Zen and Ang are enjoying afternoon tea on the porch of the townhouse, discussing dungeon and religion together as though they're one interwoven subject.

Avos is inside, lecturing the new priests. He has taken it upon himself to teach them the ways of their lord. Staring through the window as he sips his tea, Zen thinks back to when Avos was summoned.

The Dungeon Disciple didn't take charge over the Shed of Salvation, nor did he claim a higher position of power over the two Acolytes. He could have done due to his status as a second tier being but instead, he only wished to help Zen and Ang guide others in any way he could.

Shortly after Katrina had prayed with them during her tour, the three dungeon worshipping priest's sat down to hold a meeting. The subject of the matter, the visitors that had yet to come.

None of them want to fail the creator, the one who granted them life, so what had originally started as meeting, turned into an eight hour long debate. As the meeting showed no signs of stopping, as the three worshippers couldn't agree on certain topics, Me eventually stepped in and put it to rest.

If they do not want to pray, then you cannot force them. No, you cannot lock them in as that will end up escalating to violence. With them just being here, that will provide Abi with DP which in turn will help her grow. All you have to do, is preach. That's it. If anyone converts over, I'm sure Abi will be thrilled.

Those were the words the Prophet Me spoke to the priests.

The one after God.

To them, he is the one who speaks in God's ear. The one who holds the most sway over her decisions. Certainly not a being they would wish to be on the wrong side of.

Not that they would ever find themselves in such a predicament. Abi is their creator and they would lay down their life if asked to do so, in service of the one who gave it so freely to begin with.

Not out of compassion, the way Noir would be characterised as doing so if such an act occurred. For them, it would be an act of pious belief with fierce reverence for their creator.

With these thoughts in mind, he smiles at Ang. Neither one says a word as they drink their tea, enjoying the midday sun.

Dungeon Stories Volume 1

"I own this land now, Kat. That being said, if anyone enters unannounced, I'll know. You don't have to be afraid anymore," her eyes don't leave the ground as I try to console my new friend. I've never been the best with words though and situations like this are even trickier for me.

"Hey, did you know the mountain has pink trees growing on it? There are other colours too, but the pink trees are absolutely gorgeous, why don't you come check them out with me," trying to lure her out with the promise of colourful beauty doesn't work as Kat just stands there staring at the floor.

Hmm, what can I do to get her out, Me?

It might be better for you to not force her out. When she is ready, I'm sure she will let you know.

And there I was thinking you were going to say something silly.

Silly? Like what?

It doesn't matter.

That was actually some really good advice you just gave me, so we'll roll with that. Thanks, Me.

What did you think I would say?

Ignoring my partner, I tell Kat she can watch me from the entrance and then float out as far as I can. I'm doing this to better understand the boundaries of my new area as I go around each side. The plot of land turns out to be roughly the same size as the large room the system granted me for my first floor.

For 1000DP, I thought I would have gotten more.

With just a simple purchase, there have been many factors that have happened in the past few minutes that distracted me from something crucial. Something really important that I was thinking before I made the purchase.

Right now, I'm outside.

I'm actually under the rays of the real sun and I'm surrounded by nature. When I saw my dungeon before, the jaw dropping sight of it overtook the initial thrill of being outside.

It's so beautiful.

You do have a tendency to be distracted by anything you deem to be beautiful.

That... Is also true.

I'm trying to be better though.

You sat in your Core room for five hours staring at a Teddy that an old man used to pay his Syndicate contract with.

I... Well... In my defence, that teddy is adorable, Me. It's got those little stubby ears and a cute button nose.

Quite. Now how about continuing with your purchases.

Ok. I assume that the same rules apply out here as inside, right?

We shall find out.

What?

That doesn't inspire much confidence, Me.

You are going to build the feature regardless of what I say. I did tell you that no dungeon has ever acquired land outside of themselves before. This process itself is brand new so no knowledge has been gathered on what it can or cannot do.

I listen to Me's explanation whilst swapping my viewing mode to calculate the total cost of what I want to do.

OK, I know what I'm doing.

I move the pond from next to the park on my first floor to the left of my entrance, starting small just in case. Once it has been placed down, everything seems fine and I try to remove it from the new spot. It easily detaches from the floor which magically fills itself in, this means that I can move features around out here with no problems and the same rules do still apply.

That was a good idea, Abi.

Hehe. I do have them sometimes, Me.

I place the pond back inside and return to my entrance where Kat is still waiting patiently.

"What were you doing with the pond?" she looks generally curious as to why I would bring it outside just to take it back in.

"I wanted to make sure that if I placed a feature or building down, that I would still be able to move it afterwards. At some point when I have lots of buildings I'm going to have to have a reshuffle. The amount of times I swapped things around when I only had one floor was quite shameful. I couldn't stick to a decision," I announce my shortcomings as a dungeon, knowing that it's better to learn from mistakes than to act as though they never happened.

