There is No Epic Loot Here, Only Puns

34: The Flower in a Pot

It is not what art offers or does not offer. It is about what it leads you to discover upon the road of practise. Every imperfection is a reflection. Every failure is a lesson. Every success is a quiet weeping of the soul as if blooms. You see failure and ugliness. I see beauty. I see life. I see perfection. You are my success, never forget this. When you are ready, you will know this. I might even have the courage to tell you when you are awake. - Jolin Japes, Master Potter, Lost Explorer, Father.

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Delta wandered the first floor, her company walking softly next to her.

"Waddles, you don't ask for much. Be honest, am I setting myself up for failure? Can I really make living with people peacefully an option?" Delta asked and the duck followed her voice into the Mushroom Grove.

He quacked and Delta closed her eyes. The noise became feelings, feelings became numbers, the numbers became meaning.

Her life, her existence, was based around numbers and she began to see how things could be numbers. How things became more than just numbers but could also just be reduced to numbers at the end of the day. Nu handled nothing but numbers every second. Time, space, ratios, dimensions, elements, predictions, abstract knowledge sorting... Nu did it all so easily but to be fair, he struggled to see the joy in some very basic things or meaning.

Delta smiled as Nu popped up more signs around the dungeon.

Well, maybe he could see the joy in some things.

"Big pig lives here, you have been warned - Nu"

Delta didn't mind the drain on her Mana, even Nu needed a form of expression to help him work out the kinks to his awareness.

She focused back on Waddles.

His words were not so much clear replies but impressions of his mind and hint towards his intent.

Waddles honestly did not care for humans or peace. He just wanted to swim in his pond, mess with the fish and make people have a bad time if it suited his mood.

Waddles was the odd one. Delta didn't know much about him. Where he was summoned from by Quiss. What he did before the summoning or if he was a being before being magically conjured.

Questions with no real answers. Delta smiled as Waddles flapped his wings a few times.

That was Waddles for 'Do what you want and people will deal.'

"Inspirational, thank you!" Delta bowed her head slightly. Her gobs returned and Delta watched as they dragged a large spider corpse with them.

Gob looked slightly sick but perked up once he was back in the dungeon space. Delta needed some antivenom or something if the spiders came in force next time. Delta was honestly surprised she hadn't seen more of them. They hadn't seemed very smart from what she saw of the last three but she couldn't get careless.

The corpse dissolved but nothing appeared in her menu. Delta wondered if she had gained all she would get from the common spider grunt? It made her wonder what other levels of spiders there might be that could come for her dungeon.

Obviously, there had to be some broodmother or a queen, those were just staples across any fantasy she had read or played. Delta paced as Waddles went to rest on Boary. The two accepted each other without much problem. Boary being far more accommodating than Waddles seemed to warrant but Delta guessed no one wanted to have bad luck.

Delta tapped her chin as she thought, feeling like a smart person as she did so.

Two floors, two options.

It was already making her a bit nervous about how to go forward with things. Would she be better improving the first floor and getting a lot of mana off people as they visited? Or should she rush the second floor more to have more defence between people and her core?

Improving the second floor had appeal with a boss, secret rooms, challenges... but it was costly and her only source of income was her wonderful contracted monsters.

"Think, think, think. More options or improved basics?" she asked aloud. On the other hand, planing this sort of thing made her grin as her old gamer mindset kicked in.

How wonderful she was doing a pacifist playthrough with her own life.

Better first floor gives more resources. Having some live trials going on would show us more weak points and gather data on how to... entertainbetter.