After burying Damian, the second-to-last incarnation of Dungeon Master 09, I made a decision: To take a vacation. I needed time away from my kingly duties—duties I had never really wanted. Becoming one of the Emperor’s lackeys was never something I sought. It was something Dungeon Master 07 needed of me to reestablish his name for his his latest incarnation. So, I did it. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect, since Dungeon Master 07 and the others who reincarnated alongside him no longer needed my support.

I left it all behind for a while. I had promised Dungeon Master 09 to meet again, to travel as we did in his previous incarnation.

I headed to the Voidborne Catacombs, where his soul had returned. The initial plan was simple: wait for him to reincarnate and then find him again, so we could journey together. But when I arrived, something shifted within me. Perhaps “shift” isn’t the right word—it was more like I altered my mindset slightly. I decided to act on something I had once made a mental note of: to understand the Greed and Resurgence authority.

This authority had allowed us to reincarnate into Fiendfell, into random vessels, but we understood it too little. Why was I, after reincarnating as a girl, stuck in that form for every subsequent reincarnation? And why did Dungeon Master 09 and I retain the imprint of our very first abilities, even though we no longer possessed them? For me, the ability to never forget anything. For him, the instinctual recognition of skills being used. There were too many unanswered questions.

In the Voidborne Catacombs, with the help of Dungeon Master 09, Dungeon Master 00, and the others who were present, we began to experiment. We pushed the limits of what we knew, using everything at our disposal—including the other authorities that naturally belonged to Dungeon Master 00. I hoped that by leveraging those, I could better grasp the mechanics behind Greed and Resurgence.

Through trial and error—bitter errors—I eventually made a breakthrough. I figured out how to prevent us from being reborn randomly into the world, how to stop us from reincarnating solely as humans. I discovered that as long as a vessel was within range of the authority—extending throughout Dungeon Master 00’s domain—we could reincarnate into that vessel, provided it was a desired one. And the requirements for these vessels weren’t any different from those in the outside world: babies. Freshly born or even unborn babies were acknowledged by the authority as fit vessels.

Now, one might think that meant only human infants, since that’s what we’d consistently reincarnated into. But no. The discovery was clear: the authority didn’t discriminate by race. I was able to provide vessels for three of my fellow Dungeon Masters to be reborn as something other than humans. One of them, Dungeon Master 06, now inhabited the body of a silver-haired, silver-eyed elf.

"Worry no more, Dungeon Master 06," I said, patting his broad shoulder. He was nothing like the goblin-like child I remembered. "Mommy’s back."

He smiled—a familiar smile, even though his face was entirely different from the last time I saw him. "That’s reassuring, Ma'am." His gaze lowered briefly before returning to my face, shifting left and right, frowning as he noticed something that Dungeon Master 05 had been oblivious to our entire journey.

"What is it?" I asked, expecting him to point it out.

"Still holding onto that eldritch program?"

I chuckled. "I have no reason to anymore, and I should be distancing myself from them, but I suppose I've just gotten too used to their company."

He shook his head in mock defeat. "You're the only one who could say something like that, Ma'am. To be fair, you're the only one who can use creatures like them the way you do. I was barely able to handle their parasitism for more than a week."

With those words, his gaze shifted to the confused Dungeon Master 05, who had been standing beside me, completely ignored until now. "You must be Dungeon Master 05," he said. Without waiting for an answer, he stepped forward and embraced him, much like he had done to me moments before. This time, the hug was faster, rougher. "Welcome to elven land, brother."

"Thank you," Dungeon Master 05 muttered as Dungeon Master 06 released him.

"It must be a relief to no longer have a wannabe god breathing down your neck, huh?"

"Mh. I suppose, yeah."

"Don’t worry, you’re safe here."

Dungeon Master 06 took a step back, looking Dungeon Master 05 up and down, inspecting him thoroughly. "You’re looking awfully young. You don’t even look like you can legally drink."

"You’re one to talk," I cut in, crossing my arms. "What’s with that appearance?"

Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

He smiled knowingly. "Ma'am, I was wondering how long it would take you to comment on it. To answer your question, after everything that happened, I decided it was time for a change."

So that's why you changed your appearance. It doesn't quite match your personality, but once again I kept that thought to myself.

Satisfied with his own greetings, Dungeon Master 06 turned toward Veilleuse-19. "And if it isn’t my favorite red wyvern over here," he said, stepping toward her. Veilleuse-19 let out a deep, rumbling growl that almost sounded like laughter.

"It indeed is," he said, patting her massive head. Despite looking like she could swallow him whole, the wyvern behaved like a gentle horse, accepting his affection. "Girl, you’ve grown so much. I didn’t expect you to be this large already."

Veilleuse-19 let out a sharp, disapproving sound.

"Of course, I don’t mean that in a bad way," Dungeon Master 06 hurried to explain. "A good wyvern is a strong and big wyvern. You’re both."

