[Processing... Complete. Analysis results: Indeterminate.]

Yet again, the mysterious material resting on the dais before the massive, floating, black crystal evaded examination. Somehow, this silver, magical residue was unidentifiable.

[Beginning thorough examination... Percent completion: 0.01%]

The examination began in the background, while the examiner turned its attention to the creature that had come limping back into the entrance of its territory.

[Individual identified: C-G0735-P0105-U0017. Common Distinction: Serpopard. Memories Processing: Complete. Objective Status: Mostly complete. Survival rating: 1/43.]

[Dungeon Marianna Response: Above average, within calculable parameters. Evaluation: Abnormal. Threat level: Almost Nonexistent. Countermeasures Undertaken: Non-Resident Manipulation, Offensive Unit, Defensive Stimulus.]

[Evaluation of retrieved article: Complete.]

[Article identified: Corpse. Article Ownership: D-G3943-P0011-U0001. Common Distinction: Ratman. Unique Identifier: Miradeen. Corpse Consumption: Initiated. Percent Complete: 0.3%. Expected Duration: 00:01:39.]

The crystal spun, pulsing with a dark light, or perhaps absorbing the light in the room. The serpopard before it shrunk back, but did not dare leave the room without dismissal. The taciturn voice echoed in his head.

[C-G0735-P0105-U0017, common distinction serpopard, your mission status is: Complete. Rewards determined: Unique identifier, biological enhancement. Reasons: Superior intelligence, mission success, individual tactic enactment, accomplished goal.]

The crystal pulsed more, as it began to rotate rapidly. The serpopard shrunk back further, pressing hard against the shadowy ground. It didn't know what to do, but it hadn't been dismissed, and trembled before the huge black mass.

[Initiating morphological upgrade...]

A massive beam of tinted light rained down from high above the serpopard, encasing it. Now, the beast tried to run away, against its better judgment. A secondary beam of red light pierced the darkness, striking the creature, and suspending it under the chilling onyx waves.

Then, with bubbling skin and fluttering heart, it began to change. And the freezing voice of Dungeon Cordon, the black crystal, blasted through its mind.

[C-G0735-P0105-U0017, common distinction serpopard, new characteristic applied. Unique identifier: Sett. New Objective: Corruption or domination of Dungeon Marianna. Alternative resort: Obliteration. Secondary Objective: Torment seditious Ratman population.]

Wales crashed through the doors of the temple, riding the torium like a horse. It'd hissed when Wales commanded it as his mount, but he ignored the frightening demon's complaints. He needed to return to the capital as quickly as possible, and the creature could move far faster than he. Karla rested limply against his chest as Wales halted the torium before the very priest that had sent them on that damned mission.

"Wales?!" the man shouted as he waved away the temple guards who eyed the torium warily. "What nonsense is this? Rushing in here like a dragon's hunting you!"

The guards reluctantly lowered their blades and backed away.

"No time!" Wales shouted. "Save her!" He jumped down from the large feline demon and carried Karla towards the altar.

The priest noticed her deathly pallor and swiftly cleared the top of the altar of clutter. The blonde man rushed forward, laying her gently atop it as she shuddered.

"You'll be okay, Karla," he murmured, moving a fiery-red hair away from her closed eyes. "We're going to save you."

Her face was cold, her breathing weak, and she merely moaned quietly in response. Wales showed the man the bleeding wound he'd tied off.

The priest waved his hands above her, incanting in a low tone. His hands glowed yellow, and his eyes shot wide open.

"The wound? Where did it come from?" He pulled a knife from under the altar and cleanly removed the bandage, holding his hand over the leather which clung tightly to the woman's toned thigh. Applying pressure as he cautiously examined the sliced limb, the priest ran his other glowing hand down her body.

"A hydra, I think. But nothing like I've ever seen before. I only noticed the wound after we got away, and she fainted." Wales leaned over her, staring down at her distressed face. The priest rubbed his clean hand down his face.

"I won't deceive you Wales. She's been poisoned, and it's quite potent. I don't know if there's much I can--"

"DO WHAT IT TAKES!" The blonde man screamed, spittle flying as he grabbed the priest's robes in his fists. He pulled him close and hissed, "Whatever it takes."

The priest nodded, and Wales shoved him away, returning to Karla's side. Then, the priest grabbed his emerald-tipped staff, which lay across one of the front pews, and channeled as Wales glared daggers at him.

