As the new and exciting thing was the boss, that was the first creature I added to my 5th Floor. The 1st tier Boss had to be located in the last room of the 5th Floor. I could have made a Rule to change this, but as that's the room where I would have placed the Boss anyway, there was no reason to waste mana making a Rule to change this. However the second Rule for Boss Rooms I did mind enough to change.

While making a Boss the Core simply had to make a creature inside the last room of a tier. The creature would cost 1,5 times what it otherwise would have cost but in turn gain the 'Boss' Achievement which doubles the creature's Ability Scores.

However, most Cores aren't sapient and thus they place their creatures randomly. So to stop Cores from accidentally placing massive amounts of creatures in the Boss Room and making it impossible for good sapients to proceed to the next tier, the System added a restraint on Boss Rooms: the only Dungeon creature who can be in a Boss Room is the Boss.

The System windows informed me of all of this after several rounds of questions, which had started when I was unable to give my Boss a healer. I was very proud of my unicorn/bunny hybrid! And I had waited for just this moment to unleash my creation, only to be stopped by a System Rule that didn't relate to me anyway! Good people can just pass through my Dungeon with nothing stopping them after all!

So, of course, I simply made a new Rule.

New Dungeon Rule: Boss Assistants: Boss Rooms can have up to 3 non-Boss creatures in them. These creatures can at most be at a level responding to half the maximum creature level for the Floor.

That cost me a whopping 970 mana! And it's not even all that powerful!

I get the feeling the System doesn't like what I'm doing…

But I can still make it work!

As a non-draconic creature with magic resistance and the ability to magically heal others, my unicorn bunnies were naturally an extremely expensive creature despite it otherwise simply being… you know… a white bunny with a unicorn 'beard' and horn… and thus not particularly threatening. In fact, if I were to make the kirin and unicorn bunny at the same level, then even with the kirin costing more due to being a Boss, the bunny would still be more expensive.

Still. It would make the kirin way more powerful! And well… The bunny would not make a good Boss itself.

But should all 3 assistant creatures be unicorn bunnies? Or would it be better to add some other creatures as well?

I considered my options before deciding that unicorn bunnies, bā zú lung dragons and feathered serpents were the best support creatures I currently had. This would give healing for my Boss, and bad luck and stupidity for my enemies. Though my lung dragons can only curse one person at a time with bad luck. Actually… it would be much better if it blessed my Boss with good luck instead!

My Boss was a kirin. In my Dungeon this made it simultaneously super powerful even without assistants or the 'Boss' Achievement and… in some circumstances… super useless. Kirins would only attack bad guys and refuse to harm any others. So if a Party came with the intention of harming me but they all had karma levels of 26% or higher, my Boss would refuse to harm them. Even in self-defense!

But in turn it will pull way above its tier when bad guys come around, slaughtering all my peaceful creatures! And those types are the ones I both fear the most and want to kill the most!

The Boss Room was fairly simple in design. A wildflower meadow with a stream running through the middle of it. Steppingstones were placed so good people wouldn't have to get wet. In the two corners closest to the Core Room I had placed two rabbit burrows each, giving my unicorn bunny 4 burrows to hide in when not healing. Unlike an actual unicorn my bunny had to touch the one in need of healing. The other two corners had a tree each. 'Cause my forest theme might be pretty flexible but it still demands the presence of trees. Additionally, the side of the stream people would come from had a chance of dripping magma.

I had finished the Boss Room when my Party came to visit me 2 hours and 28 minutes after dawn.

Should I show them my awesome healer bunny now or wait till the Floor is finished?

Nah… I want to keep it as a surprise!

Some time passed as I recharged my mana. Emerald's Party had entered my 4th Floor when suddenly a thought hit me. System? Can unicorn bunnies heal sapients? I needed to be sure before I said anything.

The Skill 'Healing Touch' can be used on any living being. As such, it can not heal the undead.

That sounds suspiciously like a yes!

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Morghar had successfully helped Zaktak complete The Door of Speciesism puzzle by pointing out that they had all thought that all Dungeon creatures were aggressive and needed to be killed before they killed you. He reminded her that they used to think of them as monsters.

Zaktak had given Emerald a sad hug at that thought and decided to leave her stereotypes of elves behind her. There were many evil elves and some of those had killed her family. But somewhere out there, there was a good elf or two. Like this Dungeon amongst the 1,000's of other Dungeons.

Thenac, however, was not convinced. "They kill off all the good ones, I'm sure!" She had grumbled to herself. "Or maybe they beat all niceness out of them!"

The Party had only just passed The Door of Speciesism, when a kobold announced that the Dungeon had made itself a new creature. One with the ability to heal. The kobold then proceeded to invite any sick or wounded member of the Tribe to visit the unfinished 5th Floor and be healed by the new creature.

"What about pregnancies?" Morghar asked, clearly thinking about his mate.

