The next morning, Duke awoke feeling significantly better. The headache had passed, and his body was once again responding as it should. With anticipation and, admittedly a small amount of dread, Duke went through his notifications.
*** You have received a new Title: In return for your faithful execution of a bargain that you had no true obligation to fulfil, you have been granted the Title of Dungeon Master by the Overmind. This Title grants you ownership of the Lake Front Dungeon. You may take command of dungeon creatures within your own dungeon as needed. You also have immunity to dungeon creatures and traps within your own dungeon. Should you grow your dungeon to sufficient level, you may create new dungeon cores and seed additional dungeons. WARNING: The Lake Front Dungeon is the last dungeon on Teldin, should the dungeon be destroyed, this Title and all its benefits will cease.
You have completed the Lake Front Dungeon. You receive:
1,000,000 experience for completing the entire dungeon
996,811 experience for defeating The Gauntlet
10 minor crystals
10 medium crystals
10 large crystals
50,000 gold coins
50,000 silver coins
50,000 copper coins
You have been granted the Mark of the Overmind. This mark brands you as favored by the Overmind. There are few who know much of anything about the Overmind, but to those who do, this is a badge of great honor or absolute terror. This Mark provides a 10% increase in Psyche and the Ability to perceive the world in a full 360-degree sphere. Range of this DUNGEON PERCEPTION is a factor of your effective Psyche, rank, and level of the Ability. ***
Duke reviewed the rewards from completing the dungeon and smiled. The rewards were significant, and he was not sure how the new Ability would work for him. Headaches. It’s going to give me headaches. But fuck will it be worth it if I can see things coming from nearly 500 meters away. Time to see what else my notifications hold.
*** Congratulations, you have reached level 83. You now have 301 Characteristic points to spend. Spend them wisely, or throw them all into one Characteristic. That would be fun too.
Your Abilities and Skills have grown yet again. The most significant Skill gains were in Martial Arts Combat, Tonfa Mastery, and Dodge which all increased by 5 levels. The single biggest increase in your Abilities is ARMOR SKIN which increased by a full 10 levels. There are others, but you don’t look at them anyway so I’m not wasting my time telling you about them.
Some time ago, you bargained for the youth of your companion. There was an initial price set for that bargain but you were given the reward somewhat prematurely. Not my call. Even still, you fulfilled the full terms of the bargain anyway. For this, I will grant you a personal boon – I always fulfill my bargains. You shall receive a vision of an upcoming threat. What you do with the vision is up to you. You-***
Duke shook his head at the abrupt ending to the message. He noticed that he had one more message waiting and delved into it.
*** You have brought the lone remaining dungeon of Teldin to the surface. This has the potential for far-reaching ramifications. Furthermore, you have pledged to protect this dungeon from those who would destroy it. Prepare yourself for this may not be such an easy task. The rebirth of the dungeon has been noted by a select few interested parties.
Your entertainment value has continued to grow, and we are well pleased. Continue to entertain us all and you will continue to be rewarded. ***
Duke sat in bed for a bit processing all that the messages entailed. A new Title. That makes two and since Titles seem to be a thing in this world, I need to think about it a bit more. Every book I read that had Titles as part of their system had the hero gathering them like firewood in the fall. Maybe they are rarer here. Whatever the case may be, my plate is getting full. This is going to be a long day.
Duke activated CLEANSE and RESTORE to make sure everything was in tip-top shape before leaving his room. He paused in the doorway and turned right back around, closing the door behind him.
“I’ve got over three hundred points to spend. No point saving them for just the right time because I know myself better than that. I had 61 points sitting there waiting for me and I didn’t even consider using them when I was fighting that last guy. It might have made a difference. Time to pump up a few stats. Agility, Endurance, and Psyche are it for now. I’ll throw the extra one into Reason, I guess. And now I’m talking to myself. Fucking hell.”
Duke added 100 points to the three stats, adding the final point to Reason as he had decided. He winced as the pain washed over him, but he was well used to it by now and it faded quickly. Between the levels and stat increases, his Health and Mana had jumped to over 300k and 400k respectively. He wondered how that stacked up to the more powerful people on Teldin as he had no real reference to put the number against. He supposed he could ask the group, but he really didn’t want to be called a monster again. With a shrug, he turned to head downstairs to see if there was some breakfast available when something caught his eye – a glowing chest in the corner of his room. He had more loot!
Duke opened the chest and found it contained some interesting items. His SENSE MAGIC and IDENTIFY Abilities got quite the workout.
*** You have found The Blade of the Netherword. This dark blade is forged from the bones of heavenly creatures burned and molded in the fires of the Netherword. It is a bane to all things holy and a boon to all things profane. ***
*** You have found the Feathered Mane of Fulong. When this magical garment is draped over your shoulders, you are granted the wisdom of the Great Fulong (Reason +25).
