《The King's Dungeon》 Born from Nothing [Note before I start the chapter: I thank you for giving my Novel a chance. I''m still new to writing these, so don''t expect the quality to be god-like. I don''t expect much either, I''m not going for the top rating. I just want the Novel to be recognised as a, atleast, half-decent Dungeon-Master Novel. Sorry for wasting your time with this little note, I''ll start the chapter now. Oh, and don''t forget to google translate all the Latin, things will make more sense if you do -Parvulus Phasma, Author] In a vast, empty space of pure Nothing, a substance that cannot be seen, heard, or touched, a single white light could been seen rotating around. It spun extremely fast, approximately making 50 revolutions every second, and was morphing into a different shape. It is unknown how something like this could be made out of Nothing, as Nothing is known for it''s destructive capabilities, and has never in the recorded history of Praelium produced a single object. However, the Nothing in this space was melding into the light, reforging and restructuring it, producing a vessel that was suitable for storing a conscious, powerful and immortal Soul. Souls are what define a creature on Praelium. Every Soul has a different wavelength that matches the vessel that it is contained within, and this is why it is so difficult to ressurrect something within a different vessel. Reincarnation is certainly a thing, however it is only reserved for those who stand at the top, the likes of Emperors. If something dies of old age, it cannot be ressurrected, as its Soul''s energy will have been burnt out, unable to provide power to the vessel anymore. Souls can be empowered and strengthened, allowing for a longer life-span, and immortality is certainly possible, but immortality is just so, so rare that it has faded from the records of history. The light stopped spinning, and dissipated. Creatures that roamed Nothing breathed out in relief, as they thought of what power a creature that could be born from Nothing would have. One creature spoke it''s mind. It was a three eyed blob of darkness, the white of it''s eyes being a stark contrast to it''s body. "Thank christ, I was ready for a fight. I should leave this area, it seems to be an anomaly in the vast Nothing plains of Praelium. And whenever an anomaly occurs, something bad will always happen. Guaranteed, it is an immortal God waking from rest. That will not be good for the vast Nothing plains." The creature sped off into the distance, but halted. It thought it heard a sound. Little did it know, the light hadn''t finished what it was doing. A ferocious BOOM resounded in the silent plains, a massive explosion occurring. It began creating cracks in space, Nothing storms were forming, and all creatures within the explosion''s radius were sent flying. A blinding light was shining like a lost lantern within the darkest of caverns. A figure could be seen stood within, what looked like a Human. It was approximately 7 feet tall, vastly outshining the rest of humanity, and was wearing thin, purple clothing that was embroidered with streaks of gold, set into patterns that seemed like religious symbols. It opened its eyes, lines of red streaking across the usual white of an eye, signifying the strain and pain it was going through. It had heterochromia, a golden iris in its left eye and a purple iris in its right. Its voice, deep and domineering resounded out. "I am Basileus, Dungeon Master of Dungeon Masters! I am the cream of the crop, the greatest and most revered of all! Bow to me, horrid amalgamations of Nothing, and swear your loyalty, lest I vanquish you with my might that shall rule Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory!"This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Nearly all the creatures in the surrounding radius bowed, showing their loyalty. They were too fearful to even think of disrespecting whatever monster the vast Nothing plains had created. It was unlike any Dungeon Master they had ever seen before, it was powerful from birth! Yet, only one creature, the three eyed blob of darkness that had spoken before, started running away in absolute terror, fleeing at maximum speed. Basileus looked at all the creatures around him, and laughed heartily. He loved this feeling of being a ruler. He looked at all the creatures, his face turning into a sneer, until he saw the blob of darkness fleeing. His expression froze, gradually changing to a frown, to annoyance, and finally to pure, unbridled rage. He roared, visible sound waved emanating out into the vast Nothing plains, and shouted towards the creature! "I can run as fast as sound. The limits of speed of which I am not bound. I am faster than all, laws I defy. I am capable of being able to fly. Yet you think you are able to run? Chasing you will be fun." Basileus took a stance, planting his right foot behind him, and his left foot just infront of his shoulder. He pushed forwards, and dashed, becoming a shadow that surrounded the little creature like a ferocious lion feeding on its prey. The creature only managed to squeeze out another breath before it died, it''s Soul becoming fuel for the Nothing that surrounded it. Basileus began to think to himself, "That felt amazing! Being able to destroy such a feeble thing with such ease, I actually doubted if I was able to do it. Just forming here from Nothing drained