With the limited budget in hand, we managed to devise a perfect solution: All we did was to convert only one meter of the total five meters of height since there was no rule to convert all of them right now. This brought up the total cost to only about 2,500 CP, though this made the ceiling prone to collapse if something big happened, so it wasn’t a long-term solution.

In regard to making the second floor labyrinthine in nature, I’d designed a special application from my laptop. Thanks to this, I was able to make an extremely complex labyrinth that could further be expanded when necessary. Though Lorelei coldly glared at me for rejecting the design she had brought up, so I sent her to check on the fox beastkin’s condition after promising her to use the wall design that she had somehow made.

In any case, an excessive amount of dirt and stone were piling up from the digging, so the materials were more than covered. Incidentally, placing walls of stone inside a dungeon only required me to have the necessary set materials and had them arranged through the Dungeon Management catalog. It was similar to how the ceramic tiles were placed previously.

All that was left was to focus on the traps. I intended to have similar code-imbued traps spread out inside the maze and maybe some unique and premade ones mixed in. Still, I opted to leave the dungeon to be without illumination for now.

Just when I was about to continue planning the second floor, Lorelei abruptly appeared beside me and shook my body, shouting, “Vincent!”

“Wh-What?!” What made the ever-monotone Lorelei so panicked?

“It’s about that beastkin… you better take a look yourself.” She grabbed my left hand and tried to pull me into the portal.

Confused, I began thinking of several possible scenarios, but with her acting like this…

“Did anything happen to her?”

“Well… when I checked on her, she was already crying,” she answered, averting her eyes.

“Guess I better check there myself.” Something bad must have influenced her to cry, but that was enough of a reason to be worried.

At the moment, she was placed in one of the rooms of the mansion, but I could get there in almost an instant through the portal or teleportation. A neat power indeed. If only I could use such power outside the dungeon, wouldn’t I be overpowered?

Lying on the bed was her depressed self covered with bandages rather haphazardly on every part of her body. Lorelei really tried her best, but she wasn’t cut out to be a nurse… Well, I myself don’t have the necessary skill.

I strode slowly closer with heavy steps, seeing her whining and crying so badly made my heart crumble.

I was about to say something, but the words stuck like being held by a bottle plug. Hence, I inquired Lorelei about the specifics of what had transpired outside the room. And it appeared that the moment she touched her missing ear, she began to cry. So the reason was clear as day.

“We gotta cure her… We have about enough for a high potion if I convert the monster cores in my bag into CP.”

“You know, if your intention is to regrow her missing ear, then a high potion won’t cut it; it can’t regrow lost limbs, especially wounds that have closed up.”

I creased my eyebrows and engaged myself in thought. There was still one thing that might work… but without turning her into a brainwashed human. That’s it!

“Say, are you able to put her temporarily under your control and then release her once she has recovered?”

“Um… That’s possible.” She confirmed with a nod but soon added, “Although her consciousness would be suppressed and damaged to the point where she would be no more than a soulless husk… even when I released her… So, if that’s fine with you…”

“Fine by me? That’s definitely not a good joke…!” Lorelei’s thoughtless comment only made my head hurt even more, but she was a Dungeon Core after all.

“My apologies… I shouldn’t have said it like that. Nevertheless, there’s still one way to cure her ear.”

“Really?” My mood instantly lifted. “I’m all ears.”

With hands on hips and a slight smile on her face, she said, “Remember the potion that could rejuvenate even someone on the brink of death?”

“You mean that one?”

“Indeed.”

A magic potion that was said to be able to regenerate lost limbs, cure incurable diseases, and even extend lifespan — elixir. Once, I heard that even a diluted version could cure injuries as effectively as any high potion. Obviously, regrowing an ear was a simple task.

“I’m not trying to be a wet blanket, but I got to remind you that each one costs 10,000 CP,” she added.

My mood slumped down the drain again. “Right… that amount… How am I supposed to gather that many?”

Currently, our CP gain mostly depended on the daily gain, which was only a measly 50 CP per day, upon which just recently increased thanks to the new floor. The problem was it would take two hundred days to get 10,000 CP… Even if I tried to amplify the absorption rate through [Programming], it wouldn’t work on a living being such as Lorelei.

“Oh yeah, three hybrids are approaching the dungeon. They appear to be the ones that we brainwashed,” Lorelei suddenly informed me as I was being all dejected.

“At least there is that. Move them to the second floor; we can’t have enough strong minions for defense…” But then, a brilliant idea came to mind. “Actually, bring them here.”

“’Kay.”

They might very well be the key to thoroughly solving the whole CP issue altogether!

***

Silvery huge wolf — the starlight wolf mother’s fur glittered under the fake sunlight. Her deep intelligent eyes gazed at me like they had all the knowledge in the world. Now that she was docile and not hostile like before, she let me approach her and even stroke her fur. So silky and pleasant… reminded me of the corgi and Pomeranian I had back home.

“I’m sorry to have attacked you in the past,” I said to her.

