Chapter 1: Catching Up With Old Friends
DM took stock of his situation. Due to unfortunate timing, Daphne was apparently attuned to the new dragon DM unlocked from one of his dungeons. While he was quite appreciative of Daphne’s recent aid, it was obvious to anyone that Daphne didn’t need a dragon at her beck and call. DM would need to summon the dragon himself and then offer it a dungeon master or similar role like he had for Grummanonth.
He’d momentarily considered offering the dragon to attune it to Kat or one of the other girls, but that too seemed rather ridiculous. As powerful as a dragon ally or minion would be, whichever girl summoned it would surely end up in danger sooner or later as a result. Even if the dragon was successful in keeping the girl safe, he wanted the girls to ultimately lead somewhat normal lives—not be worshipped as some type of dragon priestess.
Still, DM took a moment to visualize what it would be like in each case. Knowing Lupy, she would probably figure out some way to spar with the dragon. Well, she still seemed rather enamored of her minotaur, so maybe she wasn’t interested. Vulp could possibly become the world’s first dragon knight, but DM didn’t think such a role was necessary. Bandit would gain a new, highly-effective method for escaping after a mission, but dragons were more than a bit too flashy for her specialization. Kat would probably refuse to summon the dragon except in an absolute emergency. In contrast, Shiba would probably try to lord her dragon over Kat whenever she had the chance.
Right now, it seemed like Grummanonth would complete his return to the Upper Gordu Dungeon before the girls arrived there from the Empire. DM felt bad about it, but he needed the girls to depart soon after they arrived. Somebody needed to meet Daphne as she returned from the west and explain to her that she shouldn’t summon a dragon unless her life was truly in danger. DM would need some time before he was ready to summon the dragon himself, and he wasn’t able to get a message to Daphne very easily right now. She was traveling alone from EarthGlen back to the Twin Cities. In theory, he could charm her and have her write a message to herself, but that was too heavy-handed.
DM turned his attention to himself. During the battle for the Twin Cities, DM had reached LVL 12 and the Lower Gordu Dungeon’s LVL increased to 11, unlocking several new creatures including one dragon. While exploring the Guluk Dungeon with Karen and Jonathan, DM had achieved LVL 13, with the dungeon increasing to LVL 12. Apparently, he had already been on the cusp of leveling due to the tremendous experience he received during the battle for the Twin Cities.
Although the Lower Gordu Dungeon had unlocked no new creatures when reaching LVL 12, a new feature was revealed. DM had set it aside for a while due to all the action in the Empire, but he now had access to Equipment Creation, which he was eager to try out. He’d need to wait just a bit longer, though. His priority was focusing on the second dragon he recently unlocked.
The Union’s Guild was cooperating with Grummanonth to feed the Upper Gordu Dungeon. It just so happened that the dungeon leveled up around the same time as the conflict in the Empire was concluding. DM wasn’t sure if Grummanonth’s influence was involved, but the dungeon had unlocked a dragon as part of its available creatures. Since Daphne had maintained physical contact with Grummanonth for an extended period after that point, it was highly likely she now had the ability to summon a dragon.
He checked his stats.
Name Dungeon Master Species Tentacle Monster (Tier 3) LVL 13 HP 1311 MP 4250 STR 155 DEF 115 MAG 107 MDEF 92 AGI 71 LUCK 2 Abilities
Offense Touch (Charm T6, Pain T1, Experience T1, Pleasure T2, Poison T2, Slow T2, Berserk T2, Mana T2, Health T2, Paralysis T2, Stone T2, Confusion T2, Sleep T2), Projectile (T1), Ice Shot (T1), Affection (T1), Tentacle Slap (T2), Fireball (T3), Ice Spear (T3), Lightning Bolt (T3), Air Blast (T3), Earth Spike (T3)
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Defense Guard (Poison T1, Ice T1, Charm T3, Fire T2), Reduced Damage from Monsters (T1), Reduced Damage from Males (T1), Shield of Protection (T1)
Utility Bonus Damage to Monsters (T2), Infect, Heal (T1), Sense (T2), Antidote, Regenerate (T2), Absorb Equipment (T3), Disguise, Float, Spawn Tentacle (T2), Howl (T1), Hide, Root Attack (T1), Bonus Damage to Humans (T1), Sprint (T1)
Once he started creating equipment, he’d have to test and see what abilities he can imbue and whether or not he could level up any of his own abilities by absorbing the items. If history was any indicator, his ability to abuse the system like that would be severely limited, but it was worth a try.
