Chapter 109: Quickies and Squidies
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Chapter 109: Quickies and Squidies
Alpha.
Delta sat down heavily.
Alpha was in Durance.
Listen, before you start rolling out the red carpet, just remember we don’t know anything about him. He’s ignoring Sis, so something’s up. Don’t... just be careful.
Delta sat on the second floor, near the waterfall, just nodding slowly.
“But... what if he’s been looking for me or one of us? I made a home here with you and my friends, Alpha... he sounds alone,” Delta tried to explain her wild state of mind.
And we have no idea if that’s for a good reason or not.
Delta blew out a sigh. Damn it, she just wanted to rush out and talk to the guy. He... he would come to her Dungeon, hopefully. Once he heard her name, Delta knew he wouldn’t be able to resist.
Delta certainly couldn’t have!
What if he was cooler than her? Oh, what if he knew so much more and Delta looked like a dolt? What if Alpha thought Delta was a letdown?
“I’m going to talk to him, because lonely or not, Alpha is family in a way. We have to communicate because we could risk him running into the Silence unprepared. Maybe he’s alone because people keep thinking something’s wrong with him!” Delta protested.
A friendly chat is fine. Inviting him to your core room or giving away your secrets upon first meeting him, not so fine.
Nu made sense. He seemed to be grumpy about the whole thing.
“You worried his menu is cooler than you too?” she asked sympathetic. Nu went still.
...I have no issues with my existence. I shall go to the third floor and continue watching for problems and looking into ideas. Plans set in motion are best kept an eye on. Please contact me at your leisure, Dungeon Core.
Nu vanished and Delta was left blinking.
That was blunt even for Nu. Delta hoped Alpha’s menu sucked, Nu could really use the confidence boost. Alpha coming here would only do two things: it would make their differences clear, and it would show how much Alpha had progressed in his power compared to Delta.
Nu wouldn’t really care for anything else.
Nu blinked back. He looked purple as if red in the face. It was weird for a screen.
I can’t do this. I’m not one for drawn out stupid drama. Listen, I have issues with Alpha because I’m...concerned I- the Dungeon will fall to the wayside in your priorities. That you’ll force me and everyone to listen to some stranger because he came from the same place as you.
Delta thought about it. If Alpha hung around and near town, they would have lots of reason to talk and hang out if their personalities meshed. Would she start telling her monsters that Alpha had some say in things or to put up with the system not quite working due to the human in her Dungeon?
Delta didn’t think so, but she was impulsive and she knew that she tried to please people.
If Alpha needed EXP or treasure, would she spend valuable DP on making something unique for him?
Delta admitted she had no idea.
“Okay, I can see why you’re getting worried. How about a deal?” Delta clapped her hands together as the waterfall gushed, sounding like an endless yawn.
“If I want to help Alpha or such, we need to agree on it together, but if we don’t, we’ll get a voting council on the matter. We need wise and fair monsters to handle it so they don’t just agree because I’m me,” Delta suggested.
It isn’t about res- Okay, I can agree to that.
“Fera” Delta began.
Fera was my pick as well.
“Hm... Devina and Fera are my pick,” Delta said. Nu was quiet for a long time.
Doctor and Wyin.
Delta raised one brow.
Doctor is a mad gargoyle of science. He can stray close to true rational thought occasionally. Wyin has more independence than most, even if I dislike her, and she wouldn’t bend to please you especially if it meant hurting you in the long run.
“Devina is the law of the jungle and likes balance. Fera doesn’t give a heck and will say what needs to be said,” Delta agreed.
Thank you for agreeing to this. It wasn’t what I was worried about but it goes a long way.
Nu vanished again. Delta huffed.
“What are you worried about then?!” She flailed her hands in the air.
Delta guessed that as of today, the Dungeon had its first Council of Monsters.
“Go democracy,” Delta said with a sigh. She stood, petted Bob who was nearby, sunbathing as he did occasionally.
“Bob, wish me luck. I’m going to meet my brother of another dimension while setting up a council of voters made up of a barmaid, a jungle witch doctor, a mad scientist, and a murder tree,” she smiled. Bob made a slight shriek, showing he was proud of Delta’s efforts and he loved her.
“Oh Bob, you’re the best Abyss Worm I could have asked for!” Delta hugged him.
She did her best to hold him before she went back to see how the kids, plus Kemy, were getting on.
---
“Delta?” Alpha said, voice hitching slightly. Haldi, the weird man, hummed, pretending not to notice Alpha’s tone.
“Yup, new Dungeon that popped up recently. The core is this lively girl who doesn’t much care for killing or such. She sounds like a sweetheart,” Haldi grinned, showing a gap in the smile.
