Primer for the Apocalypse

Welcome to the 4th Floor of the Realm Dungeon!

The rules remain unchanged:

Do not attack anyone within the village.

Do not restrict another challenger’s access to the kiosk.

Upon reaching Tier Five, you have 100 hours to exit the floor.

Reminder: the Accords still apply.

Ascend swiftly, Challenger!

I barely skimmed the repetitious notification before dismissing it.

Our immediate surroundings looked remarkably similar to the central village on the third floor, if a bit larger. The familiar quad of dungeon-constructed buildings were in the same general locations around the arrival platform, providing a level of consistency between floors.

The dungeon-constructed village stood in sharp contrast to the modern-looking cityscape surrounding it. Behemoths of stone, metal, and glass towered over the simpler construction, making the dungeon village seem almost out of place.

“It’s like we were transported to a futuristic Earth,” Chao murmured from beside me.

I took a few moments to examine our surroundings and quickly realized the demographics of the central village on the fourth floor were very different from those of the previous floor. It looked much more reminiscent of Trinity Village with the eclectic mix of people, though it was clear there were a lot more races represented than the handful I’d seen on the third floor.

There were even a few that were completely unfamiliar, even after the classes I’d taken at Atlantis University.

I had little doubt that the sight of so many non-humans had caused issues for some of the less-tolerant, quicker-to-anger Earthborn. But they were now vastly outnumbered and had likely been forced to adapt.

I found myself oddly amused at the thought.

“Let’s process our loot and get it sold,” I said, turning toward the Smith. “I’d like to keep anything you don’t need from the Yeti. I’m happy to pay dungeon rates for anything beyond my half.”

“That’s fine. I don’t want much of it,” Chao replied.

We headed toward the familiar Crafting Hall nearby, getting several curious glances as we passed. My interface flashed as several identification spells targeted me. I had Lisa temporarily hold such alerts since they would get cumbersome after a while.

The Crafting Hall was quite a bit bigger than the one on the third floor, though there were only a few people in line.

When we approached the dungeon golem manning the desk, it immediately recognized us. “New arrivals! Young Mistress Emie! Challenger Chao! Welcome!” the golem said in greeting. “As active challengers, you get priority access to all central village services. We have both Crafting and Processing rooms available. Would you like to share a room or work separately?”

“One Processing room is fine,” I said before glancing at my companion to gauge his reaction. He shrugged and nodded.

After paying exactly ten times the room rental rate from the previous floor, we were directed to our reserved Processing room. The increase in cost didn’t surprise me since the value of currency by tier was pretty standard.

It didn’t take long to process the materials with both of us working. We split the remains of the boss, including the transmuted offal. Afterward, we headed to the Trading Post to sell the materials neither of us had a use for.

Like the Crafting Hall, the building housing the Trading Post and Challengers’ Market was significantly larger than the one on the previous floor. I was also a bit surprised to see the Challengers’ Market was crowded with Merchants and shoppers. It was a complete contrast to the nearly empty market space on the previous floor.

Likewise, the Trading Post was crowded enough to warrant two dungeon golems working at the counter. Thankfully, that meant the wait wasn’t too long, even with a line leading almost to the door.

Nobody talked to us as we waited. I was tempted to strike up a conversation with one of the people nearby, but I resisted. I wanted to get a better feel for the new floor before drawing attention to the fact that we’d only just arrived.

In less than half an hour, our unwanted materials were sold. The rate for Tier Three materials was the same as on the previous floor, which was nice. I would have been annoyed to get offered significantly less, especially with the increased costs associated with the fourth floor.

After splitting the proceeds, Chao and I parted ways. Unlike my temporary companion, I did not need to secure a place to stay or find people to work with. While he headed to the building that should contain apartments for rent, I turned my attention to the market.

I was very interested in what kinds of goods and services were available on a dungeon floor with an established population. I also planned to explore the city surrounding the central village before heading off into the nearby zones.

Though I’d been told there were cities in the dungeon, I really hadn’t been prepared for just how large the surrounding city was. I really needed to find a map or something to get a better gauge of my surroundings. Spatial Sense could only do so much.

As I browsed the wares on offer, the Trader in front of me asked, “Are you new to the dungeon?”

