The Heart Grows

Dungeon Status:

Tier 2

Level 10/100

Heart 160000/160000

Experience 32800/90000

Workers 11/67

Monsters 1/69

Traps 63/159

Food 2471

Timber 550

Iron 111

Steel 1370

Charcoal 358

Mana 695

Rock 3429

Gold 314

Leather 377

Leather Sludge 300

Lava 300

Glass 650

Explosive Runes 20

Triggered Explosive Runes 0

Triggered Explosive Runes (repeating) 9

Long Guns 9

Bullets 500

Black Powder 500

Quest: Destroy another dungeon.

Quest: Capture an adventurer and put them in your jail.

Quest: Have your full contingent of bosses.

Since Travis knew his maximum mana was seven hundred and twenty, he spent five hundred making a new mana shrine somewhere on the bottom floor. Fifty mana every eight hours was just too amazing not to push for more of that.

Before the work had been wrapped up on the fort for the previous day, he'd gotten Penelope to ask Brolly to arrange for more timber to be delivered. Also, he was sure the guard captain was rushing around trying to buy steel to trade for guns—something Travis was fine with.

In all, everything seemed to be progressing well, which was why he was worried. The other shoe, he knew, had a tendency to drop at these kinds of moments.

Research complete: Questing

"Thanks, Kate, that finished off Questing. I think the next step will be to get Advanced Questing, which boosts the experience gain." Travis went ahead and selected that as the next research in progress. "But before you get too far into that, would you mind getting some gold and iron? I think it's time Fife got her bosshood and we get to test out Questing."

"Sure. Let me head up and burn off one of those gold nodes that keep getting in the way. Hey, Fife, want to come and help me get the stuff to get you your boss status?" Rising smoothly to her feet by just unfolding her legs, Katelyn reached out and picked up her staff.

Following Katelyn, Fife felt far more at home in her new body after doing some sparring with Kelvin, and he'd said much the same to her. Though she had her newfound Tank power, she was still shorter than she used to be. "So you do the mining because of your magic, right?"

"Because I can melt gold and iron, though the iron takes more work and I usually get Trav to feed me mana."

Everything was new to Fife. Walking, talking, even thinking seemed just a little different. In the back of her mind was a new cluster of urges and wants that she was still trying to unpack and examine—chief among them had been almost reverence for Travis. Before he'd been an interesting friend, now he was her home. "He really doesn't give any commands, does he?"

"Not anything we wouldn't want to do, for sure." Reaching a familiar spot, Katelyn tapped on the rock. "On the other side of this is a tunnel. You'll get used to remembering where they are, but I'd recommend keeping up with that new map Trav is keeping in his heart room. Let me teach you to—"

"To step through the wall? I've been here a while, remember? What was it Luddy said, just imagine the rock is a wall of mud and push through?" Ignoring Katelyn's exasperated expression, Fife did just what she said and pressed herself against the wall with the mindset that she was harder than it.

"Trav, I appreciate that this makes it way easier to train someone, but I'm going to need some private time later to scream," Katelyn said, ignoring the chuckle in the back of her head. Stepping against the stone, she pushed herself through the intervening gap and joined Fife on the other side.

Fife didn't notice Katelyn appear, she was already walking down the tunnel toward what would be her boss room. The room itself didn't hold any great sentiment for her, but its occupant did. Stepping into the room, she was surprised at how hard it was to see Squishy, but she certainly felt him when he pressed against her. "Whoa. Hey there."

Holding out a hand, like she would for a dog, Fife felt Squishy pull her fingers and palm into himself before spitting them back out again. Some instinct told Fife that he was just getting to know her—licking her hand, or at least his best approximation. "You know, you're going to become even more awesome when you become my cohort, right? You'll probably fill this room from floor to ceiling and wall to wall."

Katelyn gave Fife some time to make friends before clearing her throat. "Well, if you want, we could leave that pillar of gold ore there or I could melt it down for Trav?"

"Wait, you mean like keep it there kinda like a trophy? Because we can?"

"You've seen Tannyr's quarters? She has one just like it, but iron." Katelyn shrugged her shoulders and looked around the room. "Also, any thought on a theme?"

"You know that sludge Trav has going on down that way? I think me and Squishy are going to spread some more of that around. Bully some undead and goblins into it. Wait until there's nothing left but bones. Laugh at their melting bones. That kind of thing. Anyway, Squishy, I'll be back soon and we can get to working on tactics, ya know?"

Squishy didn't understand words and could barely perceive things that weren't part of the dungeon as being not food, but he actively liked the noises and contact the latest denizen showered it with. Its new life, reborn as a dungeon monster, suited it quite well. It liked being fed regularly and having others that would help it find more exciting—mobile—food.

"So I think we'll keep the gold one. It looks neat. Besides, we can set up sludge around it so nothing will want to get close." Pressing her palm against Squishy one last time, Fife turned and made for the tunnel again, behind Katelyn.

"It's so different like this. There's no light at all. How am I seeing anything?" Despite the complete lack of illumination, Fife was able to see perfectly well and follow her friend.

