“Welcome everyone!” –My voice rings out causing the large group of people in front of me to start settle down.-

Two-Twelve spoke of there being a few non-conventional members to these groups, and to be honest I was expecting the few dwarves, elves, avian, and cat-folk to a degree, and even the lizardmen are not entirely out of what I was expecting, but even I have to admit that the lamia was definitely a surprise.

“Right now you are all currently standing in your Master’s dungeon, and before you step forward over here to my dungeon, I want to be clear on a few things. First of all, your Master sent you here to train, and I plan on doing everything I can to make sure you are able to do so freely and without hindrance, but there are some ground rules. Your Master told me that you have already been separated into groups, so I first need to know how many groups are present.”

Poppy quickly steps forward and says. “There are six groups…”

“Alright.” –I say while opening my [Menu] calling for six of the people I had prepared for this and they quickly begin transferring into the room at my side.-

“Each group will be paired with one of my own people, and you can choose to have them follow you or just observe your group through [Menu], but either way they have been instructed to not interfere with your training. They will only be watching you to make sure that my dungeon’s monsters don’t go a bit overboard on any of your groups.”

Bandy: “More like to keep an eye on us!”

“You must be Bandy… Yes, in addition to making sure the dungeon’s monsters don’t kill any of you, they will also be making sure you are following the rules, but the rules are only to make sure you all get a fair training experience, and nothing more.”

Bandy: “Then we have free reign over the entire dungeon?”

Poppy: “Bandy, stop it! Miss Ceres is doing Master a favor by allowing us to train here, so show a little appreciation!”

“There are ten floors inside my dungeon, and you are free to explore any one of them, however to make the training experience fair, each group will choose a floor at the beginning of each day and will only stay on that one floor. The monsters may vary between floors, but the amount of xp acquirable should remain constant between each of the ten floors.”

Bandy: “Six groups, and ten floors, what about the other four floors?”

“There is plenty of dungeon to explore on each floor, and I am doubtful you could traverse an entire floor in a single day, but once your groups become strong enough to do so, we will see about letting some of the groups train on the remaining floors.”

Bandy: “And what about those of us that are already strong?”

“I know some of you are nearing level 50 or even slightly above it, and unfortunately I don’t currently have anything quite strong enough to be a benefit to those members, but every point of xp I acquire from your stay in my dungeon will go straight back into the dungeon, so the faster you level up the new members the sooner I begin to acquire higher amounts of xp from you in which I can summon stronger monsters.”

Bandy: “So we are just wasting our time here!”

“Not exactly, you are training the new members, and by the time your entire group is ready I am sure I will have gathered enough xp to make it worth your time. Besides I will be taking you to my actual dungeon, in which one of the many rooms will possess my crystal. It may just be an imitation crystal, but if you were to claim it I am sure that would still prove to be quite beneficial.”

Bandy: “You are saying we can destroy the crystal when we find it?”

“As long as you are following the rules, then yes if you find the crystal you can.”

Bandy: “Then what are we waiting for?! Let’s get started!”

“We still have a bit more to cover, but we should now make our way to the dungeon, so for all of you willing to follow the rules, step over here on my side of the room and I will transfer us to the dungeon.”

Two-Twelve’s groups then step over the threshold between our two dungeon, and I transfer us down to the base of my dungeon. Many of them begin to look around with shocked expressions. After showing this area to Two-Twelve I made a few adjustments.

We are surrounded by a couple dozen tents and other wilderness survival gear. Two-Twelve didn’t give me the exact number of his groups so there are quite a few extras of everything. I guess that just means that each group doesn’t have to be limited to a single tent.

“This location is a safe area, you will come back here when you are done training for the day to rest, and you can rest here without worry of any kinds of attack. Now there are plenty of supplies for each of you, but it looks like at least a few of you will have to share a tent.”

“This one is all mine!” –Bandy says as she stakes claims on one of the tents, but she then looks to the bear beastkin that appears to be in her group and says.- “Unless of course Ursus wants to bunk up with me?”

The bear beastkin man looks to the others of his group quite nervously. The thorny lizard-like man next to him places one of his hands on the bear beastkin’s shoulder and says. “Don’t worry, Ursus, if the mistress insists on having someone share her bed, I will volunteer.”

