Would you like to upgrade common ant to builder ant? Yes/No?

That message had come out of the blue as Theanore and Marinus were playing in the pool. The merman was teaching the nymph how to swim. He had seen humans swim, so he knew how to instruct her.

“Yes, system. I want to upgrade,” said Theanore, not one to miss an upgrade. Marinus looked at her strangely. He still found it weird when Theanore answered unspoken questions by this system.

Achievement unlocked: A construction site.

Theanore has upgraded the common ant to a builder ant. As such, she gets to be the ant Queen. As Queen, she can send the ants anywhere, she wishes and makes them do anything she wishes.

Theanore scrunched up her nose at that. She already did that. Well, it was more of a suggestion, really. To test it, she padded to the edge of the pool and whistled to some passing by ants.

She noticed that the ants have become bigger. How did that work, even? She had spent five mana for the upgrade of a single wheat seed, and now she had gotten the ant upgrade for free? Except her reservoirs felt empty. Why didn’t the system tell her the cost?

“System, how much mana do I have left?” She asked.

0/20.

“And why didn’t you tell me that this upgrade would drain me of mana?” Asked the nymph, irritated at the misinformation.

The upgrade of things with the class builder always drains the dungeon core of its full mana. As such, had you waited and unlocked another achievement, you would have just ended up spending more mana.

“What other classes would drain me?” Asked Theanore, confused as to why such a mechanic even existed. Although she supposed that if the upgrade of all animals to a different class was to happen, it was only fair that it drained her.

Laborer, merchant, farmer, craftsman, chef, magician, boss mob.

Wait, something wasn’t right. Apart from magicians and the boss mob, everything else was laborers.

“System, why are the laborers a different class?”

For the other six classes to be upgraded, an animal or a monster must first become a laborer. Your common ants were laborers before they became builders. You can say that each new animal or monster you take in your service becomes a laborer by default.

“What are you asking the system?” Asked Marinus, feeling left out. Theanore explained to him what the system told her, and Marinus looked like he was thinking it through.

“So, can’t the laborers just do the jobs of the special classes?” Asked the merman, and Theanore replied the question to the system.

An animal or a monster with a special class is stronger, bigger, and faster. Their children are born into the same special class.

Achievement unlocked: Outside help.

Theanore works alongside Marinus the merman to unravel the mysteries of the system. As such, she is given five more mana to her regen.

Theanore clapped excitedly. With her reservoir of twenty-five mana, she could make deep wheat grow and do something extra! But she needed an outside opinion on what she could spend the extra five mana on.

“Mari, the system just gave me five more mana to my regen. Can you help me with an idea on what to spend it on?” Asked Theanore as she swam towards Marinus.

“Well, Thea, what are your options?” Asked Marinus, not really understanding much about the system and mana in general, but willing to play along.

“I can grow five nettles to maturity. Or a single mushroom for four mana. Or maybe an entire species of herbs for one mana per type. Or I can grow all my flowers to maturity,” said Theanore, and Marinus got a thoughtful look.

“Apart from the nettle, what else can you eat from that list?” Asked the merman, and Theanore came up with a blank. She didn’t know.

“System, of the things I listed, what else apart from the nettle can I eat?” Asked the little nymph, and she got her answer.

The mushroom. And I suggest also growing your mint, so you can make it into tea. But not with salt water.

“The mushroom. Maybe I can make it into a nettle-mushroom-fish soup?” Said Theanore, and Marinus smiled at that. A soup would stretch their supply of fish. Not that he couldn’t fish for more outside the grotto, but it was simply more convenient to have an aquafarm in the grotto itself.

“You do that. Your cooking is very nice. I would love to eat more of it.”

Theanore blushed at that, and she splashed some water at Marinus, who giggled.

“System, upgrade one mushroom and the mint,” said Theanore and two lights flickered out of her stomach and went towards the tunnels.

“Well, it’s cooking time,” said Theanore as she got out of the pool. “And you have to bring me more fish for the pool if I am cooking for you. It’s only fair.”

“So, does that make you my wife then, Thea?” Asked Marinus, and Theanore blinked at him. Was this the title of a super special friend?

“What is a wife, Mari?” Asked Theanore and Marinus burst out laughing.

“I can’t believe you don’t know, Thea.” Said the merman between laughs.

“Well, I don’t.” Said the girl as she crossed her hands over her chest. She had left her dress at the edge of the pool before she went inside, and she was cold now. But she preferred not to get into her dress wet. Did her father bring her something for her to dry off with?

“A wife is the most special woman in the life of a man.” Said Marinus, finally calming down. “His sun and moon, his wind and waves, the other part of his soul.”

“We have the same soul?” Asked Theanore in wonder, clearly having heard only this part.

“One day you will understand, Thea.” Said Marinus cryptically as he dived back towards the tunnel that led into the sea. This time he would bring his nymph some oysters. Maybe some lobsters too? He had stolen a lobster from a human boat once. It had been boiled and done with spices. It had been the tastiest thing he had eaten.

The merman swam out and looked around. It wouldn’t do if he was found by humans now. He wasn't very knowledgeable about dungeons or their cores. But Theanore could do special things. If the humans found her, they will exploit her for sure. He had to be extra careful.

Not that humans wouldn’t exploit him, either. His tears turned to pearls when he was happy. He had heard of humans being false with merfolk. Keeping them happy with lies for the pearls, but even that didn’t stop them from keeping the merfolk in question captive until their dying days. Even if said being promised to return to the human.

That was a twisted form of torture. Marinus liked his freedom, thank you very much. Theanore wouldn’t seal the tunnel shut and deny him the sea, he knew. She was practically a newborn. It was up to him to keep her pure of spirit and raise her. Her “father” simply wasn’t around to do so.

Taking a left turn, Marinus went to the edges of the grotto and found a nice dark gray oyster. He placed it next to his ear and gave it a shake. It had pearls inside. Checking the other oysters that were glued to the cave’s outside, he found more with pearls and the rest were normal ones.

He should have taken something to place them in. Taking two pearl oysters in his hands, he swam back to the grotto. Theanore was still not back with the food. Marinus swam back outside. He made ten more trips and on the eleventh, he managed to catch a female and a male red giant lobster as well.

Placing the breeding pair next to the single coral of the pool, he petted the skittish crustaceans.

“You are Thea,” he told the female lobster. “And you are, Mari,” he told the male one.

“And you will have numerous lobster children, and you will be happy here,” he smiled as the two lobsters hid from him together.

Getting one of the pearl oysters, he opened it and removed the three pearls from within. He ate the oyster itself and returned the pearls back inside the shell. Maybe Theanore could make herself a necklace in the merfolk fashion.

The oyster’s shell glistered in the light, and Marinus could already imagine it around Thea’s neck. Or potentially, she could make a belt for her dress? It was such a pretty thing. With so many things that Marinus hadn’t ever seen before. Thea had called them flowers. Perhaps he could convince her to show him one?

She had no problem making him soup, so it was not out of the question. Wait! The soup. Marinus groaned when he realized he hadn’t caught her a fish for it. It would be a green soup then. Oh, well. He can always sneak another oyster into his diet.