"Would you like to take a seat, Dungeon Inspector?" the woman, Himia, asked as I stared at her from the doorway. My mind was processing what she just said, but wasn't doing a very good job of it. I reached for my Dimensional Pocket to grab a weapon, only to find that I was no longer wearing my jacket anymore.

"Apologies, Dungeon Inspector," Himia said, watching my movements. "Your gear is not on the list of topics. Would you like a seat?"

I looked at my clothing to see that I was wearing a white linen shirt, brown trousers, and black shoes. Nothing I wore was something I recognized. Panic started to well up from my chest, but I took a deep breath, quelling the feeling before it could intensify. Anger quickly replaced it, but I shoved that down, too. My equipment did not define me, after all.

"What is this place?" I asked, trying to keep my tone steady.

"Excellent emotional control," Himia praised. "Exactly what I had come to expect from you."

"And what do you know of me, Ms. Himia?" I didn't make any moves to sit down, instead hovering near the doorway.

"Of course, I suppose I should answer your questions before we start the discussion," she conceded. "I am the secretary of The Dungeon Master, Master of Dungeons."

I groaned. That really was this guy's full title, wasn't it? "So he's actually here, then?"

"He is in every dungeon he owns, but I suppose I should be more specific than that as you likely need more pertinent information," she started. The way she spoke was strange, like every word was crisp and new and was still having a definition attached to them.

"The dungeon cluster you know as Razorbeak's Caravan has been linked together to create a dungeon unlike anything your world has ever seen before," she said. Then she smiled, showing off a full mouth of straight, white teeth. "But getting into that will be entering spoiler territory, Dungeon Inspector, so please forgive me when I say I won't be discussing it in detail."

"You still didn't answer my question," I noted.

"You'll find him in the lead caravan, which won't unlock until the other dungeons have been completed," she stated. "Would you like to have a seat?"

"No," I said. "I'd rather stand by the door."

Himia glanced at the wall behind me, then met my eyes. "What door?"

Slowly, hesitant to take my eyes off of the strange woman, I glanced backwards. Instead of a doorway, I was face to face with a blank white wall. "I don't like feeling trapped," I warned, barely restraining my words from coming out as a snarl.

"Completely understandable, I know a lot of people are like that," she said. "But after this discussion, you can head on your way to the dungeon and get on with your job. Would you like to sit?"

"You still haven't answered all of my questions," I said. I walked to the seat but didn't sit down, instead opting to stand behind it. As I put my hands on the furniture, I noted that it felt sturdy; it would make a decent improvised weapon.

"Ah, once again, please forgive me, sometimes I answer questions in my head and forget to say them out loud," Himia confessed. "You wanted to know where we were first, to which I'll tell you that we're in a nexus hub connecting the four caravan dungeons. Think of this as a dungeon office of sorts."

I thought about that. Serto had said they were all connected somehow, so that gave me a possible answer. "Are we in the obelisk?"

"A very astute observation, Dungeon Inspector, but no," Himia said. "And, since the next logical question is what the obelisk is for… well, you don't have access to that information yet. Shall I move on to your next previous question?"

"My… next previous question," I repeated slowly, trying to digest the order of the words. "Was ‘what do you know of me, Ms. Himia?’"

"Of course, the answer is nearly everything," she said, causing me to freeze. "Not from spying or anything so mundane. I use a simple mixture of magical aura imprint deep dives, soul reading, and surface thought gathering to learn everything I can about a person. Your life has been very interesting despite its brevity, Dungeon Inspector."

The hair on my neck bristled. I couldn't tell if she was lying to me with her face plastered into this look of nonplussed, patient politeness. And she called that mixture of highly invasive magic simple.

"You know that soul reading and mind reading are illegal magics for a reason, right? And what do you know about how short my life is? You barely look like you're in your twenties!" I tried not to raise my voice, but my anger was spilling out. The privacy breach would normally be enough to make me lash out in anger, but this situation required more finesse than that. I took another deep breath.

"First, I recognize that pointing out the youthful looks of my chosen appearance is a compliment, so while it is ultimately unneeded I will thank you for it," she said, still smiling.

"That wasn't my intention," I said flatly.

