Thirty minutes after Dyson's arrival, we decide that the neutral zone is, indeed, gone for good, so we decide to stay here and see if we are at least capable of appointing new Elders, but find no success in that area, either. I try to ask Madam Erin for help, but Ceres says there is nothing left of Madam Erin anymore.

But well, the notifications from [Menu] have become less formal ever since Madam Erin was absorbed into the world crystal, so this isn't the first time I have tried contacting her, nor is it likely to be the last.

I tried to contact her by sending a normal message, like I used to do, and when that didn't work, tried to send a message without a recipient, but that didn't work either.

Maybe Ceres is right and Madam Erin has been completely absorbed by the world crystal, but I want to believe that even without a physical body, the less formal notifications prove that some part of Madam Erin still survives within [Menu], rather than being caused by the reset.

My plea, however, goes unanswered, and I let out a deep sigh before saying. “I guess that's that. If there was a way to replace the fallen Elders, we surely would have found it by now.”

Dyson: “Well even if [Menu] doesn't appoint Elders any more, that doesn't mean we can't. The humans have never used [Menu] to appoint their leaders, so we could just copy one from their book, and appoint our leadership by ourselves.”

“Ceres and Inari are still justicars, and that system isn't much different than being an Elder to begin with.”

Dyson: “In that case, let's get started... Dungeon Core #5 Ceres, do you accept the title of Dungeon Core Elder, and all the responsibilities that title entails?”

Ceres: “Sure.” - she throws her right thumb up.-

Dyson: “Then as Dungeon Core #400 Elder Dyson, with Archjusticar and Elder Dungeon Core #212 as witness, I appoint you as a Dungeon Core Elder.” -He then looks to me and motions to Inari.-

“Right... Dungeon Core #245 Inari, do you accept the title of Dungeon Core Elder, and with it all the responsibilities it entails?”

Inari: “Yes! I do.”

“Then, as Archjusticar and Elder Dungeon Core #212, with Dungeon Core #400 Elder Dyson and Dungeon Core #5 Elder Ceres as witnesses, I appoint you as a Dungeon Core Elder.”

Dyson: “Now, as I understand it, Inari will be unavailable for some time, after today, so we need to take care of as many things as possible while we are all together.”

Ceres: First of which, is our agreement. We both became Elders, so now you have to provide xp to Two-Twelve for the reconstruction of Tobes.”

Dyson: “The agreement was I would match whatever xp Inari provided. She promised 5 millions, but since [Menu] doesn't acknowledges the creation of new Elders, how does she plan on transferring said xp?”

A screen appears to Inari, and I don't think she called for it, because of the look of surprise on her face. After a few seconds of reading, her lips curl upwards into a grin, and she says: “Like this!” - She presses on the screen, and new screens pops up before each of us.

Dungeon Core #245 Elder Inari will provide Dungeon Core #212 Archjusticar ------ Gowen with 5,000,000 xp to uphold a previous agreement. If all parties accept, the transaction will cost 1 justicar point, and [Menu] will enforce the agreement.

I accept, and Ceres, too, accepts with a smile, but Dyson looks quite troubled.

Dyson: “[Menu] didn't even acknowledge... How did you...”

Ceres: “Was that your hope from the start? You thought we wouldn't be able to become true elders, and much less to transfer the xp, so you agreed to provide the xp on the condition Inari did so first.”

Dyson: “5 million xp is just too steep, that is well over half of my available xp right now, and with everyone resetting to level 1, it isn't exactly easy to acquire more.”

Ceres: “Inari offered 10 million, but cut it down by half to ensure you could hold your end of the bargain, and while it may not be enforced by [Menu], we do have an agreement. You wouldn't go back on it, would you?”

Dyson seems to be thinking about it for a moment before saying. “Fine, but I am altering the agreement. We needed more Elders, but I'm not actually getting anything out of this, so if Two-Twelve agrees to summon me another girl as wonderful as Angela and Desiree, I will pay the 5 million, plus the xp to summon my third queen.”

“I told you, I drew the line at Angela and Desiree. I am not summoning you a harem...”

