That last test, despite getting lost in the woods, had actually been the fastest they had done so far.

  They enjoyed an early lunch in the safety of the dungeon's common area.

  As Kai and Alicia were eating their pork chops and chips with a side of something that wasn't quite peas,

  “So what do we know? Atheos said there were ten short floors, each meant to test something. It is an easy assumption that each of the five archways, when repeated once, is the sum total of those ten floors. The important part is that all ten are tests of some kind.” Syl said, unable to consume food outside of the domain as a projection, she instead used the time to lead their mental preparations for the fifth archway.

  Kai nodded along as he tried his best not to embarrass himself by devouring his meal too fast.

  Alicia was absurdly delicate with the use of her utensils and the way she ate her meal. As he would have expected from a princess, a well-practiced choreography right down to the number of times she chewed.

  He did his best not to stare as he took mental notes on etiquette.

  Unfortunately he had the bad habit of wolfing down his food so he wasn’t the last one finished and had to wash the dishes. Not that he had washed any dishes since he got to Alea. But when a bad habit was inadvertently drilled into you as a child it was hard to brake in adulthood.

  “The dungeon master presented himself not as a test but as an adjudicator of the tests able to offer us items in some kind of trade, some kind of opportunity to receive rewards based on our performance.” Syl continued.

  Kai swallowed the bit of pork he felt like he had been chewing on for far too long and supplied, “When Inego warned me about him, he said the dungeon master was a merchant, that he would try to get the best of us, cheat us, that he actually takes pride in it. If the test so far hadn’t all been so multifaceted, I would have happily assumed getting a good deal was the next test. But after seeing the turd and then Oola and the other goblins, I think it's wrong to take anything at face value and first explanations.”

  “That's the other thing; we all got cryptic warnings about him. And the fact that he himself is making his dislike of Atheos, the architect of this dungeon, painfully clear, is just plain suspicious. You two may not know this, but it is patently impossible to put a copy of a sentient being into a dungeon and force them to fulfil a role unwillingly as they retain their free will.”

  “Inego said something about the dungeon master entering the dungeon under different conditions…”

  Syl tapped her lips in thought.

  He both loved and loathed when she did that; it drew his attention to her lips in a way that he could not ignore, making him hungry in a way that it wasn’t always appropriate to satiate.

  “Could the dragon have been put into the dungeon as some kind of punishment?” Alicia suggested.

  “He’s a blue dragon, right? Does that mean anything, like some kind of alignment or predictable personality?”

  Syl rolled her eyes. “Kai, this isn't Dungeons and Dragons. And Alicia, no, there is no point in making an image of someone for the purposes of punishment. The true copy would never know what the fake experienced, so it would serve no point. Unlike some cloning abilities, which can confer information between themselves and the original, the copies used in dungeons are tied to the dungeon and only the dungeon. The copy is a separate quasi-being from the moment it is constructed. They cannot leave the dungeon that maintains them.”

  “I don’t understand; rifts, if not properly maintained, break open, monsters spilling out of them en masse to wreak havoc on the world around them.” Alicia said as she reached over to collect Kai's plate, putting hers with his; they both disappeared.

  “Rifts are tears in space and time, connecting one place to another. Dungeons, however, are managed and maintained by the system; thus, they operate under set rules and conditions… That is not to say dungeons cannot break, just that when they do, the dungeon spawns that spill out will deteriorate without their connection. The problem is more that a broken dungeon can spawn endless copies while it has enough energy.”

  “What I don’t understand is why we are having this conversation out here and not in the domain. Can’t the dungeon master hear us? Aren't we playing our hand, letting him know we are suspicious?”

  Syl gave him a devilish grin, “Because we want him to know we know.”

  Just ten minutes later, they were stepping through the arch to find themselves standing before a massive blue dragon.

  The great wyrm was slumbering, leathery wings folded against its torso that rose and fell in time with the warm, heady breeze that circled the room. Its great horned head and thick muscular tail curled round itself and tucked in like a sleeping cat. Its full form taking up more than half the room.

  The sound of slow clapping resounded throughout the massive chamber as they found themselves being approached by the blue-scaled man who had greeted them when they first arrived in this section of the dungeon.

  “Very good, you little know-it-all. You seem to have everything worked out; whatever am I to do? Should I treat you to an extra reward? Should I wake the real me and see what he thinks? Though, I wouldn’t actually recommend that. He finds the scale of this chamber constricting and prefers to sleep away his unjust imprisonment. That and he hasn’t had a good meal in a decade or two.” The dungeon master said, as he looked at him one by one. He tsked, “He could only eat the two of you, a little more than a crunchy snack.”

  When Kai had seen the sleeping dragon, he had assumed that the dungeon master had reverted to his true form, and yet there were two of them. One inferring the other was the true self and he was a copy.

