Dungeon Master (Karma System)

Perrin had spent four days tapping on walls.

On the first day, his party searched the stone room where they appeared at the beginning of the second level until the arena opened and then they lost because they entered the fight distracted.

On the second day, they jammed iron spikes into the handleless door. The spikes bent. The arena opened. Orcs dragged them into the sand before they recovered their weapons.

On the third day, their mage shaped the surrounding stone. The spell revealed that the door extended deeper into the wall than it should, but the dungeon resisted every attempt to break it. They survived the first clash against the beast in the arena but then died to the Orc hunting party.

The fourth attempt was the first in which everyone agreed the impossible door was more important than beating a route they already understood.

He tapped the stone room again while the healer watched the arena wall.

”How much time?” he asked.

”Less than two minutes if it opens at the same point as yesterday.”

The room contained no furniture and only one visible door. The door had no handle, keyhole, or hinges. Every normal attempt ended when the opposite wall lowered and revealed the Orc arena.

Perrin no longer cared about the arena.

After discovering the Moonlit Glade, he had become convinced every level contained secrets. The Hall of Achievements proved some discoveries were recorded. It did not say where they were.

His party’s scout pressed one ear against the handleless door. ”There is space behind it.”

”We knew that.”

”No. I can hear movement.”

An Orc voice sounded faintly from the other side.

The shield bearer pushed against the door but it did not move.

Perrin examined the surrounding stones. Most were perfectly fitted. One narrow block beside the frame carried a shallow scratch.

He pressed it... Nothing happened.

The stone beneath their feet began vibrating and the arena wall was preparing to lower.

”One minute.” The healer warned.

Their mage pushed magic through the scratched stone. A section of the wall glowed, revealing a metal pin hidden several centimeters inside.

”There!”

The scout drove the tip of a narrow tool into the seam and caught the pin. It moved slightly before slipping away.

The rumbling grew louder.

The mage continued to infuse mana, keeping the glow on the pin active. The scout hooked the pin and pulled.

The handleless door slid sideways. They quickly squeezed through as the arena wall began descending behind them.

The corridor smelled like smoke and boiled meat. Perrin’s party pulled the secret door closed and listened. Orcs shouted inside the stone room they had just escaped from. A larger crowd roared from the arena when nobody appeared.

A golden notice formed before Perrin.

[Alternate Level Route Discovered]

[Escape the preparation room before the arena opens.]

He grinned.

The healer dismissed their own notice that had popped up. ”Celebrate after we find the exit.”

The corridor opened behind the arena. Orc workers carried food, weapons, and water toward different entrances. None expected adventurers to appear there.

Perrin’s party slipped into a storage room before they were seen.

They found spare clothing and rough cloaks. The disguises did not make them look like Orcs, but the cloth covered their armor and party markings.

The scout checked the camp through a narrow window.

”The outer wall is east. Prison cages are between us and the gate.”

”How do you know?” Perrin asked.

The scout gave Perrin a deadpan look. ”The people behind the bars are usually prisoners.”

They waited for a group of workers to pass and moved deeper into the camp.

The hidden side of Orc Highlands was larger than the arena suggested. Smokehouses and armories filled the center of the camp. Orc warriors trained beside rows of tents while young Orcs carried supplies toward the arena. A wooden board displayed betting marks beside crude drawings of Perrin’s party.

The scout studied it as they passed. ”They expected us.”

”The arena expected us.” Perrin replied. ”The camp did not expect us here.”

That advantage lasted only while nobody looked beneath their cloaks.

They crossed behind a group of arena workers and entered the shadow of the prison structure. The wall lowering in the stone room had not merely started their normal route. It warned the entire camp that new fighters had arrived. The longer Perrin’s party spent escaping, the more Orcs would start looking for them.

***

The elves noticed them immediately.

There were nineteen prisoners in the largest pen. Most were elves, although two dwarves occupied a smaller cage nearby. The elves’ clothing was torn, and several carried injuries that had not been treated.

