Lewd dungeon, p.4
Lewd Dungeon, page 4
Nyca Zygrash
Fimaazro Female
Level 40 Phantom Blade / Scholar
Titles: Ambassador, Charming, Silvertongued, Diplomatic, Godtouched
Market Value: 3,490,500 GP
Hashira Kiichi
Human Male
Level 15 Shadow Warrior / Diplomat
Titles: Bureaucrat, Diplomatic, Survivor
Market Value: 56,500 GP
Miya Den
Elf Female
Level 34 Ninja / Tracker
Titles: Guildmaster, Trickster, Administrator, Stealthy One
Market Value: 67,600 GP
Susanoo
Avatar Male
Level 50
Titles:
Market Value: Incalculable
Seidai Myōjin
Avatar Male
Level 50
Titles:
Market Value: Incalculable
Hachiman
Avatar Male
Level 50
Titles:
Market Value: Incalculable
Silver Mercy
Avatar Female
Level 50
Titles:
Market Value: Incalculable
Oni’s Trial
Avatar Male
Level 50
Titles:
Market Value: Incalculable
Ayame the Massive
Avatar Female
Level 50
Titles:
Market Value: Incalculable
The Appraisals conveyed little information beyond the names of the two dungeons I didn’t know, and the details on the mortals. I noticed that Zygrash had leveled up since the last time I examined her, which was good. It wouldn’t do for her to remain in Tier 2 forever, after all.
As all eyes turned towards me, I smiled, and said, “Thank you all for coming to this little summit. And my thanks to the Silver Mercy dungeon for hosting it. I know that you are all very busy people, so as an apology, I’ve prepared gifts for each of you. For the gods and mortals, I offer the Everfull Barrels you see before you, with your names on them. To the dungeons, I offer something of equal value, the pattern to an enchantment that confers upon a weapon the power to only strike the owner’s foes. Even if the weapon is stolen, it cannot be used against the owner until a ritual is done to change owners.”
That seemed to put people on the back foot a bit, so I moved forward, while I had the advantage, and sitting at the table in my assigned seat. “Please, let us start this conference between mortals, gods, and dungeons. I hope our talks will prove fortuitous to us all.”
Chapter 285 – Admission
With my initial offensive having disarmed any initial outbursts that could derail things, I began my spiel. “Now, I know that many of you balked at the contracts under the System that you were required to sign to attend. Some see it as an affront to your honor, and I wish to assure you that such a thing is completely untrue. The contracts are there so that everyone may speak openly, without fear of their words being twisted out of context and spread to the public. Unfortunately, they are also quite necessary, due to the nature of what we must discuss.”
That perked their interest, so I continued. “As I am certain that you are all aware by this point, the System applies to mortals, dungeons, and gods, but there are different mechanics and structures for each group. These differences are typically hidden, whether by tradition or the simple fact that the groups do not talk openly with each other. Some of these differences would be actively harmful if they became known to the general public, such as the process of how one becomes a god, or the ways in which a dungeon is formed, and so on. Since the purpose of this conference is to speak openly, a contract is necessary so that the information can be discussed without being made public.
“Part of that information is why I waited until now to introduce myself. Since the Apocalypse, I have been known by many names, but you may call me Kuronoth. Amongst mortals, I can often be found in chat rooms hosted by various Adventurer’s Guilds under the name of Temptation. I am recognized by the System as a God of Pleasure, Domination, and Dungeons, known as Pleasurable Domination on GodNet, the information exchange all godly beings have access to. I am also the Dungeon known as the Forbidden Chambers of Exotic Pleasures, or just Exotic Pleasures, if you’re on the DEN, the dungeon information network. And yes, I am the dungeon itself, not simply a dungeon boss, while at the same time being a god. Hence the line in the contract everyone signed about a person only being able to serve one role while agreeing to disclose any information we share here.”
I paused for a breath, and then said, “I would ask everyone to introduce themselves in turn, giving only such information as you wish those here to know. Starting with the hostess, please.” I looked to Mercy at my left-hand side, expectantly.
She rose, and introduced herself, and actually said that she was the Silver Mercy dungeon, not just a bound spirit, which I saw as a good sign. Oni’s Trial and Ayame the Massive followed suit, and I learned that they were BrightOni and Smasher on the National DEN, though they had not yet become part of the Global DEN. Oni was located on the slopes of Mount Ibuki, near Nagahama, in Shiga Prefecture. Ayame was a bit more infamous, since apparently her dungeon had popped up in the middle of a major tunnel allowing traffic to cross Tokyo Bay without having to go all the way around.
Zygrash I already knew, of course, but it was good to see her setting the tone for the mortal introductions. Hashira Kiichi was an undersecretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Made sense, since they’d have more diplomatic experience, even if this wasn’t exactly foreign. And Miya Den was the Leader of the Japanese Adventurers’ Alliance.
