Despite everything, I wasn’t actually the Dungeon Master of my own dungeon. I had built the dungeon, and the miasma that coursed through the dungeon had my own personal DNA, but I feared that if I had become a Dungeon Master, I would have been linked to the dungeon, unable to move. It was Xin who had been given the responsibility of managing my dungeon, and it was her existence and soul that were tied to it.
It stood to reason that with the close relationship between Xin and Elaya, that Elaya had essentially taken my role as the builder, while Xin continued to be the dungeon’s master. Things were different now, however. I believed that with my Mimic job, that I could be the Dungeon Master, while not being stuck in the dungeon. Essentially, I’d create a duplicate identity as myself, make that the Dungeon Master, and then whenever I left the dungeon, I would just change identities, obscuring that one for a time.
I had thought about this for a bit, and I was pretty sure it would work. Thus, me becoming the Dungeon Master was possible now. Of course, if I died again, and it severed the bond, the dungeon would fall about and disperse, rather than going out of control like it did this time. That’s why I couldn’t afford to die anymore. Besides, no one but Miki would have the ability to resurrect me if I died anyway. The larger the soul, the more demanding the Resurrection, and my soul, especially after being tempered in the soul dungeon, in the same way that it was difficult to destroy, it would also be difficult to resurrect.
I stepped into the city of Chalm. The barrier had blocked out the light, leaving the place completely dark. I used the Light spell to create a circle of light around me. This was a powerful dungeon spell that I didn’t always appreciate, since the circle of light that it created only worked for me and those in my party. It was like those circles of light in certain hack-and-slash role-playing games. In theory, I could knock out the lights and then use my Light spell, blinding my opponent while only I could see. Well, that didn’t usually work in dungeons, because most animals down there were acclimated to being in that environment.
Thus, while I could see around me, they couldn’t see me. As for who they were, as soon as I stepped into the city and turned on the light, I could see a group of five people. They were standing there aimlessly, not taking a single step. I realized that they were the people of Chalm. Several of them were animalkin of various types. However, their skin was deathly pale, and they weren’t moving like normal.
One of them had lifted his head in my direction. His eyes were completely black without a hint of white. He let out a low growl in my direction as if he had sensed me. He must have heard me. I realized that I should have equipped some dungeon skills that allowed me to hide my presence and sneak. Accessing them now would only cause my tattoos to glow, and that is something these creatures would see.
The man suddenly let out a barking screech that sounded inhuman. The screech was repeated by dozens, and then hundreds of voices all around us. His eyes were directly on me, and the other four individuals I could see looked in my direction as well.
“I think I’m going to need to run,” I said to Alysia.