As I exited Black Gate, several guards that were setting up for the day noticed me. Apparently, I wasn’t supposed to be in the Dungeon. They kept logs of who enters and who left and would send in search parties if a group of people didn’t return before they left for the night.

No one was currently missing, and I didn’t sign in, so they suspected me of something. I was being held until the guards figured out what I was up to. I understood where they were coming from; I was clearly suspicious. Another guard entered the room, his leather armor more decorative than the rest of the guards.

“Captain!” the guard at the door saluted by placing his fist on his chest.

The captain took a seat on the opposite side of the table, looking me up and down. “You don’t seem like someone who would enter the dungeon alone.”

He must be referring to the simple farmer’s clothes I wore. Yep, why would a simple farmer be wandering a dungeon alone?

“So, what were you doing down in the dungeon by yourself?”

“I was just exploring.”

“Uggh…” The captain pinched the bridge of his nose and looked down. “Bring me the truth crystal.”

“Yessir!” the guard at the door left, returning with a clear palm-sized crystal.

They put my hands on the table, placing the crystal inside my palm.

“Okay again, what were you doing down in the dungeon,” the captain asked again, sterner than before.

“I was exploring the dungeon,” I answered. The crystal gave a faint blue glow.

Flustered, the captain asked, “Okay, when did you enter the dungeon?”

“I’m not sure how long I was down there,” the crystal gave a faint blue glow. That must mean I was telling the truth again. Technically I was exploring, and I really wasn’t sure how long I was down there.

The captain looked at the guard by the door and back to me, “Did you enter the dungeon last night.”

“No, it was a few days, maybe a week or more ago. I’m not really sure,” the crystal gave a faint blue glow again.

Wide-eyed, the captain asked, “How did you survive that long.”

For a moment, I thought, how could I answer without saying, “Zozi, let me stay with her most of the time,” I just needed to respond with something that was technically the truth.

“Well, the monsters didn’t really seem interested in me and didn’t give me any trouble,” the crystal gave a faint red glow.

The captain smirked as if with a gotcha moment, “The crystal says your lying you best start telling the truth now.”

Oh, that’s right. The minotaur did attack me, but I didn’t think he was serious. I think it was more because he was bored being alone in that boss room.

“I forgot there was one monster that attacked me. It was a giant minotaur; I think he was just playing around because he was bored,” I answered as if it were no big deal. The crystal gave a faint blue glow again.

Rubbing his forehead, the captain asked, “So were you up to anything illegal?”

“Nope, not that I’m aware of,” the crystal gave a faint blue glow.

“Uggh, I don’t have time for this. Let him go.”

“Yessir!” the guard at the door responded.

“I won’t be charging you with any crimes today, but if we catch you again, I will. If you want to go exploring still, you need to register with the adventurer’s guild, and then you need to sign in before you head down. It’s for your own good,” he said before leaving the room.

After that, the guards released me, returning my belongings and escorting me outside the Dungeon's fortifications. The guards explained that reforms had been passed, and now the guards only monitored the Dungeon during the days. No one was allowed to enter the Dungeon after a specific time. The new Duke had implemented recent reforms across the territory to reduce costs; this was one of them.

With the new schedule, some would take advantage of it. Dark god worshippers may sneak in and try to commune with the dark one. Bandits would dispose of bodies after dark, dungeons would absorb corpses left there long enough. Hiding the evidence of a crime being committed.

Stretching, glad to be free of my bindings, I set off on my trip back to Ullmet

*****

Zozrollal sat on her marble throne, watched Ruten and the guards. This is quite entertaining, she thought as she hummed to herself. It's like she gets to explore the world above herself.

“This would be great with snacks,” she said as she pouted. At that time, she realized something had happened to one of the dungeons; a boss was defeated somewhere on the eastern continent. She was glad that someone didn’t die fighting the boss, but that also meant she had a lot of work created for her.

She would need to create another dungeon. She was tasked with maintaining the dungeons, and that also meant when one was defeated, she had to create another.

Usually, this would have excited her. Changing it up from her regular tedious duties of just upkeep, but now she had a new hobby of watching Ruten stumble along his way in the world above. She wanted to hurry up and get this new Dungeon completed so she could get back to watching Ruten.