I was not prepared for an irate Mord. I wasn’t even prepared for a non-monologue Mord, let alone the irate version.

  “You broke the walls of the Recovery room! Who fireballs themselves in an enclosed room? What kind of critical failure of planning is that?”

  “I….uuhhh…it…it..was….”

  “It was what?” He set his shoulders, and I winced a little.

  “An accident.”

  “Oh, an accident!” Mord threw his hands up and spun in a circle before continuing.

  “Ok, then these things happen.”

  “You’re not mad? You seemed mad a second ago.”

  “Oh, that?” he made a flippant gesture.

  “Ya.” I widened my eyes and gave a little nod.

  “That’s just the short version of the lecture. All in all, probably a smart place to do it. Neigh-indestructible dungeon walls, tons of ambient mana, built-in healing, and life support. Really quite brilliant. Not to mention, you shouldn’t be able to do that at all. That was artifact power in a one-time use package.”

  “Note to self, don’t go around converting rock into mana stone and using it as a grenade.”

  “What stone did you say?” he turned on me with a solid inquisitorial look on his face.

  “Mana Stone?” my tone indicating I was clueless.

  “There is no mana stone in this dungeon. I never learned how to create it, nor has it been dropped by any adventurer. Where did you get a fireball rune anyway?”

  “ I got it from one of the vending machines, used one of my shifty…err…Metaridium coins from the random coin bag I got from you.”

  “Random coin bag?….ahh, the Wealth of Chance that you chose after our last meeting. It made an Orbol?…hrmmn first Divinium and then Metaridium, it seems the God of Luck favors you as much as your patron. Her avatar for you is very nice by the way.” His last part captured my full attention.

  “Wait, what can you see?” I was flushed with both anger and embarrassment.

  “Nothing in that fog of yours, boy, but her avatar did have to phase in here and needed my permission. I do say if that is the fashion of your world, I do very much approve.”

  My pulse dropped back to normal. Not that I was shy or cautious about sex by any means. I wasn't some exhibitionist, either, mind you, but I was at least open about it. There was something about Vex that instantly incensed me. The thought of another with the body she said I created for her was…was….unfair. But for a creepy old man, dungeon, whatever, it just put me off. But his compliments did at least make up for it, plus he seemed astute enough to read the room.

  “I will convey my compliments to her…Death-ness,” I couldn’t hold in my laughter at that last stumble. And apparently neither could Mord. We laughed for a good minute, as was fitting.

  “Back to the matter at hand. The destruction of my dungeon and the creation of the mana stone. Can you really make it?”

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  The mana density was much lower in this room than in the recovery room. I could feel it, it was humidity, but different. I didn’t feel it on my skin, but it had the same feel of a forest after the rain in the other room. This room was by no means a desert; it was just less. I would try, though. I did blow a hole in his wall, which was probably blowing a hole in him. I doubted it was a gunshot equivalent, but it probably still hurt.

  “Let me try.”

  I focused on the pattern in my mind and concentrated on its creation. It was so mana dense I started with the tiniest piece. Even then, it was more mana than I could pull in this room. I wasn’t even optimistic about the next room. I went to the next best thing. I made a rock. And wasinterruptedd.

  “Is that mana stone? It looks just like a rock.”

  “It is a rock. I don’t have enough of a mana pool to create even a sliver of mana stone. I don’t know if I can create it in the recovery room either. Speaking of it seems the mana density has dropped in there lately.” I was making a joke, but it did take longer to fill up.

  “Well, it’s either that your mana pool is increasing as you use skills and, I daresay, pure concepts, related to your Smarts and Stout stats orrrr…..someone blew a giant hole in the array”

  “Let’s go with the first one.”

  “Let’s…now about mana stone.” His desire was patently clear.

  “I’m thinking on it. Why do you want it so bad?”

  “Idle curiosity.” His lie was almost as transparent as his desire.

  “Mord,” I replied in a stern tone.

  “It’s academic..I promise.” Another lie.

  “Mord!” Even sterner, I added a head tilt.

  “Ok fine. You are the only visitor I’ve gotten in fifty-five cycles. Something must have happened to take me off the map, and if it were to get out that I dropped a mana stone. No matter how rare it was, adventurers would flock to me. I’m a dungeon. I need adventurers. You were a great source of energy, but there is only so much I can get from an individual before diminishing returns. And you are making all your discoveries in the treasure room, which gives me a deduction. Don't get me wrong—an awakening and an Ascension, plus all the breakthroughs you have had. A small corner of a room and random treasures are more than fine by me. If I could get a secret that eluded me in life on top of it, I would be most pleased.”

  “I don’t know what to say, Mord. I’ll try. I promise I will.”

  “Good, good, my boy. Now go on. My younger self has been waiting to wipe the floor with you for some time. Quite annoying really”

  I took Mord at his words and went to meet him in the training room.

  Old Mord was not lying, ‘wipe the floor’ was the understatement of the cycle. Eventually, I won, though, or at least improved enough that Mord let me pass. That or I had lost enough blood and needed the recovery room.

  I greeted the vending room with a smile. It was what I was waiting for. I didn't have any Orbols, but I had Meta coins and a favorable exchange rate. I could muster forty-five-ish of the coins without tapping out. That was not the only exciting news, my new skill also translated. I could read the vast majority of the prices. Everything still required Orbols, but the higher the price in other coinage, the lower the Orbol price.

  I spied the machine that I was waiting for. The machine that had pants. Ink and I were going to have a field day. As I walked to it, I passed the blackjack table thingy. It was the only thing in here that didn’t have items in it. I could use a game of blackjack or any other form of gambling to break the monotony. I don't think Mord had another form, and he did not reference this at all, so I was skeptical. I was pretty good at odds before my brain got an upgrade. It would be interesting to see what I could do now.

  I placed a platinum on the table. What is a rule? Show you are willing to spend some money, and they won’t notice as quickly when you start to run the table. Though this time, nothing whatsoever happened. I tried multiple coins, different coins, and even the meta coins, but still nothing. So I said fuck it and put a rock on it. Not a conjured stone rock, but a rune stone rock. Something happened that time. The rune stone dissolved into the table. I was out a rune stone, but it wasn’t the worst thing that happened. The machine started making noise. Ever wary of explosions, Ink left me naked, never mind that I wouldn't heal as fast in this room.

  Spoiler! An explosion did not occur. After much clinking, grinding, and even a whrrr or three, two small purple objects shaped like Maori fish hooks dropped into the tray at the bottom of the machine. My eyes lit up, for these could only be one thing.

  I did not hesitate. I snatched them up, and one was in my coin inventory before Ink could even come out of hiding. My Thoughtful destruction skill was already going before he could get the other one. He was too late. I, however, saw the gray haze of my menu pulse with new information.

  New Currency! Dungeon Obol of the Dungeon of Mord

  New Material! Dungeon Material