Lewd Dungeon, Book 22 Epilogue (Patreon)

Epilogue – Resting

“What will you do with her, Master?”

Dana was standing next to me, looking at the newest addition to my menagerie. The fearsome Tier 4 dragon had, on command, been able to tap into her magic, and transformed into a girl with blue hair. Except she looked like she was about two or three years old.

I quickly made her some clothes, and got Dana to help her dress, before the kid promptly curled up next to a fireplace and went to sleep! I would have been upset, but, well, I could sense that the change had taken a lot out of her. It was kind of cute, actually.

“For now? Nothing.” I shook my head. “In this form, she is far, far too young for my tastes, and in her other form, well, I would have to be able to turn into a dragon to have a chance of measuring up, and that is something I haven’t yet managed.

“Of course, using her in the dungeon is completely out of the question. There is no way the adventurers are anywhere close to ready for her. No, I wouldn’t use her in the dungeon except as a final defense, should someone go through on Nightmare, and still manage to overcome everything that I put before them.

“I have a reputation to maintain, after all. My dungeon, if you sign the contract and follow the rules, is tough, perhaps devilishly so, but fair. You know what you’re in for when you step through the portal. That is my part of the contract, the part that keeps people coming back, and subjecting themselves to my whims. If I push too hard, or make things too unfair, they’ll stop coming, and I’ll be left with nothing.”

I sighed softly. “No, there’s nothing for it. I can keep her in reserve, but other than that, I won’t be adding her to the dungeon, for the time being.”

“Well, you could make her a ‘non-combat’ boss, maybe?”

“No, I thought about that, but there really isn’t anywhere in the existing floors where she fits in. I’d need to make a new floor, with her in mind. But there really isn’t any point in making a new floor, when most of the parties challenging the dungeon never get past the Black Temple. The few who do still haven’t managed to clear the Arena. No, new floors will have to wait, for a while. Fortunately, I have other things to consider.”

“What do you mean, Master?”

“Simple, my dear. I mean that two new dungeons are about to ‘wake up’, at least to the point where they are sentient enough that I can talk to them. I need to consider what to do with them.”

“Are you going to conquer them, like you did the moon dungeon?”

“Maybe. I certainly wouldn’t be against having more pawns. But I think that would backfire in the long run, when dealing with fellow dungeons. It makes me look like a bully, who goes out and conquers everyone within his reach, just because he can. That is a bad look, and could push other dungeons to stop working with me.”

“So, what will you do, Master?”

“I think I will start with diplomacy. Unlike the former human dungeons, these ones are ‘wild’. If I can put myself as their mentor, I can shape them, mold them in my image, all the while making myself look good to the other dungeons. And I can use them to try and spread my faith, as well, which would only benefit me in the long run.”

“Mentorship? You mean like when a probationary officer goes out for field training with a more established FBI agent?”

“Something like that, yes. Basically, working with them to help some design issues along, and things like that. Even just guiding them with some basic advice will make me look good. And I can position myself as a broker, trading some things I get off the dungeon exchange that will help them grow.”

“Huh. And you’re doing all this to increase your reputation with your fellow dungeons?”

“Well, there aren’t that many of us in the world, so it is a fairly exclusive community. I am one of the leaders of that community, if only because I was one of the first ones to join it. But that isn’t enough to keep on top of it. And I want to keep on top of the community.”

“But why? It isn’t like the other dungeons can hurt you, right? They couldn’t beat you in a Dungeon War.”

“Well, if they decided to team up, they could certainly make a go of it. But no, there’s other ways that they could make my life miserable. Just like how there’s plenty of ways that China could hurt the US before the Apocalypse without going to war. So, I want to make sure that I am too powerful, too valuable, and have too many allies for anyone to consider moving against me.”

“I see. So, what do you mean when you say the other dungeons are close to waking up?”

“Well, I say waking up, but they’re already awake. They just haven’t gotten self-aware yet. They’re still animal intelligences. But they’ll be levelling up enough that they’ll be getting smart, soon, and will be able to actually speak for themselves. And when they’re able to speak, they’ll get added to the DEN, and I’ll be there to greet them.”

“Which ones will it be, Master?”

I stretched my senses out. There were a few dungeons in range. The two that were on the verge of becoming aware were relatively close, right where I knew they’d be.

“To the north, there’s the Dark Necropolis, and to the south, the Seas of Blood. The Necropolis is the one that was formed from some idiot doing a ritual he didn’t understand, but the Seas? That one is pretty interesting. It is the first ‘field’ dungeon I’ve seen.”

“Field dungeon?”

“Yes, the Seas of Blood has actually spread into a large section of the Gulf of Mexico from the keys. I can’t wait to see what that dungeon might have discovered.”

“I didn’t know that was possible!”

“Everything’s possible with the System, if you know enough. And that is one of the reasons I’m going to reach out to these dungeons. They may know things I don’t, because they are ‘natural’ dungeons.”

The next couple weeks were going to very interesting.