World Keeper

Chapter 450: Qualifications

Throughout the known worlds, the Dungeon Master Trials were quickly becoming a growing fascination. While this held little meaning to those living within Spica or Lorek, as both worlds lacked dungeons of their own, the other worlds were able to quickly recognize the significance of this event.

Whether rich or poor, strong or weak, many sought to be the first to claim these dungeons. There were those that wished to do so for personal glory, or to gain greater strength. There were those who wished to use the mystical powers of the dungeon for wealth, or to establish their own territory. Many people believed that a key reason for the elven empire being so successful was that their capital was built atop a dungeon, after

And of course, there were those who sought to use the power of the dungeons for more nefarious purposes. The darker parts of society who simply saw the dungeons as convenient bases where they could better trap their would-be foes, or murder adventurers without fear.

No matter what, everyone who now sought a dungeon had their reason for doing so, few willing to relinquish that right to others. Countless battles broke out, but inside and outside of dungeons as people fought over the possibility to claim it as their own. There was nothing in the rules to prevent such behavior, so long as they did not kill a dungeon master after they had been chosen in the dungeon.

This simple oversight led many to believe that the dungeons silently agreed to their fights, that they wanted people to weed out the unworthy. However, it also led to other situations.

Within the beastkin continent, an affluent young felyn walked proudly through a dungeon. His body was covered in magical equipment, the aura of power being emitted many times greater than what he naturally could muster with his level. He had chosen a dungeon above his own level with this equipment in mind, believing that it would impress the dungeon’s core.

He walked alone, no party at his side, every battle a fierce experience. Yet the entire time, he remained calm. There were simply too many lifesaving treasures on his person for him to feel the fear that would bring out the true strength of a normal adventurer. No matter what foe faced him in this fire-type dungeon, he was unafraid.

Soon, he arrived at the deepest region of the dungeon, where he found a beautiful lycan woman standing alone. Her features were… in a word, perfect, igniting the passion of the felyn youth. “I have braved your challenges, dungeon, and ask for the right to rule you.” He spoke fervently, clapping a sword over his chest.

“Please leave.” These simple words from the summoned avatar stabbed into the youth like daggers, causing him to step back.

“In what way am I not worthy? My level is below that of this dungeon, and I have proven my strength by fighting my way here alone!” The youth protested, his passion turning into fury. He was already entertaining thoughts of threatening the dungeon’s core if it did not agree to make him its master.

The avatar of the core simply waved a hand, displaying a projection in the air. An older felyn standing atop a grassy hill, coldly looking down at the ground. Fire spread around his body, shaping into countless swords. Following the elder’s gaze, dozens of corpses could be seen lining the ground, each possessing signs of being heavily burned.

“In order to enter alone, you sent him to stand guard at my gate, killing all who approached.” The dungeon core told him, never a change in the expressions on her face. “This is not the type of master I wish to serve. You may choose to leave, or I shall be forced to expel you.”

The felyn grit his teeth, fully aware of the man’s presence outside the dungeon. That man was a guard for his family, someone that the youth brought along to ensure that nobody came in to steal the dungeon from him while he was conquering it. “I am your master.” He spoke in an arrogant tone, taking a step forward.

As his hand went to his blade, the avatar simply shook its head. “No. I will not choose you.” With a wave of her hand, the felyn was engulfed in black light, vanishing from where he stood. Another wave caused the same incident to happen to the one standing outside the dungeon.

Both reappeared in the same room, equally surprised. However, before they could question the sudden change, they noticed that they were not alone. Standing in front of them was a softly glowing humanoid figure. Its body was slightly translucent, similar to that of a slime, but neither of them had ever heard of a slime with this shape. Behind its body was a wide disc surrounded by a slowly rotating halo.

When it saw them, the slime began casually walking forward, its form shaking with every step. As their eyes scanned the room, preparing for battle, they would find that it was littered with white bones, numerous skeletons having been picked clean. This was the punishment chamber for the dungeon cores, where they sent those who attempted to violate the rules of the trial. Of course, it was not something that could easily be done, but they had plenty of time to prepare the translocation while monitoring solo adventurers.

Far away, within the lands of Kione, another felyn stood within a dungeon alone. However, there was not a trace of arrogance in his features. He wore little more than simple rags, carrying a wooden staff at his side. He had short red hair and a face covered in dirt. Despite the strength hidden in his body, he clearly was an individual of poorer status.

As he entered the dungeon, his eyes warily watched the walls. He had heard that this dungeon specialized in traps and illusions, making it a poor choice for many adventurers. For him, however, it was the perfect field to display his skills.

“Eyes of Truth.” He muttered, a hazy fog clouding over his vision. Glancing around the room once again, he walked towards a nearby wall, and then… through the wall. The illusory wall rippled slightly with his passing, but did not hinder him.

“Please don’t hold it against me for using these skills.” The young man spoke politely. “Dealing with hidden dangers is a specialty of mine.”

