*Core*

Well fuck me, I did not expect this. I suppose it is pretty obvious why the Dungeon Master class is rare- how many other core’s would gamble that virtuously sacrificing themselves would give them another shot at reincarnation, and thus, find surrendering a reasonable option? For that matter, nice as Susan seemed, her hesitancy to answer my question and tell me what she wanted was not a good sign.

Fortunately, she could not read my mind- that would just be unpleasant. There was a difference between me ‘thinking’ and me ‘talking,’ and I am grateful for small mercies there. Also, I did have to admit that I could actually talk to someone now. Speaking through my minions was serviceable, but it was also isolating. I could actually interact with a person directly now, and I was going to keep looking at the bright side to distract myself from the fact I had accidentally turned myself into a slave.

How the hell was I supposed to know about that anyways? It is not like I was given a manual!

“Core…” Susan’s voice was trembling and she look directly at me- the very fact that she could see me was a little off putting actually. “I- I do not know how to answer your question… What I want, and what is right, are two different things- and with everything that has happened lately… My mother, father, and sister dying… I am scared of what I might do!”

“You may as well tell me what you want,” I gave the mental equivalent of a sigh. “If I had to guess, you want revenge on whomever sent those men after you.”

Susan simply nodded, she appeared to be crying- and I am honestly unsure how to respond. In my previous life, seeing a crying girl would make me want to comfort her. However, my previous life experiences did not cover magical enslavement. Regardless, I suppose I have to make the best of it- actually, upon consideration, for me nothing has changed. My entire goal was to eventually recover my body and ditch this dungeon, and if I am not a dungeon then her class would no longer affect me- I hope. So long as she does not do anything that interferes with that goal, and I have no intention of telling her about it, then this situation is workable. Not ideal, but workable.

“Unfortunately,” I spoke to Susan after thinking for a bit. “That is something I cannot help you with as I currently am. Killing some assassins is one thing- I would presume that in this kind of world they were simply a poor match against an undead dungeon. But actually going after them, it would be unlikely that they would not have stronger people with more diverse classes- and you just saw what would occur if I was faced by templar.”

“So really, you do not need to worry about that now.” Why do I feel like a manipulative bastard right now? I should not be feeling bad considering I was the one enslaved! “And if you are going to help me grow stronger, than it does not particularly bother me if you want help wiping the masterminds out eventually.”

It does bother me that you can override my control of my own dungeon, but I do not plan to talk about that.

“You are too kind Core…” Susan whispered, and if she was not in such severe emotional shock- I would have considered her an idiot. It is not kindness to give someone what they already have, even if they are not precisely aware they have it. “Aren’t you mad at me?”

Yes. I thought, and then answered, “Honestly, I am not sure what to think.”

I am unsure if she can tell if I lie or not, so I have been twisting my words a bit- clearly I am not compelled to answer or tell the truth, but I am unsure of the breadth of her abilities to sense me. Regardless, it is simple enough to give her answers to different questions than she asked.

“Why don’t you take a rest?” I suggested to Susan, “there are some things I need to check anyway.”

She agreed, and wandered away to a random corner and curled up. Again, I should not feel so bad for her- perhaps it has something to do with our connection? Regardless, I need to check if that connection has limited me, and to my relief, it has not. All my options are still present, I still have total control over my dungeon- the only question is how much control Susan has over me.

As much as I may wish to know the limits of her power, which there must be if her class has levels- presumably those limits will fade as she gains experience- I would rather that she also be unaware of what she can to do stop me. If she is not aware that she can do something, hopefully she simply will not try.

There were other things to consider about this encounter as well, the dungeons weakness to holy spells for one. To be honest, I do not think there is much I can do on this floor. I need to finish this floor and have a Floor Boss and begin my next floor, and hopefully I will be able to find some kind of option that does not involve buying goblins.

Susan will probably be able to command spirits outside the dungeon much easier now- although to be honest, I briefly considered killing her in her sleep right now. However, that seems far to easy. Surely the class would have some defense against that precise action, and honestly, I was unsure I wanted to.

From a certain point of view, she had prevented me from commiting suicide. A great deal of ethicists would argue that she was doing a good thing, regardless of how it interfered with my free will. She had not intentionally enslaved me, and, despite her own problems and desires, had not immediately commanded me to take part. In short, as of right now, Susan was a good person- and I was keenly aware that moral choices had consequences.

What a fucking mess.

*Susan*

I woke up not too long after I had fallen asleep- I had not so much been tired as I had simply been overwhelmed by everything that had happened. To be honest, I rather wished I had not woken up at all. Now that I was awake and aware, the problems I had abandoned were right back in my face. As I was getting up, I saw the ‘presence’ that was Core appear before me.

Come to think about it, the blur of light and shadow was not Core, he was the entire dungeon after all. It was merely where his attention was right now. Honestly, Susan was still not sure what to say to him, Core was simply too kind and Susan felt bad for her own selfish thoughts.

For now, she would put that aside. Core was right, even borrowing his strength she could not bring down, or even track down, the people responsible. There was another point, one that she had not really needed to consider before now.

“Core, you asked me what I wanted,” I said carefully. “And I have realized something, for all that you have done for me- even when I asked to give something back to you, I have never asked what you want.”

“Power and magical knowledge.” Core replied simply, “I cannot move, cannot run from anyone who wants to kill me. I need power to prevent situations like the one just now- as for magical knowledge, I have many uses for it.”

Core’s voice was interesting, it sounded like a human man but at the same time made me think of gust blowing through a cave. A rather fitting sound, actually.

“Core, I did not mean to end up in this situation- but, I am here now, we are here now.” I thought for a moment and decided my course of action. “I do not want to lord over you, but work with you. We both want strength, we both want knowledge, we can both work together towards that goal as partners.”

Core seemed to think for a second and then said, “That is agreeable, I am happy to see you are a reasonable person.”

I hope this partnership works out, no- for the sake of my family, I will make certain it does!