It felt like the air in my Dungeon had grown somehow heavier after Morrígan's statement. The weight of her words settling down atop us both in an almost suffocating manner as I fell into deep contemplation. At least I could finally understand where her worry had come from, if anything her reaction had been subdued. If I'd know what I was doing was similar to something the Aberrant did...

  ...I'd like to say I'd never have done it, but thinking about it now I'm not sure that's true. If I was certain what I was doing was the same as the Aberrant, then I'd have balked at it no question. Just thinking about it and my instincts were screaming at me in revulsion. Though even now that I'd been made aware of the fact that my Edict was eerily close to an effect the Aberrant usually had on the world they were suspiciously quiet about the Edict itself. Which was a huge relief, and another sign that the Deva had been telling the truth in that I hadn't accidentally done anything wrong.

  However that didn't exactly leave me with any fewer questions. If what I had done was truly akin to what the Aberrant did, why had neither the Deva nor my instincts said something about it. Confusion and incredulity did not feel like an appropriate reaction to something like that on the Deva's side, and straight up silence felt off on the instinctual side. Maybe the resemblance was only surface level? I knew very little about the Aberrant in a factual sense. I only knew what Morrígan had told me, and she didn't know much of the 'how' the Aberrant functioned. Maybe, even though the result looked the same to me and her, it actually wasn't the same at all. Like how just because the sun I'd made for the forest looked like a sun and lit up the cave like a sun lit up the world, that didn't mean it was a sun. I ended up with a similar effect, but not the process or the underlying structures.

  Though in that case the incredulity and surprise was a bit strange. If what I'd done wasn't similar to the Aberrant, then the reaction must be caused by something else. Which had to be the fact that, as the Deva had said, I 'shouldn't have the access' needed to do something like this... Access to what? Why had it used that word in this context? It seemed strange, like it implied it wasn't actually me that'd done something, but that I had told something else, the System itself probably, to do it. And it had listened to me. That was what the Deva had been shocked by. Not the fact that it was possible to do, but rather that I'd been able to do it. That meant the question wasn't actually whether what I'd done was improper or Aberrant in any way, but rather what had caused me to have a greater than expected ability to have the System listen to my requests.

  As I came to that conclusion I felt myself and my instincts begin to calm down. This wasn't dangerous, or even that relevant to me personally. It was probably an important question for someone like the Deva, as they seemed to oversee the world in some fashion, so something happening that they didn't understand was understandably something they'd feel the need to investigate. For me though the fact that the System listened more than usual was nothing but a benefit, when it was relevant at all. I wasn't interested in the mechanical details of how the world worked, at least not at the moment, so as long as everything worked and it didn't involve the Aberrant I was fine with leaving it as is and letting the Deva handle it however they wished. So long as I could tell my story I was happy, and if the System helped with that it was just a bonus.

  I was pulled from my pontificating by a group of people gathering right by the entrance to the first Floor, seemingly about to go inside and start a new Challenge. That was another weight off my metaphorical shoulders. At least I hadn't scared them away for long this time. When I focused my attention on them in more detail I couldn't help but frown in confusion. They weren't all the same Tier. Four were Tier 1, the original members of Noracin's party I realized, and the other two were Tier 3. They were also familiar, but less so than Noracin and his party. Which was strange as I hadn't been Challenged on that Floor yet. It took me a moment to recognize them as the two that had accompanied Katherine when she'd come to question Krazad about the party 'wipe'.

  I supposed that was fine. With my Edict in place the Challengers didn't actually need to be the same Tier as each other anymore to be able to participate on the same Floors. I hadn't thought about that before making it, but hopefully it wouldn't be that big of a deal. I hoped it wouldn't at least. I'd prefer that the Challengers be on the same Tier as each other, whenever possible. At least when they weren't all originally higher than the Floor they were attempting to Challenge. A couple of Tier 3's together with some Tier 2's attempting the first Floor wasn't that big of a deal, since they'd all accomplished the actual Tier 1 Challenge before. But something like this, where people who belonged on this Floor were being accompanied by people well above them in both experience and skills... That tasted a bit sour.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  As the party of six took their first step into the Dungeon, the voice of Etar sounded through my mind.

