Dungeon Master (Karma System)

”Good, now where was I?” Max said to himself. ”Ah, yes, you have died 312 times in my dungeon.”

The man set down his sandwich after taking a drink.

”The only possession I have is not possible to give to you. I have taken an oath to guard it till the day I pass.”

”I am not looking for money.” Max responded. ”I am more interested in time.”

”Time?”

”Yes, dungeons can passively collect energy and power from those who stay inside. This is how I fund most of my operation. So I would like for you to stay in my dungeon for a while.”

”You wish to keep me your prisoner?” The man asked with narrowed eyes.

”Sort of, not really.” Max said with a shrug before explaining. ”For me to make a profit, I require people to wait 12 hours after dying before risking their life again. If we do the math to pay off your debt, that is 156 days or just over 5 months. But I am willing to just call it 150 days.”

Max shifted in his seat before continuing.

”I won’t stop you from leaving since you never asked for my help. But I will look down on you and probably call you names behind your back if you do. Besides it is not like you will be staying in a prison. I have a growing village on a sanctuary floor where adventures spend most of there time when they are not challenging the dungeon.”

The man nodded in understanding.

Max shrugged. ”It isn’t an awful deal is it? I will even provide you with a place to stay. Nothing special but it should be good enough. Basic meals are included. And if you are interested there is work to be done. You can earn dungeon coins to make purchases in the village or if you contribute in meaningful way, I can deduct days from your stay.”

”Sounds fair.” The man said.

It wasn’t a bad deal. If what this dungeon master said was true, his dungeon was the only reason he was alive and all the man wanted was for him to stay awhile so he could absorb some of his passive energy.

”So do we have a deal?” Max asked with an outstretched hand.

”Sure.” The man said while clasping Max. ”You can call me Quin.”

”Great. If you follow me, I will show you where you are staying.”

A portal appeared in front of Max. Quin watched the dungeon master step through an then followed him.

He was a bit surprised to find that the room he just walked into was almost identical to the one he left. The main difference beside the lack of food on the table was the fact that there were windows that looked out into a village.

Max explained. ”This is where you can stay. Front door is over there. Now one is able to enter without your permission except myself and the higher ups of the dungeon. but we won’t do such a thing unless there is an emergency. Take some time to settle in, explore the village, and if you want some work, speak to an automaton or a gnome, they will pass the word to me.”

”Thank you.” Quin said while still looking around.

”Okay, well I have things I need to see to, so I will be off.” And with that, Max vanished from his sight.

Quin was fairly certain that Max hadn’t been lying to him, but to believe the word of a dungeon master without proof was a foolish decision. Hanging his sword from his side, Quin decided to explore the village.

Exiting the house he found himself on the outskirts of the village. He noticed a pair of orcs walking past him. Knowing this was a sanctuary floor he wasn’t worried. Even if it wasn’t, his level was much higher than the pair.

When they offered him a friendly nod, he returned it.

Walking down the street towards the more populated area he began to notice adventures strolling about, heading in and out of shops.

He poked into a few and found the wares reasonably priced.

Seeing many people heading in the same direction, Quin decided to follow them.

After a few minutes of walking, he came to a large stone Colosseum.

He found a sign next to 2 separate entrances. One indicated participants and the other was for the audience.

Walking through the entrance for the audience he began to climb the steps.

The arena seating was a large area, with only 50 or so people spectating, there were more open seats than not. He found an area where no one was sitting and took a seat.

A small gnome appeared on the edge of the arena, he was holding a small back stick and raised it to his mouth.

”People of Crag, our next contestants will begin shortly.” The gnome said while his voice echoed through the arena. ”5 level 15 adventurers have chosen to test their might against 5 level 15 Redcaps. Let’s see how they do.”

Murmurs spread through the audience. Quin was surprised that most of the people felt that the adventures would lose. The swordsman had had his own encounters with the fey and was no stranger to Redcaps. If these adventures couldn’t even deal with Redcaps of the same level, they must be below average in abilities.

2 gates on opposite ends of the arena opened, admitting the 2 groups into the enclosure.

What came next upturned Quin’s understanding of Redcaps. The small fiendish Redcaps displayed abilities that surprised him. They were much stronger and fiercer than those he had encountered before. With the skills and abilities, they displayed he believed it would be more appropriate if they were level 30.

The adventures were defeated but they managed to kill 4 of the 5 fey they were up against. It was a good showing.

The swordsman shifted his eyes when he noticed a bearded man approach him.

”Demon Blade Quin.” Lord Titters said while taking a seat. ”I hear the bounty on your head has reached 10,000 gold.”

Quin snorted. ”If you think you are capable enough to claim such a bounty then you over estimate yourself Sword Master.”

Lord Titters let out a bark of a laugh. ”No, I know my limits. Besides I would not wish to cause trouble in Mr. Clarkson’s dungeon. While you may be scarry, that may is truly frightening.”

Quin raised his brow while looking at the Lord.

Halbin just shrugged. ”I may be a lord of the King, but my cousin also served with the 51st. Outside I may have a duty to my kingdom, but in here I am just an adventurer.”

Quin nodded. ”Your cousin?”

”Gregmont Titters.”

Quin racked his brain trying to put a face to the name. When it came to him, he let out a faint smile.

”He was a good man.”

Titters laughed. ”When he wasn’t trying to talk a woman into bed he was.”

Quin smiled again.

”Is it normal for those Redcaps to be so strong here?” He asked Halbin.

With that, Lord Titters began to explain the dungeon they were currently in. He told of the maximized skills the enemies had, the normal and hard setting for each dungeon. He even spoke of the basic and advanced class trainers.

”That is interesting.” Quin said. ”It appears this dungeon has a lot to offer.”

”Aye. From what we have heard and seen, Mr. Clarkson has many levels already prepared and is just waiting on us to be strong enough to unlock them. It has been mentioned a few different times that there is a surprise waiting on the 5th level. Unfortunately, that is still a distance away and I fear I will be back in the city by the time it is opened.”

”It sounds like I need to acquire one of those cursed stones and lower my level. I may have a lot of experience but I could always improve my foundations.” Quin muttered to himself after the Lord left.

But he would need to talk to Max first. He was aware that his situation was different from the normal adventures. If he participated in the dungeons at a lower level, although slim, there would still be a chance of him dying.

With a debt of time hanging over his head, he was sure that what he owed would be increased if he died in the dungeon.