The Retreat thrummed with a boisterous energy, a warm, golden light spilling from its windows onto the street. Inside, the air was thick with the mingled scents of roasted meat, spiced ale, and the earthy tang of Dungeon. Laughter bounced off the rough-hewn wooden beams, a comforting cacophony that masked the subtle, lingering unease in Anya's heart.

  She cradled a hefty mug of amber ale, the cool ceramic a stark contrast to the warmth spreading through her veins. Each sip was a small miracle, a tangible reminder of her return to the living. The rich, malty flavor danced on her tongue, a stark contrast to the nothingness she'd known. Yet, the memory of her demise, the betrayal that had sent her spiraling into that void, lingered like a phantom ache.

  "Hey! You're the Master's friend, right?" A bright, youthful voice cut through her reverie. Anya turned, her gaze landing on a pair of women seated at a nearby table. One, with a cascade of fiery red hair and a mischievous glint in her eyes, leaned forward, a welcoming smile gracing her lips.

  "Yes, that's right," Anya replied, her own smile softening the sharp edges of her lingering sorrow. "We were adventurers."

  "That's awesome!" The redhead exclaimed. "I'm Tara, and this is Lara. We run Cloak and Dagger, the general store on the high street. It's a pleasure to meet you." Lara, with her dark, observant eyes and a quiet confidence, nodded in agreement.

  "The pleasure is all mine," Anya said, taking another sip of her ale. "I'm Anya. And honestly, everyone here is so… Welcoming. It's really refreshing." She paused, the word "refreshing" a stark understatement for her miraculous resurrection.

  The weight of her recent transformation settled on her shoulders. Dead, then alive. Cleric, then a Rainbow Mage, a class as vibrant and chaotic as the colors it commanded. Her mind struggled to reconcile the jarring shifts in her reality.

  "Did you and the Master go on lots of adventures together?" A man with flowing, golden locks and a sly grin interrupted, drawing closer. His clothing, though fine, bore the telltale creases of someone who spent more time in back alleys than ballrooms.

  "You're supposed to introduce yourself first, you oaf!" Tara chided, her eyes twinkling with amusement. "That's Jack, the Swindler, he 'manages' the city's gambling establishments. And that's Koniva, his shadow," she added, gesturing to a lean, quiet man with watchful eyes. "Watch your purse strings around them."

  "I knew a guy named Jack once," Anya chuckled, her eyes sparkling with a hint of mischief. "He was as shifty as they come." She didn't have a purse, or the need for one, but the implication was clear.

  "That's what the Master said!" Jack roared with laughter, slapping his thigh. "So, the adventures? Tell us everything!"

  Coral, a woman with a voice as smooth as velvet and eyes that seemed to absorb every detail, joined the conversation from behind the bar, her own curiosity piqued. And so, Anya began to weave tales of her adventures with Abi.

  She carefully omitted any mention of Kal, replacing him with other, less complicated figures, painting Abi as a whirlwind of chaotic energy and sharp wit. She described their travels through dusty deserts and shadowy forests, their encounters with monstrous beasts and treacherous nobles, each story punctuated by Abi's quick thinking and even quicker blades.

  The room fell silent as she spoke, the boisterous chatter replaced by rapt attention. Tara and Lara leaned forward, their eyes wide with fascination. Jack and Koniva listened with a predatory intensity, their minds dissecting every detail. Even the other patrons, drawn by the magnetism of Anya's storytelling, gathered around, their faces illuminated by the warm glow of the hearth.

  She painted vivid pictures of Abi's daring escapes, her witty banter, and her unwavering loyalty. The crowd hung on every word, their admiration for the elusive Rogue growing with each anecdote. "They truly seem to love her," Anya thought, a warm feeling spreading through her chest.

  "So… What happened next?" Coral asked, her voice hushed with anticipation.

  "Nothing," Anya said with a wink. "We got paid, rested up, and took on another job. Coincidentally, that one took us near a certain dungeon."

  "Oh, oh! I know which one!" Dum, a hulking figure with a childlike enthusiasm, raised his hand, only to receive a sharp slap on the back of his head from Talia, the Taskmaster.

  "Ow! Talia, what gives?" he grumbled, rubbing his head.

  "Shush," Talia hissed, her eyes flashing a warning. "Be quiet and listen." She linked her arm through Dum's, effectively silencing him as his cheeks turned red.

