Entering the Guard House, Elric is blown away by Mira and Hana and loses any composure he was trying to project.

His jaw drop was almost as good as Peaches'...

Shit.

What am I going to say about her when Elric catches sight of the beautiful slime. Arrgh, there's too much going on for little old me.

Screw it, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. It's not an 'if' situation because he's bound to see her at some point.

"Welcome traveller, we are delighted to have you here," Mira begins. "We are sorry about the state of the Guard House but it is on our master's list of buildings to fix." Hana finishes off.

Damn, that was quite a good introduction, way to go girls.

"Ah, it's, er... No problem." He manages to say before composing himself again and regaining the stoic facade he was previously wearing.

Damn, I thought they had him. No worries though, I've got more babes here than the whole village of Orad has, or at least had when I was still there.

There's probably not as many women in total yet but I guarantee the beauty in my dungeon is unbeatable.

"Dungeon Abi, I am not normally shocked twice in quick succession," He begins. "I would never usually say this so early on but from what I have seen so far I must say, I quite like it. If the rest of the examination goes well, then we may need to have a long discussion about your future." Still eyeing Mira and Hana as we cross the room, he actually gives me some good news.

They are the words I had been hoping to hear, although I was anticipating them being nearer to the end of the tour. After he'd seen what is probably going to be the cause of my destruction, drooling away happily like the cutie he is.

What if he can't handle all these surprises?

"Drop, tell him that if he was shocked before, then he needs to prepare himself for when we exit the Guard House." I inform her before she relays my words to Elric.

Hearing Dropper's suggestion, he raises his eyes at her before looking back in the direction that we came from. He appears to be considering what has transpired here so far, in such a small time frame. He places his hand under his chin and strokes his well trimmed brown goatee, "That is very kind of you to offer, but I shall be fine."

Well, don't say we didn't warn you.

"Then please, after you," Dropper says unprompted. She must know he's been staring at her ass from behind and is using non physical means to combat the situation.

Clever girl.

She must sense my feelings as she throws a smile my way before returning her attention to the Expert. Who is trying his hardest to act as though the beautiful women around him aren't a distraction to his job.

Placing a hand on each of the doors, Elric pushes them open with more force than was needed. Although they are stone doors, they're not very heavy and the bottom two hinges on the right break off.

I spin myself round as I feel a growing anger building up behind me. Hana is visibly furious. She's scowling at the back of the man who has just wrecked the door to the already beat up building and looks ready to kill. If Mira wasn't in front of her trying to calm her down, then she may have actually thrown herself at him and we would have a serious problem.

Elric isn't even aware of the door, that now hangs from only the top hinge and is cracked in several places, or the angry guard behind him as he is lost for words at the beautiful scenario playing out before his eyes.

Outside the houses that lead to the sparkling Retreat, plenty of Rogues and Vagabonds are engaging each other in everyday conversations. If someone were unconscious when they arrived here, I doubt they would even be able to tell that they were in a dungeon. My walls stop just above the roof of the Retreat and make it appear as though we are inside a fortified city.

The sky's the first feature to catch Elric off guard as it is definitely not something you would expect to find in a dungeon.

Especially not one that's in a mountain and not the small cave that she had originally thought herself to be in. That's tomorrow's problems though as right now the future looks bright, with not a single cloud in my sky.

"What do you think Ali is going to make for dinner tonight?" Mystique is questioning Rocky who is stood with Coral, Baluka and Nessa.

Hearing a melodious voice, his face snaps down to the bustling beauties chirping away with each other and he somehow manages to trap himself in a Stop spell.

"I dunno, but whatever it is will be amazing, you know Ali," she replies as everyone nods in agreement with sparkles in their eyes.

Elric's mouth wide is open once again and his eyes are bulging out of his head. Almost like a drawing, sketched by a comedian, he is paralysed by the sheer amount of feminine allure within his gaze.

"I hope it's Boar stew again! That's my favourite," Nessa declares clenching her fists and slightly drooling.

