Kevin the Courageous, the mighty adventurer, stood frozen.
He didn't charge forward. He didn't swing his sword. He just… stared at the patch of moss on the floor, his head tilted like a confused puppy.
His brow furrowed under his slightly-too-large helmet.
"Huh," he said, his voice echoing in the small cave. "My guildmaster said new dungeons are dangerous... but this is just... a fuzzy green rug?"
He took a careful step closer, then another. He nudged the edge of the moss with his worn-out leather boot. It wiggled softly.
Fascinated, he knelt down, his cheap armor groaning and creaking in protest. He poked the moss with a single, armored finger.
"Whoa," he breathed, his eyes wide. "It's so... squishy."
He hesitated for a second, then he did something truly baffling. He took off his metal glove, tossing it aside with a clang. He reached out with his bare hand and stroked the fluffy moss.
A deep, blissful sigh escaped his lips. The sound was one of pure, unexpected joy.
"It feels like petting a cloud that's been mixed by a thousand tiny kittens," he murmured dreamily. He even sniffed it. "And it smells nice! Like rain and… lavender?"
He leaned over, and then leaned a little more, until his helmeted head was resting right on the moss patch. The tension visibly drained out of his entire body. His sword clattered forgotten to the stone floor.
A moment later, a soft, rumbling snore filled the quiet cave.
He was completely asleep.
I was stunned into silence. FaeLina was so still she looked like a tiny, pink statue.
Then, a delightful little ping! sound filled my mind.
[Adventurer 'Kevin the Courageous' has been afflicted with status: Unscheduled Nap!]
[DP generation activated: +1 DP per minute of relaxation.]
Another ping! followed a moment later as my point total updated.
[DP: 6]
And another.
[DP: 7]
The points just kept coming. Steady. Reliable. Effortless.
FaeLina's tiny jaw was on the floor. Her wings had stopped fluttering. She looked back and forth between the sleeping adventurer and my rock-body, her brain audibly grinding to a halt.
"What," she began, her voice a tiny, strangled squeak. "How... Did you just... fluff him to sleep?"
Called it, I thought, feeling so smug it was a miracle I didn't start glowing brighter. Passive income. The ultimate strategy.
"This is impossible!" she whispered, zipping over to the sleeping adventurer and flying frantic circles around his head. "This isn't how dungeons work! The handbook says, 'Chapter 1: Instill Fear!' but It doesn't say, Offer a Comfortable Place for a Mid-afternoon Snooze!'"
Suddenly, a much louder, more exciting sound rang out—the glorious, fanfare-like sound you hear when you get a rare achievement in a game.
+------------------------------------------+
| **ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED!** |
| **The Snooze Button** |
| (Defeat an enemy with extreme comfort) |
| **REWARD:** |
| +50 DP |
| New Room Unlocked: [Cozy Tea Nook] |
+------------------------------------------+
My Dungeon Points shot up instantly.
[DP: 58]
I had fifty-eight Dungeon Points! I was rich! I could buy eleven fluffy moss patches and still have change!
FaeLina zipped back over to me, her face a perfect picture of absolute bewilderment.
"Fifty points... for a nap?" she stammered, her voice cracking. "And a Tea Nook? What in the name of the Dark Overlords is a Tea Nook?! Are you supposed to serve hot leaf juice to the people you're trying to defeat?!"
I didn't answer her. I was already looking at the Dungeon Store again, my mind buzzing with possibilities.
A Tea Nook. Fluffy moss. A steady stream of points from napping adventurers.
This dungeon-building thing was going to be easier—and a whole lot cozier—than I ever could have dreamed.