The star rating is considered by many to be far more important than the actual level. After all, a being of Mythical or even Legendary rank can contest with things dozens of levels above them, but only if they're in the same star rating. While it is true that these same beings can fight up star ratings, they can only do so when they're in the late 90’s of their own star rating.
Star ratings are also important as each one represents a condensation and full absorption of all the power gained over the course of the past 100 levels. It is why the difference between a level 100 zero star and a level 101 one star is so extreme. Star ratings only get more extreme the higher you go with a seven star being able to easily dominate dozens of peak six stars.
Star ratings progress every 100 levels generally being counted by the hundreds place of the level, with the only exception being the powers of 100 which are the peak of the star rating one below what their hundreds place digit represents. The only other exception to this is that the peak of nine star is supposed to be level 999 with level 1000 being a ten star ascension. However this is unconfirmed due to the fact that the only thing we have to reference are millennia old texts from the Age of the Gods.
* An excerpt from `The Power of Stars` by Guildmaster Lina Lei of the Talway Branch
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Guildmaster Tor POV
My eyes wandered around the scenery, taking in the sights of the dungeon. Until now I had only ever heard reports of what was inside along with whatever I could see from the entrance. Actually seeing it in person was far better.
While other members of the guild may have lacked appreciation for the construction of the floors, I certainly had plenty of it. Perhaps it was just because of how many dungeons I had been in, but I could tell that this dungeon had an eye for aesthetics.
Most dungeons didn’t have a sense of direction or an eye for detail until their 20th floors. The single digit floors especially suffered from a lack of creativity, often being nothing more than a plain room or caves with monsters in them and maybe a chest at the end.
Yet the Eternal Dungeon came out full force on its very first floor. Its first floor encapsulated the beauty of the forest, with the terrain becoming more wild the deeper into the floor you went. The once defined and well cleared paths became nothing more than dirt trails constantly encroached upon by the greenery. There was not only an artificial sun, but an entire artificial day/night cycle. One that (according to the reports) matched up with the world outside during the day, yet displayed a completely different night sky than our own. It saddened me that I wouldn’t get to see it myself since the Guild Leader made us have this meeting in the morning.
I understood that she wanted to wait a few days before entering the dungeon just to check the reports herself, but I still wished we could’ve come at night. On the bright side I got to see the whole first floor since killing the boss was required to progress to the second floor, where the dungeon had told us the meeting would take place.
The Guild Leader and I spent the entire walk to the boss trying to figure out the magic of the dungeon tokens. We gave up after the Guild Leader admitted that not even she could determine how it functioned. One quick kill of the level 10 boss later and we were on our way back to the so-called World Tree.
I was skeptical that it was an actual world tree sapling, but after the Guild Leader pointed out that the only being that had ever seen one was Wylsandorin the Ever Growing I agreed that it was at least possible.
We spent a little time looking through the space within the trunk of the tree, but ultimately couldn’t buy much due to our lack of eternal coins. Now that I had a token I would have some of the guild functionaries transfer some funds after we reached our guild building on the second floor.
It took us no more than a minute of walking down the central staircase before we reached the second floor. Both myself and the Guild Leader noticed the seamless portal in the middle of the stairs, but we elected to ignore it after learning how incapable we were at deciphering the dungeon's magic earlier.
As we exited the staircase I was hit with the amazing view of the entire second floor. The height of the tree and its transparent walls gave us the perfect vantage point to be able to see the entire floor. I gazed out at the beauty of what the dungeon had made, while the Guild Leader seemed more interested in how the walls of a tree were more transparent than glass.
“Fascinating! The reports talked about how it was transparent on this side, yet not the other. The clarity reminds me of the Lucidite panes made by the gemforges back home, yet not even they can make it one way!” The Guild Leader says excitedly as she examines the walls closely.
“It’s certainly interesting, but we have a meeting to get to Ma’am.” I say in a stern voice. I need to stop her before she gets too distracted otherwise I’ll have another `Ormalia incident` on my hands. An angry emperor is one thing, an angry dungeon is another.
Fortunately the Guild Leader acknowledges my point this time and lets me lead her down the stairs towards our guild hall. I was hesitant at first to buy the space within the dungeon, but it’s proved to be a major boon when it comes to managing the adventurers. Turns out they are far more willing to report in when they don’t have to walk all the way out of the dungeon to do it. Who could’ve known?
