Stranger Danger

Violet felt like she had so many questions that it was really difficult to choose just three more to ask. It was especially difficult when she knew that this would be her last chance to get such information for an entire month. Violet was tempted to ask more about the dungeon points, but she decided that she had a vague enough idea that she would just make do for now. Instead, she asked

"How do contracted [Monsters] work exactly? I don't understand the difference between summonable [Monsters] and contracted [Monsters]..."

Theodore easily explained

"Contracted [Monsters] have specific living conditions or other peculiarities that have to be met both before and during their time with you. They tend to want to join your dungeon because they would be more likely to die in the outside world. At least, in the dungeon, they can be respawned."

Violet looked surprised at that news and easily used up another question to ask

"How does that work?"

Theodore laughed at Violet's eagerness before he continued

"You can invest DP into researching dungeon spawners. They can be rather expensive and have to be researched progressively with the better ones unlocking only after the lower-quality ones have been purchased. You are limited to one spawner per room, though, so you will need higher-quality spawners if you want to have more [Monsters] assigned to a particular room or floor.

The spawners are indestructible, save for the dungeon core being destroyed. That would kill all [Monsters] in your dungeon permanently and the dungeon itself would self-destruct. They are placed in the ground in the room you want the [Monsters] to respawn in and have a set amount of mana points the [Monsters] assigned to respawn from them can cost as a total. However, once [Monsters] are assigned to a spawner, MP no longer has to be spent to respawn the [Monsters].

Unless you assign a monster to a spawner before they die, they can't be respawned. Normally, the memories and soul are preserved and the body just needs to be remade to house them. However, without a spawner in place and assigning the [Monsters] to said monster, all of that is easily lost. So, despite the high costs, I would suggest investing in them sooner rather than later to both save on costs and keep your favorite contracted [Monsters] around longer.

I would caution that it isn't good to rely on the respawn feature too much, though. The memories are kept intact, so the [Monsters] can become traumatized and their souls corrupt over time until they can no longer be respawned."

Violet winced at that reminder as she actually had some experience with that herself. The last thing she would want would be to make her [Monsters] suffer until their souls deteriorated so much they could no longer come back. That just sounded far too cruel.

Violet only had one more question she could ask and, while she was hesitant to waste her question, she couldn't help but feel like there was one other pressing matter she needed answers regarding.

"What sorts of potential dangers are there for dungeons? What should I be prepared for and cautious of?"

Theodore looked a bit grim as he sighed, seeming reluctant to offer the information. However, before too long, he still spoke up.

"Well, there is the initial problem, which I came here to investigate. Dungeon cores or their masters can become unstable, be too bloodthirsty, or build in such a way that they start spreading plagues that kill people outside of dungeons. In those cases, the local government will summon powerful adventurers with powerful magic who can destroy the dungeon core. Luckily, you seem unlikely to have such issues, but I will be keeping a close eye on how things progress in the future.

Additionally, some crafty business groups might cause problems for you to turn a profit. They attempt to control dungeons by keeping adventurers in the dungeon to prevent them from being worked on by the dungeon masters, charging fees to enter the dungeon, or repeatedly offering tributes to try and encourage particular types of dungeon growth. When you have more than one floor, only the floors with adventurers on them will be unable to be worked on, but you are especially vulnerable to being messed with right now. The tributes problem is unlikely to be an issue for you since you aren't an evolved monster or beast, so you have enough awareness to make your own choices. Still, things aren't hopeless on the other matters either since I can report such issues to the local government and guilds to try and get some action taken against such groups.

The last issue is more pressing, however. Wild [Monsters] can enter your dungeon and try to consume your core to evolve. Some cults might also try to destroy your dungeon core for not following the same patron god or goddess as them or even just to sow chaos. It is harder to fix those sorts of problems and you will have to ensure you have enough strong [Monsters], [Traps], etc. to dissuade such individuals."

Violet couldn't help but feel sobered at such news. Between wanting to protect her cute dungeon [Monsters] and needing to avoid getting herself killed, she likely would have no choice but to build lethal [Traps] and complicated puzzle rooms to prevent all but the most skilled and determined adventurers from progressing in her dungeon.

"Alright, that is all of the questions you are allowed to ask. Since I have provided what information I could and checked everything is running smoothly, I will be leaving now. Is there a particular sort of tribute you would like to request? I can also just bring you some [Items] that I think might help you to sign a contract so you can send some of those kodama out to gather resources, if you want."

Violet's eyes lit up at this news and she nodded her head vigorously to show her enthusiasm for the idea. Theodore chuckled before offering his goodbyes.

"Alright, I'll return momentarily and drop off your tribute. However, this will be goodbye for now. I look forward to seeing what you've done with the place the next time we meet."