Hey guys. I’m currently sick so I would only be able post a single Chapter a day. This is my points system.
1 collection - two points
1 power stone donation - 0.5 points
Ten points means a bonus Chapter and the max bonus Chapter a day is 3. If for example theirs 50 points I’ll add three bonus Chapters and add the remaining two the next day. So the max is 4 Chapters a day. For now it’ll be one as I’m not feeling well but I’ll calculate all the points and start posting at that rate.
- hes_igh.
Ore stood, brushing dust from her clothes.
"What happened?"
He stared at the ring.
"I..."
He frowned.
"I don’t know."
"It was..."
He struggled to find the words.
"It was calling me."
Ore folded her arms.
"And?"
"And..."
Fragments drifted through his mind.
Ancient halls.
Endless tunnels.
Stone shaped by unseen hands.
A single sentence echoed somewhere deep within his thoughts.
The dungeon awaits its lord.
Tolu inhaled sharply.
Ore noticed immediately.
"What is it?"
He looked from the ring...
...to the altar...
...then back again.
"I think..."
He hesitated, almost afraid to say it aloud.
"I think this is the Key."
"The key?"
"To this dungeon."
Ore stared.
He continued slowly, still trying to understand the strange knowledge settling into his mind.
"And..."
"...it chose me."
She waited.
He scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
"I think..."
"...I’m the Dungeon Lord."
Silence.
Ore looked him up and down.
From his dusty boots...
To his plain leather armor...
To the sword at his waist.
Then back to his face.
"...You don’t look much like a lord."
Tolu let out a nervous laugh.
"I was thinking the same thing."
"So where’s your kingdom?"
He glanced around the empty chamber.
"I... don’t think there is one."
A strange certainty settled over him.
"It has to be built."
"From the ground up."
Ore sighed.
"So..."
"We’re trapped underground..."
"...and somehow you’ve become the lord of an empty dungeon."
"When you say it like that..."
"It sounds ridiculous."
"It is ridiculous."
They looked at one another.
Then, despite everything...
They both laughed.
The sound echoed through the ancient chamber.
Finally, Ore took a deep breath.
"Fine."
"Dungeon Lord."
"Can your mysterious ring tell us how we’re supposed to get out of here?"
Tolu instinctively closed his eyes.
A feeling tugged gently at the edge of his awareness.
Not words.
Not a voice.
Just...
Direction.
He turned toward the far wall.
"There."
Ore frowned.
"There’s solid rock."
He walked closer.
As he approached, a narrow passage hidden behind the glowing Litites came into view.
Ore blinked in surprise.
"...That wasn’t obvious a moment ago."
Tolu smiled uncertainly.
"I don’t think I found it."
"I think..."
"...the dungeon showed me the way."
Tolu and Ore exchanged one last glance before stepping into the narrow passage.
The tunnel twisted gently upward, its walls illuminated here and there by clusters of pale blue Litites.
Neither of them spoke.
The silence between them wasn’t uncomfortable.
Both were still trying to process everything that had happened.
Ore was the first to break it.
"So..."
Tolu looked over.
"So?"
"You became a Dungeon Lord."
He gave an awkward smile.
"Apparently."
"Congratulations."
"Thank you... I think."
She laughed softly.
"You don’t sound very convincing."
"Would you be?"
"I suppose not."
He looked down at the plain silver ring now resting on his finger.
"I still don’t understand why it chose me."
Ore shrugged.
"Maybe it was broken."
He gasped dramatically.
"That’s rather rude."
"I’m joking."
"I hope so."
The two continued climbing.
After several minutes, a cool breeze brushed across their faces.
Sunlight.
Tolu stopped in his tracks.
"That’s..."
"The exit," Ore finished with a relieved smile.
A few more steps and they emerged onto a rocky hillside several hundred meters from where they had first discovered the hidden entrance.
Fresh air filled their lungs.
The warmth of the afternoon sun felt almost unreal after the cold stillness underground.
Ore took one deep breath before stretching her arms overhead.
"I never thought I’d be this happy to see the sky."
Tolu nodded in agreement.
"I was already wondering if we’d spend the rest of our lives underground."
She looked at him with a teasing smile.
"Not a very long life if that happened."
He laughed.
"Good point."
The two stood there for a moment, simply enjoying the breeze.