Bandy: “Like hell, you horny bastard, I don’t want to end up a pincushion!”

I took the man as a lizardman at first, but as he hangs his head dejected by Bandy’s comment I notice his features and mannerisms are far more human-like. Does that mean he is some kind of beastkin, or did Two-Twelve create a new race again and didn’t tell me about it…?

A human woman, Suzie, quickly changes the subject by saying. “Hey Kit, look!” –She says picking up some of the supplies.- “There is even food!”

"I know you don't need to eat, but having had to pose as an adventurer myself in the past, I think it would be better if those who are new among you got used to eating beforehand, and those who enjoy it should be able to continue to do so."

“Is there any alcohol?!” –One of the dwarves quickly askes.-

“There isn’t, but once your training is complete for the day you can speak with your representative from my dungeon, and they can either take you to Tobes to buy anything else you might need, or provide it from the dungeon itself.”

Poppy: “We can go back into town?”

“Of course, however any time you leave your representative will have to accompany you or you at least have to let them know where you are going, but that is just so you will be able to get back. As long as you take your training seriously, if you wish to pop out of the dungeon for a few hours in the evening it should be perfectly fine. I just ask you return before the end of day.”

Bandy: “Well I don’t care where the rest of you go, but our group it taking the tenth floor!”

Poppy: “Wouldn’t it be much easier to just start at the bottom and each group just move up an additional floor?”

Bandy: “I’m going to find that crystal!”

“Good luck, but if there is any part of the dungeon that I can’t guarantee your safety, it is the room that holds the crystal. If you just search out the crystal without training your group properly, the odds of you claiming the crystal when you find it will be slim, and I don’t want to be the one that explains to Two-Twelve that some of you may have died pushing yourselves too far.”

Bandy: “You already said you didn’t have any monsters tough enough to be a problem for me, so after saying we could claim the crystal, now you are just trying to scare us!”

“The rift monsters aren’t that strong, but there are some non-rift monsters guarding the crystal that could be a problem. Just give the other members of your group a few weeks of training before you dive into more than you can handle.”

Bandy: “Then we will just get started then.”

“Fine, Milo.” –I say to one of the representatives of my dungeon.- “You will look after their group just like we discussed, and if there are any problems, you contact me or Two-Twelve immediately.”

Milo: “Understood.”

Bandy: “We don’t need a babysitter, you can wait here.”

Milo: “I understand, just remember I will still be keeping an eye on you with [Menu], so if at any time you have need of me just say the word.”

Bandy ignores him and then gathers her group as they start making their way up the stairs.

Poppy: “Alright everybody, we should get started as well. Miss Ceres said the xp will be the same no matter the floor, so I am perfectly fine with any floor. If any of you have a floor preference just let us know now.”

Bradford: “We want the first floor. This may be where we arrived at, but this is an underground dungeon, so odds are the tenth floor is actually the first. Now that we are no longer under Bandy, I want that crystal as well, so I think the chance of it being on the first floor is just as high if not higher than being on the tenth.”

Poppy: “Alright, but just remember why we are here…”

“Artor.” –I say to another representative of my own dungeon as Bradford’s group gathers together.- “You will be assigned to their group.”

Artor: “Understood.” –He says then presents himself to Bradford’s group.- “I am Artor, I will make sure you all remain safe during your training. I can remain here and keep an eye on you with [Menu] if you prefer, but I’d much rather keep an eye on things directly.”

Bradford: “It doesn’t matter, just stay out of our way.”

Artor: “You will barely know I am there.” –He says and then follows them as the group starts looking at some of the doors.”

Kit: “We will take the next floor, just so we can spend more time training and less time climbing stairs.”

“Jocelyn, you take their group.”

Jocelyn then moves over to Kit’s group and introduces herself.

Kit: “I guess we will be in your hands, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” =He says and then introduces his group to Jocelyn before they hit the stairs.-

Poppy: “Anybody else has any floor preferences?”

Nobody else seems to care which floor they take so I introduce each group to their representative until only Poppy and her group remain.