Ceres: “Two-Twelve, hold on now. We are talking about rebuilding Tobes in exchange for summoning a single woman, whom as far as we know will be just as happy as Angela and Desiree. I'm sure Dyson would even agree to the same conditions that you set for them, am I right?”

Dyson: “Two-Twelve's success rate so far is a tale of sensual perfection, but I will only provide the xp once. If it takes more than one try to get a woman worthy of being my third queen, I don't care if it comes out of the 5 million or Two-Twelve's own xp, but he keeps trying until she comes out perfect once again.”

“And how do you two feel about this?” -I sigh and look at Angela and Desiree.-

Angela and Dyson exchange a look, and she steps forth after a moment, pulling a small stack of parchments from one of her pockets. She unfolds it, then hands it to me.

Angela: “We have come up with three acceptable candidates, and wrote as fine a description of each as we could. Any of them would be acceptable, but if possible, please try for the first of the three.”

“Three...?” -I say while looking at a stack of no less than 10 pages.-

As it turns out, each page is completely filled with exhaustive descriptions and carefully drawn diagrams of three different winged women in their late teens or early twenties, and nothing about any of the three has been left to chance.

I would understand a desire to pick hair, eye or skin color, but there are precise measurements included, from the length of each limb, thickness of each muscle, the exact length of their nails, eyelashes and teeth, down to the texture, length and exact quantity of hair strands on their heads. Of course that includes hair style. I am not even surprised by the time I read that bit, either.

There's pages and pages dedicated to making sure that every possible bit of these yet-to-be young women is carefully detailed, from the size and shape of their breasts to the curve of their spines or the ratio between their shoulders, waist and hips. Even the length of their feet and the arc of their spines has been included in the pages Angela handed to me.

“Wait. Some of this handwriting looks much too familiar... Ceres, did you help with this!?”

Ceres takes a look at the parchments in my hands, then smiles as she looks back at the oversexed trio. “Aww, the one I helped with is your favorite? I'm touched.”

Angela: “Well it was the first, and we did try and come up with some ideas on our own, but we incorporated most of your suggestions into all three.”

“Summoning a monster with even a few details is hard enough, but this is ridiculous, I can't promise anything near this level of detail.” -I say while shuffling though the parchments.- “And these are all physical characteristics, you didn't mention a single detail about their likes, dislikes, mannerisms or personalities!”

Angela: “As long as you get the looks right and make sure she loves us, the rest will work itself out.”

“Us... Just who am I making this woman for?”

Angela: “Desiree and I are part of Master now, so if she can't accept all three of us, she is not good enough for Master.”

Desiree: “It is very easy to say what you don't like. Letting others know what you do like is much, much harder, because it reveals a lot about yourself, yet we poured all of our desire and expectations into those pages. Every time one of us asked for something the other lacked, it would have caused heartache and resentment in a less confident partner. The fact that we just nodded and continued is absolute proof of how much we know we are loved and desired. Please rest assured, we already love every single one of them.”

“Inari, back me up on this. This is ridiculous...”

Inari: “I'm sorry Daddy, but the one that I share my bed with, was someone that you summoned as well, so I don't believe I have any room to talk... for what is worth, I think Desiree has a point. If Takeshi told me he wished for someone with larger breasts or a smaller waist, or whatever, I don't think I would be able to just smile and move along.”

“Ceres...?” -I plead.-

Ceres: “Think of it as a chance to grow your skills. Besides, I'm counting two years on this human body already, and still haven't broken it in yet, so depending on how well you do for Dyson, I might place an order of my own for you to fulfill. If it makes you feel any better, I think the fact they did NOT make any request towards their personalities proves that they are hoping for a new person to join their love nest, rather than a toy.”

I sigh and say. “Fine, but I am doing this for Tobes, and make no guarantees about it.” -I shake the parchment pages.-

Angela quickly snatches the pages from my hand, straightens them out, and says. “These are very important! You must be careful with them!” -She then hands them back to me.- “And I want them back when you are done!”

I make an obvious attempt of folding the pages back just the way they were when Angela first handed them to me, and then store them in the dungeon inventory. As soon as I do, a new screen appears for all of us dungeon cores.