"Don't be silly, even though her Boar stew is delicious it's nothing compared to the Rabbit casserole we had last night. That ... was heavenly," Coral chimes in with her take and everyone else agrees.

Seeing this scene play out before him, in a room full of sunshine, when technically there shouldn't be any, Elric is truly at a loss for words.

Every single female taking part in the conversation about Ali's culinary brilliance would be classed as extremely attractive and I think I can see a magic wand beginning to appear in The Expert's pocket.

I knew he was a pervert.

"Yeah, that was nice... Hey, it's Master!" The girls come rushing over as they have noticed that Elric hasn't made a single move since laying eyes on them. As they set off he is still unable to move as he watches the bountiful bouncing beauties, who use their own slow motion spell, as they make their approach.

The Expert's face is beet red and he can't avert his eyes as he is locked in a trance of pure bliss.

"Master," they all call out in unison, with the cutest sounds known to man.

Even I feel a little flustered. Is it hot in here? Can I feel heat finally?

"It is a pleasure to meet you," Baluka places her right fist on her left breast to greet Elric but is really performing the dungeon salute to me.

I love these girls.

Everyone else sounds in after her, using their own lines of greeting and also performing the same welcoming motion.

Yeah. I definitely love these girls.

"No one said the Expert was such a fine man," Mystique maybe takes it too far as our guest is still unable to reply to any of the females before him.

He tried but it was just a mixture of garbled words now that his composure has finally been broken. Eventually, he manages to muster a single word, yet it's not to the many women that have just dashed over. Instead, he aims it Dropper's way which means it's really directed towards me.

"How?" He asks before returning his gaze back to the similar looking ladies before him and then scanning the large well-lit room.

It is the same question Katrina once posed and is one that is probably going to be asked quite frequently when people start visiting us.

The sunlight alone is enough to make him stop and awe. The rays highlights all the structures I have created so far and it truly is a sight to behold. Once all my buildings have been advanced to the same level as the Retreat I will look downright outrageous, even if I say so myself.

"I don't wish to explain that yet, just know that it is not through any nefarious means that I'm able to produce such beauty," is all I can say to the man lost in a world of bewilderment.

After a very brief chat with all my girls, as Elric wasn't the most cohesive talker whilst surrounded by a sea of beauty, we headed down the street towards the Retreat.

Everything is going rather well and I'm feeling rather positive until I see Katrina through the window pane of the last house on the corner. Elric also spotted this occurrence and his face has changed from stupor and splendor to one of anger and fury.

Changing direction he immediately begins to head towards the house and Dropper attempts to grab hold of his arm. A wave of purple mana erupts from his body and spreads throughout the entirety of my dungeon.

I watch helplessly as each of the creations born from my own hand collapse to the floor. As I begin to panic over what's happening, I am kicked out of Manifestation Mode and sent back to my dark overview area.

"Katrina Kartova, you are charged with entering a dungeon unlawfully," he shouts out as he approaches the building.

What the hell?

How did things suddenly just shift from 'sunshine and rainbows' to 'despair and doom'?

"M-Master.." Dropper tries to say as I watch her and the others from the screens before me.

I try to activate my manifestation again but fail and pain returns to my world as my Core splinters once more.

Seriously? What the hell?

Me?

Me!?

ME!?

With our connection temporarily severed I'm worrying even more and wanting to wail a great deal. I can't reply to Dropper or get a response from Me and the anger I've been suppressing is beginning to release itself.

Stupid dungeon shit! Why can't I do anything?

"Come out now and Lord Aldar may show leniency over your earlier inconvenience," he continues. How dare he call what happened to her an inconvenience, like it's something he has to take the time out of his day to deal with.

A red mist begins to rise up throughout the floor in my dungeon, the sky turns dark as a large ominous cloud swells in size above us in the span of a few seconds. The flash of lightning illuminates his malicious face and the only sound that can be heard as the Dungeon Categoriser stands before the building sheltering the apprentice, is the steadily growing drum of thunder.

