A Dungeon’s Survival

Connie

The fairy wanted me to convince him that I wasn't a threat to the world. That alone was ridiculous. Me, a threat to the world? The same world I was essentially a prisoner in and that kept trying everything in its power to kill me? I couldn't even understand the thought process behind such an accusation.

“What could I possibly do to threaten the world?” I had Stein ask on my behalf, “Thanks to your council, I'm a Dungeon Core–you know, the things that are literally confined to small areas, are treated like resources by people, half of which want to shatter them, and are actively preventing the end of the very same world you're accusing me of endangering.”

“Tell me, Connie Aldman, has Fabian told you anything about the Dungeon War?” the fairy asked, completely ignoring my rebuttal.

“The name sounds familiar, but I don't think he did, no.”

“You see, the Fairy Council hasn't always existed, and the rules it imposes were established for a reason. There was a time before its formation, back when Dungeon Fairies and their Dungeons Cores acted independently, doing everything in they could to obtain great power while completely ignoring the consequences of doing so. At that time, the world had more Great Dungeons, those that had reached the peak of attainable power, than any other period in history, but wasn't all. It was also the time that the most fell.

“Had we not formed the Fairy Council and forced the rules that we did to be followed, today, nothing would remain. We hide the sentience of Dungeon Cores for a multitude of reasons. Tell me, what do you think would happen if mortals found out you were sentient?”

I wasn't expecting this encounter to turn into a history lesson after the violent way it started, so the sudden shift caught me off guard. Then, there was his question. It wasn't something I'd given too much thought to. It also wasn't something I was sure of, but I felt like I needed to give an answer, so after thinking about it a moment, I had Stein offer the most likely scenario I could think of as an answer.

“They'd try to establish lines of communication?”

“Ha, no, at least not in the way you're thinking. They'd see you in one of two ways. Either they'd consider your sentience a threat and want you destroyed as a result, or they'd see you as something to be conquered and controlled, turning you into nothing more than a glorified production line while inhibiting you from doing the things you needed to do in order to grow. Whichever was the case, the likelihood of long-term survival would plummet, and worse, word would spread, forcing countless other Dungeons to suffer the same consequences all because of your actions. It was a commonly seen reality of the world back during the Dungeon War, and it is the reason we demand Dungeon Cores hide their intelligence, a rule you are not magically bound to follow and a reason why you pose a risk to all that we have built. It's the same for the other stipulations in the contracts we enforce.”

I couldn't deny the logic in his words. I still didn't like them, but looking back, they made a certain kind of sense. So far, mortals had only been treating me as a resource, and many had tried to shatter my core out of greed, uncaring of any consequences it would cause. The only invader that had known of my sentience was the bear, and so far, it seemed like the greatest threat to me.

If it decided it wanted me dead, there was little I could do about it, and in order to avoid that, I'd agreed to give it concessions, feeding it with my own resources every day, something that brought me no benefit besides pacifying the beast. What if people knew the same tactics could work on me? It was a chilling thought and enough to make me question if extorting the scouting group had been a good idea. I wondered if Archie doing so could possibly be enough to hint at my sentience, but I didn't have time to dwell on that concern. The fairy kept talking, after all.

“Certain options Dungeons can choose let them send their monsters into the outside world, a path one of the other two Summoned Heroes we turned into Dungeon Cores has been focusing on. I know you didn't choose that path during your initial Dungeon setup, but as you advance to higher tiers, the System can offer you traits capable of mimicking that functionality. Also, you have already found an unorthodox way of replicating that ability through your Heroic Summoner class.

“Don't get me wrong. There are merits to being able to do so, and we allow Dungeons to select those kinds of powers, but due to the possibilities they open up, restrictions are necessary. Under no circumstances do we permit Dungeons to attack mortal settlements. That was the largest contributing factor to the Dungeon War starting in the first place, and if such activities were allowed to resume, it would inevitably lead to a repeat of that disaster.

