PftA Book 5 - Chapter 34 - A Deal with the Dungeon

The ants provided more experience than I expected, and it took me a moment to remember the floor’s welcome message had mentioned something about bonus experience based on the zone we were in.

As expected, the dungeon nerfed my ability to travel freely on the floor. As soon as I entered Zone Two, I lost the ability to open a portal directly to the Trading Pavilion.

It really wasn’t a big deal since I could still transport us to the portal through which we’d entered the zone. I also set up anchor locations at a few of the other portals I sensed. When the monthly market and message exchange rolled around, we ended up using one of the other portals to travel back to ‘Zone Zero’, just to see if there was any difference.

There wasn’t.

Interestingly, the dungeon labeled the small space housing the Trading Pavilion and the Challengers’ Retreat as the floor’s lone ‘Safe Zone.’ It had been so long since I saw one of those as an option that the sight made me pause for a microsecond.

“Why don’t you look around and see what the other challengers are offering while I check in with Trader and ask about the portals?” I suggested.

Aside from inquiring about traveling together through portals and how the dungeon decides where to transfer someone, I wanted to ask about the possibility of sharing the information from the primer with my mentor.

I probably didn’t need to ask the latter in private, but it seemed smarter to err on the side of caution.

“Sure. Let me know what it says,” Kai said with a casual smile before wandering toward a dual Earth/Air Mage who’d taken over a corner of the pavilion with a huge booth he’d clearly built using his Earth magic.

With so few challengers on the floor, there was no line in front of the small booth that served as the dungeon’s tenth-floor Trading Post.

“Hi, Trader! I have a couple of questions,” I said to the golem as I stepped in front of the booth. “First, how does the dungeon decide where to send people when they go through the portals, and will it always keep parties together?”

It was technically two questions, but I didn’t think it mattered much.

“So long as everyone agrees, the dungeon will keep groups entering the same portal together. The destination within a particular floor is random unless the party collectively has a particular target in mind.”

Though I suspected that the dungeon could read minds, it was a little unsettling to have it stated so blatantly.

Pushing the discomfort aside, I said, “That’s good to know. Thanks. My second question is if there any way I can share some of the information I received from the primer for ascension with Kai? As far as I know, he doesn’t plan to leave the dungeon before ascending.”

The golem blinked at me several times, though its expression didn’t change.

“Challengers who did not select the primer, whether by choice or otherwise, are not entitled to the information contained within,” it stated almost robotically, showing none of the personality I’d grown used to seeing in the dungeon’s golems.

Though I was disappointed, I forced my expression to remain neutral. The dungeon’s response was not unexpected.

“Is there any way to make an exception?” I asked, though I wasn’t going to get my hopes up. “Perhaps I could exchange my future reward for this floor’s trial?”

It might seem like I was offering a lot in exchange for something relatively minor, but I’d realized that having the primer had shifted my perspective about what to expect in the next realm.

Sure, Anya had hinted at many of the same things, and the floor’s new rules implied a lot as well. But it was one thing to get a hint from a Fate Mage about what might occur, and quite another to have things spelled out by a source with a potential connection to the realm in question.

My entire approach to expanding my understanding of my most critical skills and spells had shifted after reading the primer. Furthermore, I was sure that the next several decades would be much easier if I were able to speak openly to Kai about everything instead of having to constantly work around the geas.

Conversely, whatever reward I might get from the trial would only be useful for a very short time. The only exception would be if I used the reward to improve my Arcane affinity, but even that would only help a small amount.

It might not even make an appreciable difference, since a few points in an affinity probably wouldn’t strengthen my soul by all that much, especially given how high my other two affinities were.

The golem seemed to consider my proposition for a few seconds, though I felt it was far more likely that it was obtaining guidance from the dungeon itself. I didn’t think the individual golems had any real say in how the dungeon operated.

That didn’t mean asking was pointless.

“The dungeon has countered your offer,” Trader replied, validating my suspicion. “The dungeon will allow you to communicate with Henlen Kairos as if he were a fellow recipient of the reward in exchange for a small favor to be fulfilled prior to your ascension.

“This favor will not cause any physical discomfort or injury, and it will provide you with a slight advantage upon reaching the next realm.”

I smothered the impulse to agree right away, instead asking, “Can you tell me more about this future favor?”

The golem shook its head. “Unfortunately, the dungeon did not provide any further details. Do you accept the dungeon’s offer?”

Open favors were generally viewed as dangerous things to offer, especially when dealing with an entity capable of enforcing such things. With how the dungeon could enforce its geasa, I had no doubt it could force me to fulfill my end of the bargain.

But the dungeon had promised the favor wouldn’t hurt me. If anything, it would be a good thing. With that assurance, it only made sense to agree.

“I accept,” I said.

