I was standing in the middle of time square. I had a jacket on that I quickly regretted putting. The fur is too hot to put on more than a shirt, but I'll have to see if that changes in the winter.
In front of me was a massive wooden door at least 3 times my height. There also was a perimeter of guard around it and a long, long line.
¨So this is the event dungeon?¨
I don't know why I said this out loud since I'm alone, but it seemed right.
I directed myself toward the end of the line and asked a random guy.
¨So, what is this line for?¨
He seemed a little shocked by my appearance. I don't feel hurt or anything, but it's still weird to see people recoil when I talk to them. Even now, I would've gotten much more attention if it weren't for the large wooden door.
[That's why a real forest is better than a concrete one.]
I refocus my thoughts on the person before me.
¨So? What is it for?¨
He stammers a little bit and responds.
¨W...well, it's to try and get i...inside. You have to pass a test and sign some documents if you want in sir.¨
I was shocked. I know I'm not human anymore, but I'm still a lady, more or less. Did I really become so masculine?
I stand before him and respond while trying to suppress my anger.
¨Thank you.¨
But before I turned away, I added with a look of disdain.
¨Miss.¨
He seemed puzzled for a moment, but I didn't stay enough to see if he understood or not. I get at the back of the line and take place.
After a while, a man in a black suit comes and asks.
¨Ms. Smith, are you here to enter the dungeon?¨
¨No, I'm waiting in line at the register; what do you think I'm here for?¨
He seems a little taken aback, but he continues.
¨If you wish to enter, follow me. We've been instructed to let you in without a test.¨
¨Really? By who?¨
¨I don't know the detail, but it's not a singular person.¨
I follow him to the boot set up next to the door.
I step inside and am greeted by around 40 people. This place seems to be the waiting room for the ones who are going to enter.
I quickly scan the room but see nobody of interest, surely because being under level 30 isn't really something to be famous for.
After an hour of waiting, the room is full, and all we have to do is wait for the door to unlock in about 45 minutes.
When there are only 10 minutes left, we are guided in front of the door. All of us prepare in our own way and stand ready.
At precisely 12 o'clock, instead of the door opening like expected, white strings erupt from the door. One of them quickly makes its way toward me, and I try to swat it away, but the moment I touch it, it coils around my arm, and I get pulled towards the door, and before I know it, everything around me becomes black.
After a few seconds, the force pulling me stops, and I crash on what I assume is the ground. I stand up, and all I can see in the darkness is a small counter hovering in the air before me.
[86/100]
It doesn't take long for the counter to go up.
[87/100]
[89/100]
[92/100]
....
[100/100]
When the counter for what I assume is the number of participants reaches a hundred, the darkness is replaced by a white void. The only difference is that I'm not alone this time. There were 99 people around me, but while I recognized some from the waiting room, It was clear that in the end, we don't get to choose who enters. I even spotted some civilians.
Around 50 meters before me, I spot some sort of stage that would be invisible if not for a black ligne shaping it. There was also a podium with the same coloring. Suddenly, a door appeared at one end, opening with a small creaking that managed to grab everyone's attention.
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What came out was a lanky man in his thirties; he wore thick but elegant glasses and some long robes with shades of green, whites, and grey, reminiscing of a wizard. He had brown eyes and no facial hair. His face gave a patient look, and he had a classic wizard or witch hat in the same shade of light dark green. Overall, he gave the impression of a patient and kind scholar from a fantasy world.
As he walked towards the podium, everyone was looking at him. When he finally reached it, he took some paper from his robes, cast some sort of spell, and started speaking.
¨Um, hum. Can everyone hear me?¨
I gently nodded, confused as to what was happening. I must not have been the only one since he continued.
¨Good, well, I'll start by introducing myself. My name is Irion Vatelgar, and I'll be your dungeon master for this session.¨
Dungeon master? Session? Are we going to play dungeon & dr*gon right now? Is that what it meant in role play?
¨Now, allow me a moment to read the setting for today.¨
He starts reading the papers he took out of his robes.
¨Un um, I see... Oh? I see here that this dungeon is the first of its kind on your planet? How delightful. It's not every day that I get to introduce a new world to this. I guess I should start with a better introduction, then.¨
He stepped aside from the podium and gave a slight bow.
¨As I said, I am Irion Vatelgar and a dungeon master. I have been created by the dungeons, and while I am shaped like one, I am not a human. There is a multitude of dungeon masters of all bodies or forms, and we are sent to oversee dungeons. You surely won't have me as your dungeon master next time, but be assured that we are all very professional. Now, my job is to introduce the dungeon's theme and how to beat it. Then I'll be in charge of making sure that nobody goes against it.¨
I raised my hand. Irion looked at me and asked.