"Dear Arasil," he began, closing his eyes in prayer. "Let this poor maiden walk as you once did, in the valley of the healed. Gift her the strength of a hundred of your flock, and the vitality of your guardians. Let her not wilt as a flower does in its time of dying, but bloom as it does in spring, if you'll hear this humble servant's prayer. Please, Arasil, enlightened one, see her not into the clutches of death, but stave off its impending grasp. This, Arasil, I beg of you."

Karla's body glowed green, and the suffering in her face eased. Her shuddering lessened, and the complexion returned to her face.

A smile painted Wales' face as he gazed at his healing friend. He grasped her hand firmly.

"You can't die yet, Karla. You haven't paid me for winning our bet."

The blonde man glanced at the exhausted priest.

"Thank--" he began before a frothy cough interrupted him.

Karla began to shake. Her body flailed as she seized, far worse than anything Wales had yet seen from her. He grasped her shoulders to hold her down and shouted at the wide-eyed priest.

"No! Do something!"

The priest began incanting once more, but before he could exert his magic, the seizing body before him stopped moving. The ranger's eyes were open, foam drooling from her mouth as she stared blankly up at Wales.

"No..." he muttered. "No. No! NO!" He drew his sword, hurling it across the room. It slammed into the wall, vibrating intensely.

"Agh! She can't die!" He yelled. "She can't die!"

The priest reached forward to place a hand on Wales' shoulder.

"I'm sorry. Not even our god could save her."

The blonde warrior whirled around, rage burning in his eyes.

"You think I care for your apologies?!" he hissed. "What I care about is the dead friend lying on your altar!" He turned, slamming his fists on the marble altar beside her, breathing heavily.

Then, fractures appeared in the rangers body, and she shattered like glass. The pieces slowly drifted upwards towards the temple's roof as Wales shouted "No!", trying to grab them. And they faded away into the radiant light shining through the massive windows.

And Wales fell to the floor, screaming in sorrow and rage.

"Arasil has taken her..." the priest whispered in awe.

Timothy stared at the man who'd reappeared at the store. Delaney, apparently. His mother had informed him that he was the man overseeing the investigation into his manager's disappearance. She'd been gone for four days, and nobody had made any progress regarding her disappearance.

Timothy wondered if Detective Delaney thought he had something to do with her going missing. And if he thought about it, it sort of made sense. Who else really ever came to the store regularly enough that they might be able to avoid the security camera? Plus, he was a genius, so it made sense if he'd been able to loop the camera or something along those lines. At least, that's what the police would think, but Timothy didn't know that.

Then again, if they knew how smart he really was, there was no way they'd believe him, right? He'd have to know.

He started to sweat, watching Delaney casually browse the shop in his pinstriped suit. Timothy wished he'd just leave.

Then Delaney turned his way, carrying a box of Berry Berry Dairy Cherries and a can of Barty's, the brand on the truck that almost killed him. Timothy figured Delaney was probably only shopping to fool him into thinking the man was just there to buy something.

"So I gave quite a bit of thought to your response last time I was here..." the man told the boy at the counter. "You said that, given the choice between hero and dungeon, you'd prefer to be the dungeon, yes?"

Timothy nodded as he scanned the cereal. "Right."

The man smiled. "Well, I can't really seem to accommodate that, however, what if you were able to have the best of both worlds? Both human and dungeon?" He ran a hand down his tie, watching Timothy put the box in a bag.

The boy was confused about what any of this had to do with his investigation, and looked at the man oddly. He assumed Delaney was just trying to get into his head, and make him confess to something he had no part in. Tim wouldn't let him.

"Sure, you mean like a Dungeon Master sorta deal?"

The man pursed his lips, and tapped his chin before nodding. "Yes, I suppose that's an apt way to describe it. How would you like to be one of these... Dungeon Masters?"

Timothy smiled. "Well, I love strategy games, and if I'm getting the "best of both", whatever that means, I'd love it!"

Delaney slowly grinned, and Timothy's vision went black.

The message hovered idly in Mari's vision as she read it.

Core Marianna Alert

You have reached Dungeon Core Tier 3.

Hmm, she thought. Could this have to do with consuming a few serpopard corpses?