  When he looked over to Syl for answers, he was met with similar confusion.

  Kai examined the man, hoping it might give him some answers.

  ( ??? )

  The dungeon master shot him a sharp look. “Sloppy and rude,” showing sharp feral canines, he grinned, “I will have to detract some points.”

  Shit, if he wasn’t mistaken, he needed points; lacking context, he pleaded. “Forgive me, I was merely trying to gather information and understand the situation.”

  The dungeon master folded his arms and gave Kai a long look, “an apology and acceptable explanation… I will return some points.”

  Kai felt the tension between his shoulders ease slightly.

  “Making excuses for your actions, minus.”

  “What-“ Kai had to bite his tongue; the dungeon master was giving him a look that just dared him to go on, a look that said he held all the power and he loved using it.

  Kai had strong feelings about the difference between an excuse and an explanation. More, he hated it when people confused the matter just because they found it suited them.

  But as the dungeon master's eyebrow rose, Kai realised it would be a fight he couldn’t win. Inego had warned him the man would cheat.

  Similarly, both Alicia and Syl heeded the warnings they had received and kept their lips shut tight.

  “Right, let's get this done with. I am forced to admit you did well enduring in the first test; you listened to the soldiers and even went so far as to equip them with the means to defend and contribute from afar… even saved a few; that was certainly new. Ten thousand points each. “

  They looked between themselves, grinning; even without knowing the value of each individual point, ten thousand sounded good.

  “Let’s see, you set the forest ablaze, destroyed a whole ecosystem, possibly even started a famine had events played out… minus three thousand points each.” The dungeon master continued.

  ‘Damn, I didn’t think about the real-world implications.’ Syl moaned, silently using the party chat.

  “You were all separated during the next test, your conviction and drive tested individually. All of you passed the initial test, but the real trial was whether you had the capacity to learn…”

  The dungeon master gave them all another long look.

  “I cannot argue that you failed, and the ones who administered this test all gave their approval and awarded these points based on your performance. Alicia five thousand points. Kai four thousand five hundred points. Syl… ten thousand points.”

  Syl looked stunned; she had been given more points than her other two party members combined. Blinking as what that might mean sank in. Syl’s posture changed; she stood taller as she smiled silently to herself.

  The dungeon master sighed, and pulled out a cue card, “Kai, becoming an apprentice to the shadow of a grand master and now confirmed god of arcane swordsmanship upon first meeting them… outdated copy or not, two hundred thou- not on my life, Inego, let's see, what is fair… two thousand points.”

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  ‘You never said anything about becoming someone's apprentice! And a god too.’ Alicia said, surprised.

  ‘Don’t know if it will stick yet.’ Kai replied as he watched the dungeon master tear up the cue card in disgust.

  “Signing up with the first mentor figure you meet, a copy that cannot leave a dungeon you cannot enter again… don’t you think that’s stupid. Minus five hundred points.” The dungeon master chided him.

  There was a short rumble, but it stopped the moment the dungeon master looked off to the side.

  Pretending the loss of points didn’t sting, Kai shrugged, “Had nothing to lose, but a lot to learn. I see nothing wrong with showing respect when its due.”

  The dungeon master's eyes narrowed. “Let's hope you don’t come to regret those words one day; however, in the moment, I guess it was… productive, one thousand points.”

  Kai nodded in thanks; inwardly, he was grinning.

  “The maze, you missed three unique items tailored for you, but you sensibly prioritised the shards and did not risk exploring in the dark or while the maze was transitioned to its water phase; everyone complains about the water phase. Furthermore, you discussed your situation and listened to the team member uniquely qualified to get you through in a reasonable time. Furthermore, you adjusted your overly cautious approach as soon as you realised it would be problematic. Three thousand each.”

  ‘I told you we should have checked out those chests; the moment we found one unique item, we would have looked for the other two.’ Kai muttered.

  ‘Kai… Alicia can’t swim.’

  Kai looked at Alicia in surprise.

  ‘Syl, I told you that in confidence.’ Alicia complained.

  ‘Sorry, but we’re a party; he kind of needs to know. Besides now that he does know we can have our beach episode, I’ve been meaning to make changes to the domain's lake; I think it will be relaxing to have a swim now and then.’

  ‘Beach episode?’

  “Would you like me to take points away for you three having a private conversation while I am trying to give you your assessment? I do appreciate you not directly interrupting me with idle chatter, but it is still rude.” The dungeon master said as he glowered at the three of them.

  “We apologise,” was all Syl said.

  “Not going to lie to me, swear that you weren't using your party communication or give me an excuse?”

  Syl shook her head.

  “Fine, minus… no points. Moving on, the village… ten thousand points each.”