Agreement has been altered to include Dungeon Core #400 Elder Dyson's contribution of 5,000,000xp plus 3,500 additional xp, and in exchange Dungeon Core #212 Archjusticar ------ Gowen must provide one creature that meets at least the minimum specifications that have been provided, as determined by [Menu].

Ceres and Inari quickly accept, and Dyson re-reads the message a second time before accepting it himself, but the whole thing leaves a bad taste in my mouth. On the other hand, dozens of the sentient monsters I summoned to help my dungeon have died because I failed to protect them, so do I really have room to judge, when the ones I sent to Dyson are all healthy and happy? Even Byson seems to enjoy his role in Dyson's dungeon nowadays.

I reluctantly accept the agreement then watch as my justicar points are reduced by one, and my dungeon xp goes up by 10,003,500xp.

Dyson: “I'm sure it will take you a few days to learn her specs by heart before my new queen is born, so in the meantime there are a few more matters that must be addressed. I have spent a great deal of time using the [Justicar Menu] to look in on every dungeon core number from 1 to 799, and have found a huge number of dead dungeon cores that we were not made aware of. Now, I don't know if they died before or after the reset, but the one thing I am sure of is that instead of the 500 or so dungeon cores that we thought were still alive. The truth is closer to half that number...”

“How is that possible?!”

Dyson: “If it happened before the reset, then the failed cores used their items, and if it was after the reset I have a few theories as well. We were told that the failed cores found a way to move all the crystals of the dungeon cores that allied with them into a single spot. After the reset one or more of them may have decided to try to regain their levels by slaying the others.”

Inari: “Do you really think that there were close to 250 dungeon cores allied with the failed dungeon cores?”

Dyson: “Either that, or after the reset they have been using those items of theirs and have been taking out every dungeon core they could find.”

Ceres: “It's safe to assume it could also be a combination of all three of your theories.”

“With the way levels are gained now, and no apparent skills, we don't even know what effects absorbing a crystal has on someone now, so if the dungeon cores died after the reset, we could be looking at a mess just as bad as the one we were in before the reset...”

Ceres: “You said you looked into every single dungeon core, so did you find any of them that may have far more power than they should?” -She says to Dyson.-

Dyson: “That's either the good news or the bad news... All the remaining dungeon cores look to be struggling as much as everyone else, but that isn't to say that the culprits behind the deaths are not masking themselves, or there may be a fourth failed core that we didn't know about.”

“This just keeps getting better... The question is what do we do about it? We are far less likely to be able to deal with any more major attacks.”

Dyson: “There isn't really anything we can do, other than keeping our eyes peeled and looking for anything suspicious... We also have to think about the number of dungeon cores being below 300 now, and we don't know if the reset is going to cause [Menu] to start producing new dungeon cores again.”

Ceres: “I'm only guessing of course, but my siblings and I were the ones to alter [Menu] to produce the dungeon cores to begin with. It wasn't one of its original functions. Then again, neither was the ability for humans and other creatures to use magic and gain levels, so it's a toss up.”

Dyson: “Until it is determined one way or the other, we need to think of alternative ways. With Angela's help, we are already in the process of finding out if a new dungeon core can still be created through biological reproduction.”

“Angela is pregnant?”

Dyson: “The option has been appearing off and on in [Menu] over the last few months, even before the reset, and the three of us finally decided to find out. The xp has been spent, so now we just have to wait and see if it works.”

Inari: “Even if it does work, we are still talking about a bare minimum of 15 years until your child is capable of starting their own dungeon. If [Menu] doesn't produce any dungeon cores, we need to find a faster method to get our numbers back up.”

Ceres: “We do have the method that created me. Although now that I think about it, we haven't received any more justicar points after the reset.”

“You're right, and that might not be odd if it wasn't for the defeat of the failed dungeon cores. Surely that should have awarded us some points, but we didn't receive any.”

Ceres: “Either way, we still need to make Faraine a dungeon core as promised. She has already waited patiently for weeks now.”

Dyson: “Forget Faraine, with her strength gone now, there is no reason to waste justicar points on her. Especially as we don't know if it is possible to obtain more.”