"As the healer uses the System Skill 'Healing Touch' to heal, there should be no problem regarding the treatment of pregnant women," was the kobold's answer.

The Party quickly thanked the kobold and its Dungeon before racing through the rest of the Dungeon, so they could share the news with the Tribe as soon as possible.

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Chief Nerok was happy. His people had escaped enslavement and the System had rewarded them with a kind and generous Dungeon for doing so. Many had died during the escape or during the first week of travel, but life had never been easy.

The System rewarded hard work, not the easy path.

The Dungeon had at first simply allowed them to tier up, something any Dungeon could have done.

But then it spoke. It spoke to the Tribe through its creatures. Its creatures, just as kind as the Dungeon they lived in. Dungeon creatures that one could befriend and bond with, after which the creature would lend its strength to the Tribe.

The Dungeon had answered the Tribe's prayer and saved them from the elves, putting itself at risk in turn.

And now it offered to heal them.

And here I thought I had made it up. Nerok couldn't help but think. But once again, the Dungeon proves itself unlike any other Dungeon. People would start to get active Skills at the 3rd tier. But a healing Skill like 'Healing Touch' would be a 5th tier Skill for a Class specializing in magical healing. While some Dungeon creatures did get Skills earlier it usually came with one or two Ability Scores being unnaturally weak.

And the Dungeon had only just finished its 4th Floor. Even if I were to assume the Dungeon had an actual tier higher than its number of Floors would suggest, it would still only be in its 2nd tier. Even if it had been a 3rd tier Dungeon it is still incredibly odd for it to be able to make a creature with a 5th tier Skill.

It seems the System truly made this Dungeon a minor god, the Chief concluded. Perhaps the System did so, to make the Dungeon better suited to help us.

… Or perhaps we're meant to help each other?

Regardless of the System's full plan, it was clear to Nerok that right now, the Tribe were to be healed by the Dungeon.

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The Chief had declared that everyone had to be healed by my unicorn bunny. However, Nerok had also realized that it wouldn't make sense to send the entire Tribe down at once. Instead the Tribe arrived in groups of 6 to 18 people. The first group being the biggest and containing the most wounded - that being bones that hadn't healed properly -, the 6 pregnant women along with a mate or family member for each.

When Vanek, the mouseboy who had been a part of the Party with the Tribe's three bad guys, came by with a group to be healed he stopped to talk with the mimic in The Griffins' Treasure Room. He even stayed a while after the others had left for the next Floor. He seems to… find this small dumb mimic… amusing… No, that's not the right word.

I watched the two more closely as they interacted. But I wasn't able to figure out what had drawn the mouseboy to this particular mimic. Had he simply wanted to befriend a mimic, why wouldn't he have picked a higher level one from a lower Floor?

I was determined to figure out this mystery.

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While most of the Tribe appeared to be mostly fine, they all suffered the effects of having been physically and mentally abused during their time as slaves. Which in many cases had been their whole life.

I couldn't do anything about their mental issues, but I could heal their physical problems through my unicorn bunny. The problems were often so bad it took my poor bunny multiple healings to completely heal the beastkin.

Achievement tier up: A Friend in Need (II): You are a kind being who helps others without thought. Condition: Go out of your way to help someone without expecting any compensation for doing so 10 times. Reward: 1,000 EXP and 110% Charisma. [You do not have a Charisma Score. 110% Charisma changed to 10% discount on karma creatures.] You have gotten an Achievement tier up while having 2 passive Achievements. Do you wish to change which Achievements are passive?

Yes, actually. Each fully healed person counted towards the 'Friend in Need' Achievement as I had actively sought them out for healing - or as actively as it is possible for a Dungeon Core - and didn't expect anything in return. Other than continued friendship that was. Which didn't seem to count here.

But now I expect to be rewarded with more Achievement tier ups. I wonder if this will count as 'expecting compensation', but I sort of doubt it, as I would still heal them even if I didn't get any tier ups.

You already have 5 Achievements active. Pick 2 to turn passive. Passive Achievements give only half the rewards. You can only change your decision when you earn an Achievement. Achievement Reward: A Friend in Need (II) 1,000 EXP and 10% discount on karma creatures. Careful Preparation (V) An extra 25% mana regeneration and the Ability 'Mana Bank'. Creature Designer (II) Creatures have a 7.5% discount on their base cost. Creatures earn you 112.5% EXP. Dungeon God The Ability 'Dungeon Rules' and a 5% mana discount on all creations. First of Your Kind 120% EXP gain for 5 years [5 years left], 120% levels worth of creatures per Floor and +2 Toughness then 120% Toughness to all your creatures for 75 years [75 years left]. Karma's a Bitch The Abilities 'Karma Aura Sight' and 'Karma Targeting'. 110% damage dealt to people with a Karma Aura of 25% or lower. Making the World a Better Place (III) 20% discount on karma creatures. You now earn 50 EXP per karma level you rise in others in net total. This is retroactive.

