"Yes. Some signs were seen that the dungeon master was ill. Priests and paladins were sent frequently to talk and help him. Then it happens. One team was sent just like usual but only one knight managed to return and he was gravely wounded and coursed. He has enough strength to tell that soul crystal turned black and the dungeon master declares war and destruction upon us. It happened just before winter. The local guild master and commander of holy knights decided to seal the entrance to the underground. Dungeons can’t act outside their domain but inside they will most likely don’t spare any adventurer. Through winter they will gather enough men to fight their way to the core and then they will see what to do next."

"Most likely they will be forced to kill him." Naomi sight.

"Yes. We can see that from the perspective of time. They start preparations immediately but they don’t know about one crucial thing. Hard to say if it was the dungeon master who twisted the minds of some priests, or other ways, but he had allies for some time already. They gathered bodies of adventurers and bandits in the deepest floors resurrected them as undead and waited for the perfect moment to strike. And they don’t need to wait long. Just one month after the declaration of war came a snowstorm. Because, for the undead, the weather is at best a minor inconvenience, they slaughter everyone, at least one thousand people died. The worst part was that they were risen and the ranks of undead swollen. In winter in the north, no one travels between towns and villages. It took four months for news of the slaughter to reach the local lord and two more to inform the king. Northern people are strong and hardy so they easily amassed an army. On the first day of spring, they set out to reclaim the city. But back then they didn't know anything about the enemy. Scouts reported people on walls so all assumed they were bandits and rebels. The first assault almost ended in disaster. Undead attacking tirelessly, curses of fallen priests called themself necromancers was something that no one knew how to fight. So northerners retreated and started reinforcing the walls of their towns and castles. Also, they were looking for a way to deal with new enemies. In the meantime, the fallen dungeon master, future arch lich, sends a portion of its army to conquer the dungeon on the west. This one had God Nedo as a patron. However, even after warnings, they don’t have enough people to fight back. So they decided to retreat. They warned the dungeon master about danger. The necromancer, commanding an army of undead didn't assault the dungeon. He called the dungeon master and through lies and empty promises, he convinced him to ally with Arch Lich. It turns out this dungeon master also was a little mad in the first place. Immediately he starts torturing and twisting living creatures and people to create his army. Soon the first warlocks joined him and the first monstrosities were seen around the dungeon. By then in the far north, there was only one dungeon. It was watched by the god Junos. It was obvious that the dungeon mistress of this dungeon would be next. However, she from the start declared that she was on the side of real gods, and asked adventurers to help her prepare. And all of them, her included works tirelessly. Two years after the treason of the western dungeon she was attacked. An army of undead shows up in the middle of winter. Defenders were prepared and scouts warned them in time. They survive through winter and when summer starts from the south comes an army that manages to push back necromancers. Unfortunately, the walls were badly damaged and supplies were barely enough for the next winter siege. People back then did the best they could to prepare but armies of undead are endless. You must burn their bodies to the ash, bones included, to defeat them."

"Because of that when we fight with them, we try to reach necromancers to kill them. Lack of mana and control from them causes destruction of some of them and chaos in the ranks of those who don’t need extra mana to exist." Commander of holy knights said. He joined them a few minutes ago.

"But that is knowledge learned later. And in the middle of winter defenders won't be able to do that anyway. When the next spring came, and a new army arrived the city was destroyed and there were only undead and necromancers there."

"What about the dungeon mistress?"

"The second army managed to break through to the dungeon and contact the dungeon mistress. Back then she was still alive. Unfortunately, chances for her survival the next year were slim, and forming a third army in the next year also will be problematic. The army general decided that he and his men would be fighting with her to the end. And so they did. According to the last rapport they sent they had decent chances because the dungeon mistress prepared, on the safe floors, forts, and other fortifications for defenders. There still were a few dozen adventurers alive there. But then demon summoners came and summoned horrors, also warlocks brought first chimeras and orcs. The third army when formed was too weak to try to siege, and in the fourth year, they didn’t manage to raise numbers too much either. According to the observation of scouts, we believe that defenders fight one more year." The commander finished the story.

"What about her?" Naomi asked, terrified.

"No one knows for sure. Even gods don’t have contact with her. Probably because of some artifacts created with the help of twisted gods." Serator said. "Her sacrifice helped us to build defense lines further south and stop their conquest. Every holy knight from that day carries a medallion with her, and a general face." He reaches under his armor and shows the Dungeon Mistress mentioned medallion. It was round one inch in diameter and hung on a leather strap. On one side was the profile of a woman and on the other side the face of an old warrior. "It is a reminder for us of our duty, and the remainder of our greatest failure," Commander added.

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

"Fuck. And I was crying about a few bandits." Naomi sighed, a little angry about herself and her being weak. "I wish to have at least some of her strength, but I still can’t even imagine myself killing someone."

