Chapter 40: The Gift of the Previous Dungeon Master

Chapter 40: Chapter 40: The Gift of the Previous Dungeon Master

Arin ran.

His footsteps echoed through artificial dungeon. "Mira!" He turned the corner. His breathing was heavy. His chest still hurt from the wound inflicted by the Chimera, but he did not care to stop or rest. There was only one thing that he cared about.

Finding Mira.

The walls around him shifted. The stone moved behind him. Zarl was still manipulating the dungeon. But Arin did not care. He turned another corner. He halted.

Something was wrong. There was a faint golden light that seemed to be in the distance. Arin slowly pointed his blade in front of him.

"What is that?"

The light grew bigger.

A figure appeared in front of Arin. A man whose body seemed to be transparent. His condition was not any better either. His clothes were torn and his face wore an expression which Arin somehow recognized.

His voice was full of sadness, the same sadness that Arin saw during his vision. Arin’s eyes widened in realization.

"You..."

The man looked at him and smiled. "So you finally came." Arin gripped his sword. "You are the previous Dungeon Master." The man nodded. "Yes." Arin looked at him. "You’re dead." "I am." The reply was simple, but somehow, it terrified Arin. Arin lowered his blade slightly. "What are you doing here?"

The man looked at his Dungeon Master Mark. "Because I left something behind." Arin furrowed his brows in confusion.

"What?"

The man looked down. "My failure." Arin’s face changed. The previous Dungeon Master’s expression became sad and almost disappointed. "I could not save my loved ones." Arin remembered the vision. The woman with children turning to Chimeras, and the tears as the dungeon master ended them. His grip on his blade tightened. "You tried." "Trying was not enough." Arin looked at the previous Dungeon Master. "I had the might of the Dungeon Master, but I did not realize it."

He sighed. "I believed that power alone would keep my loved ones safe." Arin said nothing. The previous Dungeon Master walked closer. "I watched my family being killed." His voice trembled. "And when I could do nothing else...I did the only thing that I could." Arin turned his gaze away.

He understood, possibly not everything, but most of it. And then the previous Dungeon Master looked at him. "I will not make the same mistake." Arin looked at him. "What are you talking about?"

The previous Dungeon Master raised his hand and a mysterious golden light surrounded it. Arin’s mark started glowing.

"What...?" The light expanded and suddenly, the young adventurer felt something inside of him. It was knowledge. Everything that the previous Dungeon Master knew about the dungeon. Its power, its history, its authority, and a part of its consciousness.

Arin gritted his teeth in pain. "What is happening?!" The previous Dungeon Master smiled. "The gift." The mark on Arin’s hand burned brightly for a second, and then a new voice echoed through the corridor.

[Dungeon Master’s Authority detected.]

Arin gasped. The voice was not Zarl’s. It was something else. A different voice, but somehow familiar. The previous Dungeon Master looked into the distance. "There is someone else." Arin followed his gaze. "Someone else?!" The man smiled. "Arene." Suddenly the corridor was silenced. A blue light appeared next to the previous Dungeon Master. From it, a woman’s figure formed. It was a spirit, but her appearance suggested that she was human. Arin looked at her. "Who is she?" The previous Dungeon Master looked at the spirit.

"Arene." The spirit looked at Arin. "I am the Dungeon Spirit." Arin’s eyes widened. "The dungeon has a spirit?" "I was created to guide the Dungeon Masters." Arin looked at the spirit. "So you have been...?" "Yes." Arene’s voice was calm. "I have been guiding you since the System first appeared." Arin’s expression changed. "Then the System..." "It was incomplete."

The previous Dungeon Master took a step closer to Arene. He started fading away.

Arene looked at him. He smiled. "Help the next Dungeon Master, won’t you, Arene?" Arene was silent for a moment. Then she nodded. "I will."

The previous Dungeon Master looked at Arin. "Protect them." Arin’s eyes widened.

"Wait!" The man smiled. At that moment, his body turned into the light. "I could not save my loved ones." His voice echoed in Arin’s head. "But you still can." The last trace of him disappeared. Arin remained kneeling on the floor. His sword laid on the side. For a few moments, he did not say anything. Then a new voice appeared.

[Dungeon Master’s Authority fragment received.]

[Authority integration beginning.]

[Integration complete.]

[Ability acquired.]

[Dungeon Authority.]

Arin slowly looked up. Arene was in front of him.

[System functionality expanding.]

[Dungeon Spirit integration beginning.]

Arin looked at her. "Arene..." She looked back. "I am here." The blue light around her started transferring into Arin’s mark.

[Dungeon Spirit integration complete.]

[Dungeon Master’s System fully awakened.]

Arin’s eyes widened.

The voice in his head became more clear.

More understandable.

[Hello, Arin Rahman.]