I immediately sensed the attention of an entity beyond my comprehension, followed by a sense of pressure. The sensation was fleeting, gone so quickly that I would have suspected I’d imagined it had I not had such high mental stats.  

The experience was unsettling, though the dungeon golem seemed to be completely unaffected.

“Was there anything else?” Trader asked.

I shook my head before forcing myself to speak. “No. I think that’s it for the month. Thank you.”

I quickly made my way to where Kai was chatting with the Earth/Air Mage, eager to put the uncomfortable experience behind me. As soon as I stepped up to the booth, I understood what had drawn my mentor’s attention.

The man was an Alchemist.

“Oh, Emie! Look at these!” Kai said excitedly as he removed a vial-holder filled with vials containing several different concoctions. “Alchemist Proventus has managed to invent several new recipes using the unique ingredients found only in the dungeon! He refuses to share the recipes, of course, but I can hardly blame him! This one…”

I listened with clear amusement as my mentor seemed to regress before my eyes. His clear excitement for a new alchemical discovery made him almost childlike as he gushed about the potions, hypothesizing about what ingredients his fellow Alchemist might have used in their creation.

His excitement even managed to draw a couple of late arrivals over to the Alchemist’s booth. It was probably the only reason the man hadn’t asked Kai to move on already.

Well, that and the fact that Kai was a true Pinnacle. Even on the tenth floor of the dungeon, Pinnacles were treated very respectfully.

Though I was eager to share the information I’d learned from the primer now that I had effectively been released from the geas as far as Kai was concerned, I didn’t rush or try to hurry him along. Instead, I enjoyed the limited socialization as I pushed thoughts of the dungeon’s focused attention as far from my mind as possible.

“Should we check out the Challengers’ Retreat since we’re here?” Kai asked with a gleam in his eyes when the other Alchemist finally packed up his booth and headed toward the portal.

“We might as well,” I agreed. I was pretty curious about what kind of amenities were available.

We walked down the short, covered pathway until we reached the large building. The architecture made me think of a ski lodge, though I couldn’t put my finger on why my brain made the comparison, since it didn’t look like any actual ski lodges I’d ever seen.

It was probably the vibe. The place screamed ‘high-end, luxury resort.’

“There’s the spa,” I pointed out upon seeing the familiar emblem. Kai immediately headed toward it.

“It took the place of the hot springs, I’m guessing,” Kai said with a knowing nod.

“They did. I tried to tell you about the change, but it was one of those things the dungeon censored.”

Strangely, I’d been able to tell Justin about the spa when he’d asked about my experiences within the dungeon. I hadn’t thought anything about it at the time, and never had a reason to bring up the topic with Kai after leaving the dungeon.

The dungeon was a bit weird about the things it would only censor, as opposed to the things it would actively prevent one from discussing. The primer was obviously one of the latter, though I was glad I’d gotten the restriction lifted where Kai was concerned.

When he glanced at the cost of a single regeneration-boosting session, my mentor’s eyes widened.

“That is far more expensive than I would have expected,” he gasped.

Glancing at the prices, I shrugged. It was about what I expected after the cost of using the regenerative pools on the previous floor.

“It’s floor inflation,” I semi-joked. “And it’s really not that bad as long as we spend a decent amount of time hunting. Usually, I can afford a five-month unlimited package after a few years of saving, even without factoring in my crafting. Five months is usually enough to take full advantage of the pool’s benefits.”

“I guess it’s a matter of perspective,” Kai muttered before shaking his head and looking at the list of much cheaper services and amenities that were available in the small spa.

Already knowing the basics of what was offered, I turned my attention to the rest of the large structure. The facilities were clearly visible from the large, open space at the center of the building, making it easy to decide what kind of relaxation one might want to indulge in.

Looking to my left, I saw there was a restaurant that claimed to be able to make any dish. I wondered where they got the recipes, but knowing how powerful the dungeon was, I figured it had its ways.

Beside the restaurant was a concierge desk and a display showing a variety of available resort-style suites. Across from the spa, there was a boutique with access to what I assumed was the newest VR manatech. Though I still had the upgraded version I’d gotten before entering the dungeon, I fully planned to test out what was available.

The ones on display – available for rent or purchase – reminded me of the state-of-the-art versions I’d seen for sale before returning to the dungeon.

In fact, I was pretty sure the ones being used in the dungeon were at least a generation or two ahead of what I’d seen outside. Whether that was because the technology had advanced and the dungeon had acquired it or something else, I wasn’t sure.

There were a few other amenities available, but my focus was on the VR capsules.

“We should check those out,” I said, motioning toward the boutique.

“Don’t you have one already?” Kai asked.

“I have the headgear version with the bodysuit, not one of the capsule ones,” I replied. “I imagine these are geared toward helping challengers truly learn how to use their skills, considering how the floor is set up.”

Kai gave the boutique a considering look. “Well, I suppose there’s only one way to find out.”