Was it a coincidence? Maybe it was spelled differently or just sounded close enough to give Alpha pause. He looked at his map screen which showed the grey fog of war around areas he hadn’t been. No symbol of anything important...
He looked at the public building before him.
“Paige Turner’s book shop,” he said quickly. Haldi nodded and Alpha got some large EXP for simply telling the man about the place he obviously knew.
This man was giving Alpha so much EXP for a simple task that the hidden level he saw like a ghostly fog about people’s heads, was black.
Black was death. Black was unbeatable. Most Royal knights varied between red, purple, and black. Parhal was black, as was Zane.
The stronger the quest giver, the more EXP Alpha got. Even for the same tasks, the gain was too different to ignore. But before Haldi just... didn’t give him a task. The man’s essence didn’t want anything from Alpha. Alpha couldn’t gain EXP...
It was unnerving. No one had ever asked him to do something for anything besides their own benefit. Even if it was kind or a bit of pity work... someone got a deal out of it.
Haldi’s essence looked tired of requests. It took some effort for Alpha to convince the man to do one. He wondered how many quests this Haldi had done to gather so much power?
Normal people transferred essence as well. Alpha could see it, sometimes. People bent some... pride and passed their woes onto someone else, bet some essence from their core. If the person completed it, the dark essence flowed to the person who completed the quest, as if the energy sought the stronger person.
EXP didn’t appear from nowhere. It was an energy transfer.
There were some rules. Working for a boss or leader, did not transfer energy. The admission of agreeing to work for someone stronger for basic needs seemed to negate the process.
However, a general or commander leading a troop of warriors gathered small amounts of essence from each subordinate during battle. The warriors produced it by following, while the leader gained it by shouldering the command. Tiny, but when spread over a hundred men or more the result was a little insane. It was like some weird faith thing. As if belief and confidence in a superior being you trust with your life was powerful.
Alpha saw the same result in efficient guild leaders and heads of various churches. Faith had power and Alpha was a little afraid of it. If he could understand people, just get them, he would be able to lead people or have them look up to him and generate the kind of bond like he saw, but...
Alpha couldn’t. He couldn’t lead people and in the middle of the battle have the demon child getting bored of him and making him gone. The people would be left, and Alpha would be to blame for whatever fell on them.
Deo went to help, but then hesitated. Grim looked so determined and... desperate.
Grim wanted to win his fight. Deo slowed down, turning to explain himself only to find Amenster and Kemy already sitting nearby, watching with interest.
Deo grinned, his group were so damn in sync!
“Go Grim! Go Poppy!” He cheered his heart out.
---
That idiot was cheering his damn heart out.
Grim didn’t need the support, but he accepted it to be polite. Billy had learned some new tricks. Billy had gotten some new threads. Billy... had evolved.
This put the whole ‘get revenge and respect’ thing into a slightly harder goal time frame.
He moved, already expecting the arrow volley that followed. All the arrows were blunter than Deo’s surprise parties. Still, they hurt like being struck by a rock. Poppy vanished somewhere, and the girl wasn’t bad as backup, even if she appeared like an ambush predator more than a mage at times.
Grim guessed that was the whole ‘blue mage’ thing. Be a mage, act like a beast.
The issue he had was that Billy had the upper hand in both environment and ambush tactics. Fire was off-limits, as was cutting the mushrooms down - there were simply far too many of them.
He needed to get on Billy’s level.
As if answering on a wing and a prayer, Poppy appeared, bat wings flapping. Grim was sure that when blue mages used techniques, the part vanished. Actually retaining a monster’s form was not part of the blue mage package!
“Hold on! I’m getting annoyed by this and De- everyone is watching,” she grimaced.
Right, the purple mage thing. Grim forgot about that. The girl never showed it off at all and Grim wondered why...
They flew up higher and higher until they breached the mist. Poppy still didn’t let go and zoomed off after the goblin ahead, who took potshots with arrows. Grim used his coat like a blanket. Without a piercing edge, the coat was a decent shield for the moment.
“Get ready, if you can hold him for a moment, I can take him down like vermin and entangle him,” Poppy hissed like a weird snake.
Grim didn’t exactly get a say in the matter as Poppy dropped him like a dragonrider dropping explosive potions on foes.
He assumed Billy didn’t exactly respect Grim more for it when he landed on him with a heavy thump mid-jump and they both fell back to the Grove’s floor, mushrooms acting like springy pillows.
“Oi, gedoff!” Billy grumbled and with a swift double kick to his stomach, Grim was pushed over. Grim knew his role and charged, throwing all respect out the window and grabbing Billy’s legs, making the goblin trip and drop his hook thing.
