“That’s brilliant, Cobble. You’re a trap genius.”

“Heh, thank you, Cobalt. You are much the smart too, yes? The rigging here is perfect.”

I watched, my core glowing a soft red from my amusement, as the kobolds complimented each other over their trap ideas and drew what looked like nonsense to me across my floor. It was nice to see them getting along so easily, and even nicer to see Cobalt relaxed again after I had upset him. He seemed to be a bit sensitive, but all it took was reassurance and he bounced back fairly quickly. Cobble seemed to know how to handle him at least, which was a huge relief to me. Emotions were difficult to figure out, and I hadn’t been sure what to say.

He was all smiles now though, the edges of his wide mouth curled up as he used a pair of sticks to demonstrate how one of his trap ideas would work. I was only partially paying attention, with most of my focus on [Tunneling] and Mama Badger as she began to dig out the sides of what would be a new room. At the moment it seemed as if it wasn’t counting as a new room and merely a wider tunnel, but who knew how long that would last?

I could feel the sun coming up outside, light and warmth trickling in through my entrances, but she was still going with no signs of stopping. Papa Badger was already bedded down, belly up and paws twitching in his sleep, but she continued to dig as though in a trance. Adding my last room before she could add hers didn’t matter so much in the long run, but I was still curious what Inner Voice would have to say about the situation if I could. Just how much could I cheat things? I wanted to find out.

I knew [Trap Making] was a skill I needed for setting up my dungeon for future guests, but thankfully it was also one both my kobolds had, so I could use them to cheat the system to gain that without purchase. The problem was that I couldn’t figure out how to cheat and pick up other skills. I could gather from things I had learned that I would need to make items, but that wasn’t something I could figure out how to get without purchase.

Armor, weapons, treasure… They were all things I would need to put in my dungeon to attract people to want to explore it. The better the items the less likely people would be to want to break my core to snuff me out. Why get rid of something that was useful to you, after all? It was why I was tolerating the badger family.

Apparently, I wasn’t so different from humans, a thought that caused a bitter taste to run through my tendrils straight to my core.

I needed a distraction. Something to take my mind off of the apparent similarities between me and my natural enemies.

“Is there anything I can do to help with the traps?”

Cobble lifted her head slightly, looking into a vague place that seemed to be where she heard my voice originating from. She flashed her teeth, wide and happy as she laughed softly, “Oh yes, there is much Kor can do to help. See here on map? This is new entrance, and this is tunnel that leads here,” She traced a path lightly with her claws and I turned my full focus to the drawing on the floor. There was a strange rectangular place on the tunnel, with little holes poked into it. I made a grunting sound that I had heard Mama Badger make before so Cobble would know I was paying attention, and looking pleased she continued speaking, “Kor needs to dig down, deep deep down. We will put logs here and make false floor around them. If step on wrong place? Fall down into hole!”

My core flashed brightly in pleasure. It was a bit like my own idea for the one room, in a way, where if they messed up they would find themselves stuck. “Cobalt was right, you are a genius.” Those words made Cobble sit up straighter, her ears flickering and the scales on her face becoming a darker green that caused the yellowish splotches across her snout to stand out more.

“Kor is the flattering, yes?”

“Oh no, I mean it! If they mess up and fall down they’ll waste a ton of time climbing back out. It’s brilliant.”

“Stop! I am the blushing!”

“Is that what’s making your speckles look so bright? It’s cute. You should do it more often.”

“Kor is always with the calling cute! I’m not sure if insulting or not!” Cobble pressed her clawed hands to her cheeks, laughing hard. Cobalt, sitting beside her, let out a heavy sigh, but not one that sounded frustrated. Instead, it was almost wistful in nature, longing, as if he were enjoying himself. His wings flickered, his tail twitching in what I had come to learn was happiness from watching Cobble. There was a similar darkness to his own face, causing the blue to blend more with the black stripes that crossed over his eyes.

Cute. They were both so cute. I was so glad I had such cute monsters to look after. It was so much more fun than if they were serious. Being able to take a break from digging to talk to them made me feel so much less lonely.