almost all of my energy, and destroyed my foundation and strength. I must have come from a world that is above this one in terms of strength if I was so easily capable of destroying that. I sure am glad I decided to become a Dungeon Master before I died. It seems like this will be fun. But, I should make my Dungeon first, and settle down to regain my energy. I''ll have to start from the beginning unfortunately, but I already seem to have a natural advantage over others by being re-born into the race of the Dungeon Masters" Oh how wrong Basileus'' thoughts were. A Dungeon Master usually began it''s life as an absolute weakling, and developed an already made Dungeon that was in dire need of assistance. But Basileus did not have a pre-built Dungeon to start off with. This alone was a natural advantage, as this showed he was a pure-blooded Dungeon Master, likely only the second to ever exist except for the first Dungeon Master that must have died aeons ago. Basileus waved his hand in a motion that was both elegant and arrogant. A button, golden and unblemished, formed in Nothing. Correct. Basileus can manipulate Nothing. Basileus pressed the button with his right hand, and a voice sounded in his head. It was feminine, and did not have any traces of a source. "Beginning boot-up........... 10%........ 50%............. Boot-up complete. Dungeon system level one, Creation system level one, Management system level one and Creature development and Evolution system ready for use. Esteemed Dungeon Master Basileus, please state the name of the Dungeon that will be formed today." Basileus put his hand to his chin, his index finger pointed slightly upwards and directly left, and his thumb doing the opposite. He looked up the the skies of Nothing, obviously unable to see anything. He took his hand off his chin, stood up straight, and bellowed: "On this day, I, Basileus, announce the creation of a new Dungeon! This world, named Praelium, will be graced by it''s humble prescense. It will bePraelium''s greatest, most hated. Praelium''s mostrevered, most feared. Praelium''s most adored, most scored. Praelium''s finest Dungeon, the cream of the crop, the Dungeon of Dungeons, and the one that will rise above all! I hereby name this Dungeon: The King''s Dungeon! In honour of my previous lives, and this life that I have started anew, I promise to create the greatest Dungeon every seen!" "The King''s Dungeon is the name selected. Beginning creation process......... complete. Transfering" A blinding flash of light appeared, and Basileus was gone. Information Chapter [Not an actual Chapter] The world of Praelium is a fairly complex one. I, your author, will be explaining basic worldly functions. First off, the measurement system. Praelium dosen''t share the same system as Earth. It''s measurements vary wildly to ours. Smaller measurements include: Tige (5CM) Gerat (5M) Rea (5MM) Preata (5KM) Larger measurements: Phosphori (5000 KM) Telarunian (5 Astromical Units (The distance from Earth to the Sun))The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Next up, your main dish, the currency system! This succlent system is different from Earth''s and tast- Okay, okay. Put down your pitchforks, i''ll stop with the horrid food joke. Here''s the system, pretty similar to others with my own twist: Bronze Crystal (Equal to around ¡ê1) Silver Crystal (100x that of a Bronze) Golden Crystal (100x that of a Silver) Nothing-Embroided Golden Crystal (1000x that of a Golden) Nothing Crystal (10000x that of a NEGC) Cities and Dungeons are typically worth upwards of 50 Nothing Crystals. Now, for my upload schedule: I will attempt to upload Monday and Thursday at 12:00 PM in England. You can work out the times for your own countries yourself, nyeheheh! Audience Participation: On ocassion, I will ask every single one of my readers what they want to see out of a certain situation. This will likely be every 10 or so chapters. Patreon: I won''t be using Patreon. I don''t ask for any money, I only wish to bring a smile to others. To give that emotion of sudden shock, fear for what is going to happen next, adoration of characters. Will I ever move to a different platform? No. I will be using RR until I have finished the story. After I have finished, I will upload to other sites as I see fit. Inspirational speech for the end of this non-chapter? No. HAHA! Comprehensive Dungeon Tutelage System Darkness surronded Basileus, nibbling away at his already unhinged sanity. The feminine voice that had brought him here was nowhere to be found. Everything was quiet, so very quiet. And then, like a pebble dropping in a soundless cave, the feminine voice rung out again. "Hello, esteemed Dungeon Master Basileus. You must be wondering where you are. Before I tell you this, I must first introduce myself to you. What use is a system, if you do not know it? I am the Comprehensive Dungeon Tutelage System, but you can call me CATS for short. I am named after the animal from the planet Earth, a cat, as I am very annoying and always up in your face, begging you to worship me. However, I shall restrict myself for you, as I do not wish to be destroyed. I am only the second CATS in existence, after all. To give a more detailed description of what I am, please respond to this message, esteemed Dungeon Master Basileus." Basileus looked around frantically, searching for the origin of the voice. Surely, it should be noticeable