“Let me state this clearly: mortals get violent when they're scared. If they think there's even a possibility of Dungeons attacking their settlements in their sleep, they will, nine times out of ten, do everything in their power to neutralize that potential threat before it can even become one. Next to keeping the sentience of Dungeons secret, preventing this eventuality is the most important rule we enforce. One incident is all it would take for mortals to go from tolerating and unwittingly working in the benefit of Dungeons to taking up swords with the intent to perform a mass crusade against them. Can you not see the importance of this?”

I could. I hadn't thought too deeply about it before, in large part because I had no intention of attacking settlements, but when confronted with what could happen should a Dungeon do so, I couldn't deny that such a rule sounded reasonable. I also found myself thinking about how Noctis had almost gotten caught in Firmsoil by the alchemist. I wondered about what would've happened had he realized it was one of my monsters and how bad that could've turned out, but this was not the time to contemplate my own choices made out of desperation, not that I had the time to anyway. The fairy wasn't done talking.

“Likewise, we forbid violence between Dungeons. All that ever accomplished was to send large swaths of the world into chaos that affected everything and everyone nearby. Dungeons killing Dungeons was detrimental enough on its own, even if it accelerated their growth, but add on the recurring problem of mortals getting caught up in their messes and deciding that both Dungeons needed to be destroyed to ensure their safety, and thus, the need for the rule was born. That doesn't seem unreasonable, does it?”

Without even waiting for his words to sink in as he'd done before, he continued, “As for the last two rules, they are for your benefit. We limit the amount of mortals you're allowed to go out of your way to kill in order to prevent you from being seen as a threat and getting exterminated. The amount of Dungeons that got condemned for being too dangerous and wiped out as a result before we implemented that mandate was unthinkable. As tempting as quick experience payoffs may be, once the other rules were established, Dungeons being too dangerous became the number one reason for their deaths. That rule exists to limit the number of people trying to kill you, and by extension, Dungeons in general.

“Then, there is the final rule. All it asks is that you provide rewards to delvers who overcome your challenges, a small price to pay with how much there is to gain as a result. It lures in more sources of experience and keeps the mortals happy. Not only does it incentivize them not to kill you, it keeps the general sentiment around Dungeons as a whole positive, limiting the number of mortals that go hunting them by inspiring backlash from the others who stand to gain from their continued existence.

“Not only are all of the rules we enforce in the standard pact simple and necessary, they are also the only ways in which we restrict you. It has taken us millennia to achieve the current status quo, and all it would take to disrupt that carefully achieved balance is a single Dungeon making poor decisions. That is all it would take to endanger Dungeon Cores worldwide, and that is why your freedom poses a risk to the world. Do you understand now?”

Admittedly, I could see where he was coming from, kidnapping and murderous reactions aside, but something about the pact still felt wrong to me. I wasn't sure if it was just lingering fears stemming from the tales of fays tricking humans into magical contracts with unforeseen consequences and wordplay tricks from my old world, if it was my lingering resentment toward the council and how this fairy had treated me, or if there was something more there that I was subconsciously picking up but not fully internalizing. Regardless of what it was, though, one thing remained true.

“I understand,” I had Stein answer in my place.

“Then, let's bind you to the pact, reinstate your fairy, and move on with our lives.”

“No.”

“No?”

“No.”

Accepting here probably would've been in my best interest, but I didn't need to. I didn't need the help of the Fairy Council, and regardless of what sweet words they offered me, I didn't trust them.

“Why? You just said that you understood,” heat began making its way back into the fairy's words, “so why wouldn't you just accept and get this over with!?”

“I don't need to. I understand the reasons behind your rules now, and I'll follow them, but I have no intention of binding myself to the Fairy Council through a pact. I'm doing just fine on my own, thank you, and I don't need your little organization of tyrants anymore.

