Izumi Hara kept her silence as she watched the quiet one of the two Spanish men approach the masked individual.

She, her sister, and their two friends, had been stuck in this dungeon for days now, too afraid to answer the question after what happened when... well, when one of them actually did.

This newcomer had a great deal of power in his voice though and made even her want to answer the question she'd been asked so many hours ago by now. She was hopeful for what was to come even if she couldn't understand the foreigners.

"Puerta, ¿qué beneficios recibiría en caso que decida matar a mis compañeros?" the Spaniard said in a questioning manner. What he was questioning, she had no clue.

Hara chided herself mentally for not bringing along another teammate with a translation item or skill. 'Maybe we could have come to an agreement of sorts like the stranger has too if we could communicate... If only Yamamoto-san wasn't such a fool...'

She tried her best not to think about the corpse laying behind her and her companions. He was the first person she'd killed with her own hands, after all. It wasn't a pleasant topic to dwell on for her mental health, especially since he was starting to rapidly decompose.

"Enrique!" the woman of the other group screamed, returning Hara's focus to the Spanish and the stranger. "¡No respondas! Como líder, es responsabilidad de Jorge asumir el mando, ya sabes. ¡Respondiendo primera le estás justificando!"

'Líder.' The woman had thrown those words around a lot when talking to the larger and more irritable man Hara had noticed. 'A title, maybe? It sounds similar to English's 'leader'... At least I now know one of their names. Enrique. It's a name I recognise. There was a famous singer called that, wasn't there? Enrique Igloo or something.'

"Response: The high kingship of New Earth."

'Ambitious man. He asked what he would get like the masked man did?' Hara thought. She saw the masked stranger shake his head softly while Enrique's companions seemed dismissive of such a notion as him being a monarch. 'Poor quality friends though we are hardly much better in some regards...'

"Sí, lo haría," Enrique replied resolutely. "Yo... lo haría. Es sólo hipotético como dices, ¿no? No es que importe," he added as he looked towards the masked man with hope in his eyes.

Nodding in response, the newcomer replied, "Yes, that's right. Just think of it as a survey of sorts. It's far less serious than you're all making it out to be. I'm far more worried about more combat tests, personally."

'Say that again when you get attacked by someone you thought was a friend over what you call a 'survey',' Hara retorted from within the silence of her own mind. 'I can agree with him on his second comment though. That was no easy fight in room two. I worry what Room two has in store for us...'

'I do wonder who he really is... He's no one normal, for sure. The way he carries himself and his cold logic too... He's an experienced mercenary or dungeon delver. Maybe both. Should I risk an identify? His status could contain very crucial information should he turn on us,' she thought, weighing the pros and the cons.

Hara was relatively cautious by nature but she recognised that risks needed to be taken at times to ensure her and her kin's safety. That was exactly why she was here in this dungeon with her team. Well, what was left of her team at least.

'This wasn't meant to be a tough mission. Go in, find the missing team, escape or clear the place if it was a dungeon. Maybe the fight in Room two is what's spooked us so much and made us not want to answer that question we fear the answer to,' Hara wondered before coming to a decision.

'Shinobi's Identification,' she invoked mentally.

Her skill was a powerful version of identification that was a grade above even Higher Identification which was already rather uncommon. It would show her full statuses and anything the statuses' owner had tried to hide.

Another useful part of the skill which she had avoided telling her teammates thus far - even her little sister - was that it gave her a small piece of advice for how best to assassinate someone.

Very useful when it came to dungeon inhabitants, she found since it worked on all organisms, even plants, oddly enough.

The masked man turned to face her for a moment while the Spaniards began shouting at one another again though with the second man in tow as well.

The serious individual nodded at her slightly then turned back to ensure the other group didn't get too violent. Hara felt chills at his composure. 'He could tell...'

Not a moment later, her vision was obscured by several system notifications.

Warning! You have attempted to access the status of a host who has the ability to deny such an attempt from the [Shinobi's Identification] skill. They have been alerted to this. Congratulations! The host [Daz Crowthorne] has allowed you to view his status with a few omissions.

'Daz Crowthorne?! As in...' Hara paled instantly.

Daz Crowthorne's Status Description

Omitted.

Omitted.

Omitted.

Through several strokes of good fortune and luck along with his own unwavering will, Daz Crowthorne has come to be the high king of the fledging higher kingdom, New Earth.

Hidden Description

Favoured by the system's Master of Flavour Text, Player Botund Relox, Player Altros, and Player Pheldorapod.

Champion of the lesser god, the God of Shovels.

