Chapter 80 - Monke And The Welcome Committee
My eyes were blinded as I felt myself being deconstructed and reconstructed in the span of just a second, but felt like fucking hours. Pain the likes of which I have never felt before assaulted every part of my being. My screams silent as my vocal cords were whisked away earlier than my time to process the entire thing.
And suddenly, the pain vanished, and what I saw next completely blew my mind.
"Welcome, Dungeon Masters, to the Decennial Dungeon Games!"
I had to squint my eyes due to how bright everything was. Gilded walls, white marble columns, floating sources of light, expensive looking furniture.
It was like I was invited into the realm of the Gods.
Everywhere I looked, everything was so perfect, that not all of the resources back on Earth and in this world combined could match even a sliver of percentage to make this area possible.
That's just how unrealistic and out of mortal hands it was.
'Although, couldn't the teleportation not be that painful…?' I was sure I had already stopped screaming the moment I arrived at this place, along with the other Dungeon Masters who were looking a bit fearful of the giant man sitting on a throne in front of all of us.
And I can't blame them, not when my danger instincts are literally telling me to bow down and submit to his every whim.
"A fine number this year, wouldn't you agree, Uius?" The giant man spoke to another man dressed in a typical butler suit – a very fine one at that – with an excited grin.
"Quite, m'lord." He said this as he noncommittedly scanned the entire area with his eyes, his gaze resting on my figure for a tad bit longer than the others.
"Well then, don't keep them waiting." The giant laughed heartily, garnering no response from the butler, who tilted his glasses upward, causing light to reflect, making it impossible to see his eyes.
"Greetings, Dungeon Masters." The butler strode a few steps forward, his posture never breaking once. "For those Dungeon Masters who are new to this event, my name is Uius, a servant of the God of Monsters, Chythos."
"Call me Thos." The giant, now known as the God of Monsters, piped up from his throne, a bit of a frown on his face as he stared at his servant.
"Right. Continuing on." Uius cleared his throat. "We are gathered here today to enjoy the festivities held by Dungeon Masters all around the world every decade. There will be rewards for every event winner, as well as consequences for the failures, depending on their performance."
'I hope it's not anything close to the loss of my Dungeon, or worse…' I thought nervously as I kept rapt attention to the words uttered by Uius.
"But for now, let's not dull you with any of the rules" Uius tilted his glasses up once more, for no reason at all. It is probably a habit. "We are here for a celebration, and every celebration has a feast."
Uius clapped his gloved hands, the silent hall making it easier for the clap to be heard all throughout.
In an instant, all around us, tables, chairs, food, drinks, and entertainment spots of all sizes appeared without any sort of cause. It was like it wasn't there, then bam! Now it's there.
'Can I do that too?' I mused to myself. Imagine the possibilities I could do against invasions and trespassers if I had the power to do that.
"Enjoy the food. It is cooked to perfection by the best chefs our realm could offer." Uius said, his monotone voice now drowned out by the hungry Dungeon Masters all over the hall, and quite frankly, I was too after that painful teleportation trip. "Take your time. The feast will end a few hours from now, and the events will begin tomorrow. Fights here are not encouraged, and those who do so will be immediately disqualified from the events, barring them from any kind of rewards, as well as serving a punishment from the God of Monsters' choosing."
"As you heard from my servant." Chythos stood up from his throne. "Those who disobey the no-fighting rule will be disqualified and punished. Now, before we leave you to your devices, I would like to make an announcement, as well as a reminder."
This got every single Dungeon Master in the hall to clam up and provide their undivided attention towards the God who could probably erase all of us from the map with but a flick of his pinkie.
"Do note that, while some events may be practically harmless to the participants, some might end up with deadly injuries, sometimes, even death." Chythos spoke, deadly serious about the death part. "This may be a celebration, as well as an event to remember for years to come, but the rule that is most prevalent in this realm, and your realm, is 'Survival of the Fittest.' Not even us Gods are an exception to that rule."
Hearing a God speak that line instead of a random dude, was weighing a ton on my conscious. So, Gods can also die from another God who is stronger than them? Are there hierarchies in the Divine Realm – I'm calling it the Divine Realm for now until I get a more concrete name from those who live in said realm – that even Gods follow? And if so, just on what level is the God before us? Is he the weakest? The strongest? Or just average?
Before my questioning spree began to spiral downwards, Chythos once again opened his mouth, garnering my attention, as well as the Dungeon Masters who were also speculating about the Divine Realm.
"A little advice: Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die." And with that, Chythos, as well as his servant, vanished into thin air, leaving us Dungeon Masters with more questions than answers, as well as an entire hall filled with food, including raw meat for some species, as well as gourmet food for others.
'Welp, no use in pondering over that matter. How about I eat first, mingle with some Dungeon Masters, prepare for the events, and when I'm back inside my Dungeon, I can ponder the topics however long I like.' I hummed, my hand cupping my chin as I took a good look around the hall. 'Speaking of which, where is my Dungeon anyway?'
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~ Third Person POV ~
Domino was not having a good day. First, her Papa had to attend to some matters concerning the other primates. Then, he had to ensure the loyalty of the new monsters, and when he was done with those and about to spend time with her, this happened.
"Papa…" Domino angrily snarled, her expressionless mask breaking as she glared towards the exit of the Dungeon, or more specifically, the golden swirls and ripples of aura instead of the forests the Dungeon was situated in. "Come home quick…"