Chapter 22 | Dungeon Raid 3
~~*~~
Alisha flew in the air to her destination in the forest outside of Riverside and to the lake where Samuel and she had trained before. She had to be careful of the Dungeon Master aura detectors Commander Dustin had his men placed. Samuel was present during those meetings and charted them for her.
Alisha came to land on a large tree and she smacked right into the tree trunk. She didn’t have much flying experience and it showed. She reformed into her human form as she recovered from the crash landing.
She arrived at a small hill next to the lake which contained larger trees and denser foliage. In a setting like this with so much life, no one would suspect there was a dungeon here. Alisha used her Monster Sight to see through the ground. There was a labyrinth beneath her.
What was strange about this dungeon was that it was hidden away. She read about this. Every few years, people would discover these hidden dungeons that have been here for hundreds of years. They survived and thrived so long because they didn’t kill humans often and they kept the dungeon monsters from the surface. This also meant it had no defined entrance.
How could a dungeon sustain itself with none of its monsters out hunting for crystals and mana-filled flesh?
She witnessed the answer right in front of her. A deformed monstrosity suddenly sank into the ground. This method of hunting took advantage of its territory while also reducing the monster population. A Dungeon Master’s aura was concealed while in the dungeon but usually causes more monsters to spawn in the area due to the natural output from the dungeon itself. Killing the monsters it spawned was a smart thing to do.
This was ironic for those in Riverside who thought a Dungeon Master was increasing monster activity. This Dungeon Master was smart. It wouldn’t give up its dungeon to her without a good fight.
***
On the days preceding this expedition, she conducted some experiments with her magical abilities. Alisha was training alone near the lake when she first spotted the dungeon under her feet through her Monster Sight. Beyond the dirt and rocks was an uncharted dungeon. It was built with the same material she saw in the Guild House.
While practicing her swordplay and magic, Black and the boy appeared before her again.
“Why are you working so hard? I told you I’d help with the dungeon,” Black asked.
Alisha stopped her sword-swinging and faced her, “I don’t want to be a burden. They’ve become my family. I never had a real family like that before. It’s nice. When I feel the sensations, they invoke within my heart, I smile.” And she did. Blissful domestic life gave her security and stability she required to better adapt to this world. He learned to read and speak the language and had a lot of fun with friends and family be gained. But she knew what she wanted and it was to travel the world. She could now do so with confidence that she wasn’t alone.
“That’s very girly of you to say, Alisha. Cayden! Any comment?” Black shouted over to the boy. He looked away from Black and Alisha, seeming indifferent. “I thought I told you not to become attached to the humans of this world. Regardless of whether there are other reincarnated in this world, we’re destined to be alone.”
“But I do feel attached. Sue me. They’ve done so much for me… I need to do this raid to protect them and myself. That is why I’m practicing.”
“You could raid the dungeon with our current abilities. You can trust my judgment when I say we’re ready.”
“No, I cannot. We’re not going to do things your way. Our mission is not destruction.”
Alisha knew what Black was referring to and she couldn’t allow this fight to get out of her control. Black wasn’t amused by her answers and was increasingly frustrated.
“…Let me tell you what we truly think,” Black begun to explain, “This dungeon is necessary for our survival and is in an ideal location. We’re doing this for ourselves and for no one else. That is our way. This is not for the Altons or anyone. You can spout that sappy talk whenever you please but that doesn’t change the fact that we’re the most selfish person we know. Although you wish to, we don’t care about them at all.
“I know what you fear most. Our time on Earth has frayed our emotions to its core and to the point where we don’t even know if these feelings we have are real. The daughter of a family friend of the Altons was killed and you don’t care. Dozens have died by our hands. We killed three people on Earth by our hands. You’re afraid to reveal our lack of empathy and emotion.”
