"So, this dungeon has been around for only a few months, yet it already has loot and a party of suspiciously intelligent monsters, none of which existed even a day before? That is quite odd indeed. In all my years, never have I encountered such a quickly evolving dungeon," said the burly, blonde Guildmaster. He had long hair, thick stubble, and impressive scars covering his muscular form. Even missing a few fingers and a leg, Karius knew the master could still give any unsuspecting adventurer a thrashing.
They had known each other for years, and Karius felt duty-bound to accept when his old adventuring friend called in a favor. "Yes, Valecor. It frightens me how quickly the dungeon changed, quite literally overnight," Karius explained, with equal amounts of concern and curiosity hidden behind his experienced face. "You said this was a newly formed dungeon, perfect to train the coppers, but I highly doubt that now. Something about this dungeon... it's different."
Guildmaster Valecor let out a hearty laugh, shaking various items on his shelves and desk with the sheer volume of air released. "'Different' is quite the understatement! A dungeon that evolves in 12 hours... this, my friend, is the discovery of a lifetime. Finally, something different," he said with relief and excitement. "Sadly, the Empire would certainly throw me in the deepest prison they have if I kept it from them. I'll send a letter to the Capital Guild. They'll probably send out a research team once they receive it," he sighed.
"And what will we do until then?" Karius asked, already guessing and dreading the answer. Valecor was an incredibly skilled and experienced adventurer but had a bad habit of throwing himself into reckless situations, losing more than a few appendages, and being prohibited from adventuring as a result, thus becoming a guildmaster.
"Why, we'll adventure, of course. The newbies came here for training, and that's what they'll get."
Karius closed his eyes. "And what about safety?" he asked, already expecting Valecor's response.
"The dungeon is only a few months old, Karius. Even if it is evolving oddly fast, we can still more than handle it. And, it's weird to say, but I don't think this dungeon is all that hostile."
Karius gave him a dumbfounded look. "What do you mean?"
"Dungeons usually only add loot in the deepest floors to lure adventurers down, where they can entrap and kill them. But this one added it on the First Floor. Isn't that weird? It had the power to add more monsters, dig deeper, but instead, it decided to reward people for delving. It might be part of some grand strategy to earn our trust, but I think there's a lot more to this dungeon than just evolving quickly. Friendly dungeons do exist, however rare they may be. The larger a dungeon grows, the smarter it becomes. If it gets large enough, we can negotiate with it. But this one is acting as if it’s already intelligent, perhaps already trying to negotiate, making the first move by offering us coin. There are a lot of unknowns, sure, but I’m confident in our strength."
Karius sighed. "You make a decent point, however much it pains me to admit." He stood up and gathered his weapons. "When will the research team arrive?" he asked, hardly believing he was going along.
"Usually a few weeks, sooner if they think profit is involved," Valecor said with a devious smirk, standing up in return.
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"Milord," began Jared’s spy, having reached his core room and leaned on one knee while bowing his head. "I have gathered all the information I can in the town."
Things played out mostly as suspected. Jared had no control over his Doppelganger spy, but he was strongly inclined to accept his creator’s commands and words as dogma. After creating him, Jared equipped him with the leftover gear of the cocky rogue who had fallen victim to his spider’s poison, which luckily covered most of the spy’s inhuman face, at least until he could transform human in appearance.
"And what were your findings?" Jared replied, sending his thoughts directly to his mind.
"It’s a rather small town, built entirely around Your Majesty. Hardly a few months old," the Doppelganger said, moving his head as low as he could without falling over. "I estimate less than one hundred people, the vast majority of whom are male. It seems to have been built with the sole purpose of supporting adventurers diving into you for experience," he said, trying to keep a straight face but failing and showing a small amount of anger.
"Raise your head, Finnel. You have done good work and fulfilled my commands faithfully," Jared interrupted before he could continue. Leaving his first servant without a name would be deeply wrong, so Jared had named him after the apparent norm. "And the guild?"
Raising his head, Finnel continued, "As you predicted, my Lord, they exist and I falsely allied myself with them."
"I am proud of you, my creation. You have skillfully demonstrated your talent," Jared told him. The Doppelganger had accepted Jared as his god, even though he knew that he was merely a dungeon. Although it wasn’t entirely inaccurate… Jared did create him. "As your reward, I may give you any one thing within my power. Just as long as you dutifully fulfill your purpose as you have today."
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"Then… Milord, if I may be so bold… may you grace me with thy name?" the Doppelganger said, once again bowing low.
Jared almost instinctively replied with his previous name; it was still what he called himself. But ‘Jared’ didn’t seem fitting for a dungeon. After thinking on it for a few minutes, with Finnel working to keep from falling over, Jared arrived at an answer.
"I am DM."
The satisfied Doppelganger got up and moved for the exit, but stopped short of the door. "Thank you, DM," he said, then left Jared alone and headed for the outdoors.
Not that Jared couldn’t still observe and communicate with him. He had decided to bring Finnel to his core room as a sign of trust and respect. Even if his creations were inclined to follow his orders, Jared thought it best to maintain a good relationship with his servants anyway.