Their eyes met and a primal understanding passed between them.
This was no fight for tools or fancy skills.
They were beasts. Claws and teeth were good enough! It was to be a battle between man and goblin, between dungeon and free, between Grim and Billy.
But the wrench in the plan came when a squid monster fell from the trees and both of them screamed, holding each other.
“Purple style: Brain-sucking MahnDi Squid!” The beast growled.
---
“Did we win or did we draw?” Kemy asked, looking disturbed at the half girl, half squid monster.
“Go with ‘win’, why blemish our record?” Amenster asked with an amused smile. Deo looked in awe.
“POPPY IS SO COOL!” He almost squealed.
Kemy closed her eyes, and put the image into her ‘mid-life crisis’ compartment and simply nodded, smiling and humming.
Squid girls were cute now. They had to be or Kemy would cry.
---
Quiss frowned.
Why was he in the middle?
“Quiss never really mentioned you,” Ruli said smoothly from his left. Zane, of all people, was on his right sipping a drink.
“I don’t expect Quiss to mention me. Not much to write about,” Zane said simply looking right back at Ruli with amused eyes. The bar they sat it had a wide space around them as people avoided getting close.
He tried to get up, but their auras were like weights on his shoulders.
He was all that was holding them back from fighting.
“Zane, you tried to kill me, then pestered me with letters asking for one-night stands, but instead of the usual crap, you wanted to kill me and leave me. Ruli, you did sleep with me and I’ve hated you ever since. Can we move on? Like... why are you here, Zane?” Quiss gritted his teeth.
“Dungeon, taxes, something. Wasn’t paying attention,” Zane admitted, scratching his chin.
“I wasn’t that bad in bed. You just got my horses going,” Ruli frowned.
“It was the scariest sexual encounter I have ever had. I have slept with people who could kill me, people that have tried to kill me, and people I’m sure did kill me before bringing me back. You... were the scariest,” Quiss said flatly.
“Quiss says you were painting of joy and pinching circled into single and then set on flame. Life shifting, but soul snapping,” Seth said as he walked past.
Zane looked at him with a confused expression.
“Who the hell are you?” The man grunted. Seth eyed him with a long look.
“Beyond your reach and your night pictures,” Seth said coolly.
“Seth, why don’t your sleep with me and see if Quiss is being a drama queen?” Ruli offered. Seth blinked.
“I do not feel good about putting you to the end to make Quiss a royal. I like you,” Seth frowned.
Ruli made an obscene gesture that made Seth’s eyes light up.
“Ah you wish to mingle bodies! I must advance you. I am a master of affectionate bed sheets,” Seth winked.
“The dirty talk is going to be so amazing, I might actually die,” Ruli grinned.
“Oh no... be careful, Seth,” Quiss said bored before turning to Zane.
“Can you maybe kill me quickly?” He asked. Zane was unimpressed.
“I don’t do quickies,” he said, offended.
“Neither does Ruli. Right, whatever. I’m going to stop a druid and a glutton knight from fighting. It’s easier than... this,” Quiss stood, leaving the bar with his large staff and hat.
Zane shrugged and ordered another five pints.
He might as well get plastered before he actually had to work. Less chance of him either killing someone or pissing off someone strong enough to kill him instantly.
Zane didn’t like quickies. So impersonal.
---
I'll be starting 110 tonight. you guys rock!
Please report us if you find any errors so we can fix it asap!
Chapter 109: Quickies and Squidies
Alpha.
Delta sat down heavily.
Alpha was in Durance.
Listen, before you start rolling out the red carpet, just remember we don’t know anything about him. He’s ignoring Sis, so something’s up. Don’t... just be careful.
Delta sat on the second floor, near the waterfall, just nodding slowly.
“But... what if he’s been looking for me or one of us? I made a home here with you and my friends, Alpha... he sounds alone,” Delta tried to explain her wild state of mind.
And we have no idea if that’s for a good reason or not.
Delta blew out a sigh. Damn it, she just wanted to rush out and talk to the guy. He... he would come to her Dungeon, hopefully. Once he heard her name, Delta knew he wouldn’t be able to resist.
Delta certainly couldn’t have!
What if he was cooler than her? Oh, what if he knew so much more and Delta looked like a dolt? What if Alpha thought Delta was a letdown?
“I’m going to talk to him, because lonely or not, Alpha is family in a way. We have to communicate because we could risk him running into the Silence unprepared. Maybe he’s alone because people keep thinking something’s wrong with him!” Delta protested.
A friendly chat is fine. Inviting him to your core room or giving away your secrets upon first meeting him, not so fine.
Nu made sense. He seemed to be grumpy about the whole thing.
