The next morning, an all-elf Challenger group who called themselves 'The Briar Thorns' were attempting to get in an early run on the dungeon, and having an unusually difficult time of it.
"What do you mean, 'closed'? Dungeons can't close!" The group's leader, a man carrying twin blades made of enchanted wood, shouts up at the door before him.
Doorman does his best to explain in a conciliatory fashion. "Ah, well, you see, the Master of the Dungeon had a rather difficult evening last night, and has declared that today is 'a day off'. So good news! You get to go back home and relax!"
A woman in dark leather grumbles. "What? We were preparing and relaxing for the past couple days! This is our dungeon run day! ...How does a dungeon even have a rough night, anyhow?"
"Don't know what to tell you, just poor timing on your part, I suppose."
A second woman in red mage robes glares at the door, fire in her eyes. "I really don't think you get an option, Guardian. You can't just not let people into the dungeon."
Rolling his eyes, Doorman listens to something for a moment before responding. "Okay, here's what we can do for you. We'll give you a free loot sampling, of Floor One, Two, and Five items, if you promise to go away. Also, you can't tell anyone else about the freebies, the Master doesn't wish for a 'trick or treat' situation to develop."
The leader tilts his head. "What's a 'trick or treat' situation?"
"Don't know, actually! Good question, you have stumped me with your riddle! And since the riddle has been failed, the door is locked."
A second elvish man in a cleric's garb gasps out loud. "What!? That's - that's not at all how riddle locks work!"
"Look, do you want the free loot or not?"
The leader looks around at his group, and at the collection of nods and shrugs, turns back to the door. "...I suppose we'll take it, Guardian."
"Excellent! Now, what's your preferred size of buttplug?"
"...Small?"
"And here I thought we'd begun attracting bolder Challengers..."
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While Xenia had spent a lot of time staring at intrusion reports over the past three months, including more than a few that followed the deaths of one or more intruders, few had received glares like the one floating before her now.
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INTRUSION SCORE:
MORTALS SLAIN: 3
MORTALS ESCAPED: 1
NEW RESOURCE PATTERNS GATHERED:
BONE (DRACONIC)
SILVER (STANDARD QUALITY)
NEW CONSTRUCT PATTERN QUALITIES ACQUIRED/UPGRADED:
SLIMES, NON-SAPIENT: B+
DRAGONS: F
STAFFS: C-
KNIVES: C+
METAL ARMOR: B-
LEATHER ARMOR: B-
HAMMERS/MACES: D-
CURRENCY (DOMAIN): C
SLIME MATERIAL ACCESSORIES: C
POTIONS: B-
POISONS: C+
SILVER CONSTRUCTS: D-
LIMITED ITEMS OBTAINED:
MORTAL SOULS: 3
1 UNABSORBABLE ITEM ADDED TO INVENTORY: 1 RUNESPELL ORB
MANA CAP INCREASED BY 8 TO 186 (45 CONSUMED BY CONSTRUCTS)
MANA ACQUIRED: 10, CURRENT AMOUNT: 141/141
KNOWLEDGE OBTAINED:
SKILLS: SLIME REGENERATOR (ADVANCED), SLIME REVIVER (EXPERT), DESERT SCOUT (ADVANCED), CANYON SHADOW (EXPERT), THUNDERBOLT HAMMER (EXPERT)
UNCLASSED SPELLS: SPIRIT AVATAR (MINOR)
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ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: DRAGON SLAYER 1
YOU HAVE SLAIN YOUR FIRST DRACONIC. MANA SPELL EFFECTIVENESS ON DRACONICS INCREASED BY 25%.
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ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: NECROMANCER 2
YOU HAVE SLAIN AT LEAST FIVE MORTALS WITH UNDEAD MONSTERS. UNDEAD DEAL 10% MORE DAMAGE.
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"What a fucking waste." The sound echoes around a table filled with occupants, but only Guy hazards a response.
"Is it? The avatar spell alone seems like a massive win! And while the items Lady Darktouched gave us weren't quite the same massive boost as they were on her first visit, this is still the biggest gain we've had in weeks! I mean - dragons! And a boost to our slimes!"
