A few days had passed since Fiona joined me at the cafe, but I''d only managed to gain a single level in all that time.  I''d been baking up a storm, testing out different buffs and skills by giving her food to adventure with, but it felt like once I hit level 5, everything slowed down.  At least my skills had improved, especially buff baking.  The buffs were lasting longer, which was great for Fiona.


    I''d even picked up a new skill: Lasting Bite.  It kept food fresh twice as long, so she didn''t have to worry about it going bad in a few hours.  Using my skills to help her made me feel a lot better about her fighting monsters alone.


    "Going out again soon?" I asked Fiona as we finished our breakfast of fruit salad and eggs.  We''d carried the table from the cafe into the backyard so we could watch the dirt slimes play as we ate.  "You could stay and make bread with me if you wanted."


    "Or you could join me and fight monsters," she said, laughing as a dirt slime wiggled into the soil.  "You said you''re not leveling as fast anymore, right?  Maybe getting out would help."


    I sighed.  "I don''t get XP from fighting though, so it wouldn''t do much.  Did this happen to you too?"


    "Yeah, the XP bars get bigger and bigger after level 5."  She picked up the watering can to give the dirt slimes a drink.  They bounced under the rain, big smiles on their faces.  "I think it''s so you can get some good skills early on, but don''t just breeze right through the dungeon without a challenge."


    That made sense, but it was such a drag.  My whole plan of burning through the levels by spending a few weeks baking had gone out the window.  If every level took more XP than the last, I''d have to spend all day every day doing nothing but baking if I had any hope of getting out of here soon.  That didn''t sound fun though.


    I shared some of my fruit with the dirt slimes as Fiona nibbled on a strawberry.


    "Even though you don''t get XP from fighting," she said, "you could get new ingredients and recipes.  Plus, a change of scenery couldn''t hurt.  Every dungeon floor is different, just imagine the ingredients you could get from them."


    "That''s true," I said, glancing at the dirt slimes leaping and playing in the garden, then at the cafe behind us, sturdy and safe, "but I think I''ll just keep baking for now.  Level up my skills enough so that I''m not a burden if I explore.  I got lucky with those living trees, I might not get so lucky again."


    Fiona shook her head, grinning.  "I still can''t get the image of those trees playing catch with adventurers out of my head.  You caused a monster surge!  That''s incredible.  I think you''re already a lot stronger than you give yourself credit for."


    Not strong enough to get out of here though...


    "Okay, I''m heading out," Fiona said, taking her plate inside to wash.


    "Hold on, I''ve got some food for you."  I hurried after her, giving the dirt slimes a quick pat, before pulling the sandwiches out of my inventory.  "One''s got a healing buff and the other has a strength buff."  I held out a few cookies too.  "And these have agility buffs."


    She whistled.  "Three buffed foods?  You''re getting better at this.  Thanks."


    "Anytime.  I''m making something new for dinner too, so don''t die out there and reset to the first floor."


    She sighed.  "That only happened one time, sheesh.  I''ll be back soon, don''t worry."


    Soon was such a vague term in the dungeon.  Even saying I''d have dinner ready when she got back was hard since there was no way for us to tell time.  There wasn''t a sun to track through the sky or clocks to set timers on.  I''d literally had to choose a Perfect Timing skill just so I didn''t keep burning my bread!  With that new skill, I instinctively knew when things were done, even if they were covered by a lid.


    I waved goodbye as Fiona took off to level up in her own way.  It would be nice if we could level together, but our XP styles were just too different.  If I had agreed to go with her, she''d have gotten ingredients just like me and wouldn''t have leveled at all.  That didn''t seem fair when she was working so hard.


    My current cafe quest was a bit tricky too.  Serve 20 unique customers, but between Fiona, the chicken, and all the slimes, I''d only managed to serve 15.  It was like the dungeon wanted me to go find new people, but that was the last thing on my mind.


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    If I could keep baking and feeding the slimes, why should I go through all the extra work of opening this cafe for other people?  So far, the only adventurer I''d met who I wanted to spend more time with was Fiona.  The others seemed pretty anti-slime.  What would they do when they walked inside and were greeted by an energetic Matcha and Boss?  Or if somebody tried to steal a carrot and Mossy rose up out of the garden to attack?


    Until I could figure out a way to protect the slimes, there was no way I''d be opening the cafe to any strangers.