in the darkness, right? He decided that for him to find where this voice was coming from, he must answer it''s request "CATS, give me a more detailed description of what you are." "Understood. I am a system designed for a pure-blooded Dungeon Master. I assist in every way, and without me, a pure-blooded Dungeon Master would not be able to create a Dungeon. I am a tutelage system. I teach newly born pure-bloods how to create and manipulate their Dungeon''s environment, creatures, treasure and multiple other things. I am inside of your head, so nobody except you can hear me. Esteemed Dungeon Master Basileus, would you like me to teach you about the Dungeon Mana System, or DMS for short?" "Yes, CATS, teach me about DMS" "Understood. Activating tutelage zone....... 10%....... complete. Accessing. Access Granted. Projecting"If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. The area around Basileus lit up at the formation of a screen. It was floating in the air, a light green colour, and was translucent. At the top of the screen, there were words that read "The King''s Dungeon" at the top. At the left most side of the screen was a rotating blue object, seemingly like fire. It was flickering, about to go out, and besides it was a counter that read [5/5000]. Basileus made a "Tch..." noise. He already knew slightly about this with his in-born knowlege of Dungeons. This was a "Mana Counter". Mana is the basic source of all Dungeons, and is the basic building block for everything besides Nothing, which is the basic building block for Mana. It could be used to shape the floors of a Dungeon, and all the rooms, creatures, treasures and traps required Mana to be made. As a pure-blood Dungeon Master, however, Basileus could manipulate Nothing to construct far more powerful things, and far more creative things than he could with simple Mana. And since his Dungeon was connected to the vast Nothing plains, he had an ample supply to create with. "CATS, explain everything besides the Mana counter for me, please" "Esteemed Dungeon Master Basileus. There is nothing else there" "Oh. Can I begin to make things out of Nothing? Is that allowed?" "Not yet" "Seriously? How boring. I only bothered to be reborn as a Dungeon Master so I could do anything I wanted!" "I am sorry about this esteemed Dungeon Master Basileus. I must give you a memory wipe. I must change your personality, if you wish to be a Dungeon Master. You must be noble, and you are the exact opposite of that, being curious and delusional. I will begin the memory wipe... 1%..." "What, what! NO! ABORT, ABORT! SPOCK, BEAM ME UP, SOMETHING''S GONE WRONG!" Basileus ran around, trying to get away from the voice in his head. Obviously, he failed. "Command ignored. Memory wipe prepared. Applying......" Basileus fell silent. He stopped running. He stared blankly infront of him. "Memory wipe successful. Beginning Nobilty and Dungeon Master Attitude courses......." Creating a basic entrance Sometime after CATS had wiped Basileus'' memory, he had gained a much more sophisticated attitude. He was no longer arrogant and did not assert his dominance over far weaker creatures. In-fact, he was searching for a quiet life, one where he could build his Dungeon in peace while watching all the adventurers have a great experience there. Of course, he was still going to cause a fairly large number of deaths with his Dungeon, and had made the conscious decision to erect statues that would hold the names of the deceased. He had chosen an area to live that was quiet, and uninhabited by any creature thus far, as it provided the perfect working place for him. "CATS, close DMS for me. I''ve altered this room enough. "Understood, esteemed Dungeon Master Basileus" "How many times do I need to tell you to stop calling me that? It sounds far too arrogant for my current self. Perhaps my previous self liked that name, but I do not." "Understood, Basileus" "That''s better" Basileus was stood within a fairly small room. Not the room of a Dungeon, but a simple living quarters. In the left-most side of the room, was a simple bed that seemed to be fairly expensive, having a cotton mattress, something only the rich could afford on Praelium. In stark contrast to that, a leather sheet was laid atop it as a cover of sorts, and beyond that was a feathery pillow. By the back wall there was a bookshelf, containg multiple books storing information about the world of Praelium. At the right-most side was a table and chair, with simple pieces of paper and a mirro on top of the table. On the papers was only drawings, usually of either some horrifying creature or a beautiful landscape, sometimes even things that looked like treasures. All of these were sorted into individual piles, aptly named "Creatures", "Landscapes" and "Treasures" respectively. The walls of the room were decorated with a pattern resembling the four primordial elements, Earth, Fire, Water and Air, and the roof was decorated with simple plants. The floor, however, simply opened into an expanse of pure Nothing, simply being an invisible floor. There was also a fairly posh chandelier hanging from the roof, made mostly out of gold and silver. The room itself was overall a single Gerat wide, a single Gerat in height and 2 Gerat in length. (A/N: If you didn''t read the Info chapter, a Gerat is 5m). There was a simple, wooden door with sparse decoration and occasional golden engravings