“We did promise her, and the relic she provided not only saved the people of Tobes, but also gave Ceres the strength she needed to defeat the failed dungeon cores.”

Dyson: “I was the one to give her the heart to begin with.”

Ceres: “And then you broke hers.”

“Either way, we need to know if we can still use the justicar points to create a new dungeon core, and since we promised her anyway, so we can test it out on her.”

Ceres: “I'll go get her, and see if she is ready to become a dungeon core.”

Dyson scoffs as Ceres steps over to her side of the room and transfers away. While Ceres is away I ask Inari. “So how is Bell settling in?”

Inari: “Well it is a good thing she has Ryuu, because if it wasn't for him, I would be concerned about her safety.”

“Well I know she hasn't gained very many levels back since the reset, but as long as she stays within the providence, she should be safe, right?”

Inari: “I jest, but its not the oni that I am worried about, its Chika. Tatsuo and Chika have had a thing, for quite a while now, or at least Chika likes to think they do, even if Tatsuo hasn't exactly agreed to it yet. He is the one that oversees the humans that live in my dungeon, by the way. Well, like you said Bell is very knowledgeable about running a village, and Tatsuo has been spending a lot of time with her the last few days, picking at her brain, so Chika has become quite jealous.”

“Bell doesn't like attention, so I don't know who I feel more sorry for, Chika or Bell...”

Inari: “Yea, she seemed pretty apprehensive about speaking with Tatsuo without Ryuu in the room, but since everyone else is leaving for the corrupt dungeon tomorrow, Ryuu has been busy with the preparations, so she had to go without him this morning.”

“I know you wouldn't have had her go if you were worried about it, so I am sure she will do fine.”

Ceres returns with Faraine, so Inari just nods, and we all turn our attention to them.

Ceres: “As I said before, the means in which we had planned on making you a dungeon core might have been affected by the reset as well, but we are going to attempt it now, if you are ready.”

Faraine: “How am I to start my own dungeon now that I am powerless to defend it?”

Dyson: “Same way every other dungeon core that is just started out in the last 1000 years has. At least you have the advantage of all the humans being in the same position.”

Faraine: “You will return me to my forest, so that I can start my dungeon there?”

“Dyson is the only one still capable of teleportation, so you will have to ask him for that one.”

Dyson: “We don't have Madam Erin's fancy map anymore, so sure, since you know exactly where you want to set up at, I will teleport you there.”

Faraine: “I refuse!”

Dyson: “The only alternative is to walk, and do you know how long that would take you, especially at your level?”

Faraine: “I will not accept charity from Dyson, and definitely will not be in his debt!”

Dyson: “Do you want to become a dungeon core, or not? I told them it was a waste to use it on you.”

Faraine clenches her jaw hard enough you can hear her teeth grinding.

“You may loathe Dyson, but there is some truth to his words. We can't afford to offer more than one person the ability to become a dungeon core, and it has to be today, so we will have to choose another if you changed your mind.”

Ceres: “I traded you the divine relic for the chance to become a dungeon core, and if you decide to wait, we may be able to try again at a later date, but I can't guarantee how long it will be before that. The closest I can give you to a guarantee is if we do it now.”

Faraine: “If I do this, how exactly is it going to work?”

“From what I understand you have been with several dungeons in the past, but I don't know how much you actually know about us. The best way I can describe it is that it will function just like the setting of an imitation crystal.”

Faraine: “Do I have to set the crystal right away?”

“We are a bit hazy on those details, because the only other time we have used this ability was when we made Ceres a dungeon core.”

Ceres: “And I was unconscious and dying at the time, so they just placed the crystal for me. By the time I woke up there was only a message telling me about the creation of my dungeon.”

Faraine: “Even if it doesn't have be placed right away, it isn't like I have the ability to get back to my forest anyway, so as long as Dyson delivers me to my forest and leaves immediately afterwards, I have no choice but to accept.”

“I would also like to mention one more thing. Moving forth, the dungeon cores we create in this way will be held to a higher standard than the dungeon cores of the past. I understand your grievances against Dyson, so if you don't want to see him sooner rather than later, be sure to maintain a dungeon that doesn't threaten sapient beings or causes problems among other cores.”

