Cat Core 2, Chapter 13.

Chapter 13.

“Okay, it's bare and ugly, but the home design is done. I just have to push out the front lawn and build what he planned for the new entrance,” Florence said. Doug perked up from where he had been fake napping on the rocking chair pillow.

“Very good, let’s get to work with our defenders, shall we?” Doug asked.

“Yep, and first off is Spud’s promotion. Come here my stinky little boy,” Florence cooed to Spud who, for once, listened and trotted his way into the core room, rubbing up against her rocking chair and taking a halfhearted swipe at Doug.

“Stay away from me you uncultured yob,” Doug hissed as Spud continued to annoy him.

“Leave Douggie alone, Spud. Does my little baby Spud want to become a champion for our new floor? You would have to stay in your assigned room, though, no more wandering around when adventurers are inside our home,” Florence asked, laying down the ground rules. The kitty mewed excitedly, nodding his little head, and then running upstairs to the still undecorated floor. He circled the attic floor, finding a good spot to nap in and leaving his mark on other areas, much to Doug’s disgust. A system prompt interrupted the enjoyment of watching Spud.

Your second Dungeon floor has begun population. All defenders placed on this floor will have their levels adjusted to match that floor’s difficulty rating.

You have created your second champion in a scaling difficulty dungeon, a bonus has been added to your cash balance for reaching this milestone.

Continue to populate your dungeon, it will be forcefully reopened in 72 hours if you have not willingly opened it by that time. If a forced reopening is required, you will experience reduced passive mana absorption for a period of 30 days.

“Woah, they don’t mess around, do they? Come to think of it, who’s sending these prompts and whatnot? How can they do stuff to my home or give me more money?” Florence asked, still confused over how the rules of her new existence worked.

“I’m not entirely sure, I worked in a different department and didn’t get to interact with, well, anyone other than the souls I was transforming into cores. I just know the system works and no matter how hard we try, some things can’t be avoided. On the positive side, it looks like they’ve given us additional funds equal to the cost of creating the new floor champion as well as the dungeon champion. You might want to know that the dungeon champion requires a hundred dollars to create while the floor champions will cost you the normal $50 that we were charged previously,” Doug advised.

Instead of paying to promote Spud, her balance had gone from $98.11 all the way to $198.16. She watched as Spud grew, going from the size of a large dog to that of a pony. He looked impressive, and Florence could see the greenish cloud of crud that followed her baby around. His class had also been tweaked and he was now a level five Plague Charger, whatever that was. The wacky system that controlled this world was somewhat stingy with information. No worries, though, she would see how he had improved when the adventurers started showing up.

Another wave of change went over all the kitties on the first floor. They shrunk down and looked well, weaker than they had before. The defenders on the lawn, living room, and hallway were now level one, with the others somewhat stronger at level two. They all went to level three once you passed the kitchen, which seemed right given that her kitchen was kind of the last refuge before a party would challenge the more dangerous bits of her home.

A level-one defender just looked like a freakishly large house cat, huge, but not something that would make people 911 back on earth. Around level three they started approaching the size of a golden retriever. She’d have to create more kitties to find out how the rest of the level five and six kitties looked. Spud’s newly enhanced size might be partially a result of him becoming a champion. With her stinky champion squared away, it was time to create her home champion, but then something crazy happened.

The creation of your dungeon champion has been overridden. Your dungeon affinity has selected a champion from among your other defenders. The new dungeon champion will be Mortimer Skullshaper.

“What! You mean I don’t get to even choose my own home champion,” Florence growled as the funds drained from her account and flowed toward poor Mortimer who looked confused about the whole ordeal. Under some compulsion, the kitty ran through the house, heading to the second floor and then jumping all the way down to the backyard, which was also changing before her eyes, changing into something she didn’t approve of one bit.

“Oh my, that is a rather unexpected development. Normally a dungeon affinity is only a mild influence. It appears you possess a much closer bond to that affinity than you would like. I should point out that it might also make our home champion stronger than a normal dungeon champion,” Doug said. Florence ignored him, distraught over what was happening to her lovely home.

The backyard was just an empty section of the cavern with the back wall of the house blocking it off on one side and the cavern wall on the other. She had intended to make it a bright and cheery place, with artificial sunlight and lots of landscaping, even a nice painted fence to cover up the cavern wall. In addition, Florence wanted to have a garden with herbs and the like for the adventurers to harvest if they survived the encounter with the champion. Now, her backyard had transformed into a dark and partially dying lawn that sat under the glow of a full moon.

