Queen Josla read through the scribe’s report one more time. One of her husbands, General Korkas, reported that the cursed Castle of Blood Dungeon was vanquished and whichever other dungeon managed it was now rebuilding. What's worse, it was being protected by Holy Light. The area under protection was simply vast, which was quite strange. Her second husband also relayed that other dungeons in the area had mustered their forces and would soon march on this new one. Good. With luck, more of them would ultimately get destroyed or at least weakened. She was sick with everything connected to dungeons. May the dungeons ever fight each other. She looked at the report from the treasurer, which noted that the monthly bribe from the New World sect was delivered earlier, pleasing her greatly. Whatever they planned or wherever they took their funds from didn't matter; she was happy to close her eyes on their slavery operations throughout the Kingdom with the money they paid. She did not want to be involved.

With disgust, she ate the bland, thin soup served with two-day-old bread. The famine would soon strike the Kingdom and she was powerless to stop it. She looked at the plans sent by Korkas and smiled. They could attack this lonely dungeon in the north and make it work for them.

Her last sigh was brought on by the memory of that lunatic Uvar Knys. That stupid Orc thought he was some dungeon specialist and wanted to press charges against the Slavers that killed people in dungeons, claiming it turns them murderous. She had to protect her reliable income source, so he and his guild were banished from the capital. She even received a hefty sum of money after the licitation of the Emerald Shield Guild, a former Guild Hall.

•••

Guild Master Uvar Knys was looking at his adventurers with pain in his eyes. They were all good folks, and they all had made oaths of loyalty. When he took over a decade ago, he changed the rules and made sure to expel every backstabbing bastard he could find. His guild was small, but everyone could trust their lives with each other. However... That bitch, Queen Josla, exiled them from the capital. They lost the guild hall and the privileges of adventuring in officially subjugated dungeons. All the others were murderous, and even his entire guild together couldn't hope to survive in one.

That left them with only one option. Two days ago, when the news about the death of the Blood Dungeon shocked every city and guild in the Kingdom, they moved there with the hope of exploring and finding some loot. With luck, they would be able to get some levels before that crazy bitch returned from the north. It was wrong for the Kingdom to enslave dungeons and milk them like cows.

People deserved the fate they suffered.

One of his scouts reported in. "Guild master! Fuellar noticed Slavers and Broken Axe Mercenaries Guild members at the other side of Holy Field!"

"We can't do anything right now. We could try to save some slaves later."

"But if they kill slaves outright on dungeon grounds, it will surely turn murderous!"

"I know! I begged the Queen to do something about that but she is too stupid to see her politics are leading to our doom!" He yelled angrily. "Let's have hope. We still may yet save someone."

"What're the orders?"

"We made four parties of ten combatants and one more with the other folks. Julp and I will try to save the slaves. You and Ikki will stay as support."

"Alright, Guild Master!"

•••

Marie was snuggled into her mother. Slavers had taken them from their home when her father refused to pay back a loan. She was weak. The last time she ate was two days ago. The Slavers gave them some old mouldy bread and joked that it was almost a sandwich. All around her in the cage were women and children. About ten of them in total. One older girl lay curled away from the sides of the cage and as far from the door as she could, continuing her crying that had lasted for over a day now.

Two days ago, slavers had taken her and two other girls away and only she returned. Marie heard terrifying screams that night. They did BAD things to her and Marie wanted to curl up under her mother's dress. There was one more cage wagon with four men who sat silently. She almost jumped when one of the slavers hit the cage with his mace.

"Don't you worry now! The Holy Light disappeared! We are taking you all in. Hahaha!" The cries and prayers around her made Marie understand that what was waiting for them would be as BAD as what they did to that girl.

They rode into the fog for a while until she heard murmurs and scared voices around her. She felt her mother's grip tightening on her shoulders. Right in front of Marie, the Worlds Words were floating, but she couldn't read.

Because Marie was only five years old.

•••

Uvar Knys split his guild into five parties of ten people. The fifth party would stay behind to secure the campsite inside the dungeon. Four parties would try to fight off the Slavers and Broken Axes, but someone was bound to die anyway and then the dungeon would taste an overabundance of mana from killing people. He clenched his fist and ran faster.

•••

Marie opened her eyes and saw some mighty knights in shining armours fighting off the Slavers and Mercenaries with ease. She screamed when she saw a Slaver archer aiming at her, but his arrow bounced off the iron bar of the cage. The archer suddenly dropped dead with an arrow through his eye. Very soon, all the Slavers were dead, as well as mercenaries. The strange Knights took their cages deeper into the Dungeon.

•••

Uvar Knys was too late. But he didn't expect to see this particular aftermath. All the mercenaries from Broken Axe and Slavers lay dead. Some of them were killed by arrows and some were pierced or slashed. He screamed in despair.

"Noooooo!"

