Sarzina Acacia was in the middle of yet another attempt to overcome her fear of unicorns when the Dungeon interrupted her. As fearing unicorns were ingrained in the elven culture the elven noblewoman saw no shame in her fear. If one unicorn could and would kill an elven queen with no warning then all unicorns were something worth fearing.

Yes, that particular unicorn had had a high level, so realistically not every unicorn would be that powerful, but they still had that potential for both power and sudden aggressiveness.

So naturally, being surrounded by even just two of such unpredictable beasts was terrifying.

Your linked Dungeon Core requests knowledge on the incoming members of The Order of The Broken Goddess.

Will you accept this request?

Yes/No

"What incoming members?" Zina stopped cautiously petting her chosen unicorn. Constantly staying on guard while touching a unicorn took her full attention and she didn't want to risk accidentally touching a sore spot and getting attacked.

She was pretty sure Dungeon monsters didn't get sore but part of being on guard meant taking as few risks as possible.

There was no answer from the System and the request hadn't changed or disappeared.

The Order of The Broken Goddess was the name of the cult that Hypnotized that poor stableboy wasn't it? That means I can't just deal with it later, thinking the sapient Dungeon is joking.

Turning around she stood face to face with a second unicorn which had apparently snuck up on her while she was thinking. Seeing the monster that close to her she naturally froze. But the beast simply looked at her and when she eventually unfroze it let her walk away without a foss.

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"Sheriff Fraxinus, I have reason to suspect that members of the Hypnotizing cult are approting our location. Any new arrivals will have to be guided directly into the Dungeon and their exit blocked till any and all timers have received zero."

The sheriff looked surprised and worried at the new command, but he was quick to spring into action, barking orders to those of his subordinates who were nearby.

Through the way mistress Acacia had worded the command, he knew she wouldn't tell him why she suddenly suspected the cult was coming so he didn't ask.

Shortly after news of the cult had been discovered alongside the Dungeon's ability to undo Hypnosis, the dungeon mistress had implemented a law that everyone had the right to accuse another of being under the effects of mind control. The accused would then be escorted into the Dungeon. If they had a timer next to their name they would be forced to stay in the Dungeon till it was finished counting down, while they could leave immediately otherwise.

Anyone freed from mind control was required to inform both the sheriff and the dungeon mistress of all they knew of their old controller. People making false accusations for fun could be fined, while a serious but wrong accusation simply wasted a little bit of everyone's time.

Which was naturally better than anyone having been mind controlled in the first place. Rather waste a bit of time here and there than leave people without their free will.

Dakath Fraxinus took his job as head of security seriously.

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Just as the Dungeon had said, 6 cult members had arrived at the still unfinished town. What the Dungeon hadn't told Zina - or maybe hadn't known - was how quickly they would arrive.

Despite having left the Dungeon as soon as possible and going straight to sheriff Fraxinus, it had only taken a couple of minutes before a pair of deputies escorted the 6 newcomers into the newly built Security Guild. The building, while otherwise finished, had an incomplete prison ward underneath it - also known as 'a dungeon for living sinners' - with only two completed cells. No one had thought any more would be needed before the town grew in size. So, the work had been postponed so the construction workers could begin making residential housing now that the more important buildings were finished.

As the newcomers entered the building, Zina was quick to conclude that their meager cells would be unable to hold any one of them. While she couldn't tell their exact tiers she had more than enough Awareness and experience being among people her own power level to conclude that every single one of them were around her own tier - the 6th, almost 7th - or above it.

If they're that powerful, then the Hypnotist must be among them. We have to be careful. Most people only reached the 4th tier, after all. A group of people that powerful were either professional miners, nobles, or bodyguards. And considering the Dungeon's warning, the latter seemed more likely.

Zina wished she could relay that thought to Fraxinus, but as two of the 6 were beastkin - fox and mouse judging by the ears - she didn't want to risk them hearing her and getting tipped off. With them all being at her own power level or higher, there was no way she would be able to fight them off, after all. Not even with the entire town by her side.

Talking seemed to be the only viable strategy, and while Zina didn't mind talking her way out of a fight, being without a plan B was frustrating.

And honestly. Kind of scary too.

"I am Sarzina Acacia and this is Sheriff Dakath Fraxinus." Normally she would have introduced herself as the local dungeon mistress - and to not do so was a bit of a faux pas as the other now couldn't show you the respect you deserved - but knowing their goal it would only have led to them becoming hostile towards her.

The sheriff gave her a questioning look at the lack of title but said nothing.