“…” Alisha stayed silent, unable to deny her words. She felt like she was making an excuse. Every interaction was always rehearsed in her mind. She was always thinking of how the conversation was going and what emotions she should express at a given time. Maintaining relationships for her was exhausting but she felt compelled to after Yuli rescued her. Her thoughts were starting to spiral when Cayden spoke out,
“Everyone’s thoughts and actions are intrinsically selfish. That’s what it means to live. But that doesn’t mean it’s any less real.”
Alisha and Black stood stunned by his words. Alisha believed in those words as truth. His words seemed quite obvious now that she thought about it. But still, to hear him say that meant so much to her. “Cayden…”
Black didn’t expect the boy to intervene and decided to retreat, “Fine. We’ll do it your way. I’m curious to see how you do.” With that said, Black disappeared.
“The hell was that?” The boy shouted frustratingly at Alisha as soon as they were alone. “You can’t let her get the better of you like that! Every little victory you give her could cost us!”
“Is that why you helped me? To prevent Black from taking over?” Alisha said sadly. “What she said was right, in a way. I received so much love from them yet I don’t know if I’m capable of giving it back.”
Alisha chuckled at the absurdity,
“I have no idea why Samantha kept asking me for relationship advice…”
“But you want to love them back. Isn’t that what matters most?” Cayden said. “If you want it and you work towards it, you can do it. This sounds like something you would say.”
“I suppose so…”
“Don’t lose to her,” the boy said and faded away back into her sub-conscious.
***
The most dangerous aspect of this raid was the threat of the Dungeon Master’s ability to manipulate its territory. A Dungeon Master would send a pulse of mana throughout the dungeon to trigger restructuring at a moment’s notice and to command the hordes of monsters under its control.
Mages had their magic but what did she have? How could Alisha counter the dungeon’s traps?
She hated the idea, but Black would be her solution. Black had faster reflexes and better control over her abilities. They were perfect to counter anything a Dungeon Master could do.
When two Dungeon Masters battle, it’s usually when one dungeon expanded to another’s territory or when a wondering Dungeon Master goes into the dungeon of another and start a fight for control. What followed was a great magic battle of brute force for control. Alisha wanted a more humane approach that didn’t rely on this monstrous tactic.
Alisha was still the dominant persona so she should be able to stop Black if anything arose. Having Black controlling her body was odd but it’d only be for a short time.
Alisha prepared herself and made the swap.
Her hazel irises turned white as Black assumed full control and slowly opened her eyes after a moment of pause. She looked around as she used her head to turn and was fascinated by new sensations. This felt right and this change would hopefully become permanent in the coming weeks.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
“Don’t think about doing anything suspicious!” Alisha said in her astral form. “I can switch us back at a moment’s notice!”
“Our objectives are the same. We are one. We think alike yet our interpretations of the situation cause much strife in our mind.”
Black’s sharper tone was noticeably different from Alisha’s.
“Just know, Alisha. We will not be able to clear this dungeon without making some concessions. Do you understand?”
Alisha understood the nature of her request and accepted, “…Do it.”
Black held her hand out and a short sword appeared from nowhere. Alisha was shocked and Black replied before she got a word out.
“If you’re asking, our Expanded Space can take objects out directly if we skip a few of your steps,” Black sighed to herself. “Talent is wasted on the ignorant.”
She jumped down into the ground where the monster got swallowed up. She landed on the ground without much effort and saw what was underneath with her Monster Sight. The monster that fell broke its body from the fall and was screeching as the dungeon monsters began consuming it.
A surge of mana resonated throughout the dungeon. The Dungeon Master must have sensed her. It was trying to swallow her. She stabbed the ground with the sword and chanted.
DUNGEON FIELD
Her mana threads escaped her body, through her sword and to the ground, overriding the existing threads within the dungeon. The elongated mana gem within her sword and the mana thread had a similar purpose of extending the caster’s control to outside the body using internal magic. The mana thread was the same as mana gems, crystallization of mana into physical form. The Dungeon Master didn’t know what was happening and attempted to compensate by pouring more mana into its dungeon. It was a futile attempt. A significant amount of territory was already hers.