As the sound rumbles down, Katrina opens the door of Ali's home and looks defiantly at Elric.

"I do not wish to return, nor do I want to be your apprentice any longer. I need... to put my mind at peace. This dungeon gives me what I need so I'm not going to leave," she calls out, not wanting to leave the safety of the walls she's within.

"It's also pretty amazing here!" she then yells.

I feel quite overwhelmed at her last statement, it makes me feel as though my long sighted goal isn't just the dream that I make it out to be. It even shaves off a fraction of the anger I'm exuding.

Katrina instantly jumps up to a 99% approval rating in my books too and she's now my new favorite person.

What a gal.

Sadly though the brief happiness that I was experiencing is cut short.

"Let me help out with your problem then," the Expert snickers. A hidden dagger, concealed up his sleeve, is launched through the air. It doesn't hit for a kill shot but it goes deep into the abdomen of the blushing apprentice on the stairs.

"No!" I scream out as the expert clicks his tongue and the whole dungeon groans and shifts. This causes Elric to become unbalanced as Katrina falls to her knees with the blade still lodged inside her. Her white outfit is soaking up the slow releasing liquid. The soft red mist on my floor is rising faster than before becoming a thick dark haze as my anger swells up higher than before.

Why is he doing this?

I question the scenario before me but am unable to reach any type of conclusion as hate is invading my thought process.

Seeing that Katrina is now immobile, Elric loses all composure and breaks into a maniacal laugh.

"Ha.. Haha.. Hahahaha, finally! I will be rid of you and my son will take the position that he was supposed to! " He continues.

He removes another dagger from his other sleeve and for the second time today, he lets it fly toward the person that I have started to grow fond of.

My monsters are still unmoving. Caught in a state of paralysis caused by the Expert. One of the unavoidable magics he possesses as a Categoriser.

I feel their pain as one.

It's not physical but mental. They all wish to rise up and aid the one who created them.

It's a circle of endless torment for them and it increases with every millisecond that slowly passes by. There's only one outcome as I watch the airborne blade gliding through the air. I do the only thing that I can think of to prevent the death of the woman that deemed me amazing. Using Divinities Creation, I call up a single stone monolith. It's the only move I can think to make and I place it in the oncoming path of the blade that's sure to end her life.

The trump card I was planning on saving is now gone. All thanks to how the events turned out when Elric saw Katrina.

I didn't really have a choice.

"What the fuck!? How did you do that?" Shocked at the creation of an object before him, as no other dungeons he knew of has ever done this. He stands there glaring at the downed Dropper for an answer.

He leans over her unmoving body and removes a third knife.

My roof flashes, illuminating the whole town and the booming roar of thunder rings out as I let my will run wild with hate for the Categoriser.

"Why do you protect her!?" even if I could still communicate with him, I wouldn't tell him anything now. Not after what he just did and what he's about to do. The only thing I want him to hear is how much I hate him.

All I want to do is scream. I try my best to perform the action knowing full well I make no sound.

To my surprise, the loudest noise I have ever heard bellows out all around me. It didn't start small, building up into a climax. It was an instant ear shattering sound that I honestly was not expecting to produce.

How the hell did I do that?

Elric clutches his ears whilst he rolls around on the floor, slowly creating distance between himself and Dropper as everyone else lays still.

As much as I enjoy the fact that I've managed to hurt him, I'm unsure if my guys are unharmed as I still can't connect to them properly.

I watch Elric quickly down a potion of healing as I contemplate what just happened.

Roar of the Dungeon.

That would have been such a cool name.

I'm obviously as stupid as I act sometimes. I now realise that I've probably just alerted the rest of The Categoriser's men that are still loitering around outside. Immediately after this thought, I feel the presence of more people entering my dungeon. It was inevitable after what just happened and in my state of grief-stricken rage my mind plays out an even worse scenario than I was imagining before.