“You worried his menu is cooler than you too?” she asked sympathetic. Nu went still.
...I have no issues with my existence. I shall go to the third floor and continue watching for problems and looking into ideas. Plans set in motion are best kept an eye on. Please contact me at your leisure, Dungeon Core.
Nu vanished and Delta was left blinking.
That was blunt even for Nu. Delta hoped Alpha’s menu sucked, Nu could really use the confidence boost. Alpha coming here would only do two things: it would make their differences clear, and it would show how much Alpha had progressed in his power compared to Delta.
Nu wouldn’t really care for anything else.
Nu blinked back. He looked purple as if red in the face. It was weird for a screen.
I can’t do this. I’m not one for drawn out stupid drama. Listen, I have issues with Alpha because I’m...concerned I- the Dungeon will fall to the wayside in your priorities. That you’ll force me and everyone to listen to some stranger because he came from the same place as you.
Delta thought about it. If Alpha hung around and near town, they would have lots of reason to talk and hang out if their personalities meshed. Would she start telling her monsters that Alpha had some say in things or to put up with the system not quite working due to the human in her Dungeon?
Delta didn’t think so, but she was impulsive and she knew that she tried to please people.
If Alpha needed EXP or treasure, would she spend valuable DP on making something unique for him?
Delta admitted she had no idea.
“Okay, I can see why you’re getting worried. How about a deal?” Delta clapped her hands together as the waterfall gushed, sounding like an endless yawn.
“If I want to help Alpha or such, we need to agree on it together, but if we don’t, we’ll get a voting council on the matter. We need wise and fair monsters to handle it so they don’t just agree because I’m me,” Delta suggested.
It isn’t about res- Okay, I can agree to that.
“Fera” Delta began.
Fera was my pick as well.
“Hm... Devina and Fera are my pick,” Delta said. Nu was quiet for a long time.
Doctor and Wyin.
Delta raised one brow.
Doctor is a mad gargoyle of science. He can stray close to true rational thought occasionally. Wyin has more independence than most, even if I dislike her, and she wouldn’t bend to please you especially if it meant hurting you in the long run.
“Devina is the law of the jungle and likes balance. Fera doesn’t give a heck and will say what needs to be said,” Delta agreed.
Thank you for agreeing to this. It wasn’t what I was worried about but it goes a long way.
Nu vanished again. Delta huffed.
“What are you worried about then?!” She flailed her hands in the air.
Delta guessed that as of today, the Dungeon had its first Council of Monsters.
“Go democracy,” Delta said with a sigh. She stood, petted Bob who was nearby, sunbathing as he did occasionally.
“Bob, wish me luck. I’m going to meet my brother of another dimension while setting up a council of voters made up of a barmaid, a jungle witch doctor, a mad scientist, and a murder tree,” she smiled. Bob made a slight shriek, showing he was proud of Delta’s efforts and he loved her.
“Oh Bob, you’re the best Abyss Worm I could have asked for!” Delta hugged him.
She did her best to hold him before she went back to see how the kids, plus Kemy, were getting on.
---
“Delta?” Alpha said, voice hitching slightly. Haldi, the weird man, hummed, pretending not to notice Alpha’s tone.
“Yup, new Dungeon that popped up recently. The core is this lively girl who doesn’t much care for killing or such. She sounds like a sweetheart,” Haldi grinned, showing a gap in the smile.
Was it a coincidence? Maybe it was spelled differently or just sounded close enough to give Alpha pause. He looked at his map screen which showed the grey fog of war around areas he hadn’t been. No symbol of anything important...
He looked at the public building before him.
“Paige Turner’s book shop,” he said quickly. Haldi nodded and Alpha got some large EXP for simply telling the man about the place he obviously knew.
This man was giving Alpha so much EXP for a simple task that the hidden level he saw like a ghostly fog about people’s heads, was black.
Black was death. Black was unbeatable. Most Royal knights varied between red, purple, and black. Parhal was black, as was Zane.
The stronger the quest giver, the more EXP Alpha got. Even for the same tasks, the gain was too different to ignore. But before Haldi just... didn’t give him a task. The man’s essence didn’t want anything from Alpha. Alpha couldn’t gain EXP...
It was unnerving. No one had ever asked him to do something for anything besides their own benefit. Even if it was kind or a bit of pity work... someone got a deal out of it.
Haldi’s essence looked tired of requests. It took some effort for Alpha to convince the man to do one. He wondered how many quests this Haldi had done to gather so much power?
Normal people transferred essence as well. Alpha could see it, sometimes. People bent some... pride and passed their woes onto someone else, bet some essence from their core. If the person completed it, the dark essence flowed to the person who completed the quest, as if the energy sought the stronger person.