Then, he paused mid-sentence, turning back to me. "You still haven’t found a better name for her, have you?"

"Nope. Still Veilleuse-19."

He shook his head in defeat. "Poor thing. I would’ve given you a much better name if I were your master."

Patting the wyvern one last time, he pointed northward. "Half an hour from here, there’s a mountain. I once spotted a herd of Earthshaker Taurons there. How about you go have a little snack."

The red wyvern, as if understanding Dungeon Master 06 perfectly, glanced at me. I nodded, and as I did, she took off into the sky while Dungeon Master 06 headed back toward us.

“Well then,” Dungeon Master 06 said with a grin, “welcome to our humble abode." He gestured toward the large mansion nestled deep within the woods.

***

As we were invited into the mansion, which was technically mine to begin with, I couldn't help but think back to when I raised the five Dungeon Masters who now occupied non-human vessels.

It was I who laid the foundation of this place, but to compare what it had been then to now? Well, it was like comparing a cabin to a manor. You couldn’t blame me for the rudimentary state it was in back then—I was no builder. I made do with what I had and what I knew. Thankfully, as the other Dungeon Masters grew, they improved upon the place, turning it into what it is now.

I walked through the halls and noticed that much of it still looked exactly as I’d left it decades ago. Sure, there were additional furnishings here and there, but some pieces remained the same: the sofa on the back veranda, the tall chest of drawers in the corridor leading to the ground-floor bathroom, and even the dining table where Dungeon Master 05 and I now sat. It was the very same table I’d often eaten at.

"Here you both go," Dungeon Master 06, our 'host', said as he set the plates in front of us. A kind gesture, no doubt, but the sight of what was on that plate made me glance at Dungeon Master 05, who wore the same expression I had.

“Goblin?” I asked.

“Yes, Ma'am,” Dungeon Master 06 replied with an innocent smile, as if the sight of a green, mushy pile of food wasn’t slowly churning my stomach. I immediately felt a little guilty about making my earlier demands.

"It’s quite the appetizing meal you’ve cooked for us. I appreciate it," I said, forcing a small smile. "And by that, I speak on Dungeon Master 05’s behalf as well." He nodded in support, grateful for the excuse to lower his spoon.

"But right now, after that long journey, I’m craving something... more colorful. Do you have fruits?"

He beamed, looking genuinely pleased by the request. “Of course, Ma'am," he said, turning to leave. "Freshly harvested from the garden of mine that you both wrecked," he added over his shoulder as his voice trailed off down the corridor.

With Dungeon Master 06 out of the room, it was just Dungeon Master 05 and me again. I pushed the green atrocity on my plate aside, mirroring his actions.

"I had a feeling he’d cook something this horrible when he led us to the kitchen," I muttered. “I should’ve known better, but somehow I hoped that after all these years, he would’ve learned to cook something other than vegetables."

Dungeon Master 05 leaned back slightly, glancing at me. "Charlie," he began, his brows furrowing. "He earlier mentioned a name... Charlie... That’s Dungeon Master 10, right?"

I nodded. "Yes. Charlie was his previous incarnation before... well, before what happened."

He looked puzzled by the answer, but didn’t comment on the name. "I see... and Frank? He mentioned both Charlie and Frank earlier. Who’s Frank?"

I eyed him from the corner of my vision and sighed. "Frank is—" I began, but Dungeon Master 06’s voice interrupted me as he re-entered the room.

“Frank was the first monster I bonded with,” Dungeon Master 06 said, setting a basket of vibrant, colorful fruits down on the table. “My class allows me to form a deep bond with monsters, so that should explain everything to you, right?"

Pretending not to notice the tension in Dungeon Master 06's voice, I reached into the basket, pulling out a handful of strawberries, picking at them as Dungeon Master 05 nodded in understanding, though I could tell he picked up on the same tone I did.

Sensing the awkward silence settle between us, I decided to break it. "On our way here, guess who we stumbled upon?" I asked Dungeon Master 05, handing the fruit basket to him.

"Who?" he asked, his brow furrowed in curiosity.

"The bait we’re supposed to use to lure in my prized fish."

"Aquaflora?" His surprise was clear, his face scrunching slightly. "Her? What did she do again?"

I smirked, recalling the encounter. "Nothing. She just flew up to meet us, probably ready to engage if we’d been hostile. But since we weren’t, nothing happened." I was about to comment on how she made too good a bait when I paused, narrowing my eyes. "Wait, did you say 'again'? What did she do for you to say 'again'?"

Dungeon Master 06 grimaced, the kind that told me something was amiss. “Sigh… she’s been restless lately. Spying on me and Blondie. Heck, she even tracked down Ribbon. But you know him, the sneaky, slithering fella that he is,” he explained nervously.

Hearing that tone, and the mention of Ribbon, I raised an eyebrow. This fool did something—of that I was sure. And from the way he mentioned Ribbon and Blondie it seemed like he wasn’t alone doing whatever he did.

"What have you done?"