I do a quick check in at the guild hall and receive a few thousand EC to split between myself and the Guild Leader. The EC tax was definitely a good idea, I’m glad Ava thought of it.
As I finished giving the Guild Leader her share of the funds a small fox eared girl approached us.
“Guildmaster Tor and Guild Leader Amy, please follow me to meet with Lord Eternal.” She spoke in a soft steady voice before turning around and walking.
The Guild Leader and I shared a quick glance before nodding our heads and following her.
It was somewhat concerning that the dungeon had immediately identified us and known our names. I could understand it for myself since the guild members likely talk about me plenty, but the Guild Leader had only been here for a week and none of the people outside during the attack frequent the dungeon very often.
We were led to the town hall, a large centralized building on the first level of the tree’s interior. The buildings within the tree were all built partially into the walls of the trunk which gave every building a sense of belonging. It also made the entire space feel more open since there were no random buildings cluttering up the center of the trunk. Instead one got an unobstructed view of the incredibly ominous pillar of crystal known as the Central Pylon.
I pushed my thoughts of the magical device out of my mind for now, hopefully I would have a chance to examine it later. I was worried about giving the dungeon a look at my status page, but it seems like it already knows plenty about us already. Besides it's not even a one star dungeon yet, even if it knows my power it can’t do much about it. Provided it doesn’t have any surprise legacy dungeon guardians of course.
The young fox spiritkin leads us past the main desk of the town hall and down a hallway leading deeper into the building. After nearly a full minute of walking, to the point where I’m certain we should’ve reached the trunk of the tree by now, she stops in front of a large set of double doors.
“The Lord and his Chosen will meet with you inside. Please be respectful.” She says the last part with a little heat in her voice before she returns back the way we came.
The Guild Leader and I share a look and communicate silently with small hand signs and expressions. It’s better not to talk when within the influence of a dungeon as anything you say can be heard.
`What’s the game plan?’ (Tor)
‘Your the local Guildmaster, I’ll follow your lead` (Amy)
`Didn’t you want to come to this discussion for a reason?` (Tor)
‘The matter I need to discuss with the dungeon can happen after your talk. You are not privy to the details.` (Amy)
`Fine. So you’ll support whatever stance I decide to take no matter what it is the dungeon wants to talk about?` (Tor)
`I trust you to hold the needs of the Guild above all others, I will support you’ (Amy)
I gave the Guild Leader a nod and after receiving one from her in turn I move to open the doors. Before my hand reaches the handle the massive doors swing open on their own revealing the inside of the room.
The room is the same size as the guild lobby in most of our halls, easily large enough to fit dozens of people comfortably. The center of the room is dominated by a massive oval table made out of a white wood that I don’t recognize. There is room enough for three dozen people to sit at the table yet there are only four chairs currently, all placed on the opposite side of the table from us and only one of them empty.
Occupying the leftmost chair is a young fox Spiritkin who looks like she could be the older sister of the one who escorted us here. She stands out due to her six tails and heavily enchanted equipment. She sits in an upholstered wooden chair that matches the wood of the table, sitting perfectly upright despite how comfortable the chair appears.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
On the rightmost chair is a large feline beast with shimmering fur that seems to shift its color constantly. It too has six tails each one with a different color fur to display its affinities and each one tipped by a small enchanted blade. The `chair` it sits on is more of a large stool or perhaps a low table covered in plush cushions.
In the central chair, directly opposite the doors and aligned in the center of the table, sits a being that radiates power. A youthful male spiritkin with several animal features that makes it impossible for me to determine his ancestry. His hair is the color of the abyss and his fur the golden glow of the sun.
Not only does he have the most mana in the room, but he also has seven fox tails each tipped in different colors. Purple for Aether, Green for Wyld, Tan for Earth, Blue for Water, Yellow for Air, and Red for Fire. The only color I can’t match is the Aquamarine tip, no affinity I know of is that color in mana sight.
Despite the amount of mana I can sense contained within his body I’m completely unable to check his tag. In fact I can’t perceive the tags of any of the beings in the room despite knowing that they should be weaker than me. I can feel my aura being gently suppressed to the surface of my skin, stopping me from extending it and examining any of them.
