Chapter 3: Adventurer Transfer
>Please select new dungeon master for secondary dungeon Upper Gordu Dungeon.
DM selected the dragon from a list of all available monsters.
>Dungeon master selection confirmed.
“Dragon, I guess I should decide on a name for you now.”
“Very well, DM. Know that dragons have both names and trailing titles.”
“You mean, like, Garm the Skylord?”
“Yes, that would qualify as a name with a title. Is that the name you chose for me?”
“No, I was just verifying the format… Let me think.” DM wasn’t very proud of his naming sense, but he figured he could come up with something decent if he didn’t rush. A name popped into his head but he stopped to think about it for a while rather than compulsively select it. Still, after considering it for a while, he decided to propose it. If the dragon didn’t like it he could probably just request a different name.
“DM, I’m honored you would put so much thought into this, but it doesn’t really matter what you choose. Have you decided?”
“Yes, how about Grummanonth the Moonwalker?”
“...The Moonwalker? Is there a special meaning behind that?”
“Uh, none that anyone in this world would understand, I don’t think.”
“BWAHAHAHA!”
“Is it that funny?”
“If I encounter other dragons, it will tick them off to no end that they can’t figure out why I’m the Moonwalker!”
“Is that good?”
“Yes. The name Grummanonth is suitable as well. Hm, walking on the moon… Is such a thing possible for a dragon? Only the progenitors should be… DM, are you a progenitor?”
“Not that I’m aware of?”
“It’s quite possible you have a connection to them. Who else would speak of walking on the moon?”
A certain dance popped into DM’s mind. “Moonwalking also has another meaning, but it’s likely equally alien to this world.”
“Oh, fascinating, what is this other meaning?”
“It’s a dance where you, uh, walk backwards by lifting one heel up and sliding the other foot behind you in an alternating manner, I believe.”
“What do you do with your other two legs? Oh, this is a human dance?”
“Yes,” DM confirmed. "If you try moonwalking it might anger a god or something.”
“Very well, I will abstain. Please teach a human to showcase the dance at a future opportunity. Or perhaps one of those beast-girls or elves you spoke of?”
“I’ll… consider it.”
“Do you truly know of ones who have walked on the moon?”
“Yes… a few. It was likely a different moon, though.”
“How does one fly to the moon?”
“It’s interesting that you dragons know so much about terraforming and yet the idea of flying to the moon is a strange concept.”
“Perhaps. I have no control over what information I was born with.” Grummanonth dipped his head slightly, although DM could only tell by monitoring through the infect ability.
“The main item you need to journey to the moon is a large rocket. It ejects burning combustible fuel out the back to generate the thrust that propels it forward until its payload has enough energy to journey all the way to the moon under its own inertia.”
“How long does the journey take?”
“Just a few days. And judging by the results of my amateurish attempts at astronomy, the distance would be similar for this world too.”
“I see. I’ll be sure not to share this wisdom with anyone unnecessarily.”
“Thank you. Anyway, are you able to control the dungeon using the console now?”
“Yes, I’ve been searching for how to restructure the dungeon, although I’ll need to wait until you have these prisoners removed before I can do too much.”
“That should be soon. By the way, you’re limited in how much you can change the dungeon at once, although it’s pretty generous. Even if you have insufficient energy to restructure a floor, you can still operate moving mechanisms and programmed features. Do you know why that is?”
“Of course. The dungeon uses separate reservoirs for restructuring and operating, although the former has a greater capacity.”
“Ah, that makes sense! What type of energy is even being used?”
“DM, you are aware that dungeons penetrate far beneath the surface, correct? Even a fresh LVL 1 dungeon has already claimed the land below, deep into the crust. The dungeon taps into the natural heat sources below as a source of energy, although I don’t know how the energy reservoirs work precisely.”
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
“Ah, geothermal energy?”
“Indeed. If you deplete the stored energy while restructuring the dungeon, the reservoir needs time to refill.”
“It’s nice to finally understand the reason for that. So…” DM figured Grummanonth might also know the answer to a related question. “Why are we blocked from restructuring the dungeon right around the intruders in most cases?”
“Remember, the purpose of the dungeon is to encourage recycling T1 to T6 souls, not to wipe out parties of explorers. Only programmed features can be used to manipulate the environment directly around those exploring the dungeon.”
“Grummanonth, why does the dungeon block me whenever I try to exploit it such as by setting up an endless loop of spawning monsters and absorbing their experience using my abilities?”
“All I know about that is that it relates to soul-energy equivalence. If the dungeon could absorb the souls of everyone who died through some type of exploit, it would grow massive. A massive dungeon does not encourage reducing soul aether opacity overall. It merely concentrates effort to one spot on the map. Further, global populations would decline or centralize, further delaying efforts to terraform the planet.”
“Well, when you put it that way…” DM felt kind of guilty for even attempting to exploit the system in the past.
“I can see why it would be frustrating for you, but it hardly matters. If you want, you can simply amass an army and travel the land slaughtering wild monsters and humans alike.”
