26
Leaving the dungeon
“Alright… So what new stuff did we unlock?” I asked.
Lilith tapped her chin for a moment before answering, “Only three things that are interesting… The avatar system…”
She held out her arms and spun in a circle as if to demonstrate her new body.
I interrupted her, “Actually, that’s something I wanted to ask about. I haven’t seen elves here, but I am an elf zombie, and now you look like an elf too. What's going on there?”
Squirrely McSquirrel answered, “I don’t know what elves are… I’ve never heard of them before now. There is a subconscious connection between the Boss and the dungeon; dungeon avatars usually take a form familiar to the Dungeon Boss. Most of the time that means they just look like the same race.”
“Huh… alright then. Still nothing about elves… Anyway, please continue. What else?”
“The minion title system… and the miniboss system.” Lilith said.
I raised an eyebrow. “What does all that mean?”
“Well, now you and I can leave the dungeon, one of us at a time. The minions can get a title, which boosts their power in some respects and limits it in others. And you can designate a minion as a mini-boss.”
“What does it mean to be a mini boss? What does that change?”
She tilted her head back and forth, considering for a moment before answering, “It’s sort of like the minion system. A mini boss gets a power boost and a few rules change in regards to minion room assignments, but they also get a major boost in pay rate.”
I nodded. There was a lot to think about, and I would need to do some testing. But the new options made some sense. What I was really looking forward to was taking a break and exploring a little bit now that I could leave. From the moment I landed here, I had really been looking forward to an adventure in this world, and being almost immediately stuck in a dungeon was a bit disappointing. Unfortunately, that would have to wait until we fleshed out the defenses a bit more. Even if the squirrel was right and the trolls didn’t attack right away, we still only had a bit more than a day to prepare.
With the new information, we decided to map out the dungeon and settle on room assignments first. We kept the six existing rooms but changed how they connected together in order to change the path that the invaders would have to take. As the boss room and the gathering spot for the minions was on the top floor, we needed to move the boss key chest as far into the dungeon as possible. That way the invaders would need to traverse the entire dungeon before they could return and challenge the minions.
Gale's suggestion that we assign minions to as many rooms as we could and then bring them together would be difficult to put into practice. It meant we would need to add a shortcut. Tessa eventually came up with a plan that seemed like it would work.
After the rockfall room, which remained the same, the invaders would have to descend all the way to the bottom of the dungeon. The new rooms slowly led back to the top, where it ended at Mable the cable trap. Gale's workshop was still hidden behind the wall, but I added another entrance that led up into the bunk room. Now we could assign minions to each room except the rock fall room, and they could all run the dungeon, arming the traps behind themselves as they went, before taking the shortcut to the bunk room and waiting.
Twenty rooms with a minion level cap of three was more than we would need with the eight goblins, one hell beast, one human zombie, and two trolls. Some math, some debating, and lots of time later, we decided the best minion assignment layout would be to give each level three minions their own room. Handy, Gabrielle, and Gabriel took three rooms. Level one Gerald and level two Gary grouped up to take another room, making four. Gregory, Gina, and Geoff were each level two, so we set up a level six room by leaving two rooms empty. That made seven. Gale and Terry were paired up, taking another three for their six levels. Ten.
Tessa and Lawrence were both not likely to be fighting, each for their own reasons, but having one high-level room would be good for the wave limit and would allow them to join the defense in the worst-case scenario. The level twelve room consumed nine rooms, bringing the total to nineteen. The last room was reserved as the boss room. Everyone had an assignment, and our new wave limit was twelve. More importantly, if and when an invader finished Gale's gauntlet of traps and unlocked the bunk room, they would be met with all of the minions all at once.
After settling assignments and layout, we needed to explore the new features. I started with the title system. Geoff sat across from me as my first victi… test subject, and I worked through Lilith's instructions on how to assign a title. After some effort, I finally managed to get the message to prompt me for confirmation.
Assign title to minion Geoff?
I didn't seem to have a choice on WHAT title to give Geoff… or anything of that nature, and Geoff hadn't reacted yet, so it didn't seem like he had any feedback so far. With a shrug I confirmed.
Please wait, title assignment in progress…
This time Geoff did react. He stiffened, and his eyes rolled back into his head. If we zombies weren’t so hard to kill, I might be more worried about his reaction. As it stood, though, I was just interested in watching what was happening. His head and eyes kept moving and jerking ever so slightly, looking like he was possessed or something equally terrifying. The entire process took about five minutes, and when it finished, Geoff collapsed out of his chair into a heap on the floor.
I tried questioning him, “Geoff? You alright? What happened?”
He mumbled something incoherent, and I tried again, pulling him up into a seated position first. It might have been a good idea to do this with Gina around… and in a bed. Notes for next time.
