As the group made their way towards the dungeon, something shot through the air above them. It landed with a crash in the middle of the street. All the dwarves walking around them jumped…then walked off cursing as they saw what it was.

Agedia had arrived, now with a helmet on her head and a Mana Iron Lance on her back.

“There, found you all! Heading to the dungeon are we?”

Ateia shrugged. Agedia grinned.

And promptly turned around, heading forward.

“Well, let’s get going then!”

Ateia and Taog stood there, blinking, but NSLICE-00P kept walking so they moved to follow suit. Ateia walked up next to Agedia.

“Um, Miss Agedia.”

Agedia winced.

“Ugh, that makes me sound old. Just call me Agedia!”

Ateia slowly nodded.

“Ok, Agedia, you’re coming with us?”

Agedia shrugged.

“Oh, Vafum said something about ‘stopping idiot kids from committing suicide’, but that’s boring and I owe that stupid worm a rematch. And Tibbers also told us not to mess with the shiny girl, so I’m curious to see what she can do.”

Agedia’s eyes suddenly narrowed.

“You bunch have been in a dungeon before, right? You aren’t actually suicidal idiots, right?”

Ateia shrugged while Taog looked off into the distance.

“Yep. Seero’s something of an expert, so we’ll stay close to her.”

Agedia nodded.

“Works for me, let me show you around then.”

And so the group made their way deeper into Khalbuldor. Eventually, they reached an open plaza surrounded by a small wall. A number of large structures were built with entrances directly in the wall, while guards rested on top. At the center of the plaza a stone cave jutted from the ground, with large metal doors facing their direction.

As they approached the walls two guards eyed them, but once they saw Agedia they shrugged and went back to a board game. Agedia turned to face them.

“Welcome to the Dungeon of Khalbuldor, The Mines of Might. You bunch ready?”

Ateia and Taog nodded. Estrith gripped her spear. 00B, 00F, and the Canus monsters all growled. And NSLICE-00P activated her helmet.

“Engaging dungeon termination protocols.”

Taog suddenly jumped. He rushed in front of NSLICE-00P.

“Wait, Seero! You can’t destroy this dungeon!”

“Requesting Elaboration: Why can’t this unit terminate the dungeon?”

“This is an approved dungeon, vetted and sanctioned by the Empire! It’s supposed to be here, the Empire uses it to train and gather resources! And it’s a HUGE crime to destroy one!”

NSLICE-00P’s robotic eye flickered.

“Acknowledgement: This dungeon has been designated a strategic asset of entity Empire, and is subject to non-intervention protocols. Requesting assistance with protocol updates. Previous records indicate a 99.99% probability of encountering hostility from the dungeon’s subordinate monsters, and this unit’s protocols indicate the appropriate response is to terminate the threat. This response appears to be incompatible with the non-intervention protocols and so would prevent this unit from entering the dungeon.”

Taog held his head as he tried to parse her words.

“So…you wonder what to do if we get attacked by dungeon monsters?”

“Affirmative.”

Taog heaved a sigh.

“You can kill the dungeon monsters, Seero. Just don’t kill the dungeon master or destroy the core.”

“Objection: Dungeon cores consistently produce hostile monsters. Hostility and potential danger remains as long as the dungeon core is left operational.”The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

“That’s the point, Seero!”

“Requesting Clarification: This unit does not understand.”

Taog held his head and groaned.

“Look, Seero, you can grow stronger and receive loot if you kill the monsters, you’ve noticed that, right?”

“Affirmative.”

“Right, so, that’s very useful to the Empire. So a handful of dungeons that have no history of sending their monsters to attack the outside world are allowed to remain, so that the Empire can hunt the monsters on a regular basis. We want a source of monsters to fight, as long as it’s not overly dangerous to the nearby settlement.”

NSLICE-00P’s robotic eye flickered as she analyzed the statement. She compared it to prior records…and found it reasonable. When working for her original organization, she, too, had conducted raids with the intention of acquiring new NSLICE bases where she wasn’t expected to terminate the entire target settlement. She just hadn’t considered that as she tried to adapt her protocols to her new circumstances, since she had been focused on self-preservation.

“Acknowledgement: Updating protocols. Parameters set: single target termination, self-defense from immediate hostiles only besides target monster.”

Taog closed his eyes and exhaled his breath. Agedia raised an eyebrow and spoke to Ateia.

“Your friend…likes to destroy dungeons, does she?”

Ateia nodded.

“Yes, yes she does.”

Agedia grinned.

“I’m excited to see what she can do then. Let’s get going!”

R crawled through a side alley, sticking to the shadows. His drone flew overhead with its Invisibility active, scanning the faces in the passing crowd. He heaved a sigh.

R didn’t particularly enjoy sneaking, but he knew that was what the wise-mighty-gracious boss-queen had summoned him for. Previously, he had the challenge of pushing that stealth to the limit. Of trying to get as close to the man-things as possible, get the best position while still remaining undetected so he could scan as many of their faces as he could.

But these new golems…had taken even that challenge away.

Their stealth enchantments, being engraved directly into their hulls, could remain active practically indefinitely. The golems didn’t have to spend mana or attention forming their own magic circles from scratch, they just had to channel some power through the engraving and it would activate on its own. So they could maintain Invisibility at a fraction of the cost it took the normal monsters. And since they could also fly…the golems could very easily acquire an ideal position to scan the crowd.

So 01R was finding himself spending more time commanding the golem than he was sneaking. It was just more efficient that way. His eyes couldn’t see anything the golem wouldn’t.

Which meant…he was unnecessary. Anyone could command the golem, and achieve the same results he was. The…traitorous monster-thing that disrespected the boss-queen with his every word could do the job, though 01R had no doubt he would find a way to fail at even that simple task.

The point being, 01R was dissatisfied with his current efforts. So he thought to himself, what more could he do? What could he use his own body for to better accomplish his mission?

It was at that time that he heard a crash and a squeak behind him.

He turned to look. Something had leapt from a nearby window and crashed into the alley behind 01R. The sacred records informed him of what it was.

Monster Rat (Level 2)