•••

Marie was surprised when their carts passed through a huge gatehouse and emerged on the other side. She was welcomed by the warm sun and clear air. They came to a halt on the big plaza, where one of the Knights simply tore down the magic locks of their cells.

•••

"Why did they bring people in cages to the dungeon? Why did they want to kill them?" A voice asked as Knys looked around.

He saw a man sitting on a big stone, looking at him. He was a warrior wearing strange armour Knys had never seen before. He was tall and muscular, but Knys couldn't see the man's face, no matter how hard he tried. Knys replied in a resigned tone.

"They wanted to taint one more dungeon with an overabundance of mana from the death of the people they brought here as slaves. I'm glad they died instead, but still... You asked why they wanted to do this? Because this world is fucked up!"

"What about you?"

"Me? I'm guild master Uvar Knys, a true adventurer and I wanted to save these people! But this kingdom is just as sick as the rest of the world." Knys kicked at the grass in resignation. "I could only act in the dungeon. Outside of it, the law of the Kingdom would mark us as murderers. But it is too late. Watch out!"

A dungeon wolf came close to the man sitting on the rock, but instead of attacking him, it simply lay under his feet and allowed itself to be patted. Knys couldn't believe his eyes.

"Too late? For what?" the man asked, slowly patting the wolf. Knys couldn't even identify him using his skill, but for sure, he was able to identify the wolf as a dungeon denizen. But that man was petting it as if it was tame.

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"This dungeon tasted blood. Every time such a thing happened before, the Dungeon immediately turned murderous. I don't understand this." Knys moved a few steps toward the man and the wolf.

He outstretched his hand and patted the wolf himself to be sure it was not some illusion spell. But no. The wolf's fur was soft and warm. The rest of his party just only got there. He looked up at the man, who softly smiled.

"Don't be afraid. This Dungeon is different. Pass its trials. Show it you are worthy."

The wolf stood up, licked Knys's hand, wagged its tail, and disappeared into the fog. Surprised, Knys looked at his party, but when he looked back towards the man, he was gone.

•••

Knys’s guild was steadily progressing through different sections of the dungeon. So far, they managed to secure two map pieces, two halves of different keys and an empty potion flask that were related to the quest given by the stranger. They were a few hours in the dungeon and never once did they feel like they were in true danger. Yes, some of his people were wounded and some even seriously so, but monsters never finished anyone off. All of his people were surprised. It's not what they got used to living in this world. But this was what all of them had dreamt about.

"Master, are you sure this dungeon tasted blood?"

"Yes, Lanka. I saw the bodies!"

Lanka laughed, tending her wounds with the makeshift bandages as she ran out of mana already. The bite from the rat was painful, but beyond that, she would live. The loot they got here so far was the best loot she had ever seen in her life.

There were plenty of copper coins, health potions, and even some food. The monsters around here were low-level, but she was as well. She was only level five, and she started to think she would manage to gain level six before the Queen's army or forces of other dungeons started attacking this new one. However... Lanka looked at the slightly curved section of the wall, disappearing into the fog. So far, they hadn't found any gap in the wall and the only way out was the mighty gatehouse they had entered by. The wide moat and drawbridge had scared them back then, but they wanted to save the slaves.

The guild master told them that the slaves were nowhere to be found when his group finally returned to the provisional campsite her group had prepared. He told them about a strange man and a wolf. He also shared what the man told him about dungeon trials, as well.

They were being tested by the Dungeon, and they didn't know the rules.

A few hours earlier, one of the parties found shattered and empty slave carts. Everyone pulled back for a night, and each party was now resting in turns. Their camp was moved deeper into the dungeon as they steadily advanced.

Now they ate and talked around small campfires. Some of her guild mates swore that they saw groups of monsters in the fog, patiently waiting for their group to finish the current fight and regroup. Only then did the next group of monsters start attacking them. After everything else she experienced during the few hours she had spent here, she believed them.

It was almost fun to explore this dungeon. She looked at the enchanted wall and shivered. A questioning thought crossed her mind. How powerful must you be to build such mighty walls that were only talked about in tales? Her catlike tail touched something cold, and she gasped from fear. But when she turned around, she merely found, on the ground, a vial of a lesser healing potion. She almost laughed before quickly drinking it. It tasted different from any other health potions she had ever drunk before. It was sweet and tasted so fresh. She felt much better.

"Please Dungeon. I beg you to stay this way." She whispered, laying her head on the enchanted stone of the wall.

•••

"Theon, are you all right?"

"Yes, Amber. Nothing has changed. I will not become a murderous dungeon."

She snuggled into my back. I felt her heart pounding hard and fast. She was afraid once again. I now understood why dungeons turn murderous. For every person killed, depending on their level, I received tons of mana. No less than 100 000. And there was even a skill for dungeons to get bonus mana from such kills. I shook my head. Just like that, I received almost four million mana. But I must admit, I was unfazed. After my building spree that ended in the creation of Avalon, this four million mana was like another pair of socks. It was nice to have, but there was no point in bragging about it.

