Over the past week, the Acolytes and Disciples have seen a huge boost to their attendance numbers at religious events with the migration of all Varona's new residents.

To be honest, even though they look like the real deal, the only thing these religious zealots are pious over is the dungeon itself. Their sermons differ greatly from that of any other faith on Tironia and the only creator mentioned in their holy book is the Goddess Abi.

The stories they preach tell of how a new dungeon will rise above all others. One that is destined to be designed with the sole purpose of bettering humanity. Little do the flock know that they're already living on said dungeon's grounds which are still in its trial period.

One afternoon, in the beautiful flower garden of The Townhouse of Tribulation, one such story is being told by the latest introduction to the clergy, Cardinal Carn. As he is explaining how fighting inside a dungeon will still be necessary to acquire levels, he's interrupted by one of the latest additions of the congregation.

"Will people still die in the dungeon?" The man's question isn't without merit. The general population of Tironia are taught to be cautious of dungeons from a young age.

In human societies dungeons are regulated and controlled by the higher powers just as any other valuable asset would be. If a dungeon is classified to be a danger to society then they are destroyed with extreme prejudice instilling the idea that dungeons are to be feared.

"Of course the dungeon might still end up killing people. They create monsters for people to defeat so that they can earn levels in return. If you don't pay enough attention or you're reaching above your limitations, then there will always be casualties. Dungeons kill people, especially those that throw caution to the wind. It's a natural fact. Yet so does water and people still venture out into it for food and monetary gain. The world creates dungeons for a singular reason, that reason is for you. It's all so that the people that enter them may grow stronger and reach the heights that they dream of..." Stopping short of revealing some major secrets, Cardinal Carn hands the session over to Disciple Avos so that he can reflect on his emotional speech.

If any other city had these heretical dungeon lovers in, there's no doubt they would be executed swiftly to stop wandering minds. Luckily, they were created by Abi and the place they preach in is safe from incidents such as those.

Dungeon Stories Volume 2

Following the advice of Mayor Kana, I upgraded the Black Barracks and placed a copy in the centre of the city. It's not as though I need the feature outside per sé. This decision was made solely to alleviate the worries of Varona's citizens. Even though my crime rate is at zero, for some reason they keep complaining to the mayor about not having regular guard patrols.

However, after growing up in a rough city myself, I understand where they're coming from. Even though I don't personally need the building outside my mountain, I still complied with their wishes cause that's just who I am.

I'm definitely not over here avoiding the awkward situation that arose due to my recently-resurrected friend in Tilly's clinic, that's for sure.

I mean, it's only right to say that I've got to get on with building and keeping my DP farm running, right? I don't want to be a neglectful Dungeon Core.

The fact that Anya's eyes lit up bright yellow before she started speaking some weird, disjointed language certainly didn't influence my decision to rush off and get on with Mayor Kana's city-improvement requests. She does have a lot of them after all.

Either way, I ignored the problems regarding mages because obviously there's always more than one problem. I'm now standing in front of what used to be The Black Barracks wondering if I'm just being tormented with names by The System.

Seriously! Mayor Kana can get away with telling people they're safer now that they've got the building they asked for, but when she tells them what it's called I doubt they'll still be feeling safe afterward. It will probably get even worse once the news of the mages' specialties get out. What am I going to do?

We're going to have to lie about this building's name.

From an outside view, the magnificent building that stands as a deterrent to crime and wrongdoings is majestic and imposing. The towers that stand at each corner of the building are now larger than ever and stretch up to the sky. Easily twice the size of its previous-self and no longer midnight black, the tall building now shines white, conforming to the colour standards of the majority of its peers. A golden shield is hung above the entrance, advertising that the role of the building is defence.

Everything is perfect except the name!

It's quite fitting once you've looked inside.

That's not the reassuring image I'm trying to portray though, Me.

Inside the tower, as Me so accurately pointed out, is the source of the name that's causing me so much anguish. Every possible device or means that a person could possibly imagine to torture information out of another can be found already assembled and neatly placed inside one-of-the-four pristine towers.

The Black Barracks has been upgraded to The Towers of Torture:

The reputable defenders that operate this building will protect the dungeon until their dying breath with a fortitude shown by no others across the land

Any Dungeon Resident that is set to this building will gain an additional 25% boost to each stat

Any interrogations carried out within the towers have an additional 50% chance of succeess

New features have been unlocked:

Large Customisable Banners: 20DP

Decorative Shields: 20DP

Customisable Torture Equipment: 50DP

Add inf:

Good luck Abi x

And what the hell is that about at the end!?

Why is she offering me good luck on torturing?

You may need it in the future.

Luck on torturing? I can't deal with your jokes right now, Me.

Sticking to script, I throw all my unsolvable, unhelpful and unneeded problems into the deal-with-later pile. That list gets bigger by the day and at some point soon, I'll have to deal with the accumulated frustrations that I've decided to overlook.

Why can't life be simple?

OK. We can't call this place 'The Towers of Torture' can we? I dread to think how the residents would react to it. The Black Barracks is also out of the question. Now that all the brickwork has turned white, we can't keep calling it that now, can we?

