This is Priest energy! One of the dungeons exclaimed as they analyzed the structure of the slimes. Immediately, a number of calls rang out through the network.
Who possesses Priest levels?
No, Bard and Knight work, too!
Do any of us have those? The dungeons were all capable of naturally gaining levels, as Dale had purchased them long ago as an official race. However, the Knight class required the user to swear fealty to someone. Meanwhile, the most common method of training as a bard was to put on performances that emotionally moved people.
Of course… neither of these methods were exactly available options to dungeons. Under normal circumstances, that is. I am a Knight.
The voice that spoke out was the dungeon that rested beneath the capital of the elven city. Long ago, when the existence of the dungeon cores had first been revealed, the queen of the time had gone into the dungeon with a group of troops. She had spoken to the core by using the quest system to relay messages.
‘If you want to live within my kingdom, swear yourself to the throne. We will protect and nurture you, and you will do the same for us.’ This was what the queen had ultimately told him. As this was long before the Akashic network arose, there was little that the core could do but agree. It was the only dungeon in all of history that had chosen to become a knight, serving generations of queens until the kingdom rose into an empire.
By now, the core itself doubted if the current Empress even remembered that she had a secret knight resting beneath her city, or if she simply thought that it was a convenient and friendly dungeon. Either way, this was good. The dungeons soon realized that, while nearly every dungeon was also a priest of Aurivy, the priests only channeled divine powers from above. They needed a knight to teach them to control their own divinity.
The first step… you must take a Master. The core instructed them, leaving many dungeons dumbfounded.
What is a master? Is it a type of monster? Can we summon it?
Let me explain…
Empress Margold sat before her desk, looking over her paperwork. There were numerous trade agreements needing to be finalized with the newest layer of Fyor, the Fire Nation as they were calling themselves due to the perpetual flames hovering over their heads. Even if there was not some obscene material such as the power stone within that land, the simple resources such as wood or stone were valuable exports. These materials had been grown in an area of far greater gravity, ensuring that even the weakest tree within that land would be as strong as Earth’s mightiest Iron Oak.
As she reviewed the requested price for these materials, Margold felt a gentle mana wash over her. Immediately, she became alert, standing from her chair. The empress watched a being appearing in front of her, one which seemed to be an elf. Only… something felt wrong about it. Its eyes felt empty, its expression neutral.
The figure had short, black hair and a slim build. Its facial structure was practically textbook, with almost no defining characteristics to speak of. It was undoubtedly an elf, but more like the first thing you’d imagine when thinking of an elven male.
“My Empress.” The figure spoke in a neutral, steady voice as it offered a bow. “I do not believe we have met in person.”
“You are… no, you can’t be Juraxis, that wasn’t spiritual energy I felt.” She muttered, before her eyes went wide. “The dungeon sent you.”
“Correction, my Empress, I am the dungeon. In order to create this avatar, I temporarily extended my reach into your palace. As our localized mana fields no longer cause interference in any of your abilities, I deemed it a suitable method to contact you.”
Hearing the figure’s words, the empress furrowed her brow. Indeed, she was aware of the dungeon’s presence. And in some part of her mind, she even knew of its loyalty. But she had never seen a reason to meet it directly, causing the thought to slip to the back of her mind. “And what is it that has made you come here today?”
“I have come to deliver a message, on behalf of my brethren throughout the known worlds.” The avatar spoke in that same tone, without a single change of inflection. “I have been chosen to announce the start of the Dungeon Master Trials, as I am the one with the most suitable method of doing so.”
“Dungeon Master Trials…?” Margold asked in confusion, unable to interpret the meaning behind the core’s words.
“That is correct. Effective immediately, every dungeon core in existence will begin to monitor the adventurers that enter them. Once they find suitable candidates, each core will then swear loyalty to the adventurer they have chosen, appointing them as the Dungeon Master. The Dungeon Master will have the same authority over their dungeon that you have over myself.”
“However, there are a number of rules which must be followed for this trial. No dungeon core is to be destroyed in the process of the event. If this rule is breached, the offender will be blacklisted from the entire event, and all Dungeon Masters will be encouraged to fight them to avenge our brethren.”
“Secondly, each dungeon has been tailored to fit the level of the master that they are looking for. If a candidate appears that is of too high a level, and they are able to sweep through the dungeon with ease, they will not be chosen.”
“Finally, the safety of the Dungeon Master shall be guaranteed within the dungeon under the same stipulations as the core itself. Should a master be killed outside of their dungeon, we will have no way to know the culprit, nor will their title be passed to the killer. The core will simply begin the selection process once again.”
Closing its eyes, the dungeon offered another bow towards the Empress. “These are the regulations of the Dungeon Master Trials. If they are not announced publicly within three days, I am to take measures to spread the word myself. Limiting the participants to only the elites of the elven nation would defeat the purpose of these Trials.”
