After I shared some mana to Alice, just to the point where she would regain consciousness so she could recover the rest with Pitch-Black Power Stone, I turned to the guild master.
“So, it's just Lua now. Do you still have someone who can test her?” I asked the GM.
Dave was actually unable to go for another fight, because like Alice, his mana pool was almost empty, and he would need some time to recover it. Sure I could give him a Power Stone, but I’d rather not.
“No. That won’t be necessary.” The GM answered.
“… okay? Why?”
“Did you not look at what she did between the matches?”
“She was healing people?” I mean, I know what Lua was doing, but I don’t follow.
“Exactly. And her healing magic is wonderful. I’ll admit that I’m not specialized in healing, but I am still quite confident in my own healing magic, but Miss Lucia was able to keep up with a priestess, who was using Holy Magic. I know of at least two A-rank parties that would love to have a healer with that kind of skill, so that in itself is already enough to make her B-rank, possibly even A.” The GM explained. “And if I were to consider the offensive magic she should be able to use on top of that, she is definitely A-rank.”
“... well, you are the one to decide, so we’ll accept it.”
“I’ve also heard something.” The GM said a bit more quietly. “I’ve heard that Alice, Lucia and Rhianna can also use those summoning cards you have. Is that true?”
“Yes. Anyone with the extra skill Card Summoner. And all three of them do have it.” I confirmed.
“So it would be possible for them to summon beings like the magician you summoned?” The GM asked to confirm.
“They could do it, yes. If I give them the cards for it.” I again confirmed.
“That confirms it even more. All of you are easy A-rank. Honestly speaking, at least you and that dragon could be S-rank, but just one guild master doesn’t have the authority to do that. You would need multiple guild masters of big guild branches recommending you for you to become an S-rank.”
“That’s fine. A-rank is just fine. It isn’t like I ask for the guild’s permission to take on the SS-rank monsters anyway.”
“... I would like to know more about that, if at all possible.” The GM requested. “Could you… tell me how they appear out of nowhere? And what are those ‘miasma holes’?”
“They are called Dimensional Fissures. I’m sorry, but I don’t think I can tell you that much about them. All you have to know for now is that they sometimes appear and basically the only way to close them is having my golden giant, Exodia, close them. They also let out powerful monsters, most of the time SS-rank monsters, but I’ve heard they can also just let out S and even just A-rank monsters.”
“... that doesn’t help much. While knowing that is good, it is a little disheartening to hear that no one other than you can do anything about it.”
“All I can tell is that if one appears, you should run damage control until I can get there. Also, the way the Fissure burst open at Oroco city seems to be the abnormal route. I think usually they would slowly grow in size over a span of multiple hours, until it finally burst open, like with the one that appeared in Alewatch.”
“... I see. Thank you for the information. I will ask the main guild if we can get a communicator to you. That way, we could get in contact easier if we do find one.”
“Really? That would be a huge help.”
I honestly got just a bit excited by that news. That would help a lot when I finally finish the WDBDD or the Weakening Dimensional Barrier Detection Device. I can just spread them to the different adventurer’s guilds, and then if one says that a fissure will appear, they can use the communicator to warn me. That will write the Goddess and the System Agents out of the equation, allowing them to focus on other things.
“Don’t take that as a promise just yet. They really are stingy about giving them out.” The GM warned me.
“... I see. Well, hopefully they will agree, given the situation.”
After we cleared out of the battle ground we used for the combat tests, we regrouped in the guild master’s room. After all, that was just the first part of the rank-up test. There was going to be a second one.
“I want you to head to the Green Dungeon. You will have to go quite deep, earning dungeon points as you go, and trade the points for some rue moss. It is an important ingredient for high level healing potions. Get as much of it as you can with the points you’ve earned on your way there, and bring it back to me. If you succeed, I’ll make you all A-rank.”
“Sounds simple enough. Do we get a map, or do we go in blind?” I asked.
“We can do either. So, do you want a map?” The GM offered.