Arin looked at his hand. "You can actually talk to me now?" "Yes." He slowly stood up.

"Then you are the System?" "I am Arene."

A pause. "Your Dungeon Spirit." Arin looked at his glowing hand. "What did I just get? Some kind of power up?" "An authority fragment that the previous Dungeon Master left behind." "And what can it do?" "You will find out." Arin’s expression hardened. "I do not have the time to find out." He turned to look at the corridor. "Mira." Arene’s voice responded to him. "She is still alive." Arin ran.

____________

Ayan and Saira were still fighting. Mira was running between them, faster than before.

Ayan blocked her claws. 𝑓𝑟ℯℴ𝓂

CLANG!

Saira jumped around her. "Mira!" Mira turned to look at her. Saira extended her dagger, but she could not do it. She could not harm Mira. Not her. Not Mira. Ayan grabbed her from behind. "Now!" Saira jumped and together with Ayan, she trapped Mira. The young woman struggled furiously. "Hold her!" "I’m trying!" Then Ayan heard footsteps. Ayan looked up and saw him. His clothes were dirty and his body was injured, but he still looked furious. But there was something different about him. The anger was still there, but it somehow stopped. "Mira." She turned to look at him.

Her eyes locked on his for a moment. Then she stopped struggling. Arin walked to her.

"It’s me." Mira fought to get free, but Ayan held her tightly. "Arin, can you do anything?" Arin looked at his hand. Arene’s voice echoed in his head.

[Ability available.]

[Restoration.]

Arin looked at Mira. "Restore her." The mark on his hand glowed brightly and a beam of light flew out of it.

BOOM!

Mira’s body went rigid. The horn on her head started to disappear. The black markings faded away with it. Her claws turned into normal hands and her tail disappeared. The glowing in her eyes stopped. Mira’s Chimera transformation was happening in reverse. Her body went limp and Ayan caught her before she hit the floor. "Mira!" Arin ran to them. "Is she alive?"

Ayan checked her pulse. Then he nodded. "She’s breathing." Arin’s shoulders relaxed.

Saira looked at Mira. "She is human again."

Arin stood up.

The anger in his chest was still there, but a small part of it was replaced by something else. He looked at his hands. The memory of the previous Dungeon Master came back to him. The crying, the helplessness, the woman, the children. He closed his eyes.

"I could have been like him." Ayan looked at him." "You will not." Arin opened his eyes.

"No." He looked at Mira. "I will not."

Then,

BOOM!

The floor shook. Everyone looked around.

Arene spoke in Arin’s mind.

[The dungeon’s authority is changing.]

Arin frowned.

"What do you mean?"

[The fragment that you obtained is interacting with the dungeon.]

The stone walls started glowing and cracking. The entire artificial dungeon trembled. Zarl’s control over it was beginning to fail. Ayan looked around. "What is happening?" Arene responded.

[The dungeon’s ownership is being transferred.]

Arin looked at the walls. "To me?" "Yes." The dungeon started to collapse. The entire structure was pushed inside itself, turning the large building into the miniature pocket dimension.

Then,

FLASH!

A crystal appeared above Arin’s hand.

It was blue and a small window was in it.

[Dungeon Authority transferred.]

[Artificial Dungeon recognized.]

[Ownership established.]

[Dungeon conversion beginning.]

Arin stared at it. The crystal started glowing brighter.

[Pocket Dimension creation complete.]

Arin looked at the new creation. "So this is my dungeon?" Arene responded. "Yes." Arin took the crystal. The dungeon was no longer around them, except for the small door of blue light that appeared in front of them. Ayan looked at it. "So the whole dungeon was turned into the pocket dimension." "Yes." Saira looked at Arin. "You really are a Dungeon Master now." Arin did not respond. He looked at Mira, who was still unconscious in Ayan’s arms. She was alive. Human. That was enough for him for now.

Then Ayan turned around. His expression changed. He looked at the other side of the room. Zarl was there. His mask was broken and the dungeon that he was controlling was gone. For the first time in his life, Zarl was exposed. Ayan disappeared.

BOOM!

Zarl barely had a chance to look at him before Ayan appeared behind him. Ayan grabbed his shoulder. Zarl’s eyes widened in horror. "Dragon." Ayan’s eyes were filled with hatred. "You have some explaining to do." Zarl did not try to speak. Saira walked to where the two men faced each other. Her eyes were locked on Zarl’s. Arin looked at them. "What are you going to do?" Ayan looked at him. "Question him." Arin looked at Zarl. The previous Dungeon Master’s words echoed in his mind. There were still many things that he did not know.

Things about the Dungeon Master, the dungeons, Zarl, and the events that took place long ago. But for now, Mira was safe.

Arin looked at the crystal in his hand. A new dungeon, a new authority, a new system.

And beyond that, a new world that he barely knew.

[End of Arc 1]