Dungeon Core Sixty-Six had never taken damage before the advent of one stray necromancer. Not to his recollection, anyway. But at least the first time he had been prepared for it — somewhat. Why shouldn’t she, backed into a corner as she was, take advantage of him at his most vulnerable? It was the outcome the dungeon core had most expected.
The singular point of damage dealt from having a piddly little skull thrown into his eye by the woman who had swept in there barely a week prior, babbling pleasant nonsense about marriage proposals and castles though… He hadn’t been expecting.
It must have added some sort of bonus damage that wouldn’t have registered to him.
The dungeon core blinked, momentarily forced to use the eye for its intended purpose as he watched the skull roll to its ultimate resting place.
“Long time no see, huh, boss?”
Hecrux’s sigh rumbled through the room. “Capo still, isn’t it?”
Whatever the skull had to say for itself—far beyond a simple ‘yes’ it would seem—the dungeon core tuned out as he returned his awareness to the whole of the dungeon. Including the secondary core’s chambers.
It wasn’t the same as reading her thoughts, she’d asked him—loudly—not to do that. Although it still would have been well within his rights as the primary core. She had asked to be part of the dungeon, after all. And he wasn’t about to start shirking responsibilities for her arbitrary sense of decency.
Graverra Graeme, Bride of the Dungeon Core
200/400
If she couldn’t actually read his thoughts in the same way, then there was no way for her to every know about the twinge of sympathy he felt as she drew her awareness to the state of her health, thereby alerting him to it as well. He still wouldn’t be made to feel outright sorry for it, but she should have gained something back by now…
Restore Secondary Core’s Dungeon Management Privileges?
[Y] / N
Unable To Restore Secondary Core’s Privileges
Secondary Core Is Currently Engaged in Combat
For the safety of the primary core and well being of the dungeon-
Hecrux cut the system’s message short. That wouldn’t be necessary. Still, she would go on blaming him for this, even though he had just tried to restore her. It wasn’t his decision, evidently. Being upset with him at all was probably what still registered as combat. And throwing things at him.
“Didn’t we talk about being more respectful of her requests?” The skull asked as if he knew what the dungeon core was doing.
“I have been, within reason. And I am not currently reading a word of her inane little thoughts, although if she isn’t careful she may very well slip out of my control entirely.”
“You might consider rephrasing that last bit, boss.”
“She isn’t regenerating health. I can’t fix her.”
“Probably shouldn’t have let the dungeon hit her then, huh?”
“It’s like you said, she chose to walk into it.” While on the subject, the dungeon core moved a portion of his awareness to the crypt and began to move the caskets into less uniform rows. He could at least give her that; Graverra’s game of keep away had shown an unforeseen weakness; the ability for one to lie betwixt the narrow rows where the homunculus couldn’t reach. The caskets themselves needed patching up as well, something that would eventually cost an inconsequential amount of mana. After the dungeon had been placed and opened. It shouldn’t have been because the secondary core chose to throw a tantrum.
Graverra ran into the system keeping her from touching the dungeon again. Hecrux could feel it like an annoying nudge on the edge of his consciousness. He growled to himself as he flicked a thought back to her health. Once it began to fill again, the system couldn’t think she was still in combat with anything. It wouldn’t make sense.
Graverra Graeme, Bride of the Dungeon Core
208/400
Restore Secondary Core’s Dungeon Management Privileges?
[Y] / N
Unable To Restore Secondary Core’s Privileges
Secondary Core Is Currently Engaged in Combat
For the safety of the primary core and well being of the dungeon-
“It’s you, isn’t it?” Again, the skull asked as if it could see the same information.
The smallest pang of regret over shadowed anything else. Finally being able to cause damage to something had been a kind of relief, and if Graverra was going to be so insistent about being down there… But now that she had returned to her chambers, the secondary core’s chambers… She wasn’t a threat to the dungeon. She wasn’t a threat to him.
“She can’t stay angry forever.”
“Well, between you and me, the mistress’s sense of time seems to have been a little ruined by all this core stuff. I think she could do it.”
It was unclear to him why that needed to stay between the two of them, when it reality if Graverra was already aware and they were both also aware… There was nowhere for that information to go. Irrelevant. Graverra had proven to be the stubborn type. The dungeon core had thought it might be useful, when not used against him. She probably could stay angry forever, if that’s what she thought she wanted.
There was too much mana missing after the crypt had healed itself, the constant stream of accounting had found a hang up to take it from white noise to mild disturbance. Not as if something had been built without him, which was a disconcerting sensation, but enough to notice. Hecrux snapped his attention back to Graverra. But it was only cosmetics, a change of clothes, no boost to her health. Hecrux wondered if she had even considered that yet — the system more than likely wouldn’t let her, but still.
“She should put the necklace back on. She still has that, doesn’t she?” Hecrux reached for it himself regardless.
Unable To Modify Secondary Core
Secondary Core Is Currently Engaged In Combat
For the safety of the primary core and well being of the dungeon-
The dungeon core huffed and wondered idly if maybe he had dropped her health all the way down to zero… She wouldn’t be in combat any longer and she certainly wouldn’t be read as a threat to himself or the dungeon.
But Graverra wasn’t a threat, to him or the dungeon. And Hecrux doubted that Estremon would be interested at all in negotiating Graverra’s revival for a second time. Later, he would have to ask Graverra to explain necromancy. Just in case.
“Could always try the note again. She liked the note.” The skull suggested.
Hecrux hummed doubtfully. Though the situation had shaped up to feel awfully familiar, he had thought they had moved past Graverra’s need for overt performances of devotion. He had built the homunculus for her after all.
“Probably wouldn’t even be opposed to talking, if you do it right. Remember that whole thing about pursuing her?”
“I was very recently pursuing her.” Still, Hecrux filtered through every item in the dungeon until he came upon the necklace in question. He still wasn’t sure that it even worked, especially now, but if the system was so determined to treat her as an average dungeon delver…
“I think the difference with that one was the violence levels, boss.”
Hecrux rolled his singular eye. Any damages were Graverra’s own fault for expecting a dungeon not to behave like a dungeon, and furthermore, he was being extremely patient and accommodating, if not downright attentive; attempting to fix her despite her willful stupidity. “Tell her… That I look forward to her return to her full capabilities as my secondary core.”
Before the skull could argue about it, Hecrux placed the necklace in the skull’s mouth and banished him back to Graverra’s chambers.
