The Legendary Dungeon Master

Chapter 22: Chapter 22: The Way Back

The chamber was silent.

The Minotaur was motionless on the floor of the ruined chamber, surrounded by broken stone. Several pillars were broken, and others were cracked. Arin stood nearby, still gripping his sword. He looked utterly exhausted. Rayan approached him.”Are you sure you’re alright?” Arin nodded. ”Yeah.” Rayan studied him. ”You don’t look good.” ”I’m standing.” ”That’s not what I asked.” Arin gave him a small smile. ”I’m fine.” Rayan groaned. ”You’re impossible.” Dev leaned over and looked at Arin. ”He’s right, you know.” Arin blinked at him. ”About what?” ”You look terrible.” ”Thanks.” Dev chuckled. ”I’m only stating the obvious.”

Nisha came over with Tara.”You should sit down.” Arin shook his head. ”If I sit down, I might not get back up.” Tara frowned at him. ”That doesn’t inspire confidence.” ”I wasn’t trying to.” Tara shot a glance at Rayan. Saira came over. ”You all are wasting time.” Rayan turned to her. ”We just fought that thing.” ”And?” ”We should be allowed to breathe.” Saira crossed her arms. ”Breathe while walking.” Arin chuckled. Rayan glared at him. ”You think this is funny?” ”A bit.”

The Guild Master finally approached. His sharp eyes took in the dead Minotaur, then Arin, then Ayan, then Saira. He crossed his arms. ”Before we leave, I want answers.” Arin’s smile vanished. ”About what?” ”Everything.” Arin sighed. ”I was afraid you’d say that.” The Guild Master gestured at Ayan. ”First. Him.” Ayan turned to Arin. Arin rubbed the back of his neck. ”His name is Ayan.” ”I heard his name.” The Guild Master narrowed his eyes at Ayan. ”What is he?” Ayan answered for him. ”A dragon.”

There was a heavy pause. Rayan turned to Arin. Arin avoided his gaze. The Guild Master stared at Ayan. ”A dragon?” ”Yes.” ”You’re in human form.” ”Yes.” ”You can change at will.” ”Yes.” The Guild Master turned to Arin. ”And you’re traveling with him?” ”Yes.” ”Why?” Arin hesitated. ”It’s complicated.” The Guild Master’s brow furrowed. ”How complicated?” Arin turned to Ayan. Ayan met his gaze. ”Very.” The Guild Master sighed. ”Fine.”

He gestured at Saira. ”Then her.” Saira raised an eyebrow. ”What about me?” ”You’re a demon.” ”Correct.” ”Why are you traveling with Arin?” Saira turned to Arin. Then back to the Guild Master. ”He is my Master.” Every set of eyes in the chamber turned to Arin. His eyes were closed.

”Please don’t say it like that.” Saira frowned. ”How else should I say it?” ”Anything else.” ”But it is accurate,” said Rayan. ”You’re the master of a demon?” said Rayan. ”No,” said Arin. ”Yes,” said Saira. Arin pointed at her. ”You’re not helping.” Dev chuckled. Nisha covered her mouth. Even Tara was smiling.

The Guild Master was clearly agitated. ”Arin.” ”Yes?” ”You went into this dungeon as a novice adventurer.” Arin nodded. ”Yes.”

”You came out with a dragon and a demon.” ”Yes.” ”You fell to a much lower part of the dungeon.” ”Yes.” ”You somehow defeated the creature that nearly killed you.” ”Yes.” The Guild Master was staring at him intensely. ”Do you understand why I have questions?” ”Completely.” ”Good.” Arin gave a small smile. ”I don’t have answers.” The Guild Master continued to stare at him for a long moment before sighing.

”I should have known.” Mira finally stepped forward. ”Enough.” All eyes turned to her. Mira walked up to Arin. ”He’s tired.” The Guild Master nodded. ”Yes, he is.”BMira looked at Arin. ”But I have questions as well.” Arin sighed. ”I know.” She narrowed her eyes at him.B”What happened after you fell?” Arin hesitated. He couldn’t tell her about the Dungeon Master’s Mark. He couldn’t explain the system to her. He couldn’t tell her that he had met Ayan or Saira the way he did. Not yet. ”I survived.” Mira’s expression darkened. ”That’s not an answer.” ”I know.” ”Then give me a good answer.” Arin looked down at the ground. ”I ended up somewhere deeper in the dungeon.” Mira waited.

”I met people.” She looked at Ayan and Saira. ”Those people?” Arin nodded. ”Yes.” ”What did they do?” ”They helped me.” Mira looked at Ayan. Then at Saira. ”Did they save you?” Arin paused. ”Sometimes.” ”Often,” said Ayan. Arin looked at him. ”Thanks.” Mira studied Ayan. ”You protected him?” ”Yes.” ”Why?” Ayan looked at Arin. ”Because he is my master.” Mira’s eyes widened. Arin covered his face. ”Not again.” Saira looked at him. ”You are embarrassed.”

”I’m not embarrassed.” ”You are.” ”I am tired.” ”That too.” Dev chuckled. Rayan shook his head. ”I don’t know what is happening anymore.” The Guild Master turned to the Minotaur. ”Whatever happens, we can talk about it later.”