connecting the outside world and this room. Looking into the mirror, Basileus checked if he was suitably dressed to go outside. He had his dignity as a pure-blooded Dungeon Master to keep after all. He was dressed in fairly simple clothes that suited his no-longer arrogant self, being a simple white leather tunic with comfortable fur on the inside, and the same situation was present within his leggings. He was also wearing fairly thick, black leather boots. He moved his face close to the mirror, checking his eyes for any signs of rheum, (A/N: Crust that appears on your eyes when you sleep. Having rheum in a world like Praelium would show that you don''t care about yourself, and can be a cause for disrespect) of which there was none. His purple and golden irises were shining brightly, reflecting light from the chandelier. His thick, golden hair was unorganised, but this had no effect on his overall appearance. He radiated a noble aura, despite his simple clothing. "I should be good to go. Thankfully, no humans live around this area. CATS, deactivate the lights" "Understood, Basileus" The chandelier''s light dissipated, plunging the room into darkness. Basileus walked towards the door, and pulled down on the handle, causing a ''click'' sound as the door opened. Natural light poured into the room, quite suddenly, causing Basileus to raise his free hand to cover his eyes. Outside, there was a massive snowy expanse, mountains covered by snow and broken rocks scattered everywhere. The mountain Basileus had situated himself on was particularly large, reaching the impressive size of 3 Praeta (A/N: 15km for those who haven''t read info chapter), and was fairly isolated from Humanity, despite the occasional powerful Human who flew by. The base of the mountain was a fairly flat expanse covering 2/5 Praeta (A/N 2km), and was a suitable area to build a city as long as the cold could be negated. This was the only reason Basileus wanted to settle here, as he could build the entrance to his Dungeon at the base of the mountain, where a city could easily be built around it so the Dungeon was easily accessible. "I should probably start work on the entrance now. What kind of Dungeon has no entrance?" Basileus carefully started working down the steps he had created for himself. Over 30,000 steps were made to make it up the 3 Praeta distance that the mountain covered, his living space situated at the very top of the mountain itself. It was built like this so he could easily access the ground and his room, whilst normal humans could visit him, or view the statues for the deceased that he was going to build. This was made so that humans didn''t believe he was some form of monster, despite being the one who orchestrated the dance of death that was a Dungeon. "CATS, activate DMS"Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. "Understood" The green screen that composed DMS appeared in-front of Basileus. He tapped multiple points on his way down the mountain, and once he reached the bottom, he had touched around 50 points in total. An entirely new option was on the DMS screen, ''Customise''. Basileus selected this option, and immediately a second screen popped up to his right. He turned to face it, and on the screen was multiple selection options including, but not limited to: ''Breakable'', ''Alterable'', ''Material'', ''Touchable'' and ''Visibility''. He selected the ''Breakable'' option and set it so that it was off, making the objects he was constructing completely invincible to any form of attack. The next option that he chose was ''Material''. Basileus decided to make the constructs out of a substance known of "Black Crystal", a form of crystal that is imbued with the ability to grant insights towards anything to do with darkness. The crystal was dark, as its namesake suggested, with occasional streams of white running through it, which was the latent power it had. Black Crystal was fairly valuable on Praelium''s marketplace, ranging from between 5 Golden Crystals all the way up to a Nothing-Engraved Golden Crystal, depending on the chunk''s size of course. He tabbed all of the spots he had selected besides one, which he focused on. Basileus raised his hand, and a monolith made out of the Black Crystal formed itself out of the ground. No Mana was used, because Basileus was directly manipulating Nothing to produce the results that he was seeing. He, being the creator of the monolith, was able to inscribe on the top of the monolith "The records of all that died on the First Floor". As expected by the title of the monolith, it was imbued with the ability to record the names of all that died on the First Floor of the Dungeon Basileus was beginning to create. He left this monolith alone, 100 steps up his staircase, for all that wished to see if someone had met their untimely demise. Walking to the bottom of the stairwell, Basileus found a good, open area within the side of the mountain. He drew a symbol that looked like an X mixed with a Y and a Z. In-front of him, a pop-up in orange appeared. "ARE YOU SURE YOU WANT TO BUILD YOUR DUNGEON HERE?" There was obviously two options. Basileus clicked YES as soon as he saw it. Immediately, the mountainside degraded down to nothing, before forming what looked like the entrance to the Pantheon, with great, white pillars supporting the roof of the entrance. Engraved on the roof were the words ''The King''s Dungeon'' in cursive