EXP didn’t appear from nowhere. It was an energy transfer.
There were some rules. Working for a boss or leader, did not transfer energy. The admission of agreeing to work for someone stronger for basic needs seemed to negate the process.
However, a general or commander leading a troop of warriors gathered small amounts of essence from each subordinate during battle. The warriors produced it by following, while the leader gained it by shouldering the command. Tiny, but when spread over a hundred men or more the result was a little insane. It was like some weird faith thing. As if belief and confidence in a superior being you trust with your life was powerful.
Alpha saw the same result in efficient guild leaders and heads of various churches. Faith had power and Alpha was a little afraid of it. If he could understand people, just get them, he would be able to lead people or have them look up to him and generate the kind of bond like he saw, but...
Alpha couldn’t. He couldn’t lead people and in the middle of the battle have the demon child getting bored of him and making him gone. The people would be left, and Alpha would be to blame for whatever fell on them.
Deo went to help, but then hesitated. Grim looked so determined and... desperate.
Grim wanted to win his fight. Deo slowed down, turning to explain himself only to find Amenster and Kemy already sitting nearby, watching with interest.
Deo grinned, his group were so damn in sync!
“Go Grim! Go Poppy!” He cheered his heart out.
---
That idiot was cheering his damn heart out.
Grim didn’t need the support, but he accepted it to be polite. Billy had learned some new tricks. Billy had gotten some new threads. Billy... had evolved.
This put the whole ‘get revenge and respect’ thing into a slightly harder goal time frame.
He moved, already expecting the arrow volley that followed. All the arrows were blunter than Deo’s surprise parties. Still, they hurt like being struck by a rock. Poppy vanished somewhere, and the girl wasn’t bad as backup, even if she appeared like an ambush predator more than a mage at times.
Grim guessed that was the whole ‘blue mage’ thing. Be a mage, act like a beast.
The issue he had was that Billy had the upper hand in both environment and ambush tactics. Fire was off-limits, as was cutting the mushrooms down - there were simply far too many of them.
He needed to get on Billy’s level.
As if answering on a wing and a prayer, Poppy appeared, bat wings flapping. Grim was sure that when blue mages used techniques, the part vanished. Actually retaining a monster’s form was not part of the blue mage package!
“Hold on! I’m getting annoyed by this and De- everyone is watching,” she grimaced.
Right, the purple mage thing. Grim forgot about that. The girl never showed it off at all and Grim wondered why...
They flew up higher and higher until they breached the mist. Poppy still didn’t let go and zoomed off after the goblin ahead, who took potshots with arrows. Grim used his coat like a blanket. Without a piercing edge, the coat was a decent shield for the moment.
“Get ready, if you can hold him for a moment, I can take him down like vermin and entangle him,” Poppy hissed like a weird snake.
Grim didn’t exactly get a say in the matter as Poppy dropped him like a dragonrider dropping explosive potions on foes.
He assumed Billy didn’t exactly respect Grim more for it when he landed on him with a heavy thump mid-jump and they both fell back to the Grove’s floor, mushrooms acting like springy pillows.
“Oi, gedoff!” Billy grumbled and with a swift double kick to his stomach, Grim was pushed over. Grim knew his role and charged, throwing all respect out the window and grabbing Billy’s legs, making the goblin trip and drop his hook thing.
Their eyes met and a primal understanding passed between them.
This was no fight for tools or fancy skills.
They were beasts. Claws and teeth were good enough! It was to be a battle between man and goblin, between dungeon and free, between Grim and Billy.
But the wrench in the plan came when a squid monster fell from the trees and both of them screamed, holding each other.
“Purple style: Brain-sucking MahnDi Squid!” The beast growled.
---
“Did we win or did we draw?” Kemy asked, looking disturbed at the half girl, half squid monster.
“Go with ‘win’, why blemish our record?” Amenster asked with an amused smile. Deo looked in awe.
“POPPY IS SO COOL!” He almost squealed.
Kemy closed her eyes, and put the image into her ‘mid-life crisis’ compartment and simply nodded, smiling and humming.
Squid girls were cute now. They had to be or Kemy would cry.
---
Quiss frowned.
Why was he in the middle?
“Quiss never really mentioned you,” Ruli said smoothly from his left. Zane, of all people, was on his right sipping a drink.
“I don’t expect Quiss to mention me. Not much to write about,” Zane said simply looking right back at Ruli with amused eyes. The bar they sat it had a wide space around them as people avoided getting close.
He tried to get up, but their auras were like weights on his shoulders.
He was all that was holding them back from fighting.
