"10/10, just like you, Belle."

"Don't hurt yourself reaching for those compliments, Wil." Belle stuck her new tongue out at me. Must be nice to have a tongue, or maybe it's really gross.

"Now that you've got enough Mana, let's go ahead and build your first Room!" She was getting hyped up again. Wil was busy thinking about something else though.

"Belle I thought we already have a Room? The very first spot we claimed is called the Core Room isn't it?" Wil asked pointedly.

Belle scrunched up her nose at this blatant technicality.

"Well, Wilcox," Uh Oh. "If you must know, Core Rooms count as Special Rooms and therefore don't go towards your Room count." Belle finished her declaration with multiple hand waves to show the discussion was over.

This was the first time Wil had heard of these Special Rooms, but he was already called by his full name and his recently gained memories were screaming at him to cut his losses.

"Then let's go ahead and make the new Room, okay Sweetheart?" Wil figured it wouldn't hurt to lay it on a little thick for the time being.

Belle, having none of it, "Yes, it would be best if you made it at the end of the tunnel you made a little while ago."

Focusing his attention towards the end of the 10ft long Tunnel, he envisioned carving out a large domed Room. He didn't know why the Room dimensions were so exact but he would take what he could get.

Mentally focusing on his Mana, he began hollowing out a large 12ftx12ft space at the back end of the Tunnel he created. With his Core room on one end and his newly created Room on the other, if any Sentients had an aeriel view of his Dungeon they would say it looked like an off balance dumbbell.

A forgotten benefit to all this excavating was that his resource count shot up even higher! Now instead of 32 resources he had 84 that he could work with. He still didn't know how much 84 would get him but he knew there were some decorative rugs in his future. Something about rugs really intrigued him...why cover the floor with more floor? He had to know.

Belle was off to the side of his Core, looking a little glassy eyed until her head snapped forward and she started spinning in circles faster than she normally did when excited.

"Wil! Wil! Guess what we just absorbed from that Room!" She was becoming frantic and it was starting to infect him.

"Tell me! Tell me! Is it a rug?" He asked hopefully.

That seemed to throw her off her rhythm, "I- What? No, why would there be- look, you absorbed some Wood! Not just any wood either, it was a Rare Tie- "

"How the hell is that better than a rug Belle?!" Wil was irate, he had gotten his hopes up over something that supposedly surrounds their Dungeon.

Belle smacked the top of his Core, hard, "Well how do you suppose we go about getting Wood, or any other material for Dungeon building for that matter. What we just got was a lucky break, and you better appreciate it!" This mollified him a little, but he still would have preferred a nice throw pillow over a few wooden planks.

"Well alright, what can I do with the wood now that we have it?" He begrudgingly asked.

Belle, with a grin far too large to be called cute, "Traps! Not to mention the wood we absorbed came from a Silverbark Tree! Like I was trying to tell you earlier it is a Rar-"

The mention of Traps interested Wil, but the real interesting piece was the Trees species. "Why is it called Silverbark?" He interrupted her again, he wasn't trying to, but he really wanted to know. He tried, and failed, to ask calmly.

Belle, even more smug than Wil thought possible, "Oh so now he's interested, well maybe if you beg I'll tell you all about my wood, and how great it really is..." Wil felt distinctly uncomfortable at those words but was unsure why, so he settled on spite.

He knew he could recreate anything he absorbed, so he set out to create the Silverbark from his resource pool.

Belle, noticing him concentrate on something other than her teasing, watched as his Core flashed a bright shade of green before wooden beams the color of a rich dark brown with specks of silver running through appeared across the roof of his new Room. Four beams in total now ran perpendicular to each other across the roof.

"Neat..." the Core said sheepishly, hoping he didn't accidentally ruin his Dungeon trying to spite his Guide.

Belle, now thoroughly deflated, just sighed and asked the important question. "How much?"

Huh?

"How many resources did that take to do?"

Wil, now more confident than ever, opened his Resources window ready to gloat about how cost efficient he was.

I mean let's be honest, how much could wood cost? Im just going to look at this menu and see it only took maybe 8 Resou-

45

He had 45 Resources remaining. He used 39 Resources on a few wooden beams.

"I think we can both admit we got a little heated." He hedged.

