As the dungeon core desperately tried to salvage the awkward beginnings of his speech Gelm whispered in Lucas’s ear “Is he... nervous?”

Not one for public speaking himself Lucas nodded sympathetically “Looks like it to me. Compared to his subordinates at least.”

Breaking the uncomfortable prolonged silence with a light cough the core decided to move on with his speech “A-anyways it’s a pleasure to formally meet all of you after all this time! To help things along I’ve chosen the name Sol for myself so please feel free to address me as that or anything else you’d like. I’m not terribly picky about titles so you won’t offend me.

“I guess I’ll jump straight into the first order of business, a personal thank you for assisting me during this unexpected war. Without the help of every single adventurer, knight, and citizen the war could have stretched out for months. This is a victory we sought together and achieved together. It’s my personal hope that we can use these past few weeks as a tool to grow closer to one another and prevent any similar incidents in the future. Once again, thank you, and if you haven’t already please be sure to receive your rewards at our designated tents. Our clerks will be more than happy to assist you.”

Reaching his hand out for a slip of paper Sol received his pre written notes from Noire and began reading from them “As you may remember I also owe you two other rewards. Those being the memorial located on the 3rd floor safe zone, The Cascade Casino, and lifting the ban on [Taming]. I’m happy to report the memorial has already been constructed and open to the public once you all reach the 3rd floor and beyond. I encourage everyone to come and pay respects to our fallen comrades when next you visit.

Clapping his hands together after a moment of silence Sol continued “After much discussion with the local government we’re pleased to announce the ban on [Taming] shall be lifted following this talk. Previously this ban was implemented and enforced by the royal knights and various guilds as the nature of my monsters was not yet fully understood. Joyous as this change is for all of us I must lay down some rules and clarify some misconceptions. Given that my creatures are not simple mana constructs I will be enforcing some regulations of my own to ensure their happiness.

“#1, when not in the dungeon my creatures must be fed proper food instead of intaking my dungeon’s ambient mana. From what my friends in the Tamers Guild tell me the owner’s own mana may be used as another substitute. Unfortunately I can’t claim to know the dietary habits of my creatures just yet for those of you wishing to become owners. My creatures do not usually need to be fed and it is only through the [Taming] skill at all they can exist beyond my walls. We are currently working with the Tamers Guild to collect data on the various needs my creatures need for proper care. If anyone here who becomes an owner in the future learns something new, develops a new method, or otherwise wishes to contribute to the project please ask one of our clerks or contact the Tamers Guild directly to get involved.

“#2, [Tamed] creatures will not be mistreated, abused, or otherwise expected to work as slaves. Hopefully it has been more than properly established my creatures are fully sentient living beings capable of pain and emotion. It would be in your best interest to treat us well.

“In direct relation to rule #2 is rule #3, every creature has the ability to send an SOS signal back to us requesting to be brought back home. This signal is always active so that we will know if it is ever tampered with or magically deactivated. Upon activation of this SOS a Reaper squad will be dispatched and the [Tamed] creature reclaimed. As I’ve given all of you such a big heads up I have no qualms about using force in these situations.

“Finally rule #4, I ask you not separate any breeding pairs or packs of any kind. Unless the creatures agree to enter an official pact together in which case they are free to leave together. Basically just don’t force anyone to leave against their will and we’ll be cool.”

Trading his paper back over to Noire Sol finished the segment saying “To finish off this topic I would like Mary to come and speak more in depth about our new policies regarding the Reapers. To most of you this won’t change anything but please pay attention for future reference.”

Stepping back after handing the enchanted rod over Sol began rereading his notes on the next points of discussion. To the crowd such an actions was remarkably... humanizing.

Leaning over the podium in an exaggerated manner the shadow woman began “Alright so listen up everyone! Me and my Reapers are going to be enforcing some new dungeon rules from here on out. On a side note though... some of you have been calling me the Shifter but let’s get that changed alright? Call me Mary, Lady Death, The Reaper, or anything else better than that shit.” She finished with a long glare pointed at the crowd before standing straight and smiling “Alright so the new rules.