I know the obvious answer is yes, we want it. But if I am to be honest, we technically don’t need one. Because I can cheat. And not in the ‘I have card X to cheat with’ way I usually do, but this time with a legit skill I have. It is called Dungeon Founder. With it, I can access basic information about the dungeons I’m in, even if they aren’t my dungeons. Kind of like what I did with the Nixie Clan’s Hallow Prison. And I did learn more after that, so I can now do things like accessing the ‘cameras’ inside the dungeon and so on, as well as getting access to the entire map of the dungeon, info about item trade points, I can even copy the dungeon’s item drops to HomeBase if I want. So yeah. Realistically we don’t really need the map, but better to take it anyway.
“Sure. We will take a map. How much would it cost?”
“Normally, it would be anywhere from a few silvers to a few gold, depending on the dungeon and the details, but as this is a quest I’m giving you, I’ll give it to you for free.”
“Thank you. We shall take care of this quest as quickly as we can.”
“I’ll be waiting.”
“So… where is this Green Dungeon?” Alice finally asked, as we were heading back to the Sawyer manor, so we could tell Mariina about what happened at the guild.
“About three-ish hours away, in carriage. There is a separate town built around it, but basically only adventurers live in that town, as the dungeon seems to be known for letting monsters run out of it.”
“Why is that?”
“Because it currently doesn’t have a dungeon master. That dungeon needs a live-in dungeon master and they have a difficulty getting any since what happened with Lex.” Lua was the one to answer Alice.
“Lex? … oh, The old guild master of Alewatch. So this was the dungeon he was…”
“Stuck in for over 16 years, yes.” Lua confirmed. “They only got him out after a team up of Rudevik and James, as well as two A-rank parties. A new dungeon master was named at that time, but he ended up dying before more dungeon masters could be named, leaving the dungeon with no master.”
“... and without a master, and the founder dead, no new masters can be named.” I realized. “So the dungeon is as good as rogue at this point.”
“Yes. And because of that, the village around the dungeon was made off-limits to anyone but C-rank and above adventurers. You can get a day pass to the village, but you aren’t allowed to live there if you aren’t C-rank or above.” Lua explained.
“... Brian? You could do something about that, right?” Alice asked.
“Yeah. As long as we get to the core, I can ‘hack’ it and name a new master.” I confirmed.
“... shouldn’t we… do that?”
“No. At least not as of now. We would still need a dungeon master that is willing to stay in the dungeon.”
“... but, couldn’t you change it to one that can be mastered remotely? I mean, HomeBase is a … special dungeon and you can remote manage it.”
“... I probably could, but only if I could get founder access to the dungeon. And I’m not sure if I can do that. I guess I could try, but we might need permission before I do something like that. I can’t just do what I want, whenever I want.”
“But you still do.” Alice stated. “So why not with this?”
“.... because I already have too much work.”
“Does it matter? You’ll pawn the work off on one of your monsters anyway.”
“You are not wrong, but I still won’t do it, unless we get permission for it first. Everything seems to be working fine-ish at the moment, so there is no real need.”
“... what does a dungeon master actually do?” Ria asked.
“A few things. Main one is the distribution of monsters. This would help prevent monsters from running out of the dungeon due to miasma shortages.” I explained.
“Why would miasma shortages force the monsters outside?”
“Monsters, well dungeon born monsters moreso, eat miasma. If there isn’t enough of it in the dungeon, they will want to get out, so they’ll be able to eat something else.”
“... don’t they eat each other?”
“Would dhampirs drink drampir blood?”
“No. We would never…”
“Exactly. The dungeon born monsters are part of the same whole, the dungeon. They rather exit the dungeon than eat each other. Sure there can be exceptions, but that is the general rule of thumb.” I told her. “Now, as for other things the DM’s do, it is mainly to do with the item exchange spots of the dungeon. They can alter the cost of getting said items, thus impacting how much of it adventurers can get out of the dungeon. They can even make some of those items with generation points, so if there is a lack of a certain item, the DM can just produce some.”
“How do dungeon masters get those points?”
