In the end, Gem made six quests: two total for his two bosses, one for killing a certain number of mobs, two for conquering hidden rooms on the first floor, and one for looting a special item.

He didn’t have the item yet. Hadn’t spawned it in or added it to anyone’s loot tables. But that wasn’t because he didn’t know what it would be or didn’t have access to create it; it’s because he wanted it to be a drop for a rare mob.

A new Servitor.

Before making a new Servitor, Gem consulted with his wisp and first Servitor. Chesu was pleased with the idea of making another, but Shriek wasn’t. He didn’t see the necessity, especially since he spent such little time in the dungeon as it was.

“I could be that,” Shriek said with a preening ruffle of his petals. “Give me a chance and I could be the best rare mob this world has ever seen.”

Gem sent the Plantling an image of a smiling crystal.

Shriek hesitated, his head cocked to one side. “I guess not,” he said after a moment. “I enjoy what I’m doing now. Training the Plantlings to be a little more organized has been rewarding, and there is something comforting about being at the generators.” He looked away, but not before Gem noticed the disappointment in his body language.

Gem wished for a body so he could reach out and touch the little Plantling. Just the smallest bit of comfort. But, instead, he just sent another smiling image, this one with a bit softer of a smile.

“Do you know what mob you’ll use as a base?”

Gem hesitated.

“I have a suggestion then: don’t use a Plantling. As much as I am proud of my kind and we are humanoid and thus can use weapons and armor, two with intellect will be a bad idea. In fact, no two Servitors should ever be the same species. It will only cause conflict.”

“He’s right,” Chesu said with a yawn. “It’s just good advice all around.”

Gem thought, trying to keep the disappointment out of his mental voice.

Shriek nodded, his little petals bouncing with the force. “A good idea.”

It was a good idea, regardless of the potential for conflict. Diversity would keep Gem’s dungeon interesting, which was part of the reason why he’d spent so much effort gathering different blocks from the other floating islands, as well as different tree saplings.

There just weren’t any perfect options.

Gem opened his mob list and started pouring over his available mob types.

Chesu cleared his throat. “So, uh, what are you thinking?”

Gem looked up. At some point, Shriek had wandered off. He was down in the dungeon, harassing adventurers on the first floor, so it had been quite a while

“Sure, kid. Whatcha got?”

Gem flashed the first of three images at Chesu. It was a Dolve, although deep in his core, Gem thought this was the weakest option.

“But?”

Gem sent the wisp an image of a smiling core.

“Smart, kid.” Chesu nodded and motioned for Gem to continue. “Second option?”

Gem hesitated before showing Chesu the Flying Fox.

The wisp sucked air through his teeth. “I see.”

“But it’s already your second-floor Boss.”

Chesu rubbed at his chin in thought. “Well, kid, your instincts are good. It was my immediate worry, too. But it’s not a bad choice. Even some ways you could play it up, in lore. Now that you’ve got the quest board system, it’s quite easy to do that.”

“Fun? Excitement? The chance to give the dungeon delving Hero Cores something to be excited about?” Chesu laughed and shrugged in an exaggerated manner. “Like, no, no tangible benefits. But if you find yourself bored, something like that could make things more interesting. You’re a Dungeon Core; keeping things fresh will make you memorable and increase your happiness over time.”

Gem mulled over for a moment before dismissing the idea. The world was ending and he still had so much to do. Perhaps after Ruxium was saved he could invest the time to create some actual narrative with his quests.

If they survived.

With a mental sigh, Gem presented Chesu with the last option.

The wisp stared at the image for a long moment.

Then he looked back to Gem.

To the image.

“I’m not sure if I’m having a stroke or if you’re a genius.”

Gem sent the wisp a grin.

“I don’t smell toast so I’m ninety percent sure it’s not a stroke… but Gem, buddy. Kid. You can’t just spring this type of thing on someone without a little warning. Your other options were… so measured. Normal. This is…”

Chesu nodded. “Incarnate.”

Gem sent another grinning image, but this one was a bit more manic. Gem shook the image that was still in front of Chesu.

“I have no idea how it’ll react to a Hallow Heart. Or being a Servitor.”

Gem sent the wisp a new reaction image. This was of a core with long fingers steepled in front of a face draped in shadow, a hidden grin peeking out from behind the hands.