  Right. I've set up a test. He said.

  A test? For the Edict, I'm assuming? I sent back. Hello again by the way.

  Hello to you as well. There was a pause. And yes you're correct. I've given them a Quest to come in here to allow me to study it in more detail and see what it does, and how it does it.

  You need Challengers to do that? I asked, a bit surprised. Maybe the Deva weren't as powerful and everpresent as Morrígan thought.

  Unfortunately. Etar said. Dungeons are a bit of a black box to us. I get notified of what happens within, but I can't actually see it without having someone in to act as my eyes and ears. Hence the Questers.

  I see. I watched the group of humans carefully making their way down the stairs towards the portal room, and the place where the laws of my Dungeon would have precedent over those outside. Where the Edict would kick in. None looked comfortable, even the scholars were subdued in their discussion. Clearly this was a big deal for them, at least.

  What do we do? I asked.

  I need you to keep your Edict from activating until I give the word, could you do that? Etar asked.

  I blinked mentally. I hadn't even considered that being something possible. The word Edict made it feel like it should be both permanent and inviolable, though thinking about it that should only really apply to outsiders. As something I made, it made some sense that I could turn it off if I wanted. Something I probably would have discovered myself eventually, but I was thankful for learning it regardless, as it neatly solved the issue I'd been worrying about before Etar arrived. If more experienced Challengers were attempting to use the Edict to carry the weight of others without the skill to overcome the Challenge on their own merits I could just disable the Edict temporarily, and they'd be forced to leave the Challenge to those it was meant for.

  The only problem was that I had no idea how to actually make that happen. There wasn't a switch in my head I could just flick on and off. Once an Edict was made it was constantly in effect without needing any conscious input from me. And thank the heavens for that, or I might have gone insane. Still though it meant there was a problem.

  ...How do I do that? I sent. I got a vague impression of someone very far away slapping their forehead with their palm.

  Right... Etar said. Standby.

  There was no rush of information, no flash of insight, that enlightened me to hidden knowledge about my abilities that I'd been unaware of until now. It was much more straight forward than that. Suddenly, where there a moment ago had been no switch, there was a switch.

  Well that took care of that problem. Though as I was coming to learn was common with the Deva it did leave me with a deluge of new questions. Those were for later though, for now the humans had almost arrived at the base of the stairs, so I didn't waste any time and flicked the switch turning the Edict making it so that [Everyone Starts at the Beginning] off.

  It's off. I sent to Etar.

  Good. Wait for my signal then turn it back on...

  I gave a mental nod, watching as the humans all stopped, then glanced at a System window. One I couldn't see the contents of, to my annoyance. Five of the party took several steps back up the stairs, leaving Noracin to stand alone in the center of the portal chamber.

  Now. Etar said. I flicked the mental switch to turn the Edict back on. A moment later Etar's voice returned. Would it be possible for you to try to increase his Tier beyond what it is now?

  What?! No! I sent back immediately. I made this to strengthen my story, but I have no intention of enabling anyone to just skip their Challenge!

  I know you wouldn't do it. I'm asking if it's possible.

  I glowered mentally, but still did as Etar asked and examined the details of exactly what this Edict would allow me to do. What outside laws it circumvented.

  ...I can't increase his Tier. I sent back eventually, not a small amount of relief in my voice. Aberrant or not, forbidden or not, that would make me want to shut the Edict off altogether and never turn it back on.

  Moments later Noracin glanced at the seemingly blank System window once more, and returned to the others on the stairs. A moment later one of the scholars, Florian, took his place. Right away his eyes widened as he saw the notification about the Edict and whether he would like to proceed or turn back.

  Ah there's an opt-in in place. Etar mused, almost to himself.

  Of course there is. I sent. I'm not going to toss something like this on anyone as a surprise. They have to be fully aware of what's expected of them if they want to attempt a Challenge, or it wouldn't be fair.

  That's good of you. Now let's see what happens when he presses that button... Etar said.