She silently stared at me, seeming to understand what I just said, and simply nudged me along with her children. Is it just me, or are they so smart?

Her children then ran to me and let themselves be patted as well. “Good little… large puppies…” Likewise, they had soft, silky fur and made my hands tingle every time I caressed them.

Somehow, I felt an intense glare from behind me and found Lorelei was tilting her head as she watched me cuddling with the wolf pups. “What? You want to cuddle them too?”

“No. That’s not it.” She shook her head and suggested, “Vincent, why don’t you name her?”

“Name?” I faced the starlight wolf mother. “Is it fine for you to be named by me?”

She growled light as though to give her consent. Why doesn't she bark?

“Woof!”

“Hm? So, you can bark, after all. Um, since you’re white and have queer yet beautiful abilities, how about I name you ‘Blizzard’?”

“Woof!” The starlight wolf mother — now Blizzard — wagged her long, bushy tail.

“Great. While I’m at it, I may as well name all of you.” Though before that, I checked on their genders through [Developer Interface] and found that they were two females and one male. “Alright then. Let’s call you Snowy, Neige, and Flocon.”

“As always, you came up with the most unique of names,” Lorelei chided.

“Shut it, you. Now, Blizzard, can you show me your power?”

Blizzard didn’t reply and went to transform into a light silhouette, and in the blink of an eye, she appeared twenty meters away.

I clapped my hands, and subconsciously had my eyes widened over her display of power. “It’s so cool, no matter how many times I see it. This is good. With this, I think I can indeed solve the whole CP issue. Still, how can she do that? It’s not magic, right?”

“Well, she’s by no means a normal hybrid creature. This child is ‘something’ else.”

“What do you mean, Lorelei?” I glanced at Lorelei, tilting my head.

“According to the World Will, she’s a ‘magical creature.’ You see, such things as dragons, wyverns, griffins, and so on can be classified as magical creatures. And this child is most likely a descendant of such; thus, a magical hybrid of sorts.”

“I see…”

Wasn’t that amazing, then? In the first place, such creatures were extraordinarily expensive inside the Monster Creation category and were high-ranked monsters at that.

I neared Blizzard and stroked its side neck before moving slowly to its chin. “This may be a bit imprudent, but will you help me to save someone in need?”

She merely stared at my eyes and lightly growled as if in agreement. Ever since she became a part of the dungeon, I was able to understand her more for some unknown reason.

“Great. Here. Have some meat before we go.” I fed Blizzard and her children the rest of the meat I brought in my backpack.

“Where are you going?” Lorelei tugged my coat.

“It’s obvious, isn’t it? The only source of CP we have left is to hunt in the forest, and I can use this chance to scout around as well.”

“But… it’s dangerous.” With upturned eyes, she warned, “Not even I know what is lying in the depth of the forest — even the bugs I sent out are mostly gone.”

This dungeon, while it was located inside the Great Elion Forest, was still somewhat near the outskirts. If strong hybrids like the starlight wolves were forced out here, then there was nothing to say regarding what kind of dangers were present deep within.

“Hah! With Blizzard here, who can threaten me?”

Lorelei fell silent, but I took it as if she was giving me her consent. There was no time to be thinking too much; any action was better than none.

As she was too silent, I patted her head to break the ice. “Relax! You know me. I always come up with a way if I’m in a pinch.”

Lorelei’s eyes widened as she moved her line of sight to my hand. “M-My… You sure are bold…”

“Ahem.” I quickly retracted my hand. “Then, I’ll be going.”

“Be careful,” she said.

Outside, it was still dark, probably just before dawn. The night had yet to end, so there should still be tons of dangerous creatures lingering in the forest.

When I was despairing over the notion of walking in the forest again, Blizzard unexpectedly walked in front of me and descended, as if asking me to get on her back.

“Is that fine with you?”

She didn’t answer, but it was apparent from her action alone, so I didn’t hesitate to hop on. She was standing way more than two meters tall, so even though she had folded her legs, it was still a bit hard to get on her back.

“Whoa, it’s so high up here!”

It was nostalgic.

It had only been hours since the last time I was on her back. In contrast, instead of fighting her to the death, she was carrying me with obedience.

“Let’s go! Bring me to the nearest beast lair you know! We have someone waiting for our help!”

“Woof!” Blizzard barked and immediately picked up the pace.

Actually, I had purchased another spray for this kind of occasion — [Dangerous Beast Attractor (50 CP)]. This was something that I searched through the menu since if there was a repellent, there should be an attractor, but I refrained from using it for now.

The faster she ran, the more the wind blew against my face. I ducked down into her fur and held on to a handful of them to keep myself from falling. Truly, the feeling of riding a giant wolf was unlike that of a horse.

Boulders she jumped, trees she passed, and soon enough, she stopped near a clearing and began sniffing around, growling.

“Are there enemies?”

I unzipped my backpack and took out a set of weapons that I hadn’t got the chance to use until now: a crimson bow and a stack of arrows. I nocked an arrow and aimed it at the clearing, waiting for the danger to reveal itself.