“Let me tell you a little bit about the fairies of my old world. There were modern stories about them being cheerful and innocent, but those depictions were exclusive to fiction and based on nothing tangible. Then, there were the myths and legends of old. Every last one of those tales painted your kind as malevolent tricksters and drove home a single lesson: never to trust them, and let me tell you, your group, kidnapping people, forcibly binding them to contracts, and even messing with their souls, you far more closely resemble the fay of old than anything else. Maybe I needed your knowledge before to not get myself killed, but between entering into a magical contract with you and fending for myself, I think I'd prefer to try to make it on my own, so no, I won't be accepting that pact of yours.”

“Your entire argument is based on myths and legends!? Seriously? And you refuse because you don't want to make a pact with us? Did you not already make one with this fairy right here? One in which you were the one who used trickery and deception to spin to your benefit? The same thing you are accusing our kind of doing? And did you not take it a step further by binding your soul to his?

“You do understand that bond is permanent, right? Right up until one of you dies, you are the only ones who's souls can be bound to each other's. He has no future as a Dungeon Fairy without you, and you took that from him. Even still, you refuse?”

“What's stopping you from having him just keep an eye on me, then? Isn't that was he was already doing, acting as your little spy? What difference does it make if I bind myself to your pact or not?”

“The difference is that it makes treachery from you possible. I already have one Dungeon Core with the soul of a Summoned Hero that I need to be wary of; I don't need two. This is your final chance. Accept the pact, or we will find a way to destroy you.”

“No, I won't, and I don't think you will.”

“And why not?”

“How about you have your lapdog there reopen mental communications, and I'll show you?”

“Fabian, do it.”

The wide-eyed fairy that was still grounded and watching the argument in clear discomfort, flinched at that. A moment later, reluctance and anxiety clicked back into place in my mind where I'd felt nothing for quite some time. Then, came a hesitant word, “Cameron?”

Go ahead and show this to your boss, I told him, mental voice dripping with venom.

[Ability: Protection of the Fairy Queen

Description: You have been deemed important. The fairies will not oppose you, so do not oppose them.]

My former assistant gulped before causing the ability and description I'd sent him to materialize in the form of a visible System message. Then, he showed it to the other fairy.

“Stay out of my way, and I'll stay out of yours,” I had Stein state for the other's benefit before slamming my mental link with Fabian closed for emphasis.

Fabian, I'd like privacy.

As quickly as it had reestablished, the mental link snapped shut once more.

“Fairy Queen?” the council's representative read out in an audible mixture of anger and confusion, “Just who is that supposed to be? Fairies don't have a queen! We've never had a queen! What even is this ability?”

I didn't have Stein respond, not verbally. Instead, I ordered him to lock gazes with the fairy who'd still never introduced himself. They glared at each other for what felt like an eternity. Eventually, however, the red-haired fairy turned away.

“Come on, Fabian. We're going.”

“Huh. Uh, what?” my former advisor struggled for a response, clearly as baffled as his boss.

“I said we're leaving. I have records to comb through and changes that need to be made to council policy.”

Without another word, the fairy flew into the circle of mushrooms I regretted having never removed from my core room. A part of me had refused to accept how things with Fabian had ended, and a part of me, even still, wondered if I'd made a terrible mistake. Fabian had been a friend to me for a time, and I hadn't wanted to admit in full that that time was over, but whether I liked it or not, if I wanted to distance myself from the council of fairies trying to control Dungeons worldwide, I needed to accept that. As soon as he left, that circle of mushrooms would be going.

“Um, Cameron,” a familiar, nasally voice called out to me, Fabian turning to look back as he walked toward the fairy circle, “I don't know about that ability you sent me, but the Fairy Council isn't likely to let this go. Elder Rodrick seemed pissed, and he's the current head of the council. Um, I really don't know what to say about how things ended up going, but uh, try not to die, okay?”

With those words, he stepped into the circle of mushrooms and vanished, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

“Our queen!”

“Mother!”

Well, mostly alone.