Quin spent the day walking through the village while observing adventurers. From what he saw and heard it seemed that Max was taking a route that most Dungeon Masters would consider unconventional.
He did find a trace of deceit, but it was understandable. He himself, according to the Dungeon Master had died many times, but the people here believed that their lives would be at risk if they died and didn't wait 12 hours to try again. From his own experience Quin knew this wasn't true.
But it was understandable since Max made it clear that what he ran here was a business.
He spent the night in a warm bed under a roof in a place that he believed was safe, which was something of a rarity for the swordsman. Giving it some thought, it wouldn't be such a bad idea to spend some time here.
Stepping into a bakery that was near where he slept, Quin found a gnome wearing an apron.
"Is it possible to speak to the Dungeon Master?" He asked.
The little creature that didn't even come up to his waist looked at him for a moment and then nodded.
"That shouldn't be a problem, I will let him know you are looking for him. Could I please have you name?"
Before he could answer the gnome looked past him and spoke again.
"Ah, Lady Boss, this Sir was hoping to speak to the boss."
Quin turned to find a beauty entering the shop. She glanced his way and her eyes widened in recognition.
"Of course." Anna said to the gnome, she then turned to Quin. "Max told me you woke yesterday. How are you finding things here? Are you comfortable?"
Quin gave a small bow. "The accommodations are comfortable."
"Good. I was about to visit Max myself; would you like to join?" She asked while taking a small package of cake from the gnome behind the counter.
"If it isn't any trouble." He replied.
"No trouble at all." She then turned to the gnome. "Thank you for the cake Marcus, I am sure it will be delicious as always."
The little gnome nodded excitedly.
"Let's go see what he is up too." Anna said while opening a portal in front of her.
She knew Max was deeper into the dungeon than what had been unlocked. Normally she wouldn't take an adventurer with her, but she knew Max was hoping to build a better relationship with this high level swordsman. The man was at level 89. His passive DP was almost equal to 9 level 10s. That was nearly 2 full parties of adventurers on the first level.
Quin hesitated for a moment after the women disappeared into the swirl of magic, but he quickly came to a decision and followed her through.
He found himself standing in a deep valley. On either side rock cliffs stretched upward. Ahead, he could see Anna walking deeper while mumbling to herself.
"Now where is he?"
Quin noticed someone leap from a cliff that was at least 30 meters off the ground. He recognized it was Max.
From what he felt of the Dungeon Master's strength, he wasn't concerned that the man would hurt himself, and it appeared that Anna wasn't worried either.
*Bang*
Max landed on his feet and large cracks and fissures spread out from the impact point.
Quin noticed that the dungeon Master was closely inspecting the ground where he landed. He wondered what the man was doing.
"Max!" Anna called out to get his attention.
Looking around, Max noticed Anna walking his way with Quin.
"Hello dear." Max said while giving her a quick hug and a peck on the cheek.
"Mr. Quin was hoping to have a word with you." She informed him.
Max nodded. "What can I do for you?"
The swordsman looked around before he focused on Max and answered his question.
"I wouldn't mind working for you, but I would need something to make it official. I am not in the habit of trusting Dungeon Masters."
"And how would we do that?" Max asked. He didn't mind that the man didn't trust him. From what he knew, pretty much all other Dungeon Masters were agents of slaughter who grew stronger by reaping lives.
"Dungeon Contract."
"Dungeon Contract?" Max inquired.
[Dungeon Contract: 10 DP.]
[A contract between the Dungeon Master and another entity that is impartially enforced by the dungeon core.]
DC responded to Max while the swordsman answered the same question.
Quin was starting to realize that yes, this was a wealthy dungeon, but it was also very new.
"A dungeon will occasionally form a contract with adventurers. Sometimes these adventurers will help lure people to the dungeon or sometimes they will scout out the surrounding areas since most Dungeon Masters prefer to stay inside their dungeons."
Max nodded as a blank contract appeared in his hand. He passed it to Anna who attached it to her clip board and pulled out a pen.
Anna looked at the blank contract while considering where to start. "Max would prefer you stay inside the dungeon. Tell me what you have in mind, Mr. Quin." She said.
"You can just call me Quin." The swordsman answered. He then thought for a moment. "I hope to be able to experience you dungeon, but I am aware the levels are too low for me and that killing in the dungeon will only cost more DP since I am unlikely to die. That doesn't seem like a good way to pay off my debt."
Anna nodded. "True, but I am sure we can work something out. What do you think Max? Max…"
Quin and Anna looked up from the contract to find Max was no longer standing beside them.
A small meter wide platform of stone was rising up the side of the cliff like an elevator. When it reached the top, Max stepped off and plummeted down.
*Bang*
A small spray of dust formed where the Dungeon Master landed. As it cleared, they saw Max rising from a knee to standing in a small crater that had formed.
"What are you doing Max? We are trying to work on this contract." Anna said.
Max sheepishly smiled. "Sorry, I was just practicing my dramatic entrance."
"Dramatic entrance?" She asked, giving him a look.
"Yeah, you know, a cool/intimidating way to enter in case I ever need to fight."
Anna rolled her eyes while she laughed. "You are such a goofball. But we are working here. Quin wants to be able to use the dungeon but we don't know what he should do."
Max looked the swordsman an over then snapped his fingers. "I got it. You can be a beta tester."
"A what?" Asked Anna.
Quin was equally confused.
"His official job will be to test out the new content of the dungeon before it is officially available to the adventures. We can hook him up with one of those bracelets that lets him manipulate his level. It will be a bit of a challenge since he is solo and not in a party of 5, but I think we will still get some good information."
Anna thought about it for a moment before agreeing. "Yes, that would be a good idea. Since the dungeon is so tough, it would be a good idea to know that it is more than just theoretically possible."
Quin spoke up. "So I would test floors that the adventures haven't reached yet?" He asked.
Max nodded. "You can also test the first 2 floors if you want. Try them out, let me know what you think. We can make some changes if your suggestions have merit."
Anna chimed in. "You may have noticed some higher-level adventurers use cursed bracelets to lower there level while inside the dungeon. We can give you one of those while also manipulating the dungeons a bit."
Max nodded. "That's a good idea. We can change it so Hard mode will only turn on for you after 10 or 15 levels over the recommended point. That will make up for the fact that you are solo."
Quin spoke. "You can leave the different modes where they are for now. I would like to see what I am capable of first."
"Sure, sure." Max said while thinking about.
He knew that the man was level 89 and considered him strong, but what impressed him the most was that he had almost 70% of his skills and abilities unlocked, unlike pretty much every adventurer he had met before.
///
5 goblins knelt before the hobgoblin sitting on a throne when 1 spoke up. "Master, the preparations are complete."
"Good." The hobgoblin said. "We will begin immediately."