“Zane, you tried to kill me, then pestered me with letters asking for one-night stands, but instead of the usual crap, you wanted to kill me and leave me. Ruli, you did sleep with me and I’ve hated you ever since. Can we move on? Like... why are you here, Zane?” Quiss gritted his teeth.
“Dungeon, taxes, something. Wasn’t paying attention,” Zane admitted, scratching his chin.
“I wasn’t that bad in bed. You just got my horses going,” Ruli frowned.
“It was the scariest sexual encounter I have ever had. I have slept with people who could kill me, people that have tried to kill me, and people I’m sure did kill me before bringing me back. You... were the scariest,” Quiss said flatly.
“Quiss says you were painting of joy and pinching circled into single and then set on flame. Life shifting, but soul snapping,” Seth said as he walked past.
Zane looked at him with a confused expression.
“Who the hell are you?” The man grunted. Seth eyed him with a long look.
“Beyond your reach and your night pictures,” Seth said coolly.
“Seth, why don’t your sleep with me and see if Quiss is being a drama queen?” Ruli offered. Seth blinked.
“I do not feel good about putting you to the end to make Quiss a royal. I like you,” Seth frowned.
Ruli made an obscene gesture that made Seth’s eyes light up.
“Ah you wish to mingle bodies! I must advance you. I am a master of affectionate bed sheets,” Seth winked.
“The dirty talk is going to be so amazing, I might actually die,” Ruli grinned.
“Oh no... be careful, Seth,” Quiss said bored before turning to Zane.
“Can you maybe kill me quickly?” He asked. Zane was unimpressed.
“I don’t do quickies,” he said, offended.
“Neither does Ruli. Right, whatever. I’m going to stop a druid and a glutton knight from fighting. It’s easier than... this,” Quiss stood, leaving the bar with his large staff and hat.
Zane shrugged and ordered another five pints.
He might as well get plastered before he actually had to work. Less chance of him either killing someone or pissing off someone strong enough to kill him instantly.
Zane didn’t like quickies. So impersonal.
---
I'll be starting 110 tonight. you guys rock!
Chapter 109: Quickies and SquidiesAlpha.Delta sat down heavily.Alpha was in Durance.Listen, before you start rolling out the red carpet, just remember we don't know anything about him. He's ignoring Sis, so something's up. Don't... just be careful. Delta sat on the second floor, near the waterfall, just nodding slowly.But... what if he's been looking for me or one of us? I made a home here with you and my friends, Alpha... he sounds alone, Delta tried to explain her wild state of mind.And we have no idea if that's for a good reason or not. Delta blew out a sigh. Damn it, she just wanted to rush out and talk to the guy. He... he would come to her Dungeon, hopefully. Once he heard her name, Delta knew he wouldn't be able to resist.Delta certainly couldn't have!What if he was cooler than her? Oh, what if he knew so much more and Delta looked like a dolt? What if Alpha thought Delta was a letdown?I'm going to talk to him, because lonely or not, Alpha is family in a way. We have to communicate because we could risk him running into the Silence unprepared. Maybe he's alone because people keep thinking something's wrong with him! Delta protested.A friendly chat is fine. Inviting him to your core room or giving away your secrets upon first meeting him, not so fine. Nu made sense. He seemed to be grumpy about the whole thing.You worried his menu is cooler than you too? she asked sympathetic. Nu went still....I have no issues with my existence. I shall go to the third floor and continue watching for problems and looking into ideas. Plans set in motion are best kept an eye on. Please contact me at your leisure, Dungeon Core. Nu vanished and Delta was left blinking.That was blunt even for Nu. Delta hoped Alpha's menu sucked, Nu could really use the confidence boost. Alpha coming here would only do two things: it would make their differences clear, and it would show how much Alpha had progressed in his power compared to Delta.Nu wouldn't really care for anything else.Nu blinked back. He looked purple as if red in the face. It was weird for a screen.I can't do this. I'm not one for drawn out stupid drama. Listen, I have issues with Alpha because I'm...concerned I- the Dungeon will fall to the wayside in your priorities. That you'll force me and everyone to listen to some stranger because he came from the same place as you. Delta thought about it. If Alpha hung around and near town, they would have lots of reason to talk and hang out if their personalities meshed. Would she start telling her monsters that Alpha had some say in things or to put up with the system not quite working due to the human in her Dungeon?Delta didn't think so, but she was impulsive and she knew that she tried to please people.If Alpha needed EXP or treasure, would she spend valuable DP on making something unique for him?Delta admitted she had no idea.Okay, I can see why you're getting worried. How about a deal? Delta clapped her hands together as the waterfall gushed, sounding like an endless yawn.If I want to help Alpha or such, we need to agree on it together, but if we don't, we'll get a voting council on the