over to the counter where I dumped my dishes into the bin. The dishes came with the meal, but I didn''t get to keep them unless I specifically bought my own, which I saw no point in doing. I hadn''t liked doing the dishes at home and I doubt that had changed.


    When I was done I walked back towards the table and stood so that I blocked Vanessa''s view of the orb. "Are there things that you can''t tell me?" I asked her quietly.


    Vanessa nodded sadly.


    "Are any of those things I need to know now?" I asked even quieter.


    Vanessa nodded again as tears streamed down her face.


    "Shhh." I said louder and moved closer to Vanessa then hugged her shoulder. "Its fine, I can understand you were nervous, nothing happened, so how about we just act like none of that ever happened." I told her. "We can go to bed and get some sleep then go back to how we were in the morning."


    Vanessa stared up at me in confusion for a moment, then nodded. "I would like that." she replied.


    "Good, finish up your dinner then we can get some sleep." I told her.


    Vanessa nodded then turned to her meal only to stop and look back up at me nervously. "What about our sleeping arrangements?" she asked me nervously.


    "Were you initially intending on sleeping with me tonight?" I asked in return.


    Vanessa shook her head. "Momma always told me I needed to make my man work for it if I wanted him to respect and treasure me." she replied.


    I nodded. "We can go with that plan tonight." I replied. I wasn''t being altruistic, I needed the time to consider what she had told me, and even with that meal in me I was exhausted from fixing the runespell. I still couldn''t be sure what to believe, but I couldn''t think of any reason why she would need to lie to me about there being things she couldn''t talk about, or the fact that I needed to know about them.


    After finishing her meal Vanessa deposited her dishes in the bin like I did then made her way to the smaller bed where she immediately wrapped herself up tightly in the covers.


    Seeing that I could help but laugh. Feeling a bit naughty I decided to tease her a bit as a form of punishment.


    I walked quietly over to her bed and stood over her for a moment. I leaned over deliberately placing my hand by her so she could feel the bed shift under my weight. "Did you really think I wouldn''t punish you?" I asked her quietly.


    Vanessa turned her head to look up at me like a frightened deer in front of a ravenous wolf.


    I leaned even closer with a wicked smile on my face then when Vanessa seemed about to panic I placed a kiss on her forehead. "Consider us even." I told her as I stood up straight and smirked at her.


    Vanessa took a moment to process then glared at me then turned away. However I noticed that she wasn''t clinging to the covers as tightly as she had before.


    No matter why she was here, she was still the only other person here. While I feared what trouble she might cause me, I feared being alone again even more.


    Walking over to the orb I set an alarm so I could get up to water the crops then turned the light it emitted down so I could rest. I would have to get up in the middle of the night to water the crops. I could think about everything I had learned once that was done, and I was sure Vanessa was asleep.

 12 Chapter 12 - Real or Virtual?

    The alarm woke me up far to early for me to be happy. I might have been the one to set the alarm but that didn''t mean I had to be happy about waking up.


    I groaned a bit as I crawled out of the bed.


    "What is it?" Vanessa asked from her bed sleepily.


    "Late night booty call." I replied evilly.


    "Just don''t wake me up." she replied then rolled back over.


    I looked over at the lump lying in the other bed then shook my head. If I could actually pull that off, I was pretty sure I should be ashamed of myself.


    Ignoring the sleeping beauty I tapped the orb to turn off the alarm then headed for the door. There were a lot of crops I needed to water, and it was the perfect time for me to think about what had happened today, as soon as I was fully awake.


    Watering the crops was a simple task when the watering can would only let you give it the perfect amount of water, brain numbingly simple in fact. It was a good thing I had plenty to think about.


    With a bit of sleep I was more willing to believe what Vanessa had told me. Firstly it was because the runes on her back, or the other her''s back were bad, no other way to say it. The spell didn''t even come close to working the way it was supposed to unless they were intending for her to get assaulted. I still wasn''t sold on the fact that the company didn''t require it of her, but it honestly didn''t matter much either way.


    However what was concerning me more than anything was the fact that she knew something I needed to know. I was considering whether she had just said that to distract me from what else had happened, but it was the look in her eyes that made me believe her. Plus it would be better for me to prepare for something to happen only to be proven wrong, then dismiss it and be proven right. Especially if it might cost me my life.


    I wanted to drag Vanessa out of the house and question her some more, and I was sure I would later. However the middle of the night wasn''t the best time for that, and I was getting the impression that we were being watched through the orb.


    That also raised an issue with me. How was I going to examine the orb and discover what the runes on the orb were. Since I had seen the runes on Vanessa''s back I had become sure it was runes that I would find on the orb.


    Speaking of runes, seeing the runes from Runic Shift appear here got me back to wondering if this place was reality or a game. I couldn''t tell. I could feel like it was reality, and if was a game it had the best graphics I had ever seen. Yet I could use the runes. I thought back to how it felt to manipulate the runes. As I mimicked that my finger began to glow again, calling out mana into my finger was a lot easier the second time. I traced out a few runes in the air. It was a simple spell that didn''t take much mana to create. A few moments after I had drawn out the last rune and the spell gathered together to form a ball of light that glowed brightly illuminating the second floor bright enough that it was like being under the sun again without blinding me.


    I stared at the ball of light for several long moments as my feelings and emotions twisted and turned within me. Runic Shift was a puzzle game that my parents had introduced to me before they disappeared. It was supposed to be a learning game that helped develop your intelligence and problem solving skills. When my parents had disappeared I had played the game almost religiously for a while. It took me three years of playing before I really began to understand what the different runes meant and the best way to combine them. After that my mastery in the game shot up quickly. There were many ranks within the game. Novice, Apprentice, Journeyman, Practitioner, Expert, and Master were considered to be the lowest tier ranks. Above those were the noble ranks, Lord, Baron, Count, Duke, Prince, King, and Emperor. Before my kidnapping I had reached the peak of Runic Master only a little bit away from finally advancing into the Runic Lord rank. It had been a goal of mine for years, yet I hadn''t been able to make any real progress on the higher level puzzles I needed to move into the next rank. Now I had to wonder. Was all of this real, and my trouble with advancing was because I wasn''t willing to admit that mana and runes were real? It would explain a lot about the Runic Shift puzzles I needed to solve to advance. They didn''t seem to fit on the devices I tried to play on. Neither on my smartphone or tablet. The puzzle was just to large I couldn''t see all of it or scroll around to see the rest of the puzzle. I had tried to contact the games'' help maintenance because I thought it was a glitch but I never heard anything back. Worse I couldn''t find any other player that was nearly as far along as I was.


    I shook my head, was I losing my mind? None of this could be real, I had to be in a game, and given how real the Neglism worked in my head, I could believe that they were blocking my memories of signing up for this. Yet I didn''t want that to be the truth. Since I was a kid I had wanted the runes to be real like other kids wanted to have super powers. With my dedication to the game I hadn''t ever lost that desire. I wanted this to be real, and if it wasn''t. Then I was sure I was going to buy this game the moment I could and spend hours upon hours in here.


    With a sigh I finished watering the plants in the lower level then headed for the surface level to water the last crop. I didn''t enjoy watering all of these crops, but I enjoyed planting them, organizing where each went, curious how they would interact with each other. Add that to the newly discovered ability to use the runes, and this place was almost perfect for me. If I could just get rid of the company and the trouble it seemed to bring, and if Melissa could be here.


    I stopped at that thought then sighed again. It had been over a month since we broke up, but I have to admit I still wasn''t over her. She continued to linger at the back of my mind, I wondered what she was doing, did she miss me, had she even noticed I was gone.


    I frowned then as I realized that despite the fact I had no idea if this was a real place or a game, despite the fact that everything was pointing to the fact that it was a game. I had already subconsciously convinced myself that this place was real. What was wrong with me?


    Then again that was also why I was so worried about my reaction to Vanessa, if this place was a game then it wouldn''t matter if I had forced myself on her. She would just be an NPC. something that would cease to exist the moment the game was over. I also hesitated to flirt with her, try and convince her to sleep with me, it wasn''t cheating on Melissa if she was a game character. Then again she did look identical to the woman I met in the bar. Could she be another player? Though even if she was real it wasn''t cheating, we had broken up.


    I was pathetic, but it had been three years, plus the years we had known each other as acquaintances and then friends. It was sad and pathetic, but at least I hadn''t become the crazy stalker.


    I went through the portal then looked around gazing out over the endless plains. My golems didn''t move as I stood with them like a small flesh golem. The quiet and view did nothing to settle my mind. Not knowing if this was real or a game was driving me crazy. I had one idea how to figure it out one way or another. I watered my last crop then returned to the portal.


    There was an angry growl then a hiss as something hit the newbie shield. I looked over my shoulder to see a dark shape slide down the barrier as angry golden eyes glared at me. I considered staying to help but remembered what Vanessa had said. I decided to ignore the attacker and went through the portal I could check the logs later to discover what it was. I also needed to discover what to do with the mouse corpses and slime cores, were the golems saving the slime? If so where was it going? Those were all questions for later. I made my way to the small house my pace quickening as I made my decision. At the door I stopped taking a deep breath I began to draw runes in the air. It was a more difficult spell than the light orb, but I was convinced that I needed it.


    After a long chain of runes the spell activated then swirled around me until it faded into nothing.


    With a smile I reached out and opened the door softly then slipped in before closing the door again.


    Before I tried to answer my question, I needed to be sure my spell had worked.


    I walked over to Vanessa''s bed. Even sleeping she was pretty. I reached out and gently brushed several hair away from her face.


    Feeling my touch Vanessa frowned for a second then her eyes shot open. She sat up quickly and looked around frantically. I backed away so we didn''t accidentally collide.


    Vanessa looked around the small room several times before she seemed to relax. She stared right through me several times before she shook her head then laid back down.


    I smiled to myself, my invisibility spell had worked.


    I gave Vanessa several moments to fall back asleep before walking over to the orb. It was time to see what runes were on the orb and discover if this place was real or a game. Everything revolved around this orb, so there had to be some kind of answer.


    Reaching the orb I peered at it for several moments but no matter how hard I looked I couldn''t see the runes on its surface.


    I bit my lower lip for a moment then decided to use a reveal spell in hopes it would break whatever was concealing the runes from sight.


    Bringing up my finger again I traced out a new spell under the orb hoping that whoever was using the orb to observe us wouldn''t bother to monitor the area under the orb.


    When the spell finished the spell converged then flowed up and over the orb. After several moments the spell disappeared and to my great relief the runes I had felt earlier appeared.


    I traced the runes on the orb for several long minutes. The rune spell etched into the surface of the orb was tiny and intricate, yet I was slowly able to understand parts of what the spell was meant to do. It was a control device, rather than controlling me or even the farm, it was controlling something inside of it. Tracing the rune patterns some more I was able to make out several different indentions on the surface of the orb. Carefully placing my fingers on those location I pressed in while hoping the whole thing wasn''t booby trapped.


    With a click the orb split open in quarters like a flower blooming. It was hollow inside revealing its content to me. Floating in the air just above the open orb was a clear glowing crystal three inches in height and one in width and length. It was beautiful in its appearance.


    I felt a strong attraction to the crystal, so strong in fact that I had already reached out and placed my finger on a facet before I even realized I was moving.


    ==============================


    You have found a dungeon core shard. Do you wish to bond with the core shard?


    ==============================

 13 Chapter 13 - Zephirah

    ==============================


    You have found a dungeon core shard. Do you wish to bond with the core shard?


    ==============================


    My mind went blank as I read the short message that appeared in front of me. Wasn''t I already bonded to the dungeon core? Did this mean I wasn''t bonded to the dungeon core? If that was the case, then I could go home!


    Excitement welled up inside me as I turned to leave the shack but stopped before even taking a step. So what if I could leave. Sure I could use Runic, and with that I could create a portal back home, in theory, but I didn''t have the mana pool to pull that off. Not even close. Maybe if I was a level thirty and dropped everything into wisdom, then I might have enough mana, but I still wouldn''t be able to handle that much mana or craft it into a portal I was willing to trust my life with.


    I wanted to laugh and cry at the same time, with Runic being available I had the knowledge of a veteran while being stuck in the body of a rookie.


    I looked back at the core shard and considered my options. I could grab a weapon. Head up to the surface. Then kill whatever came until I reached level five and the barrier dropped. Then I could hunt with my weapon and runes until my level was high enough to leave this place. No idea what the danger level was outside of my barrier. Whatever that dark shape that had attacked my barrier was, it seemed even more dangerous than the giant mice.


    My other option was to bind with the core shard and become the real owner of this dungeon. No more of the companies lies and tricks. Oddly enough the later option appealed to me more than the first one.


    I reached out and grabbed the crystal in a firm grip then agreed to bond the core shard.


    "Oh yeah, just like that, ohhhh goooodnesss, its been sooooo long!" a feminine voice moaned just like Melissa had in the bedroom. "Lower lover boy, just a little lower!" the voice moaned out again.


    My gripped slipped down on the crystal as my head swung around looking for the source of the voice and checking to see if it had distrubed Vanessa.


    "OOHHH YESSSS RIGHT THERE!" the female voice screamed out like she was getting off. Which was followed by a few moments of panting.


    "Who''s there?" I called out worriedly.


    "Shit that''s even worse than forgetting my name!" the female voice griped unhappily. "Guess I can''t blame you though, at least not this time."


    I frowned as I kept scanning the room, Vanessa hadn''t even shifted and was still breathing steadily.


    "Over here lover boy." the voice called out.


    I looked around again not sure what to expect.


    "In your hand big boy." the voice called out again.


    I looked to my left hand but it was empty then looked to my right which was supposed to be holding the core shard, except the core shard was gone now. In its place was a woman with brilliant golden blonde hair that reached down to her knees, her golden locks framed an incredible figure that matched my tastes perfectly, long legs, shapely hips, thin waist, oversized bust, and perfect angelic features with dark sapphire eyes. A very naked beautiful woman. Only problem was she was three inches tall.


    "Don''t look so disappointed, the best things come in small packages!" the little woman told me then squirmed out of my grip. I shifted to try and catch her before she fell but four gossamer wings appeared from her back and began to flap like a dragonfly''s wings.


    "A fairy." I murmured quietly.


    "Oh good, you do have some brains in there. That will make this so much easier for both of us." the fairy commented. "And no, I am not a fairy, I am a dungeon sprite. But the resemblance is uncanny so I will let this go this one time with a warning." the sprite told me.


    "So a sprite, alright, what is the difference?" I asked curiously.


    "Sprites aren''t stuck up like those prissy fairy bitches!" the little sprite retorted angrily.


    Okay, definitely a sore spot.


    "Sorry, old issues, nothing to do with the here and now. I''m Zephirah by the way." she introduced herself.


    "Jason." I said returning the greeting not sure whether I should offer her my hand or not.


    "You can keep those marvelous paws to yourself for now, if you start touching me again we might not get anything done." Zephirah told me as if she was reading my mind, while giving me a sultry look that seemed almost comical on a being three inches tall.


    "Alright so why are you here?" I asked.


    "We just bonded husband. Don''t tell me you want a divorce already." Zephirah game me a mocking scowl.


    My mind froze for a moment hearing her call me husband, I almost missed the rest of what she said. "You are the core shard!" I nearly yelled but remembered to control myself.


    "Got it in one handsome!" Zephirah replied excitedly. "Now that we are bonded I can claim this silly faux dungeon as ours!"


    I felt the ground under our feet shift a bit then settle down. "What was that?" I asked.


    "I just claimed the dungeon as ours. Truly ours. No more interference from that silly company." Zephilia replied.


    I frowned. "So the dungeon was never mine?" I asked.


    Zephilia tilted her head from one side to the other for a moment, "Yes and no. The company can''t use me to create a dungeon without a dungeon master like you. However they don''t seem to trust the dungeon masters they chose, maybe something to do with the kidnapping part. Anyways they invented that stupid orb thingy as an inbetween. Your presence was enough to activate the dungeon and make changes, the orb acts as a middle man between us so that the company can control us both, kind of like a mailroom sorting which messages they want to allow to pass between employees and which to trash. Downside it also sacrifices a lot of the dungeons power making it a lot smaller than it should be. However they seemed to think that level of control was worth it." Zephirah replied.


    "Control?" I asked.


    Zephirah nodded with a grimace. "As you could guess we didn''t have a standard bond before this. Sure they bonded us, had to, to get the dungeon going, but it used the orb as and intermediary. No idea how they got that to work, but they did. It created a faux bond between us, just enough so you could use the dungeon core to create things but not enough that you had full control." she replied. "Unlike now where we have complete control." She added


    "And now?" I asked.


    "I control everything." she replied with a happy smile.


    I frowned at her.


    Zephirah flew close to me and placed a kiss on the tip of my nose, "And you control me. So you control the dungeon too." she added.


    I continued frowning.


    "Well fine, you don''t really control me, but we are bonded now, soul bonded. I get it that there wasn''t much of an explanation when it asked if you wanted to bond with me in my core form. Honestly though no one would bond a core if they knew that doing so would create an eternal bond between you and the core, one that allowed us to share not only thoughts and emotions, but our lives for the rest of eternity!" she said as she nearly shouted the last part then burst into giggles.


    I stared at the overly excited sprite my mind blank. My expression must have matched my mental state as Zephirah started giggling even harder bent over her stomach as she floated in the air. "Your face, so classic." she chuckled after she got her giggles under control.


    "So you were just joking?" I asked nervously.


    Zephirah laughed again. "We are bonded, when you gain some control on your emotions you can explore the bond in your mind later, it will lead to me and the rest of the dungoen which is an extension of myself, now that that stupid inhibitor is off." she grumbled a bit. "As for the soul bound for eternity? No idea. I haven''t met anyone who bonded like we have, after they died. Probably never will, as far as I know our souls move on to a completely different realm. Before you ask, yes this world is realm, it is a different plane of existence in the same realm as your home. No you can not go home. Eventually you will be able to, but I am not strong enough to leave this plane."


    I closed my eyes and let what she said sink in. I had suspected I wouldn''t be able to leave if I bonded the core, so that wasn''t bothering me. It was her declaration that this place was real, and her ability to practically read my thoughts that was giving me pause.


    "Not practically honey, as you are right now I can read you like a book." Zephirah informed me. "As to proving that this realm is real? I have no idea. Your mind is pretty twisted up on that, no matter what I show you right now you will find a way to believe that it is something that could happen in a game. A really advanced game that is way beyond the technology of your home world, but whatever you get the point." she added then flew closer to me with a smile.


    I let out a sigh, she was right, but I didn''t want to admit it.


    "Better." Zephirah said then kissed my nose. "Can''t have you breaking down on me as soon as we bond."


    I nodded then sat on the edge of my bed unsure what to do next. I had so many questions, a lot disappeared with admitting that this world was real. Not sure I believed it yet, but I could act like it was and go from there. I wasn''t sure if I was going to be able to accomplish it any better than I had earlier in the day, but I was determined to try. Despite that there were still a lot of questions I needed answers too.


    "No, not really." Zephirah told me. "This world is real, you and I now completely control the dungeon. No parting from the company would be a bad idea for several reasons, you starving to death from hunger being chief amongst those." Zephirah told me answering some of my unasked questions. "As for what should we do now." she said then stopped and looked over at Vanessa for a moment, "Oh I did not expect that." she muttered.


    "What?" I asked warily.


    "I control the dungeon now and as soon as I took control I did a scan it to discover anything that might have been placed here that we were unaware of. It''s something the company usually does. There aren''t any here, which is odd." she told me.


    "Alright, how do you know all of that and what does it have to do with Vanessa?" I asked.


    Zephirah didn''t take her gaze away from the sleeping beauty. "You''re not my first fake master. You are my seventh or eighth. As I was trapped in the stupid orb there wasn''t much for me to do, so I observed, both on this plane, and back at the headquaters while they were looking for a new user.Standard company plan includes the isolation, Neglism, then the introduction of your pretty handler. After that the company is usually hands off. The Neglism makes enough to generate a profit for the company even if you don''t do anything else. Everything after that is just extra in their pockets. So they sit back and observe until they need to intervene or lose my shard. To do that they use a lot of observation equipment. It happened the same way with all your predecessors, this time there is no observation equipment, they are imitating your sister, also not standard practice, and your handler is¡­...unusual." she explained.


    "Unusual how?" I asked suspiciously.


    Zephirah didn''t answer immediately. "It is hard to explain. I can only see as screen like your status page. Her race and condition aren''t what they should be. Nothing dangerous to you." she reassured quickly, "Just problematic."


    "How so?" I asked.


    Zephirah shook her head. "If I explained it would just raise more questions. Instead how about I help you get to sleep. You may not be able to feel it yet, but you are completely exhausted. I will instruct the earth golem on the lower level to water your crops, it is something you could have done through the orb if you had looked, so it shouldn''t raise any flags that you figured it out on your own."


    "Why does that matter?" I asked.


    "We can''t do without the company yet, so we have to play along for now." Zephirah replied. "And I need your permission to use the Neglism tree and pod in storage." she told me.


    I frowned. "Why?" I asked I wasn''t suspicious just curious. As I calmed down I could feel Zephirah and the dungeon in the back of my mind. I couldn''t read her like she seemed to be able to read me, but I could feel that she was just trying to help.


    "I need it to help unravel Vanessa''s puzzle." she replied.


    I considered it for a moment, then nodded. "Alright." I told her then climbed back into the bed. I was incredibly tired. No idea if she was the cause, or it really was catching up to me, but I was barely able to keep my eyes open long enough to get under the covers and lay my head on the pillow.

 14 Chapter 14 - Enchanted

    Sleep was truly a wonderful thing. Things that seemed impossible to deal with or comprehend were easier to understand after a good night of sleep. At least that was how I felt when I finally woke up.


    Opening my eyes I sat up and stretched with a smile on my face. I hadn''t slept that well in a long time, even before I came to this world. I doubt I slept that well without assistance but I didn''t mind.


    I looked around the room to see that the orb was back in its original shape while Zephirah was sitting on top of it. She noticed me moving and smiled at me, or at least I think she did. Making out her expressions was difficult when she wasn''t flying around in my face. However I could feel that she was happy to see me awake and feeling good. Thankfully she had acquired a blue dress that while clinging to her figure so tightly it was like a second skin, at least she wasn''t naked anymore.


    Vanessa was sitting at the table with a plate of some kind of eggs half eaten. She had stopped to watch me a nervous look on her face.


    "Just so you know, she can''t see or hear me. If you need to say something to me, just think it." Zephirah told me.


    ''Alright.'' I thought to Zephirah.


    "Perfect! Now get some food and harvest those blue dandelions. Oh and be nice to Vanessa. I found out some things while you were sleeping. There is trouble brewing, but she isn''t the problem, in fact she seems to be in a worse position than you." Zephirah told me.


    "Sleep well?" I asked Vanessa as I climbed out of the bed. She had changed back into a pair of blue short shorts, and a figure hugging black top that showed off a lot of her cleavage. It was rather distracting but I kept my eyes off her breasts, at least most of the time.


    "I did." Vanessa replied.


    I nodded then moved to the orb to order some breakfast.


    "What about you? You had to water the crops in the night." Vanessa asked.


    I nodded. "Yeah that was rough, but I figured out how to get the golem to water my crops for me." I replied after choosing an omelet full of bacon, with bacon on the side, a large glass of orange juice, and coffee, one sugar, one cream, just enough to blunt the bite a bit. After ordering it I frowned then looked at the menu again.


    "Problem?" Vanessa asked.


    I shook my head. "We are on a different world, yet I can only see normal food. I would have thought there would be food from other worlds available." I replied.


    "There is, and even foods from the other countries of your world. The company limited it to food you would be familiar with as you have had enough changes already. Once you have settled in a bit the other unfamiliar foods will be made available to you." Vanessa explained.


    I nodded my understanding then headed for the bin on the counter to retrieve my breakfast before joining Vanessa at the table. We ate in silence for several minutes but it was clear Vanessa was feeling uncomfortable.


    "Something you want to get off your...um say?" I asked my eyes drifting back to her breasts. I wasn''t bothered by it like I was the previous day. I knew she had the rune charm, and it was only affecting me at a level I could handle. Besides even without it I knew I would have been attracted to Vanessa, and with it on display it was hard not to look.


    "We aren''t going to discuss it?" she asked.


    "Is there anything else to discuss?" I asked.


    "I''m sorry." she apologized.


    I frowned then glanced at Zephirah who seemed lost in her own little world. "Its fine, I can understand you were nervous and got fleeced by an amateur." I told her.


    Vanessa was silent for a few minutes as she stared at the remains of her meal. "Thank you." she finally said, but it was barely more than a whisper.


    I smiled at her despite the fact that she couldn''t see it. "It''s fine. We are going to be here together for a while, no reason to get angry over something small like this." I lied. If Vanessa hadn''t said to be nice I would still be a bit pissed about it all, however I trusted Zephirah and she seemed to know more about what was going on. I wouldn''t have done anything to her, but I wouldn''t be so forgiving.


    "What about us?" Vanessa asked.


    "What about us?" I asked in return.


    Vanessa hesitated for a moment then went silent as she stared at her food.


    I finished my food then got up and placed the dishes back in the bin. I couldn''t see myself buying dishes, dropping them back into the bin was so much easier. ''How nice should I be?'' I thought to Zephirah.


    "Depends on when you want to sleep with her." Zephirah replied.


    I froze in place unsure what to think.


    I heard Zephirah snort. "Don''t be a prude. I call you husband because for all intents and purposes I consider us married, but I am not nearly large enough to handle all of a wife''s responsibilities. Eventually I will be able to, but not for a while. In the meantime I have no issue if you enjoy Vanessa. Just be sure you are gentle with her. When she said she was pure, she meant physically." Zephirah replied.


    ''She''s a virgin?'' I thought in shock.


    "It is a company requirement for her position. Your world is not the only one the company recruits from, there are plenty of places that aren''t nearly as forward thinking as your home country. That mistake was made once, let''s just say it didn''t end well for the poor girl." Zephirah replied.


    I nodded then turned back to Vanessa who had been watching my back as I communicated silently with Zephirah. I was about to speak then stopped and looked at the orb. Zephirah was still sitting on top of it staring off into nowhere. "I have to harvest the blue dandelions." I told her then headed for the door.


    Vanessa hung her head at the table.


    "Are you coming or going to stay here?" I asked as I reached the door.


    Vanessa''s head came up and looked at me hopefully.


    "The sooner I harvest the sooner I can plant the next set. We can talk while I work." I told her.


    Vanessa nodded with a relieved smile then dumped her half finished breakfast and dishes into the bin.


    "Don''t want me to be a third wheel?" Zephirah asked.


    ''That orb is observing us.'' I replied mentally.


    "Oh, yeah almost forgot about that." Zephirah grumbled. "If you need anything from me just think it, I can hear and see you anywhere in the dungeon." she told me.


    ''It''s a farm.'' I replied. There was nothing about this place that I considered to be dungeony.


    "Yet." Zephirah replied as I stepped out of the little house with Vanessa at my back.


    The underground had changed a lot since I planted the crops. Now a little over twelve hours later everything had at least sprouted. The blue dandelion was already fully grown while the silver shamrock and blue grass were half grown. It wasn''t a mesmerizing sight by any means, but in comparison to where I had been before the Neglism, it was an impressive sight that shook my emotions for a second. It pass quickly though.


    I retrieved the scythe from the shed then made my way to the blue dandelions. Vanessa followed close behind me but remained silent.


    Reaching the closest field of blue dandelions I knelt down by the closest plant. The blue dandelion looked similar to the dandelions of my own world except they were three times the size with a baseball sized dark blue flower. The stem was wider than my own thumb while the leaves were long, wide, and emerald in color. I reached down to the base of the stem without concerning myself with the rest of the plant then cut the stem.


    "What Are You Doing!?" Vanessa yelled as I held the flower in one hand and the scythe in the other.


    "Harvesting the blue dandelion." I replied.


    "By butchering it?" Vanessa asked as a retort.


    "Huh?" I asked uncertainly.


    "Even on your world you can use the rest of the dandelion!" Vanessa yelled at me.


    "Huh? I thought it was just a weed." I replied.


    Vanessa groaned. "Its leaves and roots are edible. Not enough to live on by themselves but still something you can eat. As a magic plant the leaves and roots are just as useful and desired as the bloom." Vanessa explained then knelt at my side taking the scythe from my hands and carefully started to separate the leaves from the plant then cut the stem. "We can come back to pull the roots out with the hoe." Vanessa said then returned the scythe to me.


    I took the scythe then stared at the neat pile of leaves and the perfectly harvested flower. "You have some experience?" I asked.


    "I did mention that my family was poor." Vanessa responded.


    I nodded. She had, but that didn''t guarantee she had any knowledge about plants, at least not on my world.


    "Alright, then correct me when I make mistakes." I told her.


    Vanessa smiled at me and nodded cutely.


    What I thought would be a quick harvest took a great deal longer as I harvested the complete plant. There were only four tiles of blue dandelion on the lower level and one of the surface level, but each tile had twenty five plants. I hadn''t even finished the first tile when I started to feel tired and sore.


    "Now you know why we need minions." Zephirah said appearing out of nowhere. I jumped at her sudden appearance.


    "Something wrong?" Vanessa asked looking confused.


    I shook my head then glared at Zephirah, "No just a bug." I replied.


    Zephirah glared at me then stuck her tongue out at me as she crossed her arms under her breasts. However despite her appearance I could feel she was more amused than angry.


    With great determination I kept working until I finished the second field. The second field went a bit faster as I was getting familiar with the way to harvest the plant. Then Vanessa volunteered to let me have a break and took up the scythe to harvest the third field. Seeing her quick effective movements I realized I was still slow. In a tenth of the time it took me to harvest the second field Vanessa had cleared the third field, and the crops she harvested seemed to look healthier and more vibrant than the ones I harvested.


    Taking back the scythe I determinedly harvested the last field on the floor before we headed up to the surface level. Once there we were greeted by six of the giant mice we had seen earlier, and an even larger mouse that was at least twice the size of the others. They were all scratching furiously at the shield around my farm as the golems systematically attacked them one by one.


    "What is going on?" I asked surprised by the fierceness of the attack.


    "Look." Vanessa said pointing.


    Following her finger I saw the last of the blue dandelion fields. Like the other plants they were a dark blue flower on top of an emerald plant. However unlike the ones on the lower level, the blue flowers glowed gently as they swayed in the wind. Obviously these plants were different from the ones below. Was that from the slime fertilizer?


    "Enchanted!" Vanessa yelled out in surprise.


    "Huh?" I asked.


    The golems were working quickly to eliminate the mice, and it was taking even less effort than the one time I had tried to help. Probably because of the increase in the golems levels.


    "With the magic plants, there are different degrees of magic saturation. Normal plants have at most ten percent magic saturation. Enchanted have between ten and thirty percent magic saturation. The higher the saturation the greater the effects of the plant." Vanessa explained.


    "Can''t we just absorb the magic inside the plants instead of the energy from the currency?" I asked.


    "A normal dungeon could, but I doubt it would be worth it. The energy in the currency is purer than what you would find in a plant." Vanessa replied.


    I grunted unhappily wishing I had found a way around the company. Unfortunately it seemed I hadn''t.


    As we moved toward the field of enchanted blue dandelions the remaining mice became more frantic. The larger rodent screeched out unhappily. Initially I intended to ignore everything and trust in the stability of the newbie shield after what Vanessa had said, but the screech from the larger mouse seemed to be a call. A large number of mice appeared around my farm glaring at me angrily. A mouse of that size was already a bit intimidating, I preferred my rodents to be of the squashable size. A horde of over thirty large mice was more than a little intimidating.


    "Maybe we should come back for them later." Vanessa suggested nervously obviously affected by the horde of mice despite what she had said about the newbie shield.


    I didn''t want to appear to be a coward, but I decided waiting wasn''t a bad idea.


    A sharp spike rose up from the ground impaling a mouse killing it instantly.


    ----------------------------------------------------


    Level Up!


    ----------------------------------------------------

 15 Chapter 15 - Whispers of Trouble

    Seeing the notice that I had leveled up I was initially excited. I had thought it would take longer before I leveled up again. At least that was the impression I had gotten from Vanessa and seeing how little my share of the experience was. However with the number of mice attacking my barrier I must have been able to gain a lot of experience. At that rate I should even be able to make level five in a short amount of time. Then I could leave the¡­.


    Shit.


    "Kill the big one!" I ordered the golems my voice revealing my panic.


    "Calm down, they can''t get through the barrier." Vanessa tried to reassure me.


    "I level up!" I replied as I watched the golems shift their focus from the smaller mice to the larger leader.


    "Still no reason to panic." Vanessa replied.


    "If this keeps up I will reach level five!" I retorted.


    Vanessa stared at me for a moment as she realized why I was panicking.


    "We should still be fine, it takes twice as much experience to reach the next level as it did the last." Vanessa reassured me.


    I nodded as I settled down a bit but I couldn''t completely relax, the number of mice surrounding my farm was continuing to increase.


    A loud angry screech made everyone freeze and look at the larger mouse as it angrily bit at a long sharp spike of stone that had pierced one of its back legs. While I was still trying to understand what I was seeing earth flowed up the mouse''s legs to hold it in place while a large rock landed on the mouse''s head. The attack resembled the very first I had witnessed except the stone golems had a new trick. Unfortunately the large mouse was stronger than the previous ones. It was able to break free of the earth clamps and pull itself off the stone spike. However where it landed, the ground had turned into very loose mud causing the larger mouse to sink into the mud up to its chest. Seemed the earth golems had a new trick too. The ground hardened around the larger mouse squeezing it tight. It whimpered in pain before a large stone spike emerged from the ground and impaled the mouse through the eye into its brain killing it instantly.


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    Seeing their leader killed affected the other mice. They glanced at the corpse then at the golems, then disappeared into the tall grass.


    "Feel better?" Vanessa asked me.


    I looked at her. "You do realize that mice on my world are all the conveniently sized to be stomped on. Right?" I asked feeling that it ended in a rather anticlimactic way. Maybe I was still hyped up on adrenaline but I couldn''t shake the feeling that it wasn''t over yet.


    "So you are saying it is their size and not their sharp pointy claws and teeth, that frightened you?" Vanessa asked with a smirk.


    Seemed like she had relaxed a bit. Not sure if I liked the change.


    "Let''s just get this harvested so we can plant the next batch. I will still have to work the silver shamrocks and blue grass later tonight." I grumbled as I peered into the tall grass nervously. I still felt like there was something else out there and wanted to get as far away from it as I could.


    "Alright, let me harvest this field, the enchanted versions are a bit tougher to handle and we want to get the best price for them." Vanessa suggested reaching out her hand for the scythe.


    I nodded. I wasn''t in the mood to argue with her, and I had never been the kind of person to insist on doing everything to soothe my wounded pride.


    I passed the scythe to Vanessa, once she had it in hand she moved closer then sneakily planted a kiss on my cheek. Her actions were completely out of character and startled me more than a little. Not that I minded but I stared at her in shock for a moment as she smiled at me impishly before running over to the field of enchanted blue dandelions.


    While my anxiety hadn''t disappeared I was feeling better, which I guessed was the point. Yet as I watched Vanessa kneel down to harvest the plants I couldn''t help but admire her figure.


    "She really is very pretty." Zephirah commented despite not being visible.


    ''Did you figure out whatever it was you were working on?'' I asked mentally.


    "Yes, thank you. We should have something to help unravel Vanessa''s mystery tonight. Good job on the mice, Vanessa might not have thought they were an issue, but if you had left it as it was we would have reached level five tonight. I already took the liberty of absorbing the bodies into the dungeon. We are going to need to talk about what you can do with them later." Zephirah commented.


    ''Why not now?'' I asked mentally.


    "You need to focus more on Vanessa, getting laid would be a plus, but if you aren''t willing to do that, get closer to her, see if you can get her to talk more. Though I would prefer you to get laid, you seem to be really backed up. I bet you would be a lot more pleasant to be around after some relief. Would rubbing one out in the shower help?" Zephirah rambled aloud.


    I groaned but decided to ignore her. If either of us was pent up I was pretty sure it was her. Being stuck in an orb and having nothing to do but observe all her ''masters'' and their assistants. I couldn''t blame her, but why did she want to watch so badly?


    Looking down at Vanessa I couldn''t deny the attraction, but just like before I knew about the rune charm on her doppleganger''s back, I was certain it was nothing more than lust. Maybe it could become more later but for now it was just a carnal desire, and maybe a psychological desire to not be alone.


    I shook my head and gave myself a light tap on the forehead. I was over analyzing things again. Why couldn''t I just admit I was horny and she was pretty and leave it there? I never should have taken psychology in college, I nearly failed the class and couldn''t help but analyze everything everyone did since.


    Trying to get my mind to behave I walked up beside Vanessa and knelt down to see how she was harvesting the blue dandelions.


    "Did you get sick of staring at me already?" Vanessa asked playfully as she worked.


    "Not at all, I am just better at learning with my hands." I replied with a smirk.


    Vanessa paused in her work for a moment glancing in my direction for a moment before looking away and getting back to work. She was quick and effective, watching her work was almost hypnotizing. I was surprised when she finished and turned to look at me. Partly because of how fast she had accomplished the work, but more because of the look in her eyes. She looked conflicted, torn.


    "Ready to talk about it?" I asked her. "No orb to observe us up here."


    Vanessa quivered then stood up and faced away from me, but not before I saw the fear.


    My lust and desire disappeared immediately. Vanessa was terrified of something, and I had the feeling that whatever it was, was a danger to Zephirah and I.


    "Vanessa?" I called out as I moved up behind her. I took a gamble and wrapped my arms around her pulling her back to lean against my chest. She stiffened in my embrace then relaxed before I could even consider letting go.


    "They can''t hear me?" she asked her voice barely above a whisper.


    "No, not unless they are out there in the grass." I told her.


    Vanessa stiffened again as she warily scanned the grass then shook her head. "It doesn''t matter. You can''t stop them even if you know." she told me.


    "Even if I can''t, I would prefer to know." I told her.


    Vanessa was quiet for a while, long enough that I was sure she wasn''t going to speak about it, but I held her anyways. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would and saw no reason to stop.


    "They are going to come for me, me and the core." Vanessa admitted.


    "Who?" I asked squeezing her tight in my arms. "That Trellion Owark guy?"


    Vanessa snorted. "There is no Trellion Owark, he is just a name to blame for being isolated and forced to grow the Neglism." she told me as she twisted in my embrace to look at my face. "The one coming for me is my recruiter. He noticed that I was more than a gemini but kept it a secret from the company. I am not sure how he did it but he changed the location of your farm last minute so that the company couldn''t place the normal monitoring equipment. That way they can come and get me and the core before disappearing to a world the company can''t reach them. I will probably be sold off to some pervert to be his bed toy while the core gets sold to a competitor." Vanessa admitted.


    "That doesn''t sound very good for me." I replied after a moment of thought.


    Vanessa shook her head.


    "So what is it?" I asked her.


    Vanessa hesitated then seemed to resolve herself. "Let''s go down first." she told me glancing around at the grass worriedly.


    I realized we had changed positions from earlier. Feeling mischievous despite the situation I leaned down and kissed her cheek just as she had mine. Vanessa was either faster than me or expecting it as she turned her head to meet my lips with her own. Again she quivered in my arms then as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders she seemed to melt in my embrace. The kiss wasn''t long or even very passionate, but it seemed to change Vanessa''s perception of me. When we parted she gave me a wide honest smile that caused her eyes to shine. It was mesmerizing.


    A loud thud woke me from the trance. Looking behind us I nearly wet myself seeing an enormous cobra glaring down at me from outside of the barrier. It was too long to tell its length as it disappeared into the grass, but its head glared down at me from several feet above my own height. It was emerald green in color with golden eyes, and at least two feet wide. Rather than calling it a snake, I felt serpent was more accurate.


    The golems reacted immediately, but their attacks were completely ineffective. The stone spikes couldn''t pierce the snake''s scales, and it was too large for the earth golem''s tactics to effect. The large rocks tossed at its head seemed marginally effective, but only in the annoying sense of the word.


    "Catch it!" Zephirah yelled at me excitedly.


    I frowned. "I don''t have the power for that!"replied aloud not bothering to worry about Vanessa.


    The cobra struck at us again but was stopped by the barrier. Unfortunately the barrier did not stop me from seeing the two foot long fangs inside the cobra''s mouth as it tried to bite us. Terror inducing was the nicest way I could describe them.


    Zephirah appeared beside me floating by my head.


    Vanessa screamed, I thought it was a delayed reaction from the cobra, but a glance at her made me realize she was staring at Zephirah.


    "Not the snake, its big and strong, but not what we want." Zephirah told me. "We want the wisp!" she told me pointing at a pale green dot that floated by the cobra''s head. If Zephirah hadn''t pointed it out I wouldn''t have even noticed it. It was even smaller than Zephirah.


    "Catch it! Hurry before it gets away!" Zephirah yelled at me.


    I nodded then tried to draw on the mana to form the runes I needed but it escaped me, the mana was like oil that kept slipping through my fingers.


    "Now isn''t the time for performance issues!" Zephirah yelled at me.


    I glared at her angrily then closed my eyes to focus. Another loud thud told me the cobra was still trying to get through the barrier. Vanessa suddenly embraced me from behind and held on tight. I wasn''t sure if she was trying to reassure me or herself but her presence helped me focus. I grabbed onto my mana and pulled it up from my center. Opening my eyes I could see the glow on my finger ready to be used to form runes. With the sight came a confidence I didn''t normally have. Looking up at the cobra and wisp I smiled.

 16 Chapter 16 - Serpent Battle

    I felt invincible. Everything seemed to be in the palm of my hand waiting for me to toy with them. It was a very addicting feeling. All I wanted to do was draw in more power, enough that I could do anything and everything that I had ever wanted.


    "Snap out of it!" Zephirah yelled at me ramming herself into my cheek and pinching me as hard as she could. "Fucking mana high." she grumbled as I snapped out of the euphoria.


    I shook my head as the euphoria cleared, I had no idea what had come over me. I wanted to ask Zephirah but the situation didn''t seem to allow for it.


    Another loud thud came as the cobra struck the barrier again. I could see intelligence in the serpent''s gaze, so I didn''t think it would continue to attack when it was obvious that despite its size and strength it couldn''t get through the barrier. It had to be the wisp that was encouraging it to attack us.


    I searched through my mind for a rune spell I could use to catch the wisp. A few came to mind, but I didn''t think I had the energy for most of them.


    "I can feed you energy from the dungeon." Zephirah told me, reading my thoughts again. "Use the strongest one you can handle." she told me.


    Easier said than done, I had no idea what I could handle. I didn''t have forever to contemplate so I chose one that used a lot of energy, but the runes weren''t very complicated. In fact there were only nine runes, it would be able to catch the wisp, or anything else if enough power was added. The biggest downside was it did little else. In Runic Shift the spell was considered difficult, but only because the runes couldn''t be drawn normally. It had taken me awhile to understand the secret of the spell, once I had it became an easy spell to cast.


    Taking my time and ignoring everything else around me I drew the nine runes to form a circle. The trick to the runes is they had to be drawn larger with thicker strokes giving me the ability to pour more energy into the spell when it was finished.


    As I finished the last rune the entire spell flashed signalling that the spell was completed successfully. The circle of runes began to glow a faint blue creating a disk in the air in front of me. Then I felt the drain on my energy as the spell started to pull on me to fuel itself. As soon as I felt the draw I also felt energy start to flood into me. Looking around I saw Zephirah watching the wisp like a hawk eyeing its prey. I had no idea what she wanted the wisp for, but I had no reason to stop either. I was certain it was the wisp that had attracted the cobra to my farm.


    With the energy flooding into me from the core I channeled it into the rune spell then cast it out towards the wisp, it might sound amazing but its actual appearance looked like I was throwing a frisbee. I might not have cast spells before, but it certainly wasn''t my first time with a frisbee.


    I missed. I forgot the wisp wasn''t a stationary target. It saw the spell coming an dodged behind the cobra to avoid my spell.


    "Performance issues, a sense of superiority once you are able to get going, and bad aim! You are every woman''s nightmare!" Zephirah yelled at me.


    I glared at the sprite angrily effectively shutting her up when she realized she had gone too far.


    The spell wasn''t a one time use. As long as I could continue to feed energy into it I could control it with my mind. I had missed on the first cast, but as I summoned it back I caught the wisp from behind. It never even sensed the danger. As soon as the wisp was inside the circle of runes the runes shifted to form a sphere around the wisp, three runes to form the top, three to form the bottom, and three around the middle, all constantly circling around the wisp to keep it in the cage. With a hard mentall pull I dragged the rune cage that had captured the wisp inside the barrier before the cobra could be used to rescue it.


    With the wisp trapped in the rune cage and inside the barrier I thought the snake would give up on its attack on us. Instead it redoubled its effort as it threw itself at the barrier with all of its strength making me wonder if it was trying to kill itself against my barrier.


    "What the hell?!" Zephirah yelled.


    "Stupid sprite, that is my soul beast. It won''t stop until you are dead!" a high pitched voice yelled excitedly from inside the rune cage.


    I stared at the wisp for a moment. It was nothing more than a green light floating around inside the sphere of runes that formed the rune cage. I had thought it might be something like Zephirah but smaller, but it seems I was wrong.


    Another stronger strike on the barrier caused me to look up at the cobra. I could see that the cobra wasn''t giving any concern to its own health, several of the scales on its head had cracked and were oozing blood. I didn''t see any changes in the barrier but I was still nervous. If the cobra kept up as it was it would probably kill itself on my barrier giving us the chance to absorb its corpse afterwards. I wasn''t sure how useful that would be, but I knew it would be beneficial. I just didn''t know which would last longer, the cobra or the barrier.


    I looked to Zephirah who was glaring at the wisp. "Zeph?" I called to her.


    Zephirah looked at me then back at the wisp hesitantly. "The barrier will hold, but it will be weak afterwards. It will repair itself with time, but it will take a long time for that kind of damage to be fixed. Time we can''t afford." she told me simply.


    I nodded then made a decision. I drew three runes quickly, once the last was finished they flashed then entered my left arm. I reached into the rune cage with my left arm and caught the wisp in my hand then began to squeeze. It wasn''t the kindest way to kill the wisp, but I was still hoping I wouldn''t have too. Zephirah wouldn''t have told me to capture the wisp if she just wanted to kill it. So there had to be another option I wasn''t aware of. I hoped the wisp would give in, but killing it was still an option. If the cobra was its soul beast it should be affected by its death.


    "Going to need more strength than that." the wisp mocked me.


    I smiled though I knew the wisp couldn''t see me. I was still getting energy from the dungeon, energy I no longer needed to fuel the rune cage now that I had caught the wisp. Which is what the runes were for. I poured energy into the rune enhancers I put into my arm then squeezed harder.


    The wisp giggled like I was tickling it so I put even more energy into my arm. Finally the wisp stopped giggling. The cobra also stopped attacking my barrier. Instead it eyed me hatefully.


    Being stared at by a snake that size was disconcerting. It wasn''t big enough to swallow me whole, but biting my head off still seemed to be a possibility. I squeezed the wisp a little bit tighter, hoping to get some kind of reaction from it. The cobra was freaking me out a bit, or a lot.