Tombstones pushed up from the earth, with the mounded earth of a gravesite attached to each one. Some of the mounds burst open to reveal crumbling ancient coffins full of dried bones and the like. A few shrubs that were mostly brambles and thorns were strewn about and the small garden hut that she wanted to build became a caretaker's shed with shovels and things for digging graves, not planting herb gardens. And to top things off, poor Mortimer was turning into some new type of kitty, one that Florence wasn’t sure she approved of.

Mortimer grew to a size just a bit smaller than Spud, but with a sickly physique. His black fur became scruffy and brittle looking while the white markings on his face became more pronounced and really made him look like he had a skull drawn on his head. When the transformation was complete, her newest champion gave a cute little mew as he started to explore his new space. For all the trauma of the transformation, not to mention being forcing away from his friends, Mortimer seemed perfectly content. It would have broken Florence’s heart if one of her kitties were sad. New information populated on her baby, giving only a hint at what he was now capable of.

Mortimer Skullshaper, Level 6 Dungeon Champion, Necrocatster.

“What in tarnation is a Necrocatster?” Florence asked.

“I’m unsure, but I expect our little Mortimer will be considerably more powerful than a normal dungeon champion given he has what appears to be a completely new class,” Doug offered.

“Well, at least he seems happy enough, but we should probably see about getting him someone to play with up here, but we’ve got a lot of cats to make right now. She had just about a hundred dollars, enough to make ten cats, less if she wanted to replace the minor champion on the first floor.

“Let’s make the minor champion next, hopefully, it won’t be something forced on us. Should I go for a fresh one, or do you think one of our kitties might need a promotion,” Florence asked.

“Hmm, there are several viable candidates, but most seem happy just hanging out where they are now, let’s do a new summons and I get to name it,” Doug said.

“All right, here we go,” Florence said. She was about to get annoyed at Doug for trying to claim the first naming, but then again, she had lost that game of Dungeon Delve to him back on earth that they had played to decide who picked first. Her fund's balance dropped by twenty-five dollars as a new kitty formed in the core room. Doug and Florence looked on in anticipation as the first new kitty that wasn’t part of the old home arrived.

It was a beautiful Maine Coon with long luxurious fur that was almost too fluffy and cute for her to stand. He was an orange and black tabby in coloration with a white belly and paws. Florence thought that he had a very regal look about him. Her newest champion gave a rub on her chair, then touched noses with Doug in greeting, along with the obligatory sniffing they always did when meeting someone new.

“I believe you will be Loki,” Doug proclaimed.

“Not too bad, I was worried you’d saddle our minor champion with something weird. Okay Loki, go find your place,” Florence said. Spud had claimed the garage as his, but Loki didn’t seem like the chap that would be found living in a garage. His class populated, giving them an idea of what to expect from the newest addition.

Loki, Level 3 Minor Champion, Raider.

“Oh, I know this one, if the cat’s new class resembles one that adventurers can train to be. A raider specializes in hit and run tactics, almost like our commando kitties, but willing and equipped to stay in the fight longer. They usually have an ability that allows them to disengage when they need to, often pulling out of the fight completely to recover. This one will be interesting to watch when he gets his first fight,” Doug said.

Loki did look a bit like someone who would be a raider now that Florence thought about it. Her new kitty didn’t seem to be bound to a particular room, and instead of staying put, he started patrolling for intruders and making friends with all his new brothers and sisters. Once he had made the initial round of introductions, Loki kept his patrols confined to the areas that held the level two and three kitties. He was a good sport and didn’t want to beat up on adventurers who were just cutting their teeth on the initial challenges of her home.

There was enough defender expense remaining on the first floor to summon one more kitty, but she wanted to save that for a special project when she pushed the entrance out toward the surface. It was probably a good time to get started on that, considering she was on the clock. Seeing outside would be nice, even if she did feel much more comfortable underground the longer that she spent as a core gem.

Florence pushed in influence from the front lawn toward the surface, moving past more and more of tunnel cavern tunnels, keeping her home sealed up during this whole process, she didn’t want some wandering creeps to jump in when she wasn’t looking. They weren’t all that far from the surface when she hit a block. It was in some ways similar to the problem she had run into before the spider guy had attacked, but this time, she didn’t feel that anyone was directly trying to get into the dungeon. It was just some force that was blocking her from assimilating more territory.

There was a small tendril of space in the cavern wall that she could move her will through, a narrow passage that led toward the actual tunnel mouth. Her influence was limited since the surface area she was able to control was small, but eventually, she found herself looking outside and viewing the surrounding territory. It was the same rock-covered hill that the adventuring party of jerks had dragged her through to fulfill their deal with the lich.

