Worthy Core

Two days had passed since the extremely busy 24-hour period where the dungeon had been forced to deal with visits by Rainlanders, Domain denizens, and Valleylanders one after the other. No one else had come to visit in that time, and Xenia had taken the opportunity to focus almost entirely on upgrading Lollyp's equipment and her boss room. Watching her traps and skeletons get defeated was one thing, but the dungeon master did not want to put her best employee into an unwinnable fight a second time if she had any choice in the matter.

Given that the Slime Elementalist would have to both live and fight in the same chamber, they'd gone with a split-level setup like in the Bone Maze, although with a significantly different theme. The bottom floor, where the intruders would pass, was set up like a blistering underground vent. Four acid pools had been set up around the room, classified as a form of 'poison trap' although the only trigger they required was to fall into them - or of course, to be pushed in. At their current strength they were harmless to Lollyp herself, making them ideal decorations for the area. Of course, they didn't stop there. To make the pools even more dangerous, new flame traps had been put underneath them and set to run continuously, heating the acid to boiling levels. This caused a constant drain on Xenia's mana reserves like her other complex constructs, but only one per pool, which seemed worth the price for now. On top of that, melee weapons had been hidden around the chamber for Lollyp to recover when required, so that she had access to something tougher than her own slime-body constructs.

The second level, hidden above a false cave ceiling, was strictly a residential area. There were thin cracks between the two floors that could fit Lollyp's flexible body and her equipment, but which would be impossible for anyone to climb up through, allowing her to both ambush parties from above and maintain her privacy. Unless someone tried to explosively blow the ceiling apart, it was unlikely anyone would be getting into her personal apartment. As for the contents of the apartment, well, those were still spartan. She no longer required sleep, but a hammock was made for her to rest in if she wished it. A simple alchemy workshop had been set up, as a test to see if the dungeon could advance its own potion and poison tiers, and without books to read or other forms of entertainment it seemed that Lollyp was likely to spend much of her time playing with the dungeon's materials there. She also no longer required food, being a creature of mana, but Xenia had granted her a housewarming gift containing the best D-tier foods and drinks she could put together.

There was also a small training area, as Lollyp needed to get used to a new form of combat. Xenia's best wands and enchanted magical clothing were still far weaker than Lollyp's old gear had been, and her new body was still more oriented towards strength than magic. She'd taken a wand, robe and hat anyhow, but she was also experimenting with other forms of armor and weapons against wooden practice dummies. However, none of that equipment was currently in use as Lollyp and Xenia were taking a moment to enjoy their favorite part of the new boss room - a fifth bubbling pool in the lower level that contained not acid, but simple mineral water. With the heat turned down somewhat while the dungeon wasn't being invaded, it actually made for a great hot tub. And with Guy 'seeing to other matters' while the women tested it out, it made an excellent opportunity for some girl chat.

"Ahhhhhh!" The dungeon master moans, letting her head slip beneath the water. "I'm so thankful I can at least play around with dungeon shit - if I couldn't experience this myself and just had to watch you play around, I would've been so fuckin' jealous."

Lollyp giggles. "Didn't even think to make a bathtub before I came along? My, you were really letting yourself go!" The slime woman reclines on the other side of the 'tub', although in a bit of an odd form. Being so low-density, a human-sized Lollyp would simply float to the top of the pool normally, and so she'd actually had to compress the lower half of her body into a blob beneath her torso to actually become dense enough to 'sit' on the hot tub's seats.

"Well, I don't sweat or pick up dirt, and we didn't have heat...well, unless I wanted to stick a hundred torches in there or something...but yeah, shoulda gone for this sooner. Gotta say, I really like what you've done with the place. How're you feeling about it?"

The slime rests her head back on the edge of the pool, and thinks. "Well, it's pretty good for what we've got on hand. But I think what we really need next is some paper."

Xenia tilts her head. "Paper? What for?"

