Anastasia returned to her tribe's village, her steps echoing softly in the dim underground expanse.
The village, hidden deep beneath the surface, reflected the dark elves' nature—counterparts to their light-dwelling kin. Unlike the vibrant, tree-filled homes of normal elves, dark elves preferred the cold and shadowy depths, far from the sun's reach.
The village itself was shrouded in near-total darkness, illuminated only by the flickering light of scattered torches lining the rough paths of the village.
The dark elves' village was built from wood that was gathered from the Swamp of Darkness.
Now, Anastasia stood outside her mother's quarters, waiting in silence. Her mother, the elder of the village, was the guardian of her people.
Only she possessed the authority to make the pivotal decision of following Lord Noxious.
And she was here to persuade her.
The eerie silence continued until the door to her mother's quarter was opened.
Inside laid a beautiful and charming figure.
Unlike her daughter who still held her youthful charm, she looked more mature and elegant.
But don't let looks betray you, because she was already 800 years old. An astronomical figure, compared to the average life span of normal humans.
Elves were beings blessed with long, prosperous lives, where their coming of age was akin to a human reaching middle age. But, the cost to their long lives, is the difficulty of procreation.
Compared to humans who could procreate like cockroaches, it took a lot of time and effort for elves to create babies.
Hence why, the dark elves population wasn't that big. Even though they have lived in the Swamp of Darkness for so long. Their numbers only barely reach the hundreds.
Anastasia greeted her mother with a deep, respectful bow.
"Child…" her mother's voice carried a note of confusion. "Why are you bowing like this?"
Anastasia straightened slightly, her expression troubled. "Mother, I can no longer accept the way we live."
Her mother's brow furrowed. "What are you talking about, child?"
"This life!" Anastasia exclaimed, her voice tinged with anger. "We are dark elves proud, powerful beings! Yet we live like rats, hiding in a sewer. But I've found a way out for us."
Her voice hardened, anger flashing in her purple eyes. "A lord has seen our suffering. He offers us a chance to change our fate, to rise above this misery. With his power, we can overturn our situation. We can make those who have wronged us, those damn humans, pay for their crimes!"
She clenched her fists, her words brimming with fury. "Every year, they invade the Swamp of Darkness, our territory! And they hunt and capture us like prey. We live in constant fear, unable to act because you are our only protector. But that ends now."
Anastasia's tone softened as she continued, urgency lacing her voice. "For weeks, I've been having dreams, visions. They've shown me the answer to our plight, the path to freedom. This is our chance, Mother. Our only chance."
She stepped closer, her eyes imploring. "Please, Mother, let us lead our tribe to worship him, Lord Noxious, the Plague God. He can deliver us from this despair and grant us the power to reclaim our honor."
Her mother now thoroughly confused, asked, "Who is Noxious?"
"The one who will save us."
...
Hale was waiting in anticipation, he didn't know how long it would take, but he was constantly monitoring the area outside the dungeon.
Any movement would be immediately detected by him.
And as if god had given him a light, there was movement in a shrubbery!
His eyes stared at anticipation, as an ugly swamp monster walked out. Clearly not the dark elves he had been waiting for.
His eyes twitched, feeling as if the world was just mocking him.
Taking a deep sigh, helped calm his agitated emotions.
He had time, so there was no need to be impatient. If the dark elves wanted to follow him, then they would come. There was no need to impatiently wait for them. They were the ones that needed his help, not the other way around.
...
As the sun fell.
The bright moon replaced its position, casting its silvery light over the path ahead. Its light guided the dark elves on their journey. The elder of the village had called and instructed them abruptly to pack and head towards a new home.
Hence why, they only carried their necessities.
Anastasia led the way, her mother, the elder, following closely behind.
"Are you certain this god will truly help us?" her mother asked, still unsure.
"Yes," Anastasia replied, her voice fervent, almost fanatically. "I am his chosen messenger, the one destined to spread his faith. He will protect us and grant us the strength we need."
Her mother fell silent, her heart heavy with uncertainty. She couldn't shake the feeling that something had changed in her daughter.
Anastasia had never been like this before. Her words now mirrored those of fanatical followers, the ones who would die with a smile on their faces. Talking about how they would gladly die for their lord.
With a quiet prayer, the elder could only hope that this decision would not lead her tribe to ruin.
The journey was quiet, as the dark elves, kept their noises to the minimum. The forest was filled with danger, and it was just better to not make any unnecessary noises.
Only when they finally saw a wooden gate, did the dark elves, realize that they had reached their destination.
"Our new home is in a realm?"
"What is the elder thinking?"
"Who could live in those distorted spaces?"