“Geoff? You alright, buddy? Talk to me.”
“Mm, ah… am okeh… gimme a minute…”
With each word he seemed to recover more, so I let him rest and collect himself. Several more moments passed before he felt ready to speak.
“Mmmm that was… weird. It didn’t hurt, but it felt like… it felt like I was in a dream, but it was moving really, really fast… Now… now I know more… I understand more... it's weird. Like I have memories that aren't my own.”
He shook his head trying to clear it. “I don’t think… I don't think I can remember quite how to fight properly anymore, though. Like I’ve forgotten everything Gary taught us to make room for the new stuff. I don’t like it… But I can understand people better now, I think.”
As if it had been waiting for Geoff to gather himself, another message popped up and put the past few minutes into words.
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.
Minion Geoff assigned title: General
Title details: Minion can command and lead allies more effectively. Minion cannot fight as effectively
So… now Geoff was a better… leader? And if what he said was accurate, then he had lost some of his memories on how to fight. That raised some questions of its own. Did it mean he could just relearn those things with more training? Or was there some block on him learning to fight altogether? The title system was odd. It was apparently some sort of tradeoff that we couldn't see before accepting that would specialize someone with some sort of information download.
The next thing to test was the mini-boss system, but I was more wary of that one. Lilith claimed it would be a power boost but would also raise the pay rate and mess with the minion room assignment level. That last part was just vague enough that I didn't want to risk it. Not when we had such a perfect room assignment layout. Lilith wasn't able to provide any more details, and our other potential source of information, the squirrel, wasn't sure either.
We agreed to put that off for the time being. Everyone gathered, and we made plans for the last day before the war. The training from before resumed. Now that everyone would be active during invasions, that meant no one had an excuse to avoid training. No one except Gale, who dove deep into trap building. The atmosphere among the minions was tense. Lawrence, the lone human zombie, had been mostly ignored, as too much had been going on to properly bring him into the existing dynamic. Beyond that, no one was quite sure where his loyalties lay. That changed when he approached me at the side of Gary's training session.
“Can I join?” He asked.
“Do you want to? We are monsters..."
His mouth tightened into a line. “You are fighting the trolls, right?”
I nodded.
“Then I want to join. They are the reason I’m… in this situation. I want to fight.”
“Well, if that's what you want… I won’t stop you.”
Lawrence nodded and walked over to Gary with purpose. It might take some time, but there was hope for Lawrence to become one of us. Personally, I needed a break. It had only been a short time since I came to this world, but it felt like ages; I was getting burnt out. I was the boss, and being the boss came with a couple of perks, so I decided to exercise one of those and take a half day off to relax and explore. I found Lilith at the weapon racks looking thoughtful.
“I want to head out of here for a while… Are you alright sticking around for the time being?” I didn't really NEED to ask her, but it felt right.
She just waved me off dismissively. “Sure, whatever.”
I wasn't going to question it and risk someone coming up with a reason that I should stay. So, I hurried to the Dungeon Market portal. Ever since opening this thing for the first time, I had been dreaming of visiting the strange city beyond; it was finally time. I threw open the door and stepped through without hesitation.
Dungeon boss detected leaving the dungeon
Dungeon avatar given temporary authority over dungeon and minions
WARNING: If invaders enter the dungeon while boss is away there will be no way to reenter until the invasion ends
The warning was interesting, but I couldn't bring myself to bother with it right then. I was in a new world, again. It was still dark with no stars in the sky. At this point I was all but certain that there was no sun, and thus no daytime, in this world. The only light sources were lamps that lined the street and windows allowing the light inside the buildings to escape. Monsters of all types walked with purpose this way and that. I spied something that looked like a four-foot-tall lobster walking on two horse-like legs. I tried examining it with my identification power, but nothing happened. That confirmed my suspicion that whatever my power was, it was blocked or ineffective in this world.
I picked a random direction and started walking, just as excited to see the sights as I was to just be free of the dungeon for once. As I moved away from the portal, which just looked like a floating doorway shrouded in mist from this side, I felt a gentle pulling. The feeling was easily ignored, just a minor tug as if a string was tied to my sleeve. I focused on the feeling, trying to understand it. As I moved around testing the odd feeling, a fairy-winged frog stopped as it flew past, watched me for a minute, and croaked at me. Lilith translated through her connection with the crown, confirming that she was indeed still connected, even across dimensions.
“It is asking if you are new.”
“I am... was it that obvious?”
The weird frog fairy creature croaked again, sounding suspiciously like it was laughing.
“Yes, but don't worry; everyone is new once. You're checking the pull, right? It’s an invisible tether to your portal. No matter where you go, if you follow the pull, you’ll find your portal.”
I inclined my head. “Thank you. I’ve been wanting to come here ever since it became an option. This is the first chance I've had.”