"I understand," she claimed. I wasn't sure if she did. "Now we have two more questions. The first of which is that I did not know that those forms of magical information gathering techniques were illegal, and I will not perform them on you again without your consent or the express order of my boss."

"That sounds suspiciously like you're going to use it on other people," I said.

Instead of responding, she moved on. "For your second question, I am not a Human, but an artificial intelligence made to help my boss with various tasks." When she noticed my confused look, she shook her head. "Apologies again, Dungeon Inspector. If it helps, then think of me as an Information Elemental. I am thinking, living data."

"So you've… been around for a while," I guessed.

"Yes, but I understand that it is rude to ask a lady her age," she said. "So while I am not an actual lady, I would appreciate it if you didn't ask."

The panic I had quashed at the beginning of this conversation had disappeared at this point, replaced by confusion. I didn't like that any more than I did the panic.

"So if I have this right, then," I began slowly. "We're in the dungeon, it's all connected, you've used illegal techniques to gather information, you'll do it again, you're the secretary of the guy running it, you're actually just information in the shape of a lady, and you want to discuss the dungeon?"

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"A roundabout explanation, but not incorrect," Himia said. She dropped her smile, taking on a more serious look. "It is a shame about Tegril, though. For a God of Justice he really didn't do right by you. I mean, all you did was-"

"That's enough about that," I snapped, anger evident in my voice. This whole situation was already something that I was calming myself down for, but that was a line she had no right to cross. "I don't want to hear that from anyone, let alone you."

"Of course, Dungeon Inspector, please excuse my lack of decorum," she said. I almost believed it, but it was spoken just as mechanically as the rest of her speech. "The problem lies thus. The Dungeon Master, Master of Dungeons, has taken an extreme liking to the Dragon known as Oristrella. Then, your Junior Dungeon Inspector comes walking in with her blessing and he wants to show his favor to Ferrisdae and company as well."

"Why?" I asked skeptically. "We're here to raid his dungeons and destroy them, why help us?"

"That's what dungeons are for, correct?" Himia asked. "He is not malevolent, not towards your group, at least. He's actually very eager to meet you at the end of your adventure."

"If he's not acting with malevolent intent then why did he go through with dungeon takeovers through improper channels?"

"Ignorance, mostly," Himia said. "Which pains me to admit, for reasons I'm sure you can deduce. We haven't been awake for long, and our interactions have, thus far, mostly been limited to dungeon dwellers. There have been a study of adventurers, but initial contact had not gone well."

I thought back to when Brackenhorst mentioned adventurers were complaining about a blue haired Human that attacked them with numbers. My gaze traveled to her head. Himia certainly resembled their description.

"Okay, sure, let's say that is the truth, then what's the end goal for you two?" I asked. "What's the point?"

"That's something he would love to discuss with you once your group has arrived to meet him," she claimed, once again smiling.

"Of course," I muttered. "And I’m assuming there’s no way to skip all that, then?”

“You assume correctly.”

I scoffed. “Then let's get on with it. The sooner this is over, the faster I can meet this dungeon master guy."

"Of course, Dungeon Inspector," Himia said with a nod. "It has been decided that you four are going to receive what we like to call a tier two transition. I know you have concepts like fighter, barbarian, rogue, ranger, wizard, sorcerer, and more. Some like to fancy up their titles, like Junior Dungeon Inspector Ferrisdae calling herself a Star Sorceress, but this is just a Sorceress with the Starborn bloodline. Are you with me so far?"

"Sure," I grunted, folding my arms. I could tell this was going to get complicated.

"Excellent, these are all what we would consider to be tier one classes," she explained. "We have a whole system in place, but when we showed it off to some early entrants they were scared off by 'floating numbers' so now it all works in the background."

That confirmed what Brackenhorst had said during the briefing. He mentioned the official he sent didn't find anything out of the ordinary, but there was no doubt in my mind anymore.

"Everyone also has a magical affinity, which makes things easier," Himia continued. "For the Junior Dungeon Inspector, it is ice because of Oristrella, but that didn't factor much into her class upgrade. Cojisto's affinity was force, and Moose's affinity is holy."

"Wait," I said. I couldn't have heard that right. "The moose has a magical affinity? And it’s holy? Like, divine holy magic?"

