[Who treated you like this?] Marianna repeated to the tearful Ratman queen. Miradeen wiped her large black eyes with her furry hands, an experience Mari doubted was pleasant. She turned to the Overseer that hovered behind her, apparently able to see it when it was floating.

“The Dungeon which tortured my people goes by the name Cordon. The things he did…” She sobbed again. “Please forgive me for wanting to avoid talking about them…” Mari sighed. She really did feel for the poor queen, and maybe it was best that she didn’t know what this Cordon had done. Mari wasn’t sure she could stomach it… Or maybe she could, since she didn’t have one to lose? Can you stomach something if you don’t have one? Hmm…

She found it strange that Cordon had a name while the Red Core didn’t, but Mari didn’t want to press the queen’s likely PTSD. [It’s okay.] She replied. [You don’t have to talk about it. In fact, why don’t we move on to another topic?]

Miradeen sniffed. “Of course, my lady. What would you like to address?” Gosh, she was formal. Mari contemplated the few things she could speak to the queen about. Possession skill? No, potentially very upsetting and trauma-inducing. Rat statues? Perhaps, but it might make her look like an idiot since she hadn’t even tried to [Review] it yet, and it could be really simple.

What about magic? She’d just gained the capability for that, right? Might as well ask her about it. Worst case, Mari came off as ignorant. Not as bad as asking, “Hey, what’s that statue you gave me?” and then finding out it was really just a statue.

[Let’s talk about magic. Do you mind explaining it to me? I have the ability to learn some, but I know nothing about it.]

Miradeen seemed to forget about what had been bothering her, brightening up. She sat herself on one of the chairs at the dirt table, and placed a satchel she’d apparently had around her waist on it.

“Oh my lady, what a wonderful topic to ask of me! Spellcraft is one of my favorite topics! Let’s see here…” She removed a scroll from her bag, and laid it out upon the table. She traced a claw across the paper, and a black line was left behind.

“You’ll notice,” she began to the Overseer, “Should we ever be attacked, I do not cast spells in rapid succession. This is because all magic in this world is governed by the concept of an inner energy.” She’d finished drawing a symbol into the paper, and it looked similar to the symbol for Aum in Mari’s previous world. The shop had sold a few random books, and several of them were related to meditation or chakras. Random stuff, Marianna thought, that would never have any bearing on her or her life. But apparently those very concepts might play into her current world.

The symbol Miradeen drew was slightly different from Aum. This one looked like a ‘6’ instead of a ‘3’, and there were multiple dots surrounding the upper left side of it. The right side of the six led into the typical swirl on the right side of aum, and there were no slashes across the top.

Marianna also perked up when Miradeen said the word ‘energy’. She was familiar with the concept, if it was the same kind she had to spend whenever she performed an operation as the dungeon core.

“There are various names for this energy,” Miradeen continued, taking Mari’s silence as understanding. “Some call it mana, others call it ki, though that’s quite rare. I personally believe it to be something of a creature’s soul. It feels like I’m putting a piece of myself into every spell I cast. This would explain why one becomes physically and mentally exhausted after using too much energy.”

She waved her hand over the paper, and the black shape faded into the scroll. It reminded Mari of those old toys she used when she was younger, where you could draw with the two dials, and then shake it to erase. Miradeen raised the scroll to Mari’s Overseer direct line of sight.

“This scroll is a magic item. It is rare, but it is simple. One may write upon it, without the need for ink, and erase it afterward. Scrolls like this, and other magic items, may be created with a precise amount of energy, as well as time, and thought. Practitioners often have to spend hours perfecting their enchantment to achieve the desired effect. This is why items like this go for a high price, despite their simplicity.”

Mari was amazed that even people with such simple technology could create technology without the need for, well, technology. She wondered what else could be done. Marianna decided to use [Review] on the item.

Magic Scroll of Depiction

A magic item, this reusable scroll is able to be drawn upon simply by applying pressure with the intent to mark. Having various uses, these scrolls are most commonly used by messengers.

Ironically, while fledgling artists love these scrolls, professionals despise them. Just wait until you see one accidentally spend hours drawing on one, only to erase it all, not knowing it was a Depiction Scroll.

The last bit seemed a little uncharacteristic of her usual [Review] skill results, but Mari shrugged it off and listened as Miradeen continued.

“Should you like to learn magic, my lady, I suggest we begin with a simple spell. But I request that you return to me at another time, if possible. I do believe I have to handle the settlement of my people. It should only take a few days before I will have plenty of free time, but we can resume this tomorrow, if you wish.” Miradeen showed what might’ve been an apologetic smile, as she returned the scroll to her bag, and stood once more.

[That’s fine.] Mari responded, pulling the Overseer out of the queen’s way, and flying it back to the main room. [Thank you for taking the time to explain it!] The queen’s eyelids curled in what might’ve been an embarassed smile, but Mari just thought it made her look cute.

Then she exited the viewport, and went back into her mental fortress, looking at the four screens she had. That reminds me… I should probably queue up a few more Overseers so I can have a complete view of the area...

So she did that, and while waiting for the two five minute cooldowns, proceeded to name her other Overseers.

Let’s see… Number two, you can be Marvin, and three, you’re… um… Stacey? Four is definitely Ivy, because that’s just funny. Five can be Fargo, and six is going to be Ellen. There!