    "What do you want?" the high pitched voice finally asked from inside my hand. It sounded pitiful and scared. I refused to be swayed though, just moments ago it had laughed at my attempts to squish it while cheering the idea that its cobra was going to kill us.


    "Allegiance!" Zephirah stated smugly.


    "Fuck off slut, like hell I am going to help you become a queen!" the wisp yelled angrily so I squeezed a bit tighter getting a painful yelp from the wisp.


    The cobra hissed at me in response to the wisps pain. I could see the anger and hate in the serpent''s gaze but I ignored it, the pair of them wanted to kill us, they had attacked us, not the other way around. Thinking of that I met the serpent''s gaze and gave the wisp another squeeze, daring it to hiss at me again.


    I can''t say it was the best decision I have ever made, but I was tired, so very tired of being manipulated and forced against my will. The company, Vanessa, her recruiter, even Zephirah, all of them wanted something from me and all I wanted was to go home and put my life back together. Instead I was here on this world, wherever it was, facing off against a pissed of serpent and a snarky wisp.


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    I let all that frustration and anger show as I stared down the serpent. I gathered mana into my hand in preparation to form a rune and end the serpent, I might not be able to create complex spells, but the amount of energy Zephirah was providing to me, I was sure I could overload a simpler spell enough to kill the beast.


    Meeting a serpent''s gaze was fucking scary. It was an apex predator with its own intelligence and oozed confidence and might. Plus it looked at me like I was nothing more than a meal waiting to be digested. Despite all of that, I didn''t flinch away from it. I held its gaze and refused to let it intimidate me. Having the barrier between us, and the confidence to kill it, helped immensely.


    Finally after several minutes the serpent turned its gaze away and lowered its head down to the ground. I thought for a moment that it would slither off and abandon the wisp. Instead the snake pressed its head against the barrier. It didn''t slam against it like it had before but pressed against it gently.


    ----------------------------------------------------


    Emerald Cobra offers allegiance! Will you accept Emerald Cobra''s allegiance?


    ----------------------------------------------------


    I stared at the serpent for several long moments. ''Zephirah?'' I thought to my sprite.


    "Do it!" she replied excitedly.


    I mentally accepted the Emerald Cobra''s allegiance.


    The green cobra began to glow with a white light then shrank into an orb that flew towards me before landing in my right hand. I looked down and was astonished to find a palm sized sphere. Its top half was red, the bottom half was white, while a silver circle sat between the two halves.


    I stared at the orb completely dumbfounded. I just couldn''t believe what I was seeing, was this a fusion of farming and capture games? It had to be, there was a fucking pokeball in my hand.


    Zephirah started to snicker, then after a moment she burst into loud nearly hysterical belly laughs as she rolled around in the air. "Your face ...heavens¡­..that is ...priceless." she gasped out between bursts of laughter.


    I stared at her confused then looked back down at the orb in my hand only to see that it didn''t look like a pokeball anymore. Instead the orb was a clear crystal with and image of the emerald cobra resting inside coiled up tightly with only its head protruding from its coils to stare up at me. It took me a few moments to realize that my sprite had somehow pranked me.


    I gave her a glare but she didn''t notice as she continued to laugh her little heart out.


    Even Vanessa who was still clinging to my back chuckled a little then tightened her grip on me hugging me tighter. Now that the danger had passed, I could feel the soft press of two mounds against my back. The thought of those pressed up against me distracting me from even Zephriah''s laughter. I was about to turn around and finish the conversation we were having earlier and maybe even figure out exactly what kind of relationship we had, when the wisp spoke up reminding me of its presence.


    "What happened?!" the wisp in my grip screeched out in a panic.


    "You just became useless." Zephirah cheered happily as she flew over to my fist peering at it with a hungry look. I had no idea how she had shifted from her boundless laughter to hungry predator in the blink of an eye. Yet there it was. Zephirah eyed my hand like I had the best kind of treat hidden inside of it.

 17 Chapter 17 - Location

    "So what is going on?" I asked Zephirah.


    "You just gained a powerful guardian. We can figure out its specifics later.." Zephirah replied unhelpfully.


    I glared at the sprite but she was completely focused on my hand that held the wisp.


    "You can let it go now." Zephirah told me.


    I released my hold on the wisp but kept it in the rune cage. The wisp floated around within the circle of runes, I got the feeling that it was looking around then froze as it noticed the cobra orb in my other hand. "Traitor!" it yelled at the orb.


    "I am not a traitor, you forced that bond upon me and nearly got me killed." a monotone voice emerged from the orb in my hand surprising me so much that I nearly dropped it. I stared at the cobra orb in shock. The image hadn''t moved but it was obvious it was aware of what was happening around it.


    "Of course the snake can talk." I grumbled as I sat down a bit overwhelmed by everything that had happened. Vanessa followed me down shifting a bit so she was leaning onto my shoulders then wrapped her arms around my neck her head pressed into the side of my neck. I was starting to get a little curious about her sudden need for physical contact. Not that I minded it.


    "Hang in there husband, don''t go falling apart on me now." Zephirah said flying over to float in front of me while Vanessa clung onto me tighter briefly making me wonder if she was going to start strangling me.


    "I''m fine Zeph, just a bit tired, and you have a lot of questions to answer." I told her.


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    Zephirah eyed me for a moment then nodded. "Sure thing, but it will have to wait for later." she told me.


    "Eventually later is going to become now." I warned her.


    Zephirah gave me a cheeky grin then flew over to face the green wisp in the rune cage. "So any last words?" she asked the wisp with an evil smirk.


    "Fuck off bitch!" the wisp responded in its odd high pitched voice.


    Zephirah lost her smile then zipped into the rune cage faster than my eyes could follow. By the time I realized she had even moved she had the wisp in both of her hands the wisp pressed against her mouth. Before I could question what she was doing she seemed to slurp the wisp into her mouth like a juice pouch. When the last of the wisp disappeared into her mouth she swallowed and gave out a contented sigh. I felt a tingle in the back of my head. Concentrating on that odd sensations I had been feeling I realized it was my connection to Zephirah and through her the dungeon. Through that link I could feel that Zephirah had become a lot stronger. However I was worried. "Won''t that harm the cobra?" I asked while staring down at the orb. "Didn''t it say they were soul bound?"


    "It did, but you shouldn''t believe everything you hear from a wisp." Zephirah replied. "If they had really been soul bound it could have never offered its allegiance to you. Besides soul pacts take an enormous amount of energy to forge." Zephirah reassured me.


    "Instead I would guess it was a powerful slave bond. Still strong but less expensive."


    "Yes." the cobra replied simply from the orb.


    "Told you!" Zephirah said excitedly.


    I was a bit surprised that it could offer allegiance while in a slave bond, but chose not to investigate it at the moment. I looked up at Zephirah only to realize that her increase in strength had come with an increase in size. Instead of being three inches tall. She was currently a full foot in height. She resembled a winged barbie as she floated around my head, impressively enough she seemed to have an even bigger rack then the iconic doll. Thankfully her clothes also seemed to grow with her. Even if it looked painted on.


    "Master, would you like to claim my serpent gem?" the cobra asked me from inside the orb.


    "A serpent gem! Seriously! Lucky!" Zephirah cheered and zipped around happily. Through my connection with her I could feel her excitement and get an inkling that a serpent gem was a very good thing for us. Now if I could just get her to explain why.


    "And what use is it?" I asked Zephirah hoping for an actual answer I could understand.


    Zephirah glanced at me, our eyes meet, I could see and feel her mind working as she tried to determine how much she should tell me. I couldn''t feel any malicious intent from her, instead I had the feeling she was afraid of overwhelming me with everything. However even if it was for my own benefit I didn''t think it was a good idea to hold back, not now.


    Before I could voice my opinion, which was technically redundant as I was sure she had already read my mind, Vanessa started to sob into my neck and she held onto me tighter.


    I was surprisedthen realized I was an idiot. Of course Vanessa wasn''t trying to get physical with me while we were in a battle. She was scared. I realized that her sudden need for contact made a lot more sense if she was frightened and seeking comfort from the only person who could provide it.


    I set the orb on the ground beside me then twisted and grabbed a hold of her then brought her around to sit on my lap all the while making soothing sounds.


    Instead of calming her Vanessa started to cry even harder and she clung onto me like a life preserver in a stormy ocean.


    "SHHH, it''s alright now, everything is fine." I reassured her then glanced up to Zephirah hoping for some kind of clue as to what was going on.


    Zephirah looked just as confused as I felt.


    "SHHH, calm down, tell me what''s wrong." I tried a different tactic. "We can fix it, but you have to tell me what is wrong? Are you afraid of snakes?" I asked grasping at straws.


    That seemed to help as she stopped sobbing then started laughing. Finally after a few minutes of laughing she was able to calm down. "No I am not scared of snakes." Vanessa finally replied as she let go and looked me in the eyes. Her beautiful eyes were red from all the crying and she had a desperate look to her. I had a feeling I had underestimated her reaction, she hadn''t been scared, instead she had been out right terrified.


    "What is it then?" I asked her.


    Vanessa gave me a sad smile. "We are doomed. You and Zephirah will die, I will be sold off to a pervert, and your ex will probably be ransomed to her enemies, and there is nothing we can do to stop it." she told me in a sorrowful tone while looking helpless.


    I frowned, I could understand most of that. "What about Melissa? She isn''t even here." asked confused that one thing didn''t seem to fit with the others.


    Vanessa leaned forward and kissed me briefly. "I liked you, but I didn''t chose you for this. As I was saying earlier, I am not a normal Gemini, my recruiter has watched over every part of my training and placement for fear someone would realize what I am and take me for themselves before he could take me away. During that process he saw you, or more specifically, your ex. He recognized her for who she really was. So he had me choose you so he could use your disappearance to get close to her in hopes of kidnapping her."


    "Why? What could he get from kidnapping a woman from my world?" I asked perplexed and uncomfortable.


    Vanessa leaned into my chest and hugged me tight. "I hate to be the one to tell you, but none of the people around you are normal. Your ex is a refuge from another world hiding out while her family deals with an internal civil war." she told me.


    I stared down at the top of Vanessa''s head trying to figure out what she meant.


    "Sorry husband, while I know you are still a bit obsessed, and when I say a bit, I mean a lot, with your EX." Zephirah said emphasizing the Ex. She isn''t here, so it doesn''t matter. What did you mean by the fact that we are doomed?" Zephirah interrupted.


    I glared at the little sprite and wanted to retort but Zephirah was being very serious. I could see and feel it.


    Vanessa shivered in my lap. "I already told you that my recruiter moved your location so that the observation equipment wouldn''t be here when he came for me. I have no idea how he did it, but he did." Vanessa replied.


    "Yeah, got that part, given what I know of the company it wouldn''t be too hard. Grease the right palms and he could have walked out of the company with my core in hand. Greedy bastards." Zephirah replied.


    "Normally the company sends cores to one of the first three tier locations depending on which crops they want to focus on." Vanessa responded sitting up again and meeting my gaze before looking to Zephirah, then finally to the cobra''s orb. "Tell them what tier this location is." she told the orb.


    The orb was silent for a few moments, I was about to repeat the request when the cobra replied. "Seventh." it replied in the same monotone voice it had always used, but I felt I heard a hint of uncertainty in its voice.


    "Seventh!" Zephirah screamed then began to fly around in frantic circles as she tried to come up with plans. Her mind was a mess, and while I couldn''t read her mind I was getting better at feeling it. Her mind was in panic mode.


    I sat and waited for a few moments, but it seemed Zephirah wouldn''t calm down any time soon.


    "So what is this about locations? What are the tiers?" I finally asked Vanessa.


    Zephirah stopped in the midst of her then flew straight into my face only an inch away. It was far too hard to focus on her with her that close so I leaned forward and kissed her stomach which was right in front of my lips.


    Zephirah giggled. "Flirt." she laughed effectively calming down. A moment later she sighed. "I forget you know nothing about this place or what is going on." she grumbled.


    "I am sure you do that on purpose." I replied.


    Zephirah ignored me.


    "The cores are sent out to potential dungeon master in all the world of this realm. The dungeon passes on the information of the dungeon trials, if they agree to participate they bond with the core and are sent into the trial. Depending on their strength and confidence they chose a tier to start in. The higher the tier, the greater the ambient mana, allowing faster dungeon growth. With the increased ambient mana comes greater dangers and more rivals." Vanessa told me.


    "The greater the danger the greater the rewards." Zephirah chimed in then seemed to slump in the air. "But only one dungeon master is able to ''win'' in each trail. The first three tiers have small numbers of competitors, three, five, and seven respectively."


    "What about the seventh?" I asked.


    "Twenty five." Vanessa replied, "and amongst the roaming beasts, our new friend is considered on the weak side."


    The cobra hissed from within the orb.


    "How did you know?" Zephirah finally asked.


    "The descendants of the great serpent do not appear on a trail location lower than the seventh. Their strength and growth potential is too high to be on a lower level. A week or two from now and our new ally would have been able to break through our barrier without issue."


    Zephirah glanced at Vanessa a look of surprise on her face. "I hadn''t thought of that." she admitted.


    Vanessa shrugged. "I learned a lot of the trails in the company and have been wondering which tier he would send me to." she replied. "It had to be somewhere he could reach, yet also a place he didn''t have to worry about the company trying to stop him when he came for me." she replied. "Though I didn''t think he had the ability to come to a seventh tier."


    "Is he?" Zephirah asked suddenly, "Or is his ex more valuable?" she asked.


    Vanessa frowned then shrugged. "I do not know. I only know that she is from one of the great upper world families." she replied.


    I frowned as they used more and more terms I didn''t understand. I could guess a few things. Like the fact that she never revealed herself because the company would be just as bad as her recruiter, and he probably had some leverage on her, probably her family.


    "Does this change anything?" I suddenly asked.


    Both women looked at me.


    "Melissa isn''t here so I can''t worry about her, though I personally believe you are mistaken about her." I told them. "As for the rest, we just have to build our defenses sooner."


    Zephirah sighed then shrugged. "It is our only choice." she admitted then, "By the way, what is your rune rank? Please tell me you are at least a Runic Practitioner!" Zephirah almost seemed to beg.


    "Would that help?" I asked curiously.


    "Of course, the lower tiered ranks focus more on understanding runic then increasing your power. With me supplying the power you can do more than a normal person, you just need the knowledge to use it properly." Zephirah explained.


    I nodded. "I am a Runic Master, one puzzle from becoming a Rune Lord." I replied.


    Everyone was silent for a moment before Vanessa and the cobra started to laugh at me. Obviously they didn''t believe me.

 18 Chapter 18 - Runic Master

    I stared at the beauty in my lap as she laughed at my expense. Not because I was angry at her. No, having a beauty in my arms who was giggling and wiggling around was enough to distract me from any kind of angry thoughts I should be having. Especially as the excessive cleavage her shirt was showing off was practically in my face.


    "Down boy, you can eat the pretty lady later." Zephirah said drawing me back into the now.


    Vanessa was watching me with glittering eyes her face an attractive red as she blushed under my gaze. Feeling embarrassed for my lack of control I avoided her gaze. However I made no move to push her off my lap, and she made no move to get off of me.


    "A bit better, lets try and focus now." Zephirah commented. "Now did you say you were a rune master?" she asked.


    I nodded which caused another round of giggles from Vanessa who stifled them quickly then apologized.


    I sighed then rubbed the bridge of my nose in frustration. "Why does everyone react like that when I tell them my runic rank?" I asked looking to Zephirah.


    "No idea." Zephirah said with a shrug. "I just know you believe it."


    "Because it is impossible." Vanessa explained as she shifted to lean her head on my shoulder. "While it might seem like a game on your world, it isn''t a game. It is a training system that is supposedly created by the same beings who created the dungeon cores, and this trial system."


    "I admit that learning runic to advance in the game was a pain in the ass, but how is it impossible?" I asked as I concentrated on the important information that applied to my situation while ignoring the implication.


    "Firstly, your age. For a world like yours that has almost no mana, and has no history of using runic, it should take decades to understand runic on your own." Vanessa replied. "Secondly the system rewards accomplishments, every time you advance a rank the ''game'' would infuse you with mana to make it easier to sense and use mana. Using your leveling as an example, runic shift would reward you for ranking up by increasing your intelligence, wisdom, and perception stats. The rewards from ranking up to master would give you an aura of power we would be able to discern. You give off the aura of a novice, not a rune master." Vanessa continued.


    I stared at her puzzled, not because I thought she was lying, but wondering why I hadn''t gained the strength she was describing.


    "You have a point, but your point also proves his claim." Zephirah spoke up after a few moments.


    "How so?" Vanessa asked looking away from me which gave me a chance to peak at her cleavage again, a temptation that was hard to resist as they were right there!


    "Pay attention!" Zephirah yelled then sighed, "No better yet, get up, both of you. I might not be able to read your mind girly, but I doubt it is any better than his right now."


    I froze hearing those words then tried to catch Vanessa''s gaze to confirm what Zephirah was saying. However Vanessa avoided my gaze and pushed herself off my lap her face and neck a dark red from embarrassment.


    I was disappointed, but I knew now wasn''t the time. Unfortunately that rationel didn''t help me deal with my desires.


    I stood up a moment later and faced Zephirah who had already continued. "The fact that he has a novice aura proves the fact. Look at that rune cage, that is hardly the work of a novice!" she announced proudly.


    Reminded of the rune cage I wave my hand and canceled the spell.


    Vanessa sighed. "The aura of a master is rhetorical, everyone can sense the strength of those around them unless they are deliberately hiding it, but it isn''t exact. If he isn''t a novice it isn''t a big deal, but I am positive he isn''t a master." she replied.


    "No reason to argue, opening Runic Shift will show us his rank." the cobra said from its orb I had left on the ground.


    The girls froze then looked at the orb then too me. "Why didn''t you think of that?" Zephirah complained.


    "I don''t have my phone." I replied.


    Zephirah groaned while Vanessa smiled at me like I was being funny.


    "Don''t give me that look, Runic Shift was just an app on my phone an hour ago!" I protested angrily.


    "He has a point." Zephirah muttered.


    Vanessa shook her head but didn''t say anything.


    The pair of them stared at me for several moments before I realized they were expecting me to do something.


    "What part of Runic Shift was an app on my phone did you not understand. If I can open the game here without my phone, I have no idea how." I told them irritably.


    The girls exchanged a look, Vanessa was smirking but didn''t say anything while Zephirah looked troubled.


    "Do you remember the opening animation of the game? The ancient stone door and its keyhole?" Vanessa asked me.


    I nodded, no idea why, it was a simple animation, but it had left a deep impression on me.


    "That door is the entryway into the Runic Shift trainer, no matter where you are in this realm you can access Runic Shift by imagining that door. Imagine that door in your mind, then summon your mana as if you were going to draw a rune, but imagine yourself using your finger as a key to the door. The door will read your mana then open the trainer set to you." Vanessa instructed.


    I looked to Zephirah to confirm but she just shrugged. "I am a dungeon sprite we are practically made of mana, I don''t need runes to use mana." she told me.


    I was a bit hesitant but no one put forth any other ways to access Runic Shift so I eventually closed my eyes and imagined the ancient stone door that dominated the opening scene of the game when I played it on my phone.


    I had no idea what I was expecting to happen. It wasn''t anything like what happened. I did as I was instructed, even though I felt stupid doing it. As I imagined the door in my mind, the large blue stone that looked large and intimidating covered in ancient runes spells so small and intricate that I couldn''t make out the details of the spells, gems to fuel the spells, and a dark blue crystal set into the center of the door with a key hole cut into the center of the crystal. The door gave a sense of being ancient, but there was no point on the door or its frame that looked worn or aged. As soon as I had the image of the door in my mind I lost control of it. That was the only way I could describe the fact that the image in my mind expanded and shifted on its own accord. The door began to tower over me, at least twenty feet tall, the runes on it became clearer, which only revealed that the door wasn''t as solid as it originally seemed as the runes were layered on top of each other, and the dark blue crystal that seemed to be the centerpiece shifted so that it was at the bottom of the door where I could easily reach it. A larger bright blue crystal took the place of the centerpiece where it glowed faintly.


    I was completely consumed by the image that I didn''t notice anything around me. Following Vanessa''s instruction I channeled the mana into my finger as if I was going to draw a rune then pushed it into the keyhole. I was a bit wary, but as I had already come this far I decided not to chicken out. The dark blue crystal glowed as my finger full of mana entered the hole. Without much thought I twisted my wrist as if I was turning a key in the lock. There was a loud audible click then the dark blue crystal withdrew into the door then the area around the opening receded into the rest of the door until a human sized opening was visible. From the opening a small golden glow shot out of the door straight into my face.


    "Get the hell off my husband bitch!" Zephirah screamed out furiously.


    The image shattered in my mind, only for me to realize that it wasn''t a mental image anymore. The ancient door I had imagined had formed in reality, which is hard to say as the door already seemed to be fading from reality becoming transparent and then vanishing a second later. The only thing left was the golden light that had stuck itself to my left cheek.


    I wondered why Zephirah was getting so angry when the light spot spoke. "Leave me alone, do you have any idea how long I was stuck in there!" a new feminine voice replied.


    I immediately reached out and grabbed the golden light and pulled it away so I could see what in the hell it was.


    "OHH, such big strong hands!" the new voice giggled.


    "Not another pervert." I groaned.


    "I am not a pervert!" Zephirah and the new voice responded together.


    In my hand I found a three inch tall woman wearing a silver dress. Like Zephirah when I first met her, she was beautiful despite her tiny size. This one had long platinum blonde hair that reached down to her toes, an explosive figure, angelic features, and bright amethyst colored eyes that shone like the gem they resembled. On her back were a pair of pure white, gossamer thin, butterfly wings.


    Zephirah appeared by my hand glaring at the new girl. "What the fuck?! Who are you and why are you clinging to my husband?!"she asked angrily.


    "Calm down, this is why no one like sprites." the new girl complained from my hand then her white wings began to glow gold and she floated up off my palm. "Apologies for the late introduction master, mistress. I am Lilian, I shall be your rune trainer from this point on."


    "What?!" Vanessa screamed from the side.


    We all looked over at her in confusion. "A rune trainer? Do not lie! Runic Shift doesn''t assign trainers!" she accused angrily.


    "It does to those who are accomplished. Learning Runic to the level of master, on his own, with no help from a teacher, in only fourteen years, is certainly considered to be an accomplishment." Lilian responded.


    "So he really is a Rune Master?" Vanessa asked her anger fading into shock.


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    "Yes, he has surprised my superiors to no end." Lilian replied. "Though given the fact that he has finally gained access to mana, he will be aRune Lord soon." she said excitedly.


    "And you are here for what?" Zephirah asked obviously still irritated.


    "I am here to initiate the transformation, then impart the knowledge he will need to know to decide his course as he advances in the noble ranks." Lilian replied.


    "Doesn''t he need to pass a test still?" Vanessa asked.


    "Ignore her, what are you going to do after that?" Zephirah asked.


    Lilian looked from Zephirah to Vanessa then back. "That would be up to master and mistress. If my presence is no longer desired I will return, if master and mistress would like, I can transfer my allegiance to mistress." she said calmly, but as she spoke I could see her cheek twitching as she said it. Obviously she didn''t seem to like the idea. Then she turned to face me with a big smile.


    Trouble, all I could see was trouble.


    Lilian frowned as she looked up at me then looked to Zephirah. "What is wrong with him?" she asked.


    I frowned.


    "He is repressed." Zephirah replied irritably.


    "Couldn''t you have handled that? With your size you should be able to do it with your arms. He can''t be any longer than you and a bath is hardly a bad price to pay for his comfort." Lilian asked.


    "Horny Fairy." Zephirah cursed. "Though you should know I gained this size after devouring a wisp." she added with an evil smirk.


    Lilian shuddered. "Barbaric!" she cursed at Zephirah then paled as she stared at Zephirah her pale skin turning white as a sheet.


    "Now you get it. I am a dungeon sprite, I am not nearly as civilized as my runic brethren." Zephirah told her with an evil grin eyeing the fairy like she was a tasty meal.


    "Done scaring her yet?" I asked Zephirah. "And what is this about me being repressed?" I asked.


    "You should start that transformation now." Zephirah told Lilian. "We are in a bit of a time crunch."


    "I see, prepare yourself master." Lilian told me flying up so she was even with my eyes.


    "Why?" I asked suspiciously while I cursed Zephirah for her secrets.


    "It''s going to hurt." Liliamn replied

 19 Chapter 19 - Mana Rebirth

    It was an understatement. It didn''t hurt, that word didn''t even come close to the pain I experienced after Lilian bathed me in a bright golden light. I had no idea what it did, and honestly after a few seconds I couldn''t care even if I wanted too. My blood began to burn like it was on fire, my heart felt like it exploded, and that was only the beginning. I would expect I was screaming but it hurt too much for me to have any idea of what was happening around me.


    Minutes, hours, days, I had no idea how long it lasted, time was merely a concept I couldn''t understand through the pain. Every single part of my body felt like it was being burned, regrown, and then burned again, over and over, in the most painful way possible. The only thing I wished for was the pain to end.


    After a while the pain from my skin, muscles, and organs started to decrease and I thought for a brief moment that it was finally over. But I was mistaken. My bones were next, the lose and regrowth of my bones was even more painful and contained the unsettling sensation of being unable to support myself in those moments between the burning of my bones and their regrowth. How I could feel that amidst the pain is unknown to me yet it felt so wrong and uncomfortable that it was able to pierce the haze of pain that was my mind. As that pain finally eased I feared that there would be another step I hadn''t considered that would wipe away my hope that this ordeal was finally over. I had though, all but one of my organs had been through the burning and regrowing torture. After the bones it was time for my brain, and when it caught on fire then seemed to explode within my skull I blacked out.


    When I woke up my head was laying on Vanessa''s thighs.


    "He''s awake." Zephirah called out.


    Vanessa peered down at me from over her impressive bust and gave me a smile. "Feel better?" she asked.


    "I feel like I was ripped apart, burned to ashes, regrown in the most painful fashion, only to rinse and repeat." I replied, my throat felt hoarse as if I hadn''t had anything to drink for days.


    "It''s still there." Lilian spoke up as she appeared by Vanessa''s shoulder looking down at me.


    I had a clear view up the fairy''s dress, but it did nothing for me. Maybe it was because she was only three inches tall.


    "It''s just the residual stuff. Should be gone by morning." Zephirah replied though I had no idea what they were talking about.


    "Answers." I stated without moving. Vanessa''s lap was rather comfortable, and I didn''t trust myself to move yet. Everything felt off, maybe that wasn''t the best way to put it, but I didn''t feel like I had before the pain.


    "We don''t actually have time for that." Zephirah replied while staying out of my view.


    "Why?" I asked stubbornly.


    "Your transformation took several hours. We need to make an appearance to explain what took so long, that or Vanessa''s evil recruiter is going to think you picked her cherry already." Zephirah replied.


    I considered that for a moment then shook my head. "Not good enough." I replied.


    "Huh?" Zephirah askedfloating into my view as she stared down at me. She frowned for a moment as she read through my thoughts. "But¡­" she said then stopped.


    "We can''t keep operating as we have. We can''t afford too if this is really a tier seven trial right?" I asked hesitantly. I didn''t really understand what it all meant. Just that it was a lot more dangerous here.


    "What about my family?" Vanessa asked worriedly.


    So it was her family. I had expected it but it was different hearing it confirmed. What kind of a bastard was her recruiter? More importantly, I didn''t want to put her family at risk. "Fine we can head down and tell fake Candice what is going on, but I want answers as we plant the next set of crops." I said sitting up then glaring at Zephirah.


    "What of my serpent gem?" the cobra asked from its orb.


    I jumped a bit as I had forgotten about it. Which caused a round of giggles from all the girls.


    "What is it for?" I asked as I stood up then reached down and retrieved the cobra orb.


    "It gives us access to create serpent minions. If we can grow its strength we can make serpent guardians, and maybe some stronger beings." Zephirah replied.


    I nodded a bit relieved that Zephirah was willing to give me a straight answer.


    ''I am doing this for you. If you knew everything you would probably curl up in the corner and cry like a two year old.'' Zephirah told me mentally.


    I rolled my eyes and ignored her. This place had turned out to be so much more than what it seemed to be. Reluctantly I sat up then very slowly stood up.I seemed fine at first then I tried to turn and head for the portal to the lower level but I lost my balance and stumbled, falling down to my knees. My head throbbed for a moment before it passed.


    "You are going to feel a bit unsteady and disoriented from the transformation. Your stats have shifted considerably, and it will take a little while for you to adjust to it." Lilian chimed in.


    "Could have told me that sooner." I grumbled.


    "Yeah, I could have." Lilian replied as she started to fly around me lazily.


    "Why don''t you impart all that knowledge you are here for. I am getting a bit hungry." Zephirah suggested.


    Lilian froze in mid flight her complexion turning sheet white again. "It would be better to wait until he has adjusted to the changes in his body." Lilian replied meekly.


    I groaned then stood back up only to fall back down to my knees when my sight started to become blurry. Both Zephirah and Lilian seemed to be exuding waves of light from them which caused my head to hurt. What the hell was wrong with me?


    "Status." I called out.


    ----------------------------------------------------


    Name: Jason


    Level: 4


    Available Points: 5


    Strength: 15


    Agility: 16


    Vitality: 16


    Fortitude: 15


    Intelligence: 21


    Wisdom: 21


    Perception: 23


    Dexterity: 16


    Luck: 18


    Charm: 14


    Bloodline: Carbuncle 3%


    Mana Sight


    Resistant to negative status effects


    ----------------------------------------------------


    "Holy Shit!" I exclaimed in surprise. No wonder I was feeling so off. I had gained thirteen levels worth of stat points in a couple of hours.


    "What?" Vanessa asked concerned.


    "My stats jumped up, a lot!" I replied.


    "Of course they did. Did you think you went through all that pain for nothing?" Lilian asked.


    "What was that exactly?" I asked her.


    "Mana rebirth. All those who reach Mana Lord have to go through it. It grants increase in all stats by five, at least with your system, and gives you mana sight." she told me.


    "My intelligence, wisdom, and perception went up by ten." I told her.


    "One point each per rank increase." Lilian explained.


    I frowned. Five points in three stats? How is that the aura of a master?" I asked as I tried to distract myself as I adjusted to my new stats.


    "Maybe I didn''t explain the aura very well." Vanessa spoke out.


    "Maybe?" I asked.


    "Hey, I was more than a little shocked by everything." Vanessa defended herself.


    I sighed, "Alright, so what did you forget?" I asked.


    "Firstly you will have another transformation when you reach level five." Vanessa told me.


    "What?!" I asked in a panic. The last one was horrible, I wasn''t ready to go through another one.


    Vanessa giggled at my reaction. "Don''t worry, the transition from novice warrior to apprentice warrior isn''t nearly as bad as what you just went through." she reassured me.


    "Huh?" I asked confused.


    Vanessa smiled at me as she kneeled down beside me. "Like the runic system, your leveling system has ranks. With each rank up you will get rewarded. Reaching level five is where you transition from a novice to an apprentice. Which is why the newbie shield disappears at level five, as you aren''t a newbie anymore. When you become an apprentice you will gain aura sense. Which was what I was talking about earlier. How it works is by sensing two things, a person''s level, and their actual strength. It isn''t exact, but for someone of a higher level it can be very accurate on a telling


    a level. As I am a level eight I can easily tell that you are a level four. The aura I was talking about is how much stronger you are than your actual level. With each increase in runic rank you gain stat points outside of your level. A Rune Master would have three entire levels worth of stats above their own level. I wasn''t able to sense that much power from you." Vanessa explained. "However now I can easily sense your Mana Lord aura." she added then frowned and looked up at Lilian. "Did he get more points in charm?"


    "Are you asking if he got more handsome?" Lilian asked with a chuckle.


    "He does seem more handsome." Zephirah commented.


    Lilian sighed, "Spoil sport. He is more handsome, there isn''t much of a bonus, but for those who have a high clear rate in the common ranks, the will receive an increase to charm and luck along with the normal stats." Lilian replied.


    "Those aren''t normally included?" I asked.


    Lilian shook her head. "No, charm and luck are special stats, it is difficult to increase them. Next time you have free points you can try and put them in there." Lilian told me.


    "Are you saying I can''t increase them?" I asked.


    "No, she is trying to trick you. You can increase them, but they take double the points to increase." Zephirah interrupted with a glare at the fairy.


    Lilian just giggled and floated around carelessly.


    "Wait! You never explained how he was already ready to become a mana lord! Didn''t he still have a test to pass?" Vanessa asked.


    "Huh? Oh, no, he just thought he did because he didn''t advance when he passed it." Lilian replied.


    "I passed it?" I asked confused.


    Lilian nodded. "I get the feeling that you don''t know this, but you don''t have to finish each of the puzzles in the trainer at one hundred percent. As long as you get about eighty percent of it done you can advance. Even though the last test wasn''t designed to be done with your phone, you were still able to finish eighty two percent of the puzzle, test, whatever you want to call it. You didn''t advance because there is a second requirement of having access to mana to advance and go through mana rebirth. Until now you didn''t qualify. Though your really high scores got you the luck and charm award, so at least your effort wasn''t worthless." Lilian explained lazily.


    "Then why didn''t I advance when I gained access to mana?" I asked.


    Lillian sighed. "Fine three requirements, tests, mana, and currently accessing Runic Shift." she elaborated.


    I took a deep breath but I still felt a bit unsettled so I looked at Lilian. "And what kind of knowledge do you have for me?" I asked.


    "An explanation and a compatibility test, both should help you understand the differences between the common ranks that deal with comprehending runic, and the noble levels that focus on increasing you power." she replied hesitantly.


    "As long as you are truthful with me and do not cause any trouble I will not let Zephirah consume you." I told the fairy though if she kept toying with me I might reconsider.


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    "Jason!" Zephirah complained.


    "NO!" I told her. "She was sent here to help me, and I have no intentions of pissing off whoever sent her." I replied.


    "You wouldn''t say that if you knew the mana races worked." Zephirah grumbled.


    "And whose fault it that?" I asked her.


    Zephirah flinched then seemed to deflate a bit. "Fine, I get it, I will explain, just not right now. Maybe tomorrow." she told me.


    "Why not tonight?" I asked.


    Zephirah gave me a look like I was being stupid. "You need to learn about that mana stuff, we need to discuss how the dungeon needs to change and expand, the minions and guardians, plus how we will deal with the recruiter and the fake Candice. Do you want to add the dynamics of the mana races?" she asked.


    I hesitated then shook my head. "No." I replied.


    Zephirah nodded then sighed. "Good, now are you feeling better yet?" she asked.


    I took a deep breath then tried to stand up. My body seemed to have adjusted to the changes. I felt stronger than I ever had before, which made sense. I was still a bit unsteady, but now it was because I was too strong. I moved too fast or put too much strength into my step. My body had adjusted to the change, but now I needed to relearn my body.


    "I am feeling much better" I replied giving the sprite a smile.

 20 Chapter 20 - Pervert Fairy

    Glancing around I could see farther and with greater detail than I ever had before. Beyond the barrier I could see more of the mice and slimes moving through the tall grass, but they all were avoiding my farm. My farm and a couple of furry figures far off in the distance. I had no idea what they were but they weren''t heading in my direction so I didn''t bother to worry about them.


    I could also see the energy coming off of Zephirah and Lilian, and to a lesser extent waves of multicolored clouds that covered everything. I would think I was tripping on something if I hadn''t seen the mana sight in my status. That energy was probably the mana each exuded, as well as the ambient mana I had heard Zephirah comment on before.


    "You can turn it off with a thought." Lilian told me helpfully.


    I glanced at her then tried to turn it off with a thought. As soon as I did my vision returned to normal. I nodded a bit relieved, the ambient mana wasn''t very bright, but it was like looking at the world through a haze. Out of curiosity I turned the mana sight back on then thought about controlling it to only see mana stronger than the ambient.


    It took a second but my vision cleared while the energy around Zephirah and Lilian remained.


    "Alight lets head back down." I told them.


    Everyone nodded, but as I took a step towards the portal I heard a loud ''ding'' sound.


    "What was that?" I asked Zephirah.


    ''That item I ordered for Vanessa arrived.'' Zephirah mentally replied.


    I hesitated for a moment, I didn''t want to keep secrets from any of them, but I wasn''t completely sure what the item was for, and with Zephirah it could be anything. ''What is it for?'' I asked mentally.


    ''You''ll see later. If I told you, you would give it away.'' Zephirah replied mentally.


    I frowned at the sprite.


    ''Trust me on this husband, it is necessary.'' she reassured mentally.


    I still wasn''t completely sure why, but I did trust Zephirah. Probably because of the bond between us, I knew she wanted what was best for the both of us, even if I didn''t agree with her methods. Being left in the dark was difficult.


    "Problem?" Vanessa asked me concerned.


    I shook my head. "Just arguing with Zephirah again." I replied with a sigh then looked back to the portal to the lower floor. "Come on, let''s go deal with the fake Candice."


    I was reluctant to face the fake Candice, not because I was afraid of messing up and endangering Vanessa''s family, though that did add a lot of stress all on its own. Instead I hated the fact that someone was using my sister''s appearance to fool me. I wanted to reveal their deception and¡­ I wasn''t sure what else I could do, they weren''t anywhere where I could reach them, but the whole thing still angered me.


    Going through the portal I arrived at the lower floor and shivered. Looking around I was astonished to see that the blue grass was nearly waist high. The fact that it was growing well was a good thing of course, but I underestimated the plants again. The blue grass put off a chill, that made it feel like winter. I shivered again then quickened my pace towards the house. As I went I glanced at the silver shamrock I had planted by the blue grass. While the blue grass was growing well, the silver shamrock beside the blue grass was dead. The plants more than one tile away from the blue grass was still fine which left me with a single tile of silver shamrock left, and the ten tiles of amber mint. I was a bit disappointed that the silver shamrock died, but realized I shouldn''t have been surprised. I encircled the winter vine with blue grass for the chilling effect but didn''t even consider what effect it would have on the other plants around it.


    "Huh, looked like you are missing a green thumb or two." Lilian commented as she got a look at my farm.


    I gave the fairy a glare then ignored her as I reached the house. Farther away from the blue grass the chill wasn''t so bad, but it was still enough that the whole floor was colder than it should have been.


    I stopped right outside of the door before turning to look back at everyone. "What are we willing to tell them, and what do we need to hide?" I asked looking to Zephirah. I doubted we were going to tell them that I had figured out the orb and bonded the real dungeon. Explaining Lilian could be difficult to, we didn''t want to tip our hand to Vanessa''s recruiter. The weaker he thought I was the better.


    "I am soooo not staying out here in the cold." Lilian told me while shivering.


    Zephirah was shivering too as she seemed to think. "We were keeping an eye on the large number of beasts, then Vanessa introduced you to Runic Shift, having mana let you have an epiphany and race through the tests fast enough that you were awarded your own fairy trainer." Zephirah replied after a few moments. "I can take the orb in and keep it hidden with me."


    I stared at Zephirah completely shocked.


    "What?" she asked as she shivered.


    "That is actually a really good idea." I replied then looked to Vanessa who nodded.


    Zephirah frowned. "You don''t have to seem so surprised!" she grumbled angrily.


    I just shrugged then passed the orb to Zephirah, she grabbed onto it but I didn''t release it immediately, given their sizes I had trouble believing she had a good hold on it but she just glared at me so I let go.


    Thankfully she didn''t drop the orb.


    Now that we were all set I opened the door and went inside. Immediately I breathed out a sigh of relief as the warmth of the house washed over me.


    We all filed in with Vanessa bringing up the rear and closing the door behind her.


    As we had expected the fake Canidce appeared by the core controller as soon as the door closed. Scarily the fake Candice had picked out an outfit that perfectly matched my sister''s tastes. A light blue long sleeve shirt that hugged her chest and upper arms tightly but flared out at the elbows. No idea what the style was called, or the point of it, but it was something I had seen her wear before. In fact almost every move and look mimicked Candice perfectly. Except that hungry look she got in her eyes when she looked at me. I had no idea what kind of relationship the fake thought we had, but that alone was enough to remind me, she was a fake, no matter how well she acted.


    "Hey guys! How did it go?" she asked sounding cheerful while she eyed Vanessa carefully.


    "Mice, a lot of frickin giant mice." I groaned aloud. I didn''t have to act much, the flood of mice at the barrier still freaked me out a bit.


    "Mice?" fake Candice asked surprised.


    I nodded. "Fuckin swarm of them came at the barrier while we were up there. Scared the shit out of Vanessa." I replied.


    Fake Candice gave Vanessa a reassuring smile. "Is the barrier alright?" she asked worriedly.


    I nodded. "Yeah it held, but I reached level three already." I replied then flopped down on the bed.


    "Level three? Already? Must have been a lot of mice!" fake Candice replied. "Oh? Who is this?" she suddenly asked.


    I lifted my head to see Candice looking at Lilian who had been hiding behind Vanessa shyly. Zephirah and the cobra orb had shifted to a position directly underneath the orb, fake Candice didn''t seem to have noticed their presence at all.


    "Trainer fairy." I replied tiredly.


    "Trainer fairy?" Fake Candice asked confused.


    "I introduced Jason to Runic Shift as we waited for the mice horde to pass. He had played before but never did very well." Vanessa explained then smiled at me. "With mana available to him, everything seemed to click in his mind. His words not mine, but he did advance from novice to journeyman in the few hours we were on the surface level."


    "Okay... um so Jason rocked a mini game inside the game." Candice said sounding less than enthused.


    "Its this game''s magic system." I said aloud as if it really was Candice.


    "OHH! Got it, congrats! Must have taken a while to play through that many levels!" fake Candice replied as if she really was a clueless Candice. Whoever the fake was, they were an amazing actress. "Geez, and here I was thinking you were finally getting some action." Candice commented.


    I didn''t need to look to know she was watching our reactions closely.


    "I wish." I grumbled irritably.


    Vanessa giggled. "Not yet, but if he keeps behaving as well as he has been, I might have to think of something to reward him with." Vanessa said using a seductive voice that made me raise my head to look at her before I rolled my eyes.


    "Tease." I accused from the bed getting a giggle from Vanessa and Lilian.


    "Well as long as you are getting along. Anything else to report?" Candice asked.


    "There should bea warning on the blue grass telling users not to plant normal plants beside it." I replied without looking.


    "HMMM, oh, it gives off cold. I can pass up the message, but I doubt they will do anything. It should be a part of the learning experience of the game." fake Candice told me.


    "Great." I groaned.


    "Alright well I am sure you have other crops to plant. I will check up on you guys later!" fake Candice said with a smile then disappeared.


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    "And we are good." Zephirah said. "I am giving them an image of you taking a nap, while Vanessa and Lilian are playing together by the table."


    I didn''t move, honestly a nap sounded amazing right now. Thankfully the fake Candice seemed to accept our explanation, Lilian''s presence seemed to help a bit.


    "So that was your sister?" Lilian asked in a subdued voice.


    "A shape changer using my sister''s appearance." I corrected.


    "She is sooooo hot!" Lilian exclaimed excitedly.


    I raised my head to see Lilian flying around excitedly with a pink tinge to her wings. "I mean did you see that angelic face, those deep dark bottomless blue eyes.."" Lilian started.


    "Lilian." I called out to the fairy.


    "And those breasts, oh my goddess¡­" Lilian continued without hearing me.


    "Lilian!" I called louder.


    "I bet snuggling between those divine puddings would feel incredible!" Lilian continued unabated.


    "LILIAN!" I yelled angrily.


    "Keep it down! I can''t maintain the illusion if you are too loud." Zephirah scolded me seriously though I could see the smirk on her face.


    "What?" Lilian asked calming down.


    "She''s my sister." I declared seriously to Lilian before giving Zephirah a glare.


    "That doesn''t change how hot she is." Lilian replied while Zephirah continued to smirk while ignoring my glare. "Wait!" Lilian yelled then flew up to my face. "Did you ever sleep with her? How was it? I bet it was incredible!" she started ranting.


    "No, she''s my sister!" I yelled both shocked and angered at the suggestion.


    "You don''t look anything alike! Is she your blood sister? Cause if she isn''t¡­.." Lilian started but I interrupted.


    "She isn''t, wait, it doesn''t matter! No Lilian just no!" I told her flustered.


    Lilian was silent for a moment. "What about the shape changer, she just looks like your sister. You could indulge in the taboo of those divine puddings, taste her sweet nectar, and plant your manly seed without ever actually touching your sister!" Lilian gushed quickly the pink on her wings turning into a red and she got even more excited.


    I stared at the little fairy in shock unable to keep up with her thought process.


    "I mean you must have thought about it once, the two of you entwined together in a bed unable to restrain your lusty desires. Maybe it was alcohol, drugs, or you are just unable to resist the temptation anymore, but you push her down, run you hands over her perfect skin, mold those divine puddings in your big strong hands before tasting them. Then when you can''t handle it any more you thrust your immense sausage into her garden full of nectar. The feeling is so divine you lose your reasoning, grunting and thrusting like a beast until you can''t hold back and dump all of your seed into her fertile womb. Then you return to your senses and realize what you''ve done. Soiling the one woman you should have never touched. You worry if she might be pregnant then reassure yourself that you aren''t related by blood so your child will be fine." Lilian finally finished her tirade as she panted her red wings shifting to an even darker shade along with her face and neck.


    "What the hell is wrong with you?" I asked seriously.


    "Seems she spent a bit too much time with the dryads in the fairy woods." Zephirah spoke up looking at the fairy her eyebrow raised in shock.


    "Umm, I am not sure it matters right now, but that shape changer, isn''t a she." Vanessa spoke up.


    The three of us all turn to look at Vanessa in surprise.


    After a moment Lilian breaks the silence. "Does he at least identify as a woman?"

 21 Chapter 21 - There is another option

    There was a long silence after Lilian''s question as we all tried to understand what she meant.


    "Ummm, no I don''t think so?" Vanessa replied uncertainly. "I am not completely sure though. He always freaked me out on the few occasions he was around. I heard from some of the others that he is bisexual, but prefers young lesbian girls."


    "That has to be a real surprise for them." I commented shaking my head.


    "How so? Isn''t it the best of both worlds?" Lilian asked.


    I shook my head. Not for me it wasn''t. I''d be pissed to find that under the skirt. "I am really starting to question your tastes." I commented.


    "How? You know nothing about me?" Lilian asked tilting her head as she looked at me a curious expression on her face.


    "She''s right." Vanessa pointed out.


    "And I find myself wanting to know less and less about her every moment." I replied.


    "Don''t be so judgemental." Vanessa told me.


    "No, be more so, I can eat the fairy if she is annoying you." Zephiria spoke up.


    "I''ll be quiet." Lilian chirped hurriedly.


    Vanessa frowned but didn''t say anything, obviously she wasn''t pleased with me.


    With a groan, I got up off the bed and moved to the orb to look at the crops available to me. I needed to see if any of the ones available could handle the cold from the blue grass. I didn''t want to plant winter vine around the blue grass in case it wasn''t cold enough for it to develop properly. As the information on the plant wasn''t specific on how cold it needed to be for the plant to mature I was leary of experimenting and wasting the money. A plant that put off heat would have been welcome, and probably existed, in fact the red grass that used to be available seemed to have that feature.


