"It was I who fought the monster on the second floor, and I defeated it by using a trap of my own, which took quite a while to prepare. Anyways, that is not what is important right now. Can we get back to the explanation?" I asked politely, flexing my strained hand. seemingly taken the wrong way, her face paled, and she rushed back into her explanation.
"A-anyways, ahem, I am what is called a Dungeon Master. It was a gift bestowed upon me by the gods, and it gives me the power to control this dungeon. However, this power can only be used when other people defeat or get defeated, in this place. When I ran out of points, I was trapped in here, supposedly for the rest of my long life. But, you two brave adventurers came along and did what no other could do. I guess that is the power of a…Beastkin?" She paused, confused.
"My master is not one of those lowly creatures! He is a new monster, one that will conquer the world-!" Andromeda said before she had her head smashed through the ground.
"Sorry about that. This is my pet, Andromeda. Anyways, what she said is true. I am indeed a new species. As such, I am unfamiliar with the laws and rules that I should follow. Would you be so obliged as to explain to me all you know about them, please?" I said with a smile, cracking my sore knuckles that have been punching the metal suits. She also seemed to take this action the wrong way as well. Jeez.
With Andromeda comically trying to pull her head out of the floor, the Dungeon Master brought over a stack of ancient texts, a little burnt and crumpled. "These are what remains of my family's knowledge of the world. It might not be up to the times, but it should suffice for someone to be informed on the world's hierarchy." She said, setting the books down in front of me.
"Much appreciated." I thanked her. Flipping the book open to page one, I got a familiar *Ding* ringing inside my head.
{Language comprehended: Vampiric}
{Language type: Written}
The opening cover read: 'the Order of the World'. It was written in red, scribbly text that I could somehow read. Anyways, let's get to learning. Looking at the first page, the first thing I saw was a power triangle. It went from, the top being the strongest and the bottom being the weakest; Gods, Angels/Demons, Giants, Vampires, Dragons, Orcs, lycanthropes, and so on. The triangle kept going for the whole page, which was about the size of Gallen's head.
"Mfph, MFPH!" And Andromeda got so noisy that I had to pull her out of the ground. Gasping for air, she regained her breath and sat opposite me, acting as a backrest, which I taught her to do on our travels through the forest. Very convenient. Ten out of ten. Anyways, with the Dungeon Master staring curiously at me, I continued to read.
The contents of the books themselves were boring, they spoke of the Law of the Beasts, each species' unique traits and characteristics, which I skipped through, because where is the fun in that? Anyways, what interested me was the fifth book, which was about the social structures of each species and the way they interact with each other. This interested me because it shows me how I can control them without struggles forming between each conquered species.
'All the species live together but are separate. There is little to no interaction between them, and there has never been any kind of mutual agreement between us in centuries, not before the banishment of the Demons.' the book stated. "Quick question. It said that the Demons were banished. Where were they banished to, and why?" I asked, acting like a curious child. Trying to get close to people is hard, but acting like you want to is even harder.
"The banishment of the demons is a pact between all races that were agreed upon millennia ago. The demons, a species of evil, were exiled because of their bad actions. These included the eradication of villages, the killing of royalty, and other taboo deeds. After years of rebellion, all the opposing species came together and made a magical contract that banished the demons from this plane of existence." The Dungeon Master said matter of factly.
"Oh, I forgot to ask earlier. Would you mind telling me your name?" I asked. Glancing at my hand, which was still flexing from the fight, she hurriedly replied.
"Helendia Shenshu Valentina. I am from the Vampiric race. And, due to the Law of the Beasts, you now have the right to command me. Do as you will." She said with a bow. Much neater than Andromeda, who was still rubbing her head from her ostrich moment. Anyways, that is a very long name to remember. I will have to shorten it for convenience.
"Nope. That name is way too long to say every time someone calls you. From now on, your name is Shen." I stated. I think it is a pretty cute name if I do say so myself. Just because it is a shortened version of the middle of her name does not mean it has any less value.
"As you wish, master. My name is now Shen." She said, head still bowed. Now, with that out of the way, it is time to get out of this crumbling dump and on to exploring the wonderfully free world!
Telling Shen to pack up the books, I collected myself off of the ground, pulling Andromeda up with me. However, I could not leave just yet without getting any loot from completing this so-called 'Dungeon'. But before I could get a hold of any of the valuables that lay scattered across the room, I heard a loud thud from behind, followed by a yelp from Andromeda.
"Master, something wrong with Shen!" And Andromeda shouted although I don't know why. We were, like, ten feet apart. Walking over to Shen, she looked extremely pale, even more so than she already was. Checking her pulse, I realized I should not have. It was a waste of time! Vampires don't have a pulse, duh.