Sitting in front of me, looking down as if I wasn’t worth his attention, was most likely the dungeon master if he claimed this dungeon as his. He looked similar to the depictions of wendigos from Earth, a monster from native folklore, but I doubt he has any connection to their origins. Immediately after he addresses me, I try to use ‘Identify’ on him, but only his name and race appear, without showing his level or skills. His race is listed as a “Middle Demon, Furfur”, and his name is apparently “De’gon”. Why isn’t it showing me as much info as with Pim and Vulcan? What’s the difference? Then, faster than I could react, he silently moved down the steps to stand over me, dark, leathery wings extending from his back, fiery eyes blazing in anger.

  ?

  “What did you just do? You didn’t answer my first question either. Speak now, or I’ll extinguish you.”

  ?

  In his low, cold, almost growl-like voice, he threatened to end my life, and I don’t doubt he’s incapable of it. To prove that, he began to raise his blackened claws, clad in a dark mana, producing a purple flame. Before he could reach me, I decided now was probably the best time to talk to avoid dying…again.

  ?

  “I’m sorry! I just used ‘Identify’ on you. And I didn’t mean to mess with the dungeon, I just wanted to get stronger, but I needed help to do it. I’m sorry, please don’t kill me!”

  ?

  “...”

  ?

  “...”

  ?

  “Ha… hahaha.” He then began to cackle, lowering his hand and walking back to his throne. “Good. You decided to tell the truth. If you hadn’t, I would have erased you from existence right then and there. As long as you obey, I won’t have to kill you.”

  ?

  It looks like I’m in the clear for now. As long as he believes I’m not a threat, I should be fine. I’ll just have to make sure I don’t do anything to piss him off now that he has his eyes on me. But one thing’s bothering me: why is he acting like it’s normal for a wisp to be intelligent and able to talk?

  ?

  “Um, don’t you think it’s weird for a wisp to be able to have a conversation with you?”

  ?

  “Hmm. No, not really. Every now and then, a smarter-than-average monster appears from the spawners. Usually, they’ll last longer than their fodder counterparts until I notice them. The ones that have survived so far have become my floor managers to help me in my dungeon administration duties. It’s a shame, though, that the most recent one turned out to be a wisp. I’ve been waiting for another one to appear so I could expand the dungeon some more, but now I’ll have to wait until something useful appears. What did you find when you used ‘Identify’ on me? Speak.”

  ?

  He’s a lot smarter than I assumed at first. He has a solid understanding of business administration practices, albeit with dungeons, so I shouldn’t underestimate him. It’ll definitely be safer to be as truthful as possible when dealing with him.

  ?

  “I only saw your name and race. I didn’t see your level, skills, or any of your stats. But, can I ask you a question?”

  ?

  “That little, huh. Your skill is still weak if that’s all you can see from unwilling beings. As for your question, go ahead.”

  ?

  “How did you know my name, and how did you know I was telling the truth?”

  ?

  “That’s two questions, but fine, they have the same answer anyway. You are a monster in my dungeon. As the dungeon master, I hold complete reign over all of the monsters of the dungeon, so I can see the status of each monster. That’s how I could see your name and skills, as well as monitor you within the dungeon. I can’t see everything, but I can see enough to properly utilize a monster, however I need to. But for you, I haven’t decided your role yet.”

  ?

  “Would it be okay for the monsters I recruited and me to keep leveling up from the intruders on the first floor? Or is that a bad thing if we keep doing that?”

  ?

  “Hmm. It isn’t good, but it isn’t a problem either. The dungeon doesn’t need humans to grow, but the danger comes from how humans respond to the existence of one. As long as those greedy bastards view the resources and strength they can exploit from a dungeon as greater than the danger, then they’ll let it continue its existence. Otherwise, it’s marked for elimination, core and all. There used to be more dungeons in the region, but they’ve mostly been destroyed now by those humans.”

  ?

  That’s an interesting relationship. I assumed the dungeon needed to kill dungeon delvers to grow, like a parasitic relationship, but apparently not. If it doesn’t need humans, I don’t see an issue with what I’m doing, as long as no one is able to report the increased danger of the dungeon. A medieval world with swords and sorcery must have a lot of dangers outside of dungeons, so unconfirmed deaths can’t be solely attributed to a dungeon, probably. And it seemed De’gon was following that same line of thinking as he spoke once more.

  “Very well, you and the imp and golem can continue working together. However, you must not leave the last room of the first floor. You three can serve as the bosses of the first floor, guarding the stairs to the second. There isn’t too much of a jump in power than what’s usually posted there, so it shouldn’t alarm the humans too much. But, you can’t allow a single human to get away from you if you choose to engage.”

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  “What if I know they’re too strong for us, like that one group that could get to the third floor? Can we choose not to fight them?”

  ?

  “That’s fine, I’ll have a stone golem sitting in the corner that you can have fight for you instead, if you choose not to fight. Otherwise, it won’t join you. I want to see how far you three can make it by yourselves. However, should one of you fulfill your evolution requirements, you all need to move to the second floor. An evolved monster on the first floor would make the dungeon seem too dangerous to the humans, and I’d rather avoid that future.”

  ?

  “Sure, I can do all that. But, when you said that if one of us fulfills our evolution requirements, does that include me, too? Do you know what I’ll evolve into?”

  If he can choose and manage what monsters appear in the dungeon, then maybe he knows the evolutionary chain for wisps. Humans might not know, but if anyone does, it would be a dungeon master. Getting my hopes up, I waited eagerly for his answer, only to come crashing back down.

  ?

  “Hmm, I have no idea what you’ll turn into. I know what the other monsters can evolve into because a few have evolved in the past. I’ve never seen a wisp intelligent enough to earn experience and level, so your guess is as good as mine. However, the monsters that I’ve seen evolve all did it at level twenty, at least for the first stage of evolution. So, wait for that, and you’ll find out.”

  ?

  “Okay, level twenty. I’m not too far off from that, so I guess we’ll see then. Thank you for letting me live, but how do I get back to where I was? They should be wondering where I went.”

  ?

  “I’ll move you back there myself. I have high expectations for your progress, so don’t fail to meet them. Now, begone.”

  ?

  Waving his hand in my direction, I began to feel the surrounding throne room walls disappear, then I felt the usual cavernous walls surrounding me. I was back, but it looks like I’ll have to search a bit to find where Pim and Vulcan went. That shouldn’t be too hard, and then I’ll get to tell Pim about my meeting with the dungeon master. He seemed pretty intimidating at first with his appearance, but he acted with a cold logic, valuing utility over all else. He probably sees me as just a useful or interesting pawn, but I think I can work with that. I’ll just have to make sure I don't go directly against his orders, or at least justify my decisions. I guess it isn’t too different from working under threat of being homeless in dead-end jobs in my previous life, with the stakes raised a bit. But now I have a new goal to work towards, level twenty. Hopefully, I’ll evolve, and then who knows what I’ll be capable of. Just a little bit longer, a few more battles, and I’ll reach heights a wisp has never had before.

  ?

  De’gon PoV:

  ?

  Hmm, that wisp is dangerous. I could extinguish it now, but it could be useful, depending on what it evolves into. The only thing I can do is wait and have the managers keep an eye on it. If it evolves into something stronger than me, or could be, then I’ll have to kill it before it tries to take my throne. If it alerts the humans, though, that could be a problem. I’ll have a manager on standby to take care of anyone trying to escape. Ugh, what a headache. Why, Goddess, did you choose me to deal with this?