matter. We need wise and fair monsters to handle it so they don't just agree because I'm me, Delta suggested.It isn't about res- Okay, I can agree to that. Fera Delta began.Fera was my pick as well. Hm... Devina and Fera are my pick, Delta said. Nu was quiet for a long time.Doctor and Wyin. Delta raised one brow.Doctor is a mad gargoyle of science. He can stray close to true rational thought occasionally. Wyin has more independence than most, even if I dislike her, and she wouldn't bend to please you especially if it meant hurting you in the long run. Devina is the law of the jungle and likes balance. Fera doesn't give a heck and will say what needs to be said, Delta agreed.Thank you for agreeing to this. It wasn't what I was worried about but it goes a long way. Nu vanished again. Delta huffed.What are you worried about then?! She flailed her hands in the air.Delta guessed that as of today, the Dungeon had its first Council of Monsters.Go democracy, Delta said with a sigh. She stood, petted Bob who was nearby, sunbathing as he did occasionally.Bob, wish me luck. I'm going to meet my brother of another dimension while setting up a council of voters made up of a barmaid, a jungle witch doctor, a mad scientist, and a murder tree, she smiled. Bob made a slight shriek, showing he was proud of Delta's efforts and he loved her.Oh Bob, you're the best Abyss Worm I could have asked for! Delta hugged him.She did her best to hold him before she went back to see how the kids, plus Kemy, were getting on.---Delta? Alpha said, voice hitching slightly. Haldi, the weird man, hummed, pretending not to notice Alpha's tone.Yup, new Dungeon that popped up recently. The core is this lively girl who doesn't much care for killing or such. She sounds like a sweetheart, Haldi grinned, showing a gap in the smile.Was it a coincidence? Maybe it was spelled differently or just sounded close enough to give Alpha pause. He looked at his map screen which showed the grey fog of war around areas he hadn't been. No symbol of anything important...He looked at the public building before him.Paige Turner's book shop, he said quickly. Haldi nodded and Alpha got some large EXP for simply telling the man about the place he obviously knew.This man was giving Alpha so much EXP for a simple task that the hidden level he saw like a ghostly fog about people's heads, was black.Black was death. Black was unbeatable. Most Royal knights varied between red, purple, and black. Parhal was black, as was Zane.The stronger the quest giver, the more EXP Alpha got. Even for the same tasks, the gain was too different to ignore. But before Haldi just... didn't give him a task. The man's essence didn't want anything from Alpha. Alpha couldn't gain EXP...It was unnerving. No one had ever asked him to do something for anything besides their own benefit. Even if it was kind or a bit of pity work... someone got a deal out of it.Haldi's essence looked tired of requests. It took some effort for Alpha to convince the man to do one. He wondered how many quests this Haldi had done to gather so much power?Normal people transferred essence as well. Alpha could see it, sometimes. People bent some... pride and passed their woes onto someone else, bet some essence from their core. If the person completed it, the dark essence flowed to the person who completed the quest, as if the energy sought the stronger person.EXP didn't appear from nowhere. It was an energy transfer.There were some rules. Working for a boss or leader, did not transfer energy. The admission of agreeing to work for someone stronger for basic needs seemed to negate the process.However, a general or commander leading a troop of warriors gathered small amounts of essence from each subordinate during battle. The warriors produced it by following, while the leader gained it by shouldering the command. Tiny, but when spread over a hundred men or more the result was a little insane. It was like some weird faith thing. As if belief and confidence in a superior being you trust with your life was powerful.Alpha saw the same result in efficient guild leaders and heads of various churches. Faith had power and Alpha was a little afraid of it. If he could understand people, just get them, he would be able to lead people or have them look up to him and generate the kind of bond like he saw, but...Alpha couldn't. He couldn't lead people and in the middle of the battle have the demon child getting bored of him and making him gone. The people would be left, and Alpha would be to blame for whatever fell on them.Deo went to help, but then hesitated. Grim looked so determined and... desperate.Grim wanted to win his fight. Deo slowed down, turning to explain himself only to find Amenster and Kemy already sitting nearby, watching with interest.Deo grinned, his group were so damn in sync!Go Grim! Go Poppy! He cheered his heart out.