This was all well and good but time wasn’t on her side. If she wasted too much mana with a protracted battle, she would lose what she gained.
She created an opening with her dungeon powers through the ground. She used her life-crystal to produce a mana crystal and infused it with holy magic. Although she couldn’t cast spells directly, she could still create one-time activated spell crystals just as how humans infuse their spells into their bullets.
The holy magic gem burned her monstrous body before she quickly tossed it inside the cavern where numerous monsters were feasting. It exploded and casted a blinding light. Alisha was surprised. Where did Black learn how to use holy magic?
Spells were nothing but mathematical formulas, as long as someone knew the magic circle, she could calculate the result and picture it in her mind.
She leaped down while every monster was stunned and created spikes that penetrated them all. She took their crystals for her own and quickly continued forward towards the dungeon core room. What Black meant by ‘concessions’ was made clear as they proceeded and consumed the monsters. It wasn’t just the crystals and mana she was eating. It was their soul essence.
Pieces from these monster souls she killed entered and nourished her, leaving what remained as empty husks. Now, she felt satisfied after a long time. The gnawing in the back of her head was subsiding now and the weakness in her human body was recovering. Ever since she moved into Riverside, she hasn’t been killing much so she wasn’t able to absorb much essence in the past few weeks besides a bit of the family’s every meal. This feeding frenzy was reminding Alisha what it meant to be a monster.
The Dungeon Master sent wave after wave of monsters at her. Some of these monsters were unique and have never seen them before.
There were ancient naturally born monsters. Giant spiders and insects were the prevailing themes. All these monsters had armor as their exoskeletons but Black cut through them like butter with her mana-infused sword. It was reminiscent of her cave murder rampage. She bounced around every surface and sliced everything she saw.
Nothing was spared. If they tried to run, she chased them. Even the little monsters like the bats or rats didn’t escape her. Even if it was a tiny crystal, she had to have it all. She coated herself with a thin membrane of slime so the blood wouldn’t stain her.
More and more soul essence filled her and made her more powerful.
Black took the direct path to the Dungeon Master room to save time. Every step she took, she casted her Dungeon Field ability to take territory. Therefore, when traps inevitably came, she could block the Dungeon Master from activating them. The one exception was when the Dungeon Master dropped the ceiling on her. Black was caught off guard.
The Dungeon Master shouldn’t have been able to control it but the trap was so large that it still came within its territory to trigger the mechanism. The wide corridor’s ceiling fell on top of her along with the weight of the earth above. Black was calm while Alisha was in fright. She raised her arm up and as the ceiling met her hand, she commanded the earth to stop around her.
The corridor collapsed to the ground. It was a trap meant to crush even high-level mages. She stood encased in a crystal cylinder. Black began walking through the stone and dirt as she did when the Imperials did the same to her. She created a tunnel.
The Dungeon Master was getting upset. Black smiled at the hostile aura which wanted nothing more than to kill her and take her life-crystal. Up until the boss room with the tall double doors of stone, she simply walked there unchallenged. The Dungeon Master didn’t attempt to activate any more traps and it had the monsters avoid her.
Black was skeptical, this was easier than she thought even if she didn’t cheat. But Black had to admit to herself that going dungeon raiding as a human was exciting.
Suddenly, her territory was overtaken with a surge of mana. Her reflexes acted the moment she sensed danger. She brought her sword around to block something but it cut right through. She was sliced in half.
It went through her left shoulder to her right leg. Black returned to her slime form bounced away. She formed into another human body and observed her opponents.
There were five stone golems. Their heads were crystal and their bodies were floating rocks gathered around the area. They had double-bladed polearms with mana infused to the blades to enchant their cutting edge like her own sword. Black stood her ground as the golems rotated their wrists and spun their weapons in intimidation.
Black manifested another short sword. She had limited swordsmanship training from Samuel but nothing further than that. She enhanced her body with mana, her internal magic, and impressed Samuel with her reflexes. However, all she did was swing her sword like a maniac. Alisha was so pent up over Samuel’s attitude that Black took over momentarily to hit him.