Poppy: “I guess that means you are with us.” –She says to the last remaining member of the representatives from my dungeon.- “I’m Poppy, this here is Lynx, we also have Orino, and Reti” –She says indicating to the other two cat-folk.- “Isi, is our fine feathered friend here, and our extremely long friend is Nyxia, and we all look forward to working with you.”

Last Representative: “I’m Gabriela, and I look forward to working with you as well.” –She says with a bow.-

They then start heading up the stairs, leaving only Milo and me left remaining in the camp. “Well it looks like you have your work cut out for you, take care of them.”

Milo: “Understood.” –He says while finding a place to sit down opening his [Menu] to keep an eye on Bandy’s group.-

Now that this situation is taken care of I have a new teacher I to introduce myself to, two more meetings at the university, a meeting at the Mage’s Guild, and that is all before noon, but I at least don’t have to worry about a stubborn Elder… I wonder how Two-Twelve’s meeting is going.

○○○○○○

I wasn’t invited this time, so I obviously didn’t teleport directly to the depth of Lucille’s dungeon, but I arrived in part of the ruined castle instead. After arriving though, I quickly send a message to her letting her know I am here to talk to her further.

Even though I am a ways away from the city itself I can hear quite a bit of commotion from it, and even from here you can feel the tension in the air. If something doesn’t give soon, this civil war might not end unless one side or the other is completely wiped out…

Lucille complains about my sudden arrival, but she transfers me down to the room in which I spoke to her yesterday. The monstrous suits of armor still line the walls, but at least she didn’t feel the need to walk me though the entire floor to show off again.

“I’m sorry for the sudden intrusion, but as I said yesterday, this matter is quite time sensitive, so I wanted to know if there was anything else I could do in which to persuade you.”

Lucille: “The Southern Merretta army pushed forward and captured a border city just this morning, if there is chance to end this war without force, Laura is going to have to stop her aggressive actions!”

“Even more reason for you to make a quick decision. You don’t care about the humans, so offer to help Laura take control of the rest of Merretta, before she does it on her own…”

Lucille: “I might not care about the humans, but Laura does, and she thinks by doing this she is challenging me! Regardless how I feel about the humans, I can’t let her think she holds the advantage.”

“As long as you continue to let this get under your skin, then she does. Regardless of the outcome of the war the only way you can win this now, is by helping her to prove that you don’t care about the outcome, or by completely destroying her, and we both know that we can’t afford to lose any more powerful dungeon cores right now.”

Lucille: “Fine, I will speak with Laura, but if I am to help her, Aaron, take the throne of Merretta, I am going to have strict conditions.”

“Then we shouldn’t waste time. We will call an Elder meeting immediately and get this squared away before the traitors try anything else…”

I quickly send a message to Madam Erin, telling her Lucille is ready to speak to Laura, and we call an Elder meeting. It takes the rest of the morning before we can get everyone to the neutral zone for the discussion, and not only has Dyson brought along Angela and Desiree again, but Laura has brought along Aaron as well.

Angela seems a bit upset when Dyson tells her and Desiree to wait in the waiting room while Laura leads Aaron into the meeting room, but Angela does as she is asked, and then disappears into the meeting room, while she complains to Desiree.

Once we enter the meeting room we take our seats while Aaron finds an empty chair at the base of the podium, he is doing his best to show a regal appearance, but I think it is plain to everyone in the room that he is quite nervous.

Lucille: "Your disregard for this place is shameful, you should be more like Dyson and leave your pet at the door, or do we need to get a 'no pets allowed' sign?"

Laura: “This meeting is pivotal to the future of the Merretta Kingdom, so it is only natural its true King is present for it.”

Lucille starts to say something else but Madam Erin cuts in by saying. “I told her to bring him along, to expedite the process.”

Dyson: “The fact that all of us had to step forward to put this pointless conflict between you two to bed, when matters far more dire require our attention, is proof enough for you to know this needs to end now.”

Laura: “Aaron is the rightful king of all of Merretta, Aaron and I have planned for this moment since I took him on as my boss monster, and Lucille’s lack of attention to Merretta should be no excuse for the Elders to become involved in what are clearly human matters.”