*** You have found the Dimensional Compass. This mystical object of guidance will always point in the direction of the user’s home. ***
*** You have found the Crystal Figurine of Harmonic Grace. This figurine hums with sonic power. When the command word is spoken through the figurine, it will generate a barrier of pure sonic force for up to 10 minutes. ***
*** You have found the Heartstone of Gilm. This stone can be used to summon a stone golem that will act on your behalf. ***
*** You have found Golgatha’s Hammer. This tool is perfectly suited for forging. It is supremely balanced and enchanted to always strike true to the wielder’s crafting intent. It provides a +25 level bonus to all smithing Skills of its wielder. ***
*** You have found a Pocket Portal. This item, when activated, will provide the user with access to a pocket dimension that is impervious to intrusion. The user and up to three others may rest in the pocket dimension for up to 72 hours at a time. All Mana and Health regeneration are increased by a factor of 3 while within the pocket dimension. When the entrance is closed, it is undetectable by most means, mundane and magical. ***
This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
*** You have found a Gem of Soulbinding. Using this gem will cause one item to become Soulbound to the user. A Soulbound item cannot be lost or stolen. If lost, it will return to the owner within 12 hours. ***
Duke gathered up the loot with a smile. He had some ideas on how to use a few of the items but he was surely going to discuss destroying the sword with Baslin. Fucking swords. More trouble than they are worth. He headed downstairs to meet up with his team.
When he entered the common room, he was greeted with sights and sounds that nearly stunned him. The room had enlarged in an extreme fashion. There were now, quite literally, thousands of tables spanning the room. And most of the tables were full of people eating and drinking. They were all dressed in simple clothes and appeared to be in great spirits, laughing and joking with each other.
When he stepped out into the room, a sharp tone rang out across the room and all conversation stopped. Every eye in the room turned towards him in near silence. The only sound was that of people shifting in chairs to turn and gaze upon him. His heart skipped a beat and then decided to make up for it by racing along at breakneck pace.
A single, powerful, Contralto voice rang out, echoing throughout the chamber, “ATTENTION! YOUR DUKE HAS ENTERED THE ROOM!” The next second was filled with the sound of chairs scraping on the floor and feet slamming down as every single person in the room suddenly stood and crossed their fists across their chests, bringing them to their shoulders in some sort of salute. This was accompanied by a collective “Hua!” that shook the room with its resonance. Oh fuck me.
There were three individuals that remained seated and to a one, were doing an abysmal job at holding back their laughter. Duke glared at them momentarily before turning to the collective room and, drawing on his officer training, shouted with all his considerable might “As you were!” The room quickly returned to “normal” albeit with a bit more life and laughter added to conversations around the tables, and many more furtive looks his way.
Before Duke could make it to the table of his overly entertained companions, a tall, blonde woman stepped into his path. He recognized her as the contralto voice that had called the room to attention. She stood with a bearing that spoke of absolute confidence and competence despite her simple, peasants clothing. As Duke processed that, his memory sparked, and he finally recognized her.
“Aurelia, is it not?” Duke asked.
Her smile was bright and warm. “Yes, Your Grace. I am gladdened that you remember me. On behalf of the formerly cursed legion, I would like to offer you our heartfelt thanks for bringing us back from our terrible state and into this wonderous inn of yours. The magics that make this possible are well beyond any of our understanding, but we are grateful, nonetheless. We have all pledged ourselves to your service. The Thrice-Blessed Legion is yours to command!”
Duke didn’t quite know how to respond but he did his best. “I can’t accept an oath of fealty because I’m not a duke. I’m simply a man named Duke.”
“You command an army of more than thirty thousand soldiers. That is more than some kingdoms. You are our noble leader whether you acknowledge it or not.” Aurelia countered.
“Fine. Whatever. Just call me Duke. The name, not the title. Got it?” Duke replied, doing his best to ignore the entirely unladylike guffaws coming from Elaine’s seat.
“It will be as you say, Your Grace.” Aurelia responded in all dignified seriousness.
“Why don’t you come join me at my table and we can talk a few things over because I have so many questions and I’m betting none of us have the answers.” Duke didn’t wait for a response before heading to his team’s table, smiling as he saw three empty seats. “And Sam, why don’t you join us as well as I bet you have more answers than the rest of us.”
Aurelia and Duke sat down as Sam appeared in the third chair. Elaine had finally gotten her laughter largely under control with only occasional giggles. “Oh man, you should have seen the look on your face, Duke. Oh wait, here, I can show it to you.” Elaine produced the Wonder Window and showed Duke just how panicked and annoyed he had looked. “Oh, yes, I’m saving that image for a while.”
