I've definitely got a problem and it's nothing new or even serious at this stage, but it's a problem nonetheless. After running away from Edwan's talks of royalty, I needed to do something to take my mind off his statement.

What did I do? I spent points as a means of R&R is what I did. Now, spending my points isn't the problem, it's the fact that I get distracted and lose track of time while doing so that gets me.

Then again, I did quite a bit this morning so it's easy to see where the time has gone. I started with the food production features, The Coop, The Shack, The Cow Pit, giving them all upgrades and increasing their output. I don't know why I started there, although I could probably attribute it to the whole once-upon-a-human thing.

After that, I built a wall. An actual fucking wall. One that encompasses the entirety of Varona and I even left room for growth. Although, it's not like its placing is permanent. Since it is custom built by the dungeon, a.k.a. me, I can move the construction whenever and wherever I want. The perks of being a core.

Now, I said I built a wall, and I did. But, it's not a very good wall. Not when compared to the mythril Sentry Towers anyway. No, the walls around my city are made of stone and cost me half a day's income to erect. No iron, no steel, no gods damn mythril and half my DP gone.

That was when I should have stopped. I was planning on it, but as I made my way through the streets my mind wandered to those that played a major part in the war. Light sprung to mind as always, but I had no idea what to give the Master Assassin as a reward.

With that in mind, I moved on to those I could reward. The dungeon Priests were on that list oddly enough. They had managed to defeat one of the eyepatch twins in a fight even though hardly any of their group had levelled up. In fact, it was only Zen, Ang and Cardinal Carn who put the time in at the Coliseum.

Ang is also known to frequent Veris at the Pleasure Palace, but that's neither here nor there. Although, you never know if that shit would help with levelling and I'm definitely not about to ask Veris the finer points of what happens when she does what she does. Either way, it's a good job the Priests won because I'm going to need them for what's to come.

Because they put forth such a good effort in the war and mainly because none of them are ready for evolution, I decided to upgrade the cathedral.

Grand Cathedral of Confession:

Alerting the world to your presence could be seen as a mistake and one that can not be taken back

Dungeon Priests can now bestow a minor dungeon blessing on those who wish for one

Dungeon Priests now earn xp from dungeon-related preaching

The faithful offer twice as much points to the dungeon if they pray once a day

Rewards:

32 XP

The reward seems paltry at this stage and I should ask Sis to stop showing them. To be honest, I could do without her snarky descriptions, too. All I really need was the benefits list.

Just like One For The Rogues', the Cathedral of Confession provided a boost to DP. As long as the members of the Priests flock to offer up a prayer on a daily basis, then I'll bank twice as many points from them as I was doing before.

The Priests' building grew in size and became more grandiose than any other religion-affiliated building I had ever seen. Marbled columns, way more than needed, I might add, were present in every room inside. Even a small one that served no purpose other than being in the way was present in the room Cardinal Carn would claim as his own. I couldn't even call it gaudy though as the small supporting column that wasn't supporting anything all, and every other individual piece of marble was absolutely beautiful. They were whiter than Veris' hair which I didn't even think to be possible, and the room that would house the congregation was huge. It was easily three-times the size of the hall the church had supported before, and I couldn't believe that the room actually fit inside the Cathedral.

After popping in and out a dozen times though, I was sure. There was some space magic in play somewhere. Sis must activate that stuff on her own because I don't remember putting in any extra effort when I was dishing out their reward. Not that I'm bothered by that. In fact, I'm hoping all my features end up with a similar feature. That would be awesome and is also something else I need to speak to Sis about.

During my trips in and out of the Cathedral, I noticed a lot of artwork and sculptures based on myself. Namely the sole statue in the entrance room that is basically a life-sized depiction of me.

I wanted to be angry, but I was secretly delighted. I wanted to shout at someone and make them take notice of it for a moment. I wanted to... alright I fucking liked it. What more do you want? It also fits into my goal of coming out and no longer posing as a human.

As I was gazing at the stone version of myself, I spotted Marie passing outside through the main door. My Space Mage was another person who did an amazing job during the battle and definitely needs some praise and recognition.

Rushing out of the cathedral and away from the statue of... myself, I called out to Marie and ran over. After a quick explanation, she looked ecstatic about being rewarded. Her joy was contagious, and I too was also caught up in her mood.

Until she told me what she wanted that was.

"I want to be a full-time member of the Syndicate," she grinned. My excitement disappeared right away

I can't say yes to that, can I? Who will teach Space magic at the Academy?

I'll think about it.