¨Yes, miss.....¨
He looked at his stack of documents.
¨Smith?¨
¨Why can't we go against the theme? Is it dangerous? What happens if we do it?¨
¨Well, well, all good questions here. Depending on the theme, it can be dangerous, but generally, all that happens is that you can't reenter the scenario, and I'm forced to kick you out. As for why you can't, It is because it would be boring. You see, these dungeons are like what we call a television show. Do you have that? Television? I can never guess what level of civilization a world is.¨
I nodded.
¨Great. So yeah, these dungeons are some sort of tv show transmitted around the multiverse to the one who can afford it. But you don't have to worry; this is not some kind of freak show where you'll be forced to kill each other, well, generally. I'll give you a tip, the more the door seems evil, the more what awaits you inside will be, well, fuck up. Anyway, there is generally a way for everyone to succeed. We use the most entertaining adventure and sell them for various items that we then use as rewards and salary. It's a win-win situation.¨
He took his place back behind the podium.
¨Anyway, let's get back to the setting of the dungeon. As you already know, the theme is role-playing. This theme comes in different forms, and this one takes the form of an open world and fame collecting. You'll be transported into a world similar to your own but without magic. Your goal will be to collect fame points, which is a numerical value put on your level of fame in this fake world. Since this is an open world, there is no set way to collect fame, good or bad. There are two types of fame points, good and bad. A thousand bad points as the same values as a thousand good ones, just different rewards when we arrive at the time limit. Speaking of, the time limit is 3 weeks. The dungeon is affected by temporal distortion, so those 3 weeks will only equal one outside. Any question?¨
Someone raised his hand.
¨If there is no magic, does that mean the world is without danger?¨
¨No, it does not. I'm not allowed to reveal what kind of danger awaits you. Since it's your first time, I think I should let you experience it yourself. So, good luck becoming famous!¨
With a snap, holes began appearing beneath our feet. I started falling into what felt like a toboggan without time to react. After a few seconds, a light gap appeared under me, and I fell through. I crashed hard against concrete and cursed.
¨SHIT! FUuuuuuuck... That hurt.¨
I spun on my back and looked above me. Whatever had brought me here had already vanished. I took a deep breath but immediately regretted it as I coughed and wheezed.
The air smelled horrible, thick with pollution. I quickly sat up and looked around while pinching my nose. I was in some sort of ancient city, with red brick buildings and nothing extravagant. I then quickly realized that since this world didn't have magic, this city probably wasn't old, just devoid of magical engineering. That would also explain the matter of pollution. This world doesn't have the magic that cleared most of the pollution on my planet.
I stood up while taking small breaths to acclimate to the atmosphere. I looked at the passerby. Nobody was paying attention to me, which was strange since I had just fallen from the sky. Wait a minute... There's also the fact that I'm a fucking werewolf! Is nobody on this magicless planet interested in another sentient race? Calm down, calm down. I thought I had become insensitive to pretty much anything when I became a werewolf, but I have developed a lot of pride. I mean, who would blame me? Just look at me! I'm gorgeous and so much better than the majority of humans. I then remembered the guy who called me mister a few hours ago. I shouldn't have stopped at a snarky comment; I should have cut his throat. Or maybe not; that's a little extreme.
Anyway, back at the lack of reaction from passersby. I grabbed some dude who was walking and asked the typical question.
¨Where are we? When are we? What do you think of my appearance¨
Ok, maybe the last question isn't typical but just like, really? Mister? I need to get over this.
The man was flustered and responded.
¨Um, miss, please let go of me. I don't know who you are, and I don't appreciate you just grabbing me out of nowere like that.¨
I let him go.
¨Thank you, as for your question, we are in Montario on the 17 Aprif 2022, and I would say that you are pretty. Now please, I am in a hurry.¨
As the man went away, I was shocked at how polite this guy was when a random woman grabbed him and asked him a question like that. The first thing I would've done if someone had done that would be to punch him in the face.
Anyway, now my questions have been answered. This isn't the same world as I had no idea where Montario was, and it sounded like a combination of Montreal and Ontario. Now, I need to find a way to become famous.
So, what am I good at?
....
Sex?
I don't think I could become a famous prostitute, though.
Then... Fighting?
Yeah, I'm good at that, and it's fun. What could I do to become famous for fighting? I'm pretty sure this world doesn't have magical duels here since there is no magic. Did people even have fighting sports before magic? I looked around me to look for any indication of that.
[Eh, like I would conveniently find the answer to that around me... oh.]
As I searched, my eyes fell on a billboard announcing an MMA match.