  The stories continued, each one more outlandish and entertaining than the last. Anya embellished the details, adding dramatic flourishes and witty asides, drawing gasps and laughter from her audience. As the night wore on, the crowd gradually dispersed, leaving Anya to savor the lingering warmth of the ale and the camaraderie of her new friends.

  She drifted off to sleep in her newly acquired house, a sense of peace settling over her. Her dream wish fulfilled, she felt a sense of contentment she hadn't known in a long time.

  Meanwhile, in the depths of the dungeon, the Assassins and specialized Rogues slept soundly, their dreams filled with visions of their Master, Abi, a whirlwind of blades and shadows, a legend in the making. If Abi could have seen their dreams, she would have been utterly speechless. But then again, when wasn't she?

  Dungeon Stories Volume 2

  Another day passes and another DePosit is cleared. It's almost enough to wash away the sour taste left behind after trying to upgrade the Hay Bale. I don't even know why I bother. It's just... One day it will surely turn into something else, right?

  That's a problem I have to ignore. Otherwise, I'll keep flushing DP down the drain. Today is a dungeon day, so hopefully there won't be any problems like that. Well, maybe one. How do I deal with the people-turned-prisoners that I've decided to reform, instead of sending through the cycle of Reincarnation?

  After some serious consideration, I decide to house the yellow souls in the Towers of Torture's prison. Hana and Mira can keep the lesser evils locked away down there until they go grey. The midground scum can attend the towers themselves and for the evilest of evils, two dozen cells created by yours truly are added to the fourth floor for Samantula to scare the living hell of them.

  It's not like we have anyone to fill these cells yet, but in time I'm sure they prove useful. If not, then I haven't wasted much DP here so my losses aren't too bad. Not unlike a useless piece of Hay I know.

  Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

  Shaking it off, I move on to my next task. Home improvements. Not for the citizens of Varona, as that would be far more than I can afford, but for my family instead. Starting from the bottom up, I alter Tina the Temptress' Boss Room and double the size of it. She now has a cliff overlooking an ocean and all the space she could want to fly around in.

  I didn't really know what to do for the stone golems and their Iron leader, so I installed a magma bath for Ian the Iron Golem and left it at that. Hopefully, he can hack it and won't melt.

  I skip the fifth floor so I don't get stuck there and move straight onto the fourth. Seriously, I can't even talk about Floor Five without wanting to visit and if I do... Like I said. Let's not talk about the Black Death, right now.

  Samantula, the terrifying tarantula-lady, wanted a house surprisingly. So that's what she got. I upgraded the Hospitable Home and placed the better version in a new room just off the Boss'.

  I'm quite surprised there wasn't a comment on the end of that notification. She normally harps on whenever home improvement is on the table.

  Maybe I've been giving her too much stick recently?

  Even though the name makes it sound small, the quaint feature is four-times the size of its predecessor. It only has one floor, but it is not lacking for rooms or space and Samantula is extremely happy. I also summoned nine more Reaping Spiders, unlocking tier four, but left it at that after confirming them as Mini Bosses.

  Trixie and her pack don't actually need anything, but after going through the other Bosses, I couldn't just leave the gorgeous, white wolf out. I gritted my teeth and summoned nine Alphas and ninety wolves. Ten per Alpha. The forest on the third floor is the large space in the dungeon and easily has enough room for 110 wolves. Their third-tier upgrade didn't sound as bad as I thought it would either and I summoned one to add to ranks of the forest.

  The Moon Wolf looks like a ghost. Almost identical to Trixie, but with a translucent constitution like mine, she disappears the moment she's summoned. I didn't worry though, I could still feel her presence. Like Trixie, she has a strong will that promises to protect the dungeon at any cost. I named her Luna from afar, add her as a Mini-Boss even she she Trixie's junior/senior, and moved on to the next floor.

  Trixie's been the Floor Boss since way back when. There's no way I'm going to trade her out for the newer model. Plus, with everyone taking turns in the Coliseum, they'll all be ready to advance a tier in no time. Which means my Alpha will be a Moon Wolf herself soon enough.

  On the Second Floor, Violet wanted a tree for some bizarre reason. Not a normal tree either. A disfigured and dying one with no leaves that looks like... Amazingly, I actually found the feature in my list and agreed to her odd request. I was just happy that I had what she wanted.

  Honestly, after Veris ended up with that paddle and the self-named Pleasure Palace, nothing they ask for can shock me these days.