Basic Information Name: Daz Crowthorne Species: Reaper Race: Archreaper Age: 21 Sex: Male Class: Crystal Digger Affinity: Lawful Neutral Energies Lifeforce: 100,000/100,000 Death Energy: 90,500/105,000 Worldforce: 17,500/17,500 Stats Strength: [LR] 1,500(2,250) Dexterity: [LR] 2,000(3,000)| Item Boost: +50. Constitution: [LR] 3,000(4,500) Intelligence: [LR] 2,500(3,750 Transparency: [LR] 780(1,170) Agility: [LR] 1,500 Charisma: [LR] 2,000 | Item Boost: +15. Defence: [LR] 2,000 | Item boost: +3,000. Immunity: [LR] 2,000 Soul Power: 460,000 Luck: [LR] 1,250 | Item Boost: +375. Justice: 35,900 Corruption: 0 Wisdom: [LR] 4,000 | Item Boost: +250. Regeneration: [LR] 2,000 | Item boost: +100. Mana Sensitivity: [LR] 5,000 Assassination Tip: Hire a better assassin. You cannot kill this target via any means of your own.

'It's really him... Daz Crowthorne... the high king. He's as strong as if not even stronger than Emperor Nishikawa... This makes him the second person who my skill thinks I can't possibly handle alone and the first who actually noticed me using it. Thank the gods he didn't seem to mind all that much,' she thought in relief as cold sweat covered her back.

She quickly snapped back to reality when she heard the masked man's voice once again.

"Okay, that is enough. You are citizens of New Earth, a civilised bastion of hope in the newly fucked up world, act like it, not like prepubescent children," he sighed. "I get enough of this from my day job. You wish to get out of here alive, right?"

The larger Spanish man and the woman nodded tensely.

"Then just answer the question, please. Three teams entered this dungeon yet I only see two," he said, glancing at Hara and her team for a moment. "If you won't do as I say I'll be going on ahead to find the last group. Them or their remains. I'll then clear this dungeon. It needs to be banished before more mercenaries enter it."

That shut them up. If he truly did go and clear the dungeon with them still in it they ran the risk of disappearing along with it. Dungeons were a weird thing, Hara thought.

She wasn't very worried about the other team the high king mentioned since either they were stuck too or most-certainly dead considering how long they'd been in here.

Him, however? She had no doubts in her mind whatsoever that he could do as he said. The man managed to kill a cardinal of the Truthians while having his system powers stripped from him. If that wasn't the act of a damn-near demigod, then what was?

Hara observed as the remaining two Spaniards seemed to stop and seriously consider his words. Enrique also got involved by talking to them, probably persuading them to see sense, Hara thought.

'I'd rather if they didn't piss him off though. He seems friendly now but one doesn't omit details from their status without good reason. He's a good man and a better ruler from whatever angle you look at him but that just makes him even more suspicious. North Korea's leaders were practically gods to their unaware citizens, after all. Needless to mention how many players favour him. I didn't even know that was possible,' Hara thought.

Not much later, the previously arguing set of Spaniards seemed to calm a lot at Enrique's words and they eventually both answered the door. Hara had a feeling some skills were at work, mainly from the high king.

He was famous for his massive charms that far exceeded what his stats could provide despite his often frank speeches. 'I wonder if that can be considered brainwashing...'

Judging by the man and woman's actions both prior and current, it was clear what they had answered to the door even if Hara couldn't understand them.

They immediately left the room as soon as the door told them they could. Enrique said a few words to High King Crowthorne before he, too, vanished off to Room four.

Hara felt herself getting nervous as the masked ruler approached her group. "Now, On to you three. Or, well, four. I trust there's a good reason that person hidden behind you is dead?"

Hara might have challenged him for asking such a question just a few minutes ago but now knowing who he was... what he might be capable of... Well, she swallowed her words and instead answered politely, "He took the question literally and attacked us when the door asked its final question. We- I had to put him down."

"Izumi-san!" Sato Hiro exclaimed, shock evident on his handosme face. He turned to the high king and said, "We appreciate you convincing the others to leave but please follow their lead. We will handle our own affairs. We'll be sure to catch up to you before you clear the dungeon, we can assure you of that much."

"I would like to trust you but that body's a few days old at the minimum. I'll be finished with this place in a few hours, tops. I won't just inadvertently murder people for no reason," Daz Crowthorne stated. "Answer the door's question, please. I really don't get why this is such a big deal."

Hara wanted to hit Hiro. He was usually the nicest guy around for miles but right now he was being an idiot and quite possible playing with their lives despite what the high king was saying.

She felt High King Crowthorne's eyes land on her through the tiny slits in his diamond mask. "You know I will get you all out of here should future rooms prove too much. if nothing else, I will stop needless infighting."

"You just believe us?" the final member of their team and Hara's own younger sister, Michiru, asked. "Y'know, that he, uh, attacked us first."

She loved her younger sister dearly so seeing her question such an unfathomably powerful person put her on edge.

Hara bit her bottom lip, choosing not to say anything that might upset the high king. Surely he was wearing that mask for a reason, she felt. Exposing his status wouldn't benefit them in any way at all. 'Of course he believes us. He's High King Crowthorne, also known as the Final Arbiter. The last thing a criminal wants is for their case to brought all the way up to him and his throne room. No lies can escape his eyes.'

