Lucas gingerly put out his hand to accept the parties share of Rhilos from the grinning shadow monster working behind the counter. He, representing the others in their as yet unnamed party, had finally reached the front of the line after an over 30 minute wait. The Unnamed Dungeon was paying out 10,000 Rhilos per person and more than one scrupulous individual had counted all the money then and there. On one hand Lucas understood ensuring the rather high profit total but on the other he had places to be.
As the new breed of shadow monster checked Lucas’ name of the list it chuckled with such an eerie tone it made the adventurer’s skin crawl “Oh...! Lucas Elwood... we owe you a larger sum... Hehehe...”
With that the shadow walked over to where slightly larger bags were being held. Those meant for major contributors had been tied with red ribbon and placed beside additional golem guards. As it walked away Lucas got a better look at the strange creature.
Just like the [Commander] Mary he’d met after their battle against the Rocket Imp the monster’s body was entirely composed of shadows. However, unlike their combat oriented superior this shadow and the few counterparts wondering around assisting guests seemed designed for sales. Every single one of them had an enormous backpack seemingly fused into their back used for storing all kinds of wares. Some of these merchant shadows had even started up small store fronts and were selling off various items to their adventurer clientele. From what he’d seen the shadows weren’t limited to speech either. He’d heard several running calculations, giving out discounts, and even making small talk! Once again the Unnamed Dungeon was ruining his common sense...
Returning with the correct bags, one for him, Gelm, and Aurora, the merchant gave a polite bow “You have... our thanks... for your contributions...”
Sensing no hostility but still slightly off put by the creature’s voice Lucas unintentionally stammered “Y-yeah! You can count on us anytime! Thankyou.”
“My pleasure...”
Perhaps a little too eager to put some distance between him and the merchant Lucas darted over towards his comrades with the weighty bags. Like most parties the trio had decided to invest half of their earnings back into the party budget. That account was accessible to all of them and was for the express purpose of buying/repairing/upgrading equipment and buying important consumables. Given what he’d seen in the shops surrounding the entrance however, Lucas doubted anyone would be lugging their bag back to Brooksdam.
On his short walk back Lucas noted just how strange the whole event was. As the dungeon monsters couldn’t remain outside their home for prolonged periods of time any longer another method to hand out the rewards had been needed. For the last week various dungeon residents had worked together with the royal knights still stationed in town to erect a massive platform and ensure the transfer of Rhilos went over peacefully. Just this considerably small collaboration could hint towards a rather unbelievable future. Humans working alongside the monsters they hunt.
According to his mentor Captain Eli the dungeon master was planning to hold a speech in tandem with his first public appearance. Some thought the talk was coming a bit late as the war ended over 9 days ago but as someone in the loop Lucas understood they’d been awaiting the return of their monster comrades. Rumor had it they too would be making an appearance on stage. What they’d talk about however no one really knew.
Taking a seat down on the blanket they’d brought along Gelm passed out the lunches he’d bought. According to him a few of the shadow merchants were running stalls manned by skeletal golems. Weird as it may have been Lucas couldn’t deny the clay warriors were rather impressive chefs.
After finishing her bite of rabbit meat Aurora broke the silence “Are either of you hoping to hear anything specific discussed? I want to see the other talking monsters personally. Of course the dungeon master himself has my interest as well.”
Still cutting his meat apart Lucas replied “Well I think some general answers would be nice. We’re slightly more in the know than everyone else since we’ve talked with captain Eli and Valentia but even they don’t know much. All I’ve really gotten out of Valentia is that the dungeon master has been super busy and has been somewhat unresponsive since the war ended.”
“They’ll probably go over the new [Taming] rules.” Gelm added between smacks of meat “He warned in the original announcement those Reapers our shifter acquaintance runs are going to enforce some stuff. Maybe some extra clarification on dungeon behavior and Withdraw Orbs too.”