"I have an idea!" Paoli broke the silence. "Come I will help you, Mistress."

"How?" Naomi didn’t understand.

"I will teach you how to fight."

"Can you explain, because I still can’t understand how it will help me?"

"It will be like a double prize for one run. First, you will have additional knowledge and skills to defend yourself. Your golems and traps are not bad, but cultists know they are weak and stupid so they always attack with a lot of zombies, orcs, and other monstrosities."

"Hmm, you could be right. Fighting with a sword doesn't require using mana. But I still need to have the strength to kill someone, maybe even wound him."

"But that is part of the training. Without it, it’s just a waste of time."

"She is right, Dungeon Mistress." Commander agrees. "I can’t predict if it will help you, but learning about using any weapon includes how to kill someone."

"I agree," Naomi said after a few minutes of thinking. "I prefer to try something and see what happens than just sitting. I have done that too much in my past life. At worst, I will level some of my stats."

"Great."

"So, what first?"

"Sword of course. Usually, the blade and your forearm are similar in length. If your blade is broad it could need to be shorter. If you choose something with a narrow blade you can elongate the blade. The handle is important because it helps balance the sword. But it also adds weight. The warrior usually needs to try a few different swords before he finds something for him. Overall it needs to feel right. And keep simple, Mistress, no enchantments and magic."

"Ok." Naomi nodded and concentrated for some time. She tried several typical designs until she settled on a typical sword. The base is wide and the blade slowly tapers towards the end. The end itself was a little pointy for piercing through gaps in the armor. "I have it. So now shield I guess?"

"For now a sword is enough. Let's start with some simple swings and moves."

"You know better." Naomi shrugs.

Around them, starts gathering a crowd eager to see how Dungeon Mistress is training. In the middle of the desert, there wasn’t any entertainment so anything breaking routine was welcomed.

While Naomi was busy, adventurers slowly but steadily explored caves on the third floor. It was a proper maze, There wasn’t any clue in which direction you should go next to find an exit. One tunnel even takes you back to the room you exited. Adventurers also discover two big caverns with galleries. Different tunnels lead to the upper and lower levels of the cave, but on both levels are spiders. Dungeon Mistress didn't prepare any way down, however, some adventurers speculated that with ropes you can do that. No one tried, because of darkness and hiding in it spiders waiting for you. Spiders who can’t reach adventurers, because they were on different levels, still observed them and even tried to shoot with nets sometimes. As a map of the floor starts to take shape, exploration gets easier and faster. However, reaching the end of the third floor takes almost the entire day.

Through the last seven days whenever Paoli had time depending on her delving schedule, Naomi was teched by her about swordfighting. After the third day, all the adventurers get bored watching them, especially since nothing is happening to the wife of the Guild Master. She didn’t get cursed by gods, or something for pushing and tripping Dungeon Mistress.

“Paoli, can I ask you something?” Naomi said when she rested a little after today's lessons.

“sure thing, Mistress,” Paoli said. After seven days she was much more open to Naomi but never forgot to be respectful.

“Don’t get scared or take me wrong. I like your lessons and hope, soon I will learn skills for sword fighting. However, when do you plan to tell me you don’t teach me normal sword fighting?”

“What… how…” Paoli was surprised. “I’m sorry Dungeon Mistress. It seems I got carried away. Are you not angry at me?” She was embarrassed.

“Of course not.” Naomi smiled. “I need to confess too. I was trying to use a shield yesterday.”

“That is good. I don’t do that yet because I wanted you, Mistress, to get used to the sword, and well, I forget myself. How does it go?”

“Terribly.” Naomi laughs.” “I asked one of my spiders to help me. They have long legs so I presumed it could imitate sword strikes. Even when I managed a properly positioned shield to make a hit slide, and be sure that I was standing firm I still landed on my butt. And he didn't even try to hit me with his full force.”

“First thing you were probably doing something wrong even if your instinct guided you properly, Mistress.” Paoli was smiling amused by Naomi's story. “Second thing, you are small and light. You need a sturdy and strong body for taking hits and people usually wear armour sometimes a lot of it. We can try to include shields, but after your story, Mistress, I suspect my fighting style would suit you better.”

“Don’t get hit in the first place.” Naomi laughed. “I tried that too and it went much better. I'm no match to my spiders, but it was less embarrassing.”

“Spiders have a lot of eyes, and who knows what other senses. Below master level, no one tries to fight giant spiders. And when we need to we do that from afar and with fire magic.”

“Right. There is only one true rule for the fight. No rules. Cheating is not only allowed but mandatory.” Naomi smiled.

“Exactly. Duels are fine if you want to keep your body fit and ready. But I haven't heard even one story where a duelist wins against a real warrior.”

“I heard a similar story in my world.” Naomi nods. “Anyway, tomorrow I will start working on my fourth floor so we will have a break for a few days.”

“No problem, Mistress.”