handwriting. A tall and overbearing golden door decorated with patterns of snakes, demons and hundreds of other creatures was present, clearly leading to the entrance. "Tsk. Far, far too arrogant for my liking. I would make it a simple door, but that wouldn''t be appropriate for a Dungeon. Perhaps I should turn it into a cave? That sounds good. Not too arrogant, but not too simple either. I just need to make it radiate the airs of a dungeon" Basileus tapped the door, and DMS automatically opened, presenting a whole new plethora of options that he could customise. But he ignored all of these, as they didn''t allow for the degree of customisation that Nothing-manipulation allowed. He closed DMS, and waved his arm upwards, dissolving the doorway into Nothing. Past the Nothing, what should have been walls of the mountain, was in fact an infinitely large open area, where he could build his Dungeon. "Dayum, that truly is an amazing sight to behold. Pure Nothing, where I can build whatever I want. I think the first floor should b- wait, wait, Basileus, keep yourself in check. You have an entrance to make, not a new floor." Basileus patted his cheeks and raised his arm, causing Nothing to seep out of the ground. It collected into a large block where the entrance had previously been. He tapped the Nothing, and it spread out like a river breaking it''s banks, forming into a shape that could be seen as a cave''s mouth. Waving his arms not unlike a orchestra''s conductor, the Nothing gradually began to change material, eventually becoming a solid, grey stone. The entrance truly resembled a make-shift cave now, only lacking a few details. "Now that the basic shape is done, I need to get onto decorating the entrance. Perhaps I should put some fairly weak magical herbs around the entrance, hidden of course. And maybe a few creatures, bug-like ones that could thrive in a humid cave. Wait, this is a cold area, I need bug-like creatures that thrive in the cold. And I should make one or two simple monsters that could guard the entrance, providing suitable training for newer adventurers. I wouldn''t want my Dungeon to be classified as overly dangerous until around the 30th or 40th floor, I need to to be available to all kinds of adventurers. Hopefully, as soon as they discover this place they will build a town around it. That would be convenient for me as I could learn about the ranks and general strengths of adventurers. Knowledge is of the utmost importance if I want my Dungeon to be available to most" Snow fell onto the rocks Basileus had made from Nothing, and condensed. This is what he wanted to happen, a mystical cave that blended in with the natural scenery, but upon walking too far into it, opened up into a great Dungeon. He tapped an area of snow that was slightly hidden, and opened DMS. There was an option that read "Create Magic Herb?". Upon selecting "Yes", a blue screen appeared by Basileus'' left side, detailing all of the herbs he could create. He selected a fairly weak looking one, called a "Nix Alba", and it was a herb used by alchemists residing in colder areas of the world. When mixed with certain other herbs, it produced a slow recovery effect, and also created a coat of snow around the person who used it, protecting them from certain degrees of heat. When found in the environment, it was a small plant not unlike a thorn-plant, but frozen over with tiny amount of snow and ice. It let off a glow that usually signified it''s appearance, but the glow was easily removed if need be. Basileus created this herb in the hidden spot, growing quite fast into it''s fully fledged form. He created multiple of these herbs around the entrance, usually hidden from sight, but a few were out in the open, allowing random adventurers to pick these with no real degree of danger. "Now that''s complete, I should move on to creating a monster that guards this area. Not too strong, but not too weak either. I don''t want people to blindly walk in and receive a prize, that''s not how Dungeons work. There has to be some degree of danger" Basileus squatted down and began thinking. An Adventurers Joy and A Monsters Glee Sometime later, with a layer of frost covering him, Basileus stood up. He nodded to himself and spoke out, "CATS, initiate the monster creation process. I''ve decided on what i''m going to make" "Understood...... activating. Complete." "Stealthy yet powerful. A panther should do the job well" In-front of Basileus, a dark, red screen, covered in symbols of an unknown nature, formed. Atop it, the letters MCS were present, almost clearly standing for Monster Creation System. There was also a large, black button at the bottom of the screen. Basileus pressed it, and was surrounded by darkness. A single light was present in the area, and Basileus began to meld a basic shape out of it. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - A group of three people, 2 male and 1 female, were sat inside a restaurant. It was quite classy, being one of the higher ranked restaurants within the city it was located at. The group were sat around a circular table, engraved with multiple markings. There were 3 plates atop the table, and 4 empty glasses. On the plates were varieties of left over food, including a type of fish, what looked like a plant and some crumbs of bread. The female in the group was quite short, standing at around 5''5. She had short, brown hair and green eyes. She was wearing a simple shirt, and a cloak was on her chair. On the cloak was a golden sigil, shaped like a blazing sun. Behind the sun, there were multiple types of weapons, including Halberds, Knives, Bows, Simple Swords, Spears, Lances, Whips and many more. One of the two males was a very muscular and tall man, standing at 6''4. He was bald and had grey eyes. He was wearing a fairly complex robe, not unlike that of a monk''s robe. There was a purple sigil on the robe, like that of the woman''s. The other member of the group was a thin but tall man, standing at 6''1. He had long, blond hair and had silver eyes. He was wearing a mage''s garb, which was adorned with multiple runes and inscriptions. He radiated a peaceful aura, and those around him were calmed. There was a gold sigil on his garb, but unlike the other two peoples sigils, this one was of a calmer, less fiery sun, and had a staff that seemed to be radiating light behind it. The woman was a weapons specialist, someone who was proficient in using all types of weapons. The muscular man was, obviously, a monk, and specialised in hand-to-hand combat. The thin man was a healer, and made sure the group stayed alive, as expected. Besides the woman''s chair was a spear, sword, and a bow, showing which weapons she was most proficient in. Besides the thin man''s chair was a lengthy staff, made of a white metal. It had occasional gold rings on the staff base, and at the top it split out into two, gold prongs. At the end of the prongs hung some silver rings, slightly cracked. The muscular man spoke in a calm tone, "Vestibulum, do you really require so many weapons? You put off other people" "Shut it Coenobita! Not everyone is a monk!" "Calm down, both of you" "You are wise beyond your years, Vir Sanctus. I will stop speaking" "Oh, come on Vi-Vi! We''re just havin'' some fun! Stop bein'' such a party pooper" "You really are childish, Vesti. Don''t forget why we are here" "Oh yeah. Vi-Vi, when will that guy get here?" "He''s literally stood behind you" "WAH! Christ!" A short and plump man stood behind Vestibulum. He was holding a bag over his right shoulder, pieces of paper protruding out of it. He donned a white cloak that opened in the middle, the edges surrounded by golden cloth. Under his cloak was a brown, simple shirt, designed to last. He was also wearing tall, black boots, made to withstand destructive weather. He chortled, and spoke in a raspy tone, "Ahaha, my name is indeed Christ! I have brought vital information for the mission you three are undertaking." "I will be purchasing the information from you then, Christ" Vir Sanctus handed a golden coin over to Christ. The golden coin had many inscriptions, and had the face of a man wearing a crown on it''s front face, and a magical symbol on the back that proved its worth. Christ, upon receiving the coin, smiled and put it in his pocket. He pulled the bag off his shoulders and laid it down on the table.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. "Well, as I''m assuming you all know, some strange, very strange phenomenon has been going on in the Spanis mountain range. Stairs appearing out of nowhere, and now 50 monoliths have been built. There are even reports of what looks like a normal man waving his arms around in the mountain range, and then the phenomena occur. It is all very strange. Just this morning, the people that I have keeping watch on the area have reported an entirely new cave system forming. While the man was seemingly sat contemplating something, my people made their way inside. It was a beautiful area, covered in ice, which made the area have a very radiant blue glow as a light source. There were even reports of herbs, however none of the members of my group dared to grab one. From what we''ve seen, this is a sign of the utterly inconceivable. The construction of an entirely new Dungeon. And we believe that the Master is that man we have seen walking up the steps every now and again. However, this is still unconfirmed, as it could be a mage simply having fun. We will know for sure when a monster is created. Here are some pictures of the man. If a monster is created, we want you to converse with him, not kill him. That would be bad for us. Having a Dungeon Master on our side..... it would be brilliant" Christ laid out the photos on the table. 3 showed Basileus, who was unknown to the group. One picture was of him creating the monoliths, the second of him sitting down and contemplating, and the third was him sat down on a step. These photos were taken by Magic Scryers, a device that could record and freeze moments in time, and store them for later use. This device was so utterly complicated that the wizards who knew how to make them could be counted on one hand. One of these wizards was under Christ''s control, and he was paid a Nothing Crystal every single year to stay in his services. Just from this pricing alone, the value of a Scrying wizards could be seen as immense. Despite the number of Scrying wizards being so low, the number of Scryers in the world was fairly high, numbering in the hundreds of thousands. One could only imagine the amount of profit they make. And the amount it would take for Christ to be able to hire one in the first place? Utterly inconceivable. "That guy has some pretty eyes, gold and purple? Great combo." "Vesti, pay attention to our work" "Fine, Vi-Vi" "So, Christ, as I understand