It took just under 4 hours for Eric to reach Orad, running the whole distance, which in itself was quite the accomplishment. He made no stops to relieve himself or eat along the way as his mind was set on one goal.

Katrina Kartova's position of the apprentice being stripped from her.

How fitting that would be.

Knowing his father would approve of the tale he had come up with, as he loathed the gifted child and had stated this many times himself, he was about to put on a show. Eric burst into the guild, where the platoon of knights and his father were staying, to regale his tale of sorrow. In front of the villagers and adventures alike, whilst deviously knowing how people would react. He told all of how he 'and' Katrina were out together, how they had happened upon a dungeon and how she had turned crazy with power over the apprentice title she possesses. All lies of course, but Eric was great at spinning the truth.

It was, after all, a crime to enter an uncategorised dungeon. Even if that person is the apprentice of the Dungeon Categoriser. They have yet to become fully-fledged Experts themselves and can only enter when accompanied by the sanctioned person themselves.

Overhearing the story being enacted out before him, by his son no less, Elric's mouth curled up into the same devious smile his son was performing not too long ago. Stroking his goatee he found the situation to be the perfect opportunity to rid himself of his overwhelmingly talented apprentice, the person who was going to take his job someday. This was also a great way to secure his bloodline's footsteps in attaining the position he currently held.

With the devilish smile still plastered across his face, Elric rubbed his hand through his hair and ordered the knights' captain to have his men ready to depart just before first light. He then informed the villagers that they were going to apprehend Katrina, so that Lord Aldus can hold her accountable for her actions. They would even be able to make it home before nightfall if everything went their way.

With Eric's story finished and the crowd criticising the apprentice, the first step was already complete. Rising up, Elric downed the rest of his mug before retiring to his room as preparations needed to be made for the hunt tomorrow.

Removing his white categoriser's outfit and placing it on the nightstand beside the bed, he sits next to it and thinks about all the ways he could accidentally kill Katrina tomorrow.

It was going to be a good day for Elric.

Moving on from my last moments of idiocy I get Ali to accompany our guest, once she is reluctantly peeled away from a relieved Dropper and we begin showing her around.

Exiting the lovely Rogues' Retreat through its red doors we head down the steps, between the two dark oak beams and are hit by the heat of the soft sunlight shining down on us from above.

Well, not me. I'm encased by it but I can't feel its warmth.

Ali is almost more amazed at the change outside than Katrina is, seeing how she was passed out when we brought her through she won't get the chance to see the original layout. Ali however, had not noticed the change occurring, while slaving away in the Retreat's kitchen. She felt my pain, as the others did, but never managed to leave the kitchen to take in the spectacle that caused it. I might have to purchase the cooking feature and upgrade it for her. She does appear to kick some ass in the culinary department with the monster's main point of conversation being how good her food is.

Both females have their mouth wide open. Neither can compare to Peaches but the attempt they're making is a comical second place.

"Why are you so shocked?" a puzzled Katrina asks the stunned Rogue beside her.

"I... haven't seen this before. Master, when did you create this?" she replies to our guest before questioning me on the sudden arrival of the new large open space.

"It happened when she was sleeping." I mention the apprentice before informing her watcher of my future goals that include her. "At some point I'm going to purchase the cooking feature for you to work in, would you like that?"

"You do not have to do that Master, I am more than comfortable cooking at Talia's as she has everything I need, " she assures me. I inform her I'll be building one anyway and after it has had a few upgrades the person in charge may end up in a position like the Retreats' owner herself.

This quickly catches her interest like wildfire, "Yes Master, you should build a kitchen as soon as possible and I would be more than happy to run it for you." She instantly changes her mind and agrees without hesitation.

I love these guys.

The prospect of an upgrade is a big deal for everyone, even monsters huh?

Everyone, even myself, strives to be the best they can be.

If I had eyebrows, remember?

Katrina has watched Ali's one-sided conversation, as she can't see or hear me, and can only assume to know the other half through the words used by the Rogue accompanying her.

"The Dungeon Core is... going to make you a Kitchen? Where did the food from earlier come from?" she asks intrigued, but with reluctance, just in case she is somehow mistaken.

"Yes!" Ali almost shouts out in jubilation facing the puzzled apprentice, "I made your food in The Retreats' kitchen but my master is going to make me my own. I will be just like Talia!" she declares, clenched fists by her side and bright green eyes shining in the sun.

Well, maybe not just like Talia.

I can't see you having two Taskmaster, then again I didn't know what they were before yesterday.

"Who's Talia? Is she the blonde one who saved me?" Slowly she seems to be relaxing around the people inside me, who are actually monsters.

"No, Dropper and Light are the Rogues who saved you." Ali sets her straight without even being told to, what a gem.

"Light? That's a weird name for a girl and what sort of name is Dropper?" She calls the person who named the Rogues out on her bullshit, stabbing my emotions in the process and I'm lucky my Core wasn't damaged any further.

She's not going to like it in a second then when Ali corrects her. On cue, the beautiful Rogue does as expected and informs Katrina that Dropper is actually the female hero. Now frowning and certainly a little annoyed she questions my naming choices again.