Finally, Ore looked toward the distant walls of Aramode.
"I guess we should report the tremors."
"And leave out the part where you became a Dungeon Lord?"
Tolu answered almost immediately.
"Definitely."
She nodded.
"I don’t think anyone would believe us anyway."
"And if they did..."
Neither of them finished the sentence.
Some secrets were safer kept between the two of them.
They began the long walk back toward the city.
For the first time since entering the Old Stone Hills, the weight on their shoulders began to lift.
It had ended.
Or so they believed.
Neither of them noticed the faint pulse that travelled through the silver ring on Tolu’s finger.
Far beneath the hills...
In the silent chamber they had left behind...
The empty altar crumbled quietly into dust.
Deep within the dungeon, ancient mechanisms that had slept for countless generations stirred once more.
Their lord...
Had finally returned.
The towering walls of Aramode soon came into view.
The sight of the city gates brought an almost immediate sense of relief to both Tolu and Ore.
For the first time since discovering the hidden entrance beneath the Old Stone Hills, they finally allowed themselves to relax.
"We made it," Tolu said with a smile.
Ore let out a slow breath.
"We did."
"And somehow we’re still alive."
"I wasn’t expecting our commission to end like that."
"Neither was I."
They exchanged a knowing glance before continuing through the open gates.
The city bustled with its usual energy.
Merchants called out to passing customers.
Children ran through the streets laughing.
Blacksmiths hammered glowing steel while the smell of fresh bread drifted from nearby bakeries.
Everything looked exactly as it had that morning.
Only Tolu and Ore knew that their lives had changed forever.
The Adventurers’ Guild was as lively as ever.
Several parties were already returning from their own commissions while others gathered around the mission boards searching for work.
The elderly receptionist looked up as the pair approached the counter.
"Welcome back."
"I see you’ve returned in one piece."
Ore smiled politely.
"We’ve completed our commission."
The receptionist reached for his ledger.
"The tremors near the Old Stone Hills?"
"Yes," Tolu replied.
"We found the source."
The old man dipped his pen into ink.
"Go on."
Tolu glanced briefly at Ore.
She gave the slightest nod.
"There was an old cave hidden behind a large boulder."
"We followed the tremors inside for a short distance."
"After a while, the shaking stopped."
"We searched the area but didn’t find anything unusual beyond that."
The receptionist wrote everything down without looking up.
"Any monster activity?"
"None."
"Any signs of bandits?"
Ore answered this time.
"None."
The old man finished writing before closing the ledger.
"Good work."
"I’ll forward the report."
He accepted the folded commission before extending his hand.
"The slime cores?"
Tolu placed the small pouch on the counter.
The receptionist counted them one by one.
"Twenty-three."
He nodded with approval.
"Not bad for a day’s work."
Next came the bundle of carefully wrapped Greenleaf Mint.
The old man untied the cloth and placed it on a small balance.
"The weight is acceptable."
Ore smiled.
"I was hoping we’d gathered enough."
"You did."
He made a few quick calculations on a scrap of parchment before opening a small wooden cash box.
Counting carefully, he placed several neat stacks of bronze coins onto the counter.
"Forty-six bronze for the slime cores."
"Twenty-two bronze for the herbs."
"And thirty bronze for completing the investigation."
He slid the coins toward them.
"Ninety-eight bronze in total."
Tolu’s eyes widened ever so slightly.
It wasn’t a fortune.
But it was the largest amount he had ever earned in a single day.
Ore laughed quietly.
"We’re almost silver coin adventurers."
Tolu grinned.
"Almost."
The receptionist chuckled.
"Don’t spend it all in one place."
The two thanked him before dividing the coins between them.
As they turned to leave, one of the veteran adventurers leaning against a nearby pillar called out.
"Old Stone Hills, eh?"
Tolu nodded.
The man folded his arms.
"You’re lucky."
"Strange caves have a habit of swallowing inexperienced adventurers."
A brief silence passed.
Tolu forced a small smile.
"We’ll remember that."
The veteran gave an approving nod before returning to his drink.
Outside the guild, the afternoon sun warmed the stone streets.
Ore looked toward Tolu.
"Home?"
He nodded.
"Home."
Neither of them mentioned the ring.
Neither of them mentioned the dungeon.
Some secrets...
Were far too dangerous to become guild gossip.