    My mind raced in an almost chaotic fashion as I tried to think of a solution to the issue I was having with the crops.


    "Is it even necessary to find a new crop right now?" Zephira asked.


    "They will expect me to plant new crops." I replied.


    "Didn''t you just give them a valid excuse? They can''t see how you planted the crops, or how many tiles are being affected. In fact if you want to save the other plants you should erect a wall, the blue grass isn''t fully grown yet. It might get worse and hurt even more plants." Zephirah told me.


    I paused as I considered that, she might be right, I glanced at the time and calculated from when I planted everything. I had another six or so hours before the blue grass was mature.


    "Also did you consider the fact that the winter vine has a three day growing time? Are you going to leave the blue grass up the whole time? Harvesting it will remove the source of cold and could stunt the growth of the vine." Zephirah added.


    "When did you know so much?" I asked.


    "Not my first rodeo." Zephirah reminded me. "I am the dungeon, I get to see everything that happens inside it, even when the control orb is working properly."


    I nodded. It probably wasn''t her first time working with these plants. "Do you have any suggestions?" I asked.


    "Work on the plants later, we need to expand the dungeon and to do that you need to understand what is different now that we are an official couple.


    Lilian snorted then quickly covered her mouth.


    I sighed. "Anything to add?" I asked the fairy.


    She shook her head a look of fear on her face. I glanced at Vanessa to see her clenching her jaws and avoiding my gaze.


    "You can talk Lilian, just keep your admiration of my sister to yourself." I told the fairy.


    "That was what was bothering you?" Zephirah asked me curiously.


    I shrugged. "Yeah. I don''t care if she likes my sister, but the rest¡­" I said then stopped feeling uncomfortable just remembering her rant. Despite how attractive she was, I had never thought of Candice in that fashion, until Lilian''s little rant. I really didn''t need those mental images in my head.


    "And here I was thinking you were homophobic." Zephirah commented.


    "No you weren''t." I replied.


    "No I wasn''t, but Vanessa obviously was." she pointed out.


    I groaned. "Can we get on with the upgrade and other information I need?" I asked wanting to get away from this subject.


    "Don''t you think it would be a good idea to reassure your girlfriend, fiance, or whatever you want to call her?" Zephirah asked with a smirk.


    "Don''t you want to get to work so we are defended?" I retorted.


    "Just thinking long term." Zephriah replied.


    I glanced around seeing Vanessa watching me closely, Lilian was staring off into space while drooling a bit, I had a bad feeling she was imagining something perverted about Candice. Then again as long as she kept it to herself it should be fine right?


    I looked back to Vanessa meeting her gaze. "I am not bisexual, at all, had a few guys in college hit on me, I didn''t like it. If others like it it''s fine. Knowing the fake Candice is a male is going to creep me out when he gives me that hungry lust filled gaze he thinks Candice must use on me." I said then shivered at the thought.


    Vanessa nodded in thought. "And your thoughts on women together?" Vanessa asked.


    "Same as most men." I replied with a shrug. "The idea is hot, participating would be better."


    Vanessa seemed to relax which made me wonder about her own interests. She flirted with me plenty so I wasn''t worried she was a girls only kind of girl.


    I shook my head to clear it. I didn''t need to get onto that train of thought. Vanessa by herself was already distracting enough, Vanessa with other women...No I had work I needed to get done!


    "So?" I asked Zephirah as I tried to concentrate on work.


    Zephirah gave me mischievous smirk but didn''t comment. I got the feeling she wanted to get the work done too, despite how much fun teasing me would be.


    "Alright. I told you earlier that the control orb caused a lot of my power to be wasted so the company had more control over you." she told me.


    I nodded.


    "Well what that means is our dungeon is supposed to be larger than it is. How should I explain?" she said to herself looking thoughtful.


    "You have a budget for a month of groceries, but they have been wasting half of it on junk food." I offered.


    Zephirah tilted her head then nodded. "Sure that can work. The point is now that we aren''t wasting all that energy on control we can use it to increase the size of our territory." she told me.


    "Territory?" I asked.


    "The space on the surface level that is under our direct control." Zephirah told me.


    "How much larger are we talking?" I asked.


    ''Wellllll¡­." Zephirah said then hesitated. "Before we talk about that, we should discuss the other changes." she told me.


    "And those are?" I asked.


    "One of the orbs functions was to split my mana pool into two parts, one was the mana you could access, which was from the energy you get from the currency, while the other pool is the energy a dungeon usually gathers from the ambient mana and kills. Some of the second pool is used for upkeep, but besides that you had no access to that energy." she told me.


    I frowned as I let that sink in for a minute. So now we have one pool that we can use, which includes ambient mana, mana from currency, and the mana absorbed from the beasts my golems kill?" I asked to be certain.


    "Yep." Zephirah replied happily.


    "What about absorbing mana from other things, like the enchanted blue grass?" I asked.


    "I can, Vanessa was right though, the energy from the currency we would get for selling it would be better. We would get more for it than if we absorb it as is." Zephirah replied.


    I nodded. "Is that the reason you lied to me about needing the company?" I asked her.


    Zephirah froze in the air. Oddly enough despite the fact that her wings stopped moving she didn''t fall down.


    "What do you mean husband?" she asked me warily.


    "You know exactly what I mean." I replied fully aware that she could read my mind and what I was thinking.


    "I don''t." Vanessa spoke up.


    "Zephirah told me we couldn''t cut ties with the company because we needed them, especially for food." I explained.


    "Don''t you?" Vanessa asked.


    "Do the other dungeon masters rely on a company to supply them food while in the trial?" I asked in return.


    Vanessa frowned and didn''t reply.


    ''Plus the item for Vanessa didn''t come from the company, did it?'' I asked Zephirah mentally.


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    Zephirah mentally winced. ''No.'' she replied mentally then sighed.


    "No, we don''t technically need the company now. Though to be fair, I wasn''t lying when I said that we did need the company as I didn''t have access to the alternative yet." Zephirah grudgingly admitted.


    "So why are we keeping contact with them?" I asked.


    Zephirah was silent for a moment, I could feel that her mind was in a flurry. I found it interesting that I couldn''t read her mind, but I was able to tell when she was panicked or giving something a lot of thought.


    "It''s the currency." Zephirah finally admitted. "It is another sustainable source of mana for growth." She told me. "And access to items that the dungeon network isn''t willing to supply."


    "Dungeon network?" I asked.


    Zephirah nodded. "It is a communication network that connects all the various cores. We can communicate and assist each other through it. Upgrades, which the company has already provided me, allow us to trade with each other. Several of the older dungeons offer services to the younger dungeons in the trial, for a price. Food, and other things, can be acquired through them, but they are expensive, the companies network is cheaper." she told me. "Plus the items the company will make available to us later will be useful and impossible to get from the other dungeons." she added.


    "Like what?" I asked.


    "The plants." Zephirah replied.


    "Huh?" I asked confused, "Isn''t the company already offering us plants?"


    "Yes, but not the good ones. They have much better more expensive plants that they would like us to grow, but even the seeds for them are expensive, so they won''t offer them to us until they know we can handle them without killing the plants. Didn''t you just lose a bunch of silver shamrock? They can''t afford for you to make that kind of mistake with these plants." Zephirah told me.


    "Is it the plants you want, or the currency from selling them?" I asked.


    "Both." Zephirah said with a wicked grin. "The company has been missing out on one of the greatest features of a dungeon because the control orb can''t access that part of my ability. Not with its limited access."


    "Get on with it." I said tiredly. Did she really have to drag this out?


    "Energy to material conversion!" Zephirah yelled at me irritably. "If I have a sample of something I can directly make more of it. Just like the golems."


    "But you were able to make the golems." I pointed out "and what about the items you were exposed to with my predecessors?" I asked.


    Zephirah frowned unhappily. "The golems are standard issue and the orb includes those for defensive purposes. I mean new materials. The orb blocks me from getting samples, I am not sure why, and even if it hadn''t, all my material blueprints get erased when I am bonded to a new master. Don''t ask me why or how, I don''t know. The multiple masters thing wasn''t ever supposed to happen, how the orb lets it work I still have no idea. Whoever made them must have been a genius." she told me a bit of admiration showing as she looked at the orb where it floated.


    "Alright, fine, no shortcuts, but you still want access to the plants?" I asked.


    Zephirah nodded. "Of course. Think about it. How much use will the blue grass be if we use it to chill an entire floor, then add cold type guardians that aren''t affected by the cold? If we do it right an entire floor can be made into an arctic wasteland without even putting the plants into danger. Plus the red grass, is the opposite, it puts off a lot of heat, both plants create optimal circumstances for more expensive plants, and creates extreme conditions that we can use to protect ourselves." she told me. "And those aren''t even all the plants that the company has that we could use to alter our dungeon floors. Let alone the energy we will get from the coins we will make when we harvest the plants!"


    I nodded as what she said sank into my mind. "And those aren''t available from the older dungeons?" I asked.


    "Most aren''t, and the ones that are, are priced higher as it should only be a one time purchase." she replied then smiled. "Add those special environments to your Mana Lord, and we stand a real chance at surviving in this trial!" Zephirah continued.


    I frowned, I had forgotten about the trial, and its difficulty level. Perhaps it was about time to figure out what all of that meant, but first. "What about the expansion?" I asked.


    "Oh yeah. Well with how much energy is in the pool, and the ambient mana conversion to maintain it, we should be able to expand our territory to thirty six tiles." she informed me happily, "and the wisp pushed me up to level three, so we can add another floor."

 22 Chapter 22 - Champions

    I stared at Zephirah in surprise for several moments before I was able to comprehend what she had said, and what it actually meant. I remembered from the expansion screen each extra tile on the surface cost four silver coins. An additional twenty seven tiles would be worth more than a gold coin.


    "Of course I don''t recommend we take all the territory we can. We might need to use some of that energy to exchange with those old dungeons for minions that will work in our dungeon." Zephirah added.


    "Like what?" I asked.


    "Well we will need something that can resist the cold, those mice might have fur coats but they won''t be able to handle extreme cold." Zephirah pointed out.


    "Neither will I." I reminded her.


    Zephirah frowned. "Is the big powerful Rune Lord scared of a little bit of cold?" Zephirah asked me mockingly.


    "You aren''t talking about a little bit of cold." I retorted.


    Zephirah hesisted for a moment. "True." She admitted then smiled, "But you should have a spell that could help with the cold, right?" she asked.


    I considered it for a moment. "There are a few spells, the best would be a charm that absorbs the ambient mana to continue working." I told her.


    "Similar to the one Vanessa has?" Zephirah asked.


    I nodded as I glanced over at the dark haired beauty. She had moved to sit on the edge of the smaller bed and seemed a bit distracted. I wasn''t sure if it was an accident or not, but her shirt had been pulled tight and down showing off more of her cleavage than it had before. I turned my gaze away quickly, but not fast enough that Zephirah didn''t catch my interest.


    "Why? What does it matter?" I asked the smirking sprite.


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    "Zephirah rolled her eyes. "Did you forget that I can recreate objects with sufficient energy? I said it just a moment ago." Zephirah teased.


    I glared at the little sprite. "Alright fine, I get it. If I can draw up the charm you can recreate it, probably on whatever minions or guardians we decide to use." I grumbled.


    Zephirah cheered. "HE GOT IT!"


    I rolled my eyes but let her have her moment.


    "You know you are smarter than the company ever gave you credit for." Zephirah added.


    I glared at the little sprite again but she just shrugged it off. "What? In this case it is true."


    I looked over to Vanessa who was refusing to meet my gaze. However, her hands were on her shirt pulling it down a bit farther so I got an even better view of her assets. If she meant to distract me, it was working. Realizing that, I had to wonder if I was underestimating the Succubus Heart charm she had on her doppleganger, or my own pent up frustrations. Either way it didn''t seem like the time or place, especially not when her family''s safety was on the line.


    My mind stopped as I scowled with that thought. Then several things clicked in my mind. I shook my head to clear it, I could consider the ramifications of those thoughts later.


    "What about the third floor?" I asked.


    "You have a heat resistance charm too right?" Zephirah asked.


    I nodded. "Sure, but we don''t have the seeds for the red grass, I never bought it." I reminded her. "The company also removed it from the list of available seeds."


    "I can handle that." Vanessa commented. "If we explain that we want to try opposing the heat and cold effects of the two grasses, they will make it available again. Probably get a wider selection of clothes too."


    I wasn''t sure how the two went together, or why it was important, but I didn''t bother with it.


    "Alright, so what do you want to buy?" I asked Zephirah.


    Zephirah flew up to my face and kissed the tip of my nose. "This is so much easier when your partner is smart." she said cheerfully. While it sounded like a compliment, I couldn''t help feeling patronized.


    "I was thinking to increase our territory to sixteen tiles. Add the third level with another one to two spatial conversion. With the rest of the energy I felt it would be best to invest in a dungeon upgrade." she told me.


    I sighed then walked over to sit on the edge of the large bed. "And what are dungeon upgrades?" I asked trying to hold onto my patience. "I get the feeling it has nothing to do with anything you have told me up to this point."


    "Close, but wrong." Zephirah replied smugly then stopped and tilted her head. "Well, no I haven''t actually said anything about it, but Vanessa has. Though she was discussing improving my ability to convert ambient mana into energy."


    "Stop." I said holding up my hand. "What is the difference?" I asked.


    "Difference in what?" Xephirah asked.


    "Ambient mana and energy, because up to now I thought they were interchangeable." I replied.


    "Of course they aren''t. Weren''t you listening when Vanessa explained it earlier." Zephirah said exasperated. "And here I was thinking you were smart!"


    I shook my head. "A lot has happened since then, and our bond has made a few things obsolete." I pointed out.


    "Not obsolete, just different." Zephirah retorted but it seemed half assed to me. "Fine, ambient mana is mana from various elements generated by our location. The cold the blue grass puts off, is actually ice mana. Lots of other plants, animals, and geography emits mana without realizing it." Zephirah told me.


    "It would be odd if a lake realized it emitted water mana." Lilian commented reminding all of us she was still present.


    I had forgotten about the little fairy. A glance at her showed that she still seemed a bit distracted, but she had to have been paying at least a little bit of attention to our conversation.


    Zephirah ignored the fairy as she continued. "I filter that hodgepodge of mana into pure energy, or neutral mana. Which is the same kind of mana that charge the currency."


    "So you want to improve your conversion rate?" I asked.


    "No, that is one kind of dungeon upgrade. I want to add a new unit type." she told me.


    "Huh?" I grunted confused. "But we aren''t even using minions yet." I replied.


    "True, and we will correct that soon, but with our new friend joining us, I realized turning him into a guardian would be wasting his talents." she explained.


    "And the differences are?" I asked.


    "Freedom, freewill." Zephirah replied. "Plus growth potential."


    "English." I told her.


    "Minions and Guardians are servants. One more powerful than the other, but servants nonetheless. The stats of both are limited by the level of the dungeon. Honestly they are positions best used by creatures or golems created by the dungeon. For the cases like ours, the moment we assign him to being a minion or guardian, his stats and growth will be limited to what is available for our level." she told me.


    I frowned. "So if we got a super powered being to agree to give us their allegiance, their power would be limited to some arbitrary limit set by our level?" I asked trying to make sure I understood.


    Zephirah nodded, "Yep, and to make it worse, the energy it would take to suppress them becomes a part of our energy expense." She told me.


    I frowned, then why would anyone do it?


    "Hence the champion positions. It still binds him to our dungeon, but the limitations on them is much smaller, and in the case that they are stronger than those looser limitations, we won''t limit their power, but we will have to pay an energy price to allow the exception." Zephirah explained.


    I nodded, "It''s a balancer." I stated. "So powerful individuals can''t follow a dungeon master into the trial without having to pay a cost."


    Zephirah shook her head, "Yes, but no. It does work that way, just not for that reason. This trial is not meant to be fair. Learn that now. A dungeon core isn''t limitless. Each minion, guardian, and champion who has allegiance to us is bound to our core. Maintaining the bond costs energy. Low level cores can not handle the energy it takes to bind a truly powerful being. With your scenario, the powerful families or individuals would supply a great deal of energy to increase the level of the core until it could handle the bond with the powerful being. Hence my desire to use the company as an additional source of energy."


    I frowned but nodded, I thought I understood, but the idea that we might already have a rival who has already artificially boosted their power bothered me.


    "Any other reason for the position?" I asked.


    "There are some additional perks for them and us. They can gain some access to the core functions. Limited of course. We could assign them a floor and an energy budget and let them do whatever theywant." she replied.


    I nodded, it didn''t sound bad, but I wondered why she wanted to give the cobra that kind of freedom, even if we didn''t give him that much access. I still remembered the look of pure unadulterated hate it gave me shortly before pledging its allegiance to me.


    ''Don''t worry about that. The penalty of breaking allegiance is very harsh.'' Zephirah told me mentally. ''Very very very harsh.''


    I nodded feeling a bit better. Though a little caution never hurt.


    "Alright, that does seem like it will be useful." I admitted.


    "Great, let''s do that first then." Zephirah said then vanished.


    "Where did she go?" Vanessa asked.


    I shrugged, "No idea." I replied then stood up and concentrated on my own energy and pulled it out so I could draw some runes.


    "What are you doing?" the cobra asked from its orb.


    "Setting up my cold resistance spell, then I should make the Arctic Blanket Charm for Zephirah to copy when she returns." I replied.


    "You aren''t using the same charm?" the cobra asked.


    I shook my head. "No, those kinds of charms are like a tattoo. While not large I don''t want it on me, plus anyone who knows a bit about runic would be able to tell what it did after seeing it. Since it will be on me, I can use a more complicated spell with better efficiency." I explained.


    "What about me?" Vanessa asked.


    I considered that for a moment. "I could use a better spell on you if you want, but you might feel the drain on your energy reserves." I told her.


    "That is fine." she told me with a smile then grabbed the bottom of her shirt. "Do I need to take my clothes off?" she asked with a mischievous smile.


    "No, but let me do mine first." I told her after swallowing a mouth full of drool.


    Vanessa looked disappointed but didn''t say anything.


    I started on the spell I wanted and carefully drew out the runes in a spherical pattern. It took a little while to get it right, and I had to make several adjustments before I was sure it was right, but my skill at drawing the runes was improving. When I was satisfied I activated the spell. It flashed a bright blue then formed a dark blue orb where the runes had been. The orb expanded till it was larger than I was and flowed over me. Once it had centered itself over me the sphere collapsed onto me forming a second skin that faded from sight.


    "Wow, it was so pretty." Vanessa stated.


    I smiled at her then got started on a spell for her.


    "It doesn''t look the same as yours." Vanessa commented when I was half way through making the spell, then again as her spell was larger than the one I used on myself it would be more surprising if she hadn''t noticed.


    "It isn''t." I agreed."


    "Why not?" Vanessa asked me suspiciously.


    "Mine is designed for me to adjust it as needed. You aren''t any good at using runic, so I have to make the spell regulate itself." I told her.


    "Oh." Vanessa said seeming convinced by my explanation.


    "And I added a little something to help restrain some of your influence on me." I admitted.


    "Is it going to make me invisible?" she asked slyly.


    I snorted then laughed. "No nothing like that." I replied.


    Vanessa didn''t question me again before I finished then activated the spell. While it wasn''t the same as mine, the activation looked similar. For a moment, Vanessa looked like a smurf then the resemblance disappeared as the energy faded from sight.


    "Alright, we are all set!" Zephirah said appearing out of thin air with Lilian at her side. Both carried a small golden sphere an inch in diameter.


    I wasn''t sure if I should feel bad that I hadn''t noticed Lilian was gone, or panicked. A single comment from her could have ruined everything.


    I shrugged it off quickly as to not appear suspicious. "Two?" I asked guessing that the golden orbs had something to do with becoming a champion.


    "One for our new friend, and the other is for Vanessa." Zephirah explained.


    "Will they notice?" I asked.


    "Nope, champions are what they tried to copy into the orb when they tried to make her into an assistant. They failed, but that is beside the point. Plus they shouldn''t be looking for it since they shouldn''t have realized that we are bonded now." Zephirah replied.


    That was a big if. "Your choice." I told Vanessa.


    I felt a spike of fear from Zephirah but ignored it for now as I waited for Vanessa''s reply.


    Vanessa hesitated for a moment then nodded and reached out for an orb. Lilian placed hers into Vanessa''s outstretched hand. The orb seemed to flow into her skin giving it a golden glow that flowed up her skin for a moment then vanished.


    I could feel a wave of relief from Zephirah but she flew off before I could comment. She didn''t give the cobra an option like I did Vanessa, instead she just dropped it on his orb which made the whole thing glow golden for a moment.


    "Good, now that that is settled, let''s get dungeoning." Zephirah told us.


    "Is that even a word?" I asked.


    "Shut up!" she retorted.

 23 Chapter 23 - A Deal

    I couldn''t help smiling as Zephirah glared at me. "So now what? Do I get any choice in the type of minion we buy from the older dungeons?" I asked.


    Zephirah continued to glare at me for another moment then shook her head. "We are a bit tighter than I thought we would be. One champion wasn''t bad, but the price increased for the second. I don''t even want to think what the third is going to cost." she grumbled to me.


    I frowned but kept my comments to myself. I wasn''t sure why she wanted to waste a champion slot on Vanessa, while she was a gemini, she seemed like an ordinary, combat ineffective girl if I had ever seen one. Yet, given the way Zephirah''s emotions were raging when I offered Vanessa an out, the whole champion thing was done just for her.


    I let my mind broadcast my thoughts to Zephirah as I thought it all out, hoping she would enlighten me a bit, but she seemed to be distracted as she scrolled a tiny blue screen in front of her.


    I thought something rather unflattering about her, but she didn''t notice. With a smirk, I realized that while she could read my mind, she needed to concentrate on it to do it. It explained a little bit, and gave me some peace of mind. I was getting used to the idea that she could read my surface thoughts, but that didn''t mean I had to like it. Hopefully, I would be able to learn how to block her from reading my thoughts when I wanted too. I was sure I only needed practice, but that required time, which seemed to have become a luxury I was quickly running out of.


    "Fine, what about the expansion?" I asked the sprite.


    "That is still a go, I set the energy for that aside before I started." Zephirah replied.


    "What about the crops we just gathered?" I asked.


    "What about them?" Zephirah asked.


    I finally was able to give the sprite the look that said ''really you can''t figure this out?'' It felt awesome, until I realized she hadn''t understood.


    "Oh I understand, you just can''t do ''the look''." Zephirah replied. "You looked more constipated than anything."


    I frowned trying to imagine how I must have looked, Zephirah''s snort followed by Lilian and Vanessa''s laughter were enough to make me realize Zephirah had played me again.


    "Whatever." I groaned irritated. "We can sell the crops and use that energy for buying minions from the older dungeons. You already said the type of energy was the same, so we don''t need to convert it."


    "Yes, but I doubt it will be much help." Zephirah replied.


    "Even the enchanted stuff?" I asked.


    Zephirah stared at me for a moment then began to furiously scroll through her screen before she stopped and started to laugh. "Perfect!" she cheered.


    "What?" I asked. "One of those old dungeons put out a request for enchanted blue dandelions?" I guessed.


    "Yeah." Zephirah replied. "And they are willing to exchange for energy or minions."


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    I nodded, I wasn''t so sure why she was so excited, were the options we had available bad? Wouldn''t the serpent gem let us make snakes? With the Arctic Blanket Charm they should be fine on a cold floor. If I understood things correctly we should be able to make some of the mice and slimes that we had been defeating to add some variety. Maybe even use the mice to feed the snakes, if they needed to eat. Did they need to eat? Shit. Did I need to create an ecosystem?


    "Yes, that would be the best, but unlikely with the size of our dungeon." Zephirah told me.


    I sighed. That made things more complicated.


    "You know, it is really hard to follow only one side of the conversation." Lilian commented.


    "Candice." I said watching the little fairy. I was kind of curious as to how bad she had it for my sister.


    Even from a distance I could see the little fairy''s eyes unfocused then she started to drool a little.


    I prayed the two never met. I had no idea if my sister could handle the little fairy''s obsession, and I had the feeling she would easily become a stalker. Kind of ruined the whole beautiful, kind, and maybe a bit gullible fairy image that Disney had imparted on me. I regretted the lose.


    "They aren''t all as bad as she is." Zephirah told me.


    "Really?" I asked curiously. I was sure Zephirah had issues with the whole fairy race.


    "She''s pretty mild compared to the rest." Zephirah replied confirming my suspicions.


    Zephirah snorted. "Wait until you meet one that turns that obsession on you." Zephirah told me.


    Glancing at Lilian I felt a chill down my spine. She was reacting like that to an image of my sister created by a shape shifting man. How would she react to the real thing? What if she was disappointed with the real thing? Neither were pleasant thoughts.


    "Let''s get back on track." Zephirah told me.


    "Don''t forget the dandelion roots haven''t been harvested." Vanessa spoke up.


    I had forgotten about those.


    "The old one just wants the bloom and leaves. We can make the trade then go harvest the roots." Zephirah told us.


    "Does the order matter?" Vanessa asked the question I was thinking myself.


    "These kinds of transfers take some time." Zephirah replied. "By the time we finish harvesting the roots, the minion''s energy print should have arrived. Then we can expand and reorganize."


    I nodded, "Guess it was too much to think it happened instantly." I mumbled. "I bet that can be upgraded. Right?" I asked.


    "Yep, it would take one upgrade to make it instant on this world, but the price isn''t worth the convenience yet." Zephriah agreed.


    "What about the company?" I asked, those transactions were instant.


    "A part of the orbs functions, the cost is significantly reduced by limiting the transactions to only them." Zephirah replied.


    I nodded, "So what do we want? Or what is available?" I asked.


    Zephirah glanced at her screen for a second tapped it a couple times before replying. "For the number of blooms and leaves we have available, we have three choices; badger, porcupine, and weasel."


    "What? No wolves, foxes, bears, tigers, ...?" I asked before Zephirah cut me off.


    "We don''t have enough energy or crops to trade for those." Zephirah replied. "Besides, like the mice you have already seen, these are giant sized." Don''t look down on them just because they aren''t the focus of your fantasy novels." she retorted.


    I grunted. "Fine, I have heard badgers are pretty nasty in a scuffle." I told her.


    "Weasels are good too." Zephirah replied.


    "What about the porcupines? The quills on a giant porcupine would be like spears." Vanessa spoke up.


    "It would." I agreed. "But it is a defensive aspect, or does that change on the giant size?" I asked looking to Zephirah.


    "No, the giant size, is just that. If they were to evolve into a magic beasts, even the lowest grade, they would be able to use them offensively, but even then it would still be a defensive beast in comparison to others." Zephirah replied.


    I frowned, seemed like there was another explanation I was in need of.


    ''Later.'' Zephirah told me mentally. ''We don''t have access to any magic beasts yet so it doesn''t matter.''


    ''What about the serpent gem?'' I thought in return.


    ''Our energy is too low to create serpents, we could only get giant snakes out of it.'' Zephirah replied. ''No I am not explaining that yet either. Just think that it creates a system like the champion units and leave at that for now.'' she added.


    I glared at the sprite for a while refusing to give in this time. She had already explained some about the minions, guardians, and champions, yet I couldn''t figure out where the serpent gem fit into the equation. Since they could grow into something powerful didn''t that make them champions, or was it relative to our own level making them like guardians?"


    "They seem to be arguing again." Vanessa sighed watching our silent glaring contest.


    "It would be better if they just did it out loud." Lilian commented.


    "What if they are arguing about you? Whether she should consume you because he finds your obsession with his sister annoying?" the cobra spoke up from the orb.


    Lilian shivered then remained silent as she contemplated that.


    "Don''t worry, he doesn''t seem the type." Vanessa tried to reassure the fairy.


    "She already ate a wisp." the cobra replied.


    "She was trying to kill us." Vanessa replied then glared at the cobra''s orb, "as were you."


    The cobra didn''t reply.


    Zephirah and I noticed the conversation around us but refused to give in to the other.


    ''Fine, the serpent gem doesn''t fall into any of the other categories.'' Zephirah explained. ''It''s why we are so lucky to get one so early. The champions we made took up the guardian slots for my third level so we can''t make more until we create the third floor. The serpent gem is literally that, its own gem, it isn''t an upgrade or expansion of my core, it will have its own levels and beasts. While subservient to me they won''t strain my core. Plus since it is focused solely on serpents, the level and upgrade costs are cheaper than what I would have to use to achieve the same for our minions, guardians, or champions.'' she finally explained.


    ''So a specialty unit?'' I thought.


    ''That isn''t a bad way to think about it.'' Zephirah agreed mentally.


    ''You do realize your explanation just creates more questions.'' I told her mentally.


    "Tough." she replied to me aloud.


    "Done?" Vanessa asked.


    "Yeah." I replied with a sigh.


    "Did you decide?" Vanessa asked.


    "Badgers will work." Zephirah replied.


    "Great, now what?" I asked the sprite.


    A screen appeared in front of me asking if the exchange of the enchanted blue dandelion blooms and leaves for the badger''s energy print and fifty silver in energy.


    ''I know what the company would give us for the enchanted dandelions, this is a better deal.'' Zephirah told me mentally when I hesitated.


    Taking her at her word I agreed to the transaction.


    "Alright now we can harvest those roots, is there anyone asking for enchanted roots we can make a deal with?" I asked Zephirah as I headed for the door.


    "No, but there is a general offer for enchanted plants, but we would probably get more energy from the company than we would from them." Zephirah replied.


    "Do it anyways, I don''t want to try and explain where the rest of the plants went." I told her.


    "Didn''t think of that. Fine, the loss shouldn''t be much anyways." Zephirah told agreed.


    "What of my serpent gem?" the cobra asked from the orb. I lost count of how many times it had asked.


    "Do you have a name?" I asked, thinking of it as the cobra was getting old, let alone I didn''t want to guess at its gender, or ask.


    "Setholis." the cobra replied.


    "Let''s just call you Seth." Zephirah replied. ''He is male''. she added to me mentally before continuing aloud. "As for your gem, it will take a while to synchronize it to my shard. So we will do it after we are done with everything else."


    "Is it hard to do?" I asked curiously.


    "Not hard, just time consuming, I have to revert back to shard form while I am doing it." she said then gave me a smirk. "It would actually be the best time to have a little fun." she told me then glanced over at Vanessa suggestively. "I will be busy concentrating on the gem, so a long hot shower, would go unnoticed by me." she added spelling it out loud and clear.


    "Not worried a long hot shower would cook the Seth and Lilian?" I asked with a grin.


    Zephirah snorted. "Privacy might become an issue in the future." she agreed with me. "Besides, boiled fairy doesn''t sound bad right about now."


    A chirping sound was the only indication that Lilian had heard her comment.

 24 Chapter 24 - Capture Stone

    "Come on Seth." Zephirah called.


    The cobra''s orb flashed then a two feet long version of the emerald cobra appeared in its place.


    "You seem smaller." I commented dryly.


    "Serpents are capable of controlling their size." Vanessa replied walking over to the serpent then bending down so he could wrap around her arm before she stood back up. Then followed us to the door.


    Outside the floor had gotten even colder. As soon as the cold hit the sprite and fairy they both stuck to either side of my neck. Thankfully the two spells I made earlier worked fine letting Vanessa and I stay warm, and through us our companions. It didn''t take long to dig up the roots with the hoe, then we were on our way up to the surface again.


    Nothing had really changed since we were last here. Except the fact that there wasn''t a horde of giant mice trying to break through our barrier to get to the enchanted dandelions.


    I watched the grass around us while shifting my mana sight to allow the ambient mana to be seen. The odd haze I had noticed earlier returned, but I was able to make out the fact that it was a mix of several different colors. Taking it a step further I was able to isolate the colors to get a general idea of how much of each type made up the ambient mana. It shouldn''t have been a surprise that the majority of the mana was earth based, followed by wind, water up from the lake, and a green energy that I was guessing was plant or living mana. Interestingly enough the mana flowed like a river. To me the plain around me was flat with no obstructions, but to the mana there seemed to be all kinds of obstructions. Some seemed to be the beasts hiding in the grass, others seemed to be areas of high concentration of other mana. A strong breeze full of air mana would stir everything up like a ladle in a pot. Seeing all of this I wondered if I could use it in the dungeon. Guide the mana to make certain places have a higher concentration of mana than others. It might make growing some plants easier, while making it harder on intruders.


    "Anything interesting out there?" Vanessa asked from behind me.


    I scanned around again after removing the ambient mana from my view so I could focus on the mana emitted from the beasts. "No, a few more mice, and earth slimes." I replied.


    "Then why the intense look?" she asked me.


    I hesitated for a moment. "I was curious if there was anything else out there I couldn''t see. The mice and earth slimes emit mana I can see with my mana sight if I set the conditions right." I told her.


    "So?" she asked.


    "I can even see the mana coming off of Lilian and Zephirah." I added.


    "It''s Zephirah and Lilian." Zephirah interrupted.


    Vanessa and I both ignored her.


    "So?" Vanessa coaxed.


    "I can''t see any mana being admitted from you or Seth. Not now or earlier." I told her.


    "Oh." Vanessa said. "Does it matter? The shield is still up, and none of the beast seem to want to bother with us now."


    I considered that then shrugged. "I wasn''t really worried that there was something out there. I was trying to understand this new ability. What it can do, and what it can''t. It would be bad if I got used to being able to see enemies based on the mana they emit, then run into something that can hide it from me." I explained.


    "Why would you?" Vanessa asked.


    "I have the ability now. Why shouldn''t I use it?" I asked in return.


    "It''s a horrible idea, that is not even close to how the mana sight is meant to be used." Lilian spoke up.


    "Isn''t it your job to tell me such things?" I asked.


    "No, it is not." Lilian replied. "I am only here to pass on knowledge." she replied.


    "What of the test?" I asked.


    "Its results are part of the knowledge I need to impart." Lilian replied.


    "I see. How long will that take?" I asked. With my new insight into mana flow I wondered if there would be more knowledge like it in the information she needed to pass on to me.


    "An hour or so, but you will need to be asleep for me to pass the information directly to your subconscious, after that you can slowly digest it and determine your future path." she told me.


    "Want to go back?" I asked.


    Lilian was silent for a while. "No." she replied.


    I looked towards my shoulder where the little fairy was relaxing. It wasn''t nearly as easy as I thought it would be.


    "Don''t be so surprised. When mistress explains more about our mana races to you, you should understand." she told me.


    I shook my head then turned back to the portal. "All done?" I asked Vanessa who nodded in return.


    "Great, let''s head down and get started on the expansion and redecoration. Zeph, can I move the plants without causing them any damage?" I asked.


    "Didn''t you move us?" Zephirah asked in return.


    "I will take that as a yes." I remarked then started for the portal.


    An angry yowl was heard from behind me followed by the familiar sound of something hitting the barrier, quickly followed by another angry yowl.


    I turned to see a beast staring back at me from outside of the barrier. A second later it looked behind itself then started to move around my barrier. What surprised me was what the creature was. It was some kind of huge canine, something like an over sized bulldog. It had a dark brown coat, and was four feet tall at the shoulder, but despite its size it gave off the aura of an adolescent not fully grown.


    I glanced behind it into the distance but didn''t see anything. That didn''t mean nothing was there. The grass wasn''t tall enough to completely hide this dog beast, yet it still got within a leap of me.


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    What worried me more was the fact that it didn''t seem to be after me, or anything in my territory. In fact it seemed more annoyed that we were in its way. Which meant something was chasing it.


    I always wanted a dog, but Melissa never liked them, or any other animal for that matter. With a smile to myself I called forth my own mana. Since Zephirah had told me that she had a limit to how many minions, guardians, and champions she could have per level I had been curious if there was a way around it. The serpent gem seemed to be one, and I wondered if I could be another.


    Using my mana I started to craft a spell to catch and bind the beast to me as a servant. I didn''t initially think I could pull off a spell like this before, but I had gotten used to using the dungeon as a power source letting me concentrate on the crafting of the spell. Whether I could pull it off was still to be seen, but I wanted to try. It was a more complicated sphere than the one I had used with the wisp so I couldn''t be sure.


    I kept my eyes on the dog as I worked, but it became apparent that I was going to fail. Whatever was after it, had the beast spooked. It moved around my barrier cautiously but quickly. I was nine tenths of the way finished with the spell when the beast reached the side of the barrier and started to run again, this time away from my territory. I finished the spell as the dog''s long whip like was disappearing into the grass.


    I grunted a bit irritated then glanced around as I tried to decide what to do with the spell I had just made. I could release it, but that felt like a waste. I considered the matter for a moment then spotted my rock golems. "Make me a perfectly round rock the size of an orange." I told the golem.


    "What are you doing?" Lilian asked me.


    "Trying something." I replied.


    The golem produced the stone at my feet. I bent down and picked up the stone then looked at the spell I had created. Shifting the spell to encompass the rock I considered what I wanted to do. The runes in the spell were bold and powerful looking, but they still had curves, zigs, and zags in them that had to be perfect to work correctly. I set the spell onto the surface of the stone then pumped a bunch more mana into the spell until it glowed a bright almost glaring white. Then I contracted the spell into the stone for a moment and released it a moment later. The idea I had was to brand the spell onto the stone, but I wasn''t sure if it would work or not. As the glare from the mana faded from my eyes, I saw that the spell had miraculously been embedded on the stone.


    I wanted to cheer at my success but I knew it was still too early. Instead I drew on the mana again and channeled it into the runes around the stone filling up each mark without overflowing. When it was perfect the mana flashed blue as the spell activated. Then the stone crumbled into dust. Despite that I smiled then looked over to Zephirah whose eyes were shining brightly as she stared at the spell in my hand.


    "Hurry." she urged me excitedly.


    I laughed then took the stone that had already been formed at my feet and repeated the process to brand the stone again. When it was done I inspected the runes on the rock carefully just in case there was any mistake that had carried over from the first copy. I didn''t see any. When I was satisfied I handed the stone to Zephirah. As soon as it touched her hands the stone disintegrated again. I didn''t care though.


    "I got it." she told me.


    "Make me one, just to be sure." I told her. "We''ll call them capture stones."


    She nodded then a new stone appeared at my feet. However this one was already branded.


    I activated the spell just like I had the last one. It flashed then activated before the stone disintegrated.


    "That was very pretty, but what are you doing?" Vanessa asked finally.


    I smiled at her but decided not to answer, at least not yet. I needed to test the spell on something living before I was sure it worked.


    Another yowl was heard then another closer to us.


    I watched the grass for any signs of the dog or its pursuers but nothing appeared. A few more yowls were heard, each in a different direction. While it might be a dog it seemed smart enough to avoid us while trying to run. Unfortunately whatever was hunting it seemed to be even smarter.


    "Give me a few more." I told Zephirah.


    "Why?" she asked.


    "It would be a waste to miss an opportunity if it presents itself." I replied.


    "It sounds too powerful for me to handle right now." she told me seriously but created a few more stones at my feet.


    "What about me?" I asked.


    Zephirah frowned but shrugged obviously she had no idea.


    After waiting and listening to several more yowls from the dog, it finally appeared. I wanted to try and catch it, but it was moving too quickly for me to target it. It ran beside my barrier until it reached the end then took a sharp turn as it head in a direction perpendicular to its original direction away from my barrier.


    I thought it was rather clever, until to gray streaks flew over my barrier, and landed on top of the dog. I steeled my resolve as I took in the gray beasts that quickly tore into the dog by ripping its throat out then proceed to devour it in front of me. Honestly I wanted to be sick, but I had already started to steel myself to this when I watched my own golems killing the giant mice. The two gray beasts were definitely wolves. Wolves that seemed to be at the very peak of their existence, their gray fur seemed to shine with a metallic luster in the light while they stood five feet tall at the shoulder. I considered trying to catch them, but stopped myself. Not because I wasn''t interested, but because I didn''t think there would be enough mana in the dungeon to hold both beasts I didn''t have the aura check thingy I would get at level five, but I was sure these two were much stronger than I was.


    A low growl caught my attention making me turn to see another even larger wolf peering at me from the grass. It was a two feet taller than the other pair making me think it might be an alpha. Its fur was more of silver than gray, and its eyes looked like forged gold glowing with the light of the noon sun as it looked at me. Gazing into its eyes I was sure that this beast was more than powerful enough to destroy my barrier if it so desired. Not only did it exude a powerful presence easily discernible to those normally unable to sense it. Its eyes reflected an intelligence that was both wise and cunning. If Seth were a mouse, this thing would have been a tiger.

 25 Chapter 25 - The Boon of a Challenge

    I met its gaze bravely as I controlled the capture spell. This beast was a lot more powerful than the other pair, but I had the feeling that if it took all of the extra mana we had in the dungen to catch it, it would be worth it.


    "A brave little human." The alpha wolf spoke while he watched me. "Do you think this flimsy barrier of yours will stop me?" it asked.


    I shook my head. "No." I replied keeping the spell ready. Like the spell I had used on the wisp I could overcharge this spell to catch stronger beasts.


    "I hope you don''t think that little spell can hurt me." the alpha wolf chuckled.


    "Maybe, maybe not, but I am sure it will surprise you." I replied calmly as I channeled as much energy into myself as I could to prepare to channel it into the spell.


    ''Jason.'' Zephirah called me mentally she sounded like a nervous wreck.


    I didn''t reply to her. I couldn''t lose focus on the beast in front of me. I knew it wasn''t a great idea to ignore the other pair, but I didn''t think those two could break the shield in a short time on their own.


    I glared at the alpha wolf for several long moments refusing to back down.


    At first the wolf seemed to find it funny, but after a couple minutes he obviously started to get irritated. I didn''t enjoy putting my life on the line like this, and I was sure it was. I was nowhere near certain that I would be able to catch the alpha wolf in the spell, even if I used all of the dungeon''s mana, but with each passing moment the dungeon absorbed more ambient mana increasing the amount I had available to use against it.


    The biggest reason though was the fact that this beast was the strongest I had faced so far. While I intended to get stronger, I knew it would too. If I backed down now I knew it would become something I constantly worried about. Something I would always fear and prepare for even if I never saw it again. Even if that wasn''t a bad thing, I feared I would get caught up worrying about the threat I was aware of and forget or ignore the other threats out there. While I didn''t mean to look down on the alpha wolf, I worried that it still might not be the greatest threat to me in this trial, and I intended to survive. If I couldn''t face this wolf now how would I handle the greater threats later.


    Was I being stupid? Probably.


    "Back down pup." the alpha wolf growled at me.


    "If I back down now there will be no point in continuing this trial." I replied firmly. I wished I had something cooler to say but it took all my effort to meet the gaze of this wise powerful beast in front of me.


    "If you don''t back down now, you will die now." The alpha snarled at me angrily baring its teeth.


    I didn''t wait any longer. I pumped all the mana I had in me then poured everything the dungeon would give me into the spell. The spell grew in size and began to shine as brightly as the sun of my world. I felt proud of myself for holding my own even as I continued to feel a need to fall down onto my knees in front of this great beast. After my spell was overcharged the wolf roared at me in anger releasing all of its pent up aura to overwhelm me.


    I held firm though making even me wonder if my spine had turned to steel, I was so scared I wanted to curl up into a ball and cry like a child scared that the bogey man was under my bed waiting for my parents to leave me in the dark so it could carry me away. It was a fear I had become intimately familiar with after my parents disappeared. After I realized the bogey man had already taken my parents. A fear I had thought I had become immune to after the Neglism ate it away. Despite that it was like riding a bike. I got right back on like I had never stopped. Right or wrong, smart or stupid, I had made my choice and would stand my ground until the end because it was what I thought I needed to do to protect myself, and those behind me.


    We continued to face off as I charged more mana into the spell while it continued to intimidate me trying to break my spirit. Make me submit. Yet I continued on, I even hoped that if this lasted long enough I would be able to pour in enough mana to catch the beast.


    With each passing second my confidence started to grow a little bit stronger, and this didn''t go unnoticed.


    The beast was intelligent and finally broke eye contact with me to look at the spell in my hand. I felt triumphant that I wasn''t the first to look away, but contained my excitement as it didn''t mean I had won.


    The alpha wolf noticed the fact that I was continuing to charge the spell with each passing moment. For a brief second I saw fear in its eyes. Finally it started to laugh, a sound I didn''t think a wolf could make, and a sound I was not prepared to associate with happiness, instead it sounded more like it was trying to get something out of its throat. "Very good little human, I shall grant you a boon for your unwavering courage." he told me.


    ''Jason stop the spell now!'' Zephirah yelled in my head.


    ''Where?'' I thought back quickly.


    ''At me!'' she replied hurriedly.


    I shot the overcharged spell at Zephirah, but rather than catching her as it was supposed too, the spell unwound and was absorbed by her channeling the energy back into the dungeon.


    The alpha wolf nodded at us, a sight I never expected to see in my lifetime. "Very good." he told us. "Not a bit of energy wasted. I am impressed."


    "Well that was intense." Vanessa said from where she was sitting on the ground. She looked pale and made no move to get up.


    "He is an Ancient Dire Wolf, the fact that you didn''t pass out from fear could be considered astounding, though it doesn''t compare to this cub." a feminine voice said from behind me.


    Looking back I saw the two smaller wolves were laying down just outside of my barrier looking rather relaxed, and maybe a bit bored. Though the way they looked at me assured me that their lazy and bored appearance couldn''t be farther from the truth.


    "I am impressed little cub, but I will say you need to pick your battles better. While there are going to be times when you need to stand strong, there are also times when you need to tuck your tail and run so you can come back stronger. The battle is never over until you breathe your last breath." the alpha wolf told me.


    "You are too kind to the cub." the other female commented. Its voice, while similar to the first, sounded colder.


    "I estimated he had a twenty percent chance at catching me, and turning me into his pet." the dire wolf replied honestly. "It has been many years since I have faced such a threat, let alone from a human of so few years."


    "Twenty?" the second female asked skeptically.


    "And it would increase the longer he charged it." the dire wolf replied then looked at me. "You are a mana noble." he stated.


    "Mana Lord." I agreed.


    I could feel the interest of the two females as their gaze towards me became more wary.


    "Interesting." the alpha dire wolf commented and seemed about to say something then stopped himself. "What boon would you ask of me sprite?" he asked turning to look at Zephirah.


    "Me?" she asked surprised.


    "Of course, the dungeon themselves are always the ones who understand the situation the best. You will understand what you can and can not ask for." he explained patiently.


    "A wolf gem." Zephirah stated immediately.


    "Seems you spoke too soon." the second female chuckled.


    "We are willing to submit to a challenge for it." Zephirah added.


    "Oh I see, she''s a smart one." the first female added.


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    "A boon from a mediator is not easy to get." Zephirah replied.


    I was a bit shocked but waited to see what would happen. I honestly had no idea what I could expect to get from the dire wolf, but I had thought a nice weapon would have been the best I could hope for. I still wanted a weapon, but having a wolf gem capable of creating powerful wolves like those in front of me would be the best. Even if it would take time for the wolves to become as powerful as them.


    "So you wish for a challenge, one aiming for a wolf gem." the dire wolf commented to himself while he seemed to consider the request.


    "Are you really a Mana Lord?" the second female asked.


    I nodded then looked to Lilian. "Lilian." I called.


