I walked to the wardrobe and peered inside, looking for something to wear.
A flash of reflected light caught my eye, and I realized that there was a mirror in the back of the wardrobe. I glanced at my own reflection and gasped.
“Holy shit!” I shouted. “Kyrine, what the hell…?”
It was a few days since I’d looked in a mirror, and I was blown away by what I saw. I’d never been an unfit guy, but over the last few months, I’d let my regular gym visits slide a bit, and had maybe been drinking a bit more beer than I should have. My waistline had been beginning to show it. Now, I looked as if I’d been spending eight hours a day at the gym and eating nothing but chicken and greens for six months. I looked like a movie star in training for a superhero flick.
“You didn’t know that would happen?” she laughed lightly, coming up behind me. “Of course, how could you? It’s part of leveling up. Now that your true nature as a Keeper has been activated by connecting with me, your body will reflect your true self. I think I like the change!”
“I think I do too!” I said happily, flexing.
Kyrine put her arms around me from behind and nibbled my ear. “Check your stats in the Primary Cultivation System.”
I brought my attention to my center and summoned my Primary Cultivation System. This was my own personal stats readout, showing information on everything I could do, and also allowing me to scan other creatures and pick up their information.
The blue and green backlit display appeared at my command.
Jeremy Parker (Dungeon Keeper)
Level 1
STRENGTH: 17
AGILITY: 15
TOUGHNESS: 16
INTELLIGENCE: 17
WISDOM: 17
CHARISMA: 11
MAGIC POWER: 1
MAGIC DEFENSE: 2
Spells
Ensnare (Lvl 1)
Force Barrier (Lvl 2)
Summoning Points
12
Items
None
“Hey, look at this! I’ve got 12 summoning points instead of 10 now!” I said, pointing to the readout. “And I’ve increased my Strength attribute by 2.”
Kyrine nodded. “That must have come with the level up. Also, you’ve been doing a lot of summoning, so it stands to reason that you’ve leveled up that attribute.”
“I guess so,” I said, nodding. “Let me check out my new creature.”
I already had the ability to summon four kinds of creatures: the dragon-like Level 2 Flora Whelp, the Level 1 Frostbreath Cougar, the Level 3 Magma Ape, and the horrific, plant-like Level 1 Flesh Muncher. Each monster used summoning points equivalent to its level, meaning that the higher the monster’s level, the less of them I could summon at any one time. I was keen to see what level the Cobra would be, and how many of them I could summon in a fight.
Venomous Cobra (Level 3)—Beast
An aggressive serpent that can shoot eggs, spray venomous acid, and mimic an opponent’s abilities.
Requirement
Giant Cobra with:
50% Earth Resistance
50% Water Resistance
Level 3 Poison (Water-Earth) Spell
Attributes
STRENGTH: 5
AGILITY: 15
WISDOM: 5
CHARISMA: 5
TOUGHNESS: 5
INTELLIGENCE: 13
MAGIC POWER: 10
MAGIC DEFENSE: 6
Resistances
Fire
-10%
Water
50%
Wind
0%
Earth
50%
Metal
0%
Lightning
-20%
Wood
0%
Psychic
0%
Physical
0%
Holy
0%
Infernal
0%
Evolutions
Previous Evolution
Requirement
Giant Cobra
50% Earth Resistance 50% Water Resistance
Level 3 Poison (Water-Earth) Spell
Future Evolution(s)
Requirement
Toxic Cobra
Venomous Cobra (base)
Level 4 Poison (Water-Earth) Spell
Antidote Cobra
Venomous Cobra (base)
Level 4 Apothecary (Water-Earth-Holy) Spell
“I’m looking forward to trying this out today,” I said, dismissing the stats readout. “We’ll have some fun experimenting in the training area later.”
Kyrine nodded. “Put something on. I want to show you the rest of your new rooms.”
I picked out a well-cut shirt of green fabric and found a fresh set of blue jeans. I put these on, then laced up a set of high-quality black leather boots that I found tucked under a shelf low down.
“This is nice gear,” I commented, looking in the mirror again.
“I received many, many gifts in tribute over the years,” Kyrine said. “Some of the adventurers would bring high-end tailoring for me to consume when they came to me. A dungeon gets more nourishment from items that have been wrought with great skill.”
I looked at her, feeling excitement bubbling up in me. “You must be able to create all kinds of cool shit!” I exclaimed.
She twisted a little smile at me and winked. “More than you could imagine. And now that I have a Keeper to direct me, I can begin to manifest some of the best items again. Come on, let’s go have a look at the rest of the suite.”
With a shimmering of light around her, she manifested an outfit. Today, she chose a dark blue skirt, a top of the same color, pale blue tights and high leather boots. These were pretty modern clothes, and they made her look young and kind of playful. She certainly had a good taste in clothing.
“You like this outfit?” she said coyly.
“I sure do,” I replied.
She met my eye. “Astrid brought it into the mansion. I absorbed it while she was sleeping and recreated it for myself, then recreated a new version for Astrid. She has no idea.”
I laughed. That was food for thought, though. I’d never seen Astrid in anything but her battle gear or her gym clothes. The thought of her in this relaxed outfit was pleasant, and it made me think that there must be sides to the beautiful lycan’s character that I hadn’t seen yet. I realized that I was excited to see them, and immediately wondered how Kyrine would feel about me getting closer with Astrid. Would she mind if we slept together? I almost asked but decided against it just for the moment.
“Come on,” I said. “Let’s see what you’ve made