Xenia waves them off with an irritated growl. "I ain't talking about the loot, Guy. I'm talking about the lives. The Dragonlord threw away loyal soldiers just to fuckin' test us, I still can't believe it! I mean...when they had Lollyp 'join up' the first time around, that made a kind of sense. Everyone volunteered, it was the best of bad options and all that. But this...and god, I'm so sorry you went through that, Lollyp."
The slime nods from her seat down the table. "Yeah...me too. I mean...we shouldn't dwell on it. It's not exactly like we just stumbled on Pullyp in a street somewhere and got into a fight, right? He came to us. He knew we'd have to fight, and that it wasn't just gonna be a fun spar. I just...dammit. He'd trained up! He was an Expert now! He...he probably coulda had a few more years left, and now..."
Xenia gets up from her seat and walks over, taking Lollyp in a hug from behind. She accepts it, silently, one hand resting on Xenia's arm, and the two stay like that for a minute or two before Xenia speaks. "Your old boss is kind of a dick, Lolly Pop."
Lollyp seems uncertain how to respond. "It's...I mean, it's not like it's that much of a surprise. When you're a soldier, you fight for your country, you die for your country if you have to. Sometimes people go on missions they're not likely to ever come back from. I knew that before I even came here. I guess it's just different now that I'm part of the mission that people aren't coming back from."
From across the table, Sincere voices a thought. "Unlike most military missions...death wasn't exactly a failure in this case. You helped prove the dungeon's strength, and that we can be of value to the Dragonlord. Even now, you still serve your country in some respect, wouldn't you say?"
"I guess. Except it's not like they even asked me or anything! I mean, if they wanted like, a report on how we were doing here, I woulda written one up for Lady Darktouched to take back with her! But it's like they've, I dunno, written me off or something. I'm not a soldier anymore...just a normal dungeon monster."
Leaning over, Xenia offers some comfort in Lollyp's ear. "Nah, you're not just a normal dungeon monster - you're a great dungeon monster. And you've been doing great here."
The slime chuckles despite herself. "Gee, thanks, Xen. You do say the nicest things sometimes."
At the end of the table, DEATH OF RABBITS raises a hand. "FORGIVE ME FOR REQUIRING CLARIFICATION, BUT WHY ARE WE WORKING WITH THIS DRAGONLORD AGAIN? IF HE IS 'KIND OF A DICK' AND ALL THAT?"
Xenia sighs as she returns to her seat. "Well, at first it was just kind of a deal with no downsides, you know? I mean, yeah, it was bad for the dudes we were killing, but we'd be trying to kill them even if we hadn't made the deal. But now? If the Dragonlord knows that we're digging into the old ruins and is still claiming ownership of the place, then our options are either 'keep them happy' or 'stop using the place for free floors', and honestly I'm not even sure whether or not it's too late for the latter. Tough as that test was, it was still them using kid gloves with us, and Cerise could have really blasted the core if she'd really wanted to. I mean, I had one or two more cards left I could've played, but it was close. We piss them off, and the next party's probably a pack of Supremes or something and we're all dead."
Sincere mumbles a little in thought before speaking up. "Mhmm...what does this require that we actually do, though? As you said, we would be attempting to kill Challengers regardless. The deal doesn't even require that we go easy on the odd kobold or demon who comes through here."
"Just a bit of extra pressure, I guess. Normally a dungeon might just want a high kill rate for the prizes it brings in, but now we got us a micro-manager leaning over our shoulders and demanding vague productivity goals or some shit. We're probably gonna want to keep higher than that ten percent average maiming-and-fatality rate Lollyp's told me about, and...fuck, I dunno, do in an Expert or higher once a month or something? I mean, we haven't even been getting that many of those, and the last pack was the Church and I'd rather not piss them off, either." Xenia rubs her palms into her eyes. "Goooooodddd...Dragonlord, Alizz, churches, militaries...I thought I was my own boss around here, instead we've got all these people we need to keep balanced and happy, while murdering a bunch of dudes on the reg."
