章節 38: The talk (1)

I spend another day helping melody with her impromptu deep-cleaning action. She seems to enjoy my company most when we are doing something productive so I just go along with all of it.

This is the second day I'm free from work and I start to get a little worried. Did something go wrong? At least doing housework helps me take my mind off any worries I might have. Then, in the evening the phone rings and I simultaneously hear an all too familiar voice in my mind.

Sigh, I'm glad nothing unexpected happened. But why did you take so long? Didn't you say the dungeon has a respawn time set?

Why didn't they just do that from the very beginning?

So they must have been very desperate to actually go in then. What makes them go to such lengths?

Why are the adventurers from the alpha plane so desperate to destroy dungeons? Isn't it just a way for them to get riches and resources from other worlds? Or is there something more to it?

At that moment Melody puts down the phone and smiles at me.

"Looks like we'll have to cut the cleaning short. I still wanted to go over everything a third time to make sure it was truly perfect but since you need to work tomorrow I'll just have to be content with two times."

Quinn and Cassidy return in high spirits since they apparently had some famous adventurers visit the school today. Cassidy can't stop swooning over one of them since he touched her hand.

I inform them that I'll be working again from tomorrow and we have dinner. The girls retire to their rooms quickly and I go to bed early to be at my best tomorrow.

The next day I arrive at VR-dungeons HQ and make my way to Darwins office. Darwin, like last time, is stuffing his face. Next to him is a platter with a tower of chocolate bars that he expertly grabs with one hand, opens with astounding dexterity, and shoves into his mouth. All the while holding and reading a book in his other hand. How do you even unpack a bar of chocolate with one hand while holding it with the same hand?

"Stop standing in the door like an idiot. Go in already!"

I had been so entranced by Darwin's eating that I hadn't noticed Jade coming up behind me. Something about those scales on her still gives me an uncomfortable feeling.

However, she is right. I'm standing in the door like an idiot. I walk into the office and take a seat on the sofa across from Darwin and Jade quickly sits beside me.

After we have both sit down Darwin stops eating and closes the book in his hand. He turns his head and I get the feeling that he is looking right at my soul. Beside me, Jade shifts uncomfortably so she probably feels the same thing. I don't dare to hold Darwin's gaze for long and look away.

"Firstly I would like to apologize to you, Jade. Shin is a scatterbrain when it comes to remembering clearance levels so you heard something you shouldn't be burdened with yet."

As Darwin apologizes, the sense of my innermost secrets being observed disappears and I relax. Jade looks a little miffed at how uncomfortable she was from just Darwin's gaze and glares at him.

"I'll forgive you once you tell me the whole truth."

"I will tell you what I can."

Darwin adopts a grave expression and sits up straightening his posture. He looks more like a chairman now though the wiggling bulges of flesh still make him look a little comical.

"I will now tell you about our employers. When the first adventurers began to clear and subsequently destroy dungeons faster than they could reproduce the dungeons used their powers to summon aid. This aid came in the form of human souls that had died and were now bound to the dungeon cores. These humans that are now called dungeon masters were forced to help protect the dungeons and improve them or they would die with the destruction of their core.

"At first this strategy worked well and the dungeons drastically increased in numbers. However, then the people from the alpha plain joined the fray and the dungeon masters found themselves in peril as many of them were killed. Thus, they formed the dungeon alliance to gather their thoughts and better protect themselves.

"Many things were tried but success was never long-lasting. Until VR-dungeons was founded, an organization that grants a new life to humans that died with regret in exchange for their services in defending dungeons.

"Now amongst the dungeon masters in the dungeon alliance, there are five individuals which hold dominion and are also the ones giving us direct orders. They are the masters of the five greatest and probably oldest known dungeons."