I couldn’t help but wonder if Mama Badger would be so much fun to talk to. The way she huffed and puffed and grunted made her seem grumpy, but at the same time, she looked so adorable… Would she laugh and giggle the same way Cobble did if I called her cute? Would her tail twitch in happiness when we talked? Or would she grumble and growl and argue with me? Would we get along or would she hate me?

I liked watching the badger family sleep and dig, liked trying to figure out what they were thinking, but it was also strangely lonely. My kobolds helped a lot, but having these creatures living within my walls who were a complete mystery to me was still difficult. I wanted to know what they were thinking, what they were feeling, what caused them to do the things that they were doing.

Why was Mama Badger digging out a new room when she already had a room to sleep in? Why was she doing all the digging while Papa Badger slept like a large furry lump and only seemed to come back to the dungeon to do just that? Why did they do what they did? I wanted to know so badly it felt like an itch across my core.

Purchase [Primal Communication]?

What?

Purchase [Primal Communication]?

No, I heard you the first time Inner Voice, I just can’t believe that you’re asking me that. Are you serious? Is that seriously a skill that will let me talk to the badgers? And you’ve been holding it out on me until now? Really? I could have used that ages ago.

…

And of course, you have nothing to say for yourself. To myself? I hate how confusing you make this.

I made a groaning noise that must have been strong enough to echo along my connection to my kobolds because their ears flickered and they both looked up in the same direction. Cobalt tipped his head sharply, flame-like eyes blinking in a way that seemed deliberately slow. “Kor? Is everything alright? Cobalt is worried. You have been very frustrated for a while now. Is it something Cobalt can help with?”

I had learned my lesson already when it came to Cobalt. He looked like he might be physically tougher than Cobble, but he was very soft and sensitive when it came to his emotions. I needed to choose my words carefully if I wanted to keep my tiny dragon happy and on my side.

“I’m frustrated with myself, mostly. Plus the thing with the one room being interrupted by the red stones, the badgers digging new rooms, my [Appraisal] skill being practically useless… It’s just a lot to deal with all at once, you know?”

He put a black claw to his mouth and seemed to consider what I said for a moment before he glanced over at Cobble hopefully. Maybe he was hoping that she would have a suggestion to help, but she just lifted her shoulders before letting them fall back down, making a grunting sound as she did so. His face crinkled up, scaly ridges pushing forward as the corners of his mouth pulled downward. Cobble apparently had nothing to say, and Cobalt was now straining to think of something he could do to make the situation better.

“If you want to help, you could help me decide whether or not to purchase a new skill.”

That seemed to be the right thing to say because he instantly perked up, his tiny wings flapping quickly and his expression shifting to something that looked eager to please. I wished my tendrils weren’t invisible and intangible because the urge to pat his head and tell him how cute he was being was particularly strong.

“Cobalt can do that! What’s the skill that Kor is considering? What does it do?” He asked, his tail sweeping a path in the dirt floor as it wiggled back and forth.

That was a good question. I could infer that [Primal Communication] would let me talk to the badgers somehow, but how? Was that all it did? Fortunately, it seemed as if thinking the name hard enough caused it to appear the same way Inner Voice and [Appraisals] words did, which let me [Appraise] the skill.

[Primal Communication]. A passive skill that allows for communication on a primal level.

… Oh [Appraisal]... What would I do without you?

“It’s [Primal Communication]. It should let me talk to the badgers somehow, I think.”

Cobble immediately perked up, the longer ridges that were her ears lifting in visible interest. Despite looking like she wanted to say something, however, she remained completely silent. It seemed as if she was smart enough to know that I was trying to help Cobalt feel important and needed.

The kobold in question nodded his head slowly, appearing to think very hard about the skill. He put his fingers to the bottom half of his snout, making a clicking sound with his tongue. “Cobalt thinks…” He began, voice slow and drawn off, falling away into vibration as he looked over at Cobble, obviously hoping that she would tell him what to say. She made a waving motion with her hands, prompting him to continue speaking without giving away what she was thinking at all.