What about The White Barracks?

Hmm. It just doesn't roll off the tongue. To be honest, The Towers of Torture actually sounds quite sweet as far as names go, it just doesn't match the peaceful vibe I've got going on. I need a name that makes people feel safe. One that inspires defence against potential enemies. Not one that makes them think that the guards will come for them whilst they sleep to brutally pry information out of them.

Crap!

The only names I'm coming up with now all have the word 'white' in as well.

The ghostly-cogs inside my mind speed up, increasing my processing power as I concentrate hard on my dilemma. Unfortunately, I'm still left with nothing.

If the System picks names out of my head, then why am I finding it so difficult? Is it because I'm feeling self-conscious over my naming-skills now that there are a lot of people living here?

The pressure.

Even if I decided to go with Me's suggestion, I couldn't feel any worse than how I do over other features.

I swear it better make my mounts ten-times faster, or make them able to fly, or some shit like that.

I'm assuming we're back on the topic of the Hay Bale?

Yeah. Sorry. It frustrates the hell out of me, you know?

Oh. I know. At some point you will try and upgrade it again though and it may finally change at that time.

It's not likely.

Which part do you mean?

All of it. I'm going to use the fields to feed the animals in the stable and chalk The Hay Bale up to a colossal failure.

Really!?

No! But I really want to! I just want it to change!

I slightly lose grip over my emotions and frustration seeps out in the form of Dungeon Mist. A scarlet haze blankets my town subtly and the sunset tints the sky a rose hue before I rein my emotions back in. All the while hoping no one panics over the strangely-timed phenomenon.

Looking upon the barracks once again, the shield above the door catches my eye and I decide to use it as the basis for a name.

The Shield.

Is that what we're going with?

Yeah. It will do for now as well. With the amount of problems that I'm avoiding, I suppose I should start working through some of the easier ones.

Hana and Mira are more than capable of managing security without my supervision, which in turn frees me up to work on my Mage problem.

Looking at the specialities of the Mages, Arch Mages, and Magus on my overview screen, I let out a groan. Their magical abilities, stats and general parameters are not a cause for concern. The Arch Mages and Magus' would probably be able to beat Kal in a feat of strength if he were still alive. It's oddly surprising seeing as how spell casters are generally weak in terms of physical strength. If anything, I couldn't be happier with their stats, especially my best-friend Anya's. Even without a specialisation and the boost the guild provides, she's leagues above my previous summons.

This is also a slight cause or concern because I'm not sure how she ended up so strong, but it's still not the problem that I'm referring to. No, the issue that's running through my mind is that every single spell-caster that has entered the Mages Guild to undertake the specialisation test so far, have all left the room as Necromancers.

Masters of Black Magic and rulers of the dead are the only Mages I seem to be allowed. The thought of Anya taking her test worries me as it's highly likely she will end up with the same class. I've got my fingers crossed that I'm wrong, but whenever I hope something will happen it generally goes the opposite way.

Maybe I should hope she becomes a Necromancer? No, I'll be more annoyed if it actually happens then.

Teleporting to Tilly's Clinic, Anya is no longer speaking in a strange-tongue and she is sitting on the sofa sipping tea rather peacefully. She looks as though she would handle meditation much better than I do and just seeing puts my mind at ease.

Tilly on the other hand is glaring at me as though I'm the Demon Lord. Almost as if she's learned dungeon mist, a red aura is surrounding her as she stomps towards me. It's to be expected that she's a bit pissed. I did dump the task of calming-down, explaining the situation and reassuring, Anya, solely in her lap.

"How dare you disappear on me like that!?" she shouts. Anya almost spills her tea in shock at Tilly's sudden outburst.

"I'm sorry, Tilly. I had to... deal with a problem." I cover for myself with the weakest lie in the world, Tilly rolls her eyes and sighs.

"I'm not cut out for whatever that was! I don't even know what you did. You just... created a person. Right there! How did you even do that?"

I barely even register Tilly's question as Anya has my full attention. She looks as though she has seen a ghost, which I suppose is the truth under the current circumstances. Literally and figuratively. Better the ghostly visage of her best-friend than the oddly-suspicious, orb of green light I was before though I suppose. Anya doesn't seem to possess the same sentiment that I do for my Spiritual Presence and instead has turned white at the sight of me.

"So... Uh... Hey," I smile and wave.

Screaming loudly before jumping behind a-still frustrated Tilly, Anya peeks around her body to get a second look at the ghost in the room.

"Huh? A-Abi?" Not daring to come out from behind Tilly, Anya begins to cry as her memories return like a flood.

"Kal!?" she asks and curses at the same time.

Seeing me must have triggered them somehow, not that I know for certain but it seems like a good guess.

"A-Abi, what's going on? Are we dead?" Dropping to her knees the shock of everything that's happening is too much for Anya to process.

The eyes I give Tilly say 'I thought you dealt with this shit?' as I crouch down next to the person I started my adventures with in what really is such a long time ago. I can't help it as my own tears begin to fall and I smile through them happily at Anya, happy that I have my friend back. In that moment, the only thing I'm releasing through my will is pure unrequited love and everyone feels it.