SMACK!

"Unfair! You have hands and I don't!" Wil grumbled.

"Thats what you get for wasting so much on a Rare Tier Item!" Huh?

"Mind telling me what a 'Rare Tier Item' is?

"Only if you don't interrupt me anymore!" She stared hard at his Core and waited. When no reply save a slow blink of his light came, she continued.

"Another change Mr.Blue brought with him was the idea of Tiers for the items of the world."

"There are 5 different Tiers. In order of ranking from bottom to top they are; Common, Uncommon, Rare, Unique and Legendary." Belle listed off each with a tick of her fingers. It was an odd sensation, but Wil could swear he felt the power imbued into each Tier name.

"For Dungeons specifically, the higher Tier an item is, the greater the Resource cost to recreate it in your own Dungeon. I'm guessing the only reason you are not bankrupt right now is because of your Nature Affinity and the bonus that provides to all nature items in your Dungeon. You should consider yourself lucky, you know!" Wil, now thoroughly cowed, just blinked in acknowledgment.

"Will you tell me what Silverbark is now that its become a staple of our dungeon?" He stressed the emphasis on the 'our' part and it seemed to help a little.

Belle's face softened before she finally replied. "Sure Sweety, I've been waiting for a chance to flex these new Guide powers anyways." Why am I getting such an awful feeling..?

Chime

Silverbark Wood

Comes from the Rare Tier Silverbark Tree.

Difficult to find and even harder to cut down. A dense wood packed with minute traces of raw Silver Ore. Can be found deep in the Ilvan Forest or surrounding the Andel Mountains. It is difficult to shape, but the craftsmen that can may make some of the finest items utilizing this wood.

My nemesis strikes again.

"Well now I see why it was so expensive, but I would have paid that price anyway, look how nice the wood looks in the room!" Wil and Belle both knew he was pushing it, but neither said a word so they moved on.

"Now that you've only got 45 Resources left why don't you start thinking about some Traps?"

Traps. Trap them and then eat them. Wil hummed at the idea and Belle smiled.

"There are two main kinds of Traps Dungeons use to catch Sentients, Wil, so listen up." She had his undivided attention at the idea of Two-legs being on the menu.

"There are your Standard Traps, and your Custom Traps."

Wil was mesmerized at the thought.

"Standard Traps cover your basic Dungeon Traps; such as, Pitfalls, Falling Boulders, Spike Traps and Fake Floors. There are many others but these are a Dungeons bread and butter and many others need to be unlocked through various different types of Resources that we don't yet have. Most Basic Standard Traps cost 5 Resources."

I love it, I love it. What more could a Dungeon ask for?

Wil was humming so loudly it broke Belle's concentration, and a large smile grew on her face while she flew over to him. There she sat on top of his Core until he calmed down enough to keep listening.

"Now the fun part is your Custom Traps, they cost varying amounts based on their complexity, but they are your best line of defense besides your Monsters." Belle was happy to see Wil taking such an interest in improving his Dungeon.

"Why would I even bother with the Standard Traps then?" Wil asked.

"Thats a fair question, the main reason is because during our first few years as a Dungeon we don't want to come off as impossible. We need to let some people; not everyone, but some, leave our Dungeon alive. Not to mention some Custom Traps get really expensive as you progress in levels."

Wil was about to protest when Belle swooped in with, "If we don't, there is a good chance the Adventuring Guild will declare us too difficult and not worth the risk of creating a town over a Dungeon that is unbeatable. If they decide that, they will most likely ask a Hero to destroy your Core."

Wil could not physically gulp, but he could mentally do it. So he did.

Moving on...

"So uh, levels?" Wil asked, trying to steer the conversation away from his potential destruction.

Belle winked at him, "Why don't you worry about that after you place a few traps down?" Thats not foreshadowing at all.

"Well okay, right now i've got one large Room and a Tunnel. I would like to see my list of available Standard Traps please." Come on you bastard bring it on.

Chime

Pitfall

5-10 Resources

5-10ft deep hole in the ground. Depth varies depending on resources spent.

Falling Boulder

10 Resources

A large rock perched on top of a ledge, triggered by a pressure plate.