Cobalt huffed, sounding an awful lot like Mama Badger herself, before he nodded. “Cobalt thinks yes. Yes. Kor should purchase skill. Could use to tell the badgers what plans are? Maybe?” He had started off sounding so sure of himself, but that ended fairly quickly, turning into confusion by the time he tried to justify why he thought it was a good idea.

That seemed to be all Cobble needed to hear, however, before she decided it was time to add in her own opinion.

“I agree with Cobalt,” At her words, he looked her way with wide eyes, apparently shocked that she agreed. “If Kor can do the talking with the badgers it could very much the help. Badgers would know what we are the doing, no more need to avoid each other. There is risk, yes, of badgers being the frightened and leaving, but is very much worth risk, yes? If Kor can tell them Kor is doing the protecting of them then they will know they are the safe.”

I was inclined to agree with the two of them. Aside from being a cure to my loneliness, it was just a good idea in general. I could tell Mama Badger to hold off on finishing her room for a bit, I could let her know I could help dig tunnels for her if she needed, and I could warn her not to dig in certain directions so she wouldn’t run into my own tunnels. I could let the badgers know that I would help protect them, and even better, I could tell them that the kobolds were their friends. Cobble was right about there being a risk of scaring them off, but the benefits really did seem to outweigh the downsides.

Even if the badgers ran off and left I would have what they had built to work off of, and even though I would miss their fluffy rumps and free mana I could make do with my kobolds. It might be a setback, but not one that I couldn’t deal with.

“Didn’t you say I needed some item making skill or whatever? Should I purchase that first?”

Cobble shook her head quickly, ears flapping. “No, Kor is the fine. We are not at point where skill is needed. Protection and traps first, yes?”

Alright then. That seemed to cement the issue. Purchasing [Primal Communication] was a good idea and one that both my kobolds agreed with. For the good of the dungeon, I would purchase the skill.

Okay, Inner Voice! Let’s do this!

[Primal Communication] purchased. Points remaining: 12

Ouch. [Primal Communication] had been thirty points to purchase. That really hurt. Badly. I would have to send the kobolds out for a lot more food if I wanted to make any more kobolds. The item making skill would probably cost just as much, if not more, after all, and even if I didn’t need it until after the layout was down and traps were in place I would still need it.

Why were points so hard to come by?

There wasn’t anything that could be done about it now, however, so the best thing to do would be to make use of the skill and remember to ask Inner Voice how much things would cost in the future. Apparently, my entire life was just making mistakes and learning the hard way that I would have to do things differently in the future. It was pretty annoying, but at least it wasn’t impossible to recover from.

It was time to put the skill to use, but somehow I felt… Nervous felt like the right word. What would I even say to the badgers? How would I make them understand that I didn’t want to hurt them and that they were safe here? There were so many ways it could all go wrong, but I had to make the first move.

I concentrated on Mama Badger, who was still digging away, and tried to make the words come out the same way I did when talking to the kobolds.

“Hello? Can you hear me?”

She froze in place, ears twisting back. Her fur bristled up, making her look much larger than before, and her lips pulled back from her fangs. In an instant, Mama Badger had gone from looking cute and cuddly to becoming a ferocious monster that would gladly kill given a chance. I had no doubt now that if it came down to a fight between her and my kobolds she would easily decimate them.

They wouldn’t stand a chance in the face of that much raw anger.

“Who’s there?!”

A voice echoed through me, rough and raspy but unmistakably feminine. It was like when [Appraisal] communicated with me. No words were actually being spoken, in fact, Mama Badger wasn’t even making any noise. Somehow I just knew what she was trying to say. So this was how [Primal Communication] worked? Interesting.

“This is going to be really hard to explain, but I just need you to know that I’m your friend. I’m not going to hurt you.”

Mama Badger snorted hard, and I instantly knew she was doubting my ability to hurt her, but she sat down in place. She was listening, and I could have sighed in relief if I had the lungs to do it with. It was time to explain things, and hope she understood.