The demon smirks slightly. "I'll admit, the job of being a dungeon master does seem to be far more complex than I ever thought it would be. An interesting lesson to learn. But! Perhaps it is time we began planning our next moves, yes? Personally, I feel rather satisfied with our fourth floor as it currently stands, and it is currently responsible for...what, three of the five Expert-class kills we currently have to our name? With Lollyp taking credit for the others. Is it time we began laying out our plans for Floor Six, now that we have it available to us?"
Xenia sits back up straight, suddenly refocused. "Right! Floor Six, I had some ideas for that! Good thing is, we don't have to put the new floor in the same spot the old dungeon floor was at or anything. I think it's time we finally start making use of that creepy-ass abyss we've got next door."
Lollyp sits up a little straighter herself, interested in the change of topic. "Oh, right, I forgot that we were gonna do something with that at some point, yeah! It's way too big to claim the entire thing as a floor though, right? So how are we gonna start off?"
After clearing some snacks off of the table, Xenia begins to reshape the stone into a scale model of the nearest side of the mountain's internal canyon. "Alright, so I was thinking we start with a tunnel coming out from Floor Four, which would come out here..."
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Far away, Lady Cerise Darktouched trembled. Not out of any true fear - the woman was confident that she had performed her task to the best of her ability, and even if she hadn't, summary executions for poor behavior were quite rare these days. No, she trembled because for the first time in her decades of service, she had been called to a private audience with her sovereign.
Not that she actually saw them, of course. While the elder dragon could shapeshift, they enjoyed keeping the world guessing as to what their appearance actually was at any given time, and so several layers of thin curtains stood between her and the towering figure. The torches around the throne room chamber did at least provide enough light for her to make out an outline, and give her a vague idea of their movements, but their expression was unreadable which only increased Cerise's anxiety as she finished her report. "...and after confirming the dungeon master's good intentions, I presented her with our gifts, as planned."
The Dragonlord's voice rumbles as they sit upon their throne. "An interesting outcome, I would say. You proved our reach, by laying your hands on the core. Yet at the same time the dungeon slew the majority of your party, proving that it, too, was stronger than I had expected. Personally, I had thought there to be a half-chance the dungeon would fail to kill any of you, and even if it did, I thought it likely there would be only one at most. Three, including a draconic...perhaps Xenia Worthy does have the strength she claims to possess." The shadow of a hand waves behind the curtains. "But, enough of the factual reporting. What are your impressions of the dungeon now, Emissary? Any changes from your first visit?"
Cerise pauses, thinking before she answers. While she does have a certain...fondness for the dungeon spirit, and hesitates for a moment to potentially spill her secrets, when faced with her sovereign the hesitation is only for a moment. "I...would actually like to expand on a note I filed in my initial report. On our first visit, Xenia made several comments indicating she was older than we thought she was. Last evening however, she made a statement implying that she was not only older, but...perhaps had not always been in her current location? Or had perhaps not always been a dungeon at all? I struggle to make sense of what she said. I regret not pressing the issue further at the time, my lord."
Amused, the Dragonlord laughs, a sound that echoes across the stony chamber. "Ha! No need to worry your mind on that mystery, my Emissary, it is solved. Xenia Worthy is a reincarnator."
Cerise's eyes go wide. "A - what? A reincarnator? Like her own floor bosses are?"
"No, no, far more than that. I have had the...pleasure of seeing hints of some of her past lives, and they make for quite entertaining viewing. I believe that that is why Kahlia has taken such an interest in the dungeon, that blasted divine. Such things are part of her domain, after all."
"I...see. Does that impact our relationship with the dungeon spirit?"
The shadow makes a dismissive motion. "Given that she has passed my test, we shall give her some leeway for now. The insights I gain as she attempts to lay claim to my property are potentially informative. Between her past, the power upon which she sits, and the attention of heavenly interlopers, her potential is...significant. She will require more attention than the usual dungeon, however, certainly. First, prepare an accelerated schedule for visitations. Secondly...we require a closer eye on the place than our usual network of informants."
Cerise nods. "Yes, it was unfortunate we were unable to acquire a full report of the Church of Bounty's visit before we made our intrusion, particularly of the fourth floor. Do you have a specific order, my sovereign?"
The shadow nods. "Indeed I do. Examine the roster of Challengers native to the Domain, and determine who is loyal to our nation. I wish for you to put together a party..."