Spike Trap

5 Resources

2ft by 2ft square of wooden spikes, can be placed at the bottom of other traps or left on its own.

Fake Floor

5 Resources

A small patch of ground 1/2" thick. Easily broken when stepped on.

"I can't wait to cover this place with falling rocks!" Wil was raring to go and set up all his new traps when the voice of reason struck him down.

"Don't. You. Even. Dare. First thing you need to do is decorate your dungeon. I will not live in an empty stone cave the rest of my life."

It took a lot longer than Wil would have liked to admit to calm himself down, but he eventually managed to choke out, "Okay, lead the way.."

Over the next day and a half Wil and Belle went over every square inch of their new home. For the room with the Silverbark Beams they added decorative stone pillars surrounding the walls. Each pillar being a foot wide and spaced one foot apart from each other. In total there were 6 pillars spaced equally around the room, similar in look to a Roman Coliseum. The gap for the entrance was carved into the pillars to create a larger doorway. Another addition was to add different types of moss that Wil had absorbed from clearing his orignal room. It made him feel as though time had forgotten the room and cast it aside, he loved it.

Aside from the new gladiatorial aesthetics, a large shelf was raised on the left and right side of the entryway. These shelves of stone had no purpose yet, but both Wil and Belle agreed it would be a good spot for Monsters.

If an Adventurer were to enter the room they would see an arena surrounded in moss covered pillars. With a suspicious amount of hiding space in the roof due to the Silverwood Beams, as well as two large half-circle overhangs 3ft in diameter on opposite sides of the room. These overhangs would be too tall for all but Adventurers to see over.

The final touch that he added was a small pit in the center of the room which he then filled with sand. The sand pit was roughly four feet in diameter and broke up the monotony of the stone floor. Wil had found the sand when he was originally clearing out the room. Both Core and Guide were unsure what the sand would be used for, but figured the center of the room could use something.

All throughout the Tunnel he added some of the moss he had absorbed, he put it over the walls and ceiling to try and give the room a more overgrown aesthetic. He thought it looked pretty spiffy.

The Tunnel was decorated with small alcoves all along the sides that Wil then linked to the previous room through small passageways. During the time it took him to finish the Coliseum Room, Sunrise had come and gone, and Wil spent all 10 points of his newly gained Mana into digging out small passageways of various sizes throughout his Dungeon. He connected two passageways from the Tunnel into the overhangs in his Coliseum Room. He also made sure they were large enough for his Beasts to get through easily, but small enough that no idiot Two-legs would get the bright idea of trying to climb in to skip parts of his Dungeon.

For now the alcove spaces were empty, but Wil thought that in the future he could add statues or something similar into the gaps. There were three alcoves on each side of the tunnel spaced perpendicularly to each other, spaced every two feet. Both of the center alcoves were linked with the passageways that led into the Coliseum Room.These passageways led from the top of the overhangs, through the stone between the rooms, and fed out through hidden spaces in the alcoves. The alcove on the left fed to the overhang on the left. And the right fed into the right. Wil thought himself extremely clever for thinking of this until Belle said all Dungeons have little tricks like this. Damn! I'll have to be more creative when I get more rooms to work with.

Belle giggled at his frustration, and then they went to work on his Core Room. According to Belle there's no need for traps or puzzles in the Core Room, so most Dungeons used the space as a sort of home for themselves and their Guide.

Wil splurged a little and created a Silverbark bed for Belle. They didnt have any fabric yet, so for a mattress Wil created a dense bed of moss. Belle was ecstatic with her new life of luxury.

Other than a bed, he also made many stone shelves and alcoves. Just in case they ever wanted to show off whatever rare things they get in their Dungeon. According to Belle some Dungeons were total hoarders.

Everything was going great. All the rooms were becoming more Dungeon-like and Wil and Belle both felt satisfied with the Dungeon's progress. Until they realized there was no light in any of the new rooms. Oops.

Thankfully being a Core has its perks. If the Dungeon chooses to, they can convert a negligible amount of Resources into a condensed Mana-Light. The reason it didn't cost Mana but instead cost Resources was because, according to Belle, "It's not 'real' mana. All it's good for is a little bit of light."

