(Curator POV)

“Curator- Curator-” Ehh, I didn’t even know dungeon cores could get knocked out. “Don’t worry Alice, I’m fine. Just a moment.”

Still bleary-eyed, the faint outlines of Whit, Alice, Head, and a mysterious floating amber star(?) waver into focus.

Definitely a chem-lemental by looks the looks of it, but more sprite-like. About the size of an adult head composed entirely of polished red crystals. Unlike its larger kin, this one had an entirely human shape.

Donning a lab coat on pointed feet, it playfully skated around Head, crystalline hair flowing freely behind.

Looking at it sends quivers down my spine. I don’t even need my DP eye. That thing radiates power.

[Ah yes, I don’t believe you’ve met. This is Head’s assistant. Maria] She gives a deep exaggerated nod.

[Now then, congratulations on the victory. You two had me on edge, especially that ending! But as fate would have it, Head tripped up right at the final stretch.]

“Tripped?”

[Yep, took direct control of one of his creatures in a rush to grab your core and ran right into a chest-high vine.]

“And I’m guessing he almost fell flat on his face, tried to catch himself, and ended up breaking my imaginary nose.”

[Ehh, more like got cut in half then tried but overall, yeah. Any case, Head would you do me the honors?]

.......- “Wouldn’t it be better if you did the transfer?”

[Oh my, that won’t do, it’s Head’s belongings after all.] Head, already sick of this situation, threw the Essence ball my way. Tastes bitter, Mugh! Burns, it burns. Itchy, can’t scratch. Can’t throw up! I claw fruitlessly at a non-existent throat but nothing.

As the intensity subsided. Head had this smug knowing look, prick. Guess this means essence isn’t stored in the core.

*Clap* “Review time!” The boxed trio came barrelling in. The first and scarily fastest one being G. Taking both my DP-formed hands in his. “Those flowers in your garden, you must show me them!” I think he means floor, but aight.

He talked a mile a minute, mostly how the flowers in my dungeon always seem pristine no matter how much they’re disturbed. That above other things, like how they seem to flutter in a windless place and so forth.

It almost broke my non-existent heart to break the news to him. Like everything else in my dungeon, they were constructs. But he instantly perked back up, hearing that they were still functionally plants. We really hit it off after that, trading info on plants we’ve made. I think I’m visiting his dungeon later, however that works.

In other news, Smith and Seth had far more practical things to say, mainly about my dungeon.

“Well played” / “I knew ya had it yeah, books!” They gave their congratulations before jumping into criticisms.

“You have a good grasp on DP, but have you ever tried-...” / “Ya know, you could try direct control-...”

So many tips, they’re starting to blend together. “Anyhow, you’ll do just fine kid.”

Don’t get me wrong, they were all good pointers, its just been a long day. However, there is one that stood out to me, G’s. It was the only comment he gave, ‘you’re still lacking imagination.’

Thems the life of a dungeon core, I guess.

Thankfully, we were let go right after this. I got a fist bump, as in a light punch, from an uncaring Head, swearing, in both ways that he’ll take me down next time. Well, it’s a start. No way we were going to be BFFs or any like that after this. I don’t think he’ll take it easy on me next time. That assistant of his basically says it all. If I took him on at full power...

---------------------------

Back home, an air of loneliness pervaded the floors. Man, it hasn’t been this silent since I was buried. Better start letting people back in. Whit shut the entrance to my dungeon before the fight.

Though I have my doubts. More likely is that dungeons automatically shut themselves off whenever a fight happens. Kinda like, vomiting... Ya, that works. A natural response.

Indulgent. As much as I hate to admit, Paranoia Voice was right. Stories are meant for the reader’s enjoyment.

All I’ve done is indulge my desires. And well, even I’m not that blind. I can see my dungeon becoming, sterile? Like Head’s dungeon. Stories need to be unpredictable, dirty.

At the very least, I’ve never been one for stories where everything pans out perfectly without the hero working for it... (flashback noises). Nope, never had anything like that happen to me! Except for that one time, but whatever dice rolls and whatnot.

Even I shouldn’t be privy to how a story will pan out. Still, survival takes precedence.

I should keep watching the adventurers. Who knows, maybe there are seeds right under my nose, ready to sprout into stories. That’ll be a riot.

Speaking of seeds, I should pick out some flowers, ohh maybe even fungi to show G when and however I visit. He’s the oldest dungeon if I recall. Maybe, I can steal a few techniques from him. He has that hidden badass vibe about him. Ooo, we can go for a drunk mentor, exasperated student dynamic!

Popping open the hatch, somehow it sounds lewder than it seems. Whatever, pop open the hatch. Hello world, I’m back!

(Zhenya POV, Some days ago)

“Come on, we gotta go grind some cash.” That damn forge.

Wait, A crowd? Guards? “Hey Freddie, give me a boost.”

“You’re taller than me.”

“Yeah, but you’re more stable.” Giving a shrug, she let me up on her shoulders. Once again, showing off that ridiculous strength of hers, like seriously, she’s not even trembling.

“Looks like the dungeon’s sealed off!?” Yeah, it’s not there anymore. Wait, can dungeons move?