Another item DM would soon focus on was acquiring more dungeons. He currently had four, including the two he recently picked up in the Empire. He knew the Empire had more dungeons, but he wasn’t sure how many. The Emperor had provided approval for DM to bring additional dungeons into his network, and he would take advantage of that permission. Hopefully, Sasha and Ardreth would compile a complete list in the coming weeks.
DM got an alert, right here in the Lower Gordu Dungeon. Normally, this wouldn’t be a big deal, but considering what had happened last time he got an alert, he mentally tensed up. After a short wait, four adventurers filed into the dungeon.
He couldn’t tell from the information on the console, but the infected monster he had spying on the entranceway told him something very interesting. This was the same party that defeated DM way back on the first day he arrived in this world. They were equipped better than they had been and had gained some levels, but it was still the same four young teenagers, just a bit older now.
If DM was honest, he was still pretty bummed about how they slew him even as he tried not to hurt them back then. Their attacks hurt like hell, too. Of course, since DM didn’t have the ability to communicate with words back then, it was understandable that he would fail to get through to them as they attacked him. Still, he felt like a little revenge was in order. He made some preparations and simplified the route down to the boss chamber as much as he could without making it suspicious.
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“It looks so much different than last time,” said the swordsman.
“It’s deeper, too,” the girl with the spear observed. “It must have leveled up while we were traveling around the Grand Duchy.”
“Wasn’t the dungeon master really cautious last time?” asked the black mage. “I’m surprised the dungeon managed to level up at all…”
“Nah,” said the white mage, joining the conversation. “The Guild said they were going to pump a bit of resources into the dungeon, didn’t they?”
“Actually, shouldn’t we have checked with them before returning to this dungeon?” The black mage looked around the chamber they were in. “I’m wondering how deep the dungeon goes now.”
“It’s more fun this way.” The swordsman continued leading the party forward. “Let’s treat it like a new dungeon again.”
Nobody objected, and the party proceeded down to the second, then the third floor.
“The layout is so different…” The girl with the spear looked around at the various hallways branching out in all directions. “Last time, weren’t there just a few rooms next to each other?”
“Well, that was when the dungeon was only one floor,” the black mage explained. “Of course it will be more complex now.”
“All right…”
Whether by blind luck or some other influence, the party rapidly found their way to each stairway, descending further into the dungeon. Even on the water level, they found a path that allowed them to bypass all the swimming monsters.
“The dungeon is huge, but the path was actually pretty simple, wasn’t it?” asked the swordsman.
“Keep your guard up,” the white mage warned. “The dungeon master will be higher level, too.”
They reached the boss chamber. Standing in the middle was, once again, a tentacle monster. It stood at 3 meters tall, and its skin was purple.
“It looks exactly the same, huh?” said the swordsman.
The mages kept quiet, preparing to cast their spells as soon as necessary.
“It gave us trouble last time, but we’re much stronger now. Don’t let it grab your sword!”
“I know!”
The party closed on the dungeon master with careful steps. Just as the monster was coming into range of their weapons, it fled to the far corner of the room.
“It’s running again! After it!” He quickened his pace, keeping his sword at the ready.
“Something feels off…” Despite her misgivings, she kept her spear pointing at the monster as she backed up the swordsman.
The mages kept pace, maintaining a tight formation. Soon, the monster was entirely cornered.
>19 damage
“Hah! I’m stronger than I was, and I have a better sword!”
>18 damage
“I have a new spear too, but isn’t this too easy?”
“Talk after we defeat it!” the black mage pointed her staff at the dungeon master, launching a fireball.
>11 damage
The tentacle monster collapsed to the floor, dead.
“Just like old times!” the swordsman called out as he sheathed his weapon.
“It didn’t try to take your weapon or deflect my spear attacks this time…”
“You’re overthinking it! Let’s see what loot we got. We’re so much stronger now that it probably won’t be worth much.”
“…What is this?” A new person stepped into the chamber and addressed the group. The foursome didn’t recognize the person. “…Oh, I see.”
“What!?” The swordsman responded in a belligerent manner. “We were here first.”
“…So you like to kill tentacle monsters?”
“Of course! They’re gross, but they die easily.”
“…In that case…” The strange person walked over to the console, drawing the party’s attention.
Suddenly feeling a new presence, the party turned to see a new monster looming over them. It was a 4 meter tall tentacle monster, skin bright red. It looked a lot stronger than the last one.
“…Good luck.”