Which resident was she speaking of? Astrid or Belinda? I wasn’t sure I could imagine either of them playing video games. On the point of Kyrine, perhaps I had something I could teach her? Maybe I could get her acquainted with video games at some point. I had a feeling she might enjoy them. Particularly the more violent kind.

“Maybe we can play one together some time,” I said. “If you’re planning on keeping me around, that is.”

“That remains to be seen,” Kyrine said, with far more pleasantness than her answer warranted. “Back to my original point, this interview process is the way dungeons link best with their Keepers.”

“Alright, I’m ready,” I told her. “Hit me with your first question.”

“Do you prefer form or function?” she asked.

I paused to consider my answer.

As an enchanter, I always wanted a spell to work as it was intended. A flashy spell was one that was prone to misfiring or producing unintended consequences. Still, there was the aesthetic value of making a fireball produce a very bright color, or adding some sound effects to make it all the more intimidating. It was something most people didn’t think about. Power was probably the most important component of a spell, but that didn’t mean it was the only part that mattered. Form or function. It was an interesting question.

“I think both are important,” I said eventually, “but if I had to choose one, I’d say I prefer function over form.”

“A reasonable answer,” Kyrine said.

I got the feeling that she was ranking my answers on a pass/fail scale. If she didn’t like what she heard, then I would end up like the other Keepers: dead. Still, if merging with Kyrine would give me almost limitless power, then it was worth the risk of violent death to obtain it. After all, I’d already fought three Magma Apes in a lava pit and passed that part of the test, so I must be in with a chance.

“You seem nervous?” Kyrine asked. “Are you nervous, Jeremy?”

“To be honest, I am a little.”

“It’s good to be honest,” she said. “If you don’t answer my questions truthfully, I will know, and then I’ll probably have to kill you, which would be a shame. Even so, I don’t believe you need to be nervous. I sense great potential in you. Once the merging is completed, I will lose many of my current skills and abilities, and I need to ensure the one I merge with can handle all I have to give.”

“If you’re losing a bunch of power by merging with me, what’s the point? I mean, I’m not trying to talk myself out of the most awesome job in the world, but I’m genuinely interested in why you’d want to do this?”