Black-hearted murderers, dressed as Knights, slaughter each and every creature contained within me that do not fit their standards. Said standards being big breasted and paralysed women which have no chance of resisting their advances. The most beautiful, all still under the effects of dungeon magic cast by The Expert, can do little to fight back and are thoroughly taken advantage of. Set upon in turn by Father, Son and filthy fucking fuckers.....

Nooo!!!

Why the fuck am I thinking about shitty depressing shit like that?

I don't want that to happen to the people I feed.

The ones I create and hold close.

People I create features for and help grow.

This is my fucking family and I'll die before I let you hurt any of them!

I use my newly acquired voice again and scream at The Expert who has managed to fully heal himself. He has somehow managed to take precautions against me, just incase I were to use the same skill for a second time which I straight up did.

Shit.

With my wiles back a fraction, the sensation of the extra intruders that entered me a moment ago has disappeared which catches me off guard. My Core is my most valuable asset so if they can teleport there instantly I'm not going to do a lot of good just shouting.

Cancelling my Dungeon Roar, I quickly scan my screens but am at a loss when I don't manage to find anyone new inside of me.

Where the hell did they go?

On cue as if sensing my brief fluster within the overwhelming anger, I hear the same declaration that I was complaining about earlier and it brings a swell of emotions out from within me.

"MASTER, I AM HERE TO SERVE!" A golden circle of light appears in the darkness across from Ali's house illuminating the shadow around its creator. The velocity of Noir's weapon almost looks like a gateway straight to the princely apparition himself. Spinning around in his right hand it stops before he launches himself into the air and lands between Elric and Dropper.

Upon touching the floor Noir raises his empty left hand and his pocket dimension opens releasing a torrent of blood and limbs. None of this seems to faze the expert, who is about to cast his final spell. Nothing until the unattached head of his son Eric washes up at his feet, his lifeless eyes staring toward his father with a grey expression of bewilderment. The sickly visage of his son's corpse causes the Categoriser to become hysterical.

The short period is all that is needed.

From behind the mortified Categoriser, a fine silver arc is all that can be seen and forms a crescent from left to right. The beautiful colour from nowhere severs the head of the immobile Expert in the same fashion as the one causing its own distress.

The head spins through the air before landing amidst the rest and Carrie exits the shadow of Ali's home whilst returning her blade to its sheath.

"Master, we came as soon as we heard you." Hearing her cold tone, which matches the icy visage she presents, releases me from what remains of my rage.

Abi!

Me!

After seeing the familiar script of my trusty companion the red mist sinks back into the floor of my dungeon and the black overcast clouds slowly dissipate once more revealing a beautiful blue sky.

I'm so happy you're back, Me. I'll never be mean to you again I promise.

No. It's my fault for not realising the Expert could paralyse us as well as your monsters.

With the return of my companion and more of my sanity I find myself utterly happy. More so than I have been on any other single occasion so far during my second life. Even with the joyous feeling I still can't shake the small amount of shock that clings on to me.

It was good, then terrible, before it was over.

Just like that.

A single strike from Carrie was all it took to end the terror of death that had invaded me, putting an end to my immediate problem. Noir, for how amazing he looked arriving from nowhere, served as the ultimate distraction, releasing a torrent of blood and bisected body parts made up of the accompanying men that Elric had arrived with.

My shock is because I've had my fair share of battles and even some harrowing escapes, so I know how difficult of a task I have set the created beings of my dungeon. Yet, they surprise me at every turn. I'm worried over what repercussions The Expert's death will bring. The fact that Carrie finished him off with a single blow is fighting off my fear and replacing it with hope.

Not the previous hope I had clung to, the one with a halfassed strategy built on wishes and promises. It's a new type of hope, based on the strength I have just witnessed firsthand from one of the people I summoned myself.

If all my Rogues grew to Shadow Walkers, or even better, then I might not have to worry about the next time someone comes knocking to give me a classification.

Next time?

Shit!

Katrina!