    "Yes he is. His situation is a bit odd, but he had earned the position before arriving here." Lilian confirmed.


    "And you are?" the dire wolf asked.


    "I am a runic fairy assigned to pass on the information about the noble ranks." she replied.


    "A runic fairy? It has been a while since I have seen one of your kind outside of the Runic Palace." the dire wolf commented.


    "He had no teacher." Lilian replied.


    The focus of all three wolves landed on me, I felt the shock, and oddly enough awe from the three of them.


    "I have a challenge if you can not think of one." the first female suggested.


    "And that is?" the dire wolf asked.


    "We unintentionally harmed him by killing the dog before he had a chance to capture it. Why not gift him one of the cubs." she suggested.


    "Which one, and what would be the challenge?" the dire wolf asked.


    "Elisia, help her achieve her goal. Give them three challenge tokens. If he can assist her in becoming strong enough to win one of those challenges he will receive three drops, if she wins two challenges they will get a wolf gem." she replied.


    I was curious as to what I would get if she won all three challenges, and what kind of drops did she mean? I could feel a huge wave of excitement through my bond with Zephirah. It seemed this challenge, or at least the rewards were a really good thing.


    The dire wolf gazed at the first female for a while leaving everyone waiting with bated breath for his decision.


    "Would she agree?" he finally asked breaking the tense silence.


    "You know she would." the first female spoke up.


    "So be it then. The challenge has been set. Do you agree to take up this challenge?" the dire wolf asked looking at me.


    ''YES! YES! YES!'' Zephirah shouted in my head repeatedly.


    "I agree." I said with a wince.


    "Reluctant?" he asked warily.


    I shook my head. "Just an overexcited sprite." I replied while rubbing my temple.


    "Sorry." Zephirah actually apologized. "I was afraid you wouldn''t understand how good of a thing this could be for us."


    "Its fine, just not so loud next time." I grumbled.


    The dire wolf started to laugh again, which was still an unpleasant sound to me. Worse, it was done with its large mouth full of sharp teeth wide open for all to see. Rather than eliciting a sense of mirth, I felt threatened.


    Then without warning the ancient dire wolf let out a loud howl. The howl reverberated in my chest making it hard to breath for a moment. A light appeared in the sky a moment later then expanded into a runic circle as the light descended closer to the ground.


    Looking at the runic within the circle I was able to make out a portal spell, however it was arranged in a fashion I had never seen before. It wasn''t like another language, instead I would call it a different dialect. A moment later the spell activated opening a portal seven feet above the ground that faced downwards. As soon as the portal opened a figure seemed to fall through. However it landed on its feet with ease.


    While I expected a wolf, I was surprised by her size. She looked similar to the two females lounging beside my barrier, just smaller, a lot smaller. She looked to be only two feet tall at the shoulder. It was her eyes that looked like blood rubies which was the only thing that set her apart from a normal wolf. Besides the fact that see might be a bit small.

 26 Chapter 26 - The Goals of the Trial

    The wolf was really small. At least the dog that the female wolves had killed, was in the size range of a large dog, while seeming to be young and capable of growing even larger. This wolf looked fully grown while being smaller than most real dogs. I didn''t count the little ones like chihuahuas as dogs any more than I counted gerbils and rabbits.


    Despite her size she emanated a sense of strength that didn''t allow me to underestimate her.


    "Elisia, we have offered this human the challenge of assisting you in your challenges." the ancient dire wolf informed the new wolf.


    "His qualifications?" Elisia asked looking towards me measuring me up.


    "He is a contestant in a tier seven dungeon trial, young, brave, and a Mana Lord." the second female spoke up.


    I heard Seth hiss, but ignored it for the moment.


    Elisia was silent for a moment as our gazes met. After a few moments she turned away to face the ancient dire wolf. "I accept." she informed the larger wolf.


    The ancient dire wolf nodded. "Good, take care of yourself and work hard." he told her.


    "Yes sire." she replied lowering her head in front of the ancient dire wolf.


    The ancient dire wolf coughed then a small glowing object flew straight at my face. I reached up and caught it in my hand more by reflex than anything else. Looking into my hand I found a one inch tall, quarter inch wide silver crystal.


    "Poke your finger with a sharp end so you bleed on the crystal." Zephirah instructed me.


    I looked up at the wolves curiously only to find that Elisia was the only one that remained. The other three had disappeared without a sound.


    With nothing else to do, I gritted my teeth and pieced my thumb with the crystal''s pointed end. A few drops of blood flowed over the crystal which was promptly absorbed into the crystal making it glow for a moment. The wound on my thumb disappeared as the glow from the crystal disappeared.


    "Might I know your name my mate?" Elisia asked as she calmly walked through the barrier. I sighed then glared at the sprite who was grinning excitedly beside me.


    "Don''t look at me like that. This is a very good thing for us, besides what man doesn''t want to add another powerful female to his harem." she told me defensively.


    "What harem?" Lilian asked. "All I see is a sprite who is barely a few inches taller than he should be long, a seductive flirt who can''t put out, and now a beast. No offense to you miss wolf, but those kinds of actions between a human and a beast are frowned on, on most worlds. On those few it isn''t, well its would be best if we never visited those places." Lilian spoke up while criticizing Zephirah. "I would say that you guys could be in the running for worst harem ever."


    I rolled my eyes, while I agreed with the fairy a bit, I had never been interested in having a harem. "Jason Nellis." I introduced.


    "Elisia of the Silverfur pack." Elisia replied.


    "Be quiet!" Zephirah yelled at the fairy. "The best kind of women are those you have to put time and effort into. What would my husband need those slutty girls who immediately spread their legs the moment they arrived!"


    "Welcome, you can ignore them, they don''t really get along." I told Elisia, then turned to the portal. "Let''s go in. I had a lot of work to do before all this happened, and now it seems I need to get a more detailed explanation on what this challenge entails and the kind of assistance you want from me."


    "You don''t know?" Elisia asked. She didn''t seem angry just curious.


    "I also noticed you didn''t include yourself, yet you wish to stay here even after you finish your task. Do you think my dungeon is a boarding house?" Zephirah continued to berate Lilian while ignoring the rest of us.


    "There are a lot of things he doesn''t know." Vanessa offered as she moved up to my side.


    "It is surprising how little he knows." Lilian chimed in obviously attempting to extract herself from Zephirah''s tirade.


    I gave the pair a scathing look which they both ignored.


    Zephirah obviously wanted to continue her tirade but stopped when she realized the topic we had moved onto.


    "Worm." Elisia greeted Seth coldly.


    "Runt." Seth replied back equally coldly.


    "Do you two know each other?" I asked surprised.


    "No, but the serpent clans and dire wolf packs are not on friendly terms." Seth replied.


    "Don''t worry, we can put them on separate floors." Zephirah reassured me joining the conversation. "It isn''t uncommon for races that oppose each other to be found in the same dungeon."


    It sounded like unnecessary trouble to me, but for the older larger dungeons it might be a benefit. The competition between the races could make them both stronger. Unfortunately, we were not a large dungeon. In fact, I could only consider us a small dungeon. A very small dungeon.


    "So how is this going to work? Does she need a champion slot like Seth and Vanessa?" I asked.


    "No." Zephirah replied. "She is an exception like the beast gems. That shard you have in your hand is like a wolf gem, except it is keyed to her specifically. We won''t have to do anything for her. As she grows so will the gem."


    "So a unique unit." I commented.


    "Your sudden need to classify everything into game terms is disturbing." Zephirah told me.


    "It makes it easier to understand. Especially when someone decides to leave big holes in my knowledge." I replied. "Like moderators, what are they?" I asked.


    "You don''t know?" Elisia asked.


    "Nope." I replied without shame then I passed through the portal to the lower level.


    The others followed me a moment later. The lower floor was still too cold for my liking, like standing just inside a walk in freezer with the door left open.


    "Oh, this is nice." Elisia commented as she took a few steps onto the floor. "As for mediators. They are powerful beings who are employed to keep the trial fair." she replied.


    I frowned. "I thought the trials weren''t meant to be fair." I commented.


    "They aren''t, but at the same time, the overseer doesn''t want the powerful families of the various worlds to dominate all the trials. The mediators create a level of risk that keep those families from going overboard." Elisia explained.


    "How?" I asked.


    "They patrol the trial grounds and eliminate any beings that do not belong here." Elisia replied then gave me the same wolf smile as her sire. "What would be worse for those great families than to send an army to support their candidate only to have the whole group eliminated by a mediator?"


    That made sense to me, it didn''t stop the cheating, but it kept it at a competitive level.


    "If a family sends a being capable of eliminating the mediators, the overseer will step in as that level of cheating destroys the point of the trial." Elisia told me.


    I nodded. "And the point of the trial is?" I asked looking over at Zephirah, it was a topic she had steered around, and I was very curious about.


    Elisia stopped then looked at Zephirah.


    Zephirah sighed, "Tell him, I never meant to hide it forever. Our situation is a bit abnormal, and I needed him to concentrate on our short term goals before looking to the long term."


    "Very well, The overall winner gains sole access to a new world to use as they wish, however the security of the new world will be their responsibility. Many of those great families desire access to these new worlds so they can strip them of their wealth then use them however they can afterwards. The higher the trial the better the world they are given access to." Elisia explained. "The other winners.."


    "What other winners?" I asked confused. "Wasn''t there only one?"


    Elisia looked to Zephirah who just gestured for her to continue.


    "Let''s try another approach. For all the candidates who participate there are four outcomes. Those who are defeated and die, these honestly are the most numerous. Then there are those who are able to survive the trial period, for a level seven trial that should be one month. Having proven their abilities they are allowed to leave with a reward from the overseer. In exchange they lose their bonds to their dungeon. Then there are those who are able to strengthen their dungeon shard until they become a true core. They can retreat with a boon from the overseer and their dungeon core. The last man standing is usually the one who wins access to the new world." Elisia told me.


    That just added to the questions I had. "What kinds of reward? Is it like the boon from your sire?" I asked curiously. If this was true, I could go home once I had lasted here for a month.


    "No. I mean no disrespect to my sire, but the boon of a mediator can not compare to even the most basic reward from the overseer. Let alone a reward given to those who had cleared a few testing grounds before withdrawing. Those rewards could be the cornerstone to establishing a new great family." Elisia replied vaguely.


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    "Testing grounds?" I asked curiously.


    "Tests the overseer has placed in the trial grounds. They are one of the the normal ways for the dungeons and their masters to gain racial gems and similar artifacts." Elisia replied.


    So there was another way to get more of those gems Zephirah was after. If I had three and a half weeks left here, I should probably try and visit a couple.


    "How do we make you become a true core? Do we just have to level you up?" I asked curiously. It had only been a little while but I was already rather attached to the little sprite. If I could find a way to leave this place while bringing her along, that would be the best option.


    "No, just leveling our shard up will not work. There are a few ways to make my core become a true core. The most straight forward is by defeating and absorbing rival cores. " Zephirah spoke up. "Completing the testing grounds can also gift us with dormant shards to absorb, and consuming other mana races works too." she added glancing towards Lilian who quickly disappeared behind Vanessa. "Unfortunately consuming other mana races doesn''t give much of a boost towards becoming a true core. If I were to rely solely on that I would have to hunt down another forty or fifty wisps, fairies, or pixies."


    "Though to be honest those who are able to gain a full core usually try to become the true winner. The difficulty of the task usually means that only a small number of the competitors are able to do it. Being so close to the ultimate prize, many are only willing to admit defeat and retreat when one of their opponent''s strength stands out too much making them fear for their lives. If not it usually ends in a bloody war where no one retreats and only one survives." Elisia added.


    I frowned. "How many shards do they have to absorb to become a true core?" I asked.


    "Four, unless the shard has already absorbed one or two themselves." Elisia replied.


    I shook my head. "So at most five shards can become cores if all the other competitors are killed off?" I asked.


    Elisia stared at me for a moment then looked to Zephirah who just shrugged.


    "No, twenty five is the number of cores placed at the start of the trial. The testing grounds are open to anyone capable enough to enter them, whether they were initially a contestant or not. The dormant cores are a normal reward for the tests. Which not only allows the competitors to reach the level of true core without killing any of their competition, but also swells the numbers of dungeons in the trial. Moderators will not bother anyone linked to an established dungeon, no matter when it was formed." Elisa replied. "The smallest reward from the overseer is too much of a temptation. Many people will enter the trial in hopes of becoming competitors in that way, or by eliminating the master of a dungeon and seizing it for themselves. The reward for surviving a month is given to whoever controls the dungeon after it has been established for a month, not for controlling the dungeon for a month."


    "Well that is good to know." I replied while sighing. Seemed like I would have a lot more trouble coming my way.


    "Sure, but no matter which path you want to take, we have to prepare, or we won''t even make it through the first month." Zephirah spoke up.


    I nodded. "That is true, but one last question." I said. "What is the difference between the shard and a full core?" I asked.


    "A shard can only create a dungeon here where the ambient mana of the world is very high. A full core absorbs mana from the void between worlds so they can create a dungeon on any world, even the dead worlds in the outer circle." Elisia replied.


    I nodded then looked towards the blue grass. My mind was racing with different thoughts, but knowing more about the trial reinforced my need to focus on the expansion and the floors of my dungeon. We needed the defense. As to the rest? I would consider it once I had secured our location to the best of my abilities. Thankfully after the test with the capture stone there were more options available to me now.


    "Elisia, I need to expand the dungeon and redesign the layout. Do you mind waiting until afterwards before we discuss your goals?" I asked the wolf.


    "It is fine, there is no rush." Elisia replied. Oddly I felt she seemed relieved.


    "We will have to wait till tomorrow for that." Zephirah spoke up.


    "Why?" I asked.


    "I will have to synchronize her personal wolf gem when I am synchronizing the serpent gem. Elisia will be affected by the synchronization so talking will probably be difficult for her. It would be better if she rests." Zephirah explained.


    I didn''t feel any signs that Zephirah was lying so I just nodded. There didn''t seem to be a rush so it should be fine.


    "Jason." Vanessa said moving to my side and then wrapping her arms around mine and hugging it close to her.


    "Hmmm?" I asked back in reply, her appearance and close proximity robbing me of any words better associated with communication.


    "I am not trying to be a¡­." Vanessa said sounding obviously distressed.


    Her tone snapped me out of my daze. "Its fine." I replied. "We can think about that after we have found a way to guarantee your family''s safety." I told her then sent a glare towards Lilian who just shrugged at me.


    I wanted to rebuke the little fairy, but I had no idea what to say. She was right, if this was supposed to be my harem, it sucked, and not in a fun way. Then again I always thought of myself as a one woman kind of man. Though I can''t say I didn''t fantasize about the idea of a three or moresome. I just never thought it would be feasible in the long term.


    So I was a bit glad that things were this way as I wasn''t sure how I would handle things if I was able to sleep with all three of them. I wanted to ignore the issue, but I knew that I couldn''t. Zephirah would eventually reach a size that would allow us to be more intimate, and if Elisia was calling me her mate, I would guess that she too would eventually be able to take a form that would allow us to be intimate. This meant I would have to deal with the issue eventually, but not now. Right now I had other things to do.


    "Zephirah let''s get to work." I said trying to push out the distracting thoughts.


    "Sure, where did you want to start?" Zephirah asked.


    "Let''s get the expansion out of the way, then we can turn this floor into an arctic floor." I replied.


    "What about the third?" Zephirah asked.


    "Leave it normal for now, I still need somewhere to grow the other crops the company wants. At least until we get a hold of some better crops." I replied.


    "When would that be?" Elisia asked curiously.


    "Not until after we solve Vanessa''s issue." I replied.


    "Then I hope it will be sooner than later, I am curious to see what my mate is capable of." Elisia responded.

 27 Chapter 27 - Initial Layout of the Arctic Floor

    "Can the rest of us go inside first?" Lilian spoke up while she shivered.


    "Stick close to me or Vanessa." I replied. It would be best if she didn''t go inside alone and risk meeting the fake Candice. I didn''t even want to imagine the number of things that could go wrong in that scenario.


    "You could also come down here and nestle into my fur." Elisia offered.


    "I can?" Lilian asked.


    "As long as you are willing to answer some of my questions." Elisia replied.


    Lilian landed on Elisia''s neck and snuggled into her fur before Elisia even finished speaking.


    I didn''t pay any attention to the pair. I didn''t have any secrets, and I doubted Lilian knew anything embarrassing about me.


    "If we want to upgrade, I need to go inside." Zephirah told me.


    I winced, I really didn''t want to go inside right now. Getting into another Q & A with Candice would delay the work that had already been pushed off. Besides the sooner this work was done, the sooner Zephirah could synchronize the serpent gem, then we could start working with the serpents to create strong beasts. I was really curious to see what we could do with a beast gem.


    "Don''t worry I can go in by myself." Zephirah told me. "Just accept the changes when the screen appears." Then Zephirah flew off to the house and disappeared inside.


    I was a little curious about how she got inside without me opening the door for her, but figured it was probably related to her being the dungeon.


    A few moments later and a screen appeared in front of me asking if I wanted to expand the territory and add a new floor. All the expansions we had agreed to were present. Territory increased to a four by four, third floor with a one to two spatial expansion. Everything seemed as they had discussed so I agreed to it. I wasn''t sure why, but I had thought she would try and slip something extra in with everything else, but I seemed to have been wrong.


    Zephirah reappeared a moment later then the ground rumbled. Before I could see the changes I entered into the dungeon configuration. I frowned then remembered that when a new floor was added I needed to set the location for the portal to the next floor.


    I set the portal in the opposite corner from the original, then noticed that the expanded the walls beside the original portal to the surface making it stand in the open. I shifted it back into the corner then was about to leave the configuration when I realized that there was no reason to leave yet. I had reason to look at the floor with my own eyes, but I already had an idea I wanted to try. There was no reason to wait.


    I moved over to the corner where I had the cold crops. Picked them up and shifted them two squares over as the wall they had been beside had shifted with the expansion. Once they were all moved I shifted each tile depth down by a foot so they were lower than the rest of the tiles. When I was finished I went ahead and shifted the shack, well, and normal crops down to the third floor so my experiments with the cold didn''t harm them. I also noted the earth golem I had on that floor and moved it up to the surface floor to join the others. Since I had another floor I could add three more guardians but I decided to wait until I could ask Zephirah about other forms of guardians. If everything else could be advanced, then their had to be other kinds of guardians too.


    Taking a quick peek at the surface level I left the portal where it was but space the golems out and turned the whole area in arena spaces.


    Once I was done, I left the configuration to see the results of my experiment.


    "That wasn''t much." Zephirah commented.


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    "I know, but I need to see how the ice mana moves before I can come up with a plan for this floor." I replied walking over to the sine tiles that still had crops. As I walked the others followed, but I ignored them as I shifted my mana sight so I could see ambient mana put off by the blue grass.


    As I had hoped the ice mana seemed heavy so it floated along the floor but didn''t flow out of the hole that I had placed the crops in. I waited and watched for a few more minutes, but rather than gathering together and flowing out of the hole the layer of mana along the floor grew denser. I waited several more minutes and while the level of the mana did rise a bit higher, the density of the mana continued to increase. I had a feeling that eventually the mana would eventually rise high enough to flow out of the hole if there wasn''t anything to absorb the mana, as there was a winter vine amongst the crops I doubted the ice mana would ever escape the hole.


    I was happy to see that as I had already come up with a way to use the blue grass to make the floor unbearable while also helping his winter vine grow. I would have to redesign the floor a bit when I added the white ice roses, but by then I might be able to increase the size of my territory anyways.


    "Well?" Vanessa asked tired of waiting.


    "It is moving like I hoped it would. I should be able to make a decent floor. Its difficulty will be based on the cold, then the beasts and guardians." I replied.


    "Good, well let''s get the floor design down, then we can discuss the minions and guardians." Zephirah told me. "For the time being just the cold should be enough to keep the enemies from delving deeper into this level."


    "Not necessarily." Elisia spoke up. "There are candidates from various worlds here. Some of them are trained how to handle the harsh environments, they use it as a way to condition their bodies."


    Zephirah frowned. "Annoying, well the beasts and guardians can handle them, or at least wear them out. Resisting the elements will consume energy, no matter how good you are at it. Add on some beasts and they will expend their energy even faster."


    "That is true." Elisia agreed. "And if it doesn''t work, the worm and I can defend the core."


    Seth hissed at Elisia angrily but didn''t object to her claim.


    "Alright, let me get this floor set up, then I can explain everything to you." I told them before accessing the dungeon configuration again. The design I had in mind wasn''t complicated, and to be honest, it would probably fail if it were to be judged as an actual dungeon. Then again I only had a eighty feet by eighty feet space to work with, and it also needed to be used to grow crops without putting the crops into much danger.


    I didn''t start immediately, but first tried to plan the whole idea out in my head. Since the ice mana stuck to the ground and didn''t float up, it was easier to control. Especially compared to the wind mana I had observed outside. Once I had the idea set in my mind I accessed the shop option to see what I could use to make my idea work. The most important part was being able to restrain opponents, while also giving myself and those who were with me an easy way through the level. I found what I wanted easily enough. It wasn''t a part of the company store, but rather the dungeon shop which provided energy prints for what I wanted. Thankfully both were actually standard issue for a dungeon so I didn''t need to pay for them. The first was a concealed keyed door which would open under certain conditions, and while it could be forced, it was very hard to break down even if you knew it was supposed to be there. The second was a fake wall.


    I planned out the start and finish first. I moved the portal to the third floor from the opposite corner to the corner across from the entrance portal. If the layout was to be drawn on a sheet of paper the entrance would be on the lower right while the exit would be on the lower left. Between the two portals I erected a concealed keyed door next to each one then the fake wall the rest of the way. Once it was done the portals looked like they were in recessed portion of the wall. While in reality the concealed keyed doors opened to a path between the portals. As I would be the one to create the keys the doors would respond to I wasn''t very worried about anyone else but my own people being able to use this shortcut.


    In front of the exit portal I set another concealed keyed door and beside it an actual solid wall. In front of the concealed door and the solid wall I set a two tile wide three tile long arena area. This was where I planned to have the ''bosses'' of the floor showdown with the intruders. If the intruders won the door to the third floor would open.


    With a thought I left the dungeon configuration and looked at Zephirah. "Do I have to leave the intruders a way through the dungeon?" I asked.


    "Of course not." Zephirah replied. "Since we can sell crops to the company, we don''t want them to come in at all if we can help it. However we need to leave a way in so we can draw in the ambient mana. The others just use the path that we leave open for the mana to invade. The more traps we put in place the more secure we will be." she replied.


    I considered that for a moment, I had an idea or two in my head, but decided that I probably didn''t have the ability to carry any of it out yet. I could just experiment with it later. I returned to the dungeon configuration and started back to work. From the entrance portal I shifted the three tiles ahead of it into a ramp than descended three feet. The fourth tile in front of the entrance portal was the beginning of a six tile path that also decline three feet in total along its distance. This path ran straight to the arena tiles in front of the exit portal. Then I set the height for the the two paths, to be eight feet in height.


    With that done it was time to create the space for my crops. There was a five tile wide three tile deep area between the paths and the arena that I raised the ground level to be nine feet up with a ceiling eight feet above that. With the ground level being so high it was completely cut off from the pathways.


    There was also an eight tile wide and three tile deep area on the other side of the pathway. I raised the first two rows of tiles to match the earlier area then lowered the last row of tiles until it was a foot lower than the lowest point in the pathways.


    Once that was done, I made some small adjustments to the level of the raised platforms so there was a very slight incline towards the arena. The idea was that all of the ice mana would flow from the raised platforms where I grew the blue grass to the arena then flow down the pathway making almost the entire area where the intruders could go be filed full of ice mana. The last thing I had to do was create a set of small tunnels at the lowest part of the path to carry the ice mana to the last row of tiles that was even lower than the path. I would grow the winter vine down there. I needed to experiment a bit on how to make the tunnels so all eight tiles would get an equal mix of ice mana, but that was a learning experience for later.


    Lastly I decreased the level of light in all the tiles except the portal tiles and secret passageway to match the best growing conditions for the cold plants. This included the pathways and arena as I didn''t see any reason not too.


    With that done the general outline for the floor was complete. Since we had chosen badgers I had a large area under the raised platforms I could use to make badger dens, I also had another idea I intended to use, but I would have to play with the minions a bit to see what I could and couldn''t do.

 28 Chapter 28 - Minions

    I shifted out of the dungeon configuration with a smile on my face. "So? What do you think?" I asked, I thought I had done pretty well.


    Zephirah looked around, we had shifted around as I changed the floor leaving us standing by the portal to the surface. All we could see was the pathway down to where it turned to the left and headed for the arena tiles.


    "I am guessing you want to plant the blue grass on the raised platforms, and winter vine in the back gully?" Zephirah asked.


    I nodded. Of course she would be able to see everything I had done, she could probably see every part of the dungeon, no matter where she was.


    "It was a good try." Zephirah told me.


    I frowned, "what do you mean a good try?" I asked.


    "Jason sweetie. We have badgers as our minions." Zephirah reminded me.


    I nodded not getting what she meant.


    "If the giant mice are three feet tall, how big do you think the giant badgers are?" she asked me.


    I frowned, I had thought of that, but I was thinking they would be around the same size as the mice. It seemed like I was wrong. Then why was Elisia and her ilk so small?


    "Oh, now I understand." Zephirah commented having been following my thoughts. "For Elisia and the other dire wolves their size doesn''t follow the same rules as giant beasts."


    "Well let''s go see how big they are." I commented irritated.


    "Don''t be mad, I thought that was common sense." Zephirah told me.


    I glared at her, "Giant beasts in a room that is only eighty feet by eighty feet. Where is the common sense in that?" I asked her.


    Zephirah seemed to think about that for a moment then frowned herself. "Um, maybe we should use the large size?" she asked.


    "Do we have that?" I asked.


    "Ummmm¡­." Zephirah said as she seemed to gaze off into the distance.


    "It will be fine." Vanessa said hugging my arm as she tried to calm me down.


    "Don''t worry, I am fine." I told her then wrapped my arm around her waist and gave her a squeeze. No matter how or why she was there I was thankful for her presence. She was the only one that seemed even remotely human, and I still needed that. I just hoped things went well with whatever Zephirah had planned for later.


    "Okay, seems we did luck out. The energy print we received includes the fierce, large, and giant versions of the badger." Zephirah told me.


    I glared at the little sprite, "You knew the whole time and just wanted to mess with me." I accused.


    Zephirah giggled then flew around my head in a lazy circle. "Would I do that?" she asked trying to sound innocent.


    I wasn''t buying it.


    "Do we need to go back inside to create the minions and guardians?" I asked.


    "Nope. We can create and manipulate them out here with the dungeon configuration." Zephirah replied while continuing to fly around me slowly, always staying just out of arm''s reach.


    She didn''t need to worry, I knew she could read my mind so trying to catch her for punishment was useless until she was distracted.


    "I heard that." Zephirah said giving me a glare.


    I sent her an image of holding her over my knee while spanking her tiny ass till it was red and swollen.


    Zephirah seemed to shiver then moved a bit farther away from me.


    I chuckled, I had half expected her to like the idea.


    "Like hell, with my size you would leave me swollen from my shoulders to my knees!" Zephirah yelled at me.


    "Huh?" Elisia asked looking at us curiously.


    "Don''t worry about it, they are just arguing in his head again." Vanessa said then kissed my cheek. "Can you finish soon, it is still pretty cold out here." she told me.


    I frowned but stopped trying to mentally punish Zephirah.


    I shifted back into the dungeon configuration then looked for the minions and guardians option. It appeared when I thought of it.


    While the minions and guardians were separate, the minion portion included an option that showed the guardian version of the minion I was examining. It became very apparent that the giant version of a beast was meant to be the guardian, while the fierce or large were the actual minions. At least until we gained access to the magic beast versions that were above the normal type of beast.


    For minions I had access to smaller versions of the earth golem and stone golem. Plus earth slimes, large mice, and large badgers. I didn''t see any point in getting the fierce version, at least not at this time.


    I selected the large badger and was given the option on where to place it.


    "Simple enough." I commented as I left the dungeon configuration.


    "It gets more complicated when we have access to mutations and¡­." Zephirah started to say but I stopped her.


    "Not right now. Those little tidbits just make more questions. Let''s get this all settled first." I told her then looked to the large badger. I had been expecting something like a four feet tall american badger, or maybe a honey badger. It was neither. It had a similar build to the american badger, but was completely grey in color with a wider head and longer claws than what would be seen on my world. As both made the beast more powerful I didn''t mind the difference. The beast was four feet tall at the shoulder with nine inch canines and foot long claws.


    "Look into its eyes." Zephirah told me.


    I did as she requested. Rather than seeing bright intelligent eyes, I found dull lifeless eyes.


    "That is the biggest difference between the minions created from energy prints and those from a racial gem. They aren''t mindless, but they only have enough intelligence to recognize friends, attack enemies, and follow simple orders. We can upgrade the minions as a whole to be more intelligent, but it is costly as it affects all minions, even those from racial gems." Zephirah told me.


    "That is the second time I have heard the term. What is the difference between a beast and racial gem?" I asked.


    "Are you sure you want to know?" Zephirah teased.


    I glared at her in reply.


    "Fine, a beast gem is just a racial gem for beast races. There are gems for any and every race you can think of; dragons, serpents, angels, demons, elves, humans, all of them." she told me.


    I shivered at the thought, yet I was a bit curious about what it would be like to have an angel gem, or maybe the demon gem. A succubus was a demon right?


    I shook my head to clear my thoughts. The idea of a willing woman with no issues against a romp in the sheets, was becoming more and more appealing the longer I was around Vanessa.


    "So is there anything else we can do with them?" I asked Zephirah trying to direct my mind back to work. If they weren''t intelligent, what could we use them for?


    "They will attack anyone who isn''t recognized as part of our dungeon. If we had the right kind of materials or circumstances we could try to mutate them but..." she said then shrugged.


    I nodded then shifted back into the dungeon configuration. I had initially intended to make some badger burrows for them to stay in. As I was thinking of where to put them I realized that if I placed them low enough they were going to redirect the ice mana from the path I had intended.


    I considered it for a while then decided to make a small change. I shifted the last row that was at the lowest point in the floor so that it was also slightly tilted. I would put six blue grass back there and two winter vines for now. Once I did that I started to make a one large burrow below the pathway with five tunnels up to the pathway for the badgers to use to attack the invaders. Then I shifted the badger I had already made into the burrow and added five more. It was crowded, and the burrow ended up becoming its own little floor practically. I was curious as to how much room above and below I had to work with, there should be a limit, right?


    "Sixty feet." Zephirah told me.


    "Why so much?" I asked.


    "You normally get thirty feet to make a floor so you can adjust the height and create burrow like what you are doing. Plus traps and what not. Pitfalls take up a lot of space." she told me.


    I nodded, "then add on the one to two spatial expansion." I finished for her.


    "You got it." she agreed.


    I nodded then shifted my attention to the arena. I created a giant badger and after some thought moved the previous earth golem back down to the second floor to fight there. I put the giant badger in a burrow in the wall opposite the exit portal and placed the earth golem in front of the door. Once I had them made I gave instructions that the earth golem would close the giant badger into the burrow when invaders entered the floor, then release it when they attacked the earth golem. Unfortunately since they had limited intelligence that was as much as I could do for ordering the pair.


    I had some other ideas in mind, but those involved my own magic so I would have to experiment with it later.


    Now I needed to get the crops planted and we could move on to the last floor. I still had two guardians left that I could make.


    "How many minions can we have?" I asked as I shifted my mind out of the dungeon configuration.


    "Thirty, ten per level. At least until we upgrade that option." Zephirah replied. "Was there a specific location you wanted the winter vine?" she asked me.


    I frowned then nodded. "The lowest two tiles." I replied.


    Zephirah nodded then waved her hand. "Okay done." she told me.


    I hesitated for a moment wondering if she was trying to mess with me again then shifted into the dungeon configuration to see that she wasn''t this time. All the blue grass and winter vine was planted where I wanted it. The older winter vine was in the lowest tile, while the blue grass which was nearly ready to harvest was closest to the arena.


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    "If you could do that, what do you need me for?" I asked with a wry grin.


    "Maybe it''s your devilish good looks." Zephirah said then shrugged.


    I shook my head wondering why I had even bothered.


    Zephirah giggled then quickly flew up to my face gave me a peck on the cheek then flew off again before I realized what she was doing.


    "Are we done?" Vanessa asked.


    I nodded, the keying of the doors I would do later. I was sure that Zephirah could open the doors as we needed until I had the time to craft the spell I wanted to use. I could use an actual key or gem that we each carried, but if we ever had one lost or stolen it would give the holder full access to the dungeon, especially since the price to change the locks was pretty high.


    Crafting a spell onto a key so that it only worked for certain people would resolve some of that worry, unless someone cracked my spell. Uggh, this was so much trouble.


    I guided everyone along the path with my arm around Vanessa''s waist. Zephirah settled onto my shoulder as we walked


    ''Seth has been really quiet.'' I thought to Vanessa without looking at the serpent on Vanessa''s arm.


    ''Not surprising, the serpents and dire wolves, really, really, really don''t like each other.'' Zephirah replied back.


    I didn''t feel any worry from the sprite, yet I couldn''t help but feel it myself. The longer he was with us the more I worried. I couldn''t get the image of his hate filled gaze out of my head.


    ''You are worrying too much.'' Zephirah told me mentally. ''The binding spell that was placed on him when he swore allegiance is a nasty piece of work. Breaking it has very serious consequences.''


    I nodded and relaxed a bit. I wasn''t sure what those consequences were, but the fear I felt from Zephirah when she mentioned them was more than enough for me.

 29 Chapter 29 - Risks

    I proudly led the group along the pathway towards the third floor. As we went I explained the idea I had with the floor.


    "So the badgers can choose which hole to attack from?" Elisia asked as we walked.


    I nodded. "Yes. There are also more badgers than holes. I hoped that would surprise the invaders if more than one came out of a hole. I have more I want to do on this floor, but I will use my own magic to create it." I added.


    "Your own magic?" Elisia asked. "I have heard you are a mana lord, but you have just barely started using it, and your level is low. Can you effectively use your magic?" Elisia asked.


    "Yes. I can tap into the dungeon for more mana, and the trials in Runic Shift exposed me to a lot of different spells and how to alter them to make them work for my situation. I also have a pretty good memory. I am pretty sure I could reform the portal spell your sire brought you here with." I told her.


    "Seriously?" Elisia asked then was silent for a moment. "You are certain?" she asked.


    I paused for a moment as I tried to imagine the image in my mind. It was fairly clear and while it appeared in a different dialect, it was still runic. I would have never arranged the runes that way on my own, but I could understand why it was done that way and what its purpose was.


    "Yes, why do you have coordinates you want to use to summon someone else?" I asked her.


    "No, not at this time, but if you can use that spell, I have several locations we could go to if we want to do raids for resources. Let alone there is nothing stopping the use of portals in this trial as long as the user them self makes the portal. Knowing this I would place you solidly within the top ten contenders for this trial." Elisia told me.


    I frowned. "Are you certain? Wouldn''t others who have more training and higher levels have an advantage over me?" I asked.


    "No. There are hundreds of trials in process and starting, candidates who enter the trial are separated by trial level and age so the gaps between individual strengths aren''t too big. There will still be some imbalance like in your case, but it isn''t meant to be completely fair. Also level means nothing. It is a system of this world, and is actually a limiter. Everyone starts off as a level one. As their levels raise most of the candidates regain the strength they had before." Elisia told me.


    "Wait what? Are you saying I have an advantage and why limit us?" I asked.


    "Of course you have an advantage. How did my sire and his dames look at you when they realized that you were a mana lord?" she asked me.


    "Respectful. Though it was only after they heard I did it on my own without a teacher." I replied with a thought.


    "Exactly. Remember how powerful my sire is, he would not show any respect to someone who hadn''t earned it. From what Lilian has told me, if you had access to mana and became a mana lord before you entered the trial, you would have probably entered a level eight or even level nine trial instead of the level seven. Do you understand now?" she asked.


    I shook my head, "Not really, I am not even sure how I ended up in a level seven. I was under the impression that the company usually uses lower level trials. Besides that I am sure there are plenty of others who have reached mana lord by my age, maybe even younger." I replied.


    "Yes there are, and they too would have an advantage. As to limiting you as you enter. It is to make things harder on you. You can argue that it makes it more fair, but in a level seven trial every contestant has their own skills. None of them are weak, including those who enter later. Avoiding the mediators, clearing a testing ground, and establishing their own dungeon, none of those are simple things." Elisia told me. "As to why you are in a level seven trial, there are two options available when a contestant enters the trials. If as in your situation, the contestant is being forced into it. Only the first three levels, or a level suitable to the strength of the individual, can be selected. I would guess the company usually chose one the first option, in your case the second option must have been chosen."


    I nodded finally understanding the large discrepancy between where I was and where I was supposed to end up. "Come on, we still have a bit more to see then head down to the next floor." I told them.


    "Any ideas for the next floor?" Vanessa asked.


    I shook my head. I had ideas, I just didn''t see any point until I had a better idea of what kind of beast we would get once the serpent gem was synchronized with the core. I didn''t need to give Zephirah another opportunity to tease me. Besides I had a bit of hope that whatever Zephirah had gotten for Vanessa might give us some kind of clue to what we needed to do to resolve her issue. Once that was done we could have a discussion with the company and maybe get a larger variety of plants to use in the dungeon. I was sure we would have to agree to some kind of contract, but getting access to more magic plants would be worth it. Let alone I wanted to see if we would get enchanted plants every time I used the earth slime on them, or if it was a roll of the dice type of situation.


    Once we reached the arena tiles I pointed out the earth golem then realized that I was missing the level three upgrade. I could also give the giant badger three upgrades. I would handle that all later. I wanted to grab a meal and get the synchronization over with.


    "I like the idea of having the badger attack them from behind. There is no honor in this contest, and flanking your opponent is a tactic nearly as old as time." Elisia said with approval.


    "That was what I was aiming for, but knowing a bit more about how much space I have to work with, I have another idea I can use in here." I told her.


    "I look forward to it. The energy and loot we will get from eliminating invaders will be well worth the work." Elisia told me.


    "It will, but I am sure we will gain more from the crops, let alone what we will be able to do with the floors with the rarer ones." Zephirah spoke up.


    "It is not a unique idea, but it is still a good one." Elisia replied.


    I chuckled but didn''t say anything as I led them to the door which opened for us, I was sure it was Zephirah''s doing.


    ''Nope, unkeyed doors open automatically. They aren''t actually locked doors until they have a key.'' Zephirah told me mentally then we entered the portal to the third floor.


    The third floor was huge compared to the second floor, also empty. I had the ten tiles of amber mint and one living tile of silver shamrock near the house but everything else was empty. I wanted to get some crops planted, at least blue dandelion, but the sheer number of them turned me off from the idea. Besides I was tired and hungry. I would get a chance to relax and eat while Zephirah did the synchronization.


    Reaching the house I remembered that it was really small, and we had another addition to our number. We were going to have to expand it soon, especially since I knew I wanted to have some privacy, especially as the bathroom didn''t have a lock.


    I looked to Zephirah who seemed to be contemplating. "We could, we have a few options available to us with our current funds." she told me aloud.


    I winced, I hadn''t even thought about the price of my modifications earlier.


    "Don''t worry about it. It is the only defense we really have at the moment so the price is worth it." she told me. "I wouldn''t do that again though. Serious alteration of the floor''s height gets pricey. Next time we can just plant in the ceiling, it would be cheaper." she told me.


    I stopped and stared at her. I hadn''t even considered that. We still use it if we wanted too, it would increase the density of ice mana in the floor.


    "Wait till later, if you want to upgrade the house we can wait on adding ceiling plants." Zephirah told me. "Changing the ceiling to be plant able costs a bit, but not as much as raising the floor''s height nine feet." she told me.


    I nodded, though I was certain we weren''t hurting for energy. I was sure she would be more panicked if we were. However I would need to get a better sense of how much energy we had, and how much we gained from the ambient.


    "A larger home would be nice." Vanessa chipped in.


    "Hoping to put more space between you and Jason?" Zephirah asked.


    "Maybe, maybe less space." Vanessa countered,


    Zephirah snorted then flew to the door as we arrived at the house.


    "Let''s do dinner, then we can pretend to head to bed. Once we play that out I can set the image of us sleeping as what company sees, then start the synchronization." Zephirah told us.


    I agreed then led us all inside. I knew bringing Seth and Elisia inside would raise questions, but I had a sure proof way to handle them.


    Sure enough fake Candice showed up as soon as we appeared.


    "Oh! Where did you get the dog?" Candice asked distastefully.


    I looked at the fake Candice in surprise, usually she played the role of my sister really well, and Candice loved dogs. Elisia wasn''t a dog, but she looked close enough. "Thought you liked dogs." I commented moving closer to the orb so I could pick out a meal. "What did you guys want?" I asked.


    "What is available?" ''Elisia replied after giving fake Candice a dirty look. .


    "Mostly food from my home world." I replied.


    "Then steak, hold the sides, make that two." Elisia replied.


    "I am fine for now." Seth spoke up.


    "A chicken Caesar salad sounds good." Vanessa added in.


    I nodded then ordered everything and a plate of tacos for myself.


    "So?" fake Candice asked.


    I shook my head, "too much happened. Food, rest, then we can talk in the morning." I replied.


    Fake Candice glared at me then with a grunt she disappeared.


    "That was your plan?!" Zephirah asked astonished.


    "You blocking this?" I asked.


    "Of course." Zephirah replied.


    I nodded. "Then yes. She has to play the role, so¡­" I said then left it hanging. "Granted she did screw it up when she saw Elisia."


    "Does the real Candice like dogs?" Lilian asked eagerly.


    I nodded, "dogs, wolves, any and all kinds of canines." I replied.


    "Are there any other kinds?" Vanessa asked.


    "Coyotes, dingoes, foxes, jackals, chihuahua¡­" I listed.


    "Aren''t the chihuahuas considered dogs?" Vanessa asked.


    "Anything smaller than a football is a rodent in my book, though I haven''t been able to convince Candice." I replied pretending to be aggrieved.


    Vanessa giggled then moved to the box on the counter to pull all the meals out. Since we didn''t have a better place for her to eat we had to set Elisia''s plates on the ground. She didn''t seem to mind though so I didn''t bring it up.


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    Dinner was quiet and quick. Then as we planned we all headed to bed. Elisia jumped up onto mine while Seth stayed with Vanessa. As we weren''t actually going to sleep I didn''t comment. Though it did solidify the idea of expanding the house. Since Vanessa accepted the champion position I had been feeling more possessive of the woman. Like the fact that she willingly agreed made everything more acceptable. Not sure how that logic actually worked, or if her charm was aiding in the shift in my thought process, but it was there. Having another male in my girl''s bed didn''t sit well with me.


    ''Good to know.'' Zephirah said in my head then the lights dimmed. The room stayed dark for a few moments then the light returned. "Alright we are good to go." Zephirah announced.


    "So anything I need to do?" I asked.


    "Just agree when the screen pops up." Zephirah told me.


    "Don''t bother me." Elisia told me from the foot of my bed. " I can still move if I need too, but I am told it will make it more unpleasant."


    I nodded. "Great, then let''s get this over with." I said.


    Zephirah flew over to the orb then opened it and returned to her core form. ''How long does this last?'' I asked mentally.


    ''Twenty minutes.'' Zephirah replied mentally with a giggle.


    "Didn''t you say it would take a while?" I asked mentally.


    "I lied." she replied mentally. "I need the serpent gem." she added aloud.


    ''Why?'' I asked mentally.


    ''How else am I supposed to synchronize it?'' she mentally asked with a giggle.


    "Here." Vanessa said handing me a pale green gem that looked like a dull emerald while I was glaring at the sprite.


    "Where? Wait never mind." I was about to ask about where the gem had been but then shook my head, I wasn''t sure I wanted to know.


    ''Fine, I was suspicious of him too.'' Zephirah told me mentally, ''but he has behaved himself and has shown no signs of becoming a problem, and yes there are plenty of ways he could be a problem without betraying his allegiance.''


    ''Fine.'' I thought then held out my hand with the serpent gem and Elisia''s wolf shard towards Zephirah''s core.


    A screen appeared in front of me asking if I wanted to synchronize the gem and shard to the core. I agreed.


    As soon as the screen disappeared the gem and shard floated up off my hand then began to orbit around the core.


    I smiled at the sight then turned to look at the others.


    Seth had grown to the size I had initially seen him forcing Vanessa into a corner.


    "Orifus! Vanessa get the core!" Seth shouted.


    Before I could question what was going on Seth struck his mouth open and fangs dripping with venom as he aimed for my head.

 30 Chapter 30 - A Welcome Perk

    I was too scared to even blink before Seth had reached me his mouth gaping ready to remove my head from my body.


    A white field appeared between us preventing Seth from reaching me. Thankfully the shield I had hidden within the spell I cast on myself worked as I had intended.


    To my shock Vanessa wove her way through Seth''s coils heading for the core. I wasn''t sure what would happen if she reached the core, but I didn''t think I wanted to find out.


    Vanessa was only a couple steps away from her goal, I was about to use the keyword to activate the restraint I had hidden within the spell I placed on Vanessa, when a gray blur appeared by her side. With a growl Elisia leapt at Vanessa, jaws clamped down on Vanessa''s throat then with a twist of her head there was a spray of red blood.


    It all happened so fast I couldn''t react to it. I stared in horror as Vanessa''s eyes widened in fear her hands coming up to cup the hole in her throat as Elisia fell to the ground exhausted.


    I could hear a faint wheezing as Vanessa tried to breath but failed.


    Seth tried to attack me several more times, but I didn''t pay him any attention.I was sure my shield would be enough to keep him at bay. Instead I panicked as it quickly dawned on me that Vanessa was about to die. So I rushed past him to Vanessa''s side hoping to make it in time to save her with my magic.


    Reaching her side I tried to draw on my mana to form a healing spell to save Vanessa, unfortunately in my panic I wasn''t able to grasp my mana. I tried over and over again while staring down into Vanessa''s eyes, her fear clearly shown. With every failed attempt seconds slipped by as Vanessa tried vainly to breath through her ruined throat. With each of those passing moments my panic rose making it even harder to grab hold of my mana, yet I couldn''t break free from the panic. Finally I stopped a few minutes after Vanessa breathed her last tears streaming down my face. With each moment Vanessa had met my gaze, her own full of fear yet hopeful I would succeed. I despaired as I realized I failed her.


    Just as I had my suspicions about Seth given the way he joined us, I also had my suspicions about Vanessa. She didn''t behave like a woman in the situation she had described. I couldn''t believe a woman who feared what would happen to her family if she lost her virginity, thereby decreasing her value, would flirt with a man. Let alone willingly seek out a runemaster to apply the succubus charm. Instead I would expect her to keep her distance and maybe get a male repelling charm instead.


    Then there was her other self. The way the second Vanessa treated herself when they were supposed to be one mind in two bodies gave me the hint that there might be conflicting thoughts within her. Her conscious thoughts and her subconscious were in a strong disagreement with each other.


