Sometimes there isn't that much to do in my dungeon, especially when my DP runs dry. Yet, whenever there is a task that requires my attention, there always seems to be a queue forming behind it.

This has become one of those times.

As I stare at the embedded remains of the elf down the street, I start with what I assume to be the quickest and easiest of the tasks I'll take on today. It also happens to be one that I've been waiting for so it has been automatically bumped up to the number one spot on my list.

I hit confirm on the blue-haired demon waiting in front of me and the evolution process begins. This might be the easiest thing I do today but my ghostly heart and jade-green Core beat in tandem at the prospect of Light's power level rising even higher.

After the light of creation recedes, the upgraded Rogue looks no different than before yet at the same time I feel winded. It's as though the air has been knocked out of me, even though I don't breathe.

What was that?

You have just used Divinities Creation.

What? How? Ah, crap. Nevermind, I've just remembered. Stupid Abi!

"Did it work?" I furrow my brow at the prospect of more wasted DP. Thoughts of the Hay Bale still linger in my mind as I examine Light's unchanged features.

"Yes, Master," placing his fist on his chest, Light bows to me and Sophie stays quiet by his side. It must be strange for her at the minute although when Light tells her what's really going on here, I doubt she will be phased by it.

She seems to have a one-track mind.

"Really? You don't look any different. What's changed?" As I call up his status sheet, Light lists the new tier 4 skills he has unlocked and I read through their descriptions at the same time. He also informs me that he has acquired a new set of armour which is safely stored away with his weapon and that it can be equipped in under a second if he needs it.

Sophie listens to his words in awe and I almost feel the same. Damn, he's cool. I'm not above admitting my jealousy over this situation but I really wish I could use some of the skills I've just read.

And I thought this was going to be quick and easy.

I could easily spend half a day thoroughly combing through Light's stats and skills but I don't have that kind of time right now. Not when there's more that needs my attention.

The remaining two women, which so happen to be one of the reasons that Divinities Creation was set off, have been moved inside the Retreat and are the next task that I need to attend to.

There were three women with the weak elf when they arrived but Carrie removed the head of the noisy one after her master's soul had left his body. With only two of his accomplices remaining, it's time to get some answers.

Both women have removed their hoods and I'm quite shocked to see that one's a human? I was honestly expecting it to be two more elves.

The human's wearing a Cleric's healing robe that has seen better days and is covered in dirt and mud. The elf beside her has a one-piece grey robe that would be better described as a sack. Her eyes and hair are crimson red, just like Noir yet she has none of his boisterous confidence.

"Why did you attack us?" I use my recently-upgraded Assassin to voice the question on everyone's mind and he directs it towards the remaining elf.

"We didn't. That bastard... Hiroshi. He killed my master and forced me to be his slave. He did the same thing to Tilly when we entered the Ishda province too," the elf motions to the blonde woman in tears beside her.

"He... He killed my... My friends. M-my party. I thought he was going to do the same thing to you. How... How did you beat him? How did you get so strong?" Drying the tears from her wet blue eyes, Tilly stares at Light curiously and catches the ire of Sophie in the process.

"Your sob stories won't work here! Answer my man's question. Why did you attack us?" making sure the female in front of her knows that Light is unavailable, Sophie pushes for an answer to my original question.

I knew I liked her, sticking to the point.

"We didn't attack you! Hiroshi did. He was getting stronger by absorbing the powers of dungeon cores that he was destroying. I'm pretty sure that's why he came to this town. He said that he would get more new abilities and stats here once he found the core," the elf answers instead and her words leave me speechless.

So he was like an elven Categoriser in a sense? Except he craved the dungeon's power as well as their destruction. What sort of shit is that?

I can't wait for the day when people turn up and don't want to kill me.

"Tilly, right?" Light asks the woman who has managed to get her tears under control.

"Y-yes, that's me," wiping her eyes again, she looks at the remaining elf beside her and forces a smile.

"The elf beside me isn't like the other two. Please... Don't kill her, Aura is really kind," New tears begin to fall as she pleads her case to Light, believing him to be in charge.

"Tilly! It's ok. After what we went through, death will be a release from the torment of life. The body's freedom is not the same as the mind's. You weren't... With him as long as I was and I...I-I Never liked men in the first place," the elf named Aura proclaims before breaking down into tears of her own. This in turn restarts Tilly's waterworks and the two hold each other as they cry.

I stand motionless as I'm at a loss for words. How do people who find themselves in the most unfortunate of situations manage to find their way to me? Luckily, Kat appears from nowhere, embracing both women at once tackling this problem for me.

"It's ok? Is that what you really think? Don't be ridiculous. People like us have to stick together. We can empower each other so that the next time some scumbag piece of shit tries something similar, we can smash their faces in instead!" Kat squeezes the girls tight and my mouth drops open at her violent words.

Where did that come from?

"Abi, please can I talk to these two alone?" I close my mouth as Kat is looking at me as though she is wanting for an immediate response.

"Er... Well... I suppose so? Do you need someone to go with you? Just in case?" Looking around the retreat, everyone is suddenly avoiding eye contact as no one wants to volunteer for the task I have made up on the spot.

"No, I'll be alright. Thank you, Abi. Come on girls, let's go somewhere more private. Talia, will you bring some drinks upstairs please? Is that ok?" Talia nods to Katrina who disappears upstairs with Tilly and Aura, as I glare at the unhelpful drinkers around the room.

