Alex entered the shop and was greeted by an empty room. It was filled with dispys and the same bookshelves he had become accustomed to over the past few days. Even after spending several days there, he found the empty building on an isnd floating in space to be a bit unnerving. At least the mannequin wasn't in the hallway this time. Taking the thing back to the adventurer's guild made that walk a little less strange.

  There was one thing he wanted to make sure to do because he had put it off the day before. The shop had a bathroom with a working sink, toilet, and rge mirror. These would disappear after the dungeon was cleared. He wanted to take them with him. He wasn't sure why he thought having a nice mirror was important, but he figured it was somehow.

  Alex got to work. He gathered some hand tools from the workshop and closed the water valves on the sink and toilet. After some time turning wrenches and using a crowbar, he had the bathroom stripped. He even took the wooden door and doorframe. If he was going to set up a bathroom in the adventurer's guild, then they wouldn't want to use it without a door. That would be a little weird.

  Once the bathroom was stripped, Alex moved onto the dolls. He began to gather materials and search books for references.

  Alex went to the library to get the book on the first doll. He was looking for information on the gears and the springs. He was also trying to find out how to make the dolls' legs and hips move so they could aim up and down.

  He found the reference material he was looking for quickly. The book contained a lot of diagrams and pictures. It was written in flowing script, which made it difficult but not impossible to read. Everything appeared to be handwritten, which really drove home the 19th century Victorian aspect, but took some getting used to. He bookmarked a couple leg schematics and looked in on different ones as he redid the legs for his two dolls.

  Alex finished both doll's legs and set them aside to polish after giving a generous coating of grease to the gears. Using some tiny tools, he removed the legs from both the dolls. His previous design didn't allow for gears from the torso to connect to the legs, so he also had to take apart the lower torso's gearbox and update it with a more complex design. The pieces were incredibly tiny. He was sure that at some point he would grab something with tweezers under the magnifying gss only to knock it off the table and never find it again. Luckily, this did not happen. Alex wasn't sure if it was divine providence or his skills at work, but he made slow steady progress over the course of a couple hours until the dolls were back in working order. He confirmed this by mounting them on the testing station and was thrilled with the results. He was so caught up in the work that his uncomfortable clothing didn't bother him as much as it did at the start of the day.

  Alex sat in front of another workstation and considered his third doll. He had tried to fish for ideas from Fufi earlier, but that just devolved into that whole using Alex as a dress-up doll thing.

  Alex stood up and stretched his arms. "I'm gonna take a break and think a bit."

  Alex emerged from the workshop and went outside. He leaned against the structure and gazed up at the sky. There were no clouds, and the starscape was the same as it always was. He scanned the perpetual night sky for something recognizable but came up empty. There was no moon, no Big Dipper, or any other consteltion that could be identified from Earth.

  "I wonder what it is like out there." Alex said to himself. "What do I know? This is just a rift dungeon. Those stars might just be an illusionary background and not real space. That would make more sense because if this was a real asteroid floating through space I don't think I'd be alive right now. Anyway, I wish I had some schematics from my world. There were some battlebots in a TV show I watched once with spinning parts that were absolutely devastating. I am not a mechanical engineer though. This workshop is set up to make dolls not battle bots sadly."

  Alex gathered paper, an ink quill, and a board to draw on. He drew a robot with a gun and a sword, then ughed at himself. "That is not cute at all, and there is no way I can make a gun." He drew another picture, this time of a girl in an armored dress with shoulder-length hair, bangs, and an angry expression. She had a chainsaw instead of a hand. "Hmm, I could make the armored dress, but I don't have the materials for a chainsaw." Alex ughed again and tried to think of something he could make with the resources he had on hand.

  Alex went back to the workshop and began working on the armored dress. He sewed the cloth together, then added metal ptes to provide protection. He wanted the outfit to be both cute and functional, so he had to be careful not to make it too heavy or restrictive.

  Alex worked on the outfit all evening. The fabric kept tearing, so he had to stop and start over several times. By dinnertime, he had what he thought was a finished product. He decided to take it back to his friends and get their feedback.

  Alex was happy to see that dinner was ready when he returned. He was hungry, so he quickly changed into his pink robe. Then he sat down to eat with the others.