“Aurelia, allow me to re-introduce the team. This giggling delight of a person is Elaine. Seated next to her is her husband, Grat, who is her partner in all things even if he is usually a silent partner. This is Baslin the Best, our resident Archmage. On your right is Sam, the voice of the Lake Front Dungeon.” Aurelia greeted everyone at the table, even suppressing a smile of her own when Elaine produced the image. She gave Sam a quizzical look, unsure of what to make of him.
“Sam, this Inn is incredible. Thank you for setting it up to house all our new people. Are you able to handle feeding them as well or do I have to make alternative arrangements?”
Sam thought for a moment before answering. “I can provide food easily enough, but it will slow down the growth of other areas such as the training dungeon.”
Duke thought for a moment before an idea struck him. “How much Mana does it take to feed all of us?”
Sam replied, “For 32,121 people, it costs around 100,000 Mana a day to feed you all.”
Duke smiled and activated a 100,000 Mana CLEANSE that encompassed the entire Inn. “How does that work for you? I can pop that off a few times a day and you’ll have plenty of Mana to feed the masses.”
Sam’s eyes bulged slightly, and a smile spread across his face. “Yes, that will do just fine. I can even get started on the training dungeon.”
“About that. Your last training dungeon was utter shit. You need to do better, offer more combat to go along with the instruction, and a whole lot more variety of terrain and foe types. I want everyone to be able to fight armored foes, be able to defend against a cavalry charge, to strike foes down from a distance, to strike from stealth, all the things needed to win a war against a more experienced foe.”
Baslin jumped in. “Speaking of which, Aurelia, what is the disposition of our forces? What is our average level? Classes? Skills? Equipment?” Duke nodded along as Baslin laid out his question chiding himself for not asking the self-same questions himself.
“We are a raw force. Everyone is a classless level zero right now and we have no weapons or armor to speak of.” Aurelia responded, her mood descending as she responded.
Baslin lit up with a beaming smile and shot up out of his seat. He cast a quick spell bringing his hands to his mouth. He then addressed the masses, his voice echoing throughout the vast common room. “If any of you wish to learn to use magic or would like to pursue a mage-class meet me outside in one hour and I’ll get you started.”
Duke shook his head and chuckled at Baslin’s newfound energy. “How many apprentices can you handle at once?”
“As many as we need. Can you imagine how terrifying it would be to face down five thousand mages at once? Most armies would piss themselves.” Baslin beamed.
“Isn’t that against some law or other?” Elaine asked.
“Whose law would that be?” Baslin countered. “The king’s law? Not really concerned with that, are we? Mages Guild law? They left me to rot in my tower for decades upon decades. They have lost any right to influence my decisions they might have had. No, the only one I’m concerned with is our great leader over here, Duke. And I know for sure that he’s not going to even think about stopping me. Right, Duke?”
“Oh fuck no. I want so many mages we can build a castle in ten minutes and have long-range spells firing from its walls in fifteen. I want to be able to walk over any force that stands before us!”
“Not sounding at all like a despot. Nope, not one bit.” Grat interjected.
“Big difference there, Grat. I’m not setting out to conquer the world. I’m looking to liberate an oppressed people. I’m not going to rule them afterwards.”
“Then who will, Duke? Who will step into the power vacuum that killing off the king is going to create? The criminals? The next-in-line nobles? How are you going to make sure the next ruler is not as bad or worse than the current one?”
“Um, dire threats?” Duke asked. “Really, that doesn’t matter right now. What matters is that we have a whole lot of work to do. We have an entire army to get trained up as much as we can before things go to shit. And trust me, if there’s one constant in the universe, it’s that things will go to shit.”
Grat didn’t seem satisfied with Duke’s answer but seemed willing to save the argument for later in order to address the more immediate items before them.
Before anyone else could continue arguing, Duke pulled an item out of his INVENTORY. It was a golden sword. He handed it to Aurelia hilt-first. “I believe this belongs to you, General.”
She took the sword in her grip and stared at it intensely for a long moment. Her eyes flashed back and forth as if reading a prompt and then a wicked grin formed on her face. “My debt to you continues to grow, Your Grace.” She stood and thrust the sword into the air shouting, “Cheers for our Duke who has brought us all back from nothing and offers to make us more than we ever were!” An invisible wave of energy erupted from the sword and flowed through the crowd in an instant. Backs straightened, faces grew more determined, and nearly as one, they all rose shouting Duke’s praises.
Elaine leaned over to Duke with a smile on her face. “Yep, got that look too. And I really like her, she’s going to be a great leader for the army. Duke just sighed in response and rested his head in his hands. His moment of exasperation was interrupted as his conscious mind was flashed elsewhere.