Leading the way through another wall and up the stairs, Katelyn sighed. "There's a lot to this I can't fully figure out. We can see in the dark, but it's not magic. I think it might be related to the dungeon itself. I guess we'll find out when we start attacking the undead dungeon. If we need to use some alchemical lights, then we'll know for sure. Okay, this gold node will do. Hey, Trav, are you ready to tell me when to stop?"

"Go for it. This one has been mostly used up, right?" Travis asked.

Looking at her marks on the wall, Katelyn nodded. "Should be a good four thousand left in it. Let me test that."

Fife, having known Jack for a while, knew how magic users could get when they relaxed and had fun. What Katelyn was doing might be considered work, but the intense heat and cackling was a sure sign that the wizard was enjoying herself immensely.

As soon as she'd started, and melted some of the gold, Katelyn stopped—the former vein of metal now gone. "Easy as that. How much was it, Trav?"

"There were five thousand three hundred. That means there is some variation in how much gold is in a node." Travis checked his storage again. "Well, there might have been a hint more. I tend to ignore anything under a hundred if I have thousands."

Fife snorted at that and nodded. "I can understand that. I don't have a head for numbers. If I have more than ten of something, I have enough to—"

"I've watched you count cards in the tavern, Fife," Katelyn said. "I've watched you balance your wagers while Jack stays well away from the table. You don't know numbers? You don't have a head for numbers?" She stared at Fife until her target shrugged. "Whatever. That's enough gold. Now we need some iron, and Trav will need to give me some mana to do that. Iron doesn't melt nearly as easily."

"Have you tried focusing your heat on a smaller point?" Fife asked. She'd been walking behind Katelyn and almost plowed right into her when she stopped suddenly.

Spinning on one of her talons (and leaving a little gouge in the stonework floor), Katelyn fixed Fife with a glare. "For someone who tries to pass herself off as being an idiot, you sure know a lot about how the world works."

"I keep my eyes open, you know?" Fife shrugged as they approached an iron seam that was just off to the side of their current passage. "I know it's not something everyone does, but it's saved my ass a few times."

"You're telling me. Half the time I wonder if some people will even see something standing right in front of them. Hey, Trav, how much do you want from this?" Katelyn pointed at the iron vein before her.

"We could probably use a few thousand. Let's go with five. I'll tell you when." Travis cast a mana field over Katelyn, giving her plenty of energy to get what he needed.

Focusing herself down more than normal, Katelyn didn't use the expediency of a spell to focus her mana—she just let it burn.

Watching as the white-hot lance of magic burned clear through the iron, Fife tilted her head a little. Something was bugging her, but she waited until Travis told Katelyn to stop before asking, "Why don't you use this kind of thing in combat?"

"Because it doesn't work in combat. Iron and gold don't have any innate magic. Creatures and plants—living plants—have their own magic inherent to them that makes using this kind of uncontrolled release almost ineffective. Since the beam itself is targeted magic, it will get resisted by natural magic fields." Katelyn had to admire the sizable hole she'd melted right through the iron seam. "You are going to be like this with everything, aren't you?"

Smirking, Fife nodded. "Sure am. Like I said, curiosity might get me into more messes, but I learn more about the world that way. Also, you have probably noticed, but I was pretty hard to kill already. Now? Now I am tempted to tell you to show me how that spell doesn't work."

Just left to stare, Katelyn sighed. "You're crazy."

"Hey, I didn't say I would do it, just that I'm tempted. I need to know how far I can trust this tanking ability." Fife couldn't help but swagger a little, and not just because that was the kind of movement that kobold hips tended to enforce. "Guess I'll keep working with Kelvin. What I wouldn't give to have met him five years ago."

"He probably wouldn't have been as interested in teaching you five years ago." Stretching, Katelyn turned back toward the tunnel that led to the library. "I'll leave the rest to Trav. Unless he wants me to get any more resources?"

"This is enough. Okay, Fife, come down to one of the sleeping rooms and we'll get started. It'll take a day for you to complete this change," Travis said.

"A day? Huh. I didn't count on this. Well, sooner I start the sooner it's done, right?"

"Yeah. Having you stay down here keeps you safe while the changes happen." Travis waited for her to walk through the heart room and find an empty sleeping area. "You ready?"

Another step along the journey of life was ahead of Fife. She closed her eyes and lay down on the bed, wiggling to get cozy. "Yeah, Trav, I a—"

Travis would have smirked if he had a body still. He'd cut her off mid-sentence with the upgrade, a lizard at the door watched her slump down onto the bed and finally—quiet.

Fife's dreams were calm, restful, and fulfilling. She spent some time digging, some time fighting, and all the while she could hear Travis' voice soothing her—not that she picked up the words, just how warm he sounded. And why shouldn't he? He was her dungeon, after all.

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This story is released under the Creative Commons BY-NC-SA license. If you are paying money to see this or the original creator, Damaged, is not credited, you are viewing a plagiarized copy of the story.