"Well, books are kind of a weird thing for dungeons. If someone brings in a spellbook and 'drops' it, you could toss it in your inventory before it's absorbed and still have the book. But if you want to add the spells to your arsenal you need to absorb it. But if you absorb it, I can't read it, and I think we can both agree that my entertainment is the main concern here."

The dungeon master chuckles. "Maybe, maybe. But how does paper help?"

"Well, paper allows you to make paper-based loot items, like spell scrolls and tomes. You could grant me 'Ranger' skills, and I would just automatically learn them, like you giving me access to the languages you know. But you could also use the skills you've picked up and create a 'Ranger Training Manual', which I could then read, and then learn a lot more from than just the skills themselves. I could learn about, like, geography, or famous Rangers, whatever random info you've picked up from Rangers you've eaten and might fit into a manual about them. Which equals entertainment."

Xenia grins. "Oh? And what if someone brings in their smut collection they keep around for lonely nights? Could I make copies of that too?"

"Heh, that..." Lollyp stops to think. "...Actually, I think that while you can't just exactly duplicate a book you ate, you can make a book out of anything you know? So if you've got any smut in that head of yours, you could just mana up a brand new smut book as a dungeon reward."

"Haha! Now that would be a hell of a reputation to get as a dungeon. Come down to Worthy Dungeon and Erotica Library! I'd make a few extra copies for you, of course."

The slime gets a devious look. "And I certainly know you don't need any new ideas in your head for that kind of content. You never did answer my question from the other day, by the way."

At this, Xenia gets a nervous look. "Ah, that? Yeah, I did actually wanna talk about that. Like, I know when we were first...gettin' acquainted, you said it'd be cool if we maybe picked things up after you were uh, reborn. But I just wanna be really clear on things, right? Like...workplace relationships can go pretty bad, and I especially don't want you feeling like you, y'know, have to do anything to stay on my good side. I'm not gonna take away your shit or anything if you don't wanna play around."

In response, Lollyp scoffs, looking unimpressed. "You humans really overthink stuff sometimes, you know? I mean, I appreciate it, I do. But all I'm saying is, we're both living down here for the rest of forever together, and when we don't have anyone to kill, there's probably gonna be a lot of downtime. I'd actually be offended if you didn't want to play around. Not to mention ultra-bored, and you don't wanna see me when I get ultra-bored, hehe. By the way...have I mentioned that you're a lot cuter in full color?"

Xenia laughs, a bit awkwardly. "Haha, thanks. I...still don't have any idea what's up with that. But yeah, if you're cool, then I'm cool. Once we get our mana cap up some more, we can probably spend a lot of time doing some upgrades, but at this point it's like...a couple of hours of work a day and then sitting on my ass til the next daily recharge. So I definitely hear you on the boredom thing. Not that I'm only interested because of that, of course!"

"Of course! So with that said...wanna help me test out some more of the limits on my new body?"

Xenia doesn't answer, but grins as the slime pushes her way across the pool to land in Xenia's lap. And both the Boss and the new dungeon upgrades get a great deal of testing done the rest of the day.

Later that evening, Alpine Scout Tafyaf and Combat Medic Grayana find themselves settling down for a drink together at The General. They'd been too busy seeing to reports and Perfyew's healing the past few days to properly celebrate their successful dungeon clear and promotions, and Gilliam had already been sent north for his Advanced class training, as he'd been promoted to level ten for his part in the mission. Tafyaf himself had been promoted from 12 to 14, with Grayana keeping ahead at 15, so the pair had plenty to celebrate, even if neither of them had many other friends around to celebrate with. And so the two found themselves sharing a table together, and having the first chance to actually catch up since they'd returned several days ago.

Once they get their drinks, Tafyaf is the first to offer his congratulations. "Well done on 15, Combat Medic! Halfway to Expert qualification, yes, and might I add, hard to believe it is that that was your first trip to a dungeon!"

The black-haired elf scoffs slightly at the compliment, said hair now let down to her shoulders, yet with her stony professional attitude remaining. "As a Medic, you don't actually have to go into a dungeon for training, you know. There's more than enough hard-headed fools coming back out of them with injuries that you can get all the practice you need from the comfort of home."