“And what is that purpose, exactly?” The empress asked, barely able to maintain the calm in her voice. She was worried that her guards would sense the mana that had spread and allowed the avatar to appear here, but she knew that this was too good of an opportunity to miss.
“We seek the betterment of our race, and in so doing wish to offer benefits to those who would aid us.” The core spoke honestly. The empress opened her eyes in shock once again. Not at the answer, but at the fact that the answer was true. As a priestess of Irena, she had asked that question entirely to probe the core and see if it would give an honest answer. The fact that it had done so lowered her suspicions a great deal.
“I understand.” She nodded her head. “I will personally make the announcement at first light tomorrow.”
“You have my thanks.” The avatar said with a nod off its own. “And, may I congratulate you on becoming the first Dungeon Master.”
As soon as the words fell, the empress saw a panel appearing in front of her. It was an achievement, the Dungeon Master achievement.
In a way, the dungeon cores were manipulating the system itself, though not intentionally. Achievements were granted based on a number of factors, the largest being the ‘thoughts’ of a large group of individuals. If a task was seen as incredibly difficult in one area, such that its completion was truly remarkable, it would be natural for it to award an achievement. However, if that same task was performed in an area where it was seen as mundane, there would be no reward.
Similarly, if a large group of people unanimously decided to address someone by a title, that title would become an achievement. Almost every national leader had such an achievement to represent their status, such as Margold having an achievement known as Empress.
Given that the dungeon cores had unanimously agreed to the choosing of a Dungeon Master, this then created an achievement that they could give out by acknowledging their chosen candidate. While they were a largely unseen group, they were by no means small or weak, each one controlling its own army within its dungeon.
Of course, not even the dungeons themselves realized that they were giving out these achievements at the moment. More importantly, this achievement had a very special effect. While not powerful, it was incredibly useful for those in the position. They were capable of mentally contacting their bonded dungeon core, similar to the normal methods of contact via mana.
By the time the empress had finished reviewing the details of the achievement, as well as processing the revelation of what it meant, the avatar had already left. The mana that she previously felt washing over her had faded away as well, with her guards unaware. Unknown to Margold, the dungeon had not directly expanded itself in all directions as normal, but controlled its field to pass only through the walls of the palace until it found the room that she was in. Only then did it make itself known.
“Wait, they did what!?” Aurivy suddenly called out in shock from next to me. I looked over and saw the halfling goddess trembling, half out of shock and half excitement. Her expression couldn’t seem to settle as she processed something.
“Aurivy… what just happened?”
“Something wonderful, Dale.” She said with a grin. “I can finally put one of my oldest projects into motion.”
After saying that, she took the time to explain to me the decision that the dungeons had reached, and how they chose to execute it. I had to admit… it was a crafty plan. In order for them to further their research into divinity, they needed to swear their loyalty as knights. But such a thing couldn’t be done so haphazardly, so they created this plan.
Ultimately, their goal was to surpass their ‘lords’, becoming gods while their Dungeon Masters remained purely mortal. While some could say that they were taking advantage of the other races through dirty tricks and schemes, I had to disagree. The benefits of becoming a Dungeon Master were more than enough to make up for whatever complaints someone might have.
As a Dungeon Master, they would be able to control the ‘loot’ of the dungeon. If they chose to do so, they could turn a dungeon into a factory for producing magical items. All they needed to supply would be the raw materials, and the dungeon could handle the rest. Similarly, they could control the monsters of the dungeon, making it the perfect training grounds for themselves and their friends, or even a personal fortress with monster guards.
All in all, the only ‘downside’ that there was to being a Dungeon Master was the fact that they would likely lose that position in the event that their dungeon either successfully ascended or failed and was destroyed. They would not suffer any sort of consequence of this ‘betrayal’, and some dungeons may even choose to keep their Dungeon Masters after ascending out of loyalty.
“And… what project could you possibly have that would be taking advantage of all of this?” I asked, feeling like I wasn’t truly prepared for the answer.
“Isn’t it obvious, Dale~? It’s my Dungeon Master Project. I’ve been working for months on a system to incorporate dungeon masters into the fold, acting as an extension of my Dungeon domain. However, after I finished it, I just couldn’t implement it. Just another pet project to put on the shelf in case it ever came up.”
Aurivy’s eyes gleamed as she spoke, her excitement evident given that she had even forgotten about the information sphere in her hand. “Before now, the dungeons have never had a reason to bind themselves to normal people in any way. And I didn’t want to just tell them to do it without a good reason, because they wouldn’t understand. But now that they’ve done it on their own…!”
“You’re enjoying this way too much.” I couldn’t help but point out, letting out a small sigh.