Seeing my gormless stare, Fredrica pitched in. “Ah, that? It happens from time to time. No big deal, if anything, it’s a good sign usually means the dungeons expanding.”

“Hah, back to fighting over requests then. Ya! High ho silver!”

“Nope. Get the hell offa me.”

Ah shit, everyone’s already booking it. “Fine, but you take charge.”

Steamrolling into the A.A, busting in the doors. Tch, gone. Not even any errands left!

Wait, were there always two boards? Right next to the request board, it wasn’t hidden away or anything, but just not in plain sight like its corken brother.

This definitely wasn’t up when I was staying here.

Curious, I try deciphering the postings. These were requests judging by the layout, strange no one took them. Wait! Some of these are decades old, and what’s more, they’re not even local. I’m not mistaken either. I’ve seen the usual places written down enough times to tell!

Some kind of trash board? I can’t see these still being active.

“What're you looking at there?” Fredrica noticed me eyeing up the board and started reading the requests out. “Rift exploration, hunting, gather...” Hm? ‘Please help my friend out of her room.’

Why would someone go through the hassle-. Hold on. That can’t be right. Three-hundred fifty GP? And nine-hundred more if we complete a side objective!?

“You wanna try this one out?” I had my doubts. No way this hasn’t been completed yet. And from the looks of it, the request is located at a Pub and Inn too. They wouldn’t hold a room for that long, would they? But hey, it’s worth a shot.

“It’s in Felschonheit. Nnnnn, It’ll take weeks on foot, two if we’re rushing. But then again, we can’t say when the dungeon will open back up. Alright, let’s do it.” Fredrica was equally taken by the payout.

Yay! Bringing it up to the usual receptionist, she made an ehhhh face if I’ve ever saw one.

“Are you sure you want to take this?” I nod in response. “Then, for protocol’s sake, here.” She slides us a form of some sort. Thankfully my good’ol buddy ‘ol pal was here to read it for me.

Boiled down, anything relating to this request has to go through Felschonheit’s Branch head. We are liable for any trouble we cause. And most concerningly, should we complete the side objective, we are subject to take an oath of silence.

Looking at Fredrica, she already signed it. Sparkles in her eyes, seeing how apparently important this request was.

Welp, alright. I didn’t have a signature, but they assured me any scribble would do. Man, writing is easy.

“If we’re going to Felschonheit, might as well take this one too.” Fredrica ripped another one off the sideboard. Sure, why not.

Collecting the signed documents, she wanted to know if we were absolutely sure before submitting them. Clarifying that this was not a standard request. This is one the Guild deemed essential, enough to have no expiry date and be posted up on all branch buildings.

Course, this had Fredrica shivering in anticipation at the amount of clout this would net.

“Hey Fredrica, let me check the post office. I don’t know how long we’ll be gone.”

“Sure, I’ll meet you at the gates.”

------------------------------------

A package? Huh, Ma really went all out with the GP this time. Letters are one thing but packages, they cost a good bit and considering it arrived so soon too, must’ve been expensive.

Opening it then and there, I was surprised to find knives tucked alongside a letter and dried foodstuffs. Nice.

Looks like the powder experiment was a success. They felt nice to swing and produced a melodic whistle as they split air. Hehehe, Freddie’s gonna flip once she takes a gander at these.

As for the letter I’ll save it for later, there’ll be plenty of time for that on the road.

Chewing on some long-arm bear jerky, I set out for the gate...

There she is, and is that Rudi?

“Hey guys, what’s up? Also snacks?” Fredrica took one.

“*munch* I ran inta him, *munch* he’s headed to Felschonheit. Needs some specialty items from there. *munch*.” As she chowed down, Rudi decided to take the reins and finish.

“About sums it up. I was planning on buying ingredients I needed in bulk.” Next to him was a wagon which would help transport them back.

Finishing her treat, Fredrica capped it off. “Since we’re headed the same way, Rudi agreed to give us a lift.”

“Nice ta have ya on board again!” I wrap an arm around him.

“Ngh, well rowdy fellows make for interesting travels.” He gave a weak arm pump.

“You’re the chaotic one! Don’t go acting normal now! You mad chemist wannabe!” Pfft, even after our first meeting ended up with me as his test subject.

Banter aside, we went into town to load up on supplies and happened to run into Nickolas, who had the same idea as us. Apparently, Felschonheit was his hometown, so it was a no-brainer for him.

Do-do-do~ Nickolas has joined the convoy.

Getting back to loading supplies. I showed Freddie my new daggers. She instantly scanned it and asked me how it was made. I only know basics, not to mention how the boys back home used the dust, but as soon as I told her the secret ingredient, she flipped. Pounding her head against a crate. “Stupid, stupid... Wait, you still have a jar of that, right?”

Just agree, no need to aggravate the smith fiend. She instantly bolted back to the forge. “No! Deal with this shit situation you put us in first!” Needlessly to say, I dragged her ass back.

Now with absolutely everything sorted out. We headed off for new adventures in, what Nikolaos boasted, the world’s first mana dungeon.

Fredrica took the first shift, taking the reins. Let’s read Ma’s letter while the roads steady.