“I won’t do that! And you shouldn’t either!”
“Don’t worry, dragons find such wanton destruction tasteless and counterproductive. They only slaughter those who offend them.”
“How easily are dragons offended?”
“If a human so much as looks at a dragon the wrong way…”
“I don’t have eyes but I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Oh, DM, before your hostages are led out of here, can you have one brought to my chamber?”
“Why?”
“I intend to handle the Union for you so you can focus on the Holy State and the Empire for now.”
“That’s… reassuring, but how will you do it and why do you need an adventurer?”
“I’m already infected, so you can watch. Please find an adventurer who is less likely to panic and become useless, if possible.”
“Actually, I have just the one in mind now that you mention it…” DM thought back to the only adventurer who was excited back when monster armies were slaughtering the Union’s soldiers and capturing adventurers in the two dungeons.
----------------------------------------
Monsters pulled adventurers, one at a time, from their confinement and escorted them to the dungeon entrance. Most were elated to see they were getting brought up towards the surface rather than deeper into the dungeon or somewhere else. One adventurer was guided in the opposite direction, causing her companions to shout in alarm.
“Wait! What are you doing with her!? That’s the wrong way!”
The monster did not react.
“It’s all right! I’ll go with them!”
“But!”
“Relax! Why would they hurt me but let everyone else escape?”
The concerned adventurer directed his shouting back at the monster. “You better not hurt her!”
The monster did not react.
Soon, more monsters came for the rest of their group and escorted them out of the dungeon, where a team of knights, soldiers, and adventurers from the Twin Cities was waiting.
----------------------------------------
The only adventurer to descend any stairs today arrived at the boss chamber, where DM fiddled with the console. She screamed in excitement and struggled to break free of her escorts.
DM tilted his amorphous body so as to gaze at her for a moment before returning to his efforts using the console.
“Did you look at me? Did you look at me!?” The adventurer continued to freak out, making DM wonder if perhaps she wasn’t the correct person to send to Grummanonth after all.
Her escorts forced her down to her knees at the center of the chamber and then backed away. Although her arms were currently bound behind her, she still had full use of her legs. Dressed like a white mage, she didn’t seem like she’d be much of a threat even if her arms were freed.
As DM entered the command to begin the transfer, she hopped up and sprinted toward him. He hurriedly scanned her looking for any sign of a weapon or other threat, but from what he could tell she was just running at him with no plan at all. He raised a tentacle, but made a split-second decision not to slap her with it.
Before the other monsters could reach her, she plowed into him face-first and nuzzled into the side of his body. She didn’t bite him or attempt to hurt him. The adventurer just rubbed her face and body against him like he was a large fluffy animal. “An actual tentacle monster!” she suddenly screamed.
Feeling more creeped out than anything else, DM scooped her up by the waist with an appendage and held her in the air, although she responded with glee. DM summoned a morphling because he just had to ask her something.
“...What are you doing?”
“A talking morphling!”
“...Yes. What are you trying to pull?”
“I’m sorry, I just got a little bit excited.”
“...A little?”
“A little.”
“...Why?”
“Because!” the adventurer shouted. “Because, I’ve never been able to observe monsters up close like this before!”
“...You like monsters?”
“Yes! I like animals too, but monsters are even more fascinating!”
“...What’s so good about monsters?”
“They’re so varied! And they have amazing abilities, too! If they didn’t usually try to kill anyone who came near, I’d play with them and study their physiques!”
“...Is that why you’re a white mage?”
“Yeah! I don’t like hurting such majestic creatures!”
“...I can only imagine what your fellow adventurers think of your proclivities.”
“They put up with me so long as I heal them.”
“...Anyway, I need you to stand still in the center where you were a moment ago.”
“Aww! Can’t I stay here? Maybe I can heal the monsters!”
“...What is your favorite monster or creature?”
“Huh? That’s easy. Dragons! Oh, but I like you all too!”
DM gently placed the adventurer back down at the center of the platform used for transfer between dungeons.
“...If you stay still for a moment you’ll get a reward.”
“A reward?” While the adventurer pondered what kind of reward she might receive, the transfer system activated, teleporting her to the Upper Gordu Dungeon. Since this was actually a return trip she wasn’t particularly surprised.
Once the light faded, she looked up, confused since she wasn’t surrounded by a bunch of escort monsters for the first time. Suddenly feeling a gaze on her back, she turned to look over her shoulder and saw a single monster looking down at her from above.
“I am Grummanonth the Moonwalker. Prostrate yourself in reverence.”
The adventurer froze, her long dark hair caught on her raised shoulder. The awkward position caused her white hat to topple from her head to the floor, the impact gently echoing in the silent chamber. The two remained motionless, eyes locked.
“AHHHH!” she screamed, not in fear, but due to some other overflowing emotion as she sprinted toward the dragon and plowed into him, just as she had to DM a few moments earlier.
“Guh, what kind of crazy woman did DM send me!?”