    "Hey, Sweet Potato?" I called out.  "You don''t have a skill that would kick people out of my cafe by any chance, do you?"


    [Not currently, no, but maybe if you keep working hard, you''ll unlock one]


    "Okay, guess I''ll just have to power through these levels on my own then," I said, smiling as Matcha peeked into the kitchen.  "Honestly, even if it takes longer, I can get to level 100 without ever leaving the cafe.  I''ve just got to keep baking."


    [Wait, you never plan to leave the cafe?]


    "Honestly?" I put a pot of water on the stove to boil for Matcha''s tea, studying the water as I thought about it.  "Probably not until I''m high enough level to defeat every monster with my cooking.  Why struggle and risk going back to the first floor when I could just feed the dungeon boss a level 100 cookie and call it a day?"


    [Huh, you''re right.  That sounds like a completely logical plan that doesn''t break the concept of this dungeon at all...]


    I raised an eyebrow at that message.  "You''re the one who gave me the class.  Wasn''t this how you thought I''d use it?"


    [No, I don''t think anyone thinks quite like you do.  This is definitely a loophole, but it''s fine.  Don''t worry]


    Every time somebody said "don''t worry", I instantly got worried.  Would this loophole be a problem for the system?  It had done nothing but help me, so I''d hate to screw things up for it in return.


    "Are you sure?  I don''t want to cause problems."


    [You are the most interesting person in this dungeon.  Never think of yourself as a problem]


    [But...]


    [New Quest: Collect honey from Sugarstinger hives on floor 7]


    "Well isn''t that a timely quest," I said, trying not to laugh.  "I thought it was fine if I stayed here?"


    [Oh, it''s completely fine, but that quest has great rewards.  Honey from a sugarstinger hive is the sweetest treat in the dungeon]


    "Are you trying to tempt me, Dungeon Darling?" My voice was low and teasing.


    [Only a little]


    The message box had that pretty pink hue to it again, like the system was blushing.  I gave it some time to gather its thoughts while I snuffed out the stove''s fire and added tea leaves to the pot.  Matcha liked the leaves, so I wouldn''t have to strain them this time.  I set the pot down for the little green slime as another message box appeared.


    [There''s been...talk lately.  About me playing favorites]


    "If it was from Fiona, she was just kidding," I said, "but why would it matter?  Aren''t you like the god of this dungeon?"


    [Hardly.  I''m more like the dungeon''s current master and even I have rules to follow.  Balance must be maintained]


    My eyes widened.  That was way more information than the system had ever given me, implying that there had been other dungeon masters and maybe even other things running the show.  Ever since I''d gotten here, I''d gone against the grain, doing everything the opposite way, and the system had supported me.


    But, was I actually breaking the rules so much that Sweet Potato might get in trouble?


    It sounded like all it wanted me to do was explore a bit more and open the cafe for real.  I could handle that if it meant things would be a bit more balanced and the system didn''t have to worry about me.  Besides, I thought I''d seen a skill somewhere about getting bonus XP from serving food to others.  What was it called again?


    I opened my menu, using my last available skill point on the Heartfelt Hospitality skill.


    [Heartfelt Hospitality allows you to gain bonus XP when serving customers in a warm and friendly atmosphere]


    [Are you sure this is the skill you want?]


    "Yeah, now that I think about it, I''ll level a lot faster if I open the cafe to adventurers."  I smiled as I picked up a bowl of bread dough that I''d left out to rise earlier.  "Besides, I''d probably get bored baking alone."


    Not that I was ever alone with all the slimes for company, but if I could do something to return all the help the system had given me, I''d be glad to do it.


    "Fiona wants to go shopping too," I continued as I punched the bread dough down to release the air pockets, "so I might as well stock the cafe up.  I could get some new chairs, maybe some lanterns to brighten the place up, and definitely some storage containers."


    As I kept listing off things I''d need, blank message boxes appeared and disappeared, as if the system was trying to say something but wasn''t sure what.  Opening the cafe might not have been the first thing I wanted to do, but based on that reaction, it felt right.


    I wasn''t some greedy adventurer who would take all the treasure and loot the dungeon had to offer without giving anything back. I was a baker and it was my job to take care of people, through my food and my spirit.  I had more than enough of both to share.


    [Thank you]