"Oh, yes," she confirmed. "It was just one ability, but he had a calming aura power that increased natural recovery speed. Quite remarkable, really. I haven't seen anything like it before."

I couldn't think of anything to respond with, and Himia took that as a sign to keep going.

"Moving along, a tier two class will allow them to specialize and grow even more powerful than one normally would as time goes on. Depending on how things pan out, The Dungeon Master, Master of Dungeons will be rolling out tier two upgrades on a wide scale, and maybe someday even introduce tier three upgrades."

Tiers were a concept I understood, but every statement led to more questions. Like how that was even possible, for starters. No, I needed to stay on track first.

"Okay, that's way in the future," I said, waving her off. "What does that have to do with me?"

"Of course, the problem with you is that you're already as strong as a tier two individual," she started. I didn’t let her sudden flattery get to me, though that statement did give me a good baseline to use between tiers. "So there's a lot to unpack there, but that's why I mentioned your very eventful life. Dungeon Inspector, sure, but you've also been an adventurer and even a dungeon owner at one point. You have a very storied history."

I ground my teeth as I was reminded of the explicit breach of privacy on my personal history. "Get to the point, Ms. Himia," I angrily urged.

"If you'd like to become a tier two paladin, a Justicar, then the Goddess of Community, Cheroske, has been keeping an eye on you and wouldn't mind your loyalty," Himia said.

"I'll pass," I said immediately. I would not be beholden to the gods. Not again.

"We thought as much, though we have reserved your right to return to service should you change your mind in the future," she said. "Instead, we propose that your job title would become your new class."

"And what would that mean?" I asked.

"Your class would be Dungeon Inspector," she said. "It makes sense, since your magical affinity is for dungeon magic. An odd one, but not unheard of. Your class would be based on meta knowledge and exploration, but retain your fighting experience."

"Just had a Dungeon Inspector class on hand then, did you?" I asked.

"No, this one was tailored for you specifically given your past," Himia answered.

I scowled. Or perhaps the one I still wore deepened, it was hard to tell. "Okay, sure, but why?"

"Since you all will be receiving these upgrades, in order to test the balance of the dungeon, we have confiscated all of your belongings until you either leave or enter a zone that is closer to your experience level," she said, ignoring my question.

"But why?" I asked again.

"Because he wanted to give you all gifts, like I had previously stated," she answered.

"But to what end?" I continued.

"You will have to meet him at the end for more answers," she said with what I think should have been a coy smile, but it just looked arrogant.

"Okay, fine," I said, throwing my arms into the air. "Dungeon Inspector, I am what I am."

"Excellent, then you are the last of your group to have selected an option," Himia said.

"The last? I was the first one in," I complained. "And I didn't get much of an option."

"The others were easier to deal with, even Moose," she claimed. "There was much deliberation on what to do about you. You were much more surprising than a holy moose by far, Dungeon Inspector."

Moose was a magic moose. I was suddenly reminded of this fact, and it still felt like it was a lie. "So I was and still am a Dungeon Inspector, what now?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"Now you may leave the way you came in," Himia said, gesturing behind me. "And explore our dungeon at your leisure. This first one is going to be a bit on the easy side for you all with your class upgrades, though. It's meant to give you time to get settled into your new powers. I do hope you have fun."

I turned around to see a large wooden door in the wall where there hadn't been one before. "I still have more questions for you," I said. When I turned to ask Himia about what was going on, I found that both the woman and the desk were gone, leaving me in a room with two empty chairs.

With realization dawning in my mind, I quickly patted down my chest. I still wasn't wearing my jacket. "Wait a minute, what about my stuff?" I shouted at the empty room. I was met with nothing but silence.

My anger welled up at being dismissed in such a disrespectful manner. In fact, the whole thing had been a farce. I needed more information, and now the only one with answers had disappeared. With a roar of rage, I punched the desk. The solid wood broke under the force of my fist, cracking before the entire thing fell to the ground in two pieces.

Placing my hand over my face, I took a deep, calming breath. It didn’t work.

"Great. What a fantastic turn of events," I muttered sarcastically.

My attention turned to the door again. With a sigh, I approached it, throwing it open to see another swirling portal like the one I used to get into the dungeon. "Here goes nothing."

I stepped into the portal.