---That idiot was cheering his damn heart out.Grim didn't need the support, but he accepted it to be polite. Billy had learned some new tricks. Billy had gotten some new threads. Billy... had evolved.This put the whole get revenge and respect' thing into a slightly harder goal time frame.He moved, already expecting the arrow volley that followed. All the arrows were blunter than Deo's surprise parties. Still, they hurt like being struck by a rock. Poppy vanished somewhere, and the girl wasn't bad as backup, even if she appeared like an ambush predator more than a mage at times.Grim guessed that was the whole blue mage' thing. Be a mage, act like a beast.The issue he had was that Billy had the upper hand in both environment and ambush tactics. Fire was off-limits, as was cutting the mushrooms down - there were simply far too many of them.He needed to get on Billy's level.As if answering on a wing and a prayer, Poppy appeared, bat wings flapping. Grim was sure that when blue mages used techniques, the part vanished. Actually retaining a monster's form was not part of the blue mage package!Hold on! I'm getting annoyed by this and De- everyone is watching, she grimaced.Right, the purple mage thing. Grim forgot about that. The girl never showed it off at all and Grim wondered why...They flew up higher and higher until they breached the mist. Poppy still didn't let go and zoomed off after the goblin ahead, who took potshots with arrows. Grim used his coat like a blanket. Without a piercing edge, the coat was a decent shield for the moment.Get ready, if you can hold him for a moment, I can take him down like vermin and entangle him, Poppy hissed like a weird snake.Grim didn't exactly get a say in the matter as Poppy dropped him like a dragonrider dropping explosive potions on foes.He assumed Billy didn't exactly respect Grim more for it when he landed on him with a heavy thump mid-jump and they both fell back to the Grove's floor, mushrooms acting like springy pillows.Oi, gedoff! Billy grumbled and with a swift double kick to his stomach, Grim was pushed over. Grim knew his role and charged, throwing all respect out the window and grabbing Billy's legs, making the goblin trip and drop his hook thing.Their eyes met and a primal understanding passed between them.This was no fight for tools or fancy skills.They were beasts. Claws and teeth were good enough! It was to be a battle between man and goblin, between dungeon and free, between Grim and Billy.But the wrench in the plan came when a squid monster fell from the trees and both of them screamed, holding each other.Purple style: Brain-sucking MahnDi Squid! The beast growled.---Did we win or did we draw? Kemy asked, looking disturbed at the half girl, half squid monster.Go with win', why blemish our record? Amenster asked with an amused smile. Deo looked in awe.POPPY IS SO COOL! He almost squealed.Kemy closed her eyes, and put the image into her mid-life crisis' compartment and simply nodded, smiling and humming.Squid girls were cute now. They had to be or Kemy would cry.---Quiss frowned.Why was he in the middle?Quiss never really mentioned you, Ruli said smoothly from his left. Zane, of all people, was on his right sipping a drink.I don't expect Quiss to mention me. Not much to write about, Zane said simply looking right back at Ruli with amused eyes. The bar they sat it had a wide space around them as people avoided getting close.He tried to get up, but their auras were like weights on his shoulders.He was all that was holding them back from fighting.Zane, you tried to kill me, then pestered me with letters asking for one-night stands, but instead of the usual crap, you wanted to kill me and leave me. Ruli, you did sleep with me and I've hated you ever since. Can we move on? Like... why are you here, Zane? Quiss gritted his teeth.Dungeon, taxes, something. Wasn't paying attention, Zane admitted, scratching his chin.I wasn't that bad in bed. You just got my horses going, Ruli frowned.It was the scariest sexual encounter I have ever had. I have slept with people who could kill me, people that have tried to kill me, and people I'm sure did kill me before bringing me back. You... were the scariest, Quiss said flatly.Quiss says you were painting of joy and pinching circled into single and then set on flame. Life shifting, but soul snapping, Seth said as he walked past.Zane looked at him with a confused expression.Who the hell are you? The man grunted. Seth eyed him with a long look.Beyond your reach and your night pictures, Seth said coolly.Seth, why don't your sleep with me and see if Quiss is being a drama queen? Ruli offered. Seth blinked.I do not feel good about putting you to the end to make Quiss a royal. I like you, Seth frowned.Ruli made an obscene gesture that made Seth's eyes light up.Ah you wish to mingle bodies! I must advance you. I am a master of affectionate bed sheets, Seth winked.The dirty talk is going to be so amazing, I might actually die, Ruli grinned.Oh no... be careful, Seth, Quiss said bored before turning to Zane.Can you maybe kill me quickly? He asked. Zane was unimpressed.I don't do quickies, he said, offended.Neither does Ruli. Right, whatever. I'm going to stop a druid and a glutton knight from fighting. It's easier than... this, Quiss stood, leaving the bar with his large staff and hat.Zane shrugged and ordered another five pints.He might as well get plastered before he actually had to work. Less chance of him either killing someone or pissing off someone strong enough to kill him instantly.Zane didn't like quickies. So impersonal.---I'll be starting 110 tonight. you guys rock!
