"What!? Me? Obviously I don't want Parker to die, why would you say such a thing!?" Although Parker's expression is confused, it's nothing compared to his wife's as Laeniel sputters out a response to Emma's first question. For her part, Emma raises a doubting eyebrow.

"You don't, do you? So you didn't spend weeks, if not months, arranging this application through the Church of Bounty, traveling down here in the middle of winter, starting on arrangements to even move down permanently, go through the Church's various tests, and then hike your way up this mountain?"

Laeniel looks around at the others next to her, but they don't seem to have an answer to provide to the elf. "I mean - yes, obviously, we've done all that. But I don't want Parker to die! What sort of monster do you think I am!?"

Emma leans back as she crosses her arms. "Really, cause it seems to me like you've gone through a lot of effort to have us kill your husband here."

Deciding to help out his wife, Parker verbally steps in. "I'm not sure why you're putting all this pressure on Laeny, here. I'm the one who's applied to join your dungeon, not her."

With a deep chuckle, Trush answers that question. "Aye, and we've had plenty of other applicants before, some successful, most not. But one thing they've - we've - all had in common is a lack of attachments. No kids, no loved ones, no dependents. Now, your situation's a unique one, we'll grant you that. But that's why we need to press this point. Laeniel, you've come here to watch your husband die today - assume you're willing to watch it yourself, of course. We need to be sure that you've got no misconceptions on that point, and that you understand what you're both asking for."

"I...right, of course. I understand." Taking a deep breath, the accountant steadies herself. "Allow me to be more clear, then. I do not want Parker to die. If it were a choice, I'd choose for him to live forever - and not as a dungeon guardian, but with me, in our own home. But life does not give us what we want. I do want children, we both do. And even if it's in some sort of limited fashion, I do want to spend the rest of my days being able to see Parker again. When you sum up the things we want, against the things life forces us to deal with, such as our differing lifespans, our...physical difficulties, the best path forward seems to be the one that Worthy Dungeon offers. Assuming you can do what you say you can do."

Deylia continues the questioning. "Although you two would be the first full test, we have every confidence that we will be able to address your major concerns, yes. Let that lead us into our next question, then. Should everything go as planned, and you become pregnant and give birth - are you prepared for the life ahead of you, following after that? You will be able to see Parker again, but he will have limited ability to help you raise your child, or children, should there be more. Furthermore, the children would not be exactly his by blood - they would be half-monster. I hope you've considered all this?"

Parker is about to respond himself, but a hand on his thigh lets him know to leave this to his wife. "We have, of course. Financially, I am confident in my ability to raise at least a small household on my own. If there were some way for Parker to provide, ah, support from the dungeon, it would be helpful, but not necessary. As for the, well, form of the child...whatever his or her blood may be, their spirit would come from myself and Parker, and I have no doubt that we would both love them. As for how others may react...well, if they want to criticize a child born under the blessing of Kahlia herself, they're welcome to their opinions, but they would concern me little."

Elance chuckles from Laeniel's side. "Aye, you can be certain to have the support of the Church of Bounty should that matter ever come up. And if things go as I expect, I imagine the influence of Kahlia will spread quite far in this region in the years to come."

Emma spends a moment with her head tilted to one side before she refocuses and continues. "As far as financial parental support goes, the dungeon's not making any promises. No one else is currently making a salary, and while the boss can generate her own currency, it does come at a mana cost. That said, we don't want a kid that we had a major part in conceiving to suffer cause we're too miserly, so...it's up for consideration down the line." For her next question, the reflection finally turns towards Parker. "So it's your turn, now. You've considered all this too, I hope? Having to raise a kid at a distance? Giving up your old life and starting a new one of Challenger-killing?"

Parker nods, looking much more confident than Laeniel had earlier. "We have, many times. The concern we had before, which kept us from adopting, was knowing that I'd barely see the child out of adolescence and perhaps not even that if we adopted a full-blooded elf child. Even if I couldn't be with them every day, knowing that I'd at least get to see them growing up - becoming an adult, exploring their talents, starting a family of their own - it's more than a fair trade-off, in our minds. As for the part where I'd need to deal with Challengers, perhaps in a lethal fashion?" The man shrugs. "I'd probably feel worse about it if you were recruiting for one of your earlier floors, facing Initiates and the like. The place is currently Expert-ranked on its lower floors? Hrmph, Experts know what they're getting into. It's not exactly me going around and slitting throats."

The reflection smirks. "Not unless we crossclass you into being a Rogue, at least. I suppose that's the big stuff on our end, then. I can probably guess some of the stuff on your mind, but just to check, any big questions or concerns you need answered?"

The man nods again, but addresses his first question towards the two rabbit guardians. "I'll start off with an open-ended question, just in case I don't know what questions I ought to be asking. You two are both reincarnates, yes? Any thoughts you'd have to share? Things you wish you'd known or asked?"

