Worthy Core

The entire next morning had been spent planting trees and other flora, for a magical definition of the word 'planting'. As Xenia's forest biome schema was a 'resource' pattern rather than a 'construct' pattern, she was free to use it to create decorative objects almost without mana cost. The only reason she hadn't entirely filled the fourth floor already was that she had been indecisive about how she wanted to design her forest - did she want to have a meadow section, did she want to have a creepy dark forest section, and so on - but that indecision had clearly caused issues during the last intrusion. Without the cover of foliage her traps and ambushes were practically neutered, and so it was clear that it would be better to have some sort of forest in place first, and then to sort out the fine details later.

Around lunchtime though, Lollyp and Sincere both came by to observe a more significant event - the creation of a new dungeon boss. The group had gathered in the re-designed central island, which now consisted of a circular grassy plain surrounded by trees and boulders which blocked off any view of the island's contents from the surrounding forest. Not to mention it would make escape more difficult, an important consideration for a boss arena. When Xenia emerged from the stairwell hidden at the center of the island, she found Sincere examining a spitwing nesting in one of the trees, while Lollyp was sitting down on the grass and playing with a pair of vampire bunnies. "Heh, you two enjoying the new floor, huh?"

Lollyp looks up with a smile. "Never spent much time in forests - my home region's practically a desert and we don't have many in the entire Domain, really. The heat never bothered me much, but I gotta admit...this is kinda nice."

Xenia looks around with a smile of her own. "It is, ain't it? I was thinking of setting up some F-tier avians just for the birdsong, you know? Gonna have to be later though, we don't even have all the proper monsters set up yet."

Sincere turns around and joins the discussion. "Speaking of, you finally decided on your monster of choice for your floor boss? A crossbreed, I assume?"

Xenia nods. "Yeah, but gotta do something first. We're up to twelve souls in the inventory, which is burning a hole in my pocket, so for starters..." With a wave of her hand, Xenia summons her inventory screen from Guy and goes into the shop menu. "Let's see...I think this batch is the dumbass nudists, and this one...probably an orc. So long, suckers, have fun in the Well!" With a few taps, the screen is replaced with a new message.

 

 

The dungeon master claps cheerfully. "Woo! Really looking forward to getting those boys up to B-tier, but even so, that's a step up for BB, Flopsy, and all our bunny crossbreeds, so should definitely help out."

Lollyp looks up in a bit of surprise. "Wait, Sir Flopsy? Are you actually upgrading him? I thought he was, you know...just a bunny."

Xenia grins. "I am now! Not a monster bunny or anything just, like...a really strong, C-tier bunny. Since he's not my core guardian anymore I've moved him to Floor Four, which has plenty of mana to spare for a little somethin' extra. Although...maybe Sir Flopsy the Mini-Boss at some point? Something to consider."

Sincere chuckles at the thought of a highly-upgraded rabbit with no actual combat abilities. "Interesting idea, but not who you're using for your actual boss, then?"

At this point, Xenia's smile turns into a full-on maniacal expression. "This is gonna be great! For starters, we got a matchup between shades and buns, or as I call them - The Shun! Well, shades and the 'Primitive Lagobeasts' that BB is, but it's harder to work that into a punny name. Anyhow, shades are like ghosts with the whole intangibility thing, but with a focus on darkness magic rather than mind attacks."

Guy chuckles along. "For starters, eh? I take it you're not satisfied stopping there, then."

"Nah, cause it looks like at higher tiers some monster types can turn into specialized sub-types when used as bosses, and shades are one of those. So without further ado, let me present..." Xenia's pause is rather long, as she first has to summon forth one of her 'Shun' into the arena. The creature has something of the form and shape of BB, in terms of height and stance, but its substance seems to be made of immaterial shadow and smoke. Sometimes it appears to have skin, at other times there's exposed bone to be seen, but always its eyes emit cold blue lights which shine through its own mist.

