There is No Epic Loot Here, Only Puns

12: The Nature of Give & Take

Delta watched as the two people eyed the dungeon further in and talked quietly to themselves. Quiss had snagged a few of her Lumen Mushrooms from the Pond Cave.

"Eager people die first. We did two rooms; let's not get greedy and run into something we might not be prepared for," Ruli said finally and Quiss rolled his tongue against his teeth. He finally nodded after a moment.

"You're the expert," Quiss said and Ruli raised one eyebrow doubtfully. She crossed her arms and tapped her knife out of what seemed like a habit.

"Quiss Firesmasher, the man who burned a dragon to death? Right... sure, let me be the expert," Ruli shrugged and Quiss actually looked annoyed at the comment.

"You know full well that we don't discuss the past, not mine, not yours, not anyone's," he warned and Ruli scowled.

"Right... let's all pretend we can just do that," she said and pushed past the blond man. Delta was unable to look away from the scene.

Burn a dragon? Talking about the past?

Delta felt like the minor background character compared to these two. Wasn't she the big new dungeon corey thing? Who were these two?

Ruli and Quiss navigated back to the entrance and Delta felt a twinge of panic. Her human contact was vanishing! Delta was ready to send Francois after them but they both stopped just before the entrance.

"I always feel like an idiot when doing this," Quiss said aloud and Ruli glared at him.

"Don't disrespect tradition. Manners never hurt anyone but your ego," she replied and both of them put an arm across their chest and bowed their heads a little.

"Thank you for the adventure," they both said, Ruli was louder and clear but Quiss mumbled it.

Delta felt... warm. She didn't feel any mana rise or DP appear. This was an entirely human emotion. Relief.

Didn't they think she was evil? Quiss wasn't cursing her existence? Ruli wasn't spitting at her? Delta wanted to shake their hands or bow back or something!

Delta shivered and from the depths of her dungeon, a warm breeze floated past Quiss and Ruli.

Ruli beamed like she had just been proven right and Quiss scowled harder.

"I think that felt like... acceptance? Appreciation? Hmm... felt like I was right?" Ruli mused and Quiss waved her off.

"It was goblin gas, hot air and superstition," he turned and walked out. Ruli rolled her red eyes and then peered down the tunnel of Delta's dungeon.

"Ignore him... you're pretty decent for a new dungeon. Keep up the good work," Ruli saluted casually and followed Quiss out through the white barrier. Delta stared at the space.

"Don't... leave me," she whispered but they didn't reappear. Delta must have spent some time just waiting because Hob and Gob appeared sometime later with two buckets filled with things.

"We return, Master!" Hob called and began to empty his bucket. Delta squished her feeling of human isolation down into a tiny hole and attempted to sound cheerful as she inspected the items.

Well... the gobs had gone far it seemed. Even got some interesting new things.

Wyin Tree acorn absorbed!
Rabbit corpse absorbed!
Qarn Swallow egg absorbed!
Black Brambles absorbed!
Old Rope has been absorbed!

Delta rubbed her hands with delight, watching her mana skyrocket.

Having Quiss and Ruli in her dungeon has been enough to push her to mana of 30. These items easily hit 50.

Her max mana with her new rooms on top of her base mana? 55. Delta was slowly but surely surpassing her limits!

Gob shook his bucket and a few tiny black things fell to the ground, they wriggled and burst open. Tiny spiders the size of pennies scuttled about and they all tried to head towards the entrance. Hob growled and stomped one.

Black Forest Spider hatchling absorbed! Upgrades for the Common Spiders have been unlocked!

Hob grumbled as his foot was now covered in green slime. Gob tried to get another but they moved quickly, hissing in harmony at the goblins. Delta blinked, surprised by the angry emotions of the spiders as they escaped.

"Where did you find them?" she asked and Hob looked puzzled.

"Giants webs, thoughts they were berries, not eggs!" he promised and Delta stared at the exit where the hatchlings had scampered out. The babies were about the size of most spiders in her old world.

Delta just had to wonder how big the adults were...and how the heck the two gobs were able to take their egg sacks away so easily.

Were her two gobs that skilled? Or just... lucky?

Feeling uneasy, she hurried to take her now decreasing 65 mana and continued to shake her dungeon about, happy to see her menus had returned.

She moved her Mushroom Grove into a new place. If she was going to be known as a frigging Mushroom Forest, then the people might as well see her grove. She placed it after the mud room and made it so people would have to pass through the grove to reach the goblin camp.

Then she spawned another room between the grove and the goblin camp. As soon as she did so, a menu popped up with a little message.