    So rather than believing she had knowingly betrayed me, I was positive that she had been brainwashed. Zephirah had been alluding to it, and if her recruiter knew someone who could apply a succubus charm, even if it was done badly. He should be able to find someone who could alter her mind.


    I had prepared for the potential betrayal, and as I didn''t think it was her fault I had set up the restraining field within the spell I cast on her to keep her warm against the ice mana. It was supposed to activate automatically when her recruiter appeared and ordered her to attack me. I had never even considered the possibility that someone else would attack me while she went for the core. Then again I wasn''t even sure what the point of it was, except that it wouldn''t have been a good thing for me.


    I didn''t know what to think as I stared down at Vanessa''s body. Twisting around in my mind was grief and guilt for being unable to save her. IfI had better control over my magic, she would still be alive right now. There was also anger and hate at Seth, a powerful desire to tear him apart for placing me in this situation and for all that had done to Vanessa before this. As he had the keyword to order her to do as he wished, he must either be her recruiter, or someone who worked for him. There was also conflicting emotions of anger and relief at Elisia for her actions. I was sure I could have stopped Vanessa by activating the restraint spell, if she had waited just a moment longer she would have seen Vanessa being restrained, but there wasn''t a moment left to spare. Vanessa was nearly to the core, Elisia acted swiftly and decisively to protect my dungeon, I couldn''t fault her for attacking someone she perceived as an enemy, not logically, but I wanted to anyways.


    "NO!" Seth yelled waking me from my confusion.


    I turned to survey the room. Seth lay on the ground unmoving a golden band three inches wide had appeared around his neck. I couldn''t be certain but I had the feeling the golden band was related to his broken allegiance.


    Laying close to my side was Elisia. She seemed completely unharmed as she watched me warily as she panted tiredly.


    "What just happened?" Lilian asked.


    "I am not completely sure, but I would guess Seth made a move for control of the core." I replied as I pulled myself together. I wiped my face then moved closer to Elisia. She didn''t move or say anything as I got closer. Just watched me. If I were to guess I would assume she had used whatever energy she could to stop Vanessa, but I doubted that. I was sure she could still defend herself if she needed too.


    "That doesn''t look comfortable, I am going to move you back onto the bed." I told her then scooped her up into my arms before standing up and setting her back down gently on the foot of my bed. Despite my mixed feelings on the issue I had decided not to hold Vanessa''s death against her. She did it to protect the dungeon so I shouldn''t reciprocate her efforts with hate. "Thank you. Are you alright?" Iasked.


    Elisia nodded her head tiredly in reply. I was relieved that she hadn''t hurt herself. Then I turned back to the cobra and the fairy.


    "No way! Not possible! No one does that! The repercussions for betrayal are harsh!" Lilian told me.


    "That is what Zephirah has been telling me, but what if he succeeded though. If he did gain control of the core. Would he still be punished?" I asked.


    Lilian hesitated for a moment.


    "No." A male voice said as an older man with long gray hair appeared at my dining table. I never saw him enter, he just appeared there. "He would not be punished. The oath of allegiance binds him to the dungeon. If he becomes the master of the dungeon he obviously couldn''t have betrayed it."


    I looked at the old man, I was sure I had never seen him before. Yet he put off a familiar aura of power. "Sire." I greeted politely.


    The old man chuckled. "At least you are smart. Is she hurt?" he asked.


    I almost thought he was asking about Vanessa, which should have had an obvious answer, but quickly remembered that the ancient dire wolf would only care for his daughter. "She is fine." I replied.


    "Good. The shield was your work?" he asked.


    I nodded. "Yes, the look of hate Seth gave me when we were fighting, before he pledged his allegiance, bothered me. So I took precautions." I replied.


    "But not the girl?" he asked.


    I hesitated on how to explain. "She had one as well, but I made a mistake. She was an odd circumstance. I had set the spell to activate when she attacked me. I believed someone had messed with her head, I just didn''t realize it was Seth. Zephirah has alluded that she was brainwashed or something similar, but refused to say it out right. Something about me having bad acting skills." I explained.


    "Can''t be that bad. You set up a defense against the snake without him realizing you suspected him. Trust me, if he thought you suspected him and had protected against him, he wouldn''t have tried this. Then again after you took Elisia in he should have realized what would have happened to him even if he succeeded." The ancient dire wolf said.


    "And what pray tell would that have been?" another man who appeared on the other side of the dining table asked. Like the ancient dire wolf I didn''t see him enter, he was just there.


    "This was your work?" The ancient dire wolf asked stiffly.


    "He is one of mine. Though the plan was his." the other man replied. He seemed similarly old as the ancient dire wolf, and gave off a similar sense of power. However that was where the similarities ended. The ancient dire wolf was muscular like a warrior while the other man was slim like a scholar. The ancient dire wolf wore his hair long and untamed, much like his fur, while the other man kept his hair cut close to the scalp, just long enough that he didn''t look bald. However the eyes were the biggest difference despite the fact that both were golden. The ancient dire wolves eyes were hard, unrelenting, but non judgemental. The other man''s eyes were angry and calculative.


    "Congratulations human, you have thwarted a plan he has had in motion for over a year now. Ever since he came across that variant gemini." the new man that I now assumed was some kind of serpent told me.


    I frowned. "So was Vanessa''s recruiter?" I asked.


    "Indeed. It was a grand plan that would have worked incredibly well if he hadn''t gotten greedy." the man replied.


    I frowned then remembered what Vanessa had told me. "He saw Melissa." I stated.


    "Smart boy." the serpent man said with a smile. "I am sure you have more questions. Maybe we could work out a trade?" he suggested.


    I shook my head. "No, not for information, and before I make any decisions I have to consult my sprite." I replied.


    The man hissed but the dire wolf held up his hand. "He did not say he wouldn''t make a deal, just not for the information." he told the serpent.


    "I am not an idiot you mutt, the human should be smart enough to take what is offered to him!" the serpent man replied angrily.


    As if I had just called her Zephirah came zooming over from the orb to float beside my head while glaring at the serpent. "Liar!" Zephirah yelled. "You just want to cheat him while he doesn''t know how much he is entitled to." she yelled at the serpent man angrily.


    "The little sprite doesn''t seem to know her place." the serpent man commented.


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    Zephirah didn''t back down, instead she continued to glare at the man until he looked away.


    Zephirah nodded to herself happily. I groaned, I was sure the man was a mediator, and positive he would find every possible way to mess with us from this moment forth.


    "He can''t." Zephirah replied. "Since he is related to this case of blatant betrayal, his duty as a mediator will be shifted to another trial." she told me.


    I shook my head. She didn''t even seem to consider the fact that he might be friends with some of the remaining mediators who could mess with us for him. Then again she also thought it was impossible for Seth to attempt to betray us.


    "Sorry." Zephirah said aloud her expression downcast. Obviously she was following my thoughts and realized that if I hadn''t been paranoid and trusted her words, I would be dead, and the dungeon would belong to Seth.


    "That is better." The serpent man said with a smile.


    I didn''t bother to correct him.


    "So these repercussions you were talking about?" I asked Zephirah.


    "Oh right! Wait! Before that, you need to know that Vanessa isn''t dead." Zephriah told me.


    I looked over at Vanessa''s corpse but was surprised to see that it had vanished.


    "What?" I asked stupidly a sudden ray of hope shining down upon me.


    "She is our champion. This is one of those perks I mentioned. As long as my core isn''t shattered she can''t die, neither can you, just so you know. She will reform in a couple hours with a level lose, and a migraine." Zephirah reassured me.


    I nodded relieved, all my conflicting emotions vanished leaving just the anger and hate for Seth.

 31 Chapter 31 - Terms

    "Thanks." I told the sprite. I didn''t feel any deception from the sprite, which made the whole thing more believable. I was sure I would struggle believing it until she reappeared healthy and whole. Until then there was still a few things we needed to deal with. Namely that snake. "So the repercussions?" I asked to remind her. It probably wouldn''t be the wisest of ideas to keep these mediators waiting too long.


    "Death, his energy stripped down and added to the dungeon, his soul refined into a soul stone, and all his possessions both on him and within the Dimensional Bank belong to us." Zephirah asked.


    Of course there was a dimensional bank. I shook my head at the thought.


    "When it is said like that, it doesn''t actually sound that bad." the dire wolf chuckled. "Though having your soul refined into a soul stone, is a horrible torture that causes unimaginable pain as your soul is literally burned to remove all of its impurities, which would be your conciousness, before it can become a soul stone." the dire wolf informed me.


    I stared at the dire wolf in surprise for a moment before looking to the serpent. I had the feeling that was the part of the punishment that the serpent was trying to avoid Seth going through. "And what do you propose sir?" I asked the serpent politely.


    The serpent was silent for several long moments as he considered me for several moments as he weighed his options. "Surrender of all documents pertaining to my clan, and his life." he replied.


    "In exchange for what? Even if the clan documents are useless to us, which is a big if. There is a loss of energy, a soul stone, piece of mind knowing he won''t be able to come back for us, and he is the problem we have been having concerning Vanessa and the company that sent me here." I asked.


    "Don''t forget the energy print." Zephirah reminded me.


    "Is that any use now that you synchronized the gem?" I asked.


    "It was fake." she told me with an angry growl.


    I grit my teeth. "Then that is another thing we would lose if we let him leave." I agreed while I kept my temper in check.


    The serpent smiled as he leaned back in his chair. "Well I could provide a serpent gem in exchange for all of that." he offered.


    "No." I replied firmly before Zephirah could say anything. "I would bet there is a real one in his possessions, and even if there isn''t, I am not sure I want to add serpents into my dungeon after this."


    The serpent scowled while the dire wolf chuckled. "Can''t blame him for that one worm." he replied. "Your boy betrayed him and you are trying to cheat him. Pity for you, I am sure there are a few of your daughters who will curse you when they find out about the missed opportunity."


    The serpent winced. "Fine, triple the energy he would have provided, a purified soul stone, an advancement coin to use as you wish, and a frost crystal." he offered.


    "I don''t even know what half of those are." I muttered to myself, was there a difference between a purified and refined soul stone? I was unsure if we should take the deal. He hadn''t even addressed the issue of our piece of mind, or the trouble he had caused Vanessa.


    "In addition, I will provide a daughter of mine to be your serpent queen." the serpent told me.


    I frowned but before I could speak the dire wolf commented.


    "I see, using the clan rules to keep your son from acting against them. Not a bad idea. A win-win for you isn''t it." he stated.


    The serpent scowled. "Fine three advancement coins." he told us then remained silent.


    "Deal." Zephriah agreed happily.


    I glared at the sprite. Given the waves of excitement that was coming off of her, she must think we are getting a good dea. Yet I wasn''t so sure. Even if Seth couldn''t attack us because of his sister, could we trust her? Maybe I was being racist, but I was getting the feeling that serpents had a bad rep for a reason.


    Unfortunately she had already agreed so when the serpent looked to me I nodded. "What she said."


    A screen appeared in front of me spelling out the agreement we had just come to. Thankfully there was a notation that Seth''s belongings would be sorted by a neutral party of the Dimensional Bank''s choosing, so I accepted the terms.


    The golden band around Seth''s neck disappeared. He began to move sluggishly at first but recovered quickly. He shrank down until he was only a meter long.


    "Father." Seth greeted the serpent in human form. Then glared at me hatefully. Seeing that familiar sight I had some doubts about this agreement. That look screamed ''you are going to pay for this!''


    "Go." the serpent told Seth irritably then a portal appeared from nowhere beside Seth. Like the portal created by the dire wolf to summon Elisia it had a different dialect than what I was used to, and even different than how the dire wolf created his. I quickly memorized the formation to study later. While I knew the portal was a display of power, I had to admit I was overwhelmed. He hadn''t cast a spell, or done anything like the ancient dire wolve''s howl to summon the spell. This spoke a great deal on his abilities in using runic, he was probably many levels above my own.


    Seth gave me one last glare then disappeared into the portal.


    With a wave of the serpent''s hand a bag appeared on the table. "All his possessions minus those you agreed to. The advancement coins, frost crystal, and token have already been placed inside. I honestly have no idea what else is inside. If he had anything that he wasn''t supposed to, I will contact my daughter in hopes of a trade." the serpent told me.


    "Will you have an issue if I kill him the next time?" I asked. No matter how I thought about it I couldn''t shake the feeling that Seth would find some way, some loop hole he could use to get revenge, whether he did it himself or convinced others to do it for him. I was already starting to regret not killing him.


    The serpent paused for a moment, "No. Though I pray he will learn from this mistake." the serpent replied then disappeared as quickly and quietly as he had appeared.


    I groaned, did he mean he hoped Seth learned to not mess with me, or how to beat me?


    "Well that was entertaining." the dire wolf said with a chuckle. "I better go have a chat with him about who he will send. A war between our daughters would not help any of you." he commented. "Take care of yourself daughter."


    "I will sire." Elisia said from the bed where she was still lying down. She looked exhausted.


    The dire wolf turned to me with a serious look. "Give whomever he sends a chance. It might not seem like it but there are some good ones amongst those monsters." he advised me "And for what it is worth. You made the right choice. The trouble he could have caused you would have made all the trouble the little one has created for you seem like a children''s prank." then the dire wolf disappeared too.


    "Can they do that because they are mediators, or because they are just that much stronger than I am?" I asked as I wondered about his last words. My doubts must have been plainly visible. Seemed I really couldn''t act.


    "Mediators. Anyone else would have to break the shield, no matter how strong they are." Zephirah replied.


    I groaned then sighed.


    "Oh no, he didn''t say anything about fixing the issue with Vanessa''s family and the company!" Zephirah exclaimed.


    "Probably because there isn''t one." I replied sadly.


    "What?" Zephirah asked.


    I had my suspicions, but then again maybe I was wrong. It would be best if we waited for Vanessa to reform and use the item Zephirah got for her. If we still needed to, did death erase brainwashing?


    "So who is ready to see what we got from that snake?" I asked trying to cheer all of us up.


    "I am more than a bit curious." Elisia admitted.


    With a smile, I grabbed the bag before sitting on the bed beside the wolf so she wouldn''t have to move. "Is this normal?" I asked concerned.


    "No, the fake gem caused some trouble. It didn''t harm her, but she will be pretty tired for a while." Zephirah replied.


    "What about you?" I asked the sprite.


    "Just my pride." Zephirah answered.


    "And you Lilian?" I asked the fairy who had gone into hiding once the dire wolf appeared.


    "I might have peed myself." Lilian replied gloomily making the rest of us laugh. "That isn''t funny!" she yelled at us.


    "Sorry, but I really needed that." I apologized to the fairy. "Go get cleaned up." I told her then snickered as she flew into the bathroom.


    "Mate, did you really not know Vanessa was fine?" Elisia asked me.


    I nodded my smile disappearing. "I had no idea about that." I admitted then shivered as I remembered how scared and desperate I was when I thought she was dying. I was sure the image of her laying on the ground in a pool of her own blood with her throat ripped out, was going to haunt me for years to come.


    "I see, that would explain your reaction then." she seemed to say to herself, "Yet you didn''t blame me for her death?" she asked.


    I shrugged. "I did, but I knew you did it to protect us. Instead I could only blame myself for not activating the spell sooner, or my inability to use my mana to heal her before she died." I explained, though I wasn''t certain if it was to her or to myself.


    Elisia sighed but didn''t say anything else.


    "Come on, open it up! I want to see what we got!" Zephirah exclaimed.


    "No, we should pull the serpent gem out. Seth can do whatever he wishes until we summon his sister." Elisia told me.


    I frowned, that obviously didn''t seem like a good idea.


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    "Put your hand into the bag and think of grabbing a serpent gem. It looks identical to the one he provided earlier." Elisia told me.


    I hesitated for a moment then reached into the bag while thinking of the serpent gem. I didn''t like this idea, but it was the only thing I could do at the moment or at least it was the only option I could think of.


    A moment later I pulled a pale green gem out of the bag. I had been right.


    "So how do we use the token?"I asked reaching into the bag again while thinking of the token we were supposed to use with the serpent gem.


    "We place the token on the stone, it will activate on its own. Then we synchronize the gem. Once that is done we can summon the new girl." Zephirah told me.


    I looked to Elisia, "Is this really a good idea?" I asked despite what her father had said.


    "Yes, not only will it protect us, it will extend to your family as well." Elisia told me.


    I hadn''t thought of them, I put the token on the stone without any hesitation. If bringing a serpent girl into my dungeon could lessen the risk to my family, I would do it. Hopefully this new one will fall for the same tricks. Though I did have a few more I could use, just in case.


    The token seemed to melt in my hand then flow onto the gem then disappear as if the gem absorbed the token.


    "Take two?" Zephirah asked then flew off to return to her core form. I repeated the process so the new gem started to orbit the core. Finished I returned to the bed to sit near Elisia. OnceI was seated Elisia shifted a bit so her head was laying on my thigh. I started to pet her on reflex, I nearly stopped when I realized what I was doing, until I noticed how much her tail was wagging. I smiled then looked to the core. All I could do now was wait.

 32 Chapter 32 - A Trap on All Worlds

    "This is boring!" Lilian complained as I sat on the bed petting Elisia''s head. She had finished her shower and returned to the main room. It had taken all of three seconds for her to become annoying.


    "Then get some sleep. It''s pretty late already." I replied.


    "I''m not tired." the fairy replied her gaze shifting to the bag that contained all of Seth''s belongings. I hadn''t thought about it before, but while waiting I had realized it wasn''t a normal bag. Especially when I realized that a normal bag wouldn''t have needed instructions to use. Elisia had confirmed that it was a bag of holding. An overpowered item commonly featured in fantasy novels. Before that realization hit me I had been thinking Seth was pretty broke. Now I was just as curious as Lilian to see what was inside, but I felt it would be better to wait for Zephirah.


    "Couldn''t we at least take a peek?" Lilian asked.


    "No." I replied.


    "Do you want Zephirah to absorb you after you steal something you shouldn''t have?" Elisia asked.


    "Huh?" I asked.


    "She is hoping to get first dibs on anything in there that the mana races would desire." Elisia told me.


    "No!" Lilian objected unconvincingly. "I was just curious." she added in a much quieter more meek tone.


    "Perhaps we should all just get some sleep." I suggested. "It might be best to wait until morning to look through the bag. Once we are rested and refreshed."


    "You have to summon the serpent." Elisia reminded me.


    I was silent my worries resurfacing. "Is that really a good idea?" I asked. "I want my family to be safe, or at least my sister."


    "It will be fine. If my sire has spoken with the serpent head as he said he would, then the female they will send will be the best fit for us. Having a dungeon where both of them have children that get along will give them a neutral ground that they can use when important discussions need to be made." she told me.


    I didn''t like the sound of that.


    "Do not worry, if it is ever needed we will be well compensated." Elisia added.


    I nodded then sighed. "So be it then, it is what it is and I don''t have a better idea." I said.


    "Does that actually feel good?" Lilian asked looking at Elisia as she continued to wag her tail happily.


    "Yes." Elisia replied simply. "I doubt it can match up to intercourse, but that won''t be possible until I obtain the form control skill at level twenty."


    "So you work off levels too?" I asked remembering that the levels were exclusive to this dungeon world.


    "Yes, my sire is a dungeon lord, I was born in his dungeon." Elisia told me. "Most of the magic beasts you encounter will be the same."


    "So I will have to worry about their angry parents coming after me if I need to kill them?" I asked.


    Elisia chuckled which proved to be just as disconcerting coming from her as it had her sire. "No, there are many dungeons in the different worlds of this realm, and few of the dungeon lords are as powerful as my sire and the serpent head. Even if you win this competition and gain your own world to pillage and use however you see fit, you still only have a small chance at reaching their level." she told me.


    "How strong are they?" I asked.


    "I heard they were in the thousands." Lilian chipped in.


    "My sire has not said, but if I were to guess given the different situations I have seen, I would say both of them have reached the tens of thousands." Elisia replied.


    "Is there a level cap?" I asked curiously.


    "Not that I know of. There are rumors that the overseer and some of the other ancient dungeon lords have reached the millions, but it has never been confirmed." Elisia replied.


    I shook my head, I had no idea how powerful that would make them. Though I could imagine that they would be able to destroy me and my dungeon with just a thought. It was rather humbling.


    "That reminds me, how much essence do you have?" Elisia asked.


    "Essence?" I asked curiously.


    The core flashed brightly.


    "With every death the dungeon gains the mana from the defeated, however with it comes a bit of soul essence. Nothing like what we would have gotten from Seth, but the small bits would eventually add up." Elisia replied.


    "I see, so we could form our own soul stones with that?" I asked.


    "No, well yes, but the amount of free soul essence you would have to use wouldn''t be worth it. Instead we can use it to form other things that are beneficial to the dungeon." Elisia replied.


    Lilian snorted.


    "What?" I asked the fairy.


    "Seems the puppy is an addict." Lilian said contemptuously.


    "I am not!" Elisia growled in reply.


    "Why do you think that?" I asked Lilian while I tried to soothe Elisia.


    "There are only three things you can make with loose soul essence. Unless you pick up a profession that specializes in it, which is rare." Lilian told me.


    "And that is?" I prompted.


    "An impure soul stone, and before you ask you can refine five impure soul stones to make a refined soul stone like the one you would have gotten from Seth. A purifiedsoul stone is a refined soul stone that has been further processed to amplify its power and ensure there is no lingering consciousness attached to the soul stone. It is worth a lot more so you got a deal on that part of the arrangement." Lilian explained.


    "And the other two?" I asked.


    "All the soul essence will have a hint of the being it came from. Once you have a taste of a being''s essence you can attempt to form a racial gem shard, but it can take a lot of essence. If you use the bare minimum your chances are pretty slim, the more you use the better your chances, though you can still fail even if you use the maximum amount of essence." she told me.


    "So it''s a gamble?" I asked.


    Lilian nodded. "It is, and if you fail all the essence goes to waste." she agreed


    "And the last?" I asked then glanced down at Elisia as she tensed up.


    "Dungeon tokens." Lilian replied with a smirk as she looked at Elisia. "It is the game of choice amongst the dungeon born. Soul essence is compressed into a special token which is used to play Dungeon Roulette. The lowest risk game has a fifty percent loss rate with mediocre payouts." she replied.


    Elisia''s tail had stopped wagging despite my continued petting.


    "I see, but is it even gambling?" I asked.


    "Huh?" Lilian asked.


    "It doesn''t sound like the essence has much use, so why not use it to gamble? If you lose it, it doesn''t matter, if you win, it could improve our dungeon." I explained.


    The core flashed several times but Zephirah didn''t say anything.


    Lilian sighed then shook her head. "You only say that because you don''t understand how important the soul stones are." Lilian told me.


    "No, I understand, or at least I have an idea. You just forget our situation. While I am a Mana Lord and have an advantage because of that, our opponents will include rich kids whose parents, or clans sent them here with everything they could get away with, and after seeing this bag of holding, I am sure that could be a lot. We need to use every method we can consider to make up for that." I explained. "Will we be able to gain enough soul essence for an impure soul stone within a month?" I asked.


    Lilian shrugged, "That is up to you and how much your dungeon kills." she replied.


    "Which isn''t what Zephirah wants to focus on." I replied then looked at the core. It didn''t flash like it had before.


    Elisia''s tail started to wag again. It seemed like Lilian might have been right. I didn''t have an issue with gambling, as long as it was looked upon as recreational and you didn''t go overboard with your betting. I wouldn''t want to include any kind of potential winnings from the gambling into my plans until we actually won it.


    I was curious now so I summoned the dungeon screen to see how much essence there was and confirm what we could do with it. Essence was at the bottom of the list.


    =========================


    Convert Soul Essence?


    Current Soul Essence - 3238


    Dungeon Token: 100 Essence


    Gem Shard: 1,000 - 1,000,000 Essence


    Impure Soul Stone: 1,000,000 Essence


    =========================


    Seemed like Lilian was right. I glanced over at the core. ''What are your thoughts?'' I asked Zephirah mentally.


    I got no reply.


    ''You didn''t say you wouldn''t be able to talk to me at all.'' I mentally reminded her.


    Still no response.


    I sighed the sprite was going to have to answer for ignoring me. I mentally sent an image of me spanking her. I thought I saw the core shiver but there was no reply from the sprite. Shaking my head I decided to use the essence as I saw fit.


    I selected the gem shard option first to satisfy my curiosity.


    =========================


    Which Gem Shard will you attempt to create?


    Slime


    Giant Mouse


    Giant Raven


    Giant Fox


    Giant Badger


    Giant Snake


    Giant Wolf


    Human


    Gemini


    How much essence will you use?


    =========================


    I was surprised by some of the choices. I hadn''t seen the Fox or Raven. I would guess the badger came from the blueprint we traded for, and Seth, Vanessa, Elisia, and I should be the source of the Human, Gemini, Wolf, and Snake options. I would have to ask when we got essence from Elisia and Seth. Was this the other normal way of getting Racial Gems, win a shard and grow it into a gem?


    I hesitated for a moment then chose the raven then input the minimum before agreeing to the attempt. I didn''t have any hopes of succeeding, however the screen had an animation where a fog flooded the screen gathering into a single point in the center of the screen. After a couple moments the fog stopped and dispersed leaving behind a note that we had failed the attempt.


    I chuckled then selected the fox option for the same amount of essence.


    "You are going again?" Lilian asked when I confirmed the attempt.


    "We don''t have much else to do." I replied with a shrug. Stupid sprite was ignoring me.


    Again the animation appeared on the floating screen. Elisia sat up to see the screen her whole body stiff.


    Seeing Elisia''s actions I shook my head. I couldn''t give her access to the essence, though maybe I could use it as a reward for her. Would that be considered feeding the addiction?


    Again the gem shard failed to form.


    "Going again?" Lilian asked.


    I shook my head. "No, I want to see the dungeon tokens." I replied.


    =========================


    How many dungeon tokens do you want to condense?


    Current number of Dungeon Tokens: 0


    Current Soul Essence: 1238


    1 Dungeon Token: 100 Essence


    =========================


    I chose to make twelve then confirmed the use.


    =========================


    Choose a Roulette Wheel


    Playing Around: 1 Dungeon Token


    Some Risk: 10 Dungeon Tokens


    Big Risk: 100 Dungeon Tokens


    High Roller: 1,000 Dungeon Tokens


    Moneybags: 10,000 Dungeon Tokens


    Addict: 100,000 Dungeon Tokens


    Donations: 1,000,000 Dungeon Tokens


    =========================


    "So the more tokens you use per spin, the better the prizes and greater the risk?" I asked looking to Lilian


    "Got it in one?" she replied.


    I chose the playing around level. A roulette wheel appeared on the screen with a spin button at the bottom of the screen. There were ten slots on the roulette, five of the ten were black spaces, while the other five had a prize on it. There were two varying stacks of iron coins, two different stacks of silver coins, and a gold coin as the grand prize.


    I rolled my eyes then backed out to the previous screen and chose the small risk roulette. A new roulette wheel appeared. This one had fourteen spaces, eight were black while six had prizes. The prizes on this were a bit better, one had a pile of gold coins, two had small piles of mithril coins, while the fourth had a gem shard like the one I got for Elisia, though it had an image of a red haired fox beside it. The grand prize was three gem shards; an eagle, a lion, and what I would guess was the hot version of a harpy. I pressed the spin button which turned gray once I hit it. The wheel spun rapidly at first then gradually slowed down until it finally stopped on the fox gem shard.


    I frowned at the screen for a moment then tapped the button to receive my prize. A moment later a small box appeared in front of me then landed on my lap beside Elisia''s paw.


    "We won!" Elisia cheered happily.


    "Beginner''s luck." Lilian snorted.


    I backed out of the roulette screen.


    "What are you doing?!" Elisia protested.


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    "We don''t have enough essence for this game." I replied calmly.


    A pop up appeared on the screen.


    =========================


    Out of Essence for Dungeon Tokens?


    Convert Mana into Dungeon Tokens!


    1 Dungeon Token: 1000 Mana


    =========================


    I smiled at the screen, I had seen the bait and here was the hook. Seemed like people from other worlds fell for this trick too. I snorted then closed the screen and left the gambling screen.


    "But we won!" Elisia complained. "We could have spared a little mana! If we got the grand prize we would be set!" she whined at me.


    I shook my head. "No, the only way to win at gambling is to treat it as a game, and walk away if you do happen to win." I told her.


    "What does that mean?" Elisia asked.


    "If you are going to play, only gamble what you can afford to lose, if you get lucky enough to win big walk away. I played because the essence isn''t any use to us. I will not spend the mana we need to grow the dungeon on a game of chance." I told her firmly.


    Elisia''s head drooped.


    I reach out and petted her between the ears. "There are no easy wins." I told her.


    I heard clapping. I turned to see the ancient serpent and ancient dire wolf had appeared at my dining table again.


    "Convinced?" the dire wolf asked.


    The serpent nodded. "I am reassured. I will chose her as you asked." he told the dire wolf then disappeared.


    "Zephirah." I called looking over to the core.


    The serpent gem flashed then disappeared along with the core as Zephirah appeared in her sprite form. "He made me do it!" she said as soon as she appeared.

 33 Chapter 33 - Selia

    "He made you do what?" I asked the sprite coldly.


    "I contacted her through the Dungeon Network. The old worm had some reservations about sending the daughter I suggested. Especially with Elisia here." the dire wolf said giving his daughter a look that caused her to hunker down beside me and curl her tail in.


    "How much did you lose?" I asked Elisia.


    "Let''s just say I wouldn''t need your help and leave it at that." Elisia replied in a low voice.


    I sighed then nodded. "So a test for me to see if I could be trusted with one of his daughters?" I asked to clarify.


    The dire wolf nodded. "Not one of his first tier girls, but still well respected enough to request a limitation on who she is sent to." he explained.


    I shook my head not understanding any of this.


    "We''ll talk about it later." Elisia told me.


    I nodded then looked back to Zephirah, "Anything else?" I asked.


    Zephirah flitted about the room keeping out of arm''s reach and refusing to meet my gaze.


    "Sire?" I asked looking to the older man.


    The ancient dire wolf was silent as he considered me for a moment. "No, the sprite probably doesn''t want to reveal the price we paid for her silence." he told me.


    "Oh, and what was that?" I asked.


    "Essence to replace what had been used, plus a bit more." he replied.


    I accessed the dungeon screen and then the essence to see that our current essence had grown to 10,038. A lot more than I had spent, plenty to play some more roulette or try making another gem shard. More tests. I shook my head, "I had a friend ruin his marriage and life because of his gambling, I have no interest in repeating his mistakes." I told the dire wolf.


    The man nodded. "Good to hear. The old worm and I will check in from time to time, to make sure the girls are getting along." he told me then disappeared.


    "Seems really concerned." I commented looking down at Elisia.


    Elisia tilted her head, "It''s odd. He cares, but this isn''t his style." she told me.


    "No?" I asked.


    "No, we can always return to the pack, but he usually doesn''t assist anyone once they leave." she replied.


    I frowned as I considered it for a while. "Any way to find out if any of your siblings are participating in our trial?" I asked her.


    "I can ask around, but I would need access to the network." Elisia replied.


    "We can do that, but let''s welcome our new friend first. Maybe she already has the answers." I replied.


    "You want to summon your serpent queen?" Zephirah asked.


    "I do." I replied.


    Lilian flew over and settled down on my shoulder, I figured she just wanted the best seat in the house.


    Zephirah glowed a bright white for a couple seconds blinding us. When she returned to normal there was a meter long amethyst scaled cobra lying beneath the sprite.


    The cobra uncoiled and looked around. "I am never going to get used to those dungeon transfers." she muttered to herself. It was a sweet musical voice that I had trouble placing with a snake of any sort.


    After looking around she turned to regard me. "Not unpleasant for a human, Elisia good to see you again. I hope you have overcome your issue?" she spoke.


    Elisia hopped down from the bed her tail wagging happily. "Selia! I never thought they would send you!" she exclaimed happily then proceeded to start licking the serpents face.


    The serpent let her continue for a few moments, "Okay! Enough! Down Dog!" Selia said sounding a bit vexed.


    "Sorry." Elisia said backing away finally though her tail never stopped wagging.


    "So you know each other." I commented on the obvious.


    "Yes, I am one of the few of my father''s children that doesn''t care about our parent''s feud. Especially when the pair of old fools can easily get along when they need to." Selia replied to me.


    I nodded. "I should officially introduce you. I am Jason Nellis Dungeon Lord of this place, the sprite floating over you is Zephirah, my core, dungeon assistant, or whatever you call her position. The fairy on my shoulder is Lilian, my runic trainer. Whether she stays after imparting her knowledge to me is yet to be seen." I told her. "We also have a gemini who is supposed to reform soon." I added then looked to Zephirah. "Is that the proper term for it?"


    "It is. Though I was told she was a variant gemini." Selia told me. "Oh and I am Selissias though I prefer Selia." Selia told me.


    I looked to Zephirah. "I am not sure." I admitted.


    "She is a variant with the incredibly rare multiplier skill." Zephirah told us.


    "No wonder my brother wanted her." Selia said.


    Zephirah coughed. "I believe you brother thought she was a Triple Mutation." Zephirah told her. "I only know she was more than that because of the scans."


    Selia was silent for a moment then she began to writhe on the floor as she laughed a loud belly laugh. It was an unsettling sight. "If he ever finds out what he lost¡­." Selia commented once the fit of laughter had passed. "Couldn''t have happened to a nicer snake." she added with a chuckle.


    "I take it you aren''t fond of Seth?" I asked.


    "You could say that. He and I are full siblings, but still two of many. He thinks too highly of himself, expected everyone to cater to his desires, and looked down on those of us who didn''t feel that becoming the strongest was the best use of our time." she replied.


    "I see, well that is a relief, but do you have any idea what is going on? Elisia says her sire has been acting a bit odd." I told her.


    Selia seemed to consider it for a while. "No, I can guess though." she told me.


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    "A guess is better than what we have now." I told her.


    "I heard some rumors of new clans rising up. It wouldn''t surprise me if this situation has just appeared at the right time to help foster a potential alliance between our clans. A starting point to work from." she told them. "Despite how much those two old fools dislike each other, they at least respect each other, unlike the new clans rising up the ranks."


    I nodded then pushed it all out of my head. If it was like that then it wasn''t likely to affect me within the trial, unless there were contestants from those rising clan''s participating.


    "I also think we are the only representatives in this trial, and each of the rising families has a representative, whether as a dungeon lord or a racial leader." Selia added as an afterthought.


    I groaned, but it didn''t really change anything.


    "Father said that you were trying to create a farm based dungeon?" Selia asked.


    I nodded looking to the sprite. "Yes, we have an odd connection to a company that we can buy seeds and sell plants too. We are planning on converting the currency to mana to grow the dungeon rather than focusing on killing intruders." I replied.


    "It''s going to be legendary!" Zephirah cheered excitedly.


    "Interesting." Selia said. "We should see what my brother had in his possessions. Father hinted that he would make us suitable offers for anything my brother shouldn''t have had, or anything he might find interesting. Besides knowing him, there are probably a few people trapped in there."


    "Huh?" I said confused.


    "There are spells similar to your stones, they create a prisons that can be stored in a bag of holding. Time stops in there so we need to be careful as they will be incredibly disoriented when we bring them out." Zephirah told me.


    I frowned then got up off the bed then turned around and held the bag up while thinking of releasing all the contents. Not my best idea. Seemed Seth was a great deal richer than I expected him to be. The coins and items quickly overflowed the bed landing on the ground.


    "I got the currency." Zephirah called out happily. A moment later a large mound of coins that covered most of the bed disappeared leaving only other items left.


    "Wow, once you convert it he had seven platinum, thirty gold, eighty silver, and nine iron coins!" Zephirah announced happily. "We can definitely do some more upgrading now."


    I nodded but didn''t pay much attention as I noticed several black orbs on the bed and one on the floor. I stooped down and picked the one off the floor and placed it along with the others. "Is there anything else that fell off the bed?" I asked the sprite.


    "Yeah." Zephirah replied disappeared into the gap between the pair of beds emerging a moment later with a larger orb made up of black and gold swirls.


    "That isn''t good." Selia said looking at the orb Zephirah was holding.


    I reached out and took the orb from the sprite. As soon as I had it in my hand, I could feel a strong energy emanating from inside.


    "How did he get his hands on that." Selia asked as she grew to three meters long and moved closer to the bed so she could look at the orb more closely.


    "What is it?" I asked.


    "This orb and the other black orbs are the prison orbs we were talking about. This black and gold one is just a higher quality used to contain much stronger individuals.


    I looked at the bed and counted nine other orbs making it ten all together. For some odd reason I felt a strange chill along my spine. I didn''t understand why, but it passed quickly enough. Along with the orbs there were a large number of items that looked like collars, wrist bands, and crowns, all made out of a blood red material. "Would those have something to do with the orbs?" I asked.


    "Slavery bands. Probably, though I don''t know why he has so many." Selia replied then started to push the slavery bands around with Elisia''s aid. When they finished there were nine full sets. "Why would he need cuffs, collars, and crowns for all of them?" Selia asked more to herself than the rest of us.


    Looking at the piles I could see that the cuffs came in sets of four, probably one for each wrist and ankle.


    "What else is there?" I asked looking around. I saw a potted plant with a tiny sprout inside of it. It had a brown stem with three dark emerald leaves. Besides that was a small pouch, five blue rocks the size of my fist, three black rocks the size of my fist, and a golden pebble that glowed despite the light in the room, four white crystals, three red crystals, three green crystals and a purple crystal.


    I picked up the pouch to find it contained a variety of seeds. "Zephirah can you identify these?" I asked the sprite.


    "Nope." Zephirah replied without even glancing into the pouch. "Unless I have it in my records I can''t identify it and none of those are the same as the seeds we have received from the company.


    "Let me see, I might be able to identify them." Selia offered.


    I nodded then dumped the seeds on the bed in front of her.


    Selia peered at the pile for a moment, "There are ten kinds of seeds here. Let me check my notes in a bit and I should be able to identify most of them." Selia informed me.


    I nodded then scooped the seeds up and placed them back in the pouch. "What of the sprout?" I asked.


    "World tree sprout." Selia replied immediately.


    "Seriously?" I asked amazed.


    "It isn''t something uncommon. For a tree large enough to be called a world tree it puts of a flood of spores, an enormous amount of them sprout, but none ever last very long, the density of the mana in most worlds isn''t high enough to sustain them." Selia told me.


    "What about here?" I asked curiously.


    "Its enough, more than enough, but it will eat into the ambient mana we receive." Selia replied.


    I frowned but gestured at the other items. "The rest are ore hearts and elemental crystals. Those will probably be our biggest gains out of all of this." Selia told me.


    I nodded even though I wasn''t actually sure of their use. We had dumped the bag because of the orbs, taking stock of the rest was fine, but I would deal with their usefulness in the morning.


    "Shall we see who that snake imprisoned?" Elisia asked.


    "Be careful, I can sense some very angry emotions coming out of those orbs, the big one especially." Lilian spoke up finally.


    I nodded, "I would be mad too." I told her.


    Lilian nodded but when she looked at the bigger prison orb she looked incredibly scared.

 34 Chapter 34 - Loo

    "This might sound stupid to the rest of you, but how do we operate these things?" I asked looking at the ten orbs in front of me.


    "As the owner you just have to touch them and think about seeing inside. The orb will comply and turn the barrier transparent. Do Not Think About Letting Them Out!" Elisia told me. "Not until we are sure it is safe to do so."


    I nodded then reached for the biggest one. It had the most mystery about it and I wanted to know just how much trouble Seth might have gotten us into.


    Touching the orb I thought about seeing inside. To our surprise there wasn''t anyone inside, instead all we could see was a great deal of water.


    "I could have sworn there was someone in there." Elisia commented looking into the orb.


    Several others in the room nodded their agreement.


    "Maybe there is." Selia said seeming to squint at the orb, it was hard for me to understand the facial changes on a snake.


    "Where?" Lilian asked curiously.


    "Inside the water." I stated, "Could it be a water beast?" I asked looking to Selia.


    Selia tilted her head to the side. "Maybe, can you shift the view?" she asked me.


    Why hadn''t I thought of that? As soon as I thought about shifting the view the view shifted. I controlled the image to go under the water to see what was swimming around inside of it.


    The view that greeted us was again surprising. There was something in the water, but it was small, moving closer revealed it to be a woman standing at the bottom of the water in a transparent bubble. She had long dark brown hair with hints of red in it, pale nearly white skin, bright ruby eyes, and a figure porn stars would covet barely contained in a tan dress that revealed a great deal of cleavage and leg.


    "Flame Dryad?" Selia said sounding confused.


    "Aren''t dryads tree girls?" I asked confused.


    "About as much as humans are monkeys." Selia retorted a bit irritably.


    I rolled my eyes.


    "Yes dryads are women who bond to trees, but there is a lot more to it than being a tree girl." Zephirah told me. "A flame dryad is a woman who bonded to a tree that contained a lot of fire mana. They are rare, and highly coveted materials."


    I nodded. "And the asshole put her inside a giant pool of water, why?" I asked. I was secretly amazed by the sheer amount of water in the orb. Unless the dryad was Lilian sized, it was a lot of water.


    "Either to help contain her or to infuse the fire mana she puts off into the water." Selia replied. "Or both. The water isn''t moving like it should so it shouldn''t be normal water."


    Looked like normal water to me, but I wasn''t going to disagree with her. I had no idea what ''moving right'' looked like.


    "Should we release her?" I asked the important question.


    Everyone seemed to hesitate.


    "Release me now!" a feminine voice came out of the orb, apparently she could see and hear us as well as we could her.


    "What assurance do we have you won''t harm us if we release you?" Vanessa asked appearing by my side.


    I turned to look at the recently reformed gemini curious to see if there was anything different about her now that she had reformed. "Could have warned me." I commented aloud.


    "Did you want a countdown?" Zephirah asked.


    "At least a warning." I replied.


    "I give my word on Estrisia the Fiery One that I will not harm anyone who doesn''t mean me harm." the fire dryad pledged.


    Vanessa nodded then looked to me. Her dark blue eyes staring warmly into mine as she smiled at me happily. "We should let her out master. She has sworn on the name of her god."


    Master was new. I liked it, probably more than I should have. "Are you sure it is her god?" I asked.


    "It doesn''t matter." Selia spoke up like I was a fool.


    "She is right master, lying while swearing on any gods name, even one whom you despise, would be incredibly unwise." Vanessa told me.


    "As unwise as breaking an oath of allegiance?" I asked.


    "Not that bad, but she doesn''t have anything to gain from lying to us." Zephirah chimed in.


    I frowned then darkened the orb the fire dryad was in. Before anyone could object I summoned my mana and began to draw runes in the air creating a cage. It was larger than the cage created with the capture stone. It wouldn''t constrain the prisoner unless she tried to attack us, however the moment she tried to harm any of us it would activate freezing her in place unable to move a single muscle. Unfortunately with my limited mana pool I had to pull a great deal of mana from the dungeon. Once I was finished I returned to the orb then thought about releasing only the fire dryad directly into the cage I had made for her.


    "Paranoid much?" Selia asked as the fire dryad appeared in the middle of the cage which immediately activated.


    "You do remember the reason why your father sent you here right?" I asked Selia.


    Selia tilted her head to the side then nodded. "Fair point." she agreed.


    "What is this?" the fire dryad asked seeing the runic cage she had appeared inside of.


    "A cage." I replied. "It will not harm or inhibit you in any way unless you try to harm any of us." I told her.


    "And if I just walk out of here?" she asked me her ruby eyes shining brightly.


    "It won''t stop you." I confirmed then turned my attention back to the other nine orbs.


    "Seriously?" Selia asked surprised.


    "What? I have no desire to keep anyone here against their will." I replied.


    "We could still use her help in exchange for her freedom." Selia told me.


    I shook my head. "No." I replied. "Maybe you consider me a fool, but I would prefer willing aid. Look around, except Vanessa who didn''t have much of a choice before now, everyone is here willingly."


    "I am here willingly master." Vanessa reassured me.


    I nodded, "We can talk about that later." I told her.


    "Doubt there will be much talking." Zephirah snickered.


    I rolled my eyes then touched the second orb. Inside was a large dark red bull with red eyes and two sets of horns that would put a longhorn to shame.


    "Blazing Bull. A strong beast, makes an excellent guardian and divine steaks." Selia commented.


    "Steaks?" I asked confused.


    Selia nodded her snake head while Elisia seemed to start drooling. "Because of their fire element there are no parasites in their meat and even after butchering the meat remains at a just cooked temperature despite being raw. It is expensive and popular amongst the rich." she informed us.


    I nodded then continued to look into the other orbs, at the edge of my vision I could see the fire dryad hadn''t left but was instead watching us closely.


    I found two more blazing bulls, both smaller than the first, probably females, before I found something new, it was a group of five silver chickens, what I found to be the most unusual about them was that there was the fact that their silver feathers would occasionally emit a silver flame. It wasn''t often, but I still saw it twice while trying to figure out what they were. No one else in my group seemed to recognize them either.


    "Silverfire Chickens." the fire dryad spoke up. "Like the Blazing Bull they are good as defenders and dinner. They are even more expensive than the Blazing Bull due to their rarity and difficulty in raising and breeding. There should be a rooster in one of the other orbs."


    I nodded to the fire dryad then found she was correct when we found the rooster in the next orb, it was much larger than the females, and more ferocious looking.


    "What kinds of beasts are these bulls and chickens?" I asked curiously.


    "Magic beasts." Zephirah replied. "However instead of gaining intelligence and the ability to consciously control the mana inside them, their mana has fused into them. So rather than confuse them with intelligent magic beasts like Elisia and Selia, we call them Innate beasts."


    "I wonder." Selia commented staring at the world tree sprout for a few moments.


    "What?" I asked.


    "A rumor I had heard. I wonder if Seth was going to try it out." she replied.


    "What rumor?" Elisia asked.


    Selia looked to the fire dryad then back to the world tree sprout. "Each sprout has a great deal of mana inside them, residual from the world tree they fell from. This mana is incredibly pure making them a popular ingredient for medicines and magic formulas. However several beasts have been known to mutate after consuming the sprouts, if they can resist the mana tearing through their bodies. If that mana can be guided by someone, like a dryad the odds of success would be much higher." she explained.


    "I do not know what my previous capture wanted from me, besides a romp in the sheets." the fire dryad spat angrily.


    "Hmm, this could be interesting then." I commented reaching for then next orb. Five of the normal orbs and all we had were farm animals. The next orb had a bird that looked like a crow or raven, I was terrible at telling the difference between them. The biggest oddity was that the bird was the blackest black I had ever seen.


    "Rena!" Selia cheered excitedly. "Seth must be furious!"


    I looked to the amethyst snake waiting for an explanation.


    "She is a Void Raven and Seth''s official fiance. Seth had to pay a lot to her father for her." Selia informed me.


    "Sounds more like a slave." I commented.


    "Just now picked that up?" Selia asked. "Amongst the dungeon lords their children are little more than pawns to build relationships with the other dungeon lords. Elisia and my father''s aren''t as bad as most, but they would have never handed us over to you if you weren''t a promising dungeon lord."


    "Can''t you refuse?" I asked.


    "They can." Vanessa told me placing her hand on my shoulder. "But if they do they will be cut off from the family. Living without the support of their families is possible, but so much harder. There are similar customs in your world, are there not?" she asked.