“From now one parties can stay inside our dungeon for a maximum of one month in the first 2 safe zones. As the later floors all require payment you can stay as long as you can afford. My squads will be keeping tabs on how long you remain in the dungeon and will first ask you to leave and then remove you if refused. If you leave with just a warning you’re only banned from entry for 3 days. Resist and it’s a month plus however bad we rough you up. This rule is to stop any groups from monopolizing the first safe zone amenities for free. Plus it’s a bit weird to freeload in a dungeon so stop it.

“In regard to our hand in [Taming] laws you should register your allied creature with a Reaper either around the dungeon entrance or within any of our safe zones. This is only done so dungeon natives will understand them as targets or allies and for our own private record keeping. We won’t hunt anyone down over failing to register but we ask you do whenever possible.”

Rolling her neck in a bored manner she gestured at the crowd “Since none of you have been capable enough to reach the 3rd floor and beyond this rule isn’t very important yet but I’ll state it here. On the unexplored floors some Reapers will be stationed alongside our Lamia staff to provide security. Violence is not permitted inside the safe zone by dungeon residents of course but if you attack a staff member or begin disturbing another guests experience we’ll beat the crap out of you then kick you out.

“We will also be taking the duty of monitoring the dungeon entrance off the royal knight’s hands. On the latter floors we’ll experiment with changing the stagger rate from the current 20 minutes depending on adventurer numbers. Other than that everything will be the same except under new management. Please follow the same procedure with registering party names and all that.

“For now that’s all I got but we hold the right to add new rules whenever we want. Which, considering you raid our home everyday seems fair. So deal with it.”

Putting a hand on her shoulder Sol pushed Mary back to her spot on stage before beginning his next segment.

“Thank you Mary... much appreciated. If any new dungeon laws are added in the future we’ll be sure to give you all proper warning and a short grace period. On a personal note I ask once again you treat our staff well on the later floors. They are not combatants, although they can fight just as well as any other dungeon resident and are offering special services to you all. Should they be mistreated those services will be removed without question. We want to keep the safe zones as much as all of you but rest assured I will remove them if necessary for our people’s safety.”

“Continuing with the theme of our later floors I’d like to present our new and improved teleportation system that should help all of you adventurers profit.” At this point Sol removed a small bracelet from behind the podium and held it aloft for the audience “I’m hoping all of you can help come up with a name for us to call them but these bracelets will function as something of an id inside the dungeon. The design isn’t finalized yet but once the prototype is done we’ll be handing these out for free at the dungeon entrance.

Slipping the bracelet on his wrist and pointing Sol continued “This orb here on the bottom overtop your wrist will track how many floors you have completed and will act as your teleporter pass. When you first receive them they will detect the current number of floors so no need to backtrack. Once the relevant floors with rental and shopping facilities are accessed these bracelets can also serve as funds. Simply tap them on the relevant artifact at your shop of choice and it will remember your total Rhilos or mana count. At the end of every month this total will come due if not paid in advance. Money or mana can be stored directly on the bracelet if you wish, to do so or pay off any debts simply see one of our clerks stationed from Camp Core onwards.

“For all of you though the more interesting aspect is the mana signature. Not only can you wear your own bracelet to track progress, but every person can wear up to two at once. In most cases they’ll be yours and one other persons. The ring will still track progress for someone even if they themselves aren’t actually in the dungeon. When that person comes to visit with their ring equipped they’ll be able to teleport just as easily as anyone who properly fought their way down. While they will be restricted to the safe zones until they properly fight their way through the above floors I hope this news excites the less combat proficient of you. Please feel free to charge tourists for this service so they can come to our later floors. To incentivize this I’d like Almar to speak about some of the commodities available at The Cascade Casino.”