"What, why is she called Dropper? Is your master a tyrant? Does the dungeon make you do cruel and evil things?" She slanders me with her words.

I'm not that bad I promise, I already offered to change her name. I know it was stupid of me, I had been turned into a dungeon though so I think I deserve some slack.

"Nothing like that silly, Dropper just happened to be the first Rogue to bring one home, she dropped it on the floor and that's how she got her name." Ali giggles whilst explaining the reasoning behind my motivational naming regime.

Katrina looks rather confused, as though the explanation meant nothing to her so I quickly inform Ali that she needs to add more context to her explanation.

"Master hates Goblins and that's what she dropped," she announces. A vague understanding creeps over the face of the apprentice within me before she asks why.

Unable to answer, as I'm frankly caught off guard by the ridiculous question that has just been asked, I tell the first Rogue I summoned to ask her what she means.

"Why does she hate Goblins?" she asks again once posed the question.

Seriously?

Does she love Goblins or something like that?

I thought everyone hated Goblins.

Fine, if she really wants to know.

Get ready Ali...

"My master vehemently dislikes Goblins, they're horrendous creatures and cannot be left to live. They're disgusting, ugly and they always flash their little peckers whilst running. It's gross and distracting. They eat little children and commit atrocities on women that are caught unaware, stolen away and never to be seen again. If they ever were to return to society, they would never be the same as before. Kind of like the feeling that you're harbouring would be akin to theirs." This catches her attention the most.

I have just likened Talos the Defiler to a regular smelly Goblin. The emotions on her face look as though the resurfaced memory is a little painful, but she's smiling at least. Hopefully over the thought of a Goblin Talos that she would have been able to fight off. "They are malicious little beasts who breed like flies and eat like pigs, they are the scum of Tironia and a plague to everything that is beautiful, ugly faces and broken teeth have no place in m..."

"Ok, ok, I get it now." She disrupts my monologue, which was only just getting started before asking another question, "why are you so... human-oriented? There are buildings inside you with people running them, I mean... monsters and they live here, yet look like... people. Really, really, beautiful people. How's that even possible?"

At least her sanity has returned a little more from earlier when she had Dropper in the bear hug and it sounds really nice hearing my beauty factor isn't biased.

As much as I'd like to say 'hey, I was a human too ya know', I just can't.

It's not as though I'm unable to, I just don't want too.

Maybe it's an inherent dungeon emotion that doesn't want me socialising with the enemy, or giving away secrets...

There's no such thing.

... or I might just not trust her yet.

I explain small facts about what people already know to be true of dungeons and add in a few extra words to make it sound believable, like the fact that I just want to help benefit mankind.

Pretty confident that Ali's beautiful and innocent face could charm even Jack or Koniva, I brush it off as a job well done and get ready to start this tour properly by leading my public speaker and Katrina over to the Guard House. As we pass Shack City, which is clearly visible from any direction now, the apprentice is staring at the shameful living conditions of her heroes disapprovingly but manages to hold her questions back.

Yeah, I know what she was thinking, they're shoddy, so what?

At least they're better than tents, right?

Absolutely.

Thanks, Me, at least someone's got my back.

I mean the Shacks, they're absolutely shoddy.

Oh.

Well, in that case, I'll just have to upgrade them, won't I?

Have you really managed to forget what happened to you the last time you attempted that already?

It's not likely, I doubt I will ever forget that experience, also don't underestimate my genius ideas, Me.

Moments before, a single thought had fluttered through my brain just as I was reminded of the shoddy Shacks, it was so simple I'm left wondering why I didn't think of it previously. Although, I wouldn't have been able to do it on account of the passed out Katrina.

Genius ideas?

You'll see.

We briefly pass through the partially rebuilt, but still crumbled and roofless, Guard House where Mira and Hana welcome us on our arrival. "Master, Ali, welcome. Welcome to you too stranger. Since you are with the master, I am obligated to treat you well."

Obligated?

That was a little harsh, it even made me sound like the dictator I joke about being.

"My name is Katrina, thank you for welcoming me," she says whilst still being shocked at the aura of beauty the people I create give off.

They are just complying by your rules

Still, she could have worded it better, or just left it out completely.

Anyway, it's time to enact my plan.

This will be good.

Oh ye of little faith, just watch and learn.

Oh and remember, most dungeons...must be stupid!

With the insult to other dungeons being the last thing I say to Me, I ask Mira, Hana and Ali to escort Katrina the expert outside the confines of my dungeon. As soon as she is over the threshold I feel a weight lift off my shoulders that I hadn't even realised was there.

Ahhh.

She left... You asked her to go out...

Hehe, I know, simple right.

Well, I suppose it does help to have human-looking monsters that can actually speak to others.

If I keep this up I might start being known as Genius Core Abi.

If that were the case then your Core would not be in pieces right now.

Always with the harsh logic, Me.

I'm really glad I have 5 floors right now and that my Core is so far from the surface. If I was in the state that I'm in now when the priceless Peaches invaded, then I may have just crumbled away under her beauty.