    I nodded. Not in my country, but it was there.


    "Seems father left some things out." Selia commented.


    "We will talk." Vanessa reassured Selia.


    I groaned then looked to Selia, "Is she a danger to me?" I asked. As Seth''s fiance she wouldn''t be happy that I stripped him of all his possessions.


    "No, she had no love for my brother." Selia replied.


    I hesitated a moment then released the raven. The black bird appeared beside Selia. She looked around for a few moments then stared from me to Selia, "Seth?" she asked Selia. Her voice while feminine sounded rather dull.


    "Defeated, father had to intervene to save his soul." Selia replied.


    "I see." she said then looked to me. "My price had already been paid, my father will not object if you keep me here." she told me.


    "We can try and send you back." I offered.


    "If given a choice, I would prefer to stay." Rena replied.


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    "Why?" I asked confused.


    "If I return father will just sell me to another male, and I will not have a say in who he sells me too. Here I already know and get along with Selia." she replied.


    "What about me?" Elisia asked.


    "Have we met?" Rena asked looking down at the wolf.


    "Nope, but we can still be friends." Elisia declared wagging her tail.


    I stared at the wolf for a moment as I began to wonder if she was an airhead.


    Three more orbs left, the next revealed another female blazing bull.


    Grabbing the next I revealed three campfires each with a different colored fire in it. One was a pretty violet, another resembled the silver fire of the Silverfire Chickens, while the last was a pure white fire.


    "Foxfire, Silverflame, and Frostfire." Selia identified the flames.


    "The white one is Heart Fire not Frostfire." The fire dryad corrected. "They look alike, but the beast flames wouldn''t be able to burn so close to Frostfire."


    "Ah, my mistake." Selia agreed.


    I frowned, I had no idea what Seth had planned to use all this for, but it didn''t matter to me, I would make my own plans.


    Reaching for the last orb I found a bright red tailless fox laying inside the orb. Even though I didn''t know a thing about animals I knew that this fox was not in good shape.


    "No!" the fire dryad cried out seeing the fox tears streaming down her face. As I had guessed Seth had leverage over the dryad. Unfortunately it didn''t look like he took care of it.


    Unfortunately the orb the fox was in quickly disappeared ejecting the fox onto the bed in front of us.


    "What did you do!" the fire dryad screamed at me then a moment later the cage I had placed her in activated. It quickly restrained her causing her to fall onto the floor.


    The fox that appeared in front of us looked really bad. "What happened?" I asked looking around as I summoned my mana and started to draw some healing runes.


    "She should be a Fire Tail Fox. They are rare and valuable beasts that you can harvest a beast flame from. Though this one looks like it was overharvested." Selia commented.


    "Seth?" I asked as my runes activated and sent a soothing mana into the fox to heal her injuries, whatever they were.


    "Maybe, he did always seem to have a lot of coin on hand, and beast flames sell well." Selia admitted.


    "Can you save her?" Vanessa asked.


    I shrugged then a thought crossed my mind, "Yes, I should be able to, even if my healing runes don''t work." I replied.


    "The runes aren''t working." Lilian told me. "The damage is too her soul and even as a Mana Lord you don''t have the knowledge needed to heal that." she told me.


    "Do you?" I asked Lilian.


    The fairy shook her head. "No, that is a level far above what I know." she admitted.


    "SAVE HER!" the fire dryad forced the words out of her mouth despite the restrictions the cage had placed on her.


    "Please." Vanessa pleaded too her eyes full of tears as she looked down at the fox.


    I sighed then nodded. I hoped I didn''t regret this.

 35 Chapter 35 - A Pharmacis

    "You can save her?" Lilian asked doubtfully.


    I shrugged. "I think so." I replied reaching into my pocket and pulling out the shard I had received earlier. It just so happened to be for foxes. I was a bit skeptical of the coincidence of the matter. Though I didn''t see a reason to voice it out.


    "What is that?" Selia asked then seemed to realize what it was. "Are you sure?" she asked.


    "No." I replied then looked to Vanessa and her teary eyes, "But I will do it anyway." I wanted to put the blame on Vanessa''s charm, but I knew better. The fox was obviously mistreated and hurt, and I had a way to save her. What was the point in withholding the possible cure. Getting a better fox queen? I would rather save a life and figure out the rest later.


    I poked the fox with the pointy end of the gem shard getting a drop of her blood onto the shard then poked my own finger with the other side. Once both of our blood was on the gem shard it flashed a brilliant red then quickly subsided to a dull red glow.


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    "It actually worked." Zephirah said sounding surprised.


    "Was it not supposed too?" I asked while looking at the fox. She still looked bad in a starved skeleton sort of way, but despite that I had the feeling the danger had passed.


    "It shouldn''t have." Zephirah agreed. "Fire Tailed Foxes are innate beasts. They can''t become beast queens."


    "Why?" I asked.


    "The racial representative needs to be intelligent, so only magic beasts can be bonded to a gem or gem shard. Innate beasts just don''t have the intelligence." Zephirah explained.


    I frowned then looked over to the fire dryad who was watching us intently.


    "Lilian, is the danger passed? Did this save her?" I asked.


    Lilian flew down to the fox''s side and looked her over for a few moments. "Yes, the contract with the gem shard bound her soul to shard preventing further deterioration. If you synchronize it to the dungeon core, the damage will be able to be repaired." she told us. "If you want exact details of how this worked, you need to find an expert."


    I nodded then used my mana to access the cage around the dryad and loosened the restraints. "She should be fine now." I told her.


    "Are you sure?" the dryad asked.


    "As sure as we can be. Lilian is the closest we have to an expert." I replied.


    The fire dryad seemed to relax. "Good." she said then began to weep quietly.


    "Any idea why the orb released her like that?" I asked.


    "Didn''t you think about letting her out?" Elisia asked.


    I shook my head. "Not in her condition. Her time was stopped in there. Wait, how does that work?" I asked confused at how they could hear and speak to us if time had stopped for them.


    Everyone looked around but no one answered.


    "None of us are time mages. We just know it works." Vanessa spoke up for the group.


    I frowned but let it go. "But why did it spit her out?" I asked again.


    "Security." Selia spoke up. "Seth probably had it set that if anyone but him touched it she would be ejected. That way the dryad couldn''t just grab her orb and run away. That kind of spell wouldn''t have changed when you gained ownership as it was set to him specifically."


    I called Seth a few choice names in the silence of my mind.


    "So now what?" Zephirah asked after rolling her eyes, I forgot she could read most of my thoughts.


    "Some upgrades to the house, then I need some sleep." I replied.


    Vanessa smiled at me then looked at the items on the bed. "Jason, do you trust me?" she asked.


    I frowned. "I am not sure." I replied honestly, I had no idea if there was any brainwashing left. Even without the brainwashing I honestly had no idea what her feelings about me and my dungeon were.


    "Her brainwashing disappeared with her death." Zephirah informed me helpfully.


    I nodded at the information then hesitated a moment before nodding. I might not know her feelings, but she seemed happier since she came back, and I wanted to trust her. The image of her lying on the ground her throat ripped open passed through my mind, and I never wanted to see that happen again.


    Vanessa gave me a brilliant smile before throwing herself at me. Her arms wrapped around my neck as her lips pressed against mine. They were soft yet firm, sweet, and just incredible, but before I could really enjoy the kiss she was gone.


    "Better wake up, she took off." Selia spoke up waking me from the bliss.


    Just as Selia had said Vanessa had taken off. She had also grabbed the orb full of water, two of the white crystals, and three of the blue rocks.


    I headed for the door, really curious as to what she was going to do. While I would hate to lose the resources we had gained from Seth, it was all free stuff so I wasn''t bothered by the thought.


    As an afterthought I released the dryad from her cage. Having saved the fox I doubted she would harm us. Especially as the fox needed to synchronize with our core to get better.


    Outside we found Vanessa standing by the well. "Here goes nothing." she said then dropped the two crystals and three blue ore hearts into the well. After that she held the orb over the well and released the water into the well. It came out in a torrent, but despite the rapid release of water that exceeded a fire hose, the orb continued to release the water.


    "And what is this supposed to accomplish?" Selias asked over the sound of the rushing water.


    "While I was in the company I learned a few things, one of those things is about the well. At the bottom of the well is a water heart like the ore hearts. It converts the ambient mana into water, Nurture Water specifically." she replied.


    "That is good to know, but what about all of this?" Selia asked.


    "To keep all the water that the water heart is constantly making in this ambient mana rich environment, all the water is continually compressed to stay inside the well. The more water the higher the compression." Vanessa replied.


    "Wouldn''t that eventually explode?" Selia asked.


    Vanessa asked. "Yes, but it would take ten years at the earliest. None of the companies dungeons have lasted that long." she replied.


    I frowned at Vanessa unsure how to take that knowledge, then again we weren''t in the same position as those dungeons.


    "Again, good to know, but¡­." Selia prompted.


    "If we can create the right circumstances, the water heart could evolve into a living water heart." Vanessa replied. "By adding all of this living water to be compressed with the water heart, plus the high ambient mana, and the physical materials of ice crystals, and blue steel ore hearts. We should have a good chance of success!" Vanessa explained happily.


    Selia frowned, "I''m not so sure." she replied.


    "The company seemed sure it could work, but getting ahold of such a large quantity of living water was difficult, even for them." Vanessa explained.


    Selia nodded, "In theory it could work." she admitted. "It just doesn''t seem likely."


    "Trying shouldn''t hurt." I spoke up.


    "Do you even know what the difference between a living water heart and a water heart is?" Selia asked me.


    I shook my head. "Nope." I replied.


    Selia lowered her head. "Why did I have to get saddled with an idiot." she grumbled.


    I frowned. "Would you prefer and intelligent asshole?" I asked.


    "And if I said yes?" Selia asked me.


    "Then you can call your father, see if he will take you back." I replied coldly. "Rena can even go with you if you want."


    Rena flapped her wings and flew over to land on my shoulder. "Staying." she said loudly making sure we all knew her opinion. "Stopping being a spoiled brat Selia. He might not know everything you would want him too, but it is obvious he is intelligent. He can learn. An asshole wouldn''t even bother, just level you up and lock you up in a bedroom. Is that what you really want?" Rena chastised her friend.


    Selia seemed incredibly surprised then lowered her head. "No." she said. Then a moment later she lifted her head again. "I am sorry Jason." she told me.


    That was a quick change of heart, too fast for my liking. It seemed Rena was well aware of how the other dungeon lords could be, and Selia knew that, so maybe it was legitimate.


    "Its fine." I said then looked back to the orb that was still releasing water into the well. "Is that going to be too much?" I asked.


    Vanessa bit her lower lip then shrugged. "It shouldn''t be." she replied though it was obvious that she wasn''t all that certain herself. I walked closer then reached out to the orb, I thought about knowing how much water was inside the orb. The answer I got back wasn''t clear, but using the gallon measurement I was used to, it seemed like somewhere in the upper trillions.


    I stared at the orb in shock. That little orb was holding a respectable sized lake worth of water. It really didn''t seem possible. Suddenly the water seemed to start rushing out of the orb even faster.


    Vanessa smiled brilliantly then dropped the orb into the well. "Its working!"


    "How can you tell?" I asked surprised.


    "When an elemental heart starts evolving into a living elemetal heart it will start drawing all the similar element to it to fuel the change. Since it started to change it started to draw the water from the orb in, increasing the flow." Selia explained it as she stared at the well in awe.


    "Jason, I already apologized, and I meant it. I was just frustrated with my father for being him." Selia told me drawing my attention back from the well.


    I wasn''t sure that made sense but she did seem sincere.


    "I just need to make sure I can stay." she told me.


    I nodded. "As long as we don''t have another one of those outbursts." I agreed.


    "Deal." She agreed.


    "What do you need the living water for?" I asked, there was no way she was apologizing again and explaining just because she felt bad.


    "Everything. I am a pharmacist by trade, it''s why my father thought we would be such a good pair. You could grow almost all of the herbs I need for my research, and selling my medicine would make more than the plants themselves. A source of living water would be an incredible improvement to my work." Selia replied.


    I nodded, it wasn''t a bad idea. It was actually a really good idea. "It will take some time, we need to grow and gain access to all the plants." I told her.


    She nodded. "That''s true, but it is still a better opportunity than any of the other dungeon lords were willing to offer. At best I could have gotten one level to plant my herbs, and even then it would be at risk of invasions from outsiders who would trample or harvest them."


    I laughed. "That is still a possibility here." I reminded her.


    "Yes, but we will use all the floors, right?" she asked.


    I shook my head. "Not all, but most of them. Some might need to be used for animals like those blazing bulls and silverfire chickens."


    Selia hesitated then nodded. "Yes, those would be a useful addition, defensively, financially, and it never hurts to have extra food on hand." she admitted.


    I smiled. "Yeah, it is a good idea to have extra food." I agreed thinking back to my conversations with Vanessa and the fact that the company didn''t offer any kind of food crop. It was still too early to be self sustaining.


    There was a rumble then a pillar of blue light rose up out of the well.


    "It worked!" Vanessa cheered.


    "Anyone know what kind of water we were pouring down there?" Rena asked.


    No one did.


    "We will see soon." I commented.


    "I could have mutated a bit." Selia told me.


    As the bright pillar of light faded an orb of water floated up out of the well. Then the well crumbled and disappeared as it was absorbed by the dungeon.


    "That can''t be good." I grumbled.


    "We will just have to rearrange the dungeon floor a bit." Zephirah said appearing over my shoulder.


    "Should just make a new floor, we have the money for expansion." I replied.


    "Yeah." Zephirah agreed.


    "What were you doing?" I asked as Vanessa reached out to the orb and drew it to her chest.


    "Remodeling the house." Zephirah replied.


    "Couldn''t wait for my input?" I asked.


    "You''re a guy, I made sure you had a big bed and a shower, beyond that do you even care?" Zephirah retorted.

 36 Chapter 36 - Invigorating Water

    I glanced back at the house only to notice that some things had been moved around. The house was taking up six tiles now two wide and three deep, while everything else had been shifted around to make room for it. It looked like a log cabin with dark brown tiles for a roof. I didn''t see any windows, but then again they weren''t really necessary.


    After checking out the house I regarded Zephirah skeptically for a few moments, did she really believe that? I cared more about the house then the bed and shower. "What about my recliner, liquor cabinet, pool table, grill, ¡­.?" I began then stopped as Zephriah gave me an icy cold look.


    "Any idea what it is?" Selia asked Vanessa eagerly.


    Vanessa shook her head as she walked over to Zephirah and I with the living water heart in her arms. It seemed to be nothing more than a ball of dense water the size of a volleyball.


    "Then how should we get it identified? The kind of water it is can have a drastic effect on the plants we water it with." Selia asked making a good point.


    "Can''t you use your spells?" Elisia asked me.


    I frowned then considered it for a moment. "I can try." I agreed. The spell was a bit complicated as it asked the mana itself to identify the item. As far as I was aware the mana wasn''t conscious, but since everything gave off ambient mana to some degree, and that mana combined with the rest of the ambient mana that acted like a big blanket that covered all the worlds, we could gain information left in the mana from a similar source of ambient mana. It was a rough idea of how it worked, and I was skeptical of it, personally I thought there was a whole lot more to it, but none of that was covered in the knowledge I had. Despite that there was no reason not to try.


    Summoning my mana I began to draw the runes out in front of me. As I completed each rune I commanded it to shift into place forming a circle on the ground in front of us. Then another circle inside the first, then a third, and finally the core formation made up the very center of the circle. It was complex and time consuming. When I was finished I was tired and a bit wobbly on my feet. The power needed for the spell was from the dungeon''s pool, but it still took a lot of effort to draw out each of the runes then place it exactly where it needed to be.


    "Alright!" Zephirah cheered then a circular stone slab appeared beneath the rune circle I had just formed. Before I could say anything Zephirah took control of the spell while I was still trying to figure out what she was doing then overpowered the runes before lowering the whole circle onto the stone slab like we had with the capture stone before.


    Then the runes disappeared leaving the stone slab with the rune circle imprinted on the surface. A moment later the stone slab was reabsorbed by the dungeon than a new slab appeared.


    "Want to check it?" Zephirah asked.


    I shook my head. "Grab one of those ore hearts we can afford to damage that." I explained.


    "No!" Selia retorted angrily then glaring at me then slithered onto the runic circle. "We can use this instead. No loss if it is destroyed or altered." Selia said placing a small glass vial filled with a dark red liquid on the center of the stone. I had no idea where it came from. She had to have some kind of storage device on her somewhere.


    "Do you all really not trust my work?" Zephirah asked sulkily.


    "I don''t trust mine." I stated honestly. "It''s the first time I have created such a complex spell."


    Zephirah frowned.


    "It seemed fine." Lilian supplied. "Surprisingly given how tired you were getting towards the end." she added giving me a hard stare. "Very surprising."


    I frowned at her but was too tired to care what she meant. Slowly I was regaining some of my energy, but bedtime sounded better with every moment.


    "Fine." Zephirah said then charged the rune circle


    As the mana poured into the runes on the stone slab Selia looked up at me. "Wasn''t that more complex than we really needed?" she asked.


    I shrugged. "Probably, but all my training was in Runic Shift. I never needed identification spells in the game, so I never learned how to break the spell down. The game only provided a basic and complex version of the spell. I doubted the basic spell would have had any effect on a living water heart so I had to use the complex one. Give me some time and I can probably make less complex versions." I told her.


    "If I provided some mana charged ink and parchment, could you make them active spells?" Selia asked me her eyes glowing.


    "Active spells?" I asked.


    Selia groaned. "We can talk about it later." Selia told me as the rune circle finished filling with mana. A moment later and the whole circle flashed a brilliant white before the stone crumbled into dust.


    "Said it was a minor health potion that would slowly restore injuries by doubling the healing rate for a minute, or it could be overcharged and double that healing rate for an extra ten mana per second for up to one minute." Zephirah told us.


    "What?!" Selia screamed.


    "Was it wrong?" Zephirah asked.


    "No, except for that last part. No healing potion can do that!" Selia exclaimed.


    I frowned then walked over and picked up the health potion then without much thought I pushed six hundred points of mana into the potion, after a moment it began to glow a bright red color.


    "That is impossible!" Selia yelled as she peered up at the potion in my hand. I lowered it down for her to get a better look.


    "Open it!" Selia commanded intensely.


    I complied out of curiosity. Once it was open Selia struck like lightning swallowing the vial. She didn''t hurt me but I still jumped like a clown had appeared from the ground at my feet.


    A couple of the girls laughed as I fell on my back, while the others watched Selia closely.


    The amethyst cobra closed her eyes in contemplation. After several long moments she opened them again. "Elisia we should send word to our fathers. This is probably how the greater clans have been able to recover so quickly after a large battle." she told the wolf seriously.


    Selia and Elisia looked to Zephirah who looked to me.


    I rolled my eyes but nodded. Doing them a favor wouldn''t hurt. If it was considered valuable enough we might even be rewarded.


    Zephirah nodded then two white orbs appeared and floated to Selia and Elisia respectively. Each grabbed the orb in their mouths then took off away from the rest of us.


    "What are the odds they are going to repeat the information about creating a living water heart as well?" Vanessa asked.


    "High." I replied. "How their families react will determine how we will interact with them in the future." I replied.


    "Testing them?" Rena asked as she moved to perch on Vanessa''s shoulder.


    I nodded but didn''t elaborate. "Let''s set up another one for the living water heart." I told Zephirah.


    She nodded then created another one of the rune circle platforms. We placed the living water heart in the center of the circle then Zephirah started to pour mana into it. A few moments later and the spell activated.


    "It is Invigorating Water. Charged with opposing elements it works to increase growth rate of plants and animals while increasing their reception to mana. Short term effects of drinking a cup of water is an hour long buff to strength, vitality, and wisdom. Long term is dependant on amount and frequency consumed, but includes permanent increases in strength, vitality, and wisdom." Zephirah told the rest of us.


    I could feel the excitement inside Zephirah, she seemed very happy about the living water heart.


    "Seems like we can use it for almost all our plants, and the animals too." Vanessa commented happily.


    "Was that a fear?" I asked.


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    "Yes, Seth had seemed to be taking a flame based route, if the living water had too much fire mana inside of it, something he would want for the blazing bulls, and silverfire chickens. We wouldn''t have been able to use it on our frost crops. This water is good for nearly everything, might even give them a boost and make then enchanted crops!" Zephirah explained to me happily.


    I nodded. "That would be helpful." I agreed. "So what do we do with it now?" I asked.


    "Well, we can create another level, form a lake and drop it in that." Zephirha told me.


    "That doesn''t sound bad, but what are we actually going to do?" I asked sensing her reluctance to do that.


    "Weeeellllll." Zephirah stretched out the word hesitating. "I can reform the well and put it down there. Then maybe add some spells that will let us draw from the well wherever we need it. Maybe place some in small pools on the floors as a drop." she suggested.


    I groaned. "I thought we weren''t going to go that route." I reminded.


    "We don''t want to focus on it, but we might run into invaders that can make it through all of our defenses. Placing Invigorating Water into the well will make it very hard for them to get to, especially compared to a lake. Any powerful invaders that finds a lake of living water will search for the source. If they found Invigorating Water''s heart they would take it with them." Zephirah replied.


    I frowned but nodded. I didn''t understand the true value of Invigorating Water''s heart, but I could guess that it was a lot. It would hurt us considerably to loss it. "Fine, but I will add a few extra spells to the well before we place Invigorating Water into it." I told her.


    "What do you want to do?" Vanessa asked curiously.


    "Make two wells. One on top of the other. The top pocket will have normal water, or if we can recreate or buy another water heart we set it up like it was. Then add another pocket under that one with Invigorating Water inside it. Short range teleportation to access the water when we need it. We can''t use it as a drop though. If we did, someone will look for the source." I told them.


    Zephirah was silent for a few moments. "I can recreate the water heart, it costs a lot though." she told me.


    "How much is a lot?" I asked curiously.


    "Ten gold." Zephirah replied.


    I looked over to the other girls. Vanessa looked shocked. "How?" She asked.


    "Should be Jason." Selia said as she rejoined us.


    "What?" I asked. "Can''t she recreate anything once she has the energy print for it?" I asked.


    "Yes, but the more complex and powerful an item, or being, the higher the dungeon''s level needs to be to accomplish it." Selia replied. "To make up for the low level she is leaning heavily on your knowledge of runes. Just as you can use the dungeon''s mana pool, the dungeon gets a boost from your powers and abilities. With your rune knowledge the dungeon can create items above it''s level for a greater cost of mana. Truthfully if we made a couple Nurture Water elemental hearts we could sell them for a couple of platinum each. The demand is always bigger than the supply for that kind of item." Selia informed us.


    "Why? If dungeons can reproduce them, why are they so rare?" I asked.


    "Because normal dungeons do not operate like a farm or factory. While they might make them, they are used as prizes to entice adventurers and fools into the dungeon." Selia replied.


    I winced at the obviousness of it.


    "First is money and small items, then greater amounts of money and nicer items, then when that isn''t enough, the dungeons use items you can''t buy with money." Selia continued her lecture. "Like the dungeon lords we will have to be careful in how many we sell, if we sell too many we destroy the value of the item."


    I nodded, "I understand supply and demand." I told her.


    "Good." Selia said.


    "Make two." I told Zephirah. "One for our well, the other can be used when we talk with the company."


    Everyone nodded.


    Elisia returned a few moments later her tail wagging happily. "Father was very happy to hear about the potions. Said he would send something along to us later for the information."


    Selia seemed to wince. "My father is still weighing the value of the information." she admitted unhappily.


    I nodded but didn''t reply. "Let''s go in and see what Zephirah did to the house."

 37 Chapter 37 - Doubler

    Inside the log cabin shaped house the main room had gotten larger, a lot larger, and new furniture had appeared. A couch and a few chairs were located around a coffee table, where the remaining spoils from Seth were laid out. Beyond the living room area was a larger dining room table, and a few doors.


    "How much did you increase the spatial expansion?" I asked. There was no way this floor was only forty by sixty, not with doors leading to other areas.


    "Just a bit." Zephirah replied evasively.


    I frowned up at the sprite but she didn''t seem to care. "This is our home, we might as well make it comfortable." she told me.


    I didn''t disagree with her, but why be secretive?


    "Fine, walk us through it." I told her looking around. Neither the fire dryad or the fire tail fox were in sight.


    "This floor has the living room, dining room, kitchen, and two guest rooms with a bathroom for them to share. The second floor has six rooms, and a large communal bathroom. Everyone except Jason and Vanessa will live on the second floor. The basement has one large master bedroom with its own spacious bathroom, and two more smaller master bedrooms. Obviously Jason will get the larger master bedroom, Vanessa will get one of the smaller ones, while the last will be left empty for now." Zephirah explained.


    I eyed Zephirah curiously. "The house doesn''t look like it has a second floor from outside.


    "Separate space anomaly." Zephirah replied like the answer was obvious.


    I stared at the sprite for a few moments, "You just made that up." I retorted.


    Zephirah stuck her tongue out at me. "Fine, I put up an illusion so we can hide the upper and lower floors if necessary." Zephirah admitted.


    I nodded at that.


    "Why the floor separation." Rena asked.


    "Do I really need to elaborate on that?" Zephirah asked in return.


    "Yes." Selia said supporting Rena.


    "Seems obvious to me, Vanessa will be, well it makes sense for her to stay near Jason, the fire dryad is a guest so she is in a guest room, and the zoo stays upstairs." Lilian spoke up.


    I stared at the little fairy trying desperately to hold it in, but I failed. I snickered then I didn''t seem to be able to hold myself back. I started to laugh, a deep belly laugh. I laughed for a while as it washed away the stress of the day.


    When I finally recovered the girls were all staring at me like I had gone crazy. I thought about apologizing, but I decided not too. It had been a long day, I needed sleep, I could apologize tomorrow, if I needed too.


    "As I was saying, no, the upper floor is for potential harem members. If anyone decides not to step into that role they can stay on the upper floor." Zephirah said.


    "Making an assumption on Vanessa''s part, aren''t you?" Elisia asked.


    "No, I will stay close to master and see to his needs." Vanessa spoke up.


    I caught the insinuation. I looked over at the beautiful gemini and she returned my gaze. I knew I was interested in her, but with all that had gone on, especially today, I wasn''t sure what I thought about it all.


    "What about you and Lilian?" I asked Zephirah.


    "I have my own personal dimension as the core operator. If you behave maybe I will let you see it someday." Zephirah told me with a smirk. "As for Lilian, her duties should be finished tonight."


    I looked over to the fairy to see her nod. "Yes, I will pass on the knowledge tonight before you sleep." Lilian agreed.


    I nodded, there had not been any word on whether she was staying or returning once she was done.


    I looked over to Zephirah sending her a very firm thought. ''You will not consume her the moment, or even the moment after, she passes on the knowledge to me.''


    I saw the sprite''s eyes shift over to me.


    ''Do not pretend you didn''t hear me.'' I thought to her sternly.


    ''Fine, I heard you.'' Zephirah replied a bit sulkily.


    I nodded then headed for the door that led downstairs to my room. "Have a nice night ladies, I need sleep." I told them.


    "What about the fake Candice?" Zephirah asked me.


    I shrugged. "No idea, we will need to speak to the company, but that can wait until I get some sleep." I replied.


    "Invigorating Water?" Zephirah called.


    "Bathtub." I replied without stopping.


    "Fine, whatever, do what you want." Zephirah said waving me away.


    I rolled my eyes and kept going.


    The door to the lower floor was solid and opened onto a well lit polished wood staircase. As I went down the stairs I finally noticed that Vanessa was following me.


    "You do know that I am not going to be ready for that." I told her knowing I was lying through my teeth. If she so much as hinted that she wanted too I would be ready no matter my exhaustion or confused thoughts and emotions.


    Vanessa giggled. "I am sure, but I thought we should talk a bit." she told me. "With the brainwashing from Seth gone, I was able to remember a few things. Using Zephirah''s help I was even able to confirm them." she told me.


    "When did you have the time to do that?" I asked.


    "I wasn''t actually dead Jason. My consciousness was inside the core waiting for my body to reform before I returned to it. While I was in there we talked about a lot." she replied.


    I was a bit surprised. I never even wondered what happened to her between the moment she died and her body reformed.


    "I see." I said as I wasn''t sure what else to say.


    The lower floor was fairly simple, the stairs led to a hallway, there was a door on either side and a double door at the end. It was obvious which room was mine. I led the way down the hall then opened the double doors. The room inside was rather large, but made cramped by the oversized bed that took up over half of the space. I had never seen a bed that large. It didn''t have a head or footboard, just a large mattress covered in a dark blue comforter and a large pile of blue and black pillows. By itself it was larger than the bedroom I grew up in.


    "Well, there will be plenty of room for all of us." Vanessa stated when she peered over my shoulder into the room.


    I frowned, Zephirah had been referencing the harem several times, and I honestly wasn''t against the idea of having multiple beautiful women, but that was just an idea, a day dream, or a wet dream. Actually having more than one woman¡­, I already had one woman and knew how much time and effort she needed, and it still wasn''t enough.


    "Come on, I can rub your back while we talk." Vanessa said pushing me into the room.


    I went in then followed her lead as she dragged me to the bed. I stripped out of my shirt and pants without fighting her. Whether she was interested in getting into bed with me or not, I knew where it was going and decided not to make an issue of it. Once I was left in just my boxers I crawled onto the large bed and stretched out.


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    Vanessa crawled up beside me then started to gently rub my back. Seemed like she had been serious.


    "So what did you want to tell me?" I asked after a few moments. I was already tired and a rub wasn''t helping to keep me awake. If she hadn''t said that she wanted to talk, I would have already been asleep.


    "I am a gemini, I told you this already, and you have seen a bit of what the means." Vanessa told me then I felt another pair of hands on my back. I turned my head to look back but Vanessa smacked the back of my head. "No peeking."


    However when the third pair of hands started to rub my calf muscles I couldn''t not look. I twisted to get a view of what was going on. Three Vanessa''s were kneeling around me, and only one was wearing any clothes.


    "Eyes forward!" the Vanessa''s commanded.


    As I was clearly outnumbered I did what I was told.


    "As you can see a gemini has the ability to split into two identical copies of themselves. Zephirah told me she had spoken to you about my skill, but I just wanted to confirm it. I have the rare multiplier skill called doubler, mixed with my racial ability I am able to double the number of bodies I have out. For three bodies like right now I use the doubler than my racial gemini skill, for four bodies I use my gemini skill then doubler." she explained.


    I listened and nodded occasionally not actually sure if she noticed.


    "I told you before that we are one mind and two bodies, I can see, feel, and interact with the world around me from all my bodies at once. Despite our racial skill making it easier on us, it still takes a lot of practice. The best way is to separate the two bodies completely. That was how Seth found me. My family and I had all separated our bodies and were practicing in two different locations. To improve my own skill I used doubler. Seth saw three of me in one location and assumed I was a triple mutation, which is a gemini who can split into three, if the name didn''t make it obvious." Vanessa continued.


    "Are you still listening?" she asked me.


    "Yes." I replied quickly.


    "Good, Seth reacted quickly to what he saw, he called his men up and they slaughtered my family in front of me. Then he had one of his men hypnotize me before running off with me. Funny fact about hypnotizing and brainwashing, they don''t work very well on gemini unless we are combined into one body. Even though I cancelled my doubler skill and returned to the one body in his presence, my other body wasn''t present. Kind of created a multiple personality complex in my head. When he dragged me off world I had to make a choice, while we have two bodies, we can''t separate them that far. When we hit the limit of how far we can separate our bodies, we have to choose which one to leave and which one will disappear. When I wash pushed into the portal I had to make that choice. Stay behind with my family, or leave with him. Obviously I chose to leave with him so he couldn''t figure out that my family was still alive." she told me.


    "So your family is still alive?" I asked to confirm.


    "They were at the time, and Zephirah used her access to the company''s network to confirm the fact that they are still alive." she replied.


    I sat up and turned to face her, "Did you want to go back to them?" I asked seriously. I didn''t get along well with my aunt, but if given a choice to reunite with Candice I would probably take it.


    Vanessa shook her head. "No, I would only bring them trouble. At the time none of us knew anything about the demand for rare gemini variants. We lived in a rather small community separated from the major cities. Now that I know, I can''t go back and risk bringing them trouble, especially when the troublemakers all think they are dead already." she told me sadly. Then she smiled at me as one of her naked copies crawled up to straddle my waist. "I don''t think I lucked out to bad ending up with a master like you. A master that actually cared about my well being, cried and panicked when he saw me hurt."


    I swallowed hard as my eyes roved over her well proportioned figure. Worse I noticed the clothed version move back a bit and begin to remove her clothes while a fourth body, just as naked as the other two appeared.


    "So master, how should I show you how much I appreciate the fact that you care for me?" The Vanessa straddling my waist asked me with a smirk.

 38 Chapter 38 - Dream Meetings

    Surrounded by four nude Vanessas I only had one thing on my mind.


    "That will be enough of that." Lilian declared coming into the room then giving the Vanessas a stern look. "Zephirah said you could explain, but you had to give him a day to process it before going any further."


    The four Vanessas shifted and disappeared until there was only one left. Of course she was the one straddling my lap. "I remember." Vanessa replied shifting her waist so she ground against me in an enticing way. "She also said she wouldn''t stop us if master insisted."


    "She did say that." Lilian agreed.


    The room went quiet for a moment as both women looked to me, it took me a moment to realize it though as I was too focused on the movement of Vanessa''s waist and the way she rubbed against me and her breasts swayed to the rhythm. Once I realized they were waiting on an answer from me, there wasn''t much to contemplate. I was horny, she was horny, willing, and naked.


    "Men." Lilian said exasperated as I lifted my hands to Vanessa''s waist.


    The next thing I knew the little fairy had touched my forehead releasing a flood of information into my head.


    "That''s cheating!" Vanessa yelled angrily.


    I didn''t hear the fairies reply as I passed out from the overwhelming amount of information.


    I had no sense of time, so it could have been a few moments or hours before I woke up. When I did wake, I wasn''t in my room. I was fully dressed sitting in a large comfortable leather chair in what looked like someone''s office or personal library. A large wooden desk sat in front of me empty of anything that could hint to the owner. To each side of me and behind the desk were tall bookshelves full of books whose titles I couldn''t make out, not because I couldn''t read them, but because they were blurry.


    "Don''t bother trying to read the titles, I have a spell to prevent you from reading them. Information is power and I don''t need you knowing which books I keep in my library." A soft feminine voice said from behind me.


    I would have turned to see who was speaking but she moved around the chair to stand behind the desk.


    When I saw her my mouth nearly dropped to the floor. She was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen in my life. Long lustrous platinum blonde hair running straight down her back to just past her rear. A perfect figure of large bust, thin waist, and shapely rear all displayed in an amethyst colored gown that clung to her like a second skin, it was cut high on the thigh and low on the bust to show off her pale white legs and breasts. As nice as all that was it paled in comparison to her angelic face which was a perfect combination of girl next door and seductress, with a pair of mesmerizing amethyst eyes that matched her dress. She was the embodiment of what I considered to be the most beautiful woman. Not that I didn''t find other women attractive, instead she was what I would choose if I were to design my own.


    "Your taste is a bit interesting." the woman said looking down at herself. "I personally like the ears." she added brushing her hair back to reveal the pointed elf ears.


    Then her beautiful appearance seemed to peel off of her and condense into a one foot tall figure that stood on the desk. In place of the beauty was a shadowy figure in a black cloak that covered everything including its face.


    "I believe introductions are in order." the dark figure said using the same feminie voice it was previously using. "You are Jason Nellis, mana lord, level four, dungeon master in a tier seven trial. I am the overseer, I believe you have heard of me." she introduced.


    I nodded. "I have, but little has been said about you." I replied.


    "As it should be, I despise loose tongues." the overseer told me. "As for this." she said gesturing to the figure on the desk, "Call it a hobby of mine. I am incredibly curious to see what my visitors consider to be the pinnacle of beauty. I am even more interested to see how that images changes with time and experience."


    I blinked in surprise then looked at the figure, whether I liked it or not, I had to admit she was my current ideal for a woman. I was a bit embarrassed to see how much anime had influenced that ideal.


    "Normally I wear that image through our entire meeting, but I decided not too today. Your case is a bit special." she told me.


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    I frowned, I had the feeling that being special wasn''t exactly a good thing right now. "How so?" I asked her.


    "Normally what you have done would be considered a direct violation of the rules, however I can sense that there has been outside interference, and you are supposedly completely unaware of it. So we are having this meeting to determine how much you knew, and the nature of the interference." the overseer replied.


    "Which rule did I break?" I asked worriedly.


    "Suppressing your capability before entering the trial." the overseer replied. "While I agree that these trials are not fair, I am proud of the fact the we match similarly strength individuals in each tier. As your mana lord capabilities were suppressed you were placed in a lower tier than you should have been. This irritates me."


    I swallowed nervously. "So how do we decide whether I am guilty?" I asked.


    "There is no if. You are guilty." the overseer told me sternly then paused for a moment making me even more nervous. "It is just a matter of whether I will punish you for it."


    I breathed out a sigh of relief.


    "Stop scaring the boy." an exasperated voice said from behind my chair. A very familiar voice despite the fact I hadn''t heard it in a long time.


    "Mom!" I yelled turning in the chair to see my mother standing behind me. She looked exactly like I remembered her. Short dark brown hair, bright green eyes, she was even dressed in the same floral dress I saw her in last.


    "Hey kiddo, you''ve grown." My mother said with a sad smile.


    "Emilia, this brat is yours?" the overseer asked.


    My mother nodded then moved around my chair to stand beside the desk. "Yeah he is."


    The overseer was silent for a moment. "Get on with it, I doubt you have much time." she said to my mother.


    "Thank you." my mother replied then looked at me. "Hey kiddo." she said again.


    "You''re alive!" I said finally gaining the ability to speak again. Not because I was restricted, but because the emotions I had felt welling up inside of me were too much.


    My mother tilted her head to the side. "Maybe, not sure." se replied.


    "Huh?" I asked.


    "This figure is a very small portion of my own spirit placed inside of you before we left. Its purpose was to block your perception of mana, and the magic races." she told me.


    I frowned, Lilian had said I had been suppressed, did this mean my mother did it to me. "Why?" I asked.


    "A few reasons, but mostly to protect you. I have a very rare gift that allows me to peer into the future. That ability has made a few enemies, one was able to reach me despite my gift. They poisoned me with a rather nasty rare poison. It was supposed to be without cure, but I was able to find one with my ability. However, the trip would take a while and be very dangerous, so I left you behind with my sister. Peering into your future I decided that suppressing your ability was the safest course of action, it let you fly under the radar until you could gain enough power to protect yourself." she explained.


    I was shocked, and unsure of what I should say.


    "There were several possible outcomes even after using my gift. Seeing that you are meeting with the dark and mysterious overseer." she said snickering the last few words, "You must have ended up in one of the dungeon trials. That is a good place for you. I only have a few things to say to help you. First, stay away from that little bitch Melissa, no matter what I did you always end up with that whore and it never leads to a good end for you." she told me sounding exasperated.


    My mouth dropped as I struggled to reply but she continued before I could say anything. "Trust your core, she wants what is best for both of you. Oh and the next time you see Candice, don''t be surprised if she isn''t what you remember."


    I frowned, "Wait, what is that supposed to mean?" I asked but she ignored me as she turned to look back at the overseer.


    "So what is your judgement oh dark and mysterious one?" my mother asked with a laugh.


    "Annoying bitch, even when you aren''t here in person you are still causing me trouble." the overseer grumbled but it seemed to be good natured. "Fine, I won''t punish the brat." the overseer said with a tired sigh.


    "Thanks." my mother said.


    "Anything else before I end this session? You are low on energy and he has a lot of information to process." the overseer asked.


    My mother turned back to face me. "Your father and I love you, and we should still be alive." she told me.


    I smiled at her tears streaming down my face. I had wondered for a long time if they were really dead. Having had nobody made it harder to believe they were gone, but with that came a fear that they hadn''t wanted me anymore. The pain from all of that was gone, taken by the neglism, so all I could feel was joy at seeing my mother again, and hope that they were still alive.


    "Oh, and it would be best if you focused on carbuncle, it will match your temperament and abilities the best." my mother added.


    "Huh?" I asked confused.


    "A lot has happened to the brat in the last few days, he probably forgot about it." the overseer commented. "Look at your personal profile then ask your sprite when you see it."


    I frowned still confused but nodded.


    "Oh, seems you will be rather busy tomorrow too." the overseer said looking off to the side.


    "Why?" I asked still staring at my mother as I tried to drink in everything and burn it to my memory in case it took another ten to twenty years before she and my father returned.


    "You just made level five." the overseer told me. "Now everything gets interesting."


    "Oh good. Your father was a brilliant rune emperor, he left you some information to help your growth." my mother told me. "It should be available now that you reached level five."


    "Rune emperor?" I asked surprised.


    "Of course, you didn''t think you were able to do so well in Runic Shift on your own did you? Well you did, but you have a gift for runes, one that is in the blood." she told me looking at me seriously.


    I knew she was hinting at something but I wasn''t sure what it was.


    Seeing that I didn''t get it my mother sighed. "I hope this is the version where he gets that pretty gemini Vanessa, she seemed like a sweet girl and her gift will help him a lot."


    "It is, actually I think they were about to consummate their partnership before his runic fairy cock blocked him." the overseer said with a laugh making me turn beet red. I wasn''t above talking about my intimate life, but not in front of my mother!


    My mother laughed. "Runic fairy, must have been Lilian, hmmm, treat her well if she sticks around, and pay attention to your sprite, the war amongst the mana races is odd from a human perspective, but it will be a good learning experience for you. There are many other races out there, and they do not think like humans, hell even other humans don''t think like those from your world." my mother told me then smiled at me sadly. "Time to go kiddo, I left a bit of energy in my spirit, now that your bonds are completely released I should be able to recharge, I will visit you again when I have the strength."


    With that she disappeared leaving me alone with the overseer. "That girl will never change. Always so secretive, and a liar." the overseer told me.


    I glared at her eliciting a laugh. "That wasn''t a part of your mother''s spirit, it was her current consciousness stretched across many worlds, knowing her she didn''t want to tell you that because your father and her aren''t finished with whatever they set out to do. Probably set a trigger to call her in a case like this where we are meeting." the overseer told me. "Just don''t get your hopes up, if she was being secretive like that, it probably means that there is enough danger to worry her. Get stronger quickly brat, maybe then you can help them out."


    That was hard for me to believe, especially as my father was a rune emperor.


    "Oh, and what she meant about Candice, the two of you are engaged, have been since you were two months old!" she added with a laugh.


    With those last words my world went dark again then the information flooded my mind again.

 39 Chapter 39 - Perks from Champions

    My head hurt, a lot, when I finally woke up. Worse than any hangover I had experienced in college, and some of those had been legendary, or at least the party that caused them had been.


    It took me a few moments to get my bearings, thankfully the ache behind my eyes began to fade a bit with every passing moment. When It finally decreased to a dull throb I was able to manage a thought. I had a lot of information flooding my mind, sadly most of it was more theoretical knowledge than useful, but it would give me a direction to pursue later on.


    I turned my head to look around. I stared at the room around me stupidly for several long moments before I was able to place it as my new bedroom. I was alone, which I thought was strange given Vanessa''s new attachment to me, but at the same time I thought it was a blessing. I was not in the right state of mind to deal with emotions, others or my own.


    Another few moments and my mind cleared a bit more, I was able to piece together the meeting I had with the Overseer and my mother. As I did I started to panic. "Status." I said aloud.


    ----------------------------------------------------


    Name: Jason


    Level: 4


    Available Points: 5


    Strength: 15


    Agility: 16


    Vitality: 16


    Fortitude: 15


    Intelligence: 26


    Wisdom: 26


    Perception: 25


    Dexterity: 16


    Luck: 18


    Charm: 14


    Bloodline: Carbuncle 3%


    Traits:


    Mana Sight


    Resistant to negative status effects


    Abilities:


    Doubler(Unattached)


    ----------------------------------------------------


    I sighed in relief seeing that I hadn''t actually reached level five. Looking at my stats I pondered where to put those extra five points I was ignoring, or forgot about, depending on perspective. I noticed that my stats were higher than they should be, some new classifications had been added, then there was the carbuncle bloodline my mother had mentioned, and an ability I didn''t have before, one Vanessa was supposed to have. So why did I have it now?


    Well I had been advised, or told, to ask my sprite. It sounded like a better idea with every moment.


    I crawled out of bed, somewhat happy to find that I was still wearing my boxers then decided that I needed a shower before I started to interrogate anyone.


    Walking into the bathroom I took a moment to admire it. I hadn''t checked it out before I went to bed, it had been pretty low on my priority list with Vanessa following me to bed.


    It was fairly large, maybe even as big as the initial restroom shack had been, it had everything I could think of too want, a large tub big enough to fit two, three if we were willing to be close, a separate shower, and a large mirror over the sink so I could watch anything that happened in the room. The toilet was in its own little closet, which was fine with me, I didn''t have that kind of fetish.


    Once the hot water hit me I wanted nothing more than to stay in the shower and bask in the warmth, but I made myself keep it quick. I found the soap and shampoo and cleaned up quickly. While I hadn''t reached level five yet, I was reminded that I still had things to do before I leveled up. I had already had a few ideas before, but the information I had received from Lilian gave me some new ideas. I was eager to try them out, and get the first floor finished. I also remembered that we wanted to expand a bit more, which meant I might have to redesign the floor a bit, let alone new floors. I wasn''t sure what I was going to do with the other floors, but I could ask the girls what they thought, and we needed to talk to the company.


    Thinking about the company made me think about Candice and the Overseer''s parting comment. I paused in my washing as I turned that thought over in my mind. Candice had only ever been my big sister, the idea of being engaged to her was ludicrous. I was pretty sure it was a joke to rile me up like telling me I was a level five already, but I had some doubts on that. The Overseer, while being a bit eccentric, didn''t seem like a bad person. I could see the level five joke being a warning, I doubt I was far from leveling, and we weren''t ready.


    As for Candice? I had no idea what to think. Then again I wasn''t sure if it mattered. She was back on earth while I was here, and even if that somehow changed, it was still our decision, not our parents, on whether we wanted that kind of a relationship.


    Feeling a bit better I finished cleaning up then left the shower. I was greeted by Zephirah floating in the center of the bathroom a fresh towel and clothes folded up on the counter.


    "Not bad." Zephirah commented with a smile as she looked me over hungrily.


    "Want to give it a try? I could probably drown you right now." I told the sprite grabbing the towel.


    "Hard pass, I have no desire to swim in it." Zephirah told me rolling her eyes.


    I snorted at the image that comes to my mind then I passed it to the sprite making her grimace. "Pervert." she accused.


    I didn''t deny it just smiled.


    "So how was your meeting?" Zephirah asked.


    "How did you know about that?" I asked.


    "Mentally bonded, I could feel your emotions Jason, bit stronger than what I usually get when you dream." she replied.


    I nodded, "Met with the Overseer and my mother." I replied remembering what the Overseer had said about my mother being more than a fragment of her mind left inside of me. I wanted to believe that more than anything I had been told. "Any idea what the Overseer looks like?" asked curiously.