  ‘Wait, no explanation-‘ Kai halted the mental communication as he realised the dungeon master's head whipped round to give him a look that begged Kai to give him a reason to deduct more points.

  “So your current totals are as such, Alicia, twenty-five thousand. Kai, twenty-three thousand five hundred. Finally, Syl, a new interim record of thirty thousand points.” The dungeon master paused to check something. “Congratulations to the three of you. Together you have also set a new team record. Of course, that is when accounting for your diminished party size.

  Kai grinned; that implied they had a lot of points to bargain with.

  “Now for the tedious part, trading those points. As you should know, this dungeon is equipped to assess the needs of its entrants and provide items suited to their immediate and future needs. But do not be fooled; the dungeon cannot construct anything that was not already within its catalogue.”

  The dungeon master started pacing back and forth in front of them, his demeanour that of someone forced to do something they didn't want to do. His explanation heavy with the feeling he had delivered this particular speech many times before and wasn’t paid enough to pretend he enjoyed doing it.

  “Do not mistake me and assume that this limits the items available, as anything left behind by a fallen entrant across every instance within the multiverse is reviewed and added to the catalogue. And no, you cannot see the catalogue. You may only make a request, and the dungeon will offer the item that best fits you and your request. No, I cannot control this. The cost of said items, however, is not fixed; the more you need an item, the more you want it, the more valuable it is to you, the higher the price will be. Do not think you can get around this by trying to buy an item for your compatriots; I will know, and the price will increase manifold.”

  The dungeon master gave them all a look, just daring them to test him.

  “You are limited to just ten requests each, and you may only choose a maximum of three items each. So think hard and choose wisely. If you find that you need more points you may exchange points between yourselves, submit an item to the catalogue, or…” his eyebrow twitched, “submit for trade anything you looted from within this dungeon so that I may reintegrate the lost energy.”

  The dungeon master paused in front of Syl, giving her a long look he huffed, a puff of smoke pluming from each nostril have something for you from Kain, he held out a small white envelope with a black wax seal.

  Syl drifted back a little, looking at the letter with a mix of shock and fear; she hesitated to take it.

  “This is not a trick; this letter has no value and is not from the dungeon catalogue, so I cannot charge you for it. I recommend you take it. As Kai said, Nothing to lose, a lot to learn.”

  She took it from him cautiously, breaking the seal and unfolding a pristine piece of paper and reading silently, her expression passing through a range of emotions too fast for Kai to read.

  Syl seemed to read the letter another time before finally nodding to herself and letting the paper go; it flared and turned to ash that was blown away by the heavy breath of the slumbering dragon.

  “I request the unique item, The Art physical manifestation,” Syl’s lip quivered as her voice wavered, “refined and perfected for the exclusive use of Syl… the worthy, by Kain Merribellium.”

  The dungeon master nodded, “fifty thousand points.”

  It was Kai's turn to step back; physical manifestation, Kai had immediately thought about requesting a body for Syl, but he doubted a fully functioning body fit for Syl was in this, what was technically a beginner dungeon's catalogue. That, and if it was, the price would skyrocket. But a skill book written exclusively for Syl that would allow her to physically manifest that was one step in between.

  Syl ground her teeth as she stared down the blue dragon turned dungeon master.

  But fifty thousand points, that was ridiculous. Syl needed twenty thousand more. Who was he kidding? He had that and more. He grinned, “I give Syl-“

  The dungeon master held up his hand, and Kai found he couldn’t talk.

  “For listening to the dungeon master, I give you ten thousand points…” He looked at Kai and dropped his hand.

  Finding he was free of whatever held his lounge, he-

  “I give Syl five thousand points!” Alicia cried from the other side of Syl.

  Syl turned on her, “Alicia, you can’t; you haven’t made any requests yet. We have no idea how many points you will need to-“

  Feeling like he had lost his thunder, Kai interrupted, “I give Syl the final five thousand points.”

  “Deal!” the dungeon master said as a loud thump resounded throughout the chamber as a tome twice the size of the last one Syl had received slammed into the floor in front of her.

  The sleeping dragon stirred but did not wake.

  “It’s not metaphysical; that would have cost you three times as many points as that is what you would need to read it… but I’m sure the three of you know a way around that…” The dungeon master looked off to the side and muttered, “You have got to be kidding me.”

  The dungeon master turned slowly to Kai.

  “What?” Kai asked as the man gave him a look of frustration.

  The dungeon master pulled a rough-looking letter from his robe and held it out to him, “It appears your shadow master is competitive.”

  Kai hesitated; Alicia got ten thousand points for listening to the dungeon master. He waited for the magic words for the dungeon master to tell him he should take the letter.

  However, the man's jaw just tightened as he shook the letter for Kai to take.