  The punishment-obsessed Assassin also gets a visit from me. I upgrade her furniture, begrudgingly summon a few more Assassins and Mages at her request, and even go as far as to upgrade her paddle. It now has golden rims and a velvet handle of all things. I leave shortly after Veris had finished praising me as the pleasure/punishment room is too much for me to handle.

  I still don't know how to deal with her. She's like an eccentric aunt, one who always insists on kissing you on the lips. Even though you present your cheek she'll turn your head forcefully with her hands.

  I purposely left the fifth floor for last. Every time I come here, it gets harder and harder to leave. Especially if Peaches is here. The entire floor is similar to the system-created room on my first floor except open plains run as far as the eye can see. On it, dozens of different coloured and sized Slimes mull around without a care in the world.

  This place is heaven.

  Peaches is actually here too. She's been spending more and more time down here recently and greets me as I arrive. "Hello, Master. Have you come to visit... Everyone too?"

  "Yeah. I'm doing some improvements and making the rounds. No Sweets today?" Peaches is normally accompanied by at least two of the four Sweet sisters. "They have almost reached Level... 80 and are working hard to... Become Assassins," she replies quite well. She pauses less and less these days and it will be nice to have a proper conversation one day.

  It will be nice to do a lot of things one day.

  Everyone's almost tier-four now, huh? Even the dungeon priests go out on missions here and there with the scouting teams to test themselves. The Coliseum doing wonders for everyone's confidence. No one else has actually reached the fourth-tier yet, apart from the Assassins, but everyone's working hard.

  When I made this room for Peaches, I wasn't expecting to be overwhelmed by how cute hundreds of Slimes would be. Back then it was just, "Ten Black Slimes here," and "Ten Large-Black Slimes there."

  "A Black Death is fitting for a Floor Boss. Why not? Pow!"

  I then did the same with both the red and green Slimes, taking all the Slimes to the third tier. Why did I do black first? They cost more.

  The Black Death looked exactly the same as every other Black Slime I'd summoned so far. If anything, they've regressed in size and are now slightly smaller than the first-tier Slimes. Again, it's strange, but that wasn't even the shocking part.

  When Peaches bent down, prodding the little mass of gelatin, I half expected her fingers to start disintegrating. I then remembered there's no friendly-fire damage between my monsters and sighed thankfully. It was about time a System enforced rule worked in my favour.

  After the Black Death quivered at her touch, it rose up and transformed into a perfect copy of Peaches. Only black. That black, that if you stuck her on top of a spider and imagined she had grizzly hair instead of smooth-slime skin, the Black Death could easily pass herself off as Samantula. Life sure is strange.

  "Oh. You're... Beautiful. Like me!" Jumping up and down, Peaches clapped happily. The Black Death mimicked its pink counterpart and before I knew it, the two women were jumping up and down on the spot clapping like little children and hugging. I couldn't help but smile as I watched what I would have considered monsters in my previous life, enjoy their own to fullest.

  After naming the Black Death, Ditto, I left her with Peaches to have fun with the other Slimes.

  Today, however, is even more shocking than back then. Not only is the Black Death in human form, but so too is the Magma Prince and the Tornado Princess. Because, why wouldn't the other tier-three Slimes be able to transform?

  Peaches waves at me and against my better nature, I push off the urge to stay before quickly asking, "Is there anything you guys need here?"

  "Master, please may we have a few more features to relax on as we converse?" Before Peaches can answer, the alluring tone of the Black Death's question beats her to the punch. I nod along dreamily whilst wondering how anyone could possibly beat a tier-three Slime.

  They're gorgeous, even if they are made up of the element that signifies their name, and their tone alone will beckon most adventurers to willing walk into death's embrace.

  Literally.

  Sparing no expense for the ladies on Floor Five, I add a few parks, ponds, benches and paths, loads of flowers, and even a few houses for the tier threes. Everyone is super pleased and I'm taken on a nice stroll before I'm finally able to leave. Although that was just so the Black Death and her crew could point out the areas that needed touching up, altering slightly, or straight-up wanted moving completely.

  Who knew Slimes were so picky?

  Arriving at to my tower, I need a second to myself before doing anything else. Sitting on my futon, I pass my hand over the top of my dire wolf. It's almost as though I'm stroking the teddy and I wish deeply that one day I will be able to.

  Little do I know that stupidity has struck once again.