    "No idea." Zephirah replied. "Was she hot?"


    "Incredibly, though I do wonder about that habit of taking the form of the most attractive woman her guest can imagine." I commented.


    "Not just women Jason." Zephirah told me.


    "Huh?" I asked confused.


    "Not all of the dungeon masters the Overseer speaks to are male. While there are fewer of them, there are also women, and they would imagine their version of the most handsome men." she told me.


    I frowned then shuddered. "Weird." I commented on realizing the Overseer''s hobby was odder than I imagined.


    "That doesn''t even take into account the non humans. What do you think that old wolf would consider to be the most beautiful, because I doubt it would be a human woman." Zephirah added.


    "Got it." I said as I tried to push those images from my mind. Suddenly I felt I needed to get back in the shower. "What did Lilian decide?" I asked trying to change the subject.


    "She stayed and became my minion." Zephirah replied.


    "We are going to have to discuss that eventually." I reminded her half heartedly.


    "Later, it has little effect on us at the moment, just knowing that I would prefer to consume most of the others of the mana races should do for now." Zephirah told me.


    I nodded, I had enough on my plate right now, I didn''t need more. I finished drying off then dressed as I contemplated my next question. I had several and wasn''t sure where to start. Zephirah floated near me silently making me decide on my own despite the fact that she could read everything I was thinking.


    "Ass." I grumbled.


    Zephirah chuckled but continued to remain silent.


    "How did my stats increase so much?" I asked.


    "A champion perk, and a bit of natural growth." Zephirah replied. "You get five points that match your strength for each champion, and I think you grew two points from your own efforts."


    "But Seth is gone." I pointed out.


    "Doesn''t matter, you gain it from making him a champion not for having him as a champion." Zephirah told me. "Though it is expensive remove the champion status without reason, so don''t think that you can trade out the champions to give your stats a boost."


    "Doubler, how do I have it now?" I asked next.


    "Another perk of champions." Zephirah replied quickly.


    I narrowed my eyes as I pulled my pants on. "That is why you wanted her as a champion." I stated.


    "Yep." Zephirah agreed.


    I remembered how anxious she had been when I gave Vanessa a chance to back out of becoming a champion and her relief when Vanessa accepted anyways. She was after this ability the whole time. "How does that work?" I asked.


    "Abilities are special skills that people can be born with and don''t need anything special for you to have them. In theory there are all kinds of abilities out there that people don''t even know they have because they have no way to use them." Zephirah explained.


    "Huh?" I asked.


    "Look at your own case, you have had doubler since Vanessa became a champion, but you never knew so you didn''t assign it to anything making you unable to use it. It''s similar for other people with abilities. In Vanessa''s case she had a racial trait that it bonded to immediately probably an accident or stray thought when splitting allowed her to discover the ability, once discovered she would have been able to subconsciously know how to use it. Think about doubler now, don''t you have an idea of how to set it to something so you can use it?" Zephirah asked.


    She was right, I could assign it to a body part or even my whole body allowing me to double the number of them I had. I would have more trouble controlling it than Vanessa did, but that was something I could cure with practice. "So you wanted me to be able to have extra bodies?" I asked.


    Zephirah nodded eagerly her eyes shining, "How else are you going to be able to satisfy a large harem?" she asked me in return.


    "You are really obsessed with the harem." I stated.


    "Sounds like fun." Zephirah replied.


    I sighed but moved on, I wasn''t going to set doubler to my body, after getting the information about Rune Lords I had a better idea on how to use it.


    "What about Carbuncle?" I asked.


    "Your bloodline?" Zephriah asked.


    "Is there another kind?" I asked.


    "Be clearer with your questions." Zephirah told me.


    "YOU CAN READ MY MIND!" I told her angrily.


    "Yes I can." Zephirah replied then was silent again.


    I glared at the sprite then stopped myself and took a deep breath to calm down. After a few moments I was able to get some ideas as to what was going on. While Zephirah was a jokester I couldn''t see her deliberately riling me up like this. "Are we being observed?" I asked.


    "Yes." Zephriah replied.


    "Is it the Overseer?" I asked.


    "Yes." Zephriah replied.


    "Is she limiting what you can say because I thought her hobby was weird?" I asked.


    "Are you assuming the Overseer is a woman?" Zephirah asked.


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    "No, but she appeared to me as a woman, so I will use that until she appears to me as a man." I replied.


    "Not the best logic." Zephirah pointed out.


    I shrugged. "As for my question?" I asked.


    "No." Zephirah replied.


    "Doesn''t care about my opinion, then she is just being a pain in the ass." I commented.


    Zephirah flinched.


    "What?" I asked the sprite.


    "Could you possibly not risk irritating the Overseer?" she asked.


    "I could, but she didn''t seem that anal when I spoke to her, and she seemed pretty friendly with my mother, not so friendly as to help us out, but friendly enough not to throw a childish fit over calling it what it is." I replied.


    Zephirah flinched then seemed to look up at the ceiling for a few moments like she was getting a message. "She said that you are worse than your parents, and she isn''t being a pain in the ass, she is just curious, and all information about bloodlines are limited like this even if she isn''t paying attention."


    "Fine, my mistake, she is just a pervert who wants to watch an old friend''s kid take a shower." I replied.


    "What is it with you humans having to test your luck?" Zephirah complained.


    "Just need to know what I can and can''t do, no idea how long she is going to be bored enough to watch over me, seemed like she had been doing it for a while already." I told Zephirah. "For all I know she has some kind of godly pervert ability that lets her constantly monitor all of the contestants in her trials all at once."


    Zephirah froze in the air. "She was already watching you?" she asked.


    I nodded. "Irritated that my abilities had been hidden when I was evaluated to see which tier I should be put into." I replied.


    A spike of fear ran through Zephirah then she fainted and fell out of the air. Only a quick reaction from me kept her from landing on the floor. "Huh, seems pretty scared of the Overseer. Not a bad idea given how strong she must be, but is that all?" I asked aloud wondering a bit if the Overseer might answer me. I got nothing, seems like I would have to wait until the sprite woke up.

 40 Chapter 40 - Bloodlines

    After Zephirah fainted I carried her out to my bed and set her onto one of my pillows. I considered waiting to see if she would wake, but a grumble from my stomach convinced me to do something a bit more constructive with my time.


    I left my room being sure to close the door then headed for the stairs only to meet Vanessa and Lilian on the way down a tray full of food in Vanessa''s hands.


    "We thought you could use something to eat." Vanessa told me.


    I nodded eyeing the plate of sausage, bacon, eggs, and waffles hungrily.


    "You can eat in your room while we talk." Vanessa told me.


    I looked behind her to the stairs. "Is there a reason?" I asked.


    "No, if you would prefer to eat upstairs we can do that, I just thought you might prefer the privacy." she replied.


    She wasn''t wrong so I agreed and reopened my door to find Zephirah peering around groggily.


    "Up already?" I asked her as Vanessa and Lilian followed me into the room.


    "Just a mild shock." Zephirah replied.


    "If a mild shock makes you faint, I would hate to really surprise you." I commented.


    "I thought you had things to discuss?" Vanessa asked seeming confused.


    "We do." Zephirah replied.


    "So what freaked you out so much?" I asked.


    "Nothing important. Just a warning I received when I was stuck in that orb and stretching the limits of my authority." she replied. "She noticed sometime after the third or fourth master, and warned me to behave during the fifth."


    "What kind of stretching?" I asked curiously.


    Zephirah shrugged. "Hard to be specific, and none of it helps us now as everything reset between masters." she replied. "Just doing whatever I could to relieve the boredom of being trapped."


    "Must not have been very nice to scare you so much." I pointed out.


    Zephirah grimaced, "No, it wasn''t anything bad, the issue came up when I overspent the dungeon''s energy which led to a situation where my master at the time didn''t have the energy he should have to protect himself costing him his life." she admitted.


    I looked at the sprite surprised.


    "Honestly, it was just little pranks like rearranging the tiles, changing the colors of different items, nothing that would have caused any damage. I was just trying to do anything I could from within the orb to let him know I was there. Then he pissed off a neighboring town, didn''t have the energy to put up enough defenses, and the company had to send in their people to retrieve me." she explained.


    "I see." I said thoughtfully. "I haven''t made a big issue of your spending so far, just keep that mistake in mind, we never know when we might end up in the same kind of situation." I told her. My mother''s words were still fresh in my mind. Hopefully the fact that she had screwed up once before will help keep her from doing it again. Besides she wasn''t stuck in the orb any more.


    "I will." Zephirah promised. "Just got a bit worried that she might see my upgrades to the house without your express permission as a similar situation. Let''s just say I would prefer to have Lilian consume me than piss her off."


    I shivered at the thought. "Well it doesn''t seem to be the case. Was there anything else about the house I needed to know?" I asked.


    "The orb is in the living room, it is set into the ceiling, I can show you how to bring it down later. You shouldn''t need it very often, just thinking of the dungeon interface while inside the house should give you access to anything you could while actually using the core." she told me.


    I nodded.


    "Were you able to understand the information I gave you?" Lilian asked interrupting.


    I nodded. "The basics of it yeah. Though I am curious as to where I am supposed to get the new information." I replied.


    "Once you determine your path forward and form your mana heart you will understand." Lilian told me.


    I nodded then looked to Lilian. "So bloodlines." I said returning to the discussion we were in before she fainted.


    "Aren''t you going to eat that?" Zephirah asked gesturing to the food Vanessa had.


    I nodded then took the tray before sitting on the edge of my bed.


    "Maybe I can help?" Vanessa asked.


    "You know about the bloodlines?" I asked.


    "A little bit. Nothing specific though. I don''t have a bloodline myself, but I was told a bit to be useful. Do you have any besides carbuncle?" she asked.


    "No, just carbuncle." I replied.


    "Oh, I thought you might have gotten something from your parents." Vanessa said sounding a bit disappointed.


    "My mother said there was something in my blood that let me understand runes better." I replied.


    "Your mother?" Vanessa asked.


    I nodded then explained about the meeting with the Overseer and my mother while I ate.


    "Hmmm, that sounds more like a hereditary trait. It would be active from birth, but won''t show up onto your status until you reach level five, or even ten." she told me.


    "Why?" I asked confused.


    "Same reason everyone has levels, it restricts everyone coming to this world." Vanessa replied then paused and chuckled. "We talked about how it restrains your opponents, but you probably never even thought about how it restricts you too."


    "Me?" I asked.


    All the girls nodded, "Yes you. The Mana Rebirth gave you five points per attribute, but there are bonuses to being a mana lord that you haven''t received because you are such a low level. There might even be more points from the mana rebirth that you haven''t received." Vanessa explained.


    I was silent for a moment, "Alright, I guess I can understand that, everyone seems to treat this Mana Lord thing as being pretty awesome, but I didn''t really think those points was all that." I told them.


    "Don''t underestimate the knowledge you have." Lilian told me.


    "Fine, but what about the bloodline, if I didn''t get it from my parents, where did I get it?" I asked.


    "You get it from being a dungeon master." Vanessa replied. "The Carbuncle, not the feline beasts with stones on their head, but the true Carbuncle, is the father of the dungeons and some other magic creatures like the mana race."


    "True Carbuncle?" I asked.


    "Yes, he is a deity class being that make the carbuncle creatures your games have in them look like newborn kittens compared to a full grown Dire Tiger. He takes many forms so no one knows his true form. He is partial to the beasts that carry his name, so they could be his direct descendants for all we know." she elaborated.


    "So what does it do? Will I become a carbuncle?" I asked.


    Vanessa was silent for a moment then shrugged. "No idea. All I do know is it can give you bonuses, after reaching certain percentages you will be able to transform. I heard a rumor that when you reach twenty five percent you will get the small transformation." she told me, "But that is just a rumor."


    "Small transformation?" I asked.


    "Its like what the zoo upstairs will get when they reach level twenty." Vanessa replied using Lilian''s term.


    "I thought they would be able to turn human at level twenty." I told her.


    "Not exactly they gain a humanoid form that is more beast than human. If you are into furries you would be in heaven." Vanessa told me.


    I wasn''t.


    "If not you should wait until level fifty when they get large transformation, then they should look more like the beast girls from the anime in your world. Level one hundred will let them have a complete transformation." she finished.


    I grimaced then relaxed. That would give me time to figure out where I and the girls stood on the harem Zephirah wanted me to have. Of the four of them I didn''t think any of them were actually interested. Each were here for their own reasons, and in the fox''s case we had saved her. Beside Zephirah claiming harem whenever she had a chance, none of them actually seemed interested in the idea. Though the talk of them being a part of my harem hadn''t bothered them either, so I had no idea what they thought of it. Maybe I was the only one with a problem. Thoughts to consider for later.


    "So how do I raise the percentage? And what about other bloodlines?" I asked.


    Vanessa shrugged. "No idea." she replied.


    I looked to Zephirah but she remained silent while staring at me.


    I sighed as I recognized that look from earlier. "Can I have more than one bloodline?" I asked Zephirah.


    "Yes." she replied simply.


    It was like having teeth pulled.


    "Will multiple bloodlines affect each other?" I asked.


    "No."


    I paused thinking on that. It wasn''t what I expected. I had assumed I could become something new by gathering different bloodlines. Something like ten percent carbuncle, twenty percent dragon, twenty percent phoenix, and fifty human, though I didn''t have a human bloodline listed. Hmmmmm.


    "Do I receive bonuses from a bloodline?" I asked. Better confirm the basics.


    "You can." Zephirah replied.


    I frowned. I could, did that mean I wasn''t, no, I wasn''t I could account for all of my stats except two points, but those could be the natural growth. So I wasn''t getting any bonuses yet.


    "How high does my bloodline percentage have to be before I can receive a bonus from it?" I asked.


    "One percent."


    "How can I get a bonus?"


    "You have to consciously activate the bloodline." Zephirah explained.


    "Are there any limitations?" I asked.


    "No."


    "Can I have two bloodlines active?" I asked.


    Zephirah hesitated then turned her head up as she listened to a voice, probably the Overseer pervert. "Not currently." Zephirah eventually replied.


    I frowned but then a thought came to mind. "What does the bloodline bond to?" I asked.


    "Your heart." Zephirah asked.


    "My physical heart or my mana heart?" I asked.


    Zephirah was silent for a few moments listening again before she replied. "Either." she replied.


    I smiled happily at that then a new thought came to my mind but I pushed it away as something I could ask about later.


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    "Can you change the bloodline after you have activated one?" I asked.


    "Yes."


    "Will there be any effect on the bloodline you deactivated?" I asked.


    "No."


    I nodded then groaned. "How do I increase the percentage?" I asked.


    "Drinking blood essence."


    "How much blood essence do I need to drink to increase one percent?"


    Zephirah paused again, "It depends on your current percentage." she replied.


    "Can you elaborate on that?" I asked tiredly.


    "Be more specific with your question please."


    I groaned then began to ask her specifically. Turned out that for the first ten percent I needed one drop per percent, eleven to twenty I needed two drops per percent, twenty one to thirty I needed three drops per percent, and so on¡­


    "Since the requirements changes, do the bonuses change?" I asked.


    "Yes."


    I nodded then shook my head. "No more for now." I said holding my head in my hands. While the information seemed important, I doubted I would ask about it again, at least not willingly.


    "Figured it out?" Zephirah asked.


    "As much as I need to for now. I need to help Elisia win a challenge for it to matter." I replied reminded of the three drops I would receive for helping her to win just one of her three challenges. Guess I was going to have to figure out what those challenges were and how I could help her.


    "Oh right, I nearly forgot about that." Zephirah exclaimed happily.


    "Though he didn''t specify what kind of drops they were." I added. "I get the feeling that blood essence is only one kind of drop that people would want."


    "True, there are all kinds of living water that are traded in drops, along with magic essence, and even magic fruit juice." Vanessa agreed.


    "Fruit juice?" I asked.


    "Sure, ever hear of the golden apples?" Vanessa asked.

 41 Chapter 41 - Need to Res

    I frowned hearing the name as I tried to recall it. "I am horrible at mythology, but isn''t aren''t those the apples that cause trouble whenever they appear?" I asked.


    Vanessa laughed hard. "Maybe, a whole apple appearing in any of the different worlds is a sign of calamity. Rumors say that a whole apple can grant immortality to anyone despite their level or ability. I personally doubt that, but drops of its juice have been proven to dramatically lengthen a mortals life span, including bringing those on the brink of death back to life." she told me.


    "Any rumors on how to grow those?" I asked.


    "Yep." Vanessa replied with an evil smile. "Plant the seeds and grow them." she replied.


    "How expensive are they?" I asked.


    "Pretty cheap actually." Vanessa replied still smiling. "Because no one will buy them."


    I rolled my eyes. "Why?" I asked.


    "The amount of mana required to grow a golden apple tree is similar to a world tree, but it has to be an exact mix of elements, which is a closely guarded secret. I also heard you need certain living earth and water hearts to feed the tree while it is blooming, but which ones and how many is also a closely guarded secret."


    "I lost my interest." I told her turning back to my breakfast finishing what little was left. I already had plenty of work to do today, taking on a difficult experiment wasn''t something I was even willing to consider.


    Vanessa laughed. "I was just using it as an example. We wouldn''t even be able to consider growing one until you get better at regulating the types of mana within the dungeon." she told me.


    I nodded, it would be an excellent idea for later, much later. As for now I wasn''t sure when I would reach level five, but I had a feeling it would be sooner than Zephirah thought it would be. Honestly I was a bit excited, I wanted to know what kind of information my father had left me. The fact that he was a Rune Emperor amazed me. I knew there was a whole tier above Rune Emperor, but I still thought it was an incredible feat. It made me wonder about my mother though. Especially since she and the Overseer seemed to be friendly. Then again I hadn''t seen the Overseer interact with anyone else. She might not have been as friendly as I was assuming. That paired with the fact that both my parents seemed to be normalish humans, made me wonder what she had accomplished. Then I froze as I remembered what she said she could do. Peering into the future sounded like a double edged sword to me, especially after seeing too many movies that included self fulfilling prophecies. I just wondered, was that something genetic? Would I be able to use it once I had a higher level, or was it something specific to my mother?


    I pushed those thoughts out of my mind. My next order of business was to speak to the others and get an idea of what I could do with other floors. Unfortunately that meant I would have to talk to the company. We needed seeds for a larger variety of plants. I didn''t think creating several ice floors was going to be enough of a deterrent to keep others out of my dungeon.


    "Any ideas on what we should do with the other floors?" I asked looking from Zephirah to Vanessa.


    "Well the red grass and plants that are suitable for fire mana are a good idea for creating a floor rich in fire mana, but we should speak to Firenne before we make any decisions on that. As a fire dryad she would know more than any of us could." Zephirah told me.


    "Her name is Firenne?" I asked.


    "That''s right you were never properly introduced. We should fix that soon, then speak to the others too. Especially Selia, she would have some plants that she will want us to grow for her use. If we can sell the medicine she makes, that would definitely bring in more money for us." Zephirah told me.


    "Only if she is good at it." I reminded.


    Zephirah seemed to pause in the air. "That is true." She admitted.


    I smiled but nodded as I stood up while holding my now empty plates.


    Vanessa moved forward taking the plates from me then pushed me back onto the bed. "Nope." she told me seriously.


    "Huh?" I said confused.


    "We can talk to the other girls and get their opinions on what we should get. I can also talk to the company and try getting them sorted out." she told me.


    I looked at her confused. "That would help, but I want some say in all of this." I told her trying to get back up.


    "You will, but right now you need to get some sleep." Vanessa told me.


    "She is right Jason." Lilian told me. "You meet with the overseer, and absorbed the information I gave you. Now you need to get some actual rest."


    I shook my head. "Maybe, but I have a feeling we don''t have as long as you think before I reach level five and the barrier drops." I told them.


    Vanessa rolled her eyes the climbed over me straddling my waist. "That could be true, and even if it is, you still need rest. Even if the barrier comes down while you are resting we will be fine. The dungeons, even on tier seven trials, aren''t located too close to the towns or each other. Only the local beasts will give us any trouble. The blue grass you planted is already putting off a lot of ice mana and the badgers are in place. We will be fine." she reassured me.


    "Besides, even if something gets past all of that, we have the girls and the capture stones we can use to defend ourselves." Zephirah chimed in.


    I eyed the girls warily. "What is really going on?" I asked.


    "Nothing." Lilian replied. "I have heard of and seen several cases where those who gain the knowledge of the Mana Lords burn themselves out because they don''t allow themselves enough rest." she told me.


    "While it was a bit to take in, it was only theories, and a how too." I told Lilian as my hands moved up to rest on Vanessa''s waist. Honestly I was conflicted on what I wanted to do at the moment, but I knew what I needed to do.


    "It is more than that Jason. All of the information that you would receive from the Rune Palace to advance in the ranks of the Mana Lord have been crammed into your mind waiting for you to reach the conditions you need to access it, or figure out another way to access it." Lilian told me. "There is no Runic Shift for the Mana Lords."


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    I frowned as I studied the fairy for several long moments. "And are there any negative effects to cramming all of that knowledge into me?" I asked.


    "You need to get some actual rest, once you do, you will be fine." Lilian told me.


    I still felt like something was up. I felt perfectly fine, and I certainly didn''t feel like I had a large pool of information contained within my mind.


    Despite my misgivings I wasn''t against the idea of getting some more rest. I felt fine, but it had been a difficult few days, and just laying on the bed was making me sleepy, giving some credence to their claim.


    Before I could agree to take a short nap the door to my room was violently pushed open.


    "How did you get down here?" Zephirah demanded angrily as Firenne walked into the room a determined look on her face.


    She scanned the room and locked her gaze onto me ignoring all the others. "We need to talk." she demanded.


    I grabbed a hold of Vanessa''s waist then lifted her off of me so I could sit up. "I hope it is important." I told her calmly but firmly. "I do not approve of anyone barging into my room without permission." As I spoke I accessed my mana in preparation to defend myself if needed. I cursed myself for not having set up new precautions.


    "Firenne!" Lilian yelled angrily. "We told you he needed to rest!" she scolded angrily.


    I stared at the little fairy in surprise, she hadn''t seemed to be one who got angry easily.


    Firenne flinched, "I know, but this is important." she insisted.


    "What is it then?" I asked the fire dryad. I took my time to look her over, but instead of being attracted to her very feminine and charming figure I was looking for any signs of trouble. The girls seemed relaxed, but that hadn''t stopped Seth from nearly killing me. Add the fact that she seemed to care for the fox that was now bound to me and the dungeon through the beast shard gave her a reason to want to replace me.


    "Jesaline is weakening despite the bond to the beast shard." Firenne declared firmly.


    I blinked in surprise then stood up. "That does sound important." I agreed.


    Firenne seemed to relax when she heard me.


    "Any idea what the problem is?" I asked while looking around as I had no idea.


    "Her tail." Firenne replied immediately.


    "She didn''t have a¡­. oh." I replied before remembering that she was a fire tail fox. I had assumed that her tail would resembled fire if she still had it, but now I was getting the feeling that her tail was supposed to be made of actual fire.


    "Yes, we need to reignite the fire of her tail." Firene told me.


    I nodded then headed out of the room, and how do we do that?" I asked.


    "The fires that you confiscated from that fool. One is foxfire the same fire her tail was made of. We could use that fire to ignite her tail, or if you wish to retain some of it we can take an ember from that fire and feed her a fire crystal." Firene told me.


    "Do you have any idea how expensive those are?" Vanessa asked angrily.


    I looked up to Zephirah. "How much?" I asked her. Since we had a sample on hand we could make more if we needed too, and I didn''t think they could be more expensive than the elemental water heart we were going to put in the well.


    "They are cheaper." Zephirah told me having read my mind. "They act in a similar fashion to the elemental water hearts by drawing in mana and growing new crystals around them, the biggest difference is they need fire mana to do it, and all crystals will react that way, there is no crystal heart."


    I nodded. "Fine, what about the foxfire?" I asked.


    "That is worse than the elemental water heart, just not as bad as the living water heart. Same for the silverfire. The heart fire is worse than a living water heart." she replied.


    I nodded as we reached the first floor which was empty. I paused to let Firene take the lead, it might be my home, but I still didn''t know the layout yet.


    Firenne quickly led us to the guest rooms that were off of the kitchen. She pushed one door open to reveal a room a third of the size of mine with a comfortable but small looking bed. Jesaline was laying on the bed looking completely exhausted. She didn''t seem to be in the same kind of danger she was in before, but she did look weaker than the last time I had seen her. Around her the other beast girls were gathered watching after her closely.


    The girls seemed initially tense, but seeing me enter the room, they each seemed to relax.


    "What will consuming a fire crystal do to her?" I asked curiously.


    "Given her race it should strengthen her." Zephirah replied.


    I nodded then opened the dungeon interface with a thought and bought foxfire and a fire crystal for a total of eighteen gold. It was a lot, but she was already bonded to us and I wasn''t going to pinch coppers when it came to ensuring one of our own was as healthy and strong as could be.


    The foxfire appeared in the air over Jesaline. The fox seemed to sense the presence of the fire as she opened her eyes then moved quickly. I had assumed she didn''t have a tail as I never saw one, but I quickly realized that she did still have a tail, it just resembled a rat''s tail which she kept carefully wrapped up under herself. That thin but long rat like tail moved out from underneath her so quickly that I stepped back in fear thinking something had been hiding under her. The tail seemed to stretch out until it touched the fire. As soon as the tail made contact with the foxfire the fire seemed to flow onto the tail encompassing it until it looked like it had caught fire.


    A moment later a fire crystal appeared in front of the fox which she scarfed down like it was one of her favorite snacks.


    Within moments Jesaline looked more alive and energized than she had since she arrived.


    Shifting so she was sitting on her haunches, and making me worry that she would catch the bed on fire, she faced me. "Thank you." she said tiredly.


    I nodded as I smiled at her. "You are welcome." I replied as I wondered how was she able to talk? Didn''t the others say the fire tail fox weren''t intelligent?

 42 Chapter 42 - Bond of Sisters

    "Are you feeling better?" Firenne asked concerned.


    Jesaline nodded. "Much better." she replied swishing her tail behind her making me nervous that she was going to catch the bed on fire.


    "Don''t worry, while it is fire, it is completely under her control. It won''t spread unless she wants it too." Firenne told me.


    I relaxed a bit, though I was a bit curious how that worked.


    "Well, we are happy she is feeling better, but you still need to rest." Vanessa told me.


    I sighed. "I am already up here, might as well discuss what we need and want for the other floors." I replied.


    "Jason, you really do need to get some more rest." Lilian spoke up agreeing with Vanessa.


    I rolled my eyes then moved closer to the bed and sat down then leaned back. "I am resting now." I told them.


    "You need to sleep." Vanessa clarified.


    "Why?" Firenne asked curiously. "Is this that, you must rest after cramming information into your head, crap I have heard about?" Firenne asked.


    I was a bit shocked then looked to Vanessa and Lilian who glared at Firenne. "Have you ever met a Mana Lord, or heard what they go through after the knowledge of the Rune Palace is imparted to them.


    "Several actually. Each one always curses the opportunity they lost." Firenne replied smugly.


    "Jason has a neutral affinity." Lilian informed us.


    Firenne''s eyes opened wide in surprise "BED NOW!" she commanded grabbing one of my arms while Vanessa quickly grabbed the other to pull me up and guide me out of the room.


    "I can walk all on my own." I told the girls trying to shrug them off. They let me pull free, but followed closely behind me as I walked towards my room.


    "How?" Firenne asked from behind me.


    "It is actually fairly common amongst pure humans." Lilian replied. "Unfortunately I assumed he was a mix like most of the humans in other worlds."


    "Mix?" I asked as we reached the stairs to the basement.


    "A human with a beast, spirit, monster, elemental, or divine ancestor somewhere in their line. It doesn''t have to be much, even a small influence will alter your natural affinity." Lilian replied.


    "Seriously?" I asked.


    "Of course, many families have several influences like that in their blood, it makes it nearly impossible to have a neutral affinity." Lilian explained.


    "So why is being neutral bad?" I asked as we reached the door to my room.I was trying to scan through the information I had received from Lilian in hope of discovering what it was that had them in a panic. Unfortunately the information was disjointed, and didn''t have a search function so I had to scan over it quickly hoping to spot a certain words like affinity test.


    "It isn''t, it''s just neutral affinities react strongly to the affinity test." Lilian responded.


    "And that means what?" I asked but Vanessa pushed me down onto the bed.


    "Answers later, sleep now." Vanessa told me.


    "Going to stay here with him?" Firenne asked.


    "One of me will." Vanessa replied then a second Vanessa appeared. Unlike before this second Vanessa was dressed similarly to the original. "This way I can help with the work and discussions while watching over him." Vanessa explained.


    "Can I at least get a bedtime story?" I asked with a smirk as I reached up and pulled the second Vanessa down onto the bed beside me then wrapped my arms around her pulling her close so I could use her like a body pillow. If I was going to be forced into this I might as well take advantage of it and Vanessa didn''t seem to be against it, in fact she quickly got comfortable and snuggled into me. I knew they were worried, and it had to be serious if Zephirah was going along with them. I could fight them on it, but there was a fear that they were right and I did need to sleep. However the excitement of earlier had woken me up, I didn''t feel even a little bit tired.


    "Oh, and what kind of story do you want to hear about?" Vanessa asked curiously, it seemed having me in my own bed had calmed her down.


    I thought quickly before an idea came to mind. "I was curious about Firenne and Jesaline, you both seem pretty close, how do you know each other?" I asked. "Was it some kind of shared misery after getting caught by Seth?"


    Firenne hesitated a moment but Jesaline jumped up onto my bed and sat down her tail resting on on our feet. The heat from her tail wasn''t hot, like I expected it to be, instead it was like a heated blanket had been placed over my feet. "We knew each other before we were captured." Jesaline told us.


    "Jess." Firenne called out. She still seemed hesitant.


    "This is my home now Firenne. At least until my soul has had a chance to completely heal." Jesaline replied. "And you know how slow that can be."


    Firenne sighed then seemed to give in. "Fine. He did save you without hesitation or demands." she agreed, her hand seeming to subconsciously run down her curvy body. My eyes followed along enjoying the sight until Vanessa tightened her hold on me.


    "So?" I asked.


    Firenne smirked but didn''t say anything. "Well it is mostly my story to tell." she said moving to sit on the bed next to Jesaline then reached out and stroked the fox''s fur.


    "As you can all guess, Jesaline was a fire tailed fox. Normally they are innate beasts with little intelligence, and whether she likes to admit it or not, she was the same. I was living within a blue cherry tree deep within the ash lands of Estrion." she told us.


    I had no idea what any of that meant but I didn''t interrupt her, questions could wait for later.


    Firenne continued to stroke Jesaline''s fur as she seemed to look back in time as she spoke.


    "Actually I had chosen a heavenly cherry tree to live in, but war between two powerful clans turned my home into the ash lands." she told us. "The immense amount of fire mana that became the norm nearly killed off my tree and me, but it was my first tree and I was stubborn. I used all of my power to keep my tree alive, sleeping deeply between treatments. Over time unknown to me my tree and I changed becoming used to the fire mana, this changed my heavenly cherry tree into a blue cherry tree, and me into a fire dryad."


    Firenne looked at me and saw my confused expression then giggled. "Dryads can live as long as our trees, and with our care our trees can live a very long time. If anything bad happens we can absorb the life of our tree and attempt to find another tree, or for the older dryads we can absorb our tree into a special spatial pocket and carry it with us until we find a place suitable to replant it. I am the latter. My tree is here with me." she explained mistaking the reason for my confusion.


    I shook my head. "I was more curious about the differences between a heavenly cherry tree and a blue cherry tree." I told her.


    "Oh!" she exclaimed. "Alright, a heavenly cherry is a fruit that is full of life. It is good for improving the health of those injured, and clearing poison from the body. A blue cherry is actually a blue fire cherry. Like a heavenly cherry they are full of mana, but instead of a mix of elements that promotes healing, it is full of very dense fire mana. If anyone unknowingly bites into one without taking precautions the fire mana will explode from the fruit burning them in a bright blue fire. They are highly sought after by alchemists." she told me proudly.


    "Pharmacists too." Selia chimed in.


    Firenne nodded then continued on with her story. "As for why any of that matters. That transformation took a long time, and despite sleeping for a large part of it, I started to get lonely. Soon after my tree and I stabilized Jesaline showed up. She was a poor little kit whose parents had kicked her out of their borough because she was the runt. As I was feeling lonely I decided to take her in. She became my companion and surprisingly watching how she used her own talents assisted me in understanding how to use my new fire abilities. In exchange I cared for her, and feed her from my tree. As a fire beast the blue cherries were very beneficial to her. After several years she grew up, and while I loved her company, I wanted someone I could actually talk too." Firenne told us then paused.


    "You simplified that a lot." Jesaline pointed out.


    "We don''t have time for all the little details of how we lived together back then." Firenne said looking over at me. Despite the warmth of Vanessa and Jesaline I was still wide awake.


    "Despite my impressive age, I spent most of my life alone, I had learned a great deal from my mother and family before I left to find my own tree, but dryads are meant to live in a grove together, sharing information and companionship. Living alone I had neither. When I started to despair of having another intelligent companion to speak too, I came up with the brilliant idea of assisting Jesaline to evolve into a magic beast. Since she had been eating the blue cherries for so long she was full of fire mana, and pardon my pun, but she only needed a spark to evolve into something better. As I didn''t have anything else I could use, I used a part of my soul as the spark." she told us.


    The other girls gasped in horror informing me that what Firenne had done was a bad thing.


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    "How?" Lilian asked.


    "Actually that was the easy part. A dryads ability to strengthen our trees and extend their lives is because the bond we make with them lets us use the energy of our soul without harming ourselves." she replied. "So I did like I normally would and imbued the energy of my soul into my tree then concentrated it all into a single blue cherry, then fed it to Jesaline."


    "That was the easy part?" I asked.


    Firenne nodded. "Yes, while we might be able to break the bond with our tree and move to a new one, that is usually only done by very young dryads, and dryads who have no other choice. The longer we are bonded to a single tree the stronger the bond becomes, eventually we can reach a point where we are practically two bodies and one soul. Having long since reached that point concentrating the energy of my soul into a single cherry was easy. Cutting that cherry from my tree, not so much. With my soul energy inside of it, it became incredibly resilient. In fact I failed and had to have Jesaline eat the cherry off of the tree.


    "It wasn''t easy." Jesaline spoke up.


    "No, despite how strong you had become, you were only able to barely pierce the skin of the cherry and content yourself with licking the juices." Firenne agreed. "However that was enough to start weakening the fruit while preparing your body for what was to come." she added.


    "Prepare?" I asked.


    "Soul energy is incredibly condensed energy infused with intent. As I was focused on pushing Jesaline to evolve, the energy inside the fruit did just that. It targeted the parts of her that needed to change so she could evolve got her started. Even with that, eating the weakened fruit nearly killed her." Firenne said then looked to Selia, "I was able to guide the energy and keep it from killing her before she could finish her transformation."


    "So you could assist the blazing bulls to change?" Selia asked bringing up the idea from earlier.


    Firenne shook her head. "No, there is too much power inside a world tree sprout, and I was only able to do it with Jesaline because the energy had originally come from me." she replied.


    "Damn, blazing bull is tasty, but inferno bulls taste even better." Selia grumbled.


    "Soooo true." Elisia agreed while drooling a little.


    "So?" I asked trying not to let the story get side tracked.


    "So it worked. Jesaline evolved into a Fiery Tailed Kitsune. She gained intelligence and we lived together happily until those hunters found and caught us." Firenne replied. "The level system here is suppressing her so that she resembles her original fire tail fox form, but she should be able to regain her kitsune appearance after leveling up a bit." Firenne replied.


    "You glossed over the fact that feeding me a part of your soul harmed your soul, which took years to heal." Jesaline spoke up. "Or the fact that we retain a soul bond that makes it painful for us to seperate."


    "Is that true?" Vanessa asked.


    "Yeah, but it is a weak bond, it would hurt, but we can break it, we just didn''t see a need to." Firenne nodded. "We''ve become like sisters since then." she said smiling at Jesaline who licked her hand in return.


    "Well that was sweet, answers a few questions too." Zephirah said flying towards me.


    I frowned up at Zephirah as she flew right up to my face. "You''ve had your story, now goodnight husband." she told me with a sweet smile before blowing powder into my face.


    Before I could even object I felt exhaustion roll over me then I passed out.

 43 Chapter 43 - Girl Talk Part 1

    -Vanessa Point of View-


    I breathed a sigh of relief as I watched Jason close his eyes.


    "He isn''t going to be happy when he wakes up." Zephirah commented as she flew up from the bed.


    "I would be surprised if he was. With all that has happened to him in such a short time, I am surprised he has been so kind to us." I replied as I shifted my second form around so I could look at Jason''s sleeping face.


    "What does that mean Vanessa?" Firenne asked looking to me.


    I didn''t reply immediately as I stroked Jason''s hair while my other body bathed in his warmth his arm heavy but comforting around my waist as he continued to hold me in his sleep. I was worried for him, the affinity storm should be starting soon. For anyone else besides a neutral, the affinity storm was an incredible chance to harmonize with the elements they had an affinity with. As a neutral Jason couldn''t do that.


    I didn''t know how it all worked, Lilian had explained it all to me, but none of it made sense to me. The gist of it seemed to be that the more elements that could affect him, the more painful, and potentially harmful it could be to him. Neutrals would be equally affected by all of them.


    I hadn''t known of the risk to him until Lilian explained, then again only those who used magic would get the affinity test that caused this to happen. Besides that, neutral''s had become rare over the years. As many races had natural affinities, neutral was only something that humans, and those races closely related to them could be. With humanity''s lust for all women that were beautiful no matter their race, pure humans were a rarity on magic worlds.


    "He''ll be fine now." Lilian said reassuringly.


    I nodded as I looked up at the beautiful fairy. Once again I lamented the perfect appearance of the mana races. It wouldn''t be so bad if they remained small without the ability to grow larger. Thankfully Lilian was already obsessed with another.


    "You are sure?" Zephirah asked seriously.


    Lilian nodded.


    Zephirah relaxed a bit then looked to me. I met her gaze without flinching. She and I had an odd relationship. While I was just a spirit waiting for my body to reform we had a rather in depth conversation, forcefully. Given the opportunity Zephirah used her advantage over me to pick my mind apart, ensuring that I was not complicit in Seth''s plans, and wouldn''t be a threat to either of them in the future. As I wanted to stay by Jason''s side, she also placed a few safeguards within me to ensure I would never be anything but loyal and faithful. At least with those safeguards I granted my permission before she placed them in my mind.


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    While I hadn''t enjoyed the process I couldn''t blame her for it either. Despite the fact that I had no control over my own actions, I had participated in the attack against them. I had gained her forgiveness, but only after she had scoured my mind. Now we were allies, kind of.


    I know there would be many who would consider me insane for allowing such restrictions to be placed in my mind, but if it was the only way I could stay by his side I would do anything. I had told Jason my story, but I was sure he hadn''t really understood the pain I had been through. He didn''t really understand what he had saved me from. I knew Seth intended to make me into his own, and if that was all, it wouldn''t have been so bad. Being a mistress or concubine to a dungeon lord was respected in many of the worlds. It wasn''t just that though, he had murdered my family right in front of my eyes then trapped me inside my own mind. The hypnotism they used on me made me little more than an obedient doll that could only think as far as was needed to accomplish the goals set out for me. Thankfully I was required to pass off as a new recruit for the company or I would have spent most of my time in a foggy haze waiting for Seth to give me a new order. The times I had to spend like that were already bad enough, because even when the world was a foggy haze, I could still register what was going on around me, and the things I had witnessed Seth do, I didn''t want to tell Jason about. It was too horrible. Having to spend the rest of my life with that man would have been bad enough, but knowing he wanted to use my body even after those same hands had killed my family. It would have been a living hell. Jason saved me from that, and was even happy for me when I learned that my family really had survived. It was a debt I could never repay, so I would give him all I had. It helped that he was kind and handsome.


    My gaze shifted away from the beautiful sprite to the other women in the room. Last night had been too exciting and exhausting that none of us had a chance to speak much to each other. Now however was the perfect time for a girl talk. Looking at the five girls, four magic beasts and the fire dryad who had all arrived suddenly and with no warning I wasn''t sure where to start. However I knew who had the potential to be the greatest threat.


    "Let''s head upstairs before we start." Zephirah suggested. "For all I know Jason might have set something up so he could overhear whatever we say despite being asleep."


    "Could he?" I asked surprised, Jason''s ability was a mystery to me allowing him to be able to bring out something new and surprising.


    Zephirah shrugged. "It is hard to tell. His mind his difficult to read whenever he starts thinking in magic terms. Even as a one of the mana races, I can''t keep up with the theories and ideas in his head." she admitted. "Kind of makes me both excited and scared to see what he will be able to come up with once he has greater access to the elements."


    "More scared than excited." Lilian chipped in. "Nuetral''s get access to elements most aren''t even aware of. What they have been able to accomplish with them in the past are both wondrous and terrifying."


    Zephirah flinched. "Forgot about that." she mumbled then gestured towards the door.


    No one objected. Everyone was well aware of the fact that when Jason was asleep Zephirah was the ultimate authority within the dungeon. We gathered in the living room facing each other. Jesaline had curled up in Firenne''s lap. Despite feeling better she still seemed exhausted. Firenne on the other hand seemed rather conflicted and unsure.


    Elisia seemed rather carefree as she laid out on one of the couches, while Rena and Selia seemed nervous. Having spent so much time under Seth''s control I had learned how to read serpents, and Rena couldn''t stand still as she nervously shifted from talon to talon.


    "So lots to talk about." Zephirah said as she landed on the coffee table and started to walk on it while I took a seat. Lilian settled onto my shoulder a moment later. I was partly surprised until I remembered that of everyone here her and I were guaranteed to stay. She had already made her agreement with Zephirah to fight for her in the mana race war, and I wasn''t going to leave Jason.


    "As of right now, none of you have to stay here." Zephirah started.


    "Umm." Jesaline spoke up uncertainly.


    "Even you. Despite the injury to your soul, you can leave. You are stabilized and your fire returned. With your bond to Firenne, you will recover even if you don''t remain." Zephirah told her.


    "So not just going to toss us out and hope for the best?" Firenne asked cautiously.


    "Not even sure if I am tossing you out. That is why we are talking. Jason wouldn''t be happy if I just tossed you all out." she replied.


    "So much for all the harem talk you have been spouting since I arrived." Elisia commented.


    "That is for Jason''s sake, poligamy isn''t normal on his world. As a dungeon lord he needs to get used to the idea and accept it." I informed them.


    Firenne winced. "Do we even need to have this conversation?" she asked with a sigh. "The kind hearted dungeon masters are a pleasure to work for but they never last long enough to make it worth it."


    "And you seem awfully well informed for a woman who spent most of her life alone." I pointed out.


    Firenne smiled at me. "Don''t underestimate my age, I spent many years in my mother''s grove before leaving to find my own tree. It was a very popular grove for those who were magically inclined." she responded.


    "A university grove?" I asked. They were groves located to the magic universities.The grove provided safe and willing company for the students and faculty while the grove received optimal breeding partners. As dryads could only bare dryads who stayed with their mother''s there wasn''t even a worry about fathering children.


    Firenne smiled and nodded.


    "Off topic." Zephirah reminded.


    "Sorry." I apologized.


    "No worries." Zephirah responded then looked to Firenne. "Yes he is kind, but he is also strong, and suspicious enough to survive despite that. Elisia and Selia are here because of their fathers and can be partly trusted because of those same fathers. Both also need something from Jason so they receive a modicum of trust. Rena is suspect but has been vouched for by Selia so her actions will reflect on Selia. You are tied to Jesaline who was dependant on the dungeon to heal. Now that that has been resolved you return to being the greatest threat." Zephirah said laying everything out.


    I leaned forward a bit in excitement. This was the conversation I wanted to have the most. While most of the other girls were beasts now, I knew that they would eventually be able to take human form. As much as I knew that Jason needed to be able to bond with the other racial leaders under his command, I didn''t want to share him. Not yet anyways. Worse though Firenne already had a human form, so if she stayed, my place beside Jason could be threatened. Which didn''t even take into account the other two threats that weren''t even here. Unconsciously my other form clung onto Jason in my anxiety.


    "I am staying." Elisia spoke up first her tail wagging slowly.


    Elisia met my gaze briefly then turned her gaze to Zephirah who was also watching the wolf. "No gambling." Zephirah finally told the wolf.


    "I known." Elisia replied happily her tail picking up speed.


    I wasn''t sure how to feel about that, even if I was sure that this would be the outcome. Elisia''s presence made me feel uncomfortable. Unlike all of the other girls Elisia had already proven herself. She could have stood back and watched without helping during Seth''s attack. I was sure her father would have assisted her leaving if she couldn''t stand Seth once he became the dungeon master so she had little reason to help. Sure she needed something, but I had the feeling that the aid she needed wasn''t difficult to gain. Plus she already seemed to have become fond of Jason. Yet I couldn''t forget the image of her coming at me with her teeth bared, or the feel of those same teeth ripping out my throat. I know it was necessary, but it didn''t erase the memory of it.


    Yet Jason needed support, and Elisia was a warrior, she could assist in the protection of the dungeon, and help him grow stronger. While he had his magic, that wouldn''t always be enough. So I kept my feelings to myself. Hopefully I will be able to get over it with time.

 45 Chapter 45 - Girls Talk Part 3

    -Vanessa Point of View-


    "How?!" Zephirah asked obviously confused and a bit frightened.


    I was also surprised and a bit suspicious, was this the real Candice, or that pervert?


    Candice smiled at the sprite. "I happen to know another mediator who owed my father a favor." she replied then looked to Selia, "Your brother is a real piece of work." she told her obviously unhappy.


    "What is your father''s name?" I asked ignoring her previous comment."


    Candice shifted her attention to me for a moment. "Nathan Xavier." she replied then looked back to Selia.


    I breathed a sigh of relief, it had been difficult to figure that one out, his position was special so he was very low key. There was no way Seth''s people would have been able to figure that out in such a short time. "What did Seth do?" I asked.


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    "Directly? Nothing." Candice replied. "However, a number of people he is friends with suddenly have irreparable issues with me and my family." she said then smiled deviously. "However they didn''t seem to know who my father was." she said.


    I tried to resist smiling but I failed. I always had to follow Seth''s orders, but he had been lax when he told me to find out everything about Jason. I had done as ordered and reported everything I could find out about him, but that didn''t mean I told him everything about those around him. Both of Candice''s parents held positions of importance amongst the magic community that lived on his world. More importantly Candice''s father was strong, really strong. They would have to bring in outside help to handle him. It was a possibility if Seth had the backing of a great family, but by moving too quickly they had been warned of the issue.


    "So they sent you here to protect you?" I asked.


    Candice shook her head. "No, if they came after me and my parents I am sure someone will come for Jason here. I came to warn him." she told us.


    "A message would have sufficed." I told her.


    "It would have." Candice agreed.


    I groaned, "So those other rumors were true?" I asked.