Deylia gives a slightly sad shake of her head. "I am a reincarnated guardian, yes, but I was not exactly a typical applicant. I was...perhaps not as prepared as I should have been. It took me some time to fully, shall we say...accept my death and what I had lost...and what I had gained in exchange. You should be aware that this will be a new family for you in more ways than one - not only will you hopefully be fathering a child, but you'll be joining the rest of us here for perhaps countless years. I hope you're prepared to gain many more...ah, cousins, or however you'd prefer to think of us going forward."

Before Parker can respond to that, Trush gives a derisive snort. "I'd definitely not want to call us cousins, given how many of us are spending time in each other's..." He trails off as he realizes some of the looks he's getting, particularly from Mother Hammerdown and Laeniel. "...Well, Deylia's not wrong, but the terminology you'd care to use is up to you, I'd say." Having said that, he takes a moment to consider a more serious response. "Other than that, there's the usual advice about needing to have a pasttime that isn't killing folks. The new features on Floor Five have been very helpful in that regard, although...well, not to immediately fall back to my earlier point, but if you two are faithfully vowed, I suppose some of those features may not appeal to you so much."

The couple share a brief glance and smiles before Parker responds. "I'd always told Laeny that I'd be mostly fine with her finding someone else after I was dead. Now that it appears that I can be dead and still vowed, well...we've heard the rumors of your dungeon, yes, but I don't believe we'll making any changes to our relationship in the near future. I'm sure I can find myself some way to keep myself occupied while keeping my pants on."

"Entirely valid. Beyond that...well, there are the physical adjustments, to your new body, I mean. In my case I'd lost an arm years before, so having one again was certainly something to get used to. But the height, the fur, the strength of my new legs...not needing to eat anymore? Nothing you won't mostly get used to in a week or two, I think, but I suppose I hadn't considered all of the more minor details involved with becoming a dungeon monster before it happened."

Parker gives Trush a nod before seguing into his next point. "Speaking of the new monster body I'll be taking...you've said I'll be a rabbit-folk like yourself, yes? Can I see an example of it? It sounds as if it's still something rather different than your own forms."

Emma chuckles a little at that. "That's what we're using for Kahlia's fertility quest, yeah...but probably not what we're going to be using for your combat form. To be honest, we haven't actually settled on that one yet. Xenia here seems confident she can roll herself a good mimic crossbreed for the job, or something fae-based, depending on whether we put you on Floor Seven or Eight. Until that's settled you probably will be spending your time as a rabbit though. We can swap you out, but boss-level monster bodies cost mana, so it's not something we'd wanna be doing multiple times a day. That said, you ready to see what you're getting into? Given that you're gonna be making a kid with it, you should probably get to have some input on the fine details and all that."

The Challenger's eyebrows rise. "You mean assist in the creation of it before I have to die and, well, be it? That would certainly be helpful, yes. Not to mention a rather interesting insight into how you dungeons actually work..."

The reflection nods before turning towards the various Church representatives. "Given that this could get a little personal, would you mind giving us some time with the couple alone?"

"If they're fine with that?" Seeing nods from Parker and Laeniel, Elance gives a nod of her own and rises from her seat. "Alright then, we'll just be in the main chamber outside. Let us know when y'need us back."

Sable pouts slightly, although she does follow after her friend. "Darn, kinda wanted to see how designing a dungeon monster works. Suppose it could be a little creepy if I'm checking out Parker's body though, so fair enough." The Paladin exits the room along with Priestess Lilly, and once they've shut the door behind them the trio of dungeon representatives stand up from their chairs. The applicant couple are a little confused by that, but they're even more surprised when the table they've been sitting at suddenly increases in size. Seeing their expressions, Emma smirks.

"Turning this conference table into an examination table, no biggie. You might wanna stand up though to get a good look. This boy's gonna be a big'un..."

DaScoot

So here we are - two hundred chapters of Worthy Core! When I first started writing this, I honestly probably would have expected the story to be wrapping up around here. We are getting closer to wrapping up The Nobles arc, though that's relative given I do have a month's worth of chapters written up ahead and it still ain't done yet. Speaking of my schedule, I have slightly improved my chapter stockpile size, but I haven't had the time or energy yet to catch up nearly as much as I would like. I do have a long vacation coming up at the end of the month though, so it's my hope that I'll be able to resume three posts a week come June.

When I hit chapter 100 I asked if there would be interest in a Worthy Core discord and got no responses, but as polls tend to get more interaction I thought I'd ask again in a poll format. This isn't a "51% means I make a discord server" sort of question though, as I'm more interested in the magnitude of the interest rather than the percentage of it. If you don't want to join a discord but you do have questions you'd like to ask about the story, this would be a good time to ask them down in the comments if you would like.

Aside from that, I'd like to thank you all for reading two hundred chapters of my stuff, and especially thanks to everyone who's rated or reviewed! Your support means a lot to me!