The gnoll shakes his head. "The healing was well done, but that was not what impressed, no. Kept your cool, yes, and also very quick on your feet, yes yes. In thinking, I mean, like how you disabled that monster rabbit, but also good with avoiding the traps as well, I suppose."

For this point, at least, Grayana accepts the compliment. "And you served quite well as leader, particularly for someone who doesn't normally work in command. If it wasn't for Perfyew's misfortune, it would have been perhaps an ideal run."

Tafyaf frowns a bit at the mention of the other gnoll from their party. "Yes, how is her recovery going? I misjudged, perhaps, should not have taken her on the mission, maybe."

The elf scoffs again at this comment. "Her skills should have been sufficient, I just don't think she handles herself well under fire. Physically she's fine now, but she's staying in the barracks on rest leave for as long as she can stretch it out. If she didn't have at least a few more months left in her service I think she would have quit already."

"Hrmm. Perhaps. I probably should have - " Tafyaf's self-reflection is interrupted at that moment by the arrival of a group of strangers walking up to their table, all of them armed and armored, though not elaborately so. At the lead is an elvish man in heavy armor, flanked nearby by an elvish woman with a longbow. Behind them follow a human man with dark robes and a staff, a gnoll woman wearing white, and a particularly short human woman wearing a number of daggers, who Tafyaf would guess was part dwarf to some extent. Looking up to meet the elvish man's eyes, he waits to see what this is all about.

"Excuse me, pardon for interrupting, but are you Alpine Scout Tafyaf? We were told that, given the current lack of a Challenger's office in the town, you were the local expert on the new dungeon in the area."

The scout shares a look with Grayana before answering. "Challengers, yes? So it begins, so it begins. I am Alpine Scout Tafyaf, yes, and the Combat Medic and I here did clear that dungeon most recently, yes. And you would be?"

The elf nods and begins introductions. "I am Jacylyn Roughbark, and this is my wife Raelanna. With me here are Dama, Raylayf, and, ah, 'Punchy'." He rolls his eyes a bit at the nickname, but the shorter woman gives a wink and a thumbs up at the mention of herself. "We're planning to challenge the dungeon tomorrow, and were hoping you could give us some advice? We'd be willing to buy the next round, of course."

Tafyaf grins. "Well then, sit, sit!" The group needs to shuffle some chairs from other tables to fit the size of the party, but once they're settled and drinks are ordered, he gets to business. "So, first, might I ask your levels?"

Jacylyn nods and goes around in the same order. "Seven and seven, four, five, and six. We're a new party, but given that this is a new dungeon, we were hoping it would be a good fit."

Tafyaf shrugs. "Maybe, maybe. First floor combat, should be sufficient. Mainly need to watch for traps, especially in the maze section, many skeletons hide above and fire arrows. Second floor...would be wary, yes. Still under construction, there was no second floor boss yet, no. Also, the floor moves itself, the adventurers do not move, very strange I think. Watch for ambushes, traps, yes. I would suggest at your level, first floor yes, second floor no. Not until the dangers are fully known."

The likely Mage of the party doesn't seem to like that suggestion. "Heh, I don't know about that. This town is pretty out of the way, you know? I'd hate if we came all the way out here just for one floor." Grayana answers him this time.

"Well, lucky you, you're the first, so there's not exactly a waiting line. You can clear the first floor as many times as you want, and maybe earn some levels before you go further than you can handle. Getting surprised once is all it takes, most of the time."

The Mage is about to retort, until his leader waves him down. "We'll use the utmost caution, of course. Now, tell me more about this...floor that moves itself...?" The group spends another twenty minutes asking questions, Punchy drawing out a rough map as they go, before they feel satisfied and make their farewells. As they leave to get themselves some rooms for the night, Grayana leans over to Tafyaf.

"So...think any of em will come back?"

Tafyaf rolls his eyes. "Be fine, they will. Am sure the Challengers know their business, yes."

DaScoot

Behold! A Floor Two map!

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