In the very center of Brasília, a maze of buildings is widely known for being representative of youth and pop culture. Composed of eight buildings glued together, in a rectangle measuring 240 m x 90 m, all with their facades to the outside, and five scattered on the inside. Conic is the name of one of the buildings, the one at the north end, facing the Esplanade.
It's another one of Brasília's urban disobediences. Lucio Costa¹ imagined something similar to a modernist Pontoon, but it didn't happen. The Setor de Diversões Sul (South Amusement Sector - SDS) did not want to be a mirror of the Setor de Diversões Norte (North Amusement Sector - NDS), the Conjunto Nacional, and decided to try life in another way.
The buildings stuck together, with other buildings scattered throughout the inner span, the basement, the many stairs, and many entrances made Conic a labyrinth of unpublishable events. In the distance, the monumental flatness of the Esplanade. In SDS, public and clandestine life, legal and illegal, straight and LGBT, of theatre, cinema, and music.
A very well-known comic book store and other geek culture items, [Kingdom Comics]. It was strange for someone to be calling Emilia there since it had closed its doors after 22 years of activities in Brasília 3 years prior. The [Quest] she had received earlier clearly stated where she was supposed to go.
[Quest received]
[...
Clear conditions: Talk to an NPC at a pre-arranged location. [Dungeon Master] expects your presence at the [Training Grounds] behind [Kingdom Comics].
Reward: ???
Timeframe: 72 hours.]
[Kingdom Comics] was one of the longest-lived comic book stores in Brazil and, for Brasília, it certainly represented an important part of its identity: it was located in its underground center and brought together generations of young people who identified with cultures as distinct as hip-hop, comics, streetwear, nerd wear, RPG. More than a simple store, it was a point of confluence of attitudes and identities, a symbol of a very different city from what you see in the news.
'This is the place. Now to find this [Dungeon Master].'
In the place where [Kingdom Comics] used to be, now stood a shady store, apparently closed for business during this time of the day. A matte black sticker glued to the glass doors was blocking all view to the interior. Emilia put her hands on the glass to try and see anything inside.
'There's no one there, should I walk around?'
She felt someone touch her shoulder, but when she looked up, there was no one there. However, she could see a glass door she hadn't noticed before glowing with bright blue light from inside. When she stood in front of the entry, the door faded from existence, as if it was an illusion. A wide corridor with simple unpainted brick walls was in front of her.
'Awesome, now I feel like I'm in a horror movie. This is usually when a scary voice calls me to come inside and I end up kidnapped or killed.'
Emilia glanced around her for reassurance, hoping someone had seen the disappearing door as well. People kept on going about their business and paid no attention to her. She summoned up her courage and stepped into the corridor. The light she saw coming from outside could be seen at the very end. As she neared a corner, a familiar sound startled her.
[Twang!]
[Welcome to [Dungeon Master]'s Palace!]
She turned left and gasped at what she saw. A medieval great hall, sprawling over 40 meters in front of her and at least half of that length from side to side, was illuminated by hundreds of candles in holders flickering with blue flames sitting on a large and wide table that occupied a third of the hall's inner area. Several dozen torches were also perched at the walls, also lit up with blue flames, aiding the illumination of the room. Under the torches, on the walls, a lot of paintings could be seen, depicting people, landmarks, and animals, their contents did not match the scene, however, since they showed modern settings.
"Wow! It's as if space is distorted here! I couldn't imagine such a large room could fit here!"
Emilia slowly moved forward in a dazed manner, speaking out loud.
"That is precisely what it is, my dearest adventurer! You must be Emilia!"
A tall woman, at 1,80m, dressed in rosewood robes spoke loudly from a throne at the end of the hall. She had straight scarlet hair, down to her waist, emerald eyes, and light skin. With freckles on her face, matching her long face, an upturned nose, and puffy lips made this [Dungeon Master] an impressive figure to behold. She was holding a straw broomstick, one of those used for heavy outdoor sweeping.
"You seem confused. First of all, let me get rid of that horrid [System, Alpha ver. 1.0] on your smartphone so you can start using the proper interface."
With an arm movement, a small bubble of silvery dust flew from the top of her broom, swirled around in the air for a while, then blew up on Emilia's forehead left temple. The interface she could only access through her phone up until now was floating as a holographic screen in front of her eyes.
[
"Wh-What?"
"Alright, as you can probably tell, I am the [Dungeon Master]. You are the first participant in the campaign I'm hosting in your world, that's why you found a legendary set of [Mystical Shapes], so consider yourself lucky!"
The [Dungeon Master] or [DM], Lydia, summarized what was happening while Emilia listened carefully. Lydia was a [Dimensional Expeditioner], who traveled around planes of existence to hold [Adventure Campaigns]. The grade of the dice the participants found was related to how soon they joined the campaign, and its grade affected the rate of growth for their [Powers].
[Pouch of Mystical Shapes
Description: A pouch containing a set of 7 Mystical Shapes, used for determining the result of various actions in your [Adventure Campaign]. Provides a 5% boost in all experience and mastery gains.
Grade: Legendary (first 10%)
Condition: Brand new, indestructible
Weight: 170g (20g each die, 30g pouch)]
The first 10% of the players would receive a Legendary-grade set, the next 10% a Mythical set, then 20% Rare, 20% Uncommon, and finally, the last 40% would receive a Common set. All people physically able to participate would eventually be summoned to join, it all depended on sheer luck. Emilia's favorite tabletop RPG game system had just become reality.
"Well then, shall we get started with your [Character Sheet]?"