Dyson: “Even though the number of high levels adventurers has dwindled since my time as one, but the sheer number of humans has never been higher. You couple that with the fact that Merretta has the largest army of soldiers of any of the human kingdoms, and it stands to reason that this is something we Elders should take note of.”

Laura: “Then you admit human’s importance to the future of dungeon cores?”

Dyson: “I have been using humans for years, and Two-Twelve is no stranger to them either.”

Madam Erin: “Humans have always played an important role in the future of the dungeon cores. The purge should be proof enough of that, but I feel over the last few centuries many of us had become strong enough that the humans no longer seemed to be the threat they once were.”

Laura: “Lucille called me foolish for taking a human as a boss monster, foolish for involving myself in the human politics, and foolish for sitting at Aaron’s side, but she was the foolish one because every day the Southern Merretta army pushes that much closer to her doors.”

Lucille: “Humans fighting humans, that is hardly any proof at all, even if your… Aaron? Took the throne of Merretta that would prove nothing.”

Laura: “You are contradicting everything the others just said, and your own actions up to this point!”

Lucille: “I don’t speak for the others, but my own actions are merely due to you thinking you can challenge me with those simple humans of yours.”

Laura: “Then when we do take Merretta we can show you just what my mere humans can do!”

“Ladies! We are here to put an end to this fight and the civil war, not escalate it! Lucille, you don’t care which human sits on the throne of Merretta, so there is no reason you can’t help Laura put an end to the civil war. And you Laura, you claim to want to reunite Merretta, and yet the one person that can be the most help to you, you are instead fighting with!”

Laura: “I don’t need Lucille’s help to take Merretta!”

“That may be, but without her help you are looking at a drawn out civil war, with needless losses on both sides. Most of the nobles that are backing the old ways of Merretta are likely living in the noble quarters of Merretta, inside Lucille’s dungeon. With her help, you could locate those behind the challenge of Aaron’s claim to the throne, and Lucille could transfer your soldiers directly into their homes dealing with them all at once. Then when Aaron is Merretta’s king you can prove your human’s strength by helping us with the traitors rather than fighting among ourselves!”

Lucille: “Why would I help her?”

“With the capital of Merretta moving to Uthaira, you will need someone to rebuild and take over the old castle, to guard the entrance to your dungeon. For your help, if they were to allow you to choose a duke, count, or whatever you want to call it, to take that position and that would even give you a voice in the kingdom once again.”

Laura: “That will hardly solve the underlying problem between Lucille and I.”

“Maybe, but it will at least put an end to the civil war, and we can focus on stopping the traitors, if you wish to continue to squabble after they have been dealt with, then that is on you…”

Laura: “What do you say, my king?”

Lucille scoffs at Laura’s way of addressing Aaron, before he says. “There are many benefits to what they are suggesting, not only would it reduce the number of lives lost, but we would not have to continue to drain the kingdom’s coffers over a long fought war, allowing the kingdom to bounce back much quicker afterwards.”

It seems like we have come to at least somewhat of an agreement so we spend the next few hours hammering out the finer details, and in the end I had to summon a human man to serve as Lucille’s duke. Dyson summoned a man first, but neither Laura nor Lucille found him acceptable, so I had to do it instead.

I made sure to put some stipulations of my own of course, but he is going to be a duke in one of, if not the strongest kingdoms, so as long as Laura and Lucille abide by the agreement I made before summoning him then it should be alright.

I made an agreement with them, but for the human man himself, they only allowed me to give him an ultimate command to prevent him from telling any secrets of my dungeon, before having me transfer his ownership directly to Lucille. Lucille wasn’t too happy about having a human bound to her dungeon, but it was the only way to be sure he serves his purpose correctly.

It may still take a few days or even a few weeks before Lucille can pinpoint the nobles that are standing in Aaron’s way, but after that the civil war should come to a swift end, and we can start focusing on more important matters.

I only hope the traitors give us that long… Once the meeting is over Lucille and Laura leave while speaking quite cordially. There really is no in-between for them. They are either the best of friends or worst of enemies.

Madam Erin: “Add one more achievement to that growing list of yours, single handedly stopped a civil war.”