Stepping up and taking the podium Almar immediately drew in the crowd’s attention with his firm confidence yet light hearted posture “Thanks Boss. As stated previously all are welcome to come and stay at out luxurious 3rd safe zone. We not only have gambling, food, and royal quality housing, but many other events and services available for purchase with mana or Rhilos. Dance halls, wedding venues, high class bars, organized mixers, dueling halls, penthouses, reef tours, aquarium side dinging, rentable workshops and materials all manned by our lovely lamia staff await! Please make your way down to come see us! First 1,000 guests will receive 10,000 Rhilos free in credit to spend however you want. We’ll be waiting!”

Taking the enchanted rod from the much taller Almar the core continued “Before our short Q&A I’d like to confirm the rumor we will be participating at this year’s Iliad. We were formerly invited and will do our best to garner understanding and grow a strong relationship with King Rylen and the country of Illia as a whole. Any new announcements to be made leading up to and after the Iliad will be properly conveyed to all of you.”

Walking up to stand beside Sol Noire addressed the crowd “Thank you Chairman for taking your time here today, we know you are very busy. Now if anyone would like to ask our Chairman some questions directly now is the time. We’ll only be taking a few before heading back in and reopening the dungeon. If you have a question please raise your hand.”

Hundreds of hands shot up instantly and every one of them began waving wildly in an effort to be chosen. Speaking with a sentient dungeon core was such a unique opportunity after all! Even more so that no questions had been labeled off limits!

“You sir.” Noire said pointing at a shirtless brawler.

“Shit really?! Uh... I guess I want to know how old this dungeon actually is, Mr. Sol. We know it was found about 5 months ago but how old is it really?”

Visibly more relaxed now that he wasn’t spouting forward several important legislative rules the core casually responded “Well, this dungeon’s first visitor found it only 3 or so days after its birth. The first to return after finding it was captain Eli’s squad at around the 2 week mark so 5 months is pretty accurate. I myself am 19 as of last month.”

Soon as he finished his answer Noire selected a merchant who Lucas had seen eagerly discussing trade with one of the shadow clerks.

“Good afternoon Mr. Sol, you’ve continued making new safe zones and creating greater amenities for public use. Would you be interested in allowing some traders and the like into the lower floors to generate sales with our own wares?”

Shrugging the core answered “That’s something I’m planning to go over at the Iliad. Right now it’s a maybe. My own creatures will have shops ready to go once people reach them and I wouldn’t want to harm their profits. But I’m not at all opposed to the idea. Competition breeds innovation and all that.”

Next to be selected was a strange looking woman dressed in raggedy clothing with pale skin that Lucas recognized as the freak obsessed with Lupin Spiders.

“Hehehe my thanks... Any limits on the number of [Tamed] monsters or breeding outside the dungeon?”

“As long as the breeding is consensual it’s cool. Numbers though... For now no limit but that may change if people begin abusing it. Just don’t take like... 20 Coal Cats and you’ll be fine. Good question, hadn’t thought about that.”

“But of course... Hehehe...” she grinned with a bow.

Announcing this would be the last question Noire chose a short red haired girl with a large hat in the front row.

“Thankyou Ms. Noire.” She said with audible cheer in her voice “I was just curious how many floors the dungeon currently possesses. With your growth I wouldn’t be surprised if it was over 10!”

Somehow managing to blush despite being completely orange the core answered abashed “Oh nothing that high! I won’t give anything major away but we currently have 4 floors and more in the works.”

“I can’t wait to see it for myself!” she giggled into her sleeve.

Bringing attention back to the stage Noire excitedly announced “To end today’s talk our Chairman has one last big announcement to make! Go ahead sir.”

At this obviously rehearsed moment all the monsters on stage stood a bit straighter and a look of pride overtook some of the older monster’s faces. Even the timid Daphne and young Irwin put on a confident and serious expression. It was assuredly a big deal when Iris removed the device covering her ears.

This time without any notes Sol stood in front of all his monsters and in his most confident tone yet announced with a smile “From this moment on we shall no longer be referred to as the “Unnamed Dungeon”. We shall collectively be known as... The Dungeon of Seasons!”