Pursing her lips Aurora said “Well I certainly hope it’s more interesting than that. Not that a dungeon discussing [Taming] rights isn’t remarkable in it of itself.”
Pointing his fork at the mage Gelm asked “Have you guys heard the rumor the dungeon will be appearing at the Iliad? That would be something huh?”
Covering her mouth in surprise Aurora gasped “No way! Does the dungeon wish to become an official territory? If actual monsters and the tribes of Glacisk are present this year’s Iliad will go down in history... Rylen will be facing some heavy pressure at the Unddaras summit with one, let alone two, independent nations emerging under his rule.”
Not especially well versed in politics Lucas began “Aren’t those guys the northern tribes from the war a few decades back-?” before the crowd began hushing all around him. Apparently it was time for the speech to begin.
Atop the wooden platform directly in front of the entrance several human, but somehow not, figures emerged. Numbering twelve in total the figures separated into two groups of six on either side of the podium at attention. Immediately the crows grew anxious as they knew each and every figure could turn monstrous at will, and their various skills along with pure instinct warned ever figure was powerful. Some were recognizable to Lucas like the axolotl Irwin and the shifter Mary, but most were complete unknowns.
Up in front standing on either side of the podium were two female monsters. On the left was who Lucas pegged the infamous Mulan. In the past week she’d been spotted flying to and from Brooksdam to speak with various individuals on behalf of the dungeon. She was rather beautiful in her strange red and white garb but as a fellow swordsman Lucas’s attention was drawn to her stance. At first it seemed completely ordinary but her legs were bent ever so slightly, ready to launch forward at the first sign of danger. Of all those on stage she appeared the most human at first glance. Although her more than familiar tails tied around her waist were anything but human.
Standing to the swordswoman’s side was a woman with long pitch black hair wearing a pencil skirt and a white shirt underneath her black vest which gave off an aura of professionalism. Similar to Mulan the woman had one or two features indicating she wasn’t human. Mainly the several scaled patches exposed around her arms, legs, cheeks, and neck that appeared pitch black at first glance. However whenever a ray of sunlight would shine directly onto these scaled their hue would shift to a light silver. At certain angles the same could be true for her hair, albeit to a lesser extent.
Behind Mulan was the familiar Mary although this time she wasn’t masquerading as anyone else. Her grin gave Lucas the impression she was hoping for someone to cause trouble and her obsidian black skin coupled with her crimson tipped hair to more than make her monstrous heritage known. Of all on stage she was clearly the most inhuman.
Towering beside the professional woman stood a dark skinned man giving off an aura of authority. His muscular chest was completely bare except for a strange tattoo and a simply yellow and black sash wrapped over his shoulder. Below his waist he wore a pair of baggy brown shorts leading to bare feet. On his back, with the tip pointed over his shoulder, was a long spear occasionally sparking with electricity. His true identity manifested as symmetrical yellow and black fins over his arms and legs, not that anyone was looking at them. Everyone who glanced at the man was fixed on his face. The man was... gorgeous! Even Lucas, who considered himself quite the catch, had to admit the fish man had him completely beat.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
Bouncing excitedly behind the bare chested man was a blue haired young boy the party recognized as the [Boss] of the dungeon’s first floor. While he appeared only 11 or 12 years old the child had established himself in battle as stronger than the copy found at the end of the bog. Wearing an all-white outfit with only a blue leather belt for color the boy gave off an aura of innocence. His monstrous traits were the six pink whiskers, blue hair, and shrunken Swarming Slime coiled around his neck. Said slime was fully capable of expanding into a massive pool of water and aquatic creatures on a battlefield. Many in the crows knew that all too well...
All seven of the remaining figures appeared to share some resemblance with the woman in black upfront. Besides the fact they were obviously stemmed from the same base species Lucas felt the rainbow colored seven could all be sisters. However other than physical appearance absolutely nothing added merit to that theory.