“It isn’t over yet, and I didn’t do anything…What about you Dyson? Did you find anything to make you believe the traitors were involved in any way?”

Dyson: “I thought there was a chance, but it turned out to be nothing. It did however result in a bit of fun, so I guess it wasn’t a complete loss. So, what now?”

“That fake dungeon really did a number on me, and it is going to take a while for me to get back into fighting shape, but I am more worried about the members of my group, or what the traitors are going to do while I try to recoup my losses.”

Madam Erin: "The way in which the traitors keep breaking what we thought were iron-clad rules is becoming worrisome."

“I’m more worried about the fact, that they are not only manipulating the god that controls [Menu], but that it is beginning to look like they must have another one helping them do so.”

Dyson: “Maybe we should start focusing on training up your little pet goddess back to her former glory.”

“I’m not sure what it would take for Ceres to return to the power level she was before becoming a dungeon core, but I am pretty sure we don’t have enough time to do it. Besides I have tried to get her to train, but she has refused thus far, only leveling up by the xp from her consumption.”

Madam Erin: “What about that Akil creature that saved her in your dungeon, from what Dyson told me, he is some kind of god-like creature as well isn’t he?”

“From what Ceres told me, he is even older than the old gods, but he is even less help than Ceres. Speaking of Ceres, I left some new monsters I summoned to train in her dungeon, so I probably should return to check on them.”

Dyson: “Be careful, if the traitors were counting on the civil war, and they are not getting the kind of results they were hoping for, they might try something else.”

“Yea… By the way, I completed the favor Angela asked of me, I don’t know if she will be happy with the results, but I should probably tell her what I found out.”

Dyson: “Can’t say I like you keeping secrets with my entourage…”

“Don’t trust me?”

Dyson: “Enough that I won’t force the issue. Besides Desiree assures me it is a trivial matter, and her I do trust.”

Madam Erin: “That’s a new one.”

Dyson: “Do you not trust your own succubus?”

Madam Erin: “I summoned Elexia, and she is my boss monster, besides you have never even trusted your own monsters, much less those given to you.”

Dyson: “You are making a big deal out of nothing.”

Madam Erin: “If you say so.”

“Well, excuse me then, I will go speak with Angela and then head home.”

Madam Erin continues to nitpick on Dyson about the girls as I go tell Angela what Sandra told me. Like I thought she doesn’t find the information helpful as she wanted, but she thanks me anyway. I then use [Gate] to return home and as I collapse on the couch I receive a message.

5 justicar points received for protecting the integrity of [Menu] by mediating terms to end a war.

[Archjusticar] skill has increased to rank 3. 2 additional justicars can be selected, and new options have become available under the [Archjusticar Menu].

The house is pretty quiet so Belinda and Rory must be out, so I decide to check out the new options in the [Archjusticar Menu]

In addition to the number of available justicars I have, there is a new option in the [Menu] that says [Justicar Teleportation] I select it and it says.

[Justicar Teleportation] allows the Archjusticar, or any of the Justicars to teleport to one another at the cost of 1 justicar point. The Archjusticar and multiple justicars can use a single teleport, however no other creatures can be transported with this ability.

Teleporting only Ceres to me or myself to her for the cost of a justicar point seems rather useless ability until I read the next line.

This teleportation is a godly effect superseding any magical interference preventing teleportation unless the interference comes from a higher ranked godly effect.

Those items the traitors use are of godly quality, but is the effect higher than this ability? If not we might finally be able to escape once trapped by the traitors. Even so I don’t know how much help it would be, because I wouldn’t have left everyone else behind in that fake dungeon to escape on my own.

However, if I make a few more justicars and we make sure to travel in at least pairs once we become trapped one could teleport out and give warning before returning, since the cost is only a single justicar point each way.

Then again this all on the assumption that this teleportation is of higher rank than that of those items the traitors use. I will also have to select more justicars, and I am not sure who I can trust. I think Inari is a fair choice, I believe I can trust her at least as much as Ceres after all we have been through together, but I am not so sure about Maeve, Dawn, or Twilight.