Thanks to one of the skills I bought earlier that allows me to have mana over my capacity limits for about two minutes before it is wasted, I could spend mana gained on killing bad guys instead of wasting it. I must level up that skill a bit later.

I expanded my vault. To expand its capacity by one mana, I must pay four now that my free build has ended. And that's what I had done. Now I had capacity for 13 million mana.

"I heard stories about the Slavers killing people in dungeons to just turn them murderous. I didn't believe that... But now?" Amber was shivering. I know what had crossed her mind. During her seven year run, she could have been captured anytime by Slavers. It was so easy to read these people's fears.

"This is yet one more reason why this world is so fucked up." I sighed. Next time I had to capture the slavers and interrogate them. I wanted to know why they were doing that. I should have done that this time, but I was too angry to sit and think properly.

"Are you sure you are good? That you won't kill people?"

"No Amber. I can't promise you that." I slowly shook my head. I patted a small girl who was sitting nearby on the rampart eating a pear. Then I stroked Amber's hand delicately. "I will try - not to kill. But it looks like this world requires a good old purging. If all else fails, I will cleanse this world of all scum and bastards, be them people or dungeons. And then we will start anew."

"Thank you, Theon. Thank you, my King."

•••

The saved former slaves were at first terrified. Ten women and children: six Humans, an Elf, and three Half-Elves. Of the four men, one was Human and three were Dwarves. All of them were scared half to death.

And all of them were now sitting under the soft autumn sun, eating the food of Avalon.

The Dwarves were apprentice smiths who failed their trials, as their levels were too low. Their masters, instead of helping them to level up, just told them to return home. On their way home from the city on the plains, they were attacked by wild goblins and it was then that the Slavers captured them. The Human was a farmer whose lord sold him for one silver coin.

All three Half-Elves were young women who were classless and at the same age. They were born as slaves. They didn't even have names. The Elf girl was an adventurer whose party barely escaped from the other dungeon. It wasn't a murderous one, but even so, they barely made it out and they didn’t have any loot to show for their troubles. She and her two friends woke up in slaver chains and never learned how it happened. Three days ago, she and two of her friends were brutally raped by slavers and mercenaries and only she made it alive. She was only able to do so because she was a healer and could cast self heal while chained in magic-blocking cuffs that prevent casting magic on others.

There were three mothers with daughters aged 5, 6 and 10. The mothers were a cook, a barmaid and a tailor, respectively. All the children were classless.

What a fucked up world. What a shithole.

•••

But I still witnessed kindness and hope. I watched as Uvar Knys and his guild progressed through my trials. My denizens enjoyed fighting them on the fair terms I set. A few times, the wolves and rats almost got the inexperienced adventurers, but they always retreated before they were expected to kill the unfortunate person. My spiders looked with wary eyes and helped as emergency workers, slipping potions to ones in need or directly shoving vials into the mouths of unconscious people.

Have you ever wondered how a Health Potion tastes? It turned out my apple juice has just a few more healing properties than lesser health potions that were still available for people outside dungeons. The spiders used it to discreetly heal a few almost-dead adventurers.

Knys’s group started regrouping and pulled toward one of my walls. They used some sticks and strings with attached bells to build some kind of fence and they took turns giving themselves some rest. The three groups would sleep or eat while two were watching. I could order my denizens to hold their attacks, but I would not do that. This was a test, and they did well so far.

Amber still clung to my back in a fierce hug. "Are you really sure you are fine?"

I turned and hugged her back. Amber is important to me. Much more important than I ever suspected her to be. Her presence alone helped to contain my wrath when I understood what these maniacs planned to do with slaves. Amber let me go and smiled with a warm smile.

When my spawn protection dropped, I officially received my Dungeon title from the system.

And I must admit I was not prepared for it.

The girl finished her pear and raised her small hands to me once more, so I gave her an apple. She started eating it with joy, wiggling her feet happily. I saw the girl's mother, who was standing nearby and had already finished her meal. They all ate stew made from chicken meat, potatoes, onions, and beans. They couldn't believe they could just eat something this good. The only catch here was one of them had to prepare it, but Marie's mother was a cook.

Well, I'm a Dungeon. Not a restaurant.

Her name was Annika, and she was a level three cook. She was standing near the door to the guard tower on the middle castle wall, watching now as her daughter carelessly ate strange and wonderful fruits from this dungeon. She knew full well that the man standing nearby had the power to end all their lives in an instant. But she was crying tears of happiness, also knowing that would not happen now or ever because she and others had sworn to serve him faithfully to the end of their lives. She still couldn't believe their luck.

They were safe.

They were in The Righteous Dungeon.

They were in Avalon.