Standing on the far left was a woman in a traditional dancer’s outfit. A red veil covered the lower half of her face, a lacey skirt with slits on the sides showed off her red scaled legs, and her tanned upper body was covered only by a strapless golden bra. Soon as he laid eyes on the woman Lucas felt something crawl up his chest as she seductively winked at the crows. He didn’t need to look around to know almost every man present was reacting in kind.
Jogging beside the dancer in her orange toga and plated skirt was an orange scaled girl with a huge smile on her face. Clanging against her hip with every step were a round shield with a decal of a roaring bear and a gladius. Her young face was covered in freckles that flushed out her ginger hair. Seeming a very chipper personality she waved excitedly at everyone in the crows as she exercised.
Completely covered in a dark gray cowl with yellow outlining was a dead silent unmoving woman with green hair so dark it was almost black. Down the twin braids spilling out from her hood trailed faint yellow highlights. On her back she held an enormous quiver of arrows tipped with some unknown glistening liquid, although she didn’t carry a visible bow. With her face covered the vibrant yellow serpentine pupils that were her eyes pierced into the audience.
Also carrying a quiver on her hip with arrows tipped in a substance pulsing blue hunched a shaking, short, and pale girl. Unlike her confident, angry, or indifferent sisters the poor girl was absolutely terrified and making an incredibly poor effort to it. Her scales were a deep shade of green along with her hair of a slightly lighter shade. In what looked like a conscious attempt to match her yellow sibling the shy girl also had small yellow highlights in her twin braided hair. However hers was completely uncovered and much longer, falling all the way down to her waist.
In stark contrast to her shivering sister the blue scaled and fully armored woman across from her was sneering down at the crowd. While the red seductress was capturing the hearts of every man in the crowd and earning the scorn of every woman, the blue knight was looking down on every single human equally. Her sky blue eyes, which shone all the brighter when paired with her monochrome armor and deep ocean blue hair, made no attempt to hide her distain. Hand dancing across her labrys’ handle the female knight was waiting for an excuse to chop some heads.
Unarmed beside the knight was an Indigo scaled girl wearing ripped clothes that Lucas could only ascribe the word “punk” too. A wild mane of hair with white and black highlights mixed in seemingly at random added to her wild persona. The woman was also wearing some strange device around her neck that was emitting music! It was even more remarkable when she slipped the device onto her ears and the noise disappeared. Although it seemed she could still hear the musicians as the Indigo scaled girl began shaking her head back and forth with some unknown beat, causing her hair to flail everywhere. Flicking her wrist across her ear covering the girl produced some unknown instrument in her hands with a flash and began playing an upbeat melody. Completely made of a strange indigo crystal the musical device immediately captured many merchant’s attentions.
The last of the sisters stood off to the right side of the stage. Despite her placement she was easily garnering the most attention due to her beauty. While all the scaled sisters could be considered conventionally attractive this violet scaled woman was on another level. Compared to the seducing power of the red, violet seemed to have a natural gift to draw in both men and woman. Hers was a more mature and motherly feeling that instantly caught one’s gaze. Around her neck a small black choker seemed to tie together her one piece purple and black dress that covered her shoulders to her feet in cloth. Once the busty beauty realized she was garnering a lot of attention she blushed, slightly embarrassed, and gave a small smile and wave. Instantly half the crowd was captivated and wanted nothing more than to become properly acquainted, monster or not.
“Quite the entourage...” Gelm murmured staring at the indigo scaled woman over the violet or red.
“Indeed” “Yeah.” Was all the others could say in response. This was a very interesting group to all see gathered together. Even ignoring the snake sisters these monstrous people were so different but all convicted to stand on the same stage.
After the crowd began to quiet down from the monster’s appearance the black scaled business woman walked out from beside Mulan and produced a small object from her vest. While only a simple rod of metal it was glowing with an unknown enchantment capable of multiplying the sound of one’s voice.
