If we can get Meri established as the true Core for the dungeon, this life would be perfect. Of course, to do that, we’ll have to deal with that other Core. Right now, Meri’s an intruder in a hostile dungeon.
“Shit!” Gabriel recalled the disturbing voice from just before he went to sleep. Forgotten words rushed back in and filled his mind with a cold, unsettling sense of dread.
‘Master!’ Sthuza cried out in his head. Her panic-stricken presence startled him with its intensity. To his surprise, though, her mental voice was smooth and precise without the sharp sibilance her tone used to carry.
I’m all right, Sthuza. Promise. Just remembered a bad dream or something from last night. No big deal.
‘Are you certain? That did not feel like it was about a mere dream. Did something happen?’
Gabriel bit his lip in frustration and counted to ten before reopening his mind to his Prime again.
I thought I heard a voice whisper in my head last night before I fell asleep. It left me a little rattled, but I’m fine.
‘Master… please tell me if you hear anything like it again.’
Upon feeling the intense fear that rolled off Sthuza, he suppressed a curse and nodded.
I’ll let you know if I have any more nightmares. But I’m sure it was just my tired mind playing tricks on me. A reaction to all the stress from yesterday. Don’t worry. He injected as much confidence as he could muster into the words, and it seemed to calm the gorgon.
Gabriel sensed his Prime return to her task out in Merideva’s room. Once her mental guard relaxed enough, he carefully closed his mind off from his bonded so he could be alone in his thoughts.
With all the other crap going on, the last thing I need is to make them worry that I’m going crazy. Though, would that be better or worse than the idea that some dark entity reached out and touched my mind?
Confident that his thoughts were still sealed off, Gabriel went back through the memory of that sinister mind-voice.
‘Would you change it if you could, Dungeon Master?’
“There’s not a lot to go on from that,” he muttered to himself. “Whatever it was, I wouldn’t dare change a thing for fear of losing the wonderful new… family I’ve found.”
Why did I want to call them my Pack?
He blew out a forceful breath and stood straighter. “Not going to let anyone or anything ruin this new life for me. We will recover that damn crystal, and I’ll kill anyone who gets in our way. Don’t care if I have to suffer for it. No one threatens my bonded and lives.”
Mind brimming with confidence, Gabriel stepped up to the simple wooden door and swung it open. He flinched back when the stench of goblins and gore—curiously mixed with the smell of bacon—wafted in.
“Ah, perfect timing,” Sthuza called out from the far side of the spacious room.
The dark altar stood between them, and he glanced away from the blood-soaked stone. He looked past it, then flinched and inspected it again.
Are those runes brighter?
A wet, thwacking noise drew his attention away. He turned toward the messy sound, then froze.
Guess that one’s not too wounded to skull-fuck Kelith.
Gabriel blinked at the sight of a bandage-covered goblin slamming his green hips against Kelith’s bloody face. The mage’s gaudy robes were gone, and the noble’s corpse was nude.
Cuix would eat the dick first, wouldn’t she?
Without thought, he turned to the goblins’ messy corner and shook his head at the sight. Cuix was wrapped in red-and-gold bandages and lay propped up on a pile of human corpses. The other three wounded goblins sat nearby.
She’s using them as a damn chaise lounge! Not… not even going to…
‘I do not blame you, Master. I talked with Lady Merideva already, and she will absorb the rest of that filth in a few hours. We thought it best to allow the goblins a short celebration of the victory first. Or would you prefer she dispose of it all now?’
Yeah… no. Let them enjoy themselves for a little bit longer. Just… just going to ignore it all for now.
A small blue orb darted across the chamber and slammed into his chest. “Gabriel, are you okay?”
Startled by Merideva’s frantic question, Gabriel hesitated for a second, which elicited a pitiful wail from the Dungeon Core.
“Oh no! I knew all that grunting and moaning was a bad sign. What happened? Did the snake-woman warp your mind? Or was it the giant dog that broke you?” Merideva ranted, her glow darkening as her voice pitched up.
As her words grew more and more outlandish, he snapped himself out of it and laughed even while his skin flushed in embarrassment. “Relax, Meri. I’m fine. Better than fine, in fact. Besides, didn’t you say that sex was an important part of forming a powerful bond?”
Meri cut off at his question. He took the chance to reach up and pull her back from his chest, lifting her to eye level.
“So… the pained sounds coming from your room last night was… the sex?” she whispered.
A snicker from the other side alerted Gabriel to Sthuza’s amusement, and he had to strain to avoid laughing in the face of his sincere Dungeon Core.
“Yes, Meri. I didn’t realize you could hear us, sorry about that.”
“Okay then,” Meri blurted out. Her orb swirled blue and pink as she pulled away from him and darted over to her alcove. “I’m going to rest for a little bit. I need to go over all the loot and Dungeon Essence we got from that fight.”
Speaking of loot, I need to see if Kelith had his spellbook on him. The bastard was always bragging about how many glyphs and spells he had recorded in it.
Thinking of the dead mage sent Gabriel’s thoughts rushing back. He felt a momentary pulse of doubt as brutal memories flashed through his mind. But before he could react, the disgust turned to pride at their survival.