And, of course, there were the gods. Hachiman and Seidai Myōjin at least tried to make their introductions fit with what the others had done. Susanoo, on the other hand, acted like the fun-loving uncle at a family gathering, who did not care if being drunk before noon caused problems for others. It did help break the tension, though.
Introductions done, I took a breath, and then said, “One week ago, at 09:23 local time, a magical disturbance was detected on the grounds of Tokamachi High School, in the city of Tokamachi, in Niigata Prefecture. This disturbance altered the flows of mana in the surrounding area, creating a focal point, from which a dungeon was formed. The dungeon then rapidly expanded to fit the entire school grounds, trapping all the students, teachers, and staff that were there inside.
“This much has been reported to the press, in one form or another, and is generally known to the public. However, this is not the entire story. To start with the question that I am sure is foremost on the minds of Hashira-san, and others in the Government, what of those who were trapped inside the dungeon? Unfortunately, I can confirm that all those who did not escape prior to the dungeon’s formation were either killed, or have been transformed irrevocably to be part of the dungeon.”
I looked around the table, and said, “However, what I can report to you all here is that the disturbance which caused the dungeon’s formation was not natural, nor was it done by the hand of any dungeon or god. The disturbance was, in fact, the completion of a ritual, the stated purpose of which was to create a dungeon. However, this ritual was conducted by a mortal, with the full knowledge of what would happen.”
It was interesting to see who was and was not shocked by that information. Silver Mercy, Ambassador Zygrash, and Seidai Myōjin were all, well, not unphased, but they weren’t overly surprised. They’d all known, or suspected this. The others, though? They were definitely surprised.
“I am sure that some will be looking for someone to blame for this tragedy. Unfortunately, the truth is that the cause of this tragedy, like so many other such tragedies around the world, was a bullied child no longer being able to take the abuse of his peers and the neglect of those adults who were supposed to be looking out for him. Driven to desperation and sporting fresh bruises while on a class trip to see the shrines here in Kyoto, this young boy stumbled into a hidden shrine, and called out to a god for help.
“Hearing a prayer at one of my shrines, I formed an avatar, and asked the boy about his story. His class was ill-suited for combat, being one better designed for research and support. However, in the world of high school, such nuance, especially when already dealing with the kind of attitudes that teenagers are known to have, the world over? Well, the quiet kid who didn’t fit in with the others quickly found himself ostracized and the target of abuse, since he did not have the levels or skills to fight back.
“When he went to the teachers? They either laughed, or told him to get stronger. Several joined in the abuse, as the powers they gained in the Apocalypse made them bold. The headmistress in charge of the school even made it her mission to try and ‘weed out’ those who ruined the look of her school, and this boy was one of the weeds she was trying to be rid of.”
There was an uncomfortable air around the table. Everyone knew what was coming. They’d all seen things like this before. Even before the Apocalypse, it was a story that was repeated time and again, just with different faces, and in different places.
“The boy did not ask me to smite his enemies. He did not ask me to take him away, to someplace where he would not have to deal with his abuse. The boy asked me for power, the power to take his revenge with his own hands.
“Being sympathetic to his plight, and impressed by the fire in his voice, I gave him a copy of a book that had been brought into my dungeon by an adventurer who lost it when they learned the hard way that some challenges were beyond their current skills. This book was a grimoire of spells and rituals. If he could translate and decipher it, he would be able to take his revenge, on his own terms, in whatever form he deemed fit.
“My price for giving him this book was that he should do two tasks for me. The first was to set up a shrine to me in his hometown, expanding my reach. The second was that he was to conduct a ritual that I had discovered amongst the ‘heretical’ knowledge sealed away aboard the flagship of the fleet I captured, some time ago.
“This ritual was written by what sounded like a madman. He rambled in places, and went on rants about one thing or another. However, going through the madman’s notes, I was able to piece together the ritual, along with the intended result: the creation of a new dungeon core.”
I leaned back in my chair, and said, “As a dungeon myself, such a thing naturally interested me. So, I gave a copy of the ritual, minus the mad ramblings, of course, to the boy, and bade him complete it. My error, if there was one, was to not give him guidelines on when to conduct the ritual. I am sure that the other gods here can attest that mortals exercising their free will can sometimes cause well-laid plans to go awry.”
I sighed, and said, “I was notified of the ritual’s completion by a second shrine the boy had set up, without my instruction, inside the school. Due to some ‘unpleasantness’ in the distant past, there are special rules for shrines in dungeons, as several of us here know all too well. Because my shrine was located in the core room of the newborn dungeon, that dungeon was more strongly affected by my church’s tenants than it might otherwise have been. Unfortunately, this meant that all those sealed inside the dungeon were quickly overwhelmed.”