"What brings you to our humble settlement, travelers?" The dungeon mistress continued.

"We heard rumors of a new Dungeon appearing around here and decided to stop by. Going through the same Dungeon over and over again can get quite boring, after all!" The short mouse beastkin of the group appeared to be their leader.

He must be the Hypnotist then. If I'm right and the Hypnotist is among them, that is. Having had to keep the Dungeon's secrets secret meant she had gotten better at keeping her mouth shut while thinking. A training she was putting to good use now.

The locals tensed up as they looked warily at the newcomers. While Zina was the only one who had realized just how powerful the strangers were, the fact that no introduction had happened from their side was worrying. Elves were taught that an introduction from a stranger - even if the name was obviously an alias - was a way for the stranger to say 'I mean you no harm'. Likewise, no introduction meant 'I'm here to harm you'.

So, while the mouse had made no actual threat, that was what the elves heard.

"Then the Dungeon you shall visit." Zina was quick to keep the conversation going. Now if only they'll cooperate. But she knew that was likely a pipe dream. "However, our protocol states newcomers must enter the Dungeon with at least two members of the Security Guild. And as the current maximum allowed on a Floor is 6, I'm afraid you'll have to split up or leave someone behind when you visit the Dungeon."

Where before the mouse beastkin had been watching Zina quite normally, he was now staring intensely at her. "Are you sure that's really necessary?"

Am I?

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Oh no.

Having a 7th 0%'er show up at the same time the Lightning Mage stopped all attempts at splitting the cult up in two groups was too much of a coincidence to be unrelated.

Meaning my link to the Surface World had been compromised.

Knowing that the Lightning Mage wanted to have elven guards prevent the cult members from exiting before their timers were up, and predicting the cult wanted to enter as one group, meant I hadn't changed the allowed number of sapients per Floor yet. I had planned on raising the number once the two groups started to disagree on what was going to happen and letting the Lightning Mage know it was happening.

Having the number raised would mean the whole group of cult members could enter at once, which in itself was a disadvantage for me, but it would also allow any elf who wanted to guard them to do so. The elves of this town had declared me blessed, after all, so they would want to protect me.

But if the cult and the elves began fighting while outside my Dungeon, I wouldn't be able to help the elves and overwhelm the bad guys by double-teaming them.

Nor would I get any EXP should anyone die, but that was mostly a bonus for getting them inside my Dungeon. Survival did take priority in situations like this.

But now that plan was ruined! I didn't dare relay any message to the Lightning Mage in case she tried to warn the cult of my sapiency. While she wouldn't be able to actually say anything - the Rule prevented that - she could certainly hint at my secrets like she had done with the priest.

For that same reason I decided not to lower the allowed amount of sapients either. If the whole group couldn't enter after the Lightning Mage had stated the number was 6 then they would start to ask questions that the mind controlled elf would have to answer. Which in turn would make her try to hint to my independence despite being 'tamed'.

So, while I would have preferred to only have allowed the minimum of 4 in at a time to be safe, I considered the advantage of being underestimated more important.

I only remembered after all 6 had entered my Dungeon that I had already made a Rule that would have made them forget I was sapient as long as they were inside my Dungeon.

I should have lowered the number! Arghhh!

Mlartlar [Hypnotized] [Dungeon Weakness] [7 hours, 46 minutes, 39 seconds] Hybrid between elf and beastkin - Vulpinekin Battle Commander Level 55 Reid Alvarado [Hypnotized] [Dungeon Weakness] [9 hours, 33 minutes, 19 seconds] Human Paladin Level 52 Agtius [Hypnotized] [Dungeon Weakness] [9 hours, 13 minutes, 19 seconds] Giant Axe Master Level 57 Jenna Emery [Hypnotized] [Dungeon Weakness] [9 hours, 59 minutes, 59 seconds] Human Elemental Mage - Earthquake Level 48 Marthox [Brainwashed] [Dungeon Weakness] [3 hours, 39 minutes, 59 seconds] Beastkin - Muskin Hypnotist Level 60 Talindra Delonix-Regia [Brainwashed] [Dungeon Weakness] [6 hours, 6 minutes, 39 seconds] Elf Noble Light Hunter Level 74

Those levels are terrifying! Before this the Lightning Mage and her pet had been leagues above everyone, but compared to these people?! Those two might both be level 59, but at least there's only two of them!

And level 74?! How can I possibly compete with that? I couldn’t even defeat the Lightning Mage and her pet while I had a whole army! I might have a second Boss now but there's no way that'll be enough!