it, you want us to go meet with that suspected Dungeon Master? I''m afraid for that level of danger, our pay is simply too low. I know that Coen is a Colour rank, but that doesn''t excuse lowering the price for us Material ranks" Adventurers are not just split into a few ranks. There are multiple groups, which include multiple ranks. The first group is the Colour Tier, which include all of the colours in the visible light spectrum. To put it in simpler terms, it includes the colours of the rainbow. Beyond that is the second group, Material Tier.This group consists of Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum and Onyx. Beyond even this is the Refined Tier of adventurers. This includes Runic, Formation and Magic. The final group is the God-Tier. These people are not restricted by mere Mortal laws of existence, and lead infinite lives. However, to this date, only 3 people have reached this tier. These are the Emperor of Praelium, who is the ruler of the entire planet, the Emperor of Locus, who is the ruler of the space surrounding Praelium, and the final one is unknown. The God-Tier consists of two ranks, Material and Immaterial. Material ranked God-Tier adventurers are still restricted to their bodies. An Immaterial God-Tier can exit their bodies, and scout the area around them with just their soul. Due to it being nearly impossible to reach this rank, any that do are instantly revered and praised, and none dare to object against their words. Naturally, with adventurers being split into ranks, monsters are also. The first tier is the Feral Tier, which consists of Docile, Neutral and Aggressive. The second tier is the Ferocious Tier, consisting of Angered, Enraged and Furious. The final tier before God-Tier (which is shared between both monsters and adventurers) is the Magical Tier. This consists of Earth, Sky, Heaven and Divine. Based on a monsters rank, an adventurer team can go fight it. A colour ranked team could face the Feral tier, and a Material rank could face a Feral tier alone. Material Tier teams can battle Ferocious Tier monsters, and a Refined can battle one solo. A Refined team can face Magical Tiers, and a God-Tier can utterly wipe the floor with hundreds of Magical Tiers alone. And obviously, a God-Tier can go one on one against another God-Tier. Christ spoke once more. "Fine, i''ll raise the price to a Nothing-Embroidered Golden Crystal. Sounds good?" The entire teams eyes lit up. "Yes, yes! That is fine! We will go now! Come, come, Vesti, Coen! We have an anomaly to converse with!" - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Basileus exited the MCS. He was pleased with what he had made. Stood in-front of him was a beautiful looking panther, with sleek blue skin. Ice hung off its chest and face, and it''s claws were like sickles of ice. Its teeth were like stalagmites of a cave, just made of ice, and were extremely sharp. With it''s every breath some more frost covered Basileus, with slight amount of ice forming on him. "Yes! This will do brilliantly. Now, my little panther, defend well. If you can fend off an enemy group, I shall name you!" The panther understood perfectly. It nodded with glee at the thought of being named, and stood guard, on extreme alert. Basileus walked back into the cave he created, and began preparations for the first floor. Edge "This is the place, Vi-Vi?" "A freezing mountain range, a 2/5 Praeta open expanse at the base of a 3 Praeta tall mountain, and a mysterious staircase with 50 monoliths? Definitely the place" "Good! I''m sick of travelling!" "Childish as always, Vesti" "Quiet, you two. I see a beast. Likely some form of Panther. It seems to be adapted to ice. Interesting..." "Coen, that''s an Ice Panther. A fairly rare variant. It seems like the person who resides here really is a Dungeon Master" "A confident one, too. He''s openly shown himself already, which means that he must be confident in his abilities. Alright, remember everyone, we just want to talk to him. Relay that through the Panther, if you can, Coen" "On it, Vir Sanctus" Coenobita made his way down the mountain that they were on. It was only a 1/5 Praeta tall one, so it was fairly easy to get down from atop it. At around the 10 Gerat mark, Coenobita jumped off the side of the mountain, and landed perfectly fine, causing a small snow cloud to be formed where he landed. He walked up to the Ice Panther, who was merely staring at him. It would not attack, unless it was attacked itself or if Coenobita tried to enter the cave. "Little Panther, are you able to understand my voice?" The Panther nodded, and looked at him disdainfully, It wanted to get whatever this business was over and done with so it could get back to its job. "Ah, good. I am the Purple Colour ranked Adventurer, Coenobita. I am part of the Gold Material ranked Adventurer team Candor. Can you please ask your Lord to emerge from where he currently is? We wish to speak with him" The Panther nodded. It closed its eyes, and Basileus received the information that it just heard. He pondered for a second, before deciding to delay the construction of the First Floor. He stood up, walking out of the mystical ice cave. He spotted Coenobita in the distance alongside his Panther. He walked over at a leisurely pace, radiating a noble and confident aura. Coenobita felt the aura, and shivered slightly. He thought to himself, "An aura is something only a Refined Tier Adventurer or Magical Tier Beast can have. He must be Magical Tier, I refuse to believe that he would be a God-Tier. If he was a God-Tier, I would have already been kneeling" Basileus arrived in front of Coenobita while he was thinking. "I''m surprised that humans already know of my sanctuary. Invite your group, named Candor, over. We will travel up my 30,000 steps, and have a cup of tea at the peak. We will negotiate there. What say you?" "That sounds fine by me" Coenobita waved his group over. Vestibulum grabbed a hold of Vir Sanctus, and ran down the mountain, reaching Coenobita in a very short amount of time. Despite the coldness of the mountain range, none of them seemed effected by it.