He thought for a while. Jared had been doing a lot of that lately. His purpose, his reason, why or how he was here. No one had come to him and explained what he was here for. He only had the knowledge he acquired in his previous life to guide the way. But the more he thought about his situation, the more it made sense.
He was a dungeon. That much was obvious. What was a dungeon? It’s a place for adventurers to dive in for loot and experience, usually to assist with some greater goal—a demon lord, a big bad, revenge, whatever it was. He was only a component in a grander story.
Jared always imagined himself a storyteller. As a DM, he had been fascinated with making a grand series of events and allowing his players to experience them. Then, he was in control of the entire story, dungeons and everything else. Now, he was only in control of part of it. But that part was real. In that moment, DM decided that he would fulfill his role to the best of his ability. He would become a great dungeon worthy of heroes adventuring in.
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Jared had left the tavern alone for far too long. It was only a couple of days, sure, but the sooner he communicated with them, the better. Jared didn’t know how isolation from him would affect his creations. Perhaps the reverence Finnel had for him wouldn’t have been the same if he hadn’t contacted him right away.
Since he was already appearing to Finnel almost as godlike, Jared decided he’d keep it the same with his first sentient monsters. While he did not need a physical body to talk with his spy, Jared thought it better to have one if he was going to appear to a large group of monsters. Suddenly plugging into their heads might startle them, and even if the chance was low, it wasn’t a risk he was going to take.
Searching his memory for the perfect monster, Jared created a Shadow. They were unintelligent monsters akin to ghosts, physical, three-dimensional representations of a shadow, almost like a mist strong enough to strangle someone. They were perfect for Jared. He didn’t need a strong monster, and he couldn’t control a sentient one. What he did need was something mysterious, something that could talk, and something that could reasonably be the avatar of a god, or just a powerful dungeon.
His idea was to create said Shadow and dress it in an outfit, akin to wizard robes, that would cover all of its body except some of its face. This way Jared could control it, and it would feel ancient, powerful, and its face never known. The classic representation of a godlike being.
The only problem was the robes. Jared had been pleasantly surprised with how many things he could create. He had highly doubted he had the power to make creatures with a soul, but now he had made many. He had made gold and jewels, loot. Perhaps clothing was no different? There was only one way for him to find out.
He narrated a fine set of flowing blue robes, to be held in by a thick leather belt. Then another robe, vibrant red with golden lion designs, would be placed on top of it. Jared didn’t have any particular meaning behind it other than it felt grand and elegant. The magic weave appeared and knitted his Shadow, but to the joy of Jared, it wore the robes as he described.
The creature made a clear attempt to escape them, but Jared took control before it could.
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Bartender and the other monsters had been doing the same thing they did on the first day: drinking, sleeping, laughing, and the occasional light-hearted fight. It was an oddly enjoyable routine. Somehow the monsters didn’t need actual food to survive, nor did they ever die from overdrinking. They seemed to be living off the alcohol itself. It was an endless cycle that none of them got bored of. Never once did they consider leaving, and until that moment, none had entered.
But now one did.
They saw him entering through the tunnel, a robed stranger, but unlike the strangers a few days before, he didn’t immediately exit. Instead, he walked—or perhaps floated would be a better term—across the cave and into the tavern. Everyone had gone mostly silent for his entrance, eyeing him with curiosity. He moved over to the bar and took a seat. All the other patrons shrugged and went back to their eternal festivities.
Bartender tried to get a look at his face but saw only darkness. "Would you like anything?" Bartender asked, inspecting the same tankard he had been polishing for days.
"Your finest," he replied, putting a silver coin on the table.
Bartender poured him a cup of an especially fruity and flavorful mead. After a few moments of silence while the stranger drank, Bartender spoke, "Do you ever wonder what the meaning of life is? Why are we here and all?"
The robed man chuckled, finished his mead, and then said, "That’s quite the humorous question considering the circumstances, not that you knew. But yes, I do. And I think I’ve finally reached an answer. Although it is far different from yours."
"And what is mine? You sound as though you know. It would put ease to my unresting thoughts to know," the orc asked.
"Yours is to tend this bar, as you already are. To any other, it would seem torturous, but you seem to have taken quite the liking to it." The mysterious figure replied. And he must’ve read the expression on Bartender’s face because he followed up with, "And you want to know who I am, correct? I am DM. Your creator." The chatter among the other patrons stopped for a moment, everyone looking closely at the man, but they all went back to their discussions in a few seconds. "And you’re also wondering why I came here, yes? I thought it wrong to leave you without answers to the questions I’m sure you’re asking between drinks. But before I may answer them, I’d like to say a few things. This tavern is inside of a dungeon. I am the dungeon core. I decided to make this place and everyone in it to give adventurers a chance at respite, and perhaps to earn some coin while at it. And also, I apologize for not coming earlier. Now, any thoughts you want quelled?"
Bartender stayed quiet for a minute or two, contemplating what to ask. "How many are there?"
"Hmm?"
"How many others, like us I mean, are there in your dungeon?"
"Right now, only one. But soon there will be many."