As she named each Overseer, their viewports changed from the standard “Overseer #X (Unnamed)” to their new names, and Mari smiled contentedly. She quickly assigned the two new Overseers, Fargo and Ellen, to the corridors, since she had the other ones only watching the rooms. Now, while lounging in her mental couch, Mari could see almost the entire cave system. The only part she didn’t want to see was the queen’s chamber. That was too private for Mari to invade.

She turned her attention to Stacey’s viewport, the one watching her crystal’s chamber. She quickly averted her view from the rug, and the remains, and stared at the rat statue in front of the doorway. She sighed, wishing she could move it. It was a nice little statue, sure, but it needed to not be in the middle of where people could walk. She used [Review] on the figurine.

Ratman Figurine

This carved stone statue is quite the sight. As a gift from the queen of the Ratmen, it has been enchanted by her shamanic powers. The current boosts of this figurine are:

New spawnable dwellers. New classes. 200 Energy.

Condition: Excellent

Created by: Ratmen Crafters

Wow! That simple gift was amazing! It gave Marianna new options! Speaking of which, she thought, she needed to review what those were…

She pulled up the structure menu again.

Structure List

BASIC: Overseer Birthing Pod

BASIC: Dweller Creation Pod

SIMPLE: Dwelling

SIMPLE: Research Root

SIMPLE: Assorted Traps

UNIQUE: Sapphire Mine

UNIQUE: Sapphire Supports

Okay. So she figured it was time, now that she had plenty, to get around to build a couple of the things on the list. When she inquired to the purpose of a building, more advanced details appeared.

Structure: Dweller Creation Pod (Basic)

This pod allows you to birth simple creatures for your dungeon. They will defend your territory, as well as expand the usages of your dungeon. You must build the structure to view the available creatures.

Structure: Dwelling (Basic)

Dwellings are specifically advanced housing structures. They increase the morale of your dwellers, and allow them to have a more firm attachment to your territory. Many creatures will build dwellings on their own.

Structure: Research Root (Simple)

A research root will enable you to perform research on new and various subjects. The research root can also be used by a specific type of creature, to increase its researching speed and capabilities.

All in all, the structures sounded like they would all be a massive help to her new goal to get home. Marianna had been inspired by that dream of her mother and the detective… Delaney? That couldn’t be his real name. No normal detective would be in possession of a sapphire capable of beaming somebody’s consciousness to another place, right? She supposed she’d have to find out when she got home. It was just a dream, anyway. There was no way she was witnessing something happening in what Marianna assumed was a completely different world.

But to get home, Mari would have to figure out more about the world she was in, first. And that’s where these structures came in handy, hopefully. She quickly selected the dweller creation pod, excited to place it. However, the pod was almost four times the size of the Overseer birthing pod! The thing was like a car! She would need a different room to build these structures.

So she made one. It was pretty easy, especially given her previous experiences. She simply stemmed a 10-meter room off to the left of her core, with the minuscule energy cost, and plopped the plant in there, paying the 300 energy it required, and queueing up another Overseer for her new room while she was at it. She sent Stacey to look into the new room so she could see, and while Stacey flew at the normal slow Overseer rate, Mari turned her attention to the giant glowing red circle in the wall next to the door.

Oh yeah, she murmured. There was that Ruby Mine thing, wasn’t there… I wonder how long it has left to build. So naturally, she used [Review] on the crystalline wall as Stacey flew by.

Ruby Mine (Unfinished)

Created by a Dungeon Core, this mine will generate rubies, sometimes infused with magical properties. These rare minerals serve as bait for greedy species.

Time to completion: 15:33:07

Created by: Red Core (Eliminated)

It’s already been a day!?! I slept for so long!

While it hadn’t been too short of a time Mari had been operating while awake, she was surprised the dream had consumed so much time. It had to have taken… Mari slowly did the “guesstimational” math… Around 10 hours. She sighed. I can’t believe I’ve wasted this much time. If I really am living on one-to-one time with my mother, she’ll kill me if I come home now. Who am I kidding, she’ll probably come here to kill me if I don’t go home!

She really needed to get back. But it didn’t seem like something she’d be able to do anytime soon…

So instead, Mari simply moved on to examining her new small bud of a Dweller Creation Pod. Stacey had finally flown far enough for her to get a [Review] in. It really was a pain at how slowly the bulbous creatures flew.

Dweller Creation Pod (Unfinished)

This pod allows you to birth simple creatures for your dungeon. They will defend your territory, as well as expand the usages of your dungeon. You may view a list of the possible creatures once it is big enough.

Time to completion: 07:58:39

Created by: Dungeon Marianna

She sighed again. Looks like I won’t be cheating my way out of that restriction. Guess I’ll have to wait for it to grow… Marianna pulled open the other structure options, and selected the Research Root. She laid it down next to the growing pod, paying the insanely huge 500 energy, and immediately used [Review] on it as well.

Research Root (Unfinished)

A research root will enable you to perform research on new and various subjects. The research root can also be used by a specific type of creature, to increase its researching speed and capabilities. You may view research topics once it has grown big enough.

Time to completion: 04:59:57

Created by: Dungeon Marianna

Seemed like she’d be doing a lot of waiting. She also had almost no energy left...