Dungeon Master (Karma System)

The group of 5 pushed the doors out of the hospital open and walked into the village to find Max and Anna waiting for them.

”That was a great first attempt.” Max said.

Lana groaned. ”Is the boss random like the rest of the encounters?” She asked.

Max nodded happily. ”There are 3 different bosses you can encounter on this level. You have officially reached the halfway point of the first level. Congratulations.”

”Halfway? You mean there is more after the boss?” Rod asked.

Max shook his head. ”No, it’s not like that. The bosses are difficult. You will need to find their weakness, discover what works and what doesn’t. Discover the depths of their abilities.” Max then looked at Gilmore. ”Did the treant use everything he had available or is he still hiding other abilities?”

”Sounds tough.” Lana said.

”Yes, and the multiple bosses doesn’t make it any easier. You have encountered the treant. A large creature with lots of health and defense. Then there is the elder dryad you glimpsed a few days ago. Moderate health, quick, able to use both physical attacks and magical abilities. Then the last boss is a pure caster. The strategies you have for one will probably not work against the others.”

Rod shook his head. ”It is a shame we need to leave today. From what you said it sounds like we are at the point where we can start to really get into the dungeon and work hard.”

Anna nodded. ”The boss fights are a great place to hone your abilities against an overwhelming force.”

They spoke for a little while longer before the group split up and ran to the shops to spend the rest of their money.

2 hours later and their bags were filled. They had visited the class trainers and discover the pathways to a few more skills.

The adventures departed to the stables.

Gilmore was pleased to see the horses happy and healthy. The tauren in charge ushered the animals over. A pair were bridled and attached to the carriage while the other 2 were saddled.

The group set off and headed back to the Lord’s city.

An hour away from the dungeon, Gilmore stopped the carriage and called Dirk and Silvia over.

The 5 sat down in a circle.

”We need to talk about a few things.” The assassin said. The others looked a bit confused but Lana nodded.

Gilmore smiled, his niece had always been a sharp girl.

”What’s up?” asked Rod.

”We need to be careful about what we tell people about the dungeon.” The man said.

Rod looked confused. ”Why is that? Mr. Clark seemed pretty free with the information he gave us.”

Lana spoke up. ”That’s true, but he was also trying to endear us to his dungeon.”

Gilmore took over. ”The revival buff he has is an amazing thing. And from what he implied I think we all know that even if we head straight back in after dying we will be fine.”

Lana was the only one who nodded with him. ”While he didn’t say it, he did hint at it.”

”Then why did we wait the full 12 hours?” Dirk asked.

”Out of respect. He earns his Dungeon points by us being in there. I don’t know the numbers but I am sure it cost him DP to revive us. By waiting 12 hours we are paying off that debt. I don’t think he will hint at that with others once his dungeon is full of adventures. He was trying to gain our trust by being honest.”

”So we shouldn’t tell others about that?” Silvia said.

”Yes.” Lana added. ”Don’t forget he is a dungeon master. He told us the buff may not work if we go in early. If he gets annoyed he may chose someone to make an example of and have them die for real. So it’s better to just keep that to ourselves.”

”Okay.”

”I get it.”

”Sure.”

”Good.” Gilmore said. ”And if you return, always be respectful to him and his wife. He may truly be an easy going person, or it might be an act. But the one thing I am certain about is that he could causally decimate me. I can’t even see through his strength. And the means available to him are unfathomable. I don’t know if he was just curious or it was a powerplay but he asked me what my dream skill was and then instantly learned it in front of me. The next day he came by and demonstrated it and gave me a few tips for when I eventually learn it.”

”Wow. So Mr. Clarkson is an assassin?” Rod asked. ”That would explain how he can always sneak up on us.”

Gilmore shook his head. ”No. He casually mentioned he doesn’t have a class. He then demonstrated a monk technique to me. It may have been an act, but I believe him.”

Lana looked to Rod and Dirk since they were living only a day’s ride from the dungeon. ”Be respectful to him and his wife. Don’t say what you shouldn’t and remember to tell others about the dungeon. We may be able to gain a bit of favor if he recognizes the hard work we put into spreading the word. Silvia and I will be doing the same thing when we get back to the Barony.”

”Okay. Easy enough.” Rod said.

”Good. Then let’s get going.” Gilmore said.

///

It had been almost a week since the adventures had left. Max was a bit depressed that they hadn’t had any other visitors yet. From overhearing Rod’s conversation with Dirk he knew that the Lord’s city was only a day’s ride away. So he was fairly confused.

Why wouldn’t they recommend his dungeon? Didn’t they enjoy their stay here?

Max shrugged, there was nothing he could do about it right now. He got back to work moving dirt.

He really wanted adventurers to come so that he would have something to distract him from the anxious tinkering he was doing. Every day he had new ideas on how to change the 4 levels he had built and he spent his time putting them into action.

His beautiful wife had come up with a good idea to cut his spending, distract him, and keep him busy. He knew what she was doing but he wasn’t upset at her not-so-subtle manipulation because every point she made was a good one.

One of the things he often did with his anxious tinkering was manipulating the terrain.

Anna had come to him with a skill she discovered. When she told him that it was a mid-level monk skill he became a bit interested. He was already very happy with his high level monk skill. He made sure to work on at least 1 weapon proficiency every day with it.

This new skill came from a different type of monk, but he thought it was just as cool. The Elemental Monk could tap into the natural elements around him.

He agreed with her and bought Earth Manipulation. This was also his first skill that used mana.

The first day he was only able to manipulate handfuls of dirt and stone at a time, but with practice he could now move several hundred pounds at once. The incredible part was that he had only been practicing for 5 days.

DC informed him that he was learning at an incredible rate. The Dungeon Core thought it may have something to do with the unique structure of his body. Max wasn’t complaining though. Instead of spending DP he was now moving the dirt around while training a skill. It was actually a bit fun.

The best part was that once he worked up a sweat, Anna would show up with some fresh lemonade and pour him a glass.

Max smiled as he thought about his great life.

He then checked the time and headed back to grab a shower. Tonight he was taking Anna out to eat at a special location.

After cleaning up, he picked out one of the suits that she liked. He checked himself in the mirror. The black suit did look good. He put on a nice watch and then straightened his tie.

He then went to the entrance room of the manor and waited for her to arrive.

His eyes almost popped out of his head when he saw her walking down the stair.

The deep blue dress clung to her figure. Her hair was pulled up to expose her delicate neck. When she reached the bottom of the steps, she gave him a slow twirl while she showed off.

The backless dress really did look magnificent on her. For a moment he found it difficult to restrain himself from pouncing on her. But they had talked a few days ago to check in on their relationship. They weren’t at that stage yet.

They had slowly worked up to hugs, hand holding, and kissing. They had seen each other naked already but hadn’t actually done anything. Annastasia didn’t mind when his hands wandered over her. But she wasn’t ready for the final step.

”You look breathtaking.”

Anna covered her bashful smile. ”You look quite handsome as well.”

”Shall we My Lady?” Max said, offering his arm.

Anna hooked hers through his. ”Let’s. you still haven’t told me where we are going tonight.”

”That is a surprise.”