    Candice smiled, "You really are good at your job." she told me her eyes bright and intense as she looked at me.


    I squirmed uncomfortably for a few moments. Seth''s order had been simple and easy to fulfill. While I could claim I spent the extra time and effort to be through, or too stay away from Seth, it would be a lie. After watching Jason for a bit I grew curious about him. Guessing he would be the man I was temporarily paired too, I kind of hoped I could learn more about him. Maybe find a trigger that would get him to deprive Seth of my first time. It wouldn''t have mattered to the bastard, but it would have been a small victory for me. Unfortunately I found that Jason seemed to look better and better the longer I looked at him. I might have even fantsized what it would be like if he could somehow overcome Seth and rescued me. Not that I expected any of this to happen.


    Candice had mercy and turned her sharp gaze away from me and back to Selia. "I don''t believe he personally has any friends here in the trial, but it would surprise me if some of the other contestants weren''t linked to the great family backing him. While fractured, the whole family would still back anyone with a chance to become a dungeon master, their value is too high to involve them in their squabbles. Though to be honest I doubt they will give Seth much support now that he has failed, but gaining the coordinates of this dungeon, and potential hostages against the dungeon master¡­ That I am sure they would be interested in." Candice finished explaining.


    Selia hissed. "FOOL!" she cursed aloud. "But that is just like him, if he can''t have it he would rather break it!"


    "So what will you do?" Zephirah asked Selia while I watched still too flustered to speak.


    "Do you have any proof?" Selia asked Candice.


    "None." Candice replied a bit regretfully.


    "Its fine!" Lilian suddenly said flying over to Candice''s side to console her.


    I rolled my eyes but kept quiet.


    Candice eyed the little fairy that appeared in front of her with stars in her eyes as she gazed upon Candice. "I hope you have been taking good care of Jason." she told Lilian with a smile.


    Lilian almost seemed to freeze then looked over at me.


    "He is doing fine." I replied. He was, I could see the strain on him as the affinity storm raged within him, but it didn''t seem to be causing any lasting harm.


    "You are watching him?" Candice asked me surprised.


    "I am a gemini." I replied.


    Candice nodded in understanding. "I see, but why does he need to be watched?" she asked.


    "Affinity storm." Lilian replied quietly drooping a bit in the air. "I didn''t realize he was a neutral."


    That wasn''t the first time she had said that. "Would it have mattered?" I asked.


    "Not really." Lilian replied. "I would have waited until more security could have been put in place. He is completely vulnerable right now."


    "Better now while the shield is up." I said.


    "That is true." Candice agreed then looked around at the other girls. "With all that said, you should all make up your minds quickly. If you don''t want to stay, then you should go before anyone comes."


    "When did you start listening in?" I asked.


    "When the wolf made it clear she was staying." Candice replied. "Though I do have to say that I am impressed with you Vanessa." she said.


    "Me?" I asked surprised.


    Candice nodded. "If other women found themselves in your position, they would have done everything they could to push everyone else out." she told me.


    I nodded, I wanted to do that too. "No point, not with you and Melissa around." I told her making Candice laugh.


    "A good point, though I don''t think Melissa will be an issue, she was serious when she dumped Jason. Plus there had been a bunch of off worlders swarming her and her parent''s places." she added.


    I nodded, the great family worked fast, then again they wouldn''t have helped Seth without confirming his information.


    I felt a bit relieved, I hadn''t liked anything about Melissa, I had also been temporarily confused about the relationship between the three of them with the rumor that Candice was his fiance while he was living with Melissa. Only later did I realize he had no idea.


    Turning to the other women, Selia and Firenne specifically.


    Firenne was looking down at Jesaline, who was looking back up at her determinedly. "Fine we will stay." Firenne said closing her eyes as if she already regretted her decision.


    "Good, Vaness and I will work hard to keep him on the right path." Candice said with a smile which she then turned to me. "Won''t we?" she asked.


    I nodded stupidly. For a moment I wondered if she might have any succubus in her family line.


    "That just leaves you Selia." Zephirah said looking to the amethyst snake.


    Selia hesitated for a few more moments then glanced at Rena before speaking. "I¡­" she said hesitantly.


    "Personally I would prefer if you left." Candice spoke up. "I am not completely sure what you have to offer Jason, but for someone who is related to that slime ball and is so wishy washy, keeping you around only seems like it will bring us more trouble than not."


    Selia remained silent.


    "The deal was with her father correct?" Candice asked.


    "Yes." I replied.


    "Perhaps he has another, more dependable daughter?" she suggested.


    "It''s not like I volunteered for this!" Selia hissed angrily.


    "Perhaps, but you don''t seem able to make up your mind either." Candice told her.


    Selia made an irritated hissing sound but didn''t bare her fangs.


    "Doesn''t matter any more." Zephirah told her.


    "What?" Selia asked surprised.


    "Company has already arrived." Zephirah replied.


    "What?!" we all asked excitedly.


    "A group of large birds are herding a swarm of rats towards us, the first few have already reached the shield and been dispatched by the golems." Zephirah replied.


    "What kind of birds?" Rena asked.


    "I can''t tell, not without going to the surface." she replied.


    "What is the problem?" Candice asked.


    "The rats give more experience than the mice we normally see, and with the swarm I can sense, Jason will reach level five." Zephirah replied.


    "How is the arctic floor?" I asked worriedly.


    "Good, it should slow them down a lot. The blue grass isn''t fully grown, but it is already putting off a great deal of ice mana, add that to the badgers and we should be fine against the rats that get past the golems." Zephirah replied.


    "But we have no idea what else there is behind the swarm." Candice stated.


    "I''ll go." Rena volunteered. "I can chase off the other birds and get an idea what else is out there."


    Zephirah shook her head. "No, your level is too low, you would just get yourself killed, and you haven''t even been bonded to the dungeon."


    Rena seemed to want to argue but Selia hissed at her. "Stop, not even he would want you to get yourself killed." she told her.


    Rena finally nodded and remained silent.


    "How long do we have?" Candice asked.


    Zephirah frowned looking off to the side then seemed to pale. "No!" she screamed.


    "What?" we asked but before she could reply Jason started to scream. We could all hear him.


    I shook my head as they all looked to me. "He was fine a second ago." I told them. "Then he just started to scream, he seems to be in a lot of pain." I said getting flustered as I watched his pain filled face while he screamed in agony.


    "What is it?" Candice asked finally losing her calm and collected appearance.


    "They mixed in a few weakened higher level rats." Zephirah replied.


    "And that means?" Candice asked.


    "He leveled up to level five and the barrier is down." Zephirah replied.


    "Oh no!" Candice said horrified.


    "What?" I asked worriedly.


    "Mother told me once that uncle left Jason some of his memories, but he wouldn''t get them until he reached level five or its equivalent." she replied.


    "So he is dealing with the memories and affinity storm?" I asked surprised then looked to Lilian, but she was gone. I saw her a moment later flying into the bedroom despite the closed door. Before I could ask her what she was going to do a spell formed in her hands and descended upon Jason a moment later.


    "Where did that fairy go?" Zephirah asked angrily.


    I guessed that Zephirah was pretty flustered at the moment or she would have easily been able to know where Lilian was through her connection to the dungeon.


    "She is with Jason, I think she is trying to help." I said, since Jason stopped screaming, and seemed more calm since the spell started to emit a bright golden light that focused on his head.


    "Good." Zephirah said calming down quickly. Then she peered off to the side. "Oh, that could work." she said seeming to be surprised. "She is casting a healing spell on his head, healing the injuries the overload is placing on his brain." she told us when we looked at her confused.


    "Good, guess I should go meet our guests." Elisia said getting up.


    "I will too." I said standing then doubling both of my bodies. Making two more of me appear in the living room.


    "Can you even fight?" Elisia asked.


    "I am not an expert, but I can wield a sword." I replied confidently then looked to Zephirah who quickly bought three swords that appeared in the air before my bodies. They weren''t the blades the company was selling. I partially pulled the blade from the sheath to see a well crafted blue steel blade.


    "This should work well." I said with a smile.


    "Good, let''s go." Elisia said then headed out the door. I followed her out quickly. Hopefully the golems, badgers, and cold would be enough, but it was better to be safe. "We should wait for them at the gate to this floor." I told Elisia.


    "Can you resummon you bodies if they are killed?" Elisia asked.


    I nodded.


    "Good you can leave a body there, the rest will head up with me to see what is going on." she told me.


    I hesitated for a moment, then nodded determinedly. I would protect him, just as he saved me.

 46 Chapter 46 - While I was Sleeping

    I groaned as I opened my eyes. There was a stabbing pain in my head that made all of my other headaches seem like wet dreams. I had no idea how long I had slept, but I looked to my side to see Vanessa was gone. As she had been wrapped in my arms when I went to sleep I was sure something had to have happened.


    I crawled out of bed despite the pounding headache that nearly made me go blind every time it sent a spike of pain through my head. There was a great deal of new information in my head, information that I was sure was from my father. That being the case I had to have leveled up to level five. Which meant that the barrier was down, probably the reason Vanessa wasn''t still in bed with me.


    Thinking about the level up, I quickly thought about assigning the points I hadn''t used yet, all ten into wisdom. Instantly my headache eased up a lot. It didn''t disappear, but it was manageable. Once my head cleared a bit I hurried to my door, down the hallway, and up the stairs.


    I found the girls sprawled out on the chairs and couches looking exhausted. Zephirah was perched on the back of a chair talking to Vanessa while Lilian was nowhere in sight.


    "What happened?" I asked worriedly.


    All of the girls turned to look at me, even if some of them did little more than open their eyes.


    "Late." Elisia said from where she was resting, she looked the worst of the girls, her fur a mess and her eyes closed as soon as she saw me.


    "Sorry." I apologized.


    "How are you?" Vanessa asked.


    "Confused." I replied. "Didn''t the shield come down?" I asked.


    "Yes, some jerks sent a swarm of rats our way, it leveled you up and dropped the shield. Then they disappeared." Vanessa replied. "Only to show up with another swarm just as the golems and badgers finished off the last of the first swarm. There have been four swarms so far, you probably leveled up to six already." she told me tiredly.


    "How many in a swarm?" I asked.


    Vanessa shrugged so I looked to Zephirah.


    "Averaged around two hundred." Zephirah said with a yawn.


    "And no one else showed up?" I asked.


    "Nope, but I want to thank them, gave us the rat design, though I doubt we will us it, and it leveled up the badgers a bit. All of them have already topped level ten due the sheer numbers that made it past the golems. I had to fix a few of those, I hope you don''t mind." Zephirah told me.


    I shook my head, "No, that''s fine." I replied.


    "She is downplaying it, Vanessa and Elisia both went out and fought too. I think each gained a few levels." Selia said. "Rena and Jesaline both completed the synchronization with Zephirah and fought the second, third, and fourth wave." Selia told me.


    "What of you and Firenne?" I asked.


    "Third and fourth." Firenne replied. "Wasn''t sure I wanted to stay."


    "I see." I said then looked back to Vanessa but the door behind me leading down the stairs opened behind me. Which was odd as all the girls were in front of me and Lilian didn''t need a door.


    It took a moment for me to realize that thought, by the time I did I was already being hugged from behind. A pair of large but soft mountains being pressed into my back. Oddly enough it seemed familiar.


    "He''s going to freak out." Vanessa said in warning, "We haven''t said anything about you."


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    "I wonder why." a familiar voice replied playfully.


    I turned around quickly to confirm who I thought it was. Candice smiled at me with her deep blue eyes. Like the others she looked exhausted. "Hey Jason." she said then while I was too shocked to react she moved closer and planted a brief chaste kiss on my lips.


    "Not fair!" Vanessa called out from behind me.


    "You don''t have to break the sister image from his mind. I swear if I didn''t love my mother so much I would¡­. I don''t know, too tired." she started then seemed to lose steam and leaned into me placing her head on my chest and squeezing me. "Don''t move."


    While I was still trying to comprehend everything I stood rooted to the spot. However despite the enormous surprise and my headache I was eventually able to adjust, thought that might have been in part to what the Overseer had said which partly prepared me. Once I could admit it I leaned down and scooped Candice up into my arms then walked her over and set her down on one of the couches.


    "If I get up will you do that for me too?" Vanessa asked.


    "Maybe later." I replied.


    Vanessa groaned then stuck her tongue out at me eliciting a few chuckles from the other girls. It seemed that having fought together had made the girls bond.


    "So?" I asked looking down at Candice.


    "So?" she asked in return shifting in the seat to get comfortable.


    I rolled my eyes, "Candice." I said warningly.


    She groaned. "Did I not mention tired?" she whined.


    "Seriously?" I asked.


    She gave me a mock glare, but started to talk. "Your friend mister snakey called in a few favors. Caused some trouble for us. Dad took care of it with a bit of help from mom. I did my thing and got dad to call up an old friend who owed him a favor to transport me here to help out if anyone tried to cause trouble for you. Didn''t really need to though, these girls are all pretty badass, once they resolved themselves to help."


    I nodded. "Can''t blame them for that, none of them are really here willingly." I said.


    Vanessa raised her hand as if to say she was.


    "So you wouldn''t prefer to be undiscovered and back with your family?" I asked.


    Vanessa frowned unsure how to answer.


    Candice hit me, not hard but enough to get my attention. "Be nice, don''t ask difficult emotional questions." she scolded me.


    I blinked at her a bit surprised. "I was warned you would be different." I commented.


    Candice snorted. "Of course I am different, I don''t have to pretend to be human, or your big sister anymore." she replied. "Though it was kind of funny to do something you couldn''t explain and watch your face go completely blank as aunties spell kicked in." she added with a chuckle.


    "Huh?" I asked confused.


    "I did warn him that none of the people around him were normal." Vanessa spoke up. "Probably didn''t think about anything beyond Melissa though." she added with a sigh.


    "Probably, been chasing after her since she gave him her that first smile." Candice grumbled. "Never knew what you saw in her, isn''t even that pretty."


    "Compared to you maybe, but you were sister material then." Vanessa said back.


    "Hey." I complained as the two talked over and around me.


    Another chuckle from the peanut gallery.


    "I am a sylph Jason, sort of like the wind version of the dryads and naiads." Candice replied. "Mom is too, dad is a human like your parents, a Rune King if I remember right, one level lower than your dad."


    "She''s pretty strong too." Zephirah commented.


    I didn''t know what to say, "we can deal with that later." I told her.


    "We? No, you. I have been one my whole life, nothing to deal with." Candice told me.


    "Fine." I replied. "But it was Seth who sent those people after you and your parents?" I asked.


    "It''s my best guess, no proof though." Candice replied.


    "Same situation for the swarms?" I asked.


    "Yeah, we know they were herded to us, but no idea who did it, or who they are associated with." Zephirah replied.


    I nodded as my mind raced. Without proof I couldn''t accuse anyone, but that didn''t mean I couldn''t do anything. I looked over at Selia. I wasn''t able to read her expressions but she was watching me carefully. "Are you staying?" I asked her.


    "Told you!" Zephirah said loudly.


    I frowned at the sprite. "What?" I asked.


    "You had a listening spell to hear what we were talking about while you were passed out, right?" Zephirah asked.


    "No, I could make one, but you sprang that sleeping dust on me by surprise. We''ll have to talk about that later." I said reminded of that little trick.


    "Nope, you needed it." Zephirah replied stubbornly.


    "Off topic." I said then looked back to Selia. "I know we had a deal with your father, but it doesn''t seem like he is upholding it, and after I didn''t object to you passing on that information yesterday, I find it to be more than a little insulting for him to play it to the letter. With potential friction between me and your family, do you want to stay?" I asked her then frowned. "Nevermind, I will hate to do it after you fought for us, but it would probably be best if we just sent you back." I said.


    "What?!" Selia said surprised.


    "I can''t in good conscious make you choose between us and your family. If everything is resolved between us later, you will be more than welcome to return." I told her.


    "Wow." Candice said seeming surprised.


    "What?" I asked. "Seth wasn''t even gone a day. Makes it clear which side of this his father is going to lean. As Selia was sent here to save Seth, so it seems obvious who he values more. Add the fact that she immediately sent off a message as soon as she learned something interesting, I can tell where her actual loyalty is. So I might as well send her home now before I have to do something I would regret later."


    "Maybe you should sit down and rest a bit. I am not so sure that logic leads in the direction you think it does." Candice told me.


    I shrugged. "Maybe, but if we are being attacked with beasts that live around us, it should escalate sooner than later, especially as they aren''t using their own forces." I said then stopped as a new thought crossed my mind. "Which bathroom did the living water get placed?" I asked.


    "Mine." Vanessa said with a groan and tried to stand up but fell back down before she even made it halfway. "Fine." she grumbled then doubled herself. The second body appeared standing beside her then headed for the door leading downstairs.


    "Are you accusing me of stealing?" Selia asked.


    "You?" I asked. "No." I replied.


    "The overseer says that she is still watching, almost as good as daytime soap operas and all that. She expected you to¡­. Nevermind, I don''t need to repeat that. The point is none of the mediators are allowed to move into our dungeon without permission from her, which Candice''s ride had." Zephirah told me.


    "Jason!" Vanessa shouted.


    "Its gone huh." I said then looked over to Zephirah, "No surprise, the bathroom it was in wasn''t interesting to watch." I said then looked to Candice who seemed surprised. "Any idea if your ride was friends with Selia''s dad? Or owed him a debt too?" I asked.


    "Oh boy." Zephirah said. "I do not want to be him."


    "Mad?" I asked.


    "You have no idea. She forgot to turn the link off, I haven''t even heard of some of those curses." Zephirah told her.


    I shivered, "Can''t be much worse than a drunken sailor." I said.


    "They just use curse words, the overseer is using actual curses. Probably going to have to remodel when she calms down." Zephirah replied.


    I shivered at the thought.


    "I can''t believe we played right into their hands." Candice muttered tears streaming down her cheeks.


    I patted her shoulder to comfort her. I wouldn''t blame her. If the situation had been reversed I was sure I would do the same thing she did.


    "Umm, not sure if this will make you feel better, but the overseer is saying she will personally investigate this matter, I guess she is more than a little offended that this happened while she was watching. Anyways the living water will be replaced out of her own pocket if necessary. As it could have only been removed by a mediator while she was watching over us, it is considered to be an enormous breach of the trust she has placed in them. Whomever is found to be involved will be executed and their families will pay a penalty and be completely banned." Zephirah told us.


    "Jason, I want to stay." Selia immediately spoke up.


    "Ummm." I said uncertainty.


    "Please, you don''t understand what that punishment entails, I will personally allow the Overseer to search my mind if it will clear me." she begged.


    Before I could reply Selia disappeared. We all stared in shock at the empty space she had just inhabited a moment ago. After several moments Zephirah sobbed, "Fool."


    "What?" I asked.


    "She was guilty." the overseer said appearing in the room sitting where Selia had been. "Interestingly enough her father gave her a technique he thought could hide her thoughts from me. They never thought they would be able to get a hold of a living water heart, but assumed they could eventually use Selia to reclaim the core for Seth."


    "Blackmail?" I asked.


    The overseer nodded. "Smart boy. Unlike her brother, she has an acceptable motive. So boy, you have a choice to make." the overseer told me.

 49 Chapter 49

    I groaned unhappily. I knew Candice fairly well. Despite not knowing she was a Slyph. Her appearance here in the dungeon might have been a complete surprise to me, but I never thought Lilian would become an issue for her. Usually Candice would be able to handle something like that with no trouble. As a very attractive and well endowed blonde woman she had more than her fair share of suitors from both genders. Including a few obsessed perverts. For her to react as she was, something extreme must have happened.


    "What happened?" I asked dreading the answer yet incredibly curious as to what could cause Candice to get this angry.


    Candice didn''t reply as she shifted her attention back to her food, but rather than eating it she just pushed it around her plate.


    Another glance at the other girls showed them all deliberately avoiding looking in our direction. They were making a dramatic effort to remain uninvolved with the current conversation.


    I wanted to continue questioning Candice or call out one of the other girls, but I didn''t. Candice would tell me in her own time. If I tried to rush her, it would be me that would regret it, maybe even worse than Lilian.


    After several more tense and incredibly quiet moments Candice sighed then shoveled the rest of her food into her mouth and chewed mechanically. The joy of eating a tasty meal gone.


    "She is a pervert." Candice said after she swallowed her food.


    "Yeah, though she is hardly the first to fall for you." I replied.


    Candice seemed to freeze as she looked me in the eyes for the first time since I mentioned the fairy. "That is true." she said slowly as if thinking to herself and conceding a point she didn''t really want too.


    I waited again.


    Candice opened her mouth to say something then stopped and shook her head.


    I was completely bewildered. I had never seen Candice like this before.


    Finally unable to take it Zephirah coughed. "Do you remember how Lilian reacted the first time she saw Candice''s image, and the tirade that went with it?" Zephirah asked me.


    I had to think for a moment. "The forbidden love speal?" I asked to clarify.


    "That one!" Zephirah agreed. "Think that, times twenty, non-stop between each of the swarms." she told me.


    I frowned. "And?" I asked.


    "What do you mean and?" Candice asked her cheeks a dark red.


    "Something like that has never bothered you before. More importantly she could be silenced at any time with the agreement she made with Zephirah." I pointed out.


    Again absolute silence.


    I sighed, I never wanted to be a dentist, but I imagined this was like pulling teeth.


    "I can ask Selia." I reminded Candice. It wasn''t nice, but we had things to do, and I only even remembered the floating pervert because I had some questions to ask her.


    "She joined me in the shower, realized I was still a virgin, then tried to use an illusion to¡­.." Candice started then stopped.


    My blood ran cold while a terrible icy fire began to burn in my mind. "Consume her." I ordered in a deathly cold voice my rage reaching a peak I hadn''t even known I was capable of.


    "NO!" Candice shouted pulling me from my rage.


    "Huh?" I asked completely surprised and unsure what to think.


    Zephirah tumbled onto the table in a fit of giggles.


    Candice glared down at the sprite angrily.


    "I was there and even I thought the fairy had raped you the way you said it!" Zephirah defended herself.


    Candice sighed exasperated.


    A look around still showed everyone avoiding eye contact but I noticed Vanessa and Firenne were having trouble holding back smiles.


    "What is going on?" I asked frustrated and confused.


    "It''s none of your business." Candice finally said standing from her chair. "And if you order Selia or Vanessa to tell you¡­." she started then stopped and stomped off to the basement.


    I turned to look at Zephirah. "Nope, not getting involved in that. Just know Lilian thought she was being helpful and didn''t take into consideration the time or place." she told me.


    What in the hell was that supposed to mean?


    "And don''t ask, I am sure she will tell you eventually." Zephirah added.


    "In twenty years." Firenne added.


    That sent the girls into giggles.


    I had no idea what had happened, but if they were willing to laugh about it and Candice was willing to stop me from having Zephirah consume Lilian, it couldn''t have been anything bad. Which just left embarrassing. Now I was even more curious, but I had long since learned where to draw the line when it came to Candice. Asking now while she was still riled up would only get me into more trouble than Lilian. Give her a few hours to calm down again and I should be good to go.


    "Fine, I get it." I said sitting back in my chair. I wanted to clarify some of the things I had learned, but I needed Lilian for that. With her unavailable I needed to work on another issue, or head straight out to work on the dungeons. While I wanted to get to work, especially as I had no idea when the swarm would be back. I had a lot of other things I needed to sort through too. "Zephirah, how far did the swarms get?" I asked.


    "This floor. The girls were able to hold the rats at the gate." she replied.


    "What about the ice floor?" I asked. "The badgers and blue grass?"


    "The badgers took a beating, I have had to resummon them between each swarm. Luckily they learned a bit from the fights so they did better each time. Gained some levels too." Zephirah told me.


    "Despite the penalty?" I asked.


    "Minions don''t work the same way champions do. They aren''t as intelligent and have a level cap. If they level up before they die, they get to keep it. At least until they hit the cap, than they have to wait until we improve." Zephirah replied.


    "So it is the same badgers being resummoned over and over again?" I asked.


    "What did you think we brought in new ones each time?" Zephirah asked.


    "Kind of, or at least a blank slate." I replied.


    "How would that help us?" Zephirah asked. "Minions are almost always killed, there wouldn''t be any chance for improvement if we did it your way." she scolded.


    "It''s not like I knew, I just assumed we leveled them up with the gems, shards, or the dungeon upgrades." I told her.


    Zephirah frowned then sighed. "I guess that makes some sense, we haven''t had a chance to go over everything." she admitted.


    I nodded then considered our dilemma. While I wanted to work on my own strength and improve, but if the swarm could make it to this floor, now probably wasn''t the best time. Instead we needed to improve our defenses.


    "As for the blue grass, the rats were too focused on reaching the portal to climb up to the plants. Then again the grass has already started putting off a lot of ice mana, so they might have just been trying to get away from the cold." Zephirah added.


    I nodded feeling a bit relieved.


    "You never made the cold resistant runes for the minions." Zephirah pointed out.


    I winced, "how are the badgers doing?" I asked.


    "Surprisingly, they are fine. They adjusted to the cold fairly well. Interestingly enough each time I have brought them back their ice resistance have increased." Zephirah added.


    I frowned, I remembered that concentrated amounts of mana could cause changes, but wasn''t that too fast? Then again they only gained ice resistance rather than manipulation.


    "That will help, I wanted to put some traps in that pathway, and a bit extra I just learned about. First I need to know what kind of expansion are we thinking about?" I asked.


    Zephirah tilted her head to the side. "With what we got from Seth I was thinking of increasing our surface area, then add two more floors." Zephirah replied.


    "Two more?" I asked.


    Zephirah nodded. "That way we have a floor for neutral plants, icy, fire, and then our floor which we can deck out with traps and defense." she replied.


    I shrugged then looked at the other girls, any of you have input you like to share?" I asked.


    "We will need more beasts, unless you think the bulls and chickens will be enough for the fire floor." Firenne said.


    I contemplated that for a moment, "Maybe, we are limited on room. If we expand the surface and add the fire level under the ice floor it should end up pretty large, but I doubt it will be enough room for all the cows and chickens." I replied.


    Firenne frowned. "Then where will we put my tree?" she asked.


    "Can''t we make the first level the neutral plants, then the ice, then fire?" Selia asked. "We don''t have many options for neutral plants so the smallest floor should be fine for them. The special plants make more money anyways."


    "Which do you need for your work?" I asked.


    "Neutral plants will be fine, I need practice extracting the essence from plants before I try and make medicine." Selia replied.


    "I thought you were already making medicine!" Elisia chimed in.


    "I can, but improving my technique will help in the long run, besides the plant essence sells for more than the plants in most cases. So Jason won''t be taking a loss." Selia replied.


    "That sounds fine, but what should we use to guard the first floor?" I asked.


    "A couple of serpents would work, and maybe a rat spawn point or two." Elisia spoke up. "We could use a similar burrow system like you are using for the badgers."


    I considered it for a few moments.


    "Have you checked to see if there isn''t something more useful available with your new funds?" Candice asked as she opened the door to the basement. Lilian was sitting very quietly in Candice''s shoulder.


    "Ah good you brought her." I said excitedly.


    "I did." Candice agreed.


    "Did you need something explained?" Lilian asked.


    "The mana hearts, each person can have only one?" I asked.


    "Yes and no, there are ways around it, but each body can only hold one normally." Lilian replied. I nodded as my mind continued to consider the idea I had.


    "It might work." Zephirah chimed in having read the idea in my mind.


    I nodded, but where should I start?


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    I sighed but when I glanced around again still uncertain my gaze landed on Firenne and Jesaline who was laying on the dryads lap. Both of them had strong affinities towards fire, and we had those fires still stored inside one of the black spheres.


    "Did you lose focus?" Candice asked me.


    "Huh?" I asked.


    "Weren''t you discussing the floors and what to use on them? What about the set up?" Candice asked.


    I nodded. "We were." I agreed then pushed my own upgrade to the back burner.


    "What were you thinking?" Vanessa asked curiously.


    "Shhh." Candice said to Vanessa, "If you let him get distracted nothing will get done before the next swarm arrives."


    "Ha ha." I said dryly as I rolled my eyes. "How much were you hoping to expand the surface area?" I asked Zephirah.


    "We have a four by four area now. At four silvers a tile I was thinking of spending thirty six silver to make it a five by five." she told me.


    "Why not eighty to make it a six by six?" I asked.


    "We can, probably will in the future, but remaking levels is pricey." Zephirah replied.


    I nodded, even at five by five we would have a ten by ten tile area to work with on the first level, twenty by twenty tiles for the icy floor, and a forty by forty tiles for the fire floor. Doing the math in my head I realized there would be one hundred and sixty thousand square feet available for the fire floor. It was a large area, but the tree wouldn''t be able to be hidden, unless it was kept separate from the area the invaders would use. But how much space did the tree actually need?


    I looked back to Firenne who was watching me intently. "Nine tiles should be enough for now." she told me as if reading my mind.


    I nodded. ''What about the ceiling height?" I asked.


    Firenne paused as she considered that. "The higher the better, but at least thirty to forty feet." Firenne replied.


    That was good, but where in the hell would we be able to fit the bulls and have enough space to grow plants?, Wait, I received thirty feet to use for each level, doubling that gave me sixty on the first floor, one hundred twenty feet on the second floor, and two hundred forty feet on the third floor that would be the fire floor. With that kind of space I needed to reconsider the concept of a level.

 50 Chapter 50

    A plan started to form in my mind. Viewing the different levels as buildings with multiple floors would give us more room to work with, it also would allow us to create hidden areas to grow the crops while not looking suspicious. At least I hoped so. Growing all these plants won''t do me any good if the invaders found them.


    "So how should we go about renegotiating with the company?" I asked.


    "We shouldn''t need too." Candice told me.


    "Huh?" I asked stupidly.


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    "The sensors on the orb are a lot better than you think they are. The company has a pretty good idea what has been going on." Candice informed me.


    I looked over at Zephirah who just shrugged. "This is my first time out of that orb, I have no idea how effective it is. I could have sworn that I blocked their feeds."


    "You did, but it didn''t take long for them to get suspicious. There seems to be a secondary method through the dungeon network." Candice told her.


    Zephirah sighed. "Can''t block that." she agreed.


    "So?" I asked.


    "They are willing to continue providing the basic seeds just like they have so far. They will even expand the list to include plants from other affinities." Candice told me.


    An image appeared in the room. It was partly see through and wavered at the edges. The image itself was of a woman with dark blue hair pulled back into a tight bun while wearing a very professional suit. She was attractive, but her pure white eyes were hard to miss and sent shivers down my spine. Worse, I immediately felt that the woman seemed to be looking down on us despite being four and a half feet tall at best.


    "Hello." the image said politely. "As your conversation has turned to the company I felt now was the best time to introduce myself." she told us.


    "Our new handler?" I asked curiously.


    "I dislike that term. I prefer company representative." the woman told us.


    "What do you give the odds?" Firenne asked quietly leaning towards Vanessa.


    Vanessa frowned then looked at the image before replying, "Ten percent." she replied.


    Firenne frowned, "For or against?" she asked.


    "For." Vanessa replied. "Miss Noralin it is a pleasure to meet you again."


    "Noralin is fine Vanessa. The company was appalled when it was learned what you had been through at the hands of one of our agents. While we admit that a woman like you does represent a considerable value if passed on to the right customer, our company has never participated in the trade of intelligent beings." Noralin the company representative told us.


    Vanessa nodded. "I am aware, but so was Seth. I was never given the chance to expose my situation." she replied then shivered.


    Noralin nodded. During the entire conversation, she never lost her calm composed professional appearance.


    "So to what do I owe the pleasure?" I asked.


    "Given your previous conversation I wanted to confirm with you what the company is willing to offer and what they would like in return." Noralin told us.


    I frowned but it made sense. The company had a reason for offering us the seeds. It did them no good if we sold the plants to others instead of them.


    "Alright." I said leaning back in my chair. I was curious as to what they would want. Especially as we did have an alternate source of seeds from the dungeon exchange, they were just more expensive, with a smaller variety.


    "We can provide seeds of all the basic and uncommon plants available to us." Noralin informed me.


    "What does basic and uncommon mean?" I asked.


    Noralin paused for a second as she looked at me. "They are terms that represent the difficulty level of growing. Blue grass, red grass, amber mint, and winter vine are all basic plants. There is little issue in growing the plants beside finding an area that suits them, and those areas aren''t usually difficult to find or set up. White ice rose is considered borderline uncommon as it can not be grown without a special source of ice mana. While those aren''t hard to find the extra need boosts the difficulty level." Noralin explained.


    "I see, but that is only borderline uncommon, how much worse are actual uncommon plants?"


    Noralin smiled, "I am sure Vanessa can fill you in on such details." she told me deflecting my question. "My time is limited so I would like to discuss what the company expects in return." she told me.


    I nodded feeling apprehensive, I was getting the feeling this meeting was going to go well for us but I waited for her to continue.


    "The company wants your guarantee that all the plants grown from the seed we provide will be sold back to the company." Noralin informed me her eyes seeming to focus on me intently as she spoke, though honestly it was hard to tell.


    Sometimes I hate being right. "No." I replied simply. Selling all of the plants back to the company would provide us with currency, but it was too strict. Even with the plants we already had, I needed the roots from the winter vine to grow the white ice roses. By not selling the roots to the company I would have violated the agreement. One hundred percent was impossible, and that was before I took into consideration that Selia needed the plants to practice her craft.


    "Those are the companies terms." Noralin told me narrowing her eyes.


    "They are impossible terms." I replied then looked to Zephirah "Bring me that orb."


    Zephirah gave Noralin a glare then disappeared from sight.


    "The company is willing to allow you the use of some of the plants as long as it benefits the company." Noralin told me.


    There was the caveat, I could use the roots to grow roses, but the roses would have to be sold to them. They might even allow Selia to practice her craft, but the results needed to be sold to the company. I bet there was some wiggle room there, but I didn''t want to operate within the wiggle room.


    "No." I told her again more firmly as I dropped my polite attitude. I had expected them to set the bar high so we could negotiate it down, but this wasn''t even reasonable.


    Zephirah appeared again with the orb in tow behind her. She flew straight through Noralin''s image on her way to me.


    I grabbed the orb from the air then looked it over. Like before, I wasn''t able to make out anything from it surface but the moment I activated my mana sight I could clearly see the runes on its surface and the multiple layers that made up the orb.


    "What are you doing?" Noralin asked.


    "If you are going to be unreasonable, I don''t see any point leaving you access to my dungeon." I told Noralin.


    "Don''t forget who gave you this dungeon!" Noralin said her voice sounding heated.


    I looked up and glared at the woman, "Don''t worry about that, I haven''t forgotten how I ended up here, and I have no intentions of doing so." I told her angrily.


    Noralin seemed to take a step back, though it was hard to say as he image didn''t move from the spot it was in. Even if she hadn''t actually moved she showed a moment of fear which was a like a crack in her unemotional armor. I didn''t know what it was that was making her afraid but the fact that I could make her show fear, even if for a moment made me feel a bit better.


    I returned my attention to the orb tracing out the different rune pattern within it.


    "You aren''t going to be able to alter that. It took several of our brightest geniuses to create it." Noralin said haughtily.


    ''Zephirah, I will drag this on as long as I can, I need you to make a few extra rooms and fill them with as much food as we can get from them.'' I silently messaged Zephirah.


    ''They already cut off my access.'' Zephirah replied to me silently.


    "Well that sucks." I said aloud looking up at Noralin coldly.


    Noralin smirked at me.


    "Guess that means there will be no way to turn it back on once I shut it off." I told her with a smile.


    "There is no way you were able to understand it in such a short time." Noralin scoffed.


    She was right. There was no way I was going to be able to understand the orb. The runes that I learned to reach Rune Lord was similar to learning the alphabet and memorizing vocabulary. I could create the spells and even understand how to piece them together and alter them a bit like changing letters to make a new word. The orb was several levels above that. Forget forming simple or compound sentences, paragraphs, or even an essay. The orb in front of me was like a technical manual in its complexity and difficulty understanding. Even knowing the language didn''t mean I would be able to understand it.


    I shook my head. "I admit I can''t understand it, but that doesn''t mean I can''t break it." I replied.


    "What?" Noralin asked confused.


    "I don''t need to understand how it works to break it beyond repair." I reiterated.


    Noralin seemed to hesitate for a moment before she narrowed her eyes at me, but before she could say anything she disappeared.


    "Oh is it time for the good cop now?" I muttered to myself.


    Vanessa chuckled having heard me. "I am sorry Jason, I didn''t think they would do this." she told me.


    "Neither did I." Candice added, "this is not what they conveyed to me before I arrived here."


    "Either someone got greedy, or someone else is calling in a favor." I told them.


    Candice cursed colorfully which made me smile a bit.


    I sighed, if we didn''t have access to the food from the company, my game plan would have to change dramatically. We wouldn''t be able to put up our defenses to hold back the swarms, not when we needed to leave to find food for ourselves. Which meant leaving the dungeon.


    The timing was too perfect to be a coincidence. Especially since we didn''t have the living water heart to boost the magic in rgw plants increasing our odds of getting enchanted or better crops.


    I frowned as I remembered something Zephirah had told me. The dungeon could reproduce anything it received a sample of, all it would cost was energy. The more complex and powerful the creation the more energy was needed, but how much energy was there in a cheeseburger?


    I looked over to Zephirah ready to ask her to get samples of every kind of food she could from the dungeon exchange she could. I stopped when I saw the smug look on her face.


    "I did tell you that I had a user whom the company tried to use food against." Zephirah reminded me. "Once I had access to the dungeon exchange I made sure we had plenty of samples of premade food and ingredients in case you want to cook it yourself." Zephirah told me.


    I let out a sigh of relief. "You can thank me later." Zephirah told me happily.


    "I will, but you could have told me sooner." I told her.


    "It was just a precaution, I never expected them to do this." Zephirah replied.


    "Still saved us." I replied. "Was that a part of why you were worried about the overseer?" I asked.


    "No, that kind of stuff is cheap and wouldn''t have affected us much." Zephirah replied. "Besides, now the problem is solved. If you had known, they would have known and they would have had to find something else to use against us." Zephirah added cheerfully.


    "They will still use that something else against us." I pointed out.


    "Yeah, but now we have warning." Zephirah replied.


    "So we''re good?" Candice asked.


    "Food wise, yes." I replied. "Do we give them a chance to reconsider or are we done with them?" I asked looking at the orb.

 53 Chapter 53

    I blinked in surprise, that wasn''t the answer I was expecting. Perhaps this was why the chairwoman had sent us this gift? If we were smart enough we would be able to figure out who was really behind our troubles. Unfortunately, I had no idea who they were.


    Looking around I noticed that Vanessa and Candice had paled, seemed like they did. Which lent some credibility to the fox''s claim.


    "Get to work!" Candice told me seriously, "We will talk with them for a little longer."


    I nodded, I wasn''t sure what the threat was, or even if the foxes were telling the truth, but Candice seemed convinced which was enough for me. I knew Candice would explain when she had a chance. Besides I had wanted to get to work anyways.


    "Fine, but when you want to let them out you will have to let me know." I told her then returned to the chair and the dungeon configuration screen.


    Returning to the screen I started to move all of the crops tiles from the first level to the second. Then I shifted the badgers to the same floor of the second level as the crops. With the increased size of the level I figured there was no reason to keep the same design. Instead I intended to try and maximize the use of the level.


    As for the first floor I reset it to the standard settings. Thankfully, it refunded me some energy but I left it in the configuration system as I was sure it would disappear soon enough. Going with the idea I had from studying the orb I started to redesign the first floor. First I opened up an area at the top of the sixty feet I had available to me. It was eight feet tall and encompassed the entire one hundred tiles that made up the floor. Then I added another floor just like it three feet under the first eating up nineteen feet of the space available to me. The configuration didn''t want to do it as the material wouldn''t be able to support its own weight towards the center so I solidified it into a solid block of rock a foot tall at the bottom of the three feet. I also turned the entire center tile into a rock pillars on both floors. As it was the same material as the walls, the ceiling of the lower floor fused to the walls with no issue. It cost a bit but I was fine with that.


    I started the next area four feet under the second open space after making the bottom two feet of that four feet the same rock as the wall. This was to support the floor above but also to hide the fact that I was using the space above the floor the invaders would enter.


    I set the portal in the center most tile at the southern end of the floor. I created an eight feet tall room that encompassed the whole tile, then ran tunnels out of the east and west of the room. The tunnels were five feet wide then after a few feet it split into two four feet wide tunnels, the tunnels separated for several feet before rejoining into one only to separate again several feet later, then coming together again right before it hit the centermost tiles on the eastern and western walls. I created the same open room on those tiles to match the tile the portal was in. the tunnels continued out of those rooms in the same way until it reached the centermost north tile. I created another room like the one the portal was in, then added a false portal that looked like the exit portal. Those who were fooled and used it would be returned to the surface instead of entering the second level.


    With that done I created the false wall on the innermost wall of the southern room which could only be forced open or opened with the use of a key. From there was a tunnel to the center most tile of the floor where I installed a stairway up to the two growing floors above. There was also another false wall in the stairway that led down a half a flight of steps to the actual exit portal leading to the next floor.


    Finished I took a look at the floor then realized I had a bunch of empty space I hadn''t used. The top floor was eight feet tall, then a three feet tall separation, the second growing floor was also eight feet tall then a four feet tall separation, followed by another eight feet tall floor where the invaders would be. That was only thirty one feet not including the stairs down to the exit portal. I thought about creating a warren and filling it with badgers that could pop out of the floors and walls, but I resisted. It wouldn''t work with the design I had in mind. Instead I left it as is. I considered adding another growing floor below it but decided not to. If this design didn''t work I wanted to have the room to rework it if I needed too.


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    With the overall design in place I used a precision tool that was a part of the dungeon configuration to carving runes along the ceiling of the western tunnel leaving the southern room. It took me a while to carve out the design I had seen in the orb which included the runes that powered the spell from the ambient mana flowing through the dungeons. I couldn''t use the exact same spell that the orb used, but I could alter it to make the invaders incredibly confused and disrupt their sense of direction. Once I was done with the spell I found a feature that let me copy it then spam pasted it all over the tunnels so the invaders would be constantly under the effect of the confusion.


    Sitting back I looked over my work then frowned. I was sure this would work well with the beasts we were likely to see, but it probably wouldn''t work for long against intelligent beasts or races. Plus I needed to kill off some of them in case they did make it to the next floor. I decided to add the typical pitfalls full of sharpened rock spikes, and arrow traps. Then added runes to both. The pitfalls would only work if someone got separated from their group, while the arrow slots would work on crowds and rearmed themselves after a couple seconds. Then with an evil smile I added another rune set just inside of the arrow shooter so that if the invaders attacked the wall where the arrows came out of and pierced through to the trap, it would cause an explosion.


    I didn''t honestly think anyone would do that, but the fact that the arrows wouldn''t seem to stop someone could lose their patience and try to destroy the trap. At least that was the idea. I wished I could actually make arrow traps that didn''t run out of arrows, but the best I could do was give each trap enough extras to reload twenty times. If the groups were patient the traps would eventually run out of arrows. Maybe if I upgraded the traps I could get something similar to everlasting arrow traps, but that was something for later.


    Satisfied that the first level was done I hit the button to confirm the changes and let the dungeon change the level. Oddly enough the most expensive part was having multiple floors on the same level, but it was a flat cost of a silver per floor so the first level wasn''t as expensive as I expected it to be. Then again that might be because a silver didn''t feel like much now that we had several platinums. I wasn''t expecting to change the first level again, not until we increased the surface size.


    Now that I was actually done with the first level I decided I could use a break. Carving out the runes had taken a while, let alone getting the tunnels right so it would be easy to get confused.


    Closing out the dungeon configuration I found the girls gathered around the dining table with the fox visitors. There wasn''t enough room, so Selia and Rena were on the table while some of the foxes shared a chair.


    "Still here?" I asked as I stood up and stretched.


    "See, rude." the male fox said.


    "Me? You snuck into my home, hide yourself until I threatened to set your hiding place on fire, then never introduced yourself." I stated coolly.


    "We established that already." Candice spoke up.


    "The design is nice, but it will be obvious to anyone who can sense the flow of mana." Zephirah told me while she seemed at gaze at the table intensely.


    I frowned having forgotten that. The hidden wall wouldn''t stop the mana flow that was necessary for us. I considered it for a moment then ignored the rest of them and returned to the dungeon configuration.


    I changed the material of the hidden wall to stop the flow of the ambient mana through it. A warning appeared telling me I didn''t have mana flow through the level. I ignored it as I was working on a solution. I returned to the tunnels and created smaller tunnels at each of the intersections that were only a foot wide but led to the center most room. I placed the false wall material that allowed the mana to flow through it at the head of each tunnel hiding it from sight. Then I set a trap in the small tunnels to drop a second wall down to block the tunnel when someone got within twenty feet of it. The second wall was made of the material that blocked the flow of ambient mana.


    I thought it was a clever alternative, but remembered that there might be a swarm coming. In the case of a swarm there was a good chance that all of the tunnels would be shut. So I added another set of even smaller tunnels, these were only six inches wide in size at the bottom of the pitfall traps. This set of tunnels that led up to the larger foot wide tunnels. I added the same trap walls that would block the tunnels, but these would open if three quarters of the larger tunnels closed. I also added the runes to reset everything on its own.


    It wasn''t perfect, but it was something. I closed the dungeon configuration and looked back over to where the girls were. I spotted Lilian sitting on Candice''s shoulder. Seeing her made me remember that there could be something or someone who could use those tunnels so I returned to the dungeon configuration and added thin razor sharp mesh into the small tunnels. As I approved it I realized that the mesh was the most expensive material I had used on the whole floor, at least until I start altering the growing floors for whichever crops we decided to use.


    Finally satisfied with the level I closed the dungeon configuration and looked over at Zephirah.


    She saw my gaze then stared at the table for a few moments while everyone seemed to chat amongst themselves.


    "Better." she said approvingly.


    I nodded relieved. I knew the floor wasn''t perfect, but it was the best I could come up with at the moment. Further study of the orb might give me more ideas, but I wanted to use this to get rid of those who weren''t really committed to invading my dungeon.


    Besides it was only the first floor. After a break, and maybe a snack, or a meal, I would put together the second floor. I still had the ideas for traps from the first time I designed the icy floor that I wanted to use this time around.


    "All done?" Candice asked.


    "With the first level." I told her as I stretched again then popped my neck.


    "That isn''t healthy." Vanessa told me.


    I shrugged, "Least of my concerns right now." I replied.


    "Going to start on the second level?" Zephirah asked.


    I nodded, "Yeah but I need a snack first." I replied then looked at the five foxes. "So what is going on with the stowaways?"


    "We are still discussing that." Candice replied.


    "They are considering staying?" I asked surprised.


    "We are trying to convince them to stay." Vanessa corrected me.


    "We would prefer to leave." the male fox spoke up.


    "Going to have to wait. We have guests incoming." Zephirah spoke up.

 54 Notice

    @@I am aware I have promised to continue updating this story. I apologize for not having done so. I had every intention of it, but since I discovered the blatant theft of this work, I have currently lost all my drive to continue this story. I can not say if I will ever get it back. Honestly I am more likely to rewrite it as I am my first story.


    Once again I apologize.