  "So, what do you think?" Alex asked, pcing the doll-armored dress on the table.

  "It's cute. You are getting better at making dolls." Fufi said.

  "Meru Meru," the slime girl approved with a nod.

  "I wish there was some nylon thread. The cloth tears against the metal easier than I'd like. I doubt they have that in this world though." Alex compined.

  "You should try to make it a little more feminine. You're trying to make a girl's outfit. You need to add some frills and ce." Fufi suggested.

  "I guess I could try to use some more ce. It could have the benefit of being tougher than cotton or wool thread." Alex considered Fufi's suggestion. "What do you think she should have for equipment? We already have two ranged dolls one shoots water and the other shoots arrows so I wanted something that could stop the sirens from getting past the towers."

  "Perhaps make her a shield. She could use it to block attacks. Or maybe a spear. It would be good for close combat. A fil is also an option. It is too bad you don't have any enchanting ability or you could make magical dolls." Fufi considered Alex's limitations.

  "I get it, magical girls have the best powers. I'm not going to call Luna and ask her to transform me just to clear a dungeon." Alex said stubbornly.

  "I'm just throwing out options," Fufi innocently deflected the accusation.

  The trio kept chatting until bedtime. Merumeru was extra excited when Alex showed her the sink and toilet. The fact that it used pipes seems to be amazing to her.

  "I'm going to sleep. I'll get up early tomorrow and hopefully have the third wave of the tower defense game cleared by the end of the day." Alex said with a yawn.

  "Goodnight." Fufi said.

  "Meruuuu." Merumeru said.

  Alex went to his pile of bnkets and cloth then curled up before falling asleep.

  The following morning, Alex awoke feeling rejuvenated. He was grateful that he had been able to get a good night's rest. He was also pleased to see that the sun was shining brightly. He had been hoping for a sunny day so that he could finish the st few waves of the tower defense game. Fufi helped him change into the outfit he had worn the day before, and then he headed into the rift gate.

  Alex walked through the gate and found himself in the same room as the first time. He headed to the workshop and used the books there to begin work on the third doll. The design was simir to the previous two. He made the doll's body out of porcein, the arms out of brass, and the legs out of brass. The torso had many moving parts. He created a star-shaped shield and a fil with a star-shaped iron ball on the end of a chain. He also redid the battle dress with more ce and frills.

  Alex was pleased with the results. He set the doll on the test bench. The gears spun smoothly and the range of movement looked good. The new doll looked like some kind of princess knight from a heavenly kingdom.

  He was eager to get to the next level. He was anxious to see if he could beat it. He pced the dolls in their positions. When he pced the third one in a spot that put her in the way of the rail that led to the castle, he realized that he had forgotten something.

  "You need a name," he said, pcing his hand on his chin and regarding the new clockwork doll.

  Alex picked up the doll and held it in his hands. He examined it and thought about what it would be like to be a girl. He imagined what it would be like to be a magical girl. He wondered what it would be like to be a girl named after a flower.

  That line of thought startled Alex. The only thing that made sense was the st part. The other two dolls were named after flowers, so it would make sense for the third one to be named after a flower as well. But what was a fitting one? What would go well with Lily and Rose? He thought about knights and flowers that were star-shaped.

  "What do you think of Edelweiss?" Alex asked the clockwork doll in his hand.

  "You seem very noble, and so does that flower. Edelweiss, welcome to the

  lilypad team." He set the doll back in pce and looked to his phone, where the

  next wave button was dispyed for the tower defense game.

  Alex pressed the button, and the screen fshed. The sirens were attacking again,

  only this time they were not alone. Each siren had a knight paired with them.

  The knights had the same crest as was on the fg of the castle. The siren's song

  tried to enchant Alex, but his new resistance held. He was able to shake off the

  effect of the charm. However, the sirens came in pairs. Rose could silence one at

  a time with her water gun, but not both. Lily kept shooting arrows at them, but

  the armored knights used their shields to block the attacks.

  Alex was impressed with the knights. They seemed to be holding their own against

  his dolls. He was worried that he might be forced to use his empower doll skill.

  However, it had a cooldown of one day, so he needed to find the best moment to

  use it.