I quickly resolve myself and step deeper into the room moving towards the large table. As I reach the table the male spiritkin gestures with his hand and a pair of comfortable looking chairs seem to grow from the floor next to the Guild Leader and I. The spiritkin waited until we had sat before he spoke.
“I expected you sooner” Is all he says, propping up his leaning head with one hand.
“We would have come sooner but we had to resolve several issues on the surface first. Surely the gesture of executing our prisoners within your domain did not go unnoticed” I say, maintaining a steady voice and an expressionless face.
“I did indeed notice your offering, I suppose your tardiness can be forgiven. Now onto the matter of why I called you here.” He says sitting up from his relaxed posture before pausing for a moment with his head slightly tilted.
“Ah, I almost forgot my partner. This will only take one moment” He says before looking towards the empty chair and holding up one of his hands.
An extremely potent vortex of mana begins to form. A hurricane of arcane power being slowly controlled and compressed down into shape. The amount of mana used is beyond anything I’ve ever witnessed before and the being channeling said power seems unphased.
After several moments of wide eyed watching and held breath the mana forms into a humanoid shape leaving a woman resembling a dryad sitting in the chair. Woven from branches of white wood with waist long hair made of flowering vines and two eyes like emeralds. The woman spends a few moments moving her limbs as though testing the limits of her new body before a radiant smile finds its way onto her face.
“Now that everyone is here, let's make some short introductions before moving on” The woman says in a soothing matronly voice.
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Eternal Dungeon POV
That was a close one. I can’t believe I forgot about Wyla like that! I apologized profusely through our bond, but she waved me off saying that it was understandable since she was a recent addition. I still feel bad about it though. Fortunately she said something before I started the conversation and I was able to make her avatar quickly thanks to all my experimentation earlier.
Wyla prompts me through our link to pay attention so I refocus on the situation at hand.
“Right introductions. I am the Guildmaster of the Brahmstone Adventurers Guild, Tor. My companion is the leader of the entire Adventurers Guild, Amy Evergreen.” The Guildmaster says in response to Wyla’s prompt.
“A pleasure to meet you. I am the World Tree Wyla, Prime Goddess of the Eternal Realm. The young woman to my right is the Chosen Protector, Aika. The dashing prowler to my left is the Chosen Warrior, Bellator.” Wyla says smoothly before giving me a mental prompt as she starts to sit down.
“And I am the Eternal Lord, the creator and God of all things within my Realm.” I say in a thunderous voice invoking a small amount of my mana to complete the picture of an almighty god.
“Truly a pleasure to meet two gods such as yourselves” Tor says in a genial tone, however my extreme perception notices the concealed fear behind his eyes. He likely wasn’t expecting me to have such a strong presence.
“Indeed it is. Now onto the matters I have called you here for, it has come to my attention that your organization is limiting who can enter into my realm. My only question is why?” I say maintaining my persona of an aloof and prideful god.
“Well, it is our Guild duty to monitor . . . realms such as yours as they develop and to . . . enter them regularly in order to ensure the safety of the people outside.” The Guildmaster says, clearly trying to avoid any mention of dungeons and the terminology associated with them.
My tactics have clearly put him off kilter since he’s completely forgetting that most of the adventurers that enter my dungeon talk about it being a dungeon pretty often. If he was thinking properly he likely would’ve realized that there’s no way I don’t know that I’m a dungeon, or at least considered a dungeon by the outside world.
“So what you're telling me, is that you think it's your place to regulate me?” I say with an even tone while controlling my facial expression perfectly to give the impression that I’m concealing anger.
The Guildmaster seems to be caught off guard by my question and I can see his control over his face start to crumble. However a hand gently places itself on his arm before his mask completely slips. The Guild Leader silently reassures the man and with nothing more than a touch I can already see the Guildmaster gaining control of himself.
“Of course I think it's our place to regulate you. Many dungeons go rogue within their first three months of discovery and the consequences of them flooding the countryside with monsters is enormous. Do you have a problem with that?” The Guildmaster says with some steel in his voice.