Once the boss upgrade takes place however, its form changes significantly. It gains several feet of height, but its body becomes concealed by a black cloak, eventually growing into a hood that covers its head...save for holes which allow its long rabbit ears to emerge. Beneath that hood only the lights of its eyes can be seen, but a paw-like hand slipping through one of the sleeves does reach out to take hold of a large scythe. Finally, Xenia concludes her introduction. "The Grim Reaper Lagobeast, or as I like to call him - THE DEATH OF RABBITS." As Xenia speaks the monster's name, her voice takes on an otherworldly tone that seem to shake Lollyp and even surprises Sincere.

Lollyp gasps out loud. "What the hell was that!? It's like I heard the name inside my head!"

Sincere answers her question for Xenia. "That...was Higher Demonic, wasn't it? I have to admit, it's strange hearing that from a human's mouth, even if I'm aware you're not exactly human."

The dungeon master chuckles. "It's pretty cool, isn't it? Anything sounds badass in Demonic! Check this out! LOLLYP LOVES BEING SPANKED, IT'S HILARIOUS AND CUTE."

Again, Lollyp finds herself gasping. "I - all slimes dig it, okay! The vibrations are - it - you know what!? You shared your language library with me, so it works both ways! XENIA IS A BRATTY BOTTOM! SHE'LL SAY ANYTHING TO MAKE YOU TRY AND SHUT HER UP!"

The accused bottom simply shrugs. "I ain't ashamed of nothin'. Though yeah, that does sound even weirder when someone else is doing it."

Sincere raises both his hands, and his voice. "Please stop doing that!"

Lollyp looks over with some concern. "Uh, it isn't going to summon something, is it?"

"No, I just don't care to learn about your sexual preferences in this manner."

Now slightly embarrassed, the dungeon master moves on. "So uh, right, the boss soul! I think this one's the elf we got the other day - he was good at both melee and ranged, and his classes were all about forests, so it seems like a perfect fit. So, elfboy - in you go!" With a few more taps on her screens, the selected soul leaves her outreached palm and flies into THE DEATH OF RABBITS. The change in behavior is immediate, as the previously wandering monster begins to analyze its own hands and the people around it. With a smile on her face, Xenia approaches her new boss.

"Heya, welcome to Worthy Dungeon, DEATH OF RABBITS! You've been promoted to the boss of Floor Four! Your job is to guard this island, and keep people from finding the secret stairs! Any questions?"

The boss looks at her and tilts his head before answering. "SO, SHOULD I KILL EVERYONE, OR JUST RABBITS?"

"No, don't kill the rabbits actually, that's just a theme! Unless...there's rabbit beastkin? But yeah, intruders, feel free to kill them, though it doesn't have to be all of them if you don't feel like it. Unless they're being dicks."

The boss stands up straight, assuming he stands at all, given that his feet and the lower portion of his robe are constantly hidden by mist. "I SHALL GUARD THIS FOREST WITH MY UNLIFE. ALSO...CAN I PLAY WITH THE RABBITS WHEN THERE'S NO INTRUDERS?"

Xenia gives a thumbs up. "Hell, I encourage it! Ooh, new theme idea!" Spinning around, the creative spirit calls on her 'decorative stone' resource schema to force polished slabs of granite to jut out of the ground, filling much of the space. Passing by each one she then shapes them individually, creating simple grave markers out of some, while sculpting rather elaborate rabbit statues with others. On each of them she carves a name and a short message, such as 'BOOPSY EARS - NEVER HEARD IT COMING'. Looking over her work, Xenia giggles. "Hehe, I always loved the gag headstones at the theme parks! We can maybe even use them for arena traps, too!"

The new boss looks around at his redecorated arena. "A LITTLE DEPRESSING, ISN'T IT?"

"That's the idea, DOR! ...DOR-man? No, no, I did that one already. Rabbit-man? Nah, might use that one for BB when he can talk. Guess I'll just call you DEATH for short, for now."

