***** Amandine’s POV 4:20 PM *****

I jumped to my feet, ready to defend myself before I even realized that I was awake, or that I wasn’t wearing any of my weapons.

“Oh good, you’re awake,” said the first kobold. “You’re lucky that overloading yourself like that wasn’t part of the plan, so I was allowed to heal you. Normally, I’m forbidden to help adventurers in the dungeon beyond the limits of my role in the story, but your group is getting a special experience. Killing yourself by testing the loot is not an allowed outcome.”

“What do you mean killing myself!?”

“Ma’am, you severely overdrew your power and started feeding your life force into the blade,” said Billodon. “You’re lucky the blade cut the flow of power somehow, otherwise you would have killed yourself.”

“So you’re saying that I can’t use my shiny new weapons?”

“Yes, ma’am!”

“I wouldn’t be so sure,” interjected the spear kobold. “The dungeon thinks your problems all stem from the unique nature of your new weapons and the way that you normally use your magic. He says that you normally fill the weapons with your power as if you were filling a bucket from a well. Is this correct?”

“More or less. I have to keep the power active so that it doesn’t dissipate, but otherwise, you’re correct.”

“Yup, that’s your problem. Unlike your usual weapons, this set is made to channel energy in order to function. The more energy flowing through them, the more effective they become, and their channeling capacity is blatantly ridiculous. Well, compared to the power you can output. They were originally designed to work with a much larger power supply than the General can muster, but they do work with what he has.”

“So, you’re saying that using my normal methods I was trying to fill a pair of uncapped sewer pipes with water rather than my usual buckets.”

“Yes. Trickle your power through them and they will work just fine. Just be careful of your magic levels.”

“Alrighty then. Give me ten minutes to play with my new toys, and figure out what I’m doing, then we’ll move out.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

*****

When we stepped into the next room fifteen minutes later with a third key, we discovered that all three paths had met back up again and that Lieutenant Banulf was waiting for us with his squad. The only things in the room beside the Lieutenant and his squad were the doorways leading to the other passageways, a very large circular doorway that presumably led deeper into the dungeon, and nine pedestals arranged in an arc in front of it.

“Been waiting, long Lieutenant?” I asked.

“Ma’am, no ma’am! We just got here, and I have to say this is a thoroughly strange dungeon. None of the challenges we faced were all that difficult, there were no traps and no monsters.”

“Oh?”

“It’s almost as if we were allowed to collect the keys because something was missing. The only injuries were a couple of stubbed toes and one minor lightning burn from one of the singing metal lightning mushroom things.”

“That’s because there is something missing. Or rather, someone,” interjected the first kobold as she and her brother stepped out of the ranks. “Without Embreyon, who’s participation was strictly forbidden for this run, those rooms cannot function properly and so pose little threat.”

“Who is Embreyon and why was their participation forbidden?” I asked, using hand signs to tell Banulf that the kobolds were friendlies – for now.

“We cannot answer that. Not until the dungeon’s Quest is over.”

“But we haven’t gotten a Quest from the World System regarding the dungeon.”

“That’s not what I said, and I’m not allowed to say anything more on this topic. Looks like the third group will be here momentarily with the last three keys, then we can proceed to the preparations rooms before we fight the Slaver Queen.”

Sure enough, Doskan’s group walked into the room as she finished speaking and all nine keys reverted back to key form before flying across the room and inserting themselves into their respective pedestals. With the keys applied, the pedestals sank into the floor and the door irised open, revealing another identical door several yards further on. On one side of the pathway between the doors was what looked for all the world like the common room of an inn, albeit with a strange taste in furniture, complete with a bar and a plethora of seating arrangements scattered around. The other side was filled with chests, beds, and desks arranged in squares with one of each per square, looking for all of the world like a series of middle-class rooms at an inn.

“I bid you welcome to the Hall of Rest, Relaxation & Preparation. You have just over eight hours until it is time to face the Slaver Queen. How much of that time do you want to spend in rest and relaxation before you prepare for the Boss fight?”

“What would you recommend?”