Marianna had received an alert after the battle that her 'stomach' was running low because of constant energy expenditure, and when she'd asked one of her denizens what a dungeon usually eats... Well... The answer hadn't been pleasant.

But, she sucked it up, knowing she would probably never let herself starve like when she first became a dungeon.

And the serpopards were disgusting. They tasted oily and rubbery. And it was weird for Mari to experience because while she distinctly remembered the Red Core tasting delicious, she still didn't think her metaphysical body should've been able to taste anything.

Oh yeah, Mari recalled. The Red Core was definitely only half-eaten last time... I could've just consumed that... Well, I guess I'll have to remember that for next time...

Mari swapped her viewports to the Overseer that was, well, overseeing her new experiment. Everybody had been terribly shaken by the attack by Cordon, and Miradeen's loss had really thrown the Ratman populace into quite the chaos. Terash had healed up well enough that he could limp around the dungeon, and in the last couple days, he'd really stepped up. Without him, the other rats would probably still be lost. Especially since Baruk and Yeshi healed especially slowly for some reason.

She wasn't sure they'd make it. But there wasn't much she could do. Verax, the rat working at the Research Root, was tending to their wounds, but Mari wasn't sure how they could survive with no medical equipment or a healer. Miradeen was gone. That damn serpopard had even gotten away with her body in the chaos after her death.

But Mari wasn't going to let the serpopard just leave without any consequences. She was going to follow it. No matter what it took.

And that led to her new experiment.

She hadn't had time to let herself sink into depression this time. Instead, Mari felt a calm fury running like ice through her. She somehow processed the casualties easier with the rage, so she let it flow, and directed it into her actions.

There were a few notifications that greeted Mari after the tier upgrade, and she read them, processing each until the idea popped into her mind.

Core Marianna Alert

As a Tier 3 Dungeon Core, you may now use the special spell 'Solid Manipulation'. In addition, 'Possess' has been upgraded. You've gained a larger energy cap of 1500 (1300 + 200), increased energy regeneration (30 per minute), and increased magic affinity.

Core Marianna Alert

Skill Upgrade: Possession

You may take control of a creature you own. While you inhabit the body, you and the possessed creature will both receive increased reflexes and a large physical enhancement.

New Cost: 5 mana per second

Core Marianna Alert

New Skill: Solid Manipulation

At the cost of 1 energy per second, you can apply force to objects within your territory.

Warning: Certain items may resist movement more than others, requiring more time for the force to build up. Some items may not move at all.

So, Marianna was able to move objects with her energy... And certain ones moved easier than others. It basically sounded like the prompt was begging her to make wheels.

So she did.

Using excess ruby she had lying around, Mari crafted a design for a simple wheel, half-axle, and chassis. She wouldn't need a method to steer the vehicle if things worked out according to plan, and she assumed that shock absorption wouldn't be an issue either.

Mari finalized the design, the pieces showing up in the "Furniture" tab, which she thought was funny.

Then, she built the car. It was pretty simple. Ruby wheels attached to a ruby chassis which all surrounded her floating blue core.

She experimentally applied force to the car.

It rolled forward. And when the supports surrounding her core touched it, they pushed it forward effortlessly. It seemed like the design would work, for now.

She applied more force to the car, driving it forward through the dungeon, but crashed into the dirt wall.

Oh yeah, it was always weird to drive a remote-controlled car because of the third-person view.

Mari summoned Lazarus, one of her new Overseers, and planted him atop the front of the shiny red vehicle, maximizing his view. Then, when she realized she'd need to see behind her, she placed Octavia, another newbie, in the rear. Then, Mari created a thin layer of ruby covering for them both, like windshields, so they wouldn't be damaged by traveling.

She tried once more to apply force to the car, driving it through the dungeon while gaining speed. When she needed to turn, she could apply more force to one or two of the wheels to rotate them faster or slower as she required. It took some practice, but soon Marianna was gliding through the dungeon's halls, to the astonishment of several passing Ratmen.

The fury pulsed in her icy veins as she parked the car at the dungeon entrance. This was only the first step. With the current energy level she now had from ranking up to Tier 3, Mari could drive for an entire day without rest. And that was only if she constantly applied force to the car.

That was more than enough to satisfy her. And though the cold fury pulsed through her, Mari found herself able to wrily make a reference like cracking a mocking joke.

"Dungeon cores... roll out!"