“Well, two ways really. They can do what adventurers do, kill monsters and absorb the monsters for points. But they will also gain points for every monster adventurers absorb into their dungeon cards. Let’s use TinaWood as an example. If I absorb a goblin corpse into the dungeon, I get 50 generation points because I’m the founder. If Christina does the same, she would get about 43 points, the other 7 would come to me. And if an adventurer does the same, they would get around 35 points, with 7 going to Christina and 8 coming to me. The point distribution between the founder, the master and adventurers can be adjusted by the way, so I think most founders and masters would take a bigger cut. Christina and I just want to keep our cut quite low, at least for now, so the adventurers can get a lot of points. To build up the dungeon’s reputation and all of that. And I guess it is also important to remember that for me, the prices to make stuff are actually lower than they are for Christina, and hers are lower than what adventurers need.”
“... that doesn’t sound too fair.” Ria said. “Dungeon masters and founders get points for free and have cheaper prices, while the adventurers are the ones that risk their lives.
“... I guess it isn’t.” I admitted. “But as you heard, the life of a dungeon master isn’t always all rainbow and sunshine either. And even if you can remote manage the dungeon like Christina can, she will still have to go to the dungeon to pick up the items she wants to make. That is still a risk to her life.”
“I guess. But still less risky.”
After we got back to the Sawyer manor, we caught Mariina up to speed with our quest. And since we had no plans, we would be heading to the dungeon tomorrow morning. Then, considering the map of the place, it would likely take us about two days to do what we want to do there. Getting to the point where we can get the rue moss, killing monsters for points along the way and so on. The dungeon is quite huge after all, and while it isn’t HomeBase levels huge, it is large.
Also, unlike HomeBase and TinaWood, which are fairly linear, this one is an almost maze-like forest dungeon, thus the name Green Dungeon. So in all honesty, going there with no map would be a bad idea for any regular adventurer. But we have a map, as well as my cheat skill, so we will be fine.
In all honesty, I could absolutely cheat this quest. HomeBase can produce rue moss, so I could just make some with it and give that to the GM. But that might be a bit too cheaty, so let’s go with the more normal route. And besides, it has been a little while since HomeBase, so another dungeon adventure will be fun. Hopefully.
After I shared some mana to Alice, just to the point where she would regain consciousness so she could recover the rest with Pitch-Black Power Stone, I turned to the guild master.
“So, it's just Lua now. Do you still have someone who can test her?” I asked the GM.
Dave was actually unable to go for another fight, because like Alice, his mana pool was almost empty, and he would need some time to recover it. Sure I could give him a Power Stone, but I’d rather not.
“No. That won’t be necessary.” The GM answered.
“… okay? Why?”
“Did you not look at what she did between the matches?”
“She was healing people?” I mean, I know what Lua was doing, but I don’t follow.
“Exactly. And her healing magic is wonderful. I’ll admit that I’m not specialized in healing, but I am still quite confident in my own healing magic, but Miss Lucia was able to keep up with a priestess, who was using Holy Magic. I know of at least two A-rank parties that would love to have a healer with that kind of skill, so that in itself is already enough to make her B-rank, possibly even A.” The GM explained. “And if I were to consider the offensive magic she should be able to use on top of that, she is definitely A-rank.”
“... well, you are the one to decide, so we’ll accept it.”
“I’ve also heard something.” The GM said a bit more quietly. “I’ve heard that Alice, Lucia and Rhianna can also use those summoning cards you have. Is that true?”
“Yes. Anyone with the extra skill Card Summoner. And all three of them do have it.” I confirmed.
“So it would be possible for them to summon beings like the magician you summoned?” The GM asked to confirm.
“They could do it, yes. If I give them the cards for it.” I again confirmed.
“That confirms it even more. All of you are easy A-rank. Honestly speaking, at least you and that dragon could be S-rank, but just one guild master doesn’t have the authority to do that. You would need multiple guild masters of big guild branches recommending you for you to become an S-rank.”
“That’s fine. A-rank is just fine. It isn’t like I ask for the guild’s permission to take on the SS-rank monsters anyway.”
“... I would like to know more about that, if at all possible.” The GM requested. “Could you… tell me how they appear out of nowhere? And what are those ‘miasma holes’?”