“Call it six hours of rest, half an hour to switch gears and pack your stuff back up, then split the remaining time between making a battle plan and preparing to implement that plan.”

“Sounds good to me, let’s do it.”

“All right then, the timer starts as soon as I finish explaining the rules. Everybody listen up!

“Food and drink are available at any of the tables. The only requirement is that you stick your bare hand on the handprint on the table so that we can be sure that you’re not allergic to the food. Once your hand has been scanned the first time, you won’t have to do so again, and you can order food from the menu that will appear afterward. If the menu confuses you or you can’t read, say so and the table will help you figure things out. Oh, and when you pay for the food, there is a coin slot in front of each chair. Simply insert adequate coinage into the slot and then lean back from the table. Your order will show up on the tabletop along with your change. When you’re done with a dish, simply say so and set it on the table and the dungeon will eat it.

“You can rent a room in much the same way, except the interface is built into the desk. The only difference is that the hand scanner is only for signifying contractual agreement. Once you have paid and scanned your hand, the walls and ceiling of the room will rise out of the floor to provide privacy. Each room comes with bathing and laundry facilities that are currently hidden in the floor. Normally there would be other services as well, such as limited repair of weapons, clothing, and armor, a masseuse, and hopefully a limited selection of potions, but those are either not ready yet or have been disabled for your group because reasons. Also, the rooms can only be rented until fifteen minutes after the six hours are up.

“When you hear this sound–”

Bong! Bing! Bong!

“the six hours are up and the half-hour transition time has begun. For those who are asleep, the sound will continue and slowly get louder over the next five minutes. If at the end of those five minutes you’re still not awake, the blankets disappear, the lights start flashing and the sound switches to–”

*beepbeepbeep*

“and continues getting louder. If you’re still not awake at the ten-minute mark, the dungeon does whatever obnoxious thing the dungeon thinks will wake you up the fastest. If by some miracle you’re still not awake by the fifteen-minute mark, the dungeon will quite literally toss you off of the bed and then dump all of your stuff all over the floor and retract the walls into the floor. If some of your stuff breaks because of this rough treatment, or you’re not fully dressed yet, that’s your problem. There is some leniency if you're clearly trying to get dressed and stuff, but don't count on it as how lenient the dungeon gets depends on your personal interactions with him.

“Also at the fifteen-minute mark, the War Table will spawn in the middle of the aisle so you have some time to familiarize yourself with its functions before the planning session begins at the half-hour mark. During the planning session, I will explain what the boss is and how we’re allowed to help you fight it.

“Any questions?”

“Making a room such as this right before the boss fight is very… considerate… of the dungeon,” I said. “Why go to all of this effort on our behalf? Doesn’t the dungeon get more power if we die inside of its domain?”

“In the short term, yes. The mana gain from one death is equal to the mana gain from that same person spending one-hundred and twenty hours inside of the dungeon. However, if you visit the dungeon and thoroughly enjoy the experience, you’re likely going to come back time and time again – with friends. Many of you will no doubt tell grand tales of your adventures in taverns throughout the land, enticing even more people to come. Not to mention, you’re probably going to increase in rank over time and therefore provide more mana per hour inside of the dungeon. As the saying goes, you catch far more flies with honey than vinegar.”

“But what about the people who show up and try to steal the dungeon core?”

“The dungeon is aware of this problem and has a solution to it.”

“What kind of solution? Surely they can’t just let people wander up to their core willy-nilly!”

“The dungeon is aware of this problem and has a solution to it.”

“Wait, are you saying that there is coinage in the tables?” asked one of Banulf’s elves.

“No, there is not. Any coinage inserted into the table falls down the central shaft into the collection system under the floor. Any attempt to interfere with said system will elicit a response from the dungeon’s enforcer, a being formerly known as Gibraltar. Trust me, none of you are ready for the world of hurt that would land you in.”

“Even me with my new toys?” I asked.

“Yes, even you. Your new toys were originally built for his lesser cousins, for lack of a better description. Unlike everything else that you have so far faced in this dungeon, he was built for war.

“Any other questions? No? Alright, the six hours start… now.” Bong! Bing! Bong!