The Dungeon Inn - English

B01C20 - Growth

Before we went to Hilda, I had Bruno make more boards and get the entrance sign. Luckily there was enough space above the symbol to write the name on it.

When we were by Hilda, I was shown the boards, she had already written. There was just one problem.

"For the life of me I can't read it. Sahra, Bruno, how are things with you."

"I never felt the need to read or write anything, Master Marco."

"I can't read either, master."

"Hmph, it's not unusual for people to not be able to read or write, but young master, this is something you should learn as dungeon master!"

When we drew a letter as a test according to her instructions, it turned out that Hilda had the worst handwriting, followed by Bruno, then mine and Sarah was the best. So it was decided that Sarah would write on the boards at the end, but first we had to practice it together. At the beginning Bruno was there as well, but after a while he said goodbye with the reason, that he had to do his rounds with Karl. He's lucky, that Hilda focused on me and Sarah. But her look revealed that Bruno wasn't completely out of it. She would probably give him a hard time as soon as she finished teaching us. So I had increased my workload. Now I not only had to train regularly with Bruno, but I also had Hilda teach me to read and write.

The next morning I expanded the labyrinth as usual. Thanks to the robbers, the crystal still had quite some mana left, that I could use. I wasn't sure how long it would last, but any more room is fine with me. Even though a few days had already passed, a labyrinth level required a fairly large number of rooms before I would consider it finished. Therefore, despite the good progress we were making, the first level was still not finished. There were also various distractions when I set up an area specifically for Hilda according to her ideas. I could count these rooms only partially to the labyrinth, because their structure served a different purpose. When I returned to the mimic to put the crystal back away, there was a small problem. He no longer fit into his usual place. The mimic had long since eliminated the robbers, so it can hardly have gotten any fatter. I looked at the crystal.

"Sarah, do you also think that the core has gotten bigger?"

"Hmm, now that you mention it, it actually seems bigger to me."

"Then it's no wonder, that it no longer fits into the mimic. But where is the best place to put it now?"

The crystal responded to my question and a summoning circle appeared before me. The skeleton, that appeared then, stretched out its hands to me.

"You want the crystal?"

I placed it in his hands and he held it protectively against his chest and ran into the depths of the first level.

"Apparently he has a new best friend. Sorry, mimic. But look at it positively, I won't bother you all the time anymore. But I wonder, why the skeleton acted without orders."

"I think I can answer that, Master Marco. The difference with Heinrich is, that he has no soul. Undead who have souls can carry out more complex commands and display some personality. You probably remember how Hilda dances with him or calls him a cavalier, for example. This would be difficult to do with a soulless skeleton, as the summoner has complete control over it and would have to initiate the movements himself."

"But I didn't control the skeleton."

"Correct. Do you remember trying to cast magic? You came to the realization, that you don't have mana, but that it is anchored in the crystal. I suspect that you are not the summoner, but the crystal. Consequently, the crystal controls the movements of the skeleton."

"That would mean I could tell the crystal, with my connection, that I need it and it would send the skeleton to me."

I focused on the fact, that I needed the core and after a while you could hear the bony footsteps of the skeleton. When it was with me, it stretched out its hands and offered me the crystal.

"It seems you were right."

"How can I tell whether an undead has a soul or not? When I look at him like that, he seems a bit 'dead' to me, but that's very subjective."

"Visually there is no difference. It's just the fact, that there's still a soul attached to the body. As you have already noticed, you can do it by the movements. If they are rather stiff, that could be an indication that they are soulless."

"So it can't be determined for sure."

"At least not without further ado. There are also some skeletons who deliberately pretend to do this. Those without souls are usually easier to fight than those with souls."

I sent the skeleton away again, because I no longer needed the core. It would be interesting to know, whether he chooses a corner where he can lie down or whether he lets the skeleton move all the time. I suspect the former because the movement certainly costs mana, which he doesn't want to waste.

When Hilda came to breakfast, I told her about her new flatmate.

"If the Core really controls him, I would suggest, that I try to let the Core know, that you can come and it therefore send the skeleton to you as information. So if it comes to you, you'll know it's time to eat."

"That should be fine with me, better than suddenly hearing a bear roar every time I missed the time."

Hilda had no chance of determining the time of day on her level. So she often came upstairs for meals as she felt. If she didn't judge it correctly, we found it easiest to let Bruno roar into the labyrinth. Because of the reverberation, it could be heard across the entire level, so Hilda knew it was time.

However, this only solved a part of the problem.