In close quarters, she couldn’t use her bow so she manifested a pistol with crystallizing rounds she enchanted herself. She shot a round towards a golem and it blocked the crystallizing spell with its blade!
Cheater!
Black sighed as she began her sword dance with the golems. She clashed with the golems and jumped around the place. She used her agility to her advantage. The golems were stuck on the ground while she could walk on walls, literally. Her slime kept her feet in place against gravity.
She kept the golems guessing where she was going to attack since she could jump from walls. She killed them one by one by slicing them or kicking them so hard their bodies shattered. Black wasn’t very tired after the brawl and absorbed the fallen golems.
Finally, the boss room. Black was excited. It was going to be the first genuine DM crystal she was going to absorb. And, it was a hidden DM crystal which meant it was old and ripe. She was drooling.
When she opened the door, she saw it. A DM life-crystal on a large pillar. The crystal was around the same size and shape as hers but was teal instead of her darker color. It was a powerful crystal.
Rather than a boss room, it just had the DM crystal without much aesthetics. This whole dungeon was merely carved out with nothing really unique. How dull. It was a Dungeon Master so dull it didn’t even bother with a final boss or create itself a body.
How disappointing.
Just when she was about the slash the crystal in half, someone grabbed her. Black turned to see Alisha holding her wrist, holding her sword back.
“What are you doing?” Black asked.
“Don’t kill it. Don’t you see it’s in pain?” Alisha explained.
Black didn’t understand until she took a closer look at the Dungeon Master’s aura. It exhausted its mana. When she took over its territory, it desperately tried to retain control to the point where it used up most of its mana.
“Every life has potential and this little guy is very resilient and intelligent.”
Black was beginning to understand what she was thinking. However… “How is this crystal going to help us in any way other than a power boost for us?”
“Monsters like you have no emotion so I don’t expect you to see the value of life or people. I want to talk to it.”
Alisha took control as Black’s whites irises became colored hazel again. The noticeable change in demeanor frightened the Dungeon Master. Her dark aura faded. She was still holding the sword to the crystal.
“Can you understand what I’m saying?”
The Dungeon Master said ‘yes.’
“Okay, then. You have two choices: I kill you and absorb you or you can make a contract with me.”
It asked what purpose the contract was.
“You will be bounded to me and you will serve me as your master.”
It refused. Alisha expected that answer.
“I have seen your dungeon. I like the practical side of it. I like how it’s hidden and how well defended it is. If I wasn’t a Dungeon Master, I’m sure I wouldn’t have gotten to you.”
It seemed irritated by her gloating.
“What I offer is not strength. I offer knowledge. I have seen your potential. This dungeon is filled with golems but my dungeon field interfered with their activation until I came close to you. The way you’ve built this dungeon shows me you have great potential.
“What I offer is not strength. I offer to guide you to be a better being and to free yourself of the role you play in the cycle of death between monsters and humans. I offer you choice and freedom: sentience. I believe we can help each other achieve greater things.”
The Dungeon Master was thinking. It never thought for itself before. It never had a choice. It never considered that it had a choice. Already, this other Dungeon Master it just met had awakened something within itself that it wasn’t willing to give up.
It accepted. Black watched the scene unfold while astonished at the responsiveness the Dungeon Master’s soul gave.
Spiritual magic was magic concerning souls. Alisha had done it when she grabbed Jun’s soul. Her connection to the Network was also an example. Spiritual magic needed something more than a magic circle to be performed. It needed a connection to another soul. Humans that used spiritual magic has connections to spirits.
Alisha placed her hand on the DM crystal and their mana flowed into one another. They willed it and so it became a soul contract. It became a spell etched into their very souls.
“Your name will be GUIDE. My name is Alisha. I’m pleased to meet you.”
“Hello, Madam. I accept my new name and role as your servant. I will be your guide to the best of my abilities and in return, please show me a greater purpose.”