  Kai waited.

  But then a smile crept onto the blue dragon mans face as he shrugged and made to put the letter back into his robe.

  Not sure if this was a bluff or not, Kai reached out and snatched up the letter before the opportunity was gone forever.

  Both Syl and Alicia looked at him expectantly as he opened the rough parchment.

  He blinked; it had three words: No hello, How are you doing? This is that, or That is this, just three words.

  Kai sighed and said, “I request Kai’s apprentice package,” another blasted package from someone he barely knew.

  The dungeon master's lips curled into a vicious smile. “Twenty-three thousand five hundred points.”

  Damn, that was his exact point total before he gave five thousand to Syl; the dungeon master was playing with them.

  It was them, Alicia spoke up. “I gi-“

  “Wait!” Kai barked before Alicia made a mistake.

  “Let's not get hasty; I don't know what's in the package, and that price was oddly specific. As I do not know what it is I am getting, how about fifteen thousand points?”

  The dungeon master's eyes sparkled, and he licked his lips. “While I like a good haggle, I have no use for the points we deal in… But we can trade. Five hundred thousand points for the dungeon keystone?”

  The three of them looked at each other in confusion.

  “Five hundred thousand points, and I give you recommendations.” The dungeon master said increasing his bid.

  That was too much, way too much; he only needed five thousand.

  ‘That's too much, isn't it?” Kai commented silently to his friends.

  ‘We have a vault full of goblins and kobolds. We could return to the dungeon for points. Their combined energy should outweigh the energy the dungeon used to produce any keystone…’ Syl said.

  ‘Did you notice how… how hungry he looked when he suggested it? And he immediately doubled down.’ Said Alicia.

  “Can you tell us what the keystone is for?” Kai asked cautiously.

  The dungeon master huffed, “Nothing much; once you complete the next five trials, you will be able to open one more room that will appear within this very chamber.”

  “And whats in the room?”

  “Rewards… But I promise you the next five trials will not be easy; the five hundred thousand points I am offering you now, along with my personal recommendations, will increase your odds of survival drastically. What is more important to you, trinkets or your life?”

  ‘This doesn’t smell right; he wants it too much; he shouldn’t care about our survival that much.’ Syl sent.

  Alicia, ‘Agreed.’

  Kai thought about it, ‘Inego did warn me he would try to cheat us; let's see what we get for clearing out the inventory before we go making deals and trading points.’

  ‘But my gold,’ Alicia moaned.

  ‘Local economic collapse,’ Syl reminded her friend.

  “Dungeon master, you said the purpose of trading in things we looted was to restore the energy taken from the dungeon?” Kai asked; he had an idea, but he needed to feel things out first.

  “Yes…”

  “So the value of what I trade back isn't taken into account, just its energy?”

  “True, but some things, like the previous rewards you were given, have some added value.”

  “Do I get extra for dismantling things?”

  “Only if the process of dismantling has created something that will hold value by being added to the dungeons catalogue.”

  “And you won't refuse anything that was looted from the dungeon?”

  “As long as it was taken from this dungeon, I cannot refuse the trade.”

  “Great, where should I put all this shit?”

  “Pardon?” the dungeon master asked in confusion.

  Kai dropped a mountain of shit behind the dungeon master.

  Trengor the great, the magnificent, the knowing, the great black deceiver, watched the three adventures pass back through his arch and groaned.

  Why did Atheos have to come into the dungeon?

  He had one job, one well-practiced role; now all he could do was go through the motions. He loved her dearly and had seen the value of one of the two of them submitting themselves to the dungeon as a form of insurance, as security. But was there any point in the charade anymore?

  No, he shook his giant head back and forth, feeling his scales loosen as they slid against one another, he had a role, an important one.

  He may not be connected to the real world anymore, but he was still connected to every other instance of the dungeon. He knew people had finished the dungeon in the past, receiving acknowledgement from both Atheos and himself. But in all that time, no one had completed his particular test. No one had received the things they hid away within a little-known dungeon.

  His frown turned to a big, toothy grin; maybe these would be worthy of the truth. Maybe Atheos had divined something, and her actions would not change the inevitable.

  Maybe he was destined to kill them, so her interference didn’t really matter. The whims of that woman were unfathomable. She never could ignore a curiosity, even those that were ephemeral.

  To think two of the high, in his dungeon, it was unbelievable.

  They were extinct, sent to ruin by the system itself… Things were changing.

  But he had a role, and he would do it even if it meant killing two of the high, the lost, the creators of his kind.

  So I'm going to take it easy for the next couple of days. Luckily, I have a bit of a backlog to dig into.

  Anyone want to make any guesses as to what the party got?

  If anyone has any insanely good ideas, I might work them into the story.

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