Despite his quick rebound, Sthuza’s mental presence reached out to him. Her worry that he still hadn’t recovered from earlier filled their bond.
I’ve got to master closing my mind. The slightest distraction and I open back up.
Gabriel turned to face his Prime. “Relax. I’m fine. Meri just reminded me that a lot has happened. Oh, I forgot to mention that I hit Level Two during the battle yesterday.”
The gorgon perked up, and she flashed him a sincere smile. “That is excellent news, Master. Now I wish I had something better to prepare as a celebration.”
“Every meal you’ve made has been delicious, Sthuza. Don’t make a big deal out of it,” Gabriel said. He turned his attention away from her and opened his Dungeon Interface. “I want to check out what happened when I leveled. Didn’t get a chance to earlier.”
“An excellent plan. I will call Cindra to rejoin us when the meal is ready.”
Gabriel nodded absently, his focus already on the translucent pane of text before him.
Need to check how much my mana pool recovered while we slept. The fight with Kelith and those guards tapped me out.
Mana 60%
CHAPTER TWO
What the hells! I was bone dry last night. Even with the dense Aether in the dungeon, it should have taken days to recover that much.
Gabriel stared at the number until Sthuza interrupted him.
“Master, are you certain you are all right?”
He shook his head, and the display vanished. “Yeah, just surprised. My mana pool is already back up over half-full.”
Sthuza’s head-snakes froze as the gorgon stared at him wide-eyed. “Truly, Master? That is wonderful.”
“I just don’t understand how…”
The ritual to save her? Did I manage to siphon off some of Kelith’s Essence or something?
‘That would make sense. Whatever the cause, this is a good thing. The extra mana will be a great help when we face Estrial.’
“Yeah, you’re right. Okay, I’m going to work on this level up thing,” Gabriel said, then returned his attention to the Dungeon Interface.
The black text
that listed his stats looked similar, but there were some exciting changes. The biggest one was his Soul Essence.
Gabriel Grimm
Dungeon Bound (Base Species: Human)
Sex: Male
Age: 25
Soul Essence: 992
Unassigned Essence: 97
Dungeon Master of Core #143,643,664
Level: 2
Current Bonded Monsters: 2
Maximum Bonded Monsters: 3
I gained almost a hundred Soul Essence? That would take an adventurer months to earn. Years even.
He concentrated on the level, and the text flashed away. In its place was a listing of the dungeon abilities he had seen available before. Only now the ones with a dash were dark while the others glowed faintly.
Dungeon Sense I
Dungeon Interface I
Dungeon Projection I
Dungeon Shaping -
Creature Sense -
Command Monster I
Dungeon Minions -
Still no option to select Sthuza as my official Prime-bonded.
When he studied each ability name, a small description expanded below the title. Most of it was just as he expected from the first time he looked, but now there was a flashing button beneath each of them.
Maybe it’s for upgrading.
After a moment’s hesitation, Gabriel mentally touched the flashing button next to Dungeon Sense. The world around him blurred, and the rank next to the ability increased by one.
Realizing that he’d somehow upgraded or leveled up the selected power, he paused and tried to locate what he’d spent on the upgrade.
There’s no reason to make me choose if they can all be improved, so there has to be some sort of limit, right? He sent the thought to his Prime.
‘Limit on your Dungeon Master abilities? Yes, Master, as I understand it, you gain points each time you level up. These points can be spent to enhance different powers. I am afraid I do not know if there are enough points to fully improve all of the relevant powers. In fact, I do not even know all of the choices available to you.’
His Prime’s thoughts came through as clear as his own, and Gabriel paused to consider her words. It took him a moment to realize what she had left unsaid, and then he tried to share the list of DM abilities with her.
‘Ah, I see, Master. Thank you for your trust. You are quite correct; Mistress Iylara never shared this with me. Unfortunately, I am at as much of a loss as you are about which power will be most useful.’
Yeah, didn’t think you were holding back on me. Just figured you might like to know what I was looking at.
‘Thank you. So far, you have used Dungeon Sense and Command Monster.’ Sthuza sent to him. Her mental words were slow and calm, as though she was actively reviewing the list while he did.
It surprised Gabriel when her presence jerked sharply. He almost closed the Interface to check on her, but he realized she was excited about one of the options listed.
Finding the source of her focus took him only seconds. His Prime was still studying one of the last options on the list.
Dungeon Minions -
Like all of the abilities without a number next to them, it wasn’t highlighted. When Gabriel shifted his awareness to the title, the dark label began to glow. He stared at it for a moment before realizing the dash symbolized that he had zero ranks in it.
Which begs the question, can I activate it now?
Almost as soon as he experienced the thought, another number appeared on the same pane.
Ability Points: 5
Guess that means I have five more to spend.
‘That seems likely,’ Sthuza agreed.
You were interested in the Minions option, Sthuza. Would you suggest I invest a point there?
He sensed her hesitate for a brief time, then she sighed.
‘It is a powerful ability, Master, though I confess I know little about how you use it. I believe that having Minions available will make you far more capable in the long run. Both in combat and outside of it. Unfortunately, you would not have many options for them at the moment.’
