Riva successfully beat the scorpion boss for the third time.
She kept it alive, barely, and used her previous strategy of feeding on it with her feet while fending off the smaller scorpions.
"Whoa, I've reached 250 points of life energy, yet it's still not enough?! If I wanted to, I could purchase the 'Identification' skill from before..."
~
280 points!
Riva beat the boss for the fourth time.
~
330 points!
Fith round complete…
~
500 points, Riva had stopped caring about the deaths of her foes. Defeating the boss and dealing with the minions had become routine.
~
700!
~
Riva was playing minigames on the side.
~
She was approaching 900 points when a change occurred.
Every time the boss re-spawned, the system would display the same message:
[You are facing the dungeon's core]
[Attack] [Talk]
[Item] [Run]
Riva had been testing the options at random. The results were within her expectations: They were as helpful as a shovel to an earth elemental.
Choosing [Attack] would be answered by [You and your party choose to confront the core].
[Talk] would result in a [Talk failed] message.
[Item] was followed by [Error, no inventory found].
And finally [Run] was answered with [User can't escape from boss fights].
When the same message was displayed once again, she habitually chose an option at random - talk. The notification's appearance should have announced the boss' re-spawning. Yet it wasn't there.
Instead, all the scorpions withdrew from the fight. Riva frowned but didn't pursue them, they weren't worth the effort. She was far more curious about the cause for their change in behavior.
"What's this? Did the dungeon give up?" Riva asked jokingly.
[Talk successful]
[System will act as intermediary]
[The dungeon core says that it wants to surrender. It is willing to offer spoils to user in exchange for user leaving and promising to no longer hunt within!]
Riva stood there wide-eyed, never had she expected that the dungeon could communicate, even less that it would surrender and offer her a deal.
Guess, I must have bothered it by grinding the boss repeatedly. Dungeons are supposedly indestructible… maybe my draining of life energy is causing some damage? Riva pondered the matter.
"I'm in need of life energy. If you provide enough for my evolution, I will leave you in peace!" Riva declared.
She intended to try her luck.
[The dungeon core agrees] the system informed Riva.
That was fast. Riva commented to herself.
[It wants you to sign a contract to ensure your word]
Runes made of light had formed a circle in the air, not waiting for her reply.
"Is that the contract, how does it work?" She inquired.
[Yes, once signed by injecting user's energy the contract will ensure both parties' compliance with its terms]
[The contract states that the dungeon will provide user with sufficient energy for her evolution in return, both parties agree to never intentionally cause harm to the other party]
"Why are you offering me such favorable terms?" Riva addressed the dungeon.
[The dungeon core says user is scary] The system translated its reply.
"Hey!" Riva wanted to protest but changed her mind halfway through.
She was capable of grinding inside this dungeon forever. And the dungeon wouldn't be able to do much about her. She had defeated its strongest defense, the boss, countless times. She was like an undying mosquito - extremely irritating!
Now the dungeon was offering said mosquito blood in exchange for peace. It might have been more than what the mosquito would have gathered through its bites but without the annoying itch and buzzing.
"System, is the contract trustworthy?" Riva asked, just to be safe.
[It is, the contract will cause both parties to abide by its terms, knowingly or unknowingly]
"It influences our thoughts and intentions?"
[Affirmative]
That's creepy… I would have thought it would punish a contract breach… never mind, that too would have been scary.
"Fine, I'll agree." Riva decided to comply with the dungeon's demands.
Riva carefully injected a bit of energy into the floating rune circle which caused it to flash with light and vanish thereafter.
"I didn't feel anything change?" Riva wondered aloud.
[Contract signed successfully] The system message assured her.
Right on cue, the boss revived. The dungeon had likely stalled its respawn. The giant scorpion gave Riva a fearful glance and withdrew as far into the room as it possibly could, given its size.
Riva retrieved her boots, put them on, and asked the dungeon "How do I receive the energy?"
As an answer, light gathered once again and formed a small crystal cube which dropped into Riva's palm once it finished materializing.
When her skin touched it a system another message popped up.
[Received 'Item'] It declared creatively.
Riva could feel the surging energy within the cube. She couldn't help but lick her lips in delight.
"Is this enough for the evolution, system?"
[Affirmative, commence evolution?]
"Not yet." Riva declined.
"Thank you, dungeon!" She bowed lightly. She felt that she owed it at least that much.
[The dungeon core asks if you would like to evolve here]
"Didn't you want me to leave as soon as possible?" Riva wondered.
[It says, that it isn't concerned about it. Now that you have signed the contract, it wouldn't mind]
"Here I thought you had enough of my buzzing. Can you ensure no one disturbs me?"
[The dungeon core says that this room is closed to others when already occupied by someone]
"So that's why. I had thought no other adventurers approached the boss room because the payoff vs difficulty was bad. Instead, I was blocking the room." Riva understood why she had remained undisturbed throughout her grinding.
She glanced at the horde of scorpions in the back. "The contract prevents them from harming me right?" She checked.
[Affirmative]
"Then, I'll stay." She decided "Start evolution with the help of this 'item'."
She pulled the wooden ring from her hand, making sure that the system wouldn't confuse it with the other 'item', the crystal cube. Removing the ring caused her disguise to become undone.
[Initiating user evolution]
[Ingest energy source] The system ordered.
Riva swallowed the crystal cube. The energy it released made her feel warm and fuzzy, the feeling reminiscent of drinking hot chocolate on a frosty winter day.
[Commencing evolution based on 'item']
[Establishing connection to 'item']
Riva mustered the wooden ring in her hand. It was absorbing her energy through their connection. It was growing thin root tendrils that wriggled similar to insect feelers.
Riva waited for a few minutes, no further changes occurred.
Sighing in exasperation, she closed her eyes and focused on her connection with the ring, of which she had become increasingly aware after she saw the scorpion's memories.
It wasn't hard to find because it was calling out to her. She could feel its liveliness that welcomed her into its embrace.
[Connection successful] The system declared a moment later.
Riva who had her eyes closed felt drowsy. A first since she rose as an undead. She didn't see that the wooden ring had grown its roots to envelop her in a cocoon.
~~~
Riva opened her eyes to a familiar scene. It was her mindscape, an endless black tile floor covered with a water film. This time around there was no screen to the outside. Instead, there was a tree growing from the floor.
The sight was magical: It resembled a weeping willow, its branches drooping down and swaying in a nonexistent draft. It had milky white luminescent leaves and its bark was covered with jagged purple runes.