Faraine: “And how am I to provide xp to my crystal without attacking humans or dungeons?”

“Working with humans instead of against them provides far more xp in the long term than just attacking them.”

Faraine: “My forest is sealed off from the outside world for a reason.”

“You should probably think about those reasons before agreeing to become a dungeon core. Sending monsters out of your dungeon has always been a considerable risk for a short term gain. I am sure between the four of us we could provide a few monsters to your dungeon to at least keep up your consumption for a while, but you will eventually have to open your forest if you plan on being a successful dungeon core.”

Ceres: “That village near your forest is rather small, and is quite a distance from your cottage, but if you start your dungeon at the edge of the forest and work with the humans to cover the village, you should be able to grow rather quickly. It may take a while before you can reach all the way to your cottage as well, but as long as you work with the humans by providing things that may help their village grow, I am sure you could get it done within a few years.”

Faraine: “How am I supposed to convince the humans to help me, when the humans here have known you for years and are still giving you a cold shoulder now that they know you are a dungeon core?”

Inari: “It all depends on what you can provide for them. The village back at my dungeon had no problem accepting me as a dungeon core, and I am sure once Daddy starts to rebuild Tobes with the dungeon, the humans here will come around as well.”

Dyson: “It's really quite simple. Either you accept the offer and become a dungeon core, or I dump you back in your forest anyway and you can go back to being a hermit.”

“I can appreciate her reluctance, this is a big decision and I want her to be sure this is what she wants before we proceed, because it can't be undone. That's why if she has any more questions, this is the time to ask.”

Faraine: “You said you can summon some monsters for me to provide for my consumption, what exactly are you offering?”

“Well it depends on you. If you want help communicating with the locals around your forest, I can summon you a human or two, but know that I have strict standards on how the sentient monsters I summon are treated. I could also spend the same amount of xp on a single monster for you to use in your dungeon however you like, and it will provide a larger amount of xp. Any monsters I do send to your dungeon, sentient or not, I'd ask you allow them to return to my dungeon every so often to return the xp they accumulate in your dungeon, so that the exchange is beneficial to both of us.”

Ceres: “Humans might provide less xp in the beginning, but if you allow them to level up, they will eventually surpass what a monster can provide. I would offer the same, but unlike Two-Twelve the reset affected the monsters I can summon, so unless you can use of a pack of wolves or such, there isn't much I can offer.”

Inari: “I can also summon you a few beastkin, or any number of Shima monsters available to me if you prefer.”

Faraine: “And you, Dyson? Are you going to offer anything?”

Dyson: “You have already been granted quite a few advantages over most new dungeon cores. Besides, I'm teleporting you back.”

Faraine: “So you expect me to accept monsters that do your bidding into my dungeon under the guise of helping me, so you can what? Keep an eye on me, is that it?”

“As a dungeon core, we wouldn't need any monsters to keep an eye on you. We have the ability to do that whenever we so choose. The offer to help is just that, and like I said, we would collect the monsters on a regular basis once we are able to teleport again, so that's how we will benefit from this.”

Faraine: “You expect anyone to accept terms like these? You want me to follow impossible standards, while tying my hands behind my back, and watching every move I make.”

“Ceres, Inari, and myself prove that the standards we are asking for are far from impossible, and even though Dyson's ways aren't exactly as gentle as ours, he and Laura both survive off the xp provided by the humans that reside within their dungeons. Eventually we will hold all dungeon cores to the same standards, but if we can't at least get the new recruits to follow the rules, how can we expect the dungeon cores that have lived for centuries to change their ways?”

Faraine: “I need to think about this...”

“I understand. We have a few more matters to discuss, and you have until we are done to make up your mind. If you do not agree to become a dungeon core today, I'm not saying you won't get another chance, but we can't make any promises, either.”

Ceres directs Faraine back to her side of the room and transfers away with her, then transfers back by herself a few moments later.

Dyson: “I told you Faraine was a waste of time.”