Good enough for me, Gabriel thought to her, then mentally assigned one point to the ability.
Minions brightened further, and I flashed next to it. At the same time, he felt a new part of his mind unlock. Shocked at the sudden rush of sensations and awareness, he staggered and dropped to his knees.
“Massster!”
“I’m fine. It just surprised me, that’s all. Felt like the entire world shifted the moment I activated it,” Gabriel said. He shook his head clear and climbed back to his feet.
“You unlocked Minions?” Merideva asked from where she hovered off to one side.
“I did. Do you happen to know what it does?”
“Sure. Minions are super-special servants that are always at your beck and call,” the Core replied.
“Right, and how do I use them?”
Merideva flashed, and her color shifted toward orange. “Um… you think commands to your Minions?”
Gabriel sighed, then chuckled when he felt Sthuza mirror his exasperation. “Pretty sure you’re skipping a step or three there, Meri. For starters, it feels like I need to assign some Minions in the Interface before I can do anything with them.”
“That sounds correct, Master. I remember Mistress Iylara would sometimes replace a Minion. And that furry freak, Dryane, often ssswapped hisss…” Sthuza said, and her words trailed off into barely decipherable hissing as her voice grew quiet.
Gabriel shot a worried glance at the angry gorgon, and she shook herself before finally calming. “My apologies, Master. I recalled something unpleasant from my past.”
“No worries, but if you ever want to talk about it, I’m here for you,” he replied, flashing her a smile.
Sthuza bowed her head toward him. “Thank you. I may take you up on that offer soon.”
Nodding, Gabriel closed his mind off to his bonded until he felt confident he could focus on the present.
Pestering her won’t help either of us. Besides, right now, I need to learn more about these other abilities.
Pulling his thoughts back to his recent level up, Gabriel checked his attributes. Nothing had changed there, but he did have the unassigned Soul Essence. Curious, he reopened his mind to Sthuza.
If Meri was able to allocate my extra SE as she wanted to, I should be able to do so as well.
‘I believe you are correct, Master. Though as your bonded, I am unable to increase my Essence without your approval.’
Wait, you didn’t get more SE like I did?
‘No, Master. Dungeon Bound cannot grow or enhance their souls the same way that mortals can. I assume it is part of the price that we must pay for immortality.’ Sthuza’s thoughts came across as bittersweet, but he was careful not to let her sense his unease.
But, I’m a Dungeon Bound, right?
‘You are also a Dungeon Master. That makes you both similar and quite different from the rest of us.’
Oh.
Unsure what to think of that, Gabriel focused back on his abilities and tried to consider what would be the best use of the new Essence.
At the moment, improving my mana regeneration seems like a sound plan. The problem is, I still don’t really understand how the attributes work. Most of what I learned at the Academy seems incorrect or lacking now that I’ve bonded with Meri. And I can’t afford to waste this advantage.
He opened his mind again and framed a question to his Prime. Sthuza, do you know how my attributes affect my magic? Cause I seem to be much stronger than I expected. Given how wrong my Guild-based education has proven, I’m not sure what to upgrade first.
‘This is not my area of expertise, Master. But the increase to your Essence no doubt boosted your magic substantially on its own. On top of that, I believe that your enhanced stamina enlarged your mana pool. Bonding with Cindra and myself also boosted your power. Beyond that, your mental attributes should improve magic as you were ta
ught.’
She paused to think, and Gabriel took the time to consider her words. If she was right, then he should focus on those attributes that affect mana regeneration or efficiency.
He checked the price to increase his intelligence. The Interface responded, and it cost five Soul Essence to increase the attribute by one. A thought confirmed the upgrade.
Not too bad. Though, I don’t feel smarter.
He went to repeat the action, but the display listed the cost as fifteen now.
That’s a little steep.
‘If I may, Master, you do not have to invest the SE at this time. You could hold on to it for now and put it to use when you feel more confident in your choice.’
He nodded and turned back to the dungeon abilities.
Sounds good. Think I’ll hold off on that for the moment and concentrate on spending the rest of my ability points. Dungeon Command is what I used to order Cuix and the others around, but what improves if I boost that up?
‘The more you increase it, the more monsters you can command. At the higher levels, you will be able to command them more efficiently. Depending on your skill versus the monster’s power, it may even allow you to give them active directions.’
Active directions?
‘Yes, Master. Again, it is an ability outside of my experience. Still, I have witnessed a DM take control of a monster and make them perform as desired. My understanding is that it also helps with directing Minions.’
Making those goblins fight better could be useful.
Ability Points: 2
It momentarily surprised him that it cost two points to increase Dungeon Command. Like when he unlocked Minions, he felt his mind shift and alter, though it was nowhere near as intense as the last time.
Curious at the expense of the other options, he focused on Dungeon Sense. He suspected it would have an increased cost, but nothing happened when he focused on the price to upgrade it again.
Looks like I can’t raise an ability beyond my level. That or it won’t list the cost until I have enough points to boost it.
He turned his attention back to the list. All of the options were tempting. The thought of spending his last points to unlock two abilities crossed his mind, but he hesitated.
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