As the days and weeks passed, Teaghan prepped for potential adventurers and started looking into some of the nuances of being a dungeon core.

There were a couple of things that did not add up to her. First of all, Teaghan thought that she would be more upset, confused, or just going slower than she actually is.

So Teaghan, for the first time, decided to take a good look at herself and her core. Not just a glance of how she and her core looked, but how she operated.

As she stared into her core, she got sucked into it and blacked out. When she woke up, she was in a clear, circular room, with one other person inside it, herself. It was like she was looking in a mirror, except this doppelganger was real.

When she stared at the doppelganger, she smiled and said, “It’s nice to finally meet you Teaghan.”

Confused about how she knew her name, Teaghan said, “How do you know my name?”

“Well, that’s easy,” responded the doppelganger, “I’m the other you.”

“The other me? What does that mean?” asked Teaghan.

The doppelganger smiled and said, “I’m the yin to your yang. I am the dungeon instincts to your humanity. I am the one that controls the basic elements of the dungeon, the things that you can not instinctively do. You can call me Lilith.”

Teaghan, while not fully getting it, felt that Lilith was a part of her. That Lilith and Teaghan were two halves of a whole. Two opposites that complement, complete and work together.

Teaghan, remembering that she did not know where she was, asked Lilith, “Where are we?”

Lilith smiled and said, “Where I was always, where we are destined to stay. The heart of our dungeon, our core.”

“Oh,” responded Teaghan,” Why did I not know about you? Why didn’t you tell me or pull me here?”

“You were not meant to. I was supposed to be the silent partner of our relationship, but you apparently did not know how to use your instincts, so here we are.” said Lilith splaying her arms out, gesturing to the room around them. “I can’t talk to you directly outside of the core like we are right now, but I can communicate to your mind. I will help you with the basic things that a dungeon should know and help you when I can. But sadly, it’s time for you to go back. Don’t worry though, I’ll always be with you”

After Lilith said this, Teaghan blacked out again.

-----------------

When Teaghan woke up, she was back in her dungeon. Wondering if it was a dream, Teaghan looked back at her core as if expecting it to say something.

« What are you staring at our core? » asked Lilith, « You should be working and not lollygagging around having fun. It’s time to get to work if we want to be prepared for invaders and adventurers. First, let’s improve on the floors you already have. I have some improvements and suggestions that you might like. »

With Lilith’s prompting, Teaghan started to improve and make her floors more precarious to go through.

« Why don’t you make a bear trap? » asked Lilith.

« How do you know about that? » said Teaghan glancing back at her core.

«I’m you silly,» responded Lilith « Of course I can see your memories from Earth. And the bear trap would be a great way to make the first and second floor more dangerous. »

Teaghan, using the iron that she got from the iron bits, crafted a bear trap. The bear trap consisted of two iron jaws with sharp spikes, two leaf springs, and a trigger in the middle. It was made so that when a person stepped on the trigger, then the trap’s jaws would snap shut on the leg. She placed this trap around the end of her first floor and her second-floor near areas of plants and mosses so that it would be hidden.

Teaghan also added more of the absorbed creatures from earlier into her dungeon. She added the serrated centipedes, black beetles and rats to the first floor. And then adding the outrey tarantula and rats to the second floor. But she did not stop there. Teaghan, in the hopes of adding more protection for her core, decided to experiment with the rat and tarantula.

She created a rat and tarantula in her mind’s workspace and saw that Lilith was there.

« What are you doing here, Lilith? » asked Teaghan.

Lilith smiled and said, « I can access and work in this space since we are now aware of each other. »

Teaghan, somewhat confused with this explanation, took it at face value and continued with what she was doing before.

Teaghan and Lilith worked on the rat first and created two different monsters: the giant rat and the maned rat. The giant rat is a rat around the size of a bulldog that had a keener smell, hunted in packs, and increased bite strength. The maned rat is a rat half the size smaller than the giant rat that consumes poisons from plants and uses those poisons into their own poison glands in their teeth and claws.

What they did with the tarantula was similar to what they did with the rats. Teaghan and Lilith made a larger type and a more venomous type of spider monster. The first type was a spider about the size of a poodle. They increased the legs, body and the length of its fangs, and lowered the toxicity, but increased the spider’s defences. This spider type, called the giant wolf spider, can climb difficult surfaces. It will hunt prey across open ground or hide in a burrow or crevice. The other spider type was made smaller than the outrey tarantula. While smaller, this spider had a more potent necrotic venom and a mastery of web making. This spider has the ability to know the exact location of any other creature in contact with the web and the ability to move around without movement restrictions caused by webbing.

Both Teaghan and Lilith agreed that the spiders would be a great addition to what they have planned for the third floor.