“So, you are saying that it was not your fault that this happened? Despite so many people being dead?”
My eyes snapped to Undersecretary Hashira. “If there is any fault to be had, Undersecretary, then it would lie on those who conducted the ritual while school was in session. Beyond that? If you seek to lay blame, then lay it upon the students who drove a boy to desperation, and the teachers who stood aside, because the boy was weak, and different. I gave the boy the means to strike back against those who oppressed him, but I gave no order to strike down the entire school.”
“You had to know what would happen, though!”
“Prophecy and foresight are not part of my portfolio, Undersecretary, and they are not gifts that I currently possess. My intent, and assumption, was for the boy to conduct the ritual at night, when there would be less chance of discovery, or of someone interrupting things. The boy, exercising his free will, decided on another course, however.”
“Ah, excuse me,” Leader Miya cut in. “Can you tell us what exactly was involved in this ritual, and how it might scale? If it was done once, then it could be done again. And while I lament the loss of the teachers and students of an entire high school, it would be more devastating if this ritual were repeated in an Alliance headquarters, or a military base, or even encompassing an entire city, like Tokyo.”
That last bit shut the Undersecretary up real fast. He hadn’t even considered the possible scale implications. Well, most people wouldn’t want to think about the idea that a city of millions could be turned into a dungeon with what was effectively the flip of a switch.
I nodded slowly, and said, “Yes, before, the ritual was just the ravings of a madman, taken from a trove of knowledge hidden away by religious zealots. But, now that the ritual has been shown to be legitimate, there are concerns that must be addressed.
“First, let me assure you that scaling the ritual up to the size where it could encompass a city is not something that could be done easily. You would have to spend months, if not years setting up the proper talismans in a network so that the mana flows were properly directed from around the city. That is a long time for the talismans to remain undetected and undisturbed. And all of this assumes that there are no other forces working on the city’s mana.
“To put it in perspective, the ritual at the school was like looking in a shallow pool to see your reflection mirrored back at you. To do the same for the city would be akin to trying to see your reflection in frothing rapids, during a thunderstorm, at night. While it is not outside the realm of possibility, so many things would have to align perfectly that it would take multiple gods working together for it to even begin to become a possible threat, much less a plausible one.
“Not to mention, if one were to do ritual magic to destroy a city, there are far, far easier ways to go about it, ones that aren’t almost predestined to fail.”
Chapter 286 – Concerns
I took a breath as I considered my next words. “However, the fact that one cannot use this to attack a city does not mean that this ritual, and others like it, are not a threat. It could be used on any building, given enough time and access, with handmade talismans and spells that are simple enough, if one knows how. Any building not defended against such rituals is at risk.
“Now, not all buildings are equally likely for this sort of thing, obviously. A single-family home is unlikely to be bothered by such a thing, unless there is domestic trouble. However, if someone wanted to strike at the halls of power, this would be one way to throw a nation into chaos. Especially if the newborn dungeon is then fed enough to expand, and given enough direction to cover the capital.”
“Like your follower did on Bluemountain,” Zygrash snarked.
I simply smiled, and shrugged. “The Mesmerizing Cells of the Black Knight dungeon formed naturally, but yes, his taking over the capital of Vinastra during the fall of the Pofmisian church there caused a great deal of chaos. However, that dungeon was well established already, and had a conscious will to actively decide on his course. That is not the case with the newborn dungeon in most cases.
I paused, and said, “I will point out that what I am about to say is part of what is covered in the contracts you all signed to join this conference, and cannot be spread past this group, unless a coalition of at least one mortal, dungeon, and god agree on it. Part of the reason certain dungeons have advanced so quickly after Earth’s connection to the System is because the consciousness behind those dungeons is not a newborn dungeon at all, but a reincarnated human, given new life as a dungeon.”
I saw Zygrash chuckle, and shake her head, and grinned. “As all of you now know, I am more than just one thing. People think of me as the voice of the Forbidden Chambers of Exotic Pleasures dungeon, but the truth is that I am the dungeon itself, and this body you see is an avatar I created. I later rose to godhood, but I am still part dungeon, so I know how these things work.
“I should note that it is not just reincarnated humans who have ‘woken up’ as dungeons, and taken control of their fate. In South Florida alone, there are two dungeons, besides my own, that have ‘woken up’. One was a marine creature of some sort, and its mind is still more bestial, more feral, but can speak and understand words. And the other is a necropolis born from a failed ritual, where the concentrated mana caused a dungeon to form, while the intelligent undead gave the dungeon a pattern to follow.”
Zygrash inhaled sharply. “Which means that there is a chance that dungeons created through rituals may develop intelligence quickly, if they have the right kinds of monsters, or are exposed to enough higher life-forms? That is a troubling thought indeed.”