As his eyes cleared, he suddenly halted his steps, unwilling to place his foot down where it was about to land. The hair on the back of his neck stood up as he saw a thin crack in the stone floor. Given the darkness of the hall, the crack was nearly invisible, yet he was able to see that it extended in a nearly perfect line from one wall to the other.

Pulling his foot back, he allowed his eyes to scan over the walls. While using the Eyes of Truth, his vision turned cloudy, and he was only able to properly make out the presence of illusions. This fact had caused him to nearly miss the trap before him.

Finding no trace of indentations along the walls, he then turned to the ceiling, where he could make out many needle-thick holes. Like the small crack, these were almost impossible to spot in the darkness, but this man had very keen eyesight thanks to his training. “So… if I step forward, it’ll either be gas or projectiles…”

Taking a deep breath, he clasped his fists together, offering a bow towards the trap. “Please, watch carefully.” As there was only one crack, he was sure that there was not a secret pitfall beneath the ceiling trap. His body relaxed, hand tightening on the staff at his side, and then he began to walk forward.

The moment his foot had fully crossed the crack, he could hear the mechanism for the trap being tripped. Closing his eyes, he used the standard technique for experienced fighters, Battle Time. His body seemed to blur as he spun his staff overhead.

Needles fell upon him like rain, but seemed to be moving in slow motion compared to the felyn man. With each needle being roughly five inches long, they were quickly batted aside before they were able to reach him. This lasted for roughly ten seconds before the trap stopped, the hallway littered with countless needles.

Taking a deep breath, the man exited the Battle Time state, lowering his weapon. He was surprised to see that dozens of the needles had stabbed into the wood of his staff, as he had reinforced it with his ki. “Spellforged needles? Talk about an expensive trap.” He muttered, before realizing that it was likely not expensive at all for the dungeon to make.

Carefully, he pulled each needle out of his staff, wary of the possibility that they could be poisoned. Only once he had done so did he begin moving forward, sweeping away the needles in front of him with the staff to ensure that he did not accidentally step on any.

To his surprise, there was a young boy waiting in the next room for him, staring emotionlessly towards the felyn. This boy was a lycan, but given that he was on Kione now, that was no surprise. Rather, it would be surprising if he were anything else. “What is your name?” The boy asked, a touch of curiosity to its otherwise neutral tone.

“I am Sirin.” The felyn responded with a polite bow. “May I ask who you are, young one?”

“I am Sirin as well, now.” He answered, holding his hand out. “I am the dungeon around you, and this is simply a body that I have created to communicate. Before now, I have had no name, nor have I needed one. As such, I wish to accept your name as my own as well.”

Sirin hesitated for a moment, before a small smile tugged at his lips. “Then, it is a pleasure to meet you, Sirin.”

“And you. There is the chance that you would be killed by the traps further in my dungeon, but that is not the result I desire. You have proven yourself to possess the qualities that I seek.”

“You mean…” The felyn looked at the young avatar in surprise, the latter slowly clasping his hands together to mirror the gesture that had been shown to the trap earlier.

“I, Sirin of Kione, swear fealty to Sirin of Earth. May your word be my guide, and my strength your shield.” As he spoke, the felyn would see a notification in front of him, alerting him that he had gained a new Knight, as well as the Dungeon Master achievement. When his eyes returned to the avatar, he noticed a glowing sphere within its hands. “This shall be your reward, as well as a token of my oath.”

I have a master now! A young voice spoke up in excitement over the link between dungeons. I even received a name from him!

Really? Another voice asked in exasperation. Nobody has shown up that really looks good to me. Should I lower the difficulty a bit..?

After that, a third voice chimed in. At least they’re challenging yours fairly. Those of us closer to the cities keep having to deal with the ‘undesirables’. Speaking of… Trials, are you sure it’s fine to keep using your Punishment Chamber?

Hearing that question, the Trials dungeon chimed in without delay. It’s fine. Those slimes can keep eating as much as they want. They’re strong enough that none of these guys have even really hurt them yet! Well, there was that fire guy from earlier who kept attacking the core, but he was eaten before he could crack it.

Sirin’s voice called over the link once again. With me, that makes… thirty-eight of us that have masters now? We’ll start training our divinity while the rest of you find candidates.

I got one just now, too! So, make that thirty-nine! Another excited voice spoke up, one which caught the others by surprise.

Storm, even you managed to find someone? Trials spoke up in wonder.

Just now, a group of three entered, two humans and a demon. I thought that there was something weird about them, so I sent my spark fiends after them. It was a good fight, but I found something really interesting!

The three people were actually just one! And she’s the daughter of one of the gods like Mother! This revelation sparked an immediate response from numerous cores.

Daughter of a god?

Maybe we can learn more about divinity from her!

You got a good catch, Storm! I’m jealous… why can’t a demigod come to me? In truth, almost any dungeon would have immediately accepted Petra as their master as soon as her status as a demigod was revealed. This was not any form of favoritism, but rather simply the dungeons following their primary goal. Through the study of divinity, they would become divine. Who better to study than someone born of divinity?