Let's keep Dungeon God passive. I intend to change it again when A Friend in Need gets to tier 4 or 5, so the second will only be temporary.

… This seems slightly risky but as I'm expecting no danger in the near future…

System. Make Dungeon God and Karma's a Bitch passive.

Dungeon God (Passive): Reward: The Ability to make Dungeon Rules and a 3% mana discount on all creations. Karma's a Bitch (Passive): Reward: The Abilities 'Karma Aura Sight' and 'Karma Targeting'. 105% damage dealt to people with a Karma Aura of 25% or lower. A Friend in Need rewards you 1,000 EXP.

System. Show me my Achievements.

Achievements

You receive Achievements whenever you do something particularly good or extraordinary.

To get an Achievement you have to fulfill its condition. With each Achievement comes an appropriate reward.

Achievement

Condition

Reward A Friend in Need (II): You are a kind being who helps others without thought. Go out of your way to help someone without expecting any compensation for doing so 10 times. 1,000 EXP and 10% discount on karma creatures. Careful Preparation (V): You have decided to prepare your Dungeon some more before going to the next step. Wait at least 1 day before opening your Dungeon after the option has appeared or wait at least 1 day after getting access to a new Floor before making it. Do some combination of this 5 times. An extra 25% mana regeneration and the Ability 'Mana Bank'. Creature Designer (II): All Dungeon Cores design traps and puzzles. Some design their own creatures as well. You are now one of them. Design 5 creatures and spawn them. It does not matter if the designed creatures already existed or if it's completely new designs. Creatures have a 7.5% discount on their base cost. Creatures earn you 112.5% EXP. Dungeon God (Passive): You have realized that you are (kind of) the god of your own world. Make or change a rule that must be followed while in your Dungeon. The Ability 'Dungeon Rules' and a 3% mana discount on all creations. First of Your Kind: As the first of your kind it's your duty to ensure that your kind prosper. Be the first member of a new species, subspecies, or race. 120% EXP gain for 5 years [5 years left], 120% levels worth of creatures per Floor and +2 Toughness then 120% Toughness to all your creatures for 75 years [75 years left]. Karma's a Bitch (Passive): Rather than having your Dungeon kill indiscriminately, you have instead decided to actively follow your mission by making it much more likely for sapients with low karma levels to die. Make it more likely for sapients with karma levels of 25% or less to die in your Dungeon than other karma levels. The Abilities 'Karma Aura Sight' and 'Karma Targeting'. 105% damage dealt to people with a Karma Aura of 25% or lower. Making the World a Better Place (III): You have made the people around you into better versions of themselves, thus making the world a better place. Keep doing it. You have at one point successfully made the karma levels of other sapients rise 50 times in net total. 20% discount on karma creatures. You now earn 50 EXP per karma level you rise in others in net total. This is retroactive.

Going from 110% damage to bad people to 105% doesn't seem like that big of a difference… Maybe I should just keep it like that…

But that 5% could be the difference between life and death…

… Especially when people start going against my Boss…

…

I'll look at it again later.

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Achievement tier up: A Friend in Need (IV): You are a kind being who helps others without thought. Condition: Go out of your way to help someone without expecting any compensation for doing so 50 times. Reward: 5,000 EXP and 120% Charisma. [You do not have a Charisma Score. 120% Charisma changed to 20% discount on karma creatures.] You have gotten an Achievement tier up while having 2 passive Achievements. Do you wish to change which Achievements are passive?

The Friend in Need Achievement went from once to 10 times to 25 times to 50 times. There's a chance the next one is 75 times, but as it's the 5th tier up it's more likely 100 times. If it's 100 I won't get the next tier up when I'm done healing the Tribe. Depending on future situations it could happen pretty soon after though, as I would be pretty close to the 100 when done.

But the real question is: Is the 5% more damage to bad guys more or less worth than 2,500 EXP and 10% discount to karma creatures? No. It's not. The discount means I can get creatures faster which make up for the less damage dealt. Additionally, more creatures will give me more EXP, which leads to faster level up and more mana regeneration.

You have gotten an Achievement tier up while having 2 passive Achievements. Do you wish to change which Achievements are passive?

No, thank you!

A Friend in Need rewards you 5,000 EXP.

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Between the number of needed healings, the size of the Tribe and my bunny's mana recovery time the healing ended up going through the entire night and through the next day too.

This made me realize that, since the Tribe didn't count towards the allowed number of sapients anymore, I couldn't keep them out if I wanted to. After the elves had left, I had reset the timer to its previous standard, but the Tribe could enter my Dungeon at any time and the timer wouldn't even reset. The Tribe essentially didn't exist to my cooldown timer.

I guess they really are my family now! I giggled to myself. It's impossible to keep them out!

I didn't really mind, though.