It was a power she firmly believed he held even if some doubted it. He had never released a full record of his abilities, after all, and no one was able to identify him unless he permitted them to, as she had learned the hard way only moments ago.

It was quite a vexing subject for journalists of the new age, Hara had read on the kingdom's internet service, the Rose. Most people of power or in power had a secret or twenty.

The newly skilled journalists specialised in revealing said secrets as agents of the tabloids had done so for dozens if not hundreds of years.

High King Crowthorne though? Untouchable. It was speculated he had a master-ranked Identification variant. If he didn't then what else was preventing people from picking him clean from top-to-bottom like the vultures they were?

'Everyone knows he's the Champion of Shovels since he's very open about that but the list of players that favour him? The master of flavour text too? What does that even mean? What flavour text? Will he see me as a threat now that I know of this? Why did he let me see it?' Hara gulped as she heard the man reply to her younger sister.

"I can tell when someone lies," High King Crowthorne stated as if it didn't matter at all.

"Like the king?" Michiru questioned.

He nodded in response. "High king, and exactly."

'Even without his throne or his ancient peridot supporting him, he has so much influence in his voice... It feels like every word he speaks had deeper meaning beyond a person of my standing's ability to comprehend. This is... weirdly nice,' she thought, knowing full well she was being affected by his stats and probably a strange skill or two.

Everything regarding his items was public knowledge, of course. He usually travelled with his shovel floating by his side and his entourage of jewels just behind him too. The ones that made him more majestic not being needed to boost his persuasiveness so much though was a bit of a shock to her.

At the same time she was thinking about this, she also felt like a fool for not immediately recognising him from his battle armour the moment he had appeared.

'He damn near is never seen without it. Too many copycats who like the style, I suppose... I need to be better at this kind of thing. What if it was that massive Russian general of his that I'd identified instead and also got caught?' she thought.

There were very few rumours floating around regarding the woman who called herself Crusher but almost all of them told tales of cruelty and barbarism. The thought made her shiver even though mistaking that goliath of a person for anyone bar herself was essentially impossible, unique as she was.

She cleared her throat slowly and said, "Door-san, I would not kill my comrades no matter the price offered."

"Door-san?" her monarch chuckled. "I don't really think it's a person. It seems more like a machine to me."

"S-Sorry," she muttered back trying to avoid his gaze.

Hiro stared at her long and hard, presumably for her uncharacteristically meek response when the door answered her.

"Response: You speak truthfully. You may proceed to Room Four."

A door just like the one she had seen that led to room two and this room appeared in the middle of the glass box for her. The door was slightly different from the one that was the dungeon's entrance though it was similar enough being covering in strange symbols, Hara thought.

On the topic of the glass box, outside of it all Hara saw was a scarred, older and battle-hardened version of herself. She had no idea why and it creeped her out a bit how it stared at her so she disregarded it.

Similarly, she ignored Hiro's eyes until he finally peeled them off of her and spoke up, "Nor would I, Door."

"Response: You speak truthfully. You may proceed to Room Four."

A short silence filled the glass box before the high king spoke, looking at her younger sister. "And you? You're the last one."

"O-Of course I wouldn't. I would never kill my sister or Hiro, Door-san!" Michiru exclaimed much to Hara's joy.

'I'm glad, so glad... That would have been one hell of a tough conversation if she answered otherwi- Why does High King Crowthorne seem so disappointed all of a sudden?' Hara thought as she noticed the slight change in his body language.

"God damn it. Why did you lie? I literally just spent the past ten minutes explaining why it doesn't matter. Do any of you know what happens when you lie to it? I can't imagine it'll be pleasant," he asked quickly as he prepared for whatever may happen next.

"Lie?" Hiro said. "What do you mean 'lie'? Why would Izumi-chan lie about something like this?! Who are you to accuse her?!" he yelled only to get completely snubbed.

High King Crowthorne was entirely unconcerned by his outburst and was instead paying incredibly close attention to his and Michiru's surroundings.

"Response: You do not speak the truth. You are of no further use."

A loud popping noise filled Hara's ears and a thick red liquid with chunks in it splattered all over her. "M-Michiru...?"

She turned in horror only to find not her sister but a pool of blood and a small collection of guts.

"Even her soul... How is one meant to defend against that kind of an attack? Fuck..." there was anger in the high king's voice as well as a bit of shame. Maybe he was upset he hadn't stopped it from happening.

Whatever the reason, Hara didn't care. Tears burst out of her eyes and vomit threatened to spew from her mouth as she violently gagged. She managed to squeeze out a single pained, soul-wrenching scream. "MICHIRU!"

A/N: What the Spanish translates to if you're curious;

"Door, what benefits would I be rewarded with in the situation that I choose to kill my teammates?"

"Don't answer! It's Jorge's responsibility as team leader to, y'know, take the lead! You're just vindicating him by answering first!"

"Yes, I would," "I... would do it. It's only hypothetical like you said though, right? This doesn't matter."