Dungeon Master (Karma System)

The Black Banners had escorted merchant caravans through three kingdoms, two war zones, and one region where the dead refused to remain buried.

Their leader, Nyra Dane, had expected Max’s first dungeon level to be a diversion. Something that took up time while they waited.

Her companions expected less.

Torren Bale, their shield bearer, wanted a warm meal before the caravan departed. Mael Sorren, their mage, had bet the archer that he could complete the level without using a potion. Ysra Darken carried enough healing supplies for a siege, and Fen Daro had spent the walk from the caravan explaining why enchanted forests were only dangerous to people who ignored obvious signs.

Nyra Dane stood beneath the arch leading into Fey Nights while her four companions checked their equipment. All five were far stronger than the inexperienced adventurers who normally entered the forest.

The lowest-level member of the Black Banners was level fifty-one. Their equipment had been tested against armies, undead swarms, and creatures large enough to overturn wagons. Any ordinary group of level fifteen enemies would have been beneath their notice.

”Hard version.” Nyra selected.

The entrance darkened.

[Fey Nights: Hard]

[Enemy level: 15]

[All enemies enhanced to rare elite classification.]

[Hard-version first clear remains unclaimed.]

One of the Black Banners whistled. ”Every enemy?”

”That is what it says.”

”The normal quicklings barely count as enemies.”

Nyra stepped through the portal. ”Then you can explain that to them.”

***

The quicklings stole his belt.

They did not take the pouches attached to it. Three blue hands appeared from the fog, unfastened the entire belt, and pulled it away before the adventurer could react. He caught his trousers with both hands causing while laughter echoed through the trees.

Nyra did not laugh. The quicklings had also removed two throwing knives, a potion case, and the small hammer used to repair armor.

”Recover the equipment and do not chase alone.”

The Black Banners advanced in a tight formation.

Normal Fey Nights confused inexperienced visitors by moving trail markers and hiding threats inside fog. The hard version used the same tricks deliberately. Quicklings moved markers while dryads changed the shape of the trails themselves. Fey hounds attacked whenever someone looked away. Satyr music drifted between the trees, layering sluggishness over false courage until the party’s healer removed both effects.

The enemies were not powerful enough to defeat the Black Banners in direct combat.

But the Fey knew they were out leveled, so they refused to meet this party in direct combat.

Nyra caught the first quickling only because she stopped watching it. She turned toward a redcap ambush and waited for the thief to reach for another pouch. Her hand closed around its wrist.

The quickling panicked, causing three more to drop from the branches to help it. Her companions were ready and waiting. They recovered the belt, although one potion had been replaced with a pinecone.

***

The hard-version redcaps had constructed a toll gate.

It consisted of two sharpened logs, a stolen wagon door, and a sign containing the words GIVE RED in dripping paint.

Twenty redcaps waited behind it.

The normal creatures charged anyone who refused. These remained behind traps while an elder redcap wearing a crown of finger bones demanded blood.

Nyra refused.

The forest floor opened beneath her party. They avoided the pit, but the movement separated their front line from the healer. Fey hounds appeared behind them at the same moment the satyrs began playing.

For the first time, the Black Banners stopped treating the dungeon as entertainment.

Orders replaced jokes. The shield bearer protected the healer. Their mage burned the ropes holding the toll gate together and created a clear line of sight. Nyra ignored the elder redcap until the smaller enemies were contained.

The battle lasted less than five minutes. It required more attention than fights against enemies twice the redcaps’ level outside of this dungeon.

When the final creature fell, Nyra found another notice waiting.

[Hard Fey Nights rewards coordination and awareness.]

[Enemy groups may share information.]

”They know we are coming.” The healer said.

Something howled farther inside the forest.

They changed routes twice before reaching the center of the forest.

The first route ended at a moonlit pond occupied by six rare-elite nixies. The creatures did not attack. They offered directions in exchange for a memory from each traveler. Ysra recognized the curse hidden beneath the request, and the Black Banners withdrew without discovering whether resurrection returned stolen memories.