Not to mention it only let out light corresponding to the Dungeon's Affinity. For Wil and Belle that meant a soft golden green light. It made Wil think of what he imagined sunlight would look like shining through a thin leaf. Beautiful.

For a measely 5 Resources he put three in the Coliseum Room. One above the entrance, and one under each of the overhangs. By leaving them under the overhangs the top layer of stone was still encased in shadow, and that appealed to Wil greatly. He then put one right at the top of the tunnel, attached to the ceiling by surrounding it in stone. It resembled a golden-green jewel nesting in the ceiling, overlooking the alcoves. The last light went into the Core Room on one of the shelves, because Wil thought it looked nifty.

I wonder how many Resources I have left after all that renovating.

Resources

Gained by absorbing non-living materials, used as currency for Dungeon Building.

Current Resource Count - 22

Wil began vibrating in exitement, "Traps! Traps! Traps!"

Belle was all smiles as she attempted to calm him down, "Okay, okay! You've got enough for at least three, up to four if you spend conservatively."

Wil didn't need to hear any of this, he knew exactly where his Traps would go. He had all that time decorating to find the best spots. He focused his attention onto the Tunnel with his alcoves and hidden passageways, and stuck one pitfall trap right at the doorway between the Tunnel entrance and the Coliseum Room entrance.

Did Wil mention he added doors? He had doors now. Between the Tunnel and Coliseum, was a large Silverwood door with a stone handle. He put a similar door at the other end of the hallway, leading into their Core Room. He was loath to spend the Resources on doors as it would take away from his Traps, but Belle convinced him.

"If people can just see into the next room they have a lot better chance of finding your Traps." That shut Wil up quick.

So now, at the front of his door leading out of the Coliseum, but still very much in the Tunnel, Wil added a Pit Fall Trap. The area directly infront of the door was now going to be the cause of twisted ankles everywhere. The hole only went 5 feet deep, the max Wil could make it go before the Trap rose in Resource cost. At the bottom he spent another 5 Resources and bought the Spike Trap, leaving the bottom of the pit filled with wickedly sharp wooden stakes.

With 12 Resources left he bought the only Trap he ever had eyes for, the Falling Boulder Trap. He placed the pressure plate to trigger the Trap right inbetween the two center alcoves. The two with the hidden passageways for his future Monsters.

He began to laugh like an evil mastermind for far too long before it weirded Belle out enough that she told him to cut it off.

"Two Resources to spare, nice job Sweety. Although why didn't you add a Trap in your Coliseum Room?" Belle asked.

He was expecting this question to come up sooner or later, "Well I figured I should at least wait until I see what kind of Monsters we have in there before we put in Traps that are irreversible." He felt proud of his logic.

"Oh okay, you know you can change the layout of anything in your Dungeon whenever you want right? It would also be pretty ridiculous if you had to manually reset your Traps and Monsters each time too, thats why everytime your Dungeon is empty and no Sentients are in it everything goes back to how it was before they entered."

Wil, in a flash of inspiration, carved out and dropped a small pebble directly into his Guides stomach. "YOU NEED TO TELL ME THESE THINGS!"

Belle, now doubled over and hiding under her Silverbark Bed, just stuck her tongue out at him and scrunched up her face. If he wasn't so annoyed at her he would have said it looked very cute.

Wil, trying to calm himself by imagining a Two-legs falling into one of his Traps, asks, "Will you please tell me more, i'm sorry I dropped a rock on you."

Belle, still rubbing her tiny stomach, answered with a loud and exaggerated, "Hmph! If you must know, it means whenever a Sentient comes into your Dungeon you can't interact with anything like you can now. When they leave your Dungeon, any damage they did or any Monsters they killed get reset back to its original state. Your Monsters will keep their memories though, so thats a nice bonus." By the end she was back to her old lecturing attitude.

Belle, now looking a little worse for wear but back to her usual excitement, decided she had kept him waiting long enough. "Remember how I told you levels can wait until you placed a few traps down?" Oh boy.

"Well I've been holding off this notification until you wrapped up all your Dungeon prep, but no sense in keeping you in the dark now."

Huh, I wonder what she means? Maybe I sho-

Chime

Congratulations!

You have reached Level 2!

Mana is now 20/20

Mana Regeneration is now 12/d