Bringing up my stats shows me that I'm nowhere near my next level up. I suppose in a strange kind of way this is similar to being a human, each level always requires more XP than the last just like the class system.

System?

A nagging feeling is pulling away at the back of my mind, and I don't mean Me, but I have to move on as Katrina and my girls are waiting outside patiently. It no longer appears to be raining with the limited view that I can see, but I don't want to keep them waiting any longer than necessary.

I choose the upgrade for Shack City as Katrina's judgemental eyes have left me feeling like a bad landlord over the state of my tenant's abodes.

Shack City has been upgraded to Hospitable Homes:

Liveable properties with actual brick walls

From Shack to Home all appropriate amenities are provided within these modest buildings

A new feature has been unlocked:

Hospitable Home: 10DP

Reward:

8 XP

Two lines of terraced houses now line the floor between the Retreat and the Guard House with the well still stood out in the middle. They look good, but not great, and with the sudden change to Shack City, I shouldn't find myself catching another eye roll from Katrina at least. I don't even think she was dissin' my dungeon, but rather the living quarters of her heroes.

Each building is sandy yellow and they all have a red roof. Four glass windows in a square pattern, two upstairs and two downstairs are the only features on the front of each home except for the blue door placed between the lower set that provide entry. It's a good job this is a third-tier upgrade or they would be in a terrible state just like the Watch House is, or the Rundown Rogue Bar was when they were first-tier and the apprentice would be even less impressed with me then. On the row of houses that isn't on the wall, the buildings sit in sets of three leaving space for access and passage through to the centre of the floor.

I wonder what Katrina will think now?

It's not as though I did it for her though, although her glances may have accelerated it up to the top of my upgrades list, my inhabitants definitely deserve them.

As I say this, the Rogues and Vagabonds that were close are very impressed with the new look of their abodes and have quickly started to choose themselves a place to live with their partners.

80DP down and 174 left.

I spend more points creating a small park by the wall in the west and once I'm finished I'm quite happy whilst also being a little sad.

I've made a circular pond by placing 4 patches of water before then shaping them round to match each other. I then surrounded it with ten patches of 1DP grass unlocking the medium-sized upgrade. After ten more of those, I gain access to the next version and the mood it gives off in the pleasant sun once it is complete, is warm and refreshing.

If the system wouldn't have somehow given me a sun feature then I don't think I would have created anything like this. Who would have wanted to sit at a park in a dark ass dungeon?

Exactly, no one!

I need somewhere for people to sit now though.

I use my DP, as I did with the cutting board, to enlarge a Wooden Chair. Then, with my will, I stretch it out and after I confirm the purchase it has ended up three times the size of a regular chair, I'm granted with my second creation notification.

A new feature has been created:

Wooden Bench: 6DP

I place three more benches around the pond in cardinal directions adding to the peaceful atmosphere. I'm going to have to get my Rogues to bring me some nice looking trees back, I need to get a nice variety going once everything is resolved.

Pushing down the thought of the system granting me a park feature, that will probably look better than mine, I continue on and swap the Trap Room with the empty one on Trixie's floor so I don't accidentally kill anyone. I'm not as weak or vulnerable as I was in the beginning and the room will still be before my Core, regardless of where it is placed in my dungeon.

In the now empty room next to my entrance, I enlarge some stone that I've received from Barry into pillar-sized monoliths and I use my will to engrave rules onto them for anyone who may enter my dungeon.

Sadly, I can't think of many but I can always add more over time.

For now, I have;

Do not attack anyone within the dungeon.

Bad behaviour will not be tolerated.

Yeah, I know, they're weak rules at best but my brain is just not functioning correctly with the situation it has been thrust into. It's trying its best but with my broken Core I feel as though any strenuous thoughts may damage me further.

Seeing how no creative juices seem to be flowing from me right now, I'll do an upgrade as I don't need to be creative in any way for that.

The well that sat in between the Shacks before is more of a burden, now that most buildings have their own feature, being in the middle of the street the homes create.

I used Examine and purchased the upgrade seeing how the system seems to be my best friend recently helping me out more than could possibly be justifiable. Not that I know this for a fact but it's the general impression I'm receiving from her.

Deep Well has been upgraded to Fishing Hole:

The new lack of need for water has altered this feature into something different and more beneficial to the Core who had created it

A new feature has been unlocked:

Once small bodies of water have been created and filled with an appropriate amount of fish adventurers who catch said fish will be rewarded with XP

New loot unlocked:

Rod of Reeling: 2DP

Awarded:

4 XP

See what I mean?

These descriptions seem to be her way of communicating, in a strange and awkward way, or so I'm assuming.

I have been known to make an ass out of myself on a few occasions now though so I shouldn't put too much stock into my own ideas.

Either way, there is now a Fishing Hole instead of a Well blocking my street. I need to move this before I let the trio of Rogues and the apprentice back in.

Placing it by the west wall, just south of my park as I don't really want it near the middle of the floor, it seems like a good enough location for the moment and I'm pleased with myself.

With my last minute purchases complete, it's time to get this tour started for real.