Ceres: “That is still yet to be seen. When we gave her the promise of becoming a dungeon core the world was a completely different place than it is now, so you can't tell me you don't at least understand a bit of her hesitation.”

“We are also throwing a lot of stipulations on top of her that other dungeon cores haven't had to worry about. She has seen how dungeons ran before, so it may be best if we start looking for candidates outside from those associated with dungeons.”

Dyson: “We gave her some time to think about it, but do we even have another candidate if she refuses?”

Ceres: “Elexia has shown a keen interest in becoming a dungeon core. She wants to try and reclaim Madam Erin's Tower of the Gods.

“The collapse of the tower has practically killed the town surrounding it. Not only did most people flee the area, fearing the tower would fall on them. Most businesses around it counted on the goods supplied from Madam Erin's dungeon. I don't think rebuilding the tower is going to be an easy task. Especially while trying to raise a child.”

Dyson: “We could always summon someone specifically to make them a dungeon core.”

“I would rather give a chance to those with more experience, but if we do find a way to acquire more justicar points, that might not be a bad idea down the road.”

Inari: “We could also use it as a reward or incentive. In exchange for assistance, or even just loyalty, we could offer existing cores the chance to 'promote' one of their monsters into a new core. Having one's own monster become an allied dungeon core would be quite the incentive to some of the older dungeon cores.”

“Well, lets see how Faraine responds, and we'll ask Elexia if she doesn't accept, but for anyone else we need to try to find a way to acquire more justicar points before we need to worry about it.”

With everyone's silence, the subject seems agreed upon, and it is then that Ceres brings our attention to something else.

Ceres: “I think our next order of business is a discussion on what we are going to do about Dailian and Duke Bozhidar.”

“So far the humans in the neighboring kingdoms have refused our help, so there isn't much we can do.”

Ceres: “But Duke Bozhidar is a dungeon core, and if we plan on taking a more active role as Elders, we might have to decide to deal with him ourselves. He is openly killing humans, after all.”

“But he is doing it as an ally of the Dailian kingdom. So unless he is attacking other dungeon cores, he is running his dungeon the way we want him to, soI guess the question is: How much do we want to involve ourselves into the politics of the world?”

Inari: “Daddy has a point. Where do we draw the line? Wanting the dungeon cores to work with humanoid society goes hand in hand with those very same humanoids wanting the dungeons' assistance in their own agendas. Do we only involve ourselves when other dungeon cores are involved, or do we interfere on their behalf without being asked to, as well? And if so, at what point are we not just overseeing the dungeon cores, but all of the world's sentient humanoid species as well.”

Dyson: “Wasn't that the purpose of the dungeon cores to begin with? Now, acting as replacements for the gods might be a bit of a stretch, but there is plenty of xp to be had by not only acting as mediators between humanoids and dungeons, but even between just the humanoids themselves.”

“I don't know, I would rather stay out of other people's politics.”

Ceres: “The truth is, the dungeon cores are not going to let anyone walk all over them just to maintain your new standards, so if you want them to follow you, you have to prove you hold the humans, elves and others to the same standards.”

Dyson: “And that brings us back to Ceres's question, what to do about Duke Bozhidar?”

“We have tried speaking with him and with Dailian's king to no avail, but if we are going to do this, we need to do it right. We are going to have to bring Dailian's king and Duke Bozhidar here together and see if we can come to an understanding.”

Dyson: “I may be able to acquire a bit of leverage in the negotiations, but it will take a few days to get it together. I know Inari will be busy, but the rest of us can reconvene in say, one week?”

“A lot can happen in a week, but if you truly have something that can help, I guess that's have to do.”

Ceres: “We also need to discuss what we are going to do with the information Inari gave us about the way in which people acquire levels now. Should we let everyone figure it out on their own, or should we tell them?”

Dyson: “Inari may still have her skills but until you three are able to gain a decent level advantage I would say we keep it to ourselves. Now, it doesn't have to be some big secret, but I wouldn't tell everyone just yet.”

Ceres: “I guess we are ready to see if Faraine has made up her mind?”

Dyson: “I actually had one more matter. The fact you three can't teleport is going to become a problem moving forward, and with how slow you seem to be acquiring levels, it doesn't seem like that will change anytime soon.”