The boss looks on with an excellent poker face, helped by the fact that his face is invisible. "I THINK THAT WOULD BE A GOOD CHOICE, YES. BUT, AS I SAID..."

Xenia snaps her fingers as she refocuses. "Right, right. The theme! I am officially calling this floor...The Forest of the Rabbit Cult! We'll start off with a nice and peaceful meadow, with just, you know, killer bunnies and spitwings, then as you go further in, it'll get all dark and spooky with the Shun! Think I'll put in a key-based puzzle, if folks beat the Shun Cultists they can spawn a bridge to the central island arena. Or, they can just try and swim it...and you know, probably drown depending on how frisky the Slooshies are feeling that day."

Lollyp's eyes grow wide at the thought, in a literal and almost disturbing way. "Oooooh, that sounds really cool! You never did finish that slime theme with Floor Three, you know, what with the random orc skeletons in the middle of it. And the possessed armor bosses."

"It's a shared slime and undead theme now, alright!? You just want me to add more slimes to the dungeon." Xenia crosses her arms, looking offended at the slight to her artistic vision.

Lollyp thinks for a moment, then nods. "Yeah, that'd be pretty cool too."

"Well, we'll probably be adding more of em eventually, so keep your chill." Changing topics, the dungeon master turns back to DEATH. "Do have some bad news for you though, buddy. I'm probably going to be sealing off the floor for a bit, just to keep from freaking out the locals too much. Though with any luck we'll have an expert by in a few days we can talk about it with. Lemme know if things get too boring down here, yeah?"

The boss nods. "I SHALL PROTECT AND PET THE RABBITS UNTIL THEN."

Xenia claps her hands. "Alright then! Time to start a cult!"

 

---

 

After a long day of designing haunted forests and summoning monsters until her mana ran dry, Xenia had retreated to the second floor to soak in Lollyp's hot springs. Both women were present and relaxing when midnight came around, causing Guy to come floating into the chamber.

"Ma'am! We have - ah, shall I give you ladies some privacy?"

Xenia rolls her eyes and stands up as she turns to face the guide, flashing them quite directly. "Think I said already, I'm pretty sure that over hundreds of years in here you're gonna be seeing a lot of me, so nah, I ain't gonna get embarrassed about shit. I mean...are you even a guy, Guy? Either way you're free to join in if you like, unless this is 'cause it bothers you. If so, y'know, just let me know."

The screen shakes in a no. "I actually do not possess a gender, ma'am, no. I can't say it bothers me as such, if it does not bother you, so...I suppose I'll take you up on that invitation, shall I?" Floating over to the hot tub and sinking down, Guy halts when they're halfway submerged. "...I have to be honest, I do not believe this does much for me."

Xenia sits back down herself before answering. "Well, you're welcome to join for the company, anyhow. So what was the emergency, anyhow?"

"Ah, yes! We've now entered Day Fifty! Behold!" As they finish, a new series of achievement windows spawn.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Xenia's eyes dart from screen to screen, not sure what to focus on first. "Sweet, we've got four floors so we got another challenge mode! Lots of freebies, and...uh? A divine favor? Guy, what the hell's this? Or um, what in heaven is this?"

Guy takes a moment to respond. "I see now that I have a listing of deities active in this realm whom you could contact, but I know little more than that. I imagine sending one a message for frivolous reasons would be an unwise idea, however."

Xenia turns to Lollyp instead, but the slime shrugs. "Don't look at me! I guess I've heard stories of gods directly interacting with dungeons before, but like...really rarely. Putting some sort of blessing on the dungeon, or giving them a unique servant as a boss, that sort of thing. I was never really the religious type though, so don't ask me for recommendations or how the gods decided to do that."

The dungeon master sucks in a breath, mind spinning at the possibilities - and the risks. "Right. Sitting on that one til Alizz comes by to chat, then. Guess I can see now why the Association considers day fifty to be a big deal..."