The frog bobbed in an approximation of a nod, “Yeah, that's usually the case with newcomers. I see your crown. How long have you been a dungeon boss?”
“A little more than a week.”
The frog froze in mid-air; even its fairy wings stopped moving, and it just hovered immobile for a moment.
“A week? That has to be a joke, right?”
“Um… no? Why? Is that strange?”
“Well, you must know someone if you managed to make it to the market already.
I shrugged noncommittally. It was true that I had some connection with important people... er... rodents and demons, but there was no way I was about to tell a random monster that.
The frog continued, “Mmm, well, I suppose you know about the DBU then. Do you need directions?”
“DBU? What's that?”
“Dungeon Boss Union. Your sponsor didn't tell you then? Well, just about all of the Dungeon Bosses sign up for the DBU as soon as they can. Almost have to if you want to survive more than a year or two. Humans aren't really the forgiving type, you know; kill one adventurer, and suddenly every wannabe hero is showing up at your doorstep. Never mind the fact that the adventurer was there to rob the dungeon or even destroy it.
I’m not a recruiter, though; I’ll show you the way if you want. They can try to sell you on joining.”
“uhh… Sure, please lead the way, Mr…?”
“Fernando, I would shake your hand, but I’m highly toxic, cause hallucinations and all… you are?”
“Rob, and thanks.”
“No problem, this way.”
Fernando flitted off at top speed, looping back and forth so as not to get too far ahead, and I followed. As we traveled the streets, Fernando pointed at several shops along the way and gave a short explanation, really leaning into the tour guide role. It seemed many dungeons sent a permanent or semi-permanent resident into the market to rent and run a shop. The market lived up to its name, and almost every building was a shop run by one dungeon or another, and everything you could imagine was for sale there.
One shop advertised enchanted legendary holy weapons; Fernando explained that if you gave the right passphrase, you could go around back and buy cursed demonic blades from the same vendor. Another shop was more like a temp agency, hiring out all varieties of help, from consultants that would help design a dungeon to mercenaries who would raid and raze human settlements for you. More mundane shops sold any and every type of material you could imagine.
With a city full of shops like this, I would imagine some competition would be common. Possibly even escalating into violence, but I still hadn't seen a single hand raised in anger. I asked Fernando about it as we went.
“All these monsters… How are there no fights?”
“Oh, there are. They just don’t last long. Do you know where we are?”
“Uh... the market?”
Fernando chuckled, “Yes, but it’s not just a place… not exactly. This city has another name. It’s Mark. The very first Master Dungeon. This is the world that Mark became when he ascended.
No one knows where the boss is, or even if he still lives. But Mark is here, all around us, all the time. If someone tries breaking one of the few rules, Mark… handles it. Very quickly and very efficiently. Anyone who has been here for a few days knows not to break Mark's rules.”
“What are they?”
“The DBU has a list posted; we're almost there. Look.”
He pointed ahead where a building rose like a white monolith into the sky.
“That’s the DBU? Why so… big?”
Fernando gave a tiny shrug. “Mmm, big buildings attract attention, I guess. If you wind up here and no one tells you to come here, you’ll still gravitate toward the big, interesting building, yes?”
I suppose that made some sense. It was still strange, though. If the building was large just to draw attention, then shouldn’t there be decorations? Or even signs pointing the way? I hadn't seen a single sign in the entire city. Not even the individual stores had signs advertising their wares. This place would be quite difficult to navigate without a crown or amulet to translate and ask for directions. I was the only member of our dungeon to enter here so far, but there had to be regular minions around as well. They wouldn't have any way to communicate to shop owners. The dungeon market was a mystery for sure.
Soon we found ourselves at the door to the DBU headquarters. Up close the building looked even more imposing. You would have to crane your neck back to see the top even a thousand feet out. Right at the door it seemed to stretch into the sky without end. The doorway itself seemed out of place. It looked like an old saloon door from a western, not covering the entire doorway and swinging freely.
Just inside, the atmosphere changed drastically from the exterior of white stone. The floor was a giant mural map of a place I did not recognize. Here and there a small light shone on the map, as if indicating some landmark, but I couldn’t tell what. The walls were an off-white, soothing color that looked like it would belong in a retirement home or something. The large entry room was abandoned save for one employee, a goblin wearing spectacles, working at a desk, and a tall green monster that seemed to be examining an interactive screen of some sort against one wall. Fernando led the way to the desk and turned to me.
“Well, this is where I leave you. Welcome to the Dungeon Market. If you’re ever in the area, stop by Tiffany's Tea in the green sector. It's so good it's like magic.”
With that, the frog fairy left. Behind the desk, the employee waited with a bored expression.
“Can I help you?”
“Maybe… Can you tell me about the DBU?”