"Big load of help you guys were," I call out jokingly only to earn the attention of Noir, who races over to me.

"Master! I am almost level 80! I can feel the power swelling inside me. It's almost ready to burst," I raise my eyebrows at Noir as Carrie appears from his shadow and places her hand on the shoulder of her forever-loud companion.

"Come. The Master is busy and you could do without a scolding for once," Carrie bows her head and pulls her partner through the shadows behind her, leaving me to move on to my next task.

The elf.

As I walk up the street toward the elf, I absorb the rubble around me clearing the path on the way. His body is still inside the wall of an empty building, lifeless and grey.

How many dungeons did he destroy?

I don't know. Maybe you can connect to them through him somehow.

How do I do that?

I don't know? It was just a suggestion?

We're forever in uncharted territory aren't we, Me?

You could absorb the body, as you usually would.

Setting the limits and exploring the unknown, that's us. Let's do this!

Psyching myself up, I touch the body of the dead elf instead of absorbing him but nothing happens. Not wanting to give up straight away, I try to remember what his will felt like when he first entered my dungeon. It's not too hard as it wasn't that long ago and the fact that it was maliciously sinister makes it harder to forget. He wanted to be at the top of the food chain and his will carried that sentiment with it.

Mixed in with that evil presence, were three smaller ones that went unnoticed until now. None have a will of their own anymore and instead they followed the host's commands unchallenged.

As I try to gain a better feel for the three residual souls inside the elf, I sense a sort-of kinship between us and I feel them slowly pull towards me. I watch in amazement as they leave his body in three distinctive colours. Red, brown, and green. I don't know how they managed to stay inside him, or how they didn't disappear, but as they slowly enter my ghostly body I'm extremely grateful they didn't.

New loot has been unlocked:

Refer to your system guide to view all... 873 loot items

New monsters have been unlocked:

Refer to your system guide to view all... 106 new monsters

New features have been unlocked:

Multiple scenery settings have been unlocked

Various floor templates have been unlocked

A large number of buildings have been unlocked

Please refer to your system guide to view all... 485 new features

Passive Skill Regeneration has reached... Error:

Calculating value based on multiple core levels/number of present core souls + level of current DP regeneration

Passive Skill Regeneration has reached Level 64:

DP has increased to a rate of 32 per hour

New skills have been acquired:

Temptress of the Wind

The Earth Sculptor

Forger of Fire

Error:

A new skill has been been acquired:

Soul Guide

I don't know what to say. Even though I sensed our connection, it's not as though I thought I was going to earn anything from them. Let alone the amount that I actually got.

Isn't that like cheating? Not that I'm complaining. If I thought I could spend a half day looking at Light's stats page, how long could I spend reading my own!?

I don't know what to say.

Ha. That makes two of us.

I was hoping you would be able to connect to their spirits and gain an insight into the lives of other Dungeon Cores. I did not expect you to receive the accumulation of their lives' work.

I wasn't actually expecting anything to happen. I thought the other Cores were long gone until I actually felt them.

Before I can remove my hand from the withered elf's chest, his body turns to dust and falls through my spectral palm. As the ashes of my opponent float away in the wind, I earn myself a nice peace of mind knowing that the one who killed the three cores that I absorbed is now gone from this world.

It's a shame his soul has already passed on. I could have used him as a test subject for the Soul Guide skill I just earned.

There's no way in hell I'll be trying that one on myself first. I'll try and get one of the Syndicate members to bring back a live subject before they execute him.

Wait a minute! I'm missing something here. What is it?

The elf's body is gone. Taken away by the winds of fate and so to is his soul. I stand there feeling confused until realisation dawns on me.

What happened to the insane amount of XP that I was supposed to receive? Light earned a ridiculous amount, so where's mine?

You didn't absorb the elf's body.

But... But... I got all those monsters and features and stuff. Why didn't I get the XP?

You connected to the remnants of the Core's lingering around inside the elf. In doing so, you acquired the monsters, features and skills that they had unlocked over the course of their lives.

Even though I earned an incredible boost to almost every aspect of my dungeon, I'm still wounded that I missed out on the tasty XP from the elf.

Who knows how much I could have gotten. Maybe the fact that three Dungeon Core souls were inside his body when he died was the reason Light levelled up so explosively. I could have really done with some of that.

It is a shame but you cannot let the loss stop you from moving forward.

Yeah, I know. Last thing we need around here right now is a wailing session.

"Noir, Carrie," calling the two Shadow Walkers that are closest to evolution, they appear from the shadows. Both salute and take a knee before Noir opens his mouth to speak. A quick raise of my eyebrow promptly closes it, which shows progress on Noir's part, and I explain what I called them for.

I want them to head into the woods around me and bring home a bad guy. I know the phrase 'bad guy' is a bit vague but I don't want them overlooking a thief because they aren't killing people. So bad guy is how I chose to describe the type of person I want for my experiment.

"The woods are actually quite safe Master. It may take a while but we will return as soon as we can. Come Noir," for the second time today, Carrie puts her hand on Noir's shoulder and they both disappear as Noir calls my name until the shadow-portal closes behind them.

I still can't believe I didn't earn any XP.

"I'm going to my tower. Call me if you need anything," I call out to no one, knowing that everyone of my family heard me, and float off to my futon in the academy tower.