  The battle continued, and the sirens tried to get past the two ranged dolls that

  harried them. If they could make it far enough, then the tower mounted attacks

  would be out of range. However, the third doll, Edelweiss, was blocking the way.

  Alex was starting to feel anxious. The star knight doll engaged the first of the prince’s enchanted men. The doll used her shield to block the sword strikes of the enchanted knight. She retaliated with her fil. The spiked ball smashed into the knight’s chest. The force of the blow sent the knight reeling. Lily fired an arrow at the siren the knight was protecting. The arrow pierced the siren’s chest. She tumbled off the railing. The siren’s defeat caused the knight to hesitate for a moment. Another siren’s song could be heard, and the knight reacted. He was too slow. Edelweiss struck him in the head with her fil, and he was knocked off the railing as well.

  "That's one down." Alex said.

  As the first pair of charmed knights and sirens fell, another pair appeared from the chute on the far end of the game table. Close behind them was a second pair. Lily and Rose pelted the new arrivals with water and arrows, but it was only a matter of time before Edelweiss was forced to fight two charmed knights at once. A third knight covered the rear, shielding three singing sirens. Their swords beat against Edelweiss's shield and armor, chipping away at her defenses.

  "I'm going to use my empower doll skill," Alex said, staring intently at the game table. "The question is, which doll should I empower?"

  If they could get past Edelweiss, the battle would be theirs. However, if Lily or Rose were empowered, they could do more damage. Alex decided to use the third doll. Edelweiss was the tank for Lillypad, and in any adventuring group, keeping the tank up was the most important thing.

  Alex used his empower doll skill. He knew instinctively what to do to activate the skill. He danced around and spun in twirls a few times. When he stopped, he shouted, "Empower doll Edelweiss!"

  The doll's eyes glowed, and she began to change. Alex felt a surge of power from the doll. It was as if she were growing stronger.

  The doll's hair grew longer and turned a pale pink. Her face became more feminine. Her clothes changed as well. She now wore a white dress with a pink sash. She also had a small crown on her head. The crown was made of gold and had a single rge diamond in the middle. Her fil and shield shone with a radiant light.

  She struck the knight in front of her with her glowing fil. The knight raised his shield to block, but the fil smashed through the shield and hit the knight in the chest. The knight was knocked backward and fell off the rail.

  "Another one down." Alex said.

  The remaining two pairs of knights and sirens charged into the fray, but this left the sirens open to Lily and Rose. The two dolls took advantage of the opening and fired a barrage of arrows and streams of water into the backs of the sirens, silencing them.

  The knights attacking Edelweiss stopped when there was only one left, and Rose kept her from singing. The two damaged knights turned on the siren and attacked her relentlessly, destroying her clockwork parts.

  The remaining knights lowered their weapons. Alex was relieved to see that the tower defense game was over, and that he had won. However, Edelweiss was damaged from the many sword strikes. After his skill wore off, he could see that her dress was ripped and torn. Alex was happy that he had won, but he was sad that his doll had been damaged. He was gd that she was still functioning.

  Alex's phone rang out:

  [Tower defense game complete please collect your reward]

  The dumbwaiter came up from the floor and delivered a scroll. The scroll was titled 'Animate doll' and was covered in strange runes.

  His phone rang out again:

  [Level up! Magical Girl has reached level 2

  +2 cuteness, +1 intelligence]

  Alex went to the workstation and gathered fabric, a needle, and thread. He repaired Edelweiss, and then he repaired the other dolls. He was able to fix the damage that the knights had inflicted on the dolls. He also added ce to the dolls' hair. He was pleased with the outcome. Alex gathered the scroll and his three dolls and headed back to the adventurer's guild. This time, when he walked through the portal, it closed behind him. He had cleared the dungeon and leveled up.

  Name: Alex Parker

  Css: Magical Girl

  Level 2

  Sex: Male

  Strength: 13

  Constitution: 14

  Dexterity: 12

  Intelligence: 8

  Cuteness: 3

  Skills:

  Cleaning: 2

  Cooking: 1

  Toymaking: 2 (+1 from equipped items)

  Sewing: 1

  Feats: Empower Doll

  melchi