“Ahem! Good afternoon to all of those in attendance today outside our magnificent home’s entrance. As you are no doubt aware the Chairman has the desire to make a public appearance before you all today. Topics for this meeting will include, “The nature of his identity, thanks for participation in the latest dungeon war, rules concerning the Reapers and Taming restrictions, safe zone discussions, our new orb based teleporter system, and finally our participation in the upcoming Iliad talks. Intermediately some of us [Named] dungeon dwellers may chime in with more to say on specific topics. In return for holding this meeting to present you our official stances we ask you be respectful and hold all questions until the end.”
Breaking from her perfectly memorized speech the woman leaned back slightly and placed a hand on her chest possessively “With that out of the way it seems prudent of us to introduce ourselves. Some of us are no doubt familiar comrades on the fields of war but many present on this stage today are unknown faces. Beginning with myself, my name is Noire, personal assistant to the Chairman of this dungeon, and floor guardian of the Covenant Cavern, a pleasure.”
Bowing in her red attire and swinging her feather pinned hair forward Mulan said, “My name is Mulan, floor guardian of the Smoldering Sequoia and bodyguard to Milord.”
Continuing down the left side Mary said next “Hey! I’m Mary. First monster of this dungeon and leader of the Reaper Squadron. Basically I’m the most importan- “.
Cutting her off and breaking the order that Noire had properly established Almar said with an authoritative power in his voice “I am prince Almar of the Land of Burza, which is to say the 3rd floor guardian, and manager of The Cascade Casino. I look forward to our first visitors in both during the coming weeks.”
With a nod of appreciation towards Almar Noire indicated towards the blue haired boy and said “This one is Irwin, the first floor guardian and frontline fighter. He is young and sadly cannot speak but I assure you he has expressed his excitement to meet you all.”
Moving back to the pre-planned order the green scaled girl announced before hiding herself again “I-I-I-I’m D-Daphne, guardian of the Green Biome. Don’t feel you need to remember me! Actually please don’t!”
Calm and collected the yellow scaled sister stated “Melina. Guardian of the Yellow Biome.”
Jumping in as she knew Melina had no intention of saying more than what was required the orange scaled woman said “Hello to you all out there! My name is Amber and I guard the Orange biome! Just let me know if you want to come hike or train in the forest together! Let’s all get along!” she finished by throwing out a peace sign and a bright smile.
Putting on a sultry tone in her voice the red scaled woman hissed out “Call me Ssssscarlet darlingssss. Come challenge me in the Red biome anytime you sssssee fit.”
Gripping an armored sleeve at her sister’s behavior so hard her knuckles turned white, the blue scaled knight announced “My name is Azura and I have the esteemed privilege of guarding the Blue biome from all of you outsiders. Feel free to come challenge me too.” before finishing with a anything but friendly smile.
The audience turned their head to look at the device wearing indigo woman but she didn’t notice. It wasn’t until Azura chopped the back of her neck that the girl huffed and strung her lute like instrument and the words “Iris. Indigo guardian.” Hummed through every person in the crowds body at once.
Finally, and perhaps the most anticipated, the violet woman put her hand to her cheek and said in a sweet voice “Oh, is it my turn? My name would be Lila and I have the pleasure of guarding the Violet biome for Father. Do be sure to visit so I can treat you!”
Allowing some time for the crows to stop cheering over Lila’s invitation Noire then held up the enchanted rod again and said, “With our introductions out of the way, I have the honor of introducing our loved creator and Chairman... the master of our dungeon who shall henceforth be known as Sol!”
With a name given a figure began slowly walking out of the entrance to the dungeon. As the approximately 5 foot 10 figure made his way forward the audience felt a wariness form inside their bodies. This man, no, dungeon core, was something to take care in dealing with. Nature could be beautiful but it was also wrathful. Currently this man was kind but just one look to the others on stage showed what he was truly capable of creating. Not much in this world would compare to a fully sentient dungeon’s unrestrained fury.
Taking the rod from Noire with a nod of appreciation the featureless and glowing orange man spoke his first words “S-so how’s everyone doing today!?”
“...”