As Valentia was enjoying her celebratory dinner with captain Eli’s pupils she felt a chill run up her back. Hand subtly on the hilt of her rapier she turned to find only a young blonde healer. Just another sign she needs some time off...
“Excuse me, are you Vice-captain Valentia?”
Since she was in a good mood she smiled back “I’m just Valentia right now. Leave the titles for when I’m on duty.”
Grinning at the casual response the girl responded after a light giggle “Nice to meet you Valentia. My name is Alice and I just had a quick question for you.”
“Oh?” she arched her eyebrow.
“I overheard some talk about a dangerous individual coming to town. Is that true by any chance?”
‘Damn... who let the civilians know?’
Shaking the back of her hair Valentia downplayed the issue “I can’t speak much on the matter as of now, but a strong adventurer is coming. Not to spoil the surprise but he’s an S class.”
For the briefest of moments Valentia felt Alice’s face slip from curious to worried, but it was instantly replaced by a look of wonder and quickly forgotten “Wow! S Class! Are they really as strong as in the stories?”
“Indeed, neither me nor the captain could take one of those monsters on, even together we’d be unable to keep up. Rest assured though, all the S class I’ve met are good people.”
With a slight bow Alice smiled “I see. Thankyou for easing my worries Valentia. For all I knew a bandit group was on their way here. Should have known better with you on the job!” backing away she finished “Please enjoy the rest of your evening.”
“Of course, and you to.”
Once Alice turned her back Valentia felt another chill. It felt a lot like her battle instincts but it was probably the booze she was indulging in tonight.
Boisterous as ever Eli stomped his glass “Valentia get a load of this! Lucas here fought a talking dungeon wolf!”
“I didn’t say it talked! He just nodded and fought with honor.”
Looking over the smiling young party Valentia quickly set her strange reaction aside and forgot the conversation entirely.
---
‘Shit!’ Mary thought as she ran through the Brooksdam woods towards home. She’d been planning on sleeping at the inn tonight with her allowance, but the situation had changed. Unfortunately the ports were closed for the day so she’d need to run on foot. Even with her enhanced stamina since becoming a Stalker this would be rough.
But she didn’t have time to waste. The Master needed to know about this as soon as possible. Right before she’d left he had begun work on the 3rd floor, meaning he’d likely used up all his mana supply! If an S class adventurer is inbound though the dungeon needs every point he’s got.
‘The bird and me are likely the only defense we can give...’ She darkly thought while dropping Alice’s appearance past the tree line. Ever since their conversation Alice had become her go to human form. She’d spent so much time with her that Mary had learned all her mannerisms and could perfectly mimic her behavior.
Up until now the high tier adventurers had ignored the dungeon due to King Rylen’s no enslavement order, but an S class would never be scared of a king. All who qualify as an S class, whether part of the guild system or not, are considered the strongest humanity has to offer. Capable of standing shoulder to shoulder with Magister level mages and facing off against entire armies alone. One legend Mary had heard in particular claimed an S class ended a civil war by single handedly wiping the entire country off the nap, all because she’d made a noise complaint.
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If this S class was even a fraction of that. The dungeon is finished.
---
I was taken away from my observation of the 3rd floor when [Marking] alerted me of Mary’s earlier than expected return. My [Named], Bit, captain Eli, and vice-captain Valentia have alle been labeled with this skill. A simple but effective trick to keep tabs on all the big or noteworthy players.
Mary’s shadow form came crawling across the ceiling from outside as she snuck past the night guards. She could run through the dungeon itself to reach my core room but I’d granted her special access to Camp Core’s Teleporter. This way she could come and go from the dungeon in disguise since no one could see what floor others were teleporting to or from.
Running into the core room she immediately launched into her report.
“Bad news! Really bad news! Master I have just confirmed that an S class adventurer is heading our way!”
‘Oh shit...’
“You mean those guys that punch mountains right? Top of the adventurers guild rankings for both allies and enemies?”
“Correct Master.”
“Okay, uh... do we have a time frame on this?”
“I just learned of the rumor tonight. Apparently he was spotted a few towns over by some merchants. If he really wanted to the bastard could be here by morning. But since he’s moving so slowly I’m assuming he’s not in any rush to destroy or capture you.”
“Well that’s something positive at least. But this could not have happened at a worse time! I just spent all my mana on the hippos and eels!”
Clicking her tongue Mary asked “Will the 3rd floor be ready soon? Maybe it could hold him off long enough to flee.”
“Doubtful. The evolutions are coming along all right but their populations are too low. I haven’t chosen a boss yet either and I can’t rush the process...”
Landing in the doorframe with a gust of wind Mulan arrived with a worried look on her face.
“Milord! Is everything all right? I sensed great displeasure from above.”
“At ease. We’re discussing what we need to do about an S class due to arrive in a few days.”
“S class!” she exclaimed, covering her beak with her bladed wing.
Crossing my metaphorical arms I asked “Any ideas? Keep in mind our mana is spent on the 3rd floors development.”
The core room fell silent as we all brainstormed for an answer. Frankly there wasn’t one. Looking at the pairs worried faces I realized I needed to act like a dungeon master and act more like a leader.
“In all likelihood we don’t stand a chance against him no matter what we do to prepare. Even if we had an unlimited supply of mana nothing I create could fight better than you two. And not to put you down, but I have reservations about your victory in a duel.”
“Could we simply board up the dungeon with stone Milord? That would surely buy us enough time to form a better plan.”
Shaking my invisible head I answered “The voice won’t let me. Just another ceremonial aspect of being a dungeon core, we must always be physically attainable. Otherwise I would have boarded this place up weeks ago.”
Tapping my core Mary asked “Have we ever tried taking he core out of the dungeon itself? We could possibly relocate if the bird flies us far enough.”
“Don’t know if that would work. It’d be incredibly risky just bringing the core up to the entrance. And even if that is possible I can’t leave the dungeon’s territory.”
“Well said Milord. Even in the event that we could flee my wings can only carry us for 2 days travel. An S class could likely catch up if they wanted.”
By the end of our discussion we decided to wait and see what he’s like. If the S class is actually aiming to enslave me we’ll attempt to flee on Mulan’s back through an escape tunnel I’ll carve over the next few days. If he’s reasonable I’ll enter parley and negotiate terms. What I could feasibly offer an S class I’m not sure but anything is better than slavery.
In the meantime progression on the 3rd floor will be left purely to the inhabitants themselves. If we end up needing to flee I’ll need as much mana as possible in case Mulan, Mary, or Irwin’s revival needs to be accelerated.
What I really wish is that there was more for me to do. It may be in the nature of a dungeon core to sit and watch their creatures work, but I’d rather be out there helping directly. I might not be frontlines material but at the very least physically being there would be nice.
Even if I could create a body I doubt the voice would ever give me combat related skills. If this world was a video game I would compare it to a summoner class. I’ll always be left hiding behind the creatures I create, forcing them to both live and die for my continued existence. So far I’ve done my best to give them the best lives possible within the dungeon but forcing them to fight an S class is basically suicide. If only I could show them my appreciation during battle! That way less of my created family would need to die...