“Well there isn't much we can do about that, I can make portals easy enough, it is just the powering of them that will be difficult. I have been taking the stones around the tavern in the evenings, asking for volunteers to pour magic into them so we can use the portal if we need to, but got just about half of them ready to go. Furthermore after Inari goes back to Shima, I'll have to start all over again.”

Dyson: “That is why I am going to lend you Speedy. She isn't quite as quick as she was before the reset, and it will take her quite a bit of training before she can be as useful as before, but in an emergency it sure beats you having to wait until you can use [Gate] again.”

“Thank you. That will be quite helpful.”

Dyson: “And not having to come by every time you need something teleported would be quite helpful to me.”

Ceres: “If that is all, I will go get Faraine now.”

Dyson: “You might as well find Elexia as well, because I would stake my sword on the fact that Faraine is just wasting our time.”

Ceres ignores Dyson while moving to her side of the room before transferring out.

Dyson: “You have over 10 million xp right now, would you like to make a wager on whether or not Faraine accepts our terms?”

“The xp is for the rebuilding of Tobes, so it isn't really mine to wager.”

Dyson: “Then you don't think she will accept either?”

“Honestly, I don't know. She didn't seem too keen on the idea of working with normal people.”

To be on the safe side, I open my [Menu] and begin looking for Elexia in the places she frequents within my dungeon. I guess beauty goes a long way towards beating the citizens unrest about her being a monster, because wherever she goes, she gathers quite a crowd, and doubly so when she feeds Cambion, it seems.

Maybe its about her being a succubus, but while I feel she looks down on her admirers, she doesn't mind the attention. Rather, she seems to enjoy it. As such, she's not hard to find.

When Ceres returns with Faraine, it is quickly apparent that betting on her accepting the deal would have been foolish.

Faraine: “I will hold you to your promise to make me a dungeon core, eventually, butwith the reset, becoming a dungeon core right now will only make me more vulnerable, not less.”

Dyson: “Fine, I will teleport you back to your forest and be done with it.”

Faraine: “Since you can't guarantee making me a dungeon core in the future, I would ask for something in return.”

Dyson: “We offered to hold up our end, right now. You are the one that refused.”

Ceres: “She did still provide the divine relic, so lets at least hear her out.”

Faraine: “Thank you. Since I won't be turning into a dungeon core any time soon, I need to return to my forest, briefly, to gather supplies, and then I'd ask you to take me to a strong dungeon core with the capability to summon elves. If I can't be a dungeon core, I can at least use my knowledge to be a helpful boss monster for a good dungeon core.”

Dyson: “All the dungeon cores are in the same predicament right now, there are no strong dungeon cores.”

Faraine: “You know what I meant. A dungeon core that is smart enough to get through this ordeal.”

“I'm capable of summoning elves, but if you are looking for someone else, I may have an idea.”

Faraine: “I'm listening...”

“Maeve, she is one of my justicar, so she wasn't completely affected by the reset, but she can only summon winged elves. Having said that, she traded me for several normal elves so you wouldn't be the only one of your kind there.”

Faraine: “I had never even heard of winged elves... This could be very interesting.”

Dyson: “I'm the one that is going to have to be teleporting her all over the place, so what is in it for me?”

“Consider it a personal favor to me.”

Dyson scratches his chin while thinking about it and then says. “Very well, but straight to her cottage, and then to Maeve's dungeon, nowhere else.”

“I'll see what Maeve thinks about the idea.” -I say while opening [Menu] and sending Maeve a message explaining the situation.-

Ceres: “If Maeve accepts, you will be bound to her as her boss monster.” -She says while we wait for Maeve's reply.-

Faraine: “It won't be the first time.”

Ceres: “I just want to make sure this is what you want.”

Faraine: “As long as this Maeve understands it is just until I become a dungeon core myself.”

I receive a reply from Maeve saying she is willing to talk with Faraine, so Dyson ferries the elf away while we take a break. Inari goes to visit Belinda and Rory, and Ceres takes care of a few matters in her dungeon. Meanwhile, I go speak with Elexia...