He turned to the tunnels. ”We need to be going.” They all nodded. They began to prepare to leave. Rayan walked next to Arin. After a while, he spoke. ”Can I ask you something?” ”Of course.” ”Are you mad at us?” Arin looked at him. ”For leaving you?” Arin shook his head. ”No.” Rayan looked surprised. ”You are not?” ”You did what I asked.” ”You told us to run.” ”Exactly.” Rayan looked down at the ground. ”I still feel like I left you.” Arin stopped walking. So did Rayan. ”You did not.” ”I did.” ”No.” Arin looked him in the eye. ”If you had stayed, the Minotaur would have killed all of us.” Rayan clenched his fist. ”I could have done something.” ”You did.” ”What?” ”You survived.” Rayan looked at him. Arin gave him a small smile. ”You came back for me.”

Rayan was silent. Dev, who had been walking nearby, looked at them. ”We all came back for you.” Nisha nodded. ”Of course we did.” Tara smiled. ”You saved our lives.” Arin looked at the four of them. ”You don’t owe me anything.” Dev shook his head. ”Perhaps.” He smiled. ”But we are going to pay you back.” Arin sighed. ”I knew you would say that.” Tara laughed. ”Get used to it.” They began walking. After a while, Mira walked next to Arin. ”You have really changed.” Arin looked at her. ”How so?” ”Before you came here, you were excited to become a Dungeon Hunter.” ”I still am.” ”I know.” She looked at him. ”But before, you were excited and nervous.”

Arin smiled. ”Now?” ”Now you look like I’ve already survived everything.” Arin thought about it. ”I guess falling into a dungeon depth changes you.” Mira gave him a strange look. ”Don’t get used to it.” ”I will try not to.” ”Try harder.” Arin chuckled. ”Okay.” They continued walking. The deeper tunnels began to look more familiar. The blue crystals became more common. Rayan looked around. ”We’re getting close.” The Guild Master nodded. ”Yes.” Arin pulled out Dungeon Mapping. The blue map appeared before his eyes. He looked at it closely. It was different. It showed new paths. Passages he hadn’t seen before. Hidden tunnels. Tunnels that led to parts of the dungeon that weren’t connected.

Arin frowned. ”Interesting.” Mira looked at him. ”What?” ”Nothing.” Arin traced his finger over the map. There was one huge section that was completely empty. Not unexplored. Not blocked. Simply inaccessible. A small tag appeared over it saying [Restricted.]. Arin narrowed his eyes at it. ”What is there?” Ayan looked at him. ”What?” Arin quickly closed the map. ”Nothing.” Saira gave him a strange look. ”You found something.” ”Perhaps.” ”Then why did you close it?” ”Because everyone would ask questions.” Rayan looked back at the wall. ”We are asking questions.” Arin groaned. ”Exactly.” They continued walking. All of a sudden, something moved in the darkness ahead. Everyone stopped. Rayan raised his sword. Dev raised his shield. Nisha readied her staff. Tara pulled an arrow to her string.

The Guild Master raised his weapon. Arin looked toward the darkness. Several pairs of eyes began to glow. Dungeon monsters were blocking their path. They didn’t move. They simply looked at the group. Then they looked at Ayan. Their bodies tensed. One took a step back. Then another. Within moments, the monsters had turned and run. Everyone was stunned. Dev slowly lowered his shield. ”Did they just run away?” Tara nodded. ”Yes.” Rayan looked at Ayan. ”Because of him?” Ayan shrugged. ”Probably.” The Guild Master frowned. ”That is not normal.” Saira looked at Arin. ”Perhaps they respect authority.” Arin turned to her. ”What do you mean?” Saira gave him a small smile. ”Nothing.” Arin narrowed his eyes at her. ”You know something.” ”I know many things.” ”That’s not helpful.”

”I wasn’t trying to be.” Arin groaned. ”Everyone is hopeless when it comes to explaining things.” Ayan looked at him. ”I do a decent job of explaining.” ”You do a decent job of explaining after making everything more confusing.” Ayan thought about this. ”Perhaps.” Rayan chuckled. ”I think I am beginning to understand.” Arin looked at him. ”Understand what?” ”Why you get along with them.” Arin stared at him. ”I don’t think I do.” They continued walking. Eventually, the darkness began to dissipate. A faint light appeared in the distance. Sunlight. Everyone saw it. Tara smiled. ”The entrance.” Nisha let out a breath of relief. ”We made it.” Dev looked back at the dungeon. ”I never thought I would be happy to see sunlight again.” Rayan nodded. ”Same here.”NMira looked at Arin. ”Are you ready?” Arin looked at the exit. Then back at the dungeon. His hand suddenly burned. He looked down. The Dungeon Master’s Mark was glowing. Arin’s expression changed.

There was no message. No words. Nothing else happened. The glow faded. Arin stared at his hand for a moment. Then he looked up. ”Yeah.” He looked at the sunlight. ”Let’s go home.” The group began to walk toward the exit. Arin stepped into the light. For the first time since falling into the deep part of the dungeon, he was going to go home. But he knew one thing for sure.

The dungeon was not finished with him.