"But I need you, though, Marie," I pleaded. "In fact, as soon as you've trained three capable Space Mages to replace you, you can join the Syndicate. How's that?" I feel quite pleased with that. I came up with it on the spot after all and it solves the problem of her replacement on its own.

That said, I didn't feel like I'd rewarded Marie enough with just that. It felt more like I'd encouraged her to get on with what I'd originally wanted her to do. Unsure of what else to offer the Space Mage Syndicate lover, I give her a small piece of my fractured Core as a consolation. Before Colin could swallow up the chunk that had broken off when the triplets died, I stored that shit out of his reach.

I was curious to see what it would do to an actual person. I was also pretty confident they wouldn't die just from the contact. Most humans that absorb Dungeon Cores usually gain special powers from the process.

Even though it was only a fragment of my Core, the jade shard was bigger than your average Dungeon Core. The physical representation of my heart is much larger than it used to be and since I know I will heal over time, I don't mind sharing the pieces that broke off.

It's not like I can reattach them anyway.

Even though I didn't want to use Marie as a test subject, I was confident she would be ok. Producing a small green shard of my heart and holding it out, Marie went to take it from me curiously. The fragment began to glow the second she made contact with it and her body absorbed a part of me into itself.

"Will this make me an Assassin?" she asked. I could only sigh. I was expecting more. Something else. Nevertheless, she didn't undergo any changes like Colin did nor did she seem any stronger. If anything, I felt closer to my Space Mage than before, but that was it.

Hopefully it might help her teaching skills somehow. I'm praying that it does because I really want some more Space Mages.

"I'm not sure," I tell her honestly, "but it might improve your teaching skills. That way you'll get what you want quicker."

After considering my words, Marie decided to hold one of her rare classes to see if there have been changes like I said. She disappears to prepare, and I'm left on my own outside the Cathedral feeling a little blue.

It was only a white lie and she really might improve because of the Core fragment. Still, it left a sour taste in my mouth even though I wasn't technically lying. To be fair though, if Marie had put in the time and taught one class a day since her arrival, I would have loads of bloody Space Mages right now. Her classes are more elusive than I am when I need a break and happen once a fortnight if my citizens are lucky.

Taking a deep breath, I exhale and compose myself. There are still so many people to reward for their contributions. As I said before, though, I have a problem. The sun has risen high in the sky and I'm greeted by the arrival of a blasé Violet, a beaming Blondie and an absolutely furious Amber.

"Master! Do you know what time it is? How long I've been waiting? Or how much my tummy hurts?" Amber begins to sob and I'm taken back, regretting my decision to blow off steam by spending points. Worst of all, I didn't even do what I set out to do this morning. I made absolutely zero progress towards Ishda and instead built a wall that looks worse than most of the buildings that make up my city.

Stupid dungeon things.

"I'm sorry, Amber. I'll get you extra portions so you can fill up," the redhead perks up at my offer of apology, "and how are you four this morning?" Violet also takes interest as I included Bear in the conversation.

"We're fine, thanks." She smiles and scratches the top of the cub's head.

"I'm fine too, thank you. It's a beautiful morning today. How are you, Abi?" Blondie waits intensely to hear my answer, her eyes getting larger with each second that passes.

"That it is, and I'm good. Thank you, Blondie. Sorry I wasn't there when you woke up. I want to get my spending done before that so we can enjoy the day together." I explain as we head to the usual place. There are a lot of friendly waves and excited faces as we make our way down the high street.

Ali has many establishments around town, but I always like to eat at the building near the fountain in the center of Varona. Everything is close by if any needs arise and it's by far the best looking part of town. Some of my parks are pretty but the fountain is just beautiful. Surrounded by the guilds, council and a host of shops, it gets sunlight all day and is so peaceful you could sleep there.

A far cry from some other cities I know and have heard about.

Brunch came and went and Amber ate her fill. Blondie, Violet and Bear also ate a larger portion than usual but they did all skip breakfast due to an absent Master. I should tell them they don't have to wait for me to eat. Nobody else does. In fact, other than their day jobs, missions or on the spot delegations, my family members live a pretty ordinary life.

It's definitely a better life than I used to live, that's for sure. If I had a cushy life back then, I sure as hell wouldn't be a Dungeon Core right now. Not that I'm complaining as there's nothing I want more now than to stay as I am.

I can't believe myself when I say this, but I don't want to be a human anymore. If I was still a human then the triplets would have been gone forever. Hell, I would never even have known them.

Their smiles make me smile and their words fill my world with happiness. They're as much a part of me as I am myself. They're my everything just like the other oddballs that make up my family. From Me to Kat, Light to Veris and Anya to Becca, every one of them is eccentric in their own way. I only wished that one of them was an eccentric listener.