“They are called Dimensional Fissures. I’m sorry, but I don’t think I can tell you that much about them. All you have to know for now is that they sometimes appear and basically the only way to close them is having my golden giant, Exodia, close them. They also let out powerful monsters, most of the time SS-rank monsters, but I’ve heard they can also just let out S and even just A-rank monsters.”
“... that doesn’t help much. While knowing that is good, it is a little disheartening to hear that no one other than you can do anything about it.”
“All I can tell is that if one appears, you should run damage control until I can get there. Also, the way the Fissure burst open at Oroco city seems to be the abnormal route. I think usually they would slowly grow in size over a span of multiple hours, until it finally burst open, like with the one that appeared in Alewatch.”
“... I see. Thank you for the information. I will ask the main guild if we can get a communicator to you. That way, we could get in contact easier if we do find one.”
“Really? That would be a huge help.”
I honestly got just a bit excited by that news. That would help a lot when I finally finish the WDBDD or the Weakening Dimensional Barrier Detection Device. I can just spread them to the different adventurer’s guilds, and then if one says that a fissure will appear, they can use the communicator to warn me. That will write the Goddess and the System Agents out of the equation, allowing them to focus on other things.
“Don’t take that as a promise just yet. They really are stingy about giving them out.” The GM warned me.
“... I see. Well, hopefully they will agree, given the situation.”
After we cleared out of the battle ground we used for the combat tests, we regrouped in the guild master’s room. After all, that was just the first part of the rank-up test. There was going to be a second one.
“I want you to head to the Green Dungeon. You will have to go quite deep, earning dungeon points as you go, and trade the points for some rue moss. It is an important ingredient for high level healing potions. Get as much of it as you can with the points you’ve earned on your way there, and bring it back to me. If you succeed, I’ll make you all A-rank.”
“Sounds simple enough. Do we get a map, or do we go in blind?” I asked.
“We can do either. So, do you want a map?” The GM offered.
I know the obvious answer is yes, we want it. But if I am to be honest, we technically don’t need one. Because I can cheat. And not in the ‘I have card X to cheat with’ way I usually do, but this time with a legit skill I have. It is called Dungeon Founder. With it, I can access basic information about the dungeons I’m in, even if they aren’t my dungeons. Kind of like what I did with the Nixie Clan’s Hallow Prison. And I did learn more after that, so I can now do things like accessing the ‘cameras’ inside the dungeon and so on, as well as getting access to the entire map of the dungeon, info about item trade points, I can even copy the dungeon’s item drops to HomeBase if I want. So yeah. Realistically we don’t really need the map, but better to take it anyway.
“Sure. We will take a map. How much would it cost?”
“Normally, it would be anywhere from a few silvers to a few gold, depending on the dungeon and the details, but as this is a quest I’m giving you, I’ll give it to you for free.”
“Thank you. We shall take care of this quest as quickly as we can.”
“I’ll be waiting.”
“So… where is this Green Dungeon?” Alice finally asked, as we were heading back to the Sawyer manor, so we could tell Mariina about what happened at the guild.
“About three-ish hours away, in carriage. There is a separate town built around it, but basically only adventurers live in that town, as the dungeon seems to be known for letting monsters run out of it.”
“Why is that?”
“Because it currently doesn’t have a dungeon master. That dungeon needs a live-in dungeon master and they have a difficulty getting any since what happened with Lex.” Lua was the one to answer Alice.
“Lex? … oh, The old guild master of Alewatch. So this was the dungeon he was…”
“Stuck in for over 16 years, yes.” Lua confirmed. “They only got him out after a team up of Rudevik and James, as well as two A-rank parties. A new dungeon master was named at that time, but he ended up dying before more dungeon masters could be named, leaving the dungeon with no master.”
“... and without a master, and the founder dead, no new masters can be named.” I realized. “So the dungeon is as good as rogue at this point.”
“Yes. And because of that, the village around the dungeon was made off-limits to anyone but C-rank and above adventurers. You can get a day pass to the village, but you aren’t allowed to live there if you aren’t C-rank or above.” Lua explained.