Hearing their discontent and fear. Anastasia's mother used her authority to quiet and suppress their fears.
Her words still held weight, as she had been their guardian for a long time, so they still trusted her.
Suppressing their fears, they watched as Anastasia and the elder opened the gate ahead.
An ominous black fog rolled out, beckoning them to their doom.
With Anastasia taking the lead, the elder and the rest of the dark elves followed behind, not knowing what their future would be.
...
[Intruders detected, please defend your dungeon.]
[Failure to do so will result in loss and damage to the dungeon.]
[Success in defending the dungeon will result in reimbursement for all damages.]
Hale had already spotted them outside.
But hearing the series of prompts. He was now sure, that they had taken the bait.
So when the confused dark elves were adjusting to their new situation. He took this chance to impress them, as he decided to make a dramatic entrance.
The dark elves were looking at the twisted swamp.
Suddenly, their focus was shattered by a swirling purple tornado, its gaseous form spiraling ominously. The whirlwind twisted with unnatural force, and the dark elves froze in fear, their breaths held as they watched.
As the tornado continued to spiral, its shape began to solidify. The gas twisted and coalesced, slowly forming a humanoid figure. Its body was made entirely of swirling, purple mist, its presence both ethereal and menacing.
"Welcome, dark elves, to your new home," Hale's voice rang out, deep and heavy, like the sound of thunder in the quiet area.
Anastasia took the lead as she bowed in front of Hale.
Seeing the situation, the rest of the dark elves soon bowed.
But Hale just waved his hand, knowing how they truly felt. "I know, you don't trust me. But I can guarantee, that you'll soon know how correct your decision was."
Leading the dark elves east from the starting area, this place had a lot of muddy land and twisting trees. This was the place that he decided that the dark elves would live in.
Hale decided to flex more of his power. So that he can gain the total obedience of the dark elves.
"Witness the power of Noxious!"
The dark elves watched in shock as purple mist gathered on the land. It was oppressive and shocking as the purple mist gathered to create new structures in front of their eyes.
When everything had cleared, they were left with the sight of five humanoid statues.
The first statue depicted a towering figure with a cone-shaped helmet covering his head, its presence immense and formidable, yet it stood bare-chested, weaponless, exuding an air of raw power. The second figure was encased in heavy armor, gripping a mace in one hand and a shield in the other, radiating strength and oppression. The third figure, draped in light garments, had its face shrouded in shadow beneath a hood, with bottles and a pair of sharp daggers hanging from its hips, hinting at a more elusive nature. The fourth figure exuded an ominous aura, clad in robes and a wizard's hat that obscured much of its face, while its twisted fingers clutched an orb tightly. The final statue portrayed a more serene, yet equally unsettling, figure draped in a monk-like robe, its face concealed by a strange, featureless mask, holding an ominous-looking book.
The dark elves stared at those figures in awe.
Hale's cold laughter soon echoed out, "This is the power of Noxious, far greater than your dark elves' inheritance."
Realizing the implication of his words, they sucked in a breath of cold air.
Class change!
With these statues, they could finally master a class! No longer would it just be the elder who only mastered a class, but they can too. Only now did they realize, why the elder had led them here.
Immediately as if in unison they all bowed towards Hale, loudly shouting, "We pledge our eternal and undying loyalty to Lord Noxious!"
[Accept allegiance of Dark Elves?]
[Yes or No]
Seeing their actions, Hale nodded. As he clicked yes.
He soon noticed on the dungeon page that it listed 101x dark elves as part of his dungeon. This meant, that they would be protected by the dungeon. If they died they would naturally be reborned using the power of the dungeon.
'But it's just that, it cost so much for me to show off.'
Hale's heart was bleeding as he looked at a series of notifications.
[Purachased: Plague Inheritance (Tier 1)]
[-800 Dungeon Points]
'That was all my money, now I'm broke again. The trade-off is good though, as I now have a unit of dark elves under my command, not to mention that they can also learn the new classes that I just showed them.'
The five figures corresponded to the five main classes of this game.
The first figure was the Plaguebearer class, the counterpart to the warrior class. The second figure was the Blightkeeper class, the counterpart to the guardian class. The third figure was the Verminscourge class, the counterpart to the rogue class. The fourth figure was the Practitioner of Pestilence class, the counterpart to the wizard class. The final figure was the rot-priest class, the counterpart to the priest class.
Not only that, it wasn't only the dark elves that could master those classes. Players could also!
Giving the players more motivation to keep coming to his dungeon, so that they can learn such cool and unique classes, not offered by other dungeons.
Hale was waiting in anticipation for when the game would be officially released. He had so many players that he had to harvest, he couldn't wait.