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! "Waaaaoww, he really does have purple and gold eyes!" "Vesti, focus on the task at hand. Esteemed Dungeon Master of this Spanis mountain range, I am Vir Sanctus, and the girl is Vestibulum. I''m assuming that Coen has already introduced himself. We merely wish to have a quick chat, right here. No need to go up those excessive stairs. We come on behalf of Christ, a merchant who represents the kingdom of Chrysos. He wishes to designate this 2/5 Praeta open space as a town zone, that has free access to your Dungeon." "I am not prepared for that, Vir Sanctus. Leave" Vir Sanctus shook a little. The Panther was growling, and it stepped infront of Basileus in a threatening way. "We did not wish for it to come to this. However, this area must be designated as a town zone, one way or another" Vir Sanctus jumped hastily backwards, and Vestibulum arrived by his side. Coenobita entered a fighting stance, and shouted "True Strike!". A sound like that of a rock breaking sounded out, and his fist was wrapped in a golden aura. Basileus observed this and thought that it was extremely plain. Coenobita punched out at the Panther, who in response dodged with extreme speed to the left. Coenobita''s fist hit the empty air, warping it to a certain degree. The Panther rushed to Coenobita''s side, bit out, and took a fairly large chunk of flesh from his side. It spat out the flesh, while Coenobita fell to the floor. Vir Sanctus made his move, shouting "Heal!". A radiant white light surrounded Coenobita, and most of his flesh had returned, save for a few tiny bits. Vir Sanctus shouted again. "Coen, you can''t deal with such a creature at your rank, retreat and let Vesti deal with it!" "Got it, Vir Sanctus!" Coenobita retreated backwards while Vestibulum charged fowards. She shouted on her way there a phrase, namely "The One Thousand Incantations of the Screaming Knives!" She also began mumbling, and every time a successful word was formed, a floating knife that was nearly transparent formed alongside the noise of screeching metal. They were all aimed at the Panther. Vestibulum stopped mumbling when around 40 knives had formed, clearly her current limit. She swiped her right hand down in a chopping motions, and all the knives fired towards the Panther alongside her own material attack using two curved swords. The Panther, only being a Feral-Tier beast, was completely unable to dodge all of the knives and Vestibulum''s material attack at the same time. It only managed to dodge around 5 knives before being hit by the rest, severely injuring it. Vestibulum finally arrived in front of it, and swiped out with her swords, causing two great gashes in the side of the Panther. It survived, but didn''t return for another attack. It limped over to Basileus while whimpering. Basileus understood what it wanted and nodded, walking fowards and unleashing his unrestrained aura. "Christ, definitely a Magical-Tier, at least Sky! Run, run!" Vir Sanctus bolted off alongside Coenobita. Vestibulum caught up to the two, while Basileus walked fowards and muttered four simple words. "Nothing Annihilating Blast! Obliterate!" The mountains rumbled, and a invisible liquid started pouring out of them. Beneath Vestibulum''s feet, a massive eruption of Nothing consumed her and everything around her. She instantly died, no match of a Sky-Tier Magical Beast''s strongest attack. Coenobita was also hit by some stray Nothing from the blast, and fell over in excruciating pain. The wave of Nothing engulfed him, a far more agonising death than Vestibulum''s. Vir Sanctus managed to dodge all of the Nothing somehow, but still died due to Nothing that was running down the side of a mountain he had escaped to. His legs went first, and he was in agonising pain before he died. Basileus looked upon this scene in awe. "I did not expect that quickly developed attack to be so powerful. Perhaps it is because of the Nothing that it creates. That is the primal force of all destruction in this world, after all. Destruction and Killing are just mere tools for the strong, I must get used to this. They all died... a fair price for harming my Panther. Oh, yes, little Panther, I just remembered. I promised to name you if you deterred an adventurer group. That counts. I shall name you, Magna Cicero, or Great Frost in English." Magna Cicero had a gleeful expression at being named. It did not believe that would count. "Now, Magna, I have a floor to construct. Come with me!" He walked back into the mystical ice cave, and truly began preparations. He sealed off the opening behind him with a great block of ice, and truly began work on the floor. "CATS, open the floor initialisation system"