One thing that struck me as soon as the lone invader stepped into Dungeon Master 05’s guardian chamber was that I might need to set aside, at least for a moment, that running theory I had about Eland Karstark being the son of Kevin. If anything, the man appearing through the interface looked old enough to be Kevin Karstark's father. I wouldn’t be as disrespectful as to say that he resembled an old carcass; bald and wrinkled he was more akin to a vulture. An aura surrounded him, one that spoke of a man who had witnessed death many times. His expression begged the question, "Who offended you, old man?" He seemed furious and had one clear desire: blood.
Unfortunately for Eland Karstark, considering Dungeon Master 05’s Guardian's strength, the only blood he would be seeing would be his own.
***
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Name: Eland Karstark
Level: 78
Race: HighBreed
Class: Mage
Health: 6%
Status: In Combat
『Expand』
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The battle between the lone invader and Dungeon Master 05’s Guardian was without the speck of a doubt one-sided, as evident as one-sided encounters can be. This did not surprise any of us. In contrast to Dungeon Master 05’s previous clash with an authority-wielding party that found themselves on relatively equal ground with his Guardian, this current situation was vastly different. Thanks to significant changes made by us between the two invasions—specifically, three human invasions and Dungeon Master’s cattle-raising and harvesting—our strength dynamics had shifted significantly.
Thanks to Dungeon Master 06’s domain, one could say that we’ve gained the equivalent of financial independence from the usual "human invasions." Our main source of GP was no longer man-made invasions that happened randomly; instead, it was now Dungeon Master 06’s domain. The GP harvested from his domain was promptly distributed to all of us to improve our domains, and by that I mainly meant improving our Dungeon Guardians. In just a couple of human invasions, our strength had risen tremendously.
Had Eland Karstark come two or three human invasions ago, he would have undoubtedly posed a challenge for most of the Dungeon Master Guardians. In that scenario, they might have left me to deal with him using my Undead Guardian. However, things were as they were.
Through the interface, I watched Eland Karstark, bloodied and battered, struggle to his feet, using his staff for support. The sight was a bit unsettling; the old man displayed surprising resilience. His clothes were torn, and his body bore the marks of the intense battle with Dungeon Master 05’s Guardian, mostly burns, leaving him rather crispy, to say the least. It was a sight that, I must admit, sent a chill down my nonexistent spine, considering the things I’ve seen.
What he went through was undoubtedly horrible; however, as he stood there, the rage in his eyes was more pronounced than anything else. The bloodied and crispy state he was in only seemed to intensify his fury.
“&%$#@!^ &$#@^%!^& ^&%$#@! ^&$%#@!*” At that moment, he opened his mouth and began spouting words that were utter nonsense to me. However, through the gibberish, I could tell he was furious.
Furious was a very light word; it was an anger that felt like transcending mortality, fueled by some deep-seated determination. Despite the Guardian's ability to end him at any moment from any of its three mouths, the old man seemed more defiant than scared.
Watching, I couldn't help but wonder, “What’s the deal with this old man?”
Perhaps having grown bored of this, Dungeon Master 06 asked, “Are you guys planning on prolonging this longer?”
“I don’t really want to, but I’m kind of curious about what he’s saying.”
“Me too.”
“Me too.”
“Too bad I’m completely unfamiliar with their language. Actually, I think I might know what “no” and “please” mean, but anything else is gibberish to my ears. I guess we should really spend more time around invaders to understand their language instead of having our guardian go for their lives away. It could be useful.”
“That’s… that’s actually a good idea. We catch a batch of invaders, send them to our guardian chamber, have the guardian ignore their existence, and learn the language from them. Do you think you could do that, Dungeon Master 06?”
“Why do you ask me that?”
“Your domain and guardian seem perfect for that. Mine is not. Besides, you’re the main domain. It may take time, so it's better to have it happen in your domain than any of ours.”
“Mph, that might be true, but I have a domain to run. I can help with the “trapping them in a guardian chamber” part, but if you want to learn a new language from just observing, you do the observing, not me.”
“Well, at least I tried.”
“Okay, now, what do we do with this old man?” Dungeon Master 05 asked. His guardian withheld any attack, and the man was still spouting nonsense, which I could infer were insults, as he bore a confused expression on his face, most likely over the fact that the guardian didn’t finish him off already.
As we looked at him, I saw the reason for which Dungeon Master 05 didn’t have his guardian atomize the man with his guardian’s breath right away.
Today, just like it had been with Kevin Karstark, there was no sign of any influence of the authority. Aside from his strength, which was far above the base strength of someone his level, he looked normal. In fact, he might as well have been an authority-less person; it wouldn’t have made a difference. But he was not an authority-less invader. So there, even after two invasions of two different wielders of the same authority, remained the question of what does the Greed and Resurgence do.
This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Unlike last time, where we hoped that the authority had no explosive results, today I was hoping for the opposite. I’d rather realize that the authority has an absolutely busted effect than have it remain mysterious to the point that I’m not even sure if its sudden disappearance was the result of our doing, that of its wielder, or just the authority itself. But things were what they were; I still couldn’t tell what that authority does, and yet I wanted it. So, to answer Dungeon Master 05’s question, I replied, “do it.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yeah. Actually, no, but just do it. I abhor this sensation of suspense all of this puts us in.”