“... Brian? You could do something about that, right?” Alice asked.
“Yeah. As long as we get to the core, I can ‘hack’ it and name a new master.” I confirmed.
“... shouldn’t we… do that?”
“No. At least not as of now. We would still need a dungeon master that is willing to stay in the dungeon.”
“... but, couldn’t you change it to one that can be mastered remotely? I mean, HomeBase is a … special dungeon and you can remote manage it.”
“... I probably could, but only if I could get founder access to the dungeon. And I’m not sure if I can do that. I guess I could try, but we might need permission before I do something like that. I can’t just do what I want, whenever I want.”
“But you still do.” Alice stated. “So why not with this?”
“.... because I already have too much work.”
“Does it matter? You’ll pawn the work off on one of your monsters anyway.”
“You are not wrong, but I still won’t do it, unless we get permission for it first. Everything seems to be working fine-ish at the moment, so there is no real need.”
“... what does a dungeon master actually do?” Ria asked.
“A few things. Main one is the distribution of monsters. This would help prevent monsters from running out of the dungeon due to miasma shortages.” I explained.
“Why would miasma shortages force the monsters outside?”
“Monsters, well dungeon born monsters moreso, eat miasma. If there isn’t enough of it in the dungeon, they will want to get out, so they’ll be able to eat something else.”
“... don’t they eat each other?”
“Would dhampirs drink drampir blood?”
“No. We would never…”
“Exactly. The dungeon born monsters are part of the same whole, the dungeon. They rather exit the dungeon than eat each other. Sure there can be exceptions, but that is the general rule of thumb.” I told her. “Now, as for other things the DM’s do, it is mainly to do with the item exchange spots of the dungeon. They can alter the cost of getting said items, thus impacting how much of it adventurers can get out of the dungeon. They can even make some of those items with generation points, so if there is a lack of a certain item, the DM can just produce some.”
“How do dungeon masters get those points?”
“Well, two ways really. They can do what adventurers do, kill monsters and absorb the monsters for points. But they will also gain points for every monster adventurers absorb into their dungeon cards. Let’s use TinaWood as an example. If I absorb a goblin corpse into the dungeon, I get 50 generation points because I’m the founder. If Christina does the same, she would get about 43 points, the other 7 would come to me. And if an adventurer does the same, they would get around 35 points, with 7 going to Christina and 8 coming to me. The point distribution between the founder, the master and adventurers can be adjusted by the way, so I think most founders and masters would take a bigger cut. Christina and I just want to keep our cut quite low, at least for now, so the adventurers can get a lot of points. To build up the dungeon’s reputation and all of that. And I guess it is also important to remember that for me, the prices to make stuff are actually lower than they are for Christina, and hers are lower than what adventurers need.”
“... that doesn’t sound too fair.” Ria said. “Dungeon masters and founders get points for free and have cheaper prices, while the adventurers are the ones that risk their lives.
“... I guess it isn’t.” I admitted. “But as you heard, the life of a dungeon master isn’t always all rainbow and sunshine either. And even if you can remote manage the dungeon like Christina can, she will still have to go to the dungeon to pick up the items she wants to make. That is still a risk to her life.”
“I guess. But still less risky.”
After we got back to the Sawyer manor, we caught Mariina up to speed with our quest. And since we had no plans, we would be heading to the dungeon tomorrow morning. Then, considering the map of the place, it would likely take us about two days to do what we want to do there. Getting to the point where we can get the rue moss, killing monsters for points along the way and so on. The dungeon is quite huge after all, and while it isn’t HomeBase levels huge, it is large.
Also, unlike HomeBase and TinaWood, which are fairly linear, this one is an almost maze-like forest dungeon, thus the name Green Dungeon. So in all honesty, going there with no map would be a bad idea for any regular adventurer. But we have a map, as well as my cheat skill, so we will be fine.
In all honesty, I could absolutely cheat this quest. HomeBase can produce rue moss, so I could just make some with it and give that to the GM. But that might be a bit too cheaty, so let’s go with the more normal route. And besides, it has been a little while since HomeBase, so another dungeon adventure will be fun. Hopefully.