Madam Erin, Dyson, or Ithros would also be good choices as they are strong enough to be actual help in the event we become stuck again. On the other hand Ithros would be unable to bring Teku with him, and am not sure he would use the ability, regardless of the situation, if that was the case.

As for Madam Erin and Dyson, they are powerful enough to make a major difference in any situation we may find ourselves in, and although I do trust them to a degree, we often have differences of opinions as well that may prove to be a problem at some point.

In any case, I made Ceres a justicar because I felt I could trust her, so it won’t hurt to see what she thinks. Besides, I need to check to see how my xp gatherers are doing in their training anyway. Belinda and Rory still haven’t returned so I send Belinda a message to let her know I am home, and that I am going to go to Ceres’s dungeon.

Before I can send a message to Ceres to tell her I am on the way, Belinda sends me a message back saying she is with Ceres already at the Mage’s Guild for a meeting, so I should come by, and after the meeting we could all check on the xp gather’s progress together.

I decide to change clothes into something a bit warmer, so I can walk to the Mage’s Guild, in hopes that I am able to miss the meeting, but when I start to change I notice the little wolf figurine in my pocket…

I was in so much of a hurry to take care of the matters with Lucille, I completely forgot about bringing this home… Ceres said that she would give me the wolf stored inside, but I didn’t receive the message about the change of ownership when I arrived in my dungeon this morning.

She did say it works a little differently when using the figurine, so after giving the little figurine a once over again, I try to figure out how to get the wolf out of the figurine. As soon as I think about it however the figurine begins to glow and the wolf takes shape in the middle of my bedroom floor.

As far as wolves go it is an excellent wolf, I have seen quite a few wild wolves, and even summoned a few myself for the training of the Gowen soldiers, but the only other wolf I have seen that is so flawless is the one that Tanya uses.

Even if I don’t put any effort forth when summoning humans or beastkin, they tend to be quite attractive, a fact I have been called out on more than once, but normal monsters are rather generic. Maybe Ceres summons animals in the same way? Now that I think about it though, the humans she has summoned seemed to be a cut above the normal townsperson as well, so maybe everything she summons is better…

I try giving the wolf a few commands and it listens without fail, but for some reason I still receive no message about transfer of ownership. I think about how to put the wolf back in the figurine, and it lights up again and the wolf disappears.

I guess ownership of the wolf isn’t that important, but the main reason I wanted one of these figurines is because the magic in the figurine itself, so I decide to store the figurine in the dungeon’s inventory. This causes the figurine to light up before it disappears, and it kicks the wolf back onto my floor. Once the figurine is stored however, I receive a message.

Wolf has changed ownership from Dungeon Core #5 [Ceres] to Dungeon Core #212 [Archjusticar ------ Gowen]. Would you like to change the name of Wolf?

New Monster Available

Divine Wolf Cost: 1,000 xp*

*Divine wolves can be summoned as sentient at x10 base cost.

New Enchantment Available

Divine Binding Cost: x5 monsters base cost

Divine Binding allows a non-sentient divine creature to be bound to an object. Creatures bound to an object take orders from whosoever possesses the object. The creature can be stored or withdrawn from the object at will, and receives increased recovery while stored in their bound object.

Divine wolf…? I ask myself while staring at the wolf standing in the middle of my floor. It also says only divine creatures can be bound to objects, so does that mean Tanya’s wolf and bear are both divine creatures as well?

Does that mean everything that Ceres summons has the divine added to it? If so what does that mean those humans she summoned are actually divine beings instead? It seems the more I learn about Ceres the less I seem to know…

I wanted to use the figurines to transport large numbers of monsters quick and easily, but if they all require the divine type than I don’t know if that will be possible. I play around with the figurine and the wolf for a little bit, but it seems I have no trouble storing the wolf in my crystal, storing the figurine in my dungeon’s inventory, or storing the wolf in the figurine, but I can’t store the wolf in the figurine while the figurine itself is in my dungeon inventory.

I seem to have wasted a bit too much time, because Belinda eventually messages me asking me where I am at, so I quickly store the wolf back in the figurine and set it on the dresser, before quickly getting dressed and I then head out to meet with Belinda and Ceres.