One stepped toward the bars. ”You are not supposed to be here.”

”If we open the cages, what stands between us and the outer wall?” Perrin asked

The elf looked toward a raised platform near the eastern wall. An enormous Orc stood there wearing layered armor. He was broader than the arena chief and carried a two-handed blade with a hooked tip.

”The Chief’s brother guards the gate. Nothing leaves without passing him.”

”Can your people fight?”

”Get us to the armory, and some of us can. The wounded will still need protection.” The elf answered.

The elf introduced herself as Aelith. She had counted guard changes for eleven days and knew which storage building contained confiscated weapons.

”Open our cage quietly, and six of us can reach the armory before the arena crowd realizes there is no match.”

”What about the others?” The healer asked.

”They run when we have weapons.”

Perrin looked toward the eastern gate. ”And the Chief’s brother?”

Aelith’s expression hardened. ”He is the reason nobody has escaped.”

The mage softened the lock while the scout caught the metal before it fell. The shield bearer opened the gate slowly.

The first six elves emerged.

An Orc worker turned the corner carrying a bucket. He dropped it in surprise. The alarm horn sounded before Perrin reached him.

They ran for the eastern gate.

The freed elves armed themselves with tools and weapons taken from the storage buildings. Orc guards closed from both sides. Perrin’s party avoided the largest groups, using alleys and low structures to keep the prisoners together.

The outer gate came into view. The Chief’s brother stepped down from his platform.

He did not shout or call for assistance. He walked into the center of the road and rested the hooked blade against one shoulder.

A boss notice appeared.

[Alternate Route Boss]

[The Warchief’s Brother]

[Defeat the gate commander and escort the prisoners beyond the camp.]

Perrin raised his sword. The Orc crossed the distance before the party completed its formation.

His first swing struck the shield bearer and threw him into a wall. The second broke the mage’s barrier. Perrin attacked from the side and felt his blade scrape across armor without finding flesh.

The elves tried to surround the boss. He forced them back with one sweeping strike.

Perrin understood the problem immediately. They had spent their time finding the route. They knew nothing about the enemy waiting at its end.

The Warchief’s Brother seized Perrin by the front of his armor. ”Arena fighters belong in the arena.”

He threw Perrin through the door of a storage building. Aelith and four armed elves used the opening to reach the gate mechanism. They lifted the first locking bar before the boss turned away from Perrin.

The party’s scout struck the seam beneath the Orc’s arm. Her blade entered, proving the armor could be pierced.

The Warchief’s Brother caught her with the back of one fist.

Their mage bound the Orcs feet to the road. He tore free, leaving slabs of stone attached to his boots. The healer dragged Perrin from the broken storage building while the shield bearer tried to stand.

They had found pieces of a strategy but they did not have time to turn the pieces into one. The attempt ended less than a minute later.

Perrin awoke in the hospital with a discovery notice still hovering above him.

[Alternate route discovered: Prison Break]

[Requirements identified:]

[Escape the preparation room.]

[Free the elven prisoners.]

[Defeat the Warchief’s Brother.]

[Escort surviving prisoners beyond the camp.]

[Level completion not achieved.]

His healer sat up in the next bed.

”We are not trying that again tomorrow.”

”Of course not.” Perrins said as if trying tomorrow was one of the stupidest descions.

”Perrin.”

”We need at least two days to prepare.”

”The scratched stone opens the door, but someone has to hold mana in it while the scout pulls the pin. That costs us nearly a minute. We can reduce that.” Perrin said.

The mage spoke up. ”The boss’s armor opens beneath the right arm when he swings. We need someone who can exploit it.”

The scout offered a suggestion. ”And we arm the elves before we open every cage. They are allies, not a crowd we drag behind us.”

Their shield bearer shifted carefully on his hospital bed. ”We also need a plan for the part where he throws me through a wall.”

Perrin added it to the list.

The Hall of Achievements announced their discovery before they could say any more.