Alongside the barren landscape that she remembered from her trip inside, Florence could see the beginnings of a new town being built. A pair of larger structures were a hub of activity as workers built further additions and outbuildings, while adventurers camped nearby, already a dozen fire pits lined the area. She was going to have a busy home once things were ready to go. Well, the force blocking her from assimilating the whole entrance area didn’t prevent her from working on the actual tunnel opening so she could build a proper entrance. It would be slow going, given the limited control she had over the area, so Florence didn’t’ have time to waste on a proper entrance just yet, she had more kitties to make.

Funds were down to $74.22 so she wouldn’t be able to summon everyone she wanted, but it was enough to at least make the second floor not look like it was abandoned. Starting with the second-floor great room, Florence summoned three kitties, one of each type. This room would eventually have five or six defenders, but it would only be three for now. Starting with the mage, Florence summoned her cats. Money flowed from her gem and the first cat sprang into existence. Her newest mage kitty was a white-furred cutie with blue eyes that looked around the room before trying out her magical power. The cat launched several blasts of ice and snow and even froze a table leg to the floor, which would be a good crowd control ability.

“This one is Winter,” Florence pronounced. Without hearing any negative comments from Doug, she went ahead with the second cat. A sleek and sassy looking Siamese appeared, her build was perfect for the commando class.

“Your turn Doug,” Florence said, worried at what he would choose.

“Hmm, I think I’ll call this one Willow,” Doug said.

“Not bad, I knew that letting you watch all those old fantasy movies would pay off,” Florence said as she started work on the next cat. Her brawler kitty was another Maine Coon kitty, which was pretty popular today for some reason. The cat wasted no time in running up to introduce himself to the others.

“What will this one be named?” Doug asked.

“This one is Winston, he’s going to be a good boy,” Florence proclaimed. She could summon four more before her funds ran too low to continue, but where to place them? For now, she’d leave the third floor as is, Mortimer would be fine on his own for a bit longer.

Some rooms would have to stay empty for the time being, and she didn’t want to only place one cat in a room, this was the second floor and was supposed to be a bigger challenge than the first. Two in each bedroom would have to do until the money came in to populate the rest. She formed a kitty for the first bedroom, the ball of cash revealing a pretty tabby with coloring that looked like gravel to Florence.

“Doug, you’re up,” Florence said, it was his turn to name.

“Oh, that one’s coloring is nice, like a bunch of pebbles in a stream,” Doug said, Florence saw her opportunity and jumped in for the kill.

“Okay, Pebbles is a good one, Doug, the next one is mine to name,” Florence said.

“Wait, no, that wasn’t what I was going to name her,” Doug protested.

“Well, it’s too late now, next time, be more careful,” Florence chided, loving that the name Pebbles stuck. Florence hadn’t selected a class for it, too intent on scamming Doug, but the system seems to have assigned it as a commando kitty. There was little cover inside the undecorated bedroom, but Pebbles was able to make her fur shift color to match the bare stone walls, she was going to be great at her job if she could hide in an empty room.

“Don’t worry baby, I’ll get you a friend and decorate your room nicely as soon as I can,” Florence said. The next cat was a long-haired black cat that looked a little chubby to Florence, it was no surprise the big boy was a brawler, he sure looked the part.

“I suppose it’s your turn, or do you want to actually be fair and let me have one more,” Doug asked.

“This burly guy is Cooper, I think that fits him,” Florence said. Cooper and Pebbles left their assigned bedroom to travel through the home and meet all the other kitties. While she loved to stop and watch the kitties get to know each other, Florence had another room to populate. A new cat was summoned in the second bedroom, this one was a mage kitty, a petite white little critter.

“My turn, let’s see, a mage needs a proper name. I think we’ll go with Archimedes,” Doug said. The cat seemed to approve, giving a little bow before joining the others. It wasn’t too bad of a name, but it wasn’t one Florence would have picked. She conjured up the last kitty, at least the last one until she could get more money. This was another gall durned Maine Coon cat, what was going on with them today? It was a cutie pie though, a super deep orange color that Florence thought suited the brawler very well.

“Alright, you’re going to be Sherbet,” Florence proclaimed.

“Your imagination continues to astound me,” Doug replied. His sarcasm was getting a little out of hand, but Florence was far too busy to deal with him just now. Time was running out and she would spend what time she had remaining before the dungeon opened to finish decorating her new rooms. Her home needed to look its best for the guests that were arriving.