The second trail led them through a grove where every shadow moved several breaths behind its owner. Fen marked the entrance with silver thread. When they tried to leave, the thread appeared on a different tree.

Nyra stopped the party.

”Nobody walks until we agree which direction is real.”

Mael created five floating lights and watched their shadows. Four shadows pointed toward the false trail. The fifth, cast by a light containing fey mana collected earlier, pointed between two trees.

They followed it out.

The hard version did not merely strengthen enemies. It expected parties to notice rules, preserve information, and decide when a dangerous encounter offered nothing they needed. Max had changed many things compared to the regular levels. If a party thought the only difference between Hard and Normal was higher enemy levels, then they were in for a real surprise.

By the time the Black Banners reached the final clearing, Mael had used two potions and owed Fen twice as much as he won from the trail sign.

***

The bosses fought together.

The treant blocked the central clearing while the elder dryad moved through its roots. The hag remained near the rear, filling the air with curses and illusions. Normal parties met versions of them during separate routes. Hard mode had no reason to be fair.

The Black Banners had already lost most of their consumable supplies. Their armor carried claw marks, and their mage had spent more than half his mana destroying a grove that tried to swallow the healer.

They were still veteran adventurers though.

Nyra assigned each companion a responsibility and refused to let the hag change it. The shield bearer held the treant. Their mage burned openings through its bark but did not waste power trying to destroy it alone. The healer countered curses. Their archer watched the roots and forced the dryad to reveal herself whenever she moved.

Nyra crossed the battlefield through the space they created.

She reached the hag before the creature completed its largest spell.

Once the hag died, the illusions disappeared. The elder dryad followed. The treant remained dangerous, but it was no longer part of a coordinated group.

The Black Banners brought it down beneath the artificial moon.

[Fey Nights: Hard completed.]

[First hard version clear achieved.]

[Party: Black Banners]

[All surviving members awarded rare-elite completion chest.]

The chest contained fey materials, equipment, and several items valuable enough to justify the entire caravan journey.

Nyra cared more about the record.

The first-clear chest included five pieces of equipment, but none formed a matching set. Each item suited a decision made during the level.

Torren received a shield that became lighter when protecting someone affected by a curse. Ysra found a silver bell capable of disrupting minor illusions. Fen’s bracers tightened whenever an unseen creature reached for his equipment. Mael received a ring that stored a small amount of captured mana.

Nyra’s reward was a plain black cloak.

[Pathkeeper’s Mantle]

[Improves resistance to forced movement, false trails, and spatial redirection.]

She fastened it around her shoulders.

***

The Hall of Achievements created a new hard-mode gallery before the Black Banners left the hospital.

They had not died, but every successful group received a medical check after leaving hard mode. Nyra emerged to find dozens of adventurers waiting.

”Were they really all rare elites?” Someone asked.

”Yes.”

”How strong were the bosses?”

”Strong.” Her reply was brief and curt.

Another adventurer pointed toward the Level Three entrance. ”Are you going for that first clear too?”

Nyra looked toward the portal marked Dwarven Airship.

”Our caravan departs in two days. We were hired to make certain it reaches the next city.”

”You could remain here.”

”Then we would be poor guards.”

She led her companions toward the Hall to see their portrait.

By evening, every serious adventuring party was talking about how they were going to practice and eventually clear all the dungeon levels on the hard setting.

Quin stood beside the viewing screen, replaying the moment the three bosses entered the clearing together.

”Five veterans over level 50 nearly exhausted their supplies on your first level.” He said.

”They also received equipment worth more than most normal clears pay in a month.”

”Which is why everyone else wants to try.”

The next reservation belonged to a party whose highest member was level twelve.

The level had worked. Strong adventurers could not dismiss it because the normal version served beginners, and ordinary parties had a reason to return after they outgrew the forest.