It felt like standing on what might or may not be an anti-personnel mine.
“Me too.”
“So do it.”
“Right away then.”
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[Real-time Feedback]
Guardian, Enhanced, Level 27, used skill: Infernal Breath
_____________________________
_____________________________
Name: Eland Karstark
Level: 78
Race: HighBreed
Class: Mage
Health: 0%
Status: Defeated
『Expand』
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[ ???'s Interface ]
System Notification
Intrusion Report:
Invasion successfully repelled, G.P and domain secured, all interfaces are now available.
_____________________________
Dungeon Master 05 spoke with a strange tone, "I guess this is it, right?" Another Dungeon Master, with a similar voice, replied, "Yes, it should be."
"Then I guess it's the moment of truth," Dungeon Master 05 sighed with apprehension in his voice as he clicked onto the interface to see the reward left behind by the lone invader. This time, unlike last time, I was much more focused, actively using the passive ability of Authority gathering.
Despite feeling it, there was still suspense between the time Dungeon Master opened the interface and the time he scrolled to confirm my already confirmed doubt: Greed and Resurgence was nowhere to be seen.
"Dammit," Dungeon Master 05 cursed, "how, fucking how dammit." I better than anyone else could understand the frustration he felt. It was the second time the authority, like water seeping through one's fingers, had escaped us.
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[ ???'s Interface ]
Name: Eland Karstark
Level: 78
Race: Verdenkind
Class: Mage
『Expand』
Harvest [875 GP]
Vanillé
(Elemental Enhancement / Magical Enhanced Output)
『Expand』
Harvest [42.7 GP]
Store
『Expand』
Harvest All Now [1072 GP]
Harvest Later [1072 GP]
Exit
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"The fact that this was the second time made it even more bitter."
"Gentlemen, I think it's about time we acknowledge that what happened was either the authority's doing — remember we've yet to see or know what it concretely does." I assumed the authority's ability was what allowed it to pop up out there as soon as its wielder was defeated. Being more cautious this time, I had Authority gathering active during the entirety of the fight and paid close attention to the authority the lone invader wielded. The moment he was taken down by Dungeon Master 05's guardian, I felt the presence of the authority on him disappear and the presence of another authority out there beyond the bounds of my domain.
Though I'm not sure of the full extent of that ability, it felt like a real pain in the ass for a dungeon-bound dungeon core like me. Dungeon Master 05 continued on my behalf, "That's most likely true, so it was either that or..." He didn't sound like he liked what he was about to say, but he nonetheless swallowed his pride and continued, "or perhaps it's just the fact that the disappearance of the authority wasn't the doing of the authority itself but rather a consequence of the fact that the domain that claimed the man's life wasn't Dungeon Master 00's."
Thus far, all authorities that have been acquired have been through my domain, the Undead domain. The two domains that dealt with the evading authority were those of Dungeon Master 05 and Dungeon Master 02, so one could easily come to that conclusion; it was simply within the realm of possibilities. And none of us, despite our pride could pretend to be blind to it.
An awkward silence settled in, one that was eventually broken by Dungeon Master 06 who declared, "I'll be frank with you all, I hate what's happening here. I think we all agree on that point."
"Yep."
"Mh."
"Then I'm sure we all want to see ourselves done with this matter already. What we can do so that happens is... actually, if the effect of the authority is as what Dungeon Master 00 said, then I still have no idea what we can do. But if it's like what Dungeon Master 02 said, then I guess the way for us to get over it is to have him deal with the next Greed and Resurgence authority wielder." After those words, Dungeon Master 02 remained silent as if to hear if someone had a complaint about his suggestion; there were none.
"This maneuver will cost Dungeon Master 06 his entire cattle, but since I didn't hear your voice, I take it you're fine with it, Dungeon Master 06?"
"I’m not fine with it; I’m just stuck in a 'it can't help then situation," Dungeon Master 06 sighed. "It'll be a shame to see all my effort being trampled, but it’s an authority we’re talking about."
Considering how game changing authorities can be I could see why Dungeon Master voiced no complaint. Had it not been for me being confined to my own domain I would’ve gone out there myself to acquire all the other authority I could feel the presence of thanks to authority gathering, but I guess things were what they were. I was a dungeon core, my nature made it that I’m bound to this place.
"I’m not even sure what they are, what exactly each of those authorities do, but I know for a fact that each one of these is of great value and is important for us to acquire to some extent, more than what I’m providing with my cattle, which I guess could be immediately replaced should the need arise. So no you’re not hearing me complaining today."
"Your dedication is truly commendable, Dungeon Master 06," praised Dungeon Master 01, and I echoed the sentiment in my metaphorical heart. "Now then, since we’ve agreed on that, the last remaining question essential to everything we just agreed to is, 'Is a Greed and Resurgence-wielder really going to come over for us to have Dungeon Master 00 and his domain deal with him?'"
That was a good question, and for some reason I couldn’t explain it in words; I just had the feeling that that someone would.