Clearly he’s regained his confidence and is finally thinking straight. I had hoped my many displays of power would’ve kept him on the backfoot for longer, but it seems that having his Guild Leader here is steadying him. I’ll have to keep that in mind in case I ever need to do negotiations with him again.
I shift my expression completely and allow a small smile onto my face.
“Of course not. It is only right that those with power should wish to protect their own people.” I say in a genial tone with a relaxed happy expression on my face.
I notice the Guildmaster quickly hides his surprise before both he and the Guild Leader go more on guard. They’ve likely realized my capacity for trickery and the fact that I’m stopping either of them from extending their aura’s means they cannot determine any of my lies from the truth. Good.
“Regardless, I do believe I have proven myself to be of a more reserved nature when it comes to plaguing your countryside with monsters. I prefer to keep to myself when possible and I dislike having to send my children outside of my domain.” I say.
“That is true, you have yet to cause any problems for the people outside of your dungeon.” The Guildmaster responds.
“I’m glad you agree! In that case you can also agree that I no longer need monitoring, yes?” I state more than ask.
“What exactly are you asking?” He questions.
“I’m simply asking for your organization to step aside and remove your restrictions on who can and cannot enter my domain. I am perfectly capable of regulating entries myself.” I respond.
The conversation pauses for a moment as the Guildmaster considers what I’m saying. I notice him once again making small signs with his companion as they speak in their secret code. After witnessing it the first time I already tasked Wyla with figuring out a translation, but it’ll take her awhile before she can.
“The Guild paid a large sum to acquire the rights to the entrance of your dungeon. Regulating a dungeon's entrance and exit is highly profitable after all. I can’t give that up for free.” The Guildmaster says once he’s finished with his secret conversation.
“Hmm, indeed I do understand this concept. However, what is stopping me from simply opening up more entrances?” I question with a smile, leaning back into a more relaxed position.
The Guildmaster’s eyes narrow slightly and his eyebrows show just a hint of a furrow. That’s right, according to everything they know about dungeons it should be impossible for me to open another entrance. One entrance/exit is a rule after all, right?
“You’re bluffing, dungeons can’t have more than one entry/exit point. Even Aether dungeons that learn to teleport people outside of themselves always teleport them back to the entry point.” the Guildmaster says with a bit of fire in his eyes and some heat in his voice.
“Caught me. Your Guild truly is knowledgeable of my kind. Very well then, what kind of compensation would you like for the deregulation of my entrance?” I say making sure my expression is controlled perfectly to display the emotions I am feigning. In reality I’m laughing like a maniac because after this they won’t bother to check for more entrances.
“We would like a discount in all of your shops and reward stores for our guild members as well as a free room and board for them within your realm.” He declares proudly.
“Deal! I’ll give your members a 5% discount and they are free to sleep outside” I say with a smile.
The Guildmasters face becomes red with a mixture of embarrassment and anger as he realizes he forgot to specify anything. Right as he’s about to open his mouth a lyrical laugh interrupts him.
“Wow Tor, I can’t believe you lost a negotiation with a dungeon that’s been awake for a quarter of a year!” The Guild Leader says between bouts of laughter causing the redness on the Guildmastres face to increase.
As he goes to open his mouth again he’s once more interrupted by Wyla.
“Now, now, Lord Eternal, don’t be so mean to the adventurers. You do remember that it is my job to watch over them since it's my blessing they invoke to enter your realm.” Wyla says with a gently chiding tone.
I heave a heavy sigh and nod my head towards her.
“Very well, I’ll allow you to negotiate with the Guildmaster. I should return to my duties now.” I say.
This acting is quite fun, I really need to interact with mortals more often.
“One moment Lord Eternal. I was hoping to speak to you about a somewhat personal matter if possible” The Guild Leader speaks up.
“Very well, I shall move us to another room then. Bellator, accompany me.” I say after quickly recovering from my surprise.
Bellator and the Guild Leader stand up as I do and with a pointless flick of my wrist I teleport all of us to a nearby room that I had furnished earlier. The only thing I need to change is to mimic Bellator’s seat from the previous room. Once that is done and all of us are seated around the much smaller table I turn to the Guild Leader expectantly.
“What was it you wished to speak about?” I ask.
“Well, I was wondering if you’ve ever heard of the Northern Wastes?” She asks in return.