"That's an amazing idea, Abi and don't worry. You had only just become a dungeon when you had one floor, right? I'm sure anyone would make a lot of mistakes in that situation," her kind consoling words serve to soothe my soul and I'm reminded of how happy I am that she decided to stay with us.

"That's true," I begin whilst thinking about how often I changed Trixie's location on my first floor. "But, I should have listened to Me more. I was irrational and upset about losing my body at first but over this last week, I feel as though I've been coping much better."

Hysterical, would be a better choice of words. Or Denial.

"Haha, okay Mr Smartypants. Anyway, you just watch from here Kat, I'm going to go do my thing." With that said I float back outside to finally begin my work.

Hehe, outside.

Let's start with the earliest features I've unlocked and have yet to place. We'll make our way down the list from there, okay partner?

Sounds perfect.

That said, Me brings up a separate feature list, made up entirely of buildings I have yet to construct.

Seeing the prices of most features sitting below the 100DP mark makes me once more feel flush with points, even after the land acquisition. Knowing how fast it can be spent though, I decide to allocate half of my remaining points for out here.

The first purchase I make is The Forgotten Farm. A Poorly constructed wooden house forms into appearance. It's missing the front door and some wooden planks from its structure. I placed it to the left of my entrance further past where I had tested the pond. It's almost in the corner of my new boundaries. A square patch of dark soil has been overturned by the side of the house for crops but it seems infested with bugs that are likely to kill off anything grown in there. All in all, a shoddy house and a half built fence are all I earn from the 80DP feature.

Good thing I'm not leaving it at that.

After a quick upgrade it becomes the Forlorn Farm and the small crappy home now looks more habitable. A disjointed porch has been attached out front and a wonky shed has been added to the side of the house for tools and other such farming equipment. The square patch of soil now features hardly any crop eating insects and has grown to twice its original size.

Not looking too bad, I decide one more upgrade is in order as I can only afford to bring one of the new builds out here to level 3, so why not this one?

Field of Fertility:

Long lost cultivation methods can be found in this flourishing field so long as a farmer is present to discover and utilise them

Unfortunately you do not have a farmer to work these lands

Reward:

32 XP

The field has doubled in size again and the soil itself looks spectacular. I'm not quite sure how it's giving off that effect but it feels comforting just staring at it.

The wooden house, or stone cottage as it now appears, has morphed into a completely different building. It now looks homely and inviting after a full repair. The shed has increased in size and the wood it is made from has become hard as stone on. A large iron lock has formed on the door to keep it protected from itchy fingers. All other accompanying features have been added to make the house a home for when I can add a farmer to it.

I could just try a regular Rogue here but I suspect Noir and Carrie will be back soon with good news on that front so for now I'll make a start on a few other townly buildings.

In opposite corners to the Field of Fertility I place more new features in each. On the opposite side of my entrance, as far off as I can, I place the Forgotten Forge. I know I can create my own weapons but my variety is pretty limited at the moment. I'm strongly hoping that if I 'don't' supply the materials to creations made in the forge, then I should be able to absorb the weapons created there for extra DP and to increase my own wares. It's a win-win situation right?

Where will you acquire the materials to make said creations though?

Well Me, it just so happens that I will be leaving the handling of that situation to the future me.

She can deal with it tomorrow, or the day after. Either way, it's out of my hands now.

The forge, if it can even be called a forge, looks like the pond used to do when it was still my crappy well. A small stone cylinder has risen from the ground. It has a hole in the front and inside it holds a pot of molten liquid. A small unhelpful-looking fan is attached to it in the ground and a rusty old anvil is sitting in front. It looks by the far, the worst forge I have ever seen.

It's a good thing that you can upgrade your features.

Haha. I was just thinking the same thing.

In one of the two furthest corners I place the Cramped Coop. Again, I know I can just create my own livestock but I don't want my people to rely on me for everything. If I can set this place up to be self-sufficient then that also means I'll spend less DP in the long run. The Coop is nothing special either and it didn't even come with chickens. What sort of shit is that? I paid 80DP for a wooden shack smaller than the Shed of Salvation used to be and I didn't even get a single chicken.

In the last corner, the one opposite the Field of Fertility, I place two matching builds. The Stark Stable and The Hay Bale. These tier one features never fail to let me down as they both look exactly as they sound. A solitary bale of hay is sat beside two walls and a roof with not a horse or post in sight.

"Are you joking?" I shout at 160DP's worth of shit. "This better damn well change into something a lot better, System!"

I don't know why you still try to communicate with her. She cannot answer back no matter how hard you want her too.

From behind me I can hear Kat laughing away. As I turn around she is pointing and laughing whilst Ali's eyes dart from side to side, trying to land anywhere but the last two features I placed.

"What's that supposed to be," she calls out before bursting into another bout of laughter.

"You may laugh now, but one day that will be the best hay anyone has ever seen. I swear to the gods," declaring my future prize-winning feature I float into my home in a slight huff.

Stupid hay bale.