I looked up from the well-crafted jewelry I was examining and saw a Drakin man eying me curiously. Unlike those with predominantly human features, the Trader was much more dragon-like in appearance. He was still generally humanoid, but his body was covered in dark silver scales, indicating a metal affinity.

Like most Drakins, the Trader’s face looked more elvish than human, as did his pointed ears. His fingers also contained an extra joint and were tipped with claws instead of nails.

“No, but I’m new to the floor,” I replied after finishing my quick assessment.

The Drakin’s eyes grew wide, and he asked, “You are not a Sect Elite?”

I shrugged. I’d already been informed that most Sect Elites entered the dungeon on the fourth floor, though Master Kairos implied it was not unheard of for one to enter earlier.

“Technically, I am. But I entered the dungeon on the third floor.”

The man made a noise of understanding. “I understand,” the Drakin Trader nodded amicably. “Are you looking for anything in particular? I work with some of the finest Jewelers on the fourth floor.”

“Nothing specific,” I said, returning my gaze to the jewelry on display. “I’m an Enchanter, so I’m always on the lookout for good enchanting bases. Having just arrived on the floor, my accessories are in need of an update.”

Sensing the potential for a sale, the Trader pulled a glass-covered case from beneath the counter. There were runes engraved along the edges, protecting the case against unauthorized access and damage.

I felt a burst of nostalgia at seeing the item. It reminded me of shopping at some of the nicer markets with my party before my return.

“These are some of the best pieces available,” the man said with a flourish. “The gemstones come from the caverns located deep in the underground zone beneath the desert. We also source pearls and crystalized coral from the sea located south of the city. I have a few pieces from previous floor layouts in storage if you are interested, but they tend to be quite expensive, given their rarity.”

I shook my head lightly and examined the new offerings. I had no desire for expensive-because-it’s-rare material. Suitability mattered more to me. A few pieces drew my attention, and I pointed them out to get a closer look.

I bought all three since the price wasn’t too high, and buying pre-crafted jewelry was preferable to struggling through the crafting process on my own. Smithing of any sort wasn’t my forte. My lack of ability with the skill was the largest reason I often worked with wood, stone, and ceramics instead of metal.

“Is there a library in the city?” I asked when our transaction was complete.

“Of course! What kind of city would Quarton be if it didn’t have a library?” the Drakin said jovially. “I’d give you directions, but without being familiar with the city, that would be of little use. The Cartographer four stalls over has city maps for sale. He also has floor maps available,” he added as an afterthought before motioning toward the aforementioned stall.

Since that was the exact information I was seeking, I offered my thanks and headed toward the Cartographer, eager to see what kind of maps might be available.

After examining my newly purchased maps, I realized that Quarton, the city surrounding the fourth floor’s central village, was much larger than I would have guessed prior to my arrival. The city covered the entire three-mile stretch of the dungeon that wasn’t part of a zone, which was significantly larger than the area surrounding the tiny dungeon village on the third floor.

The increase in size wasn’t limited to the unzoned portion of the dungeon, either. Though I hadn’t specifically measured the previous floor, I knew it was nowhere close to the size of the fourth floor. From what the maps showed, the fourth floor was at least twenty miles in diameter.

The Cartographer didn’t use miles as a unit of measure, but Universal Translation helped me understand the equivalent distance.

I used my new city map to find the closest of the two public libraries listed, both of which were conveniently located next to schools.

The dissonance of seeing public schools in a dungeon took a few seconds to overcome, though it really shouldn’t have. I already knew dungeoneers were born and raised inside the dungeon. It made sense that they would have an education system established.

It was all so… modern. The only real difference that I noticed was that the library also served as a bookstore. Every title that was available for checkout was also available for purchase.

I had to register with the library to gain access, but the process was extremely fast and efficient. Within five minutes of entering the building, I was already browsing the organized shelves in search of information about the different zones on the fourth floor.

My new floor map gave an overview of the four zones: ocean, tropical jungle, subterranean, and desert. Unlike the last floor, where each zone was clearly defined and separate, the new floor had overlapping zones.

Aside from the walled city, the map showed two clearly defined zones. The first was a peninsula extending from the edge of the city, which was filled with trees and surrounded by water. The area was marked as the tropical jungle and ocean zones, respectively. The other half was marked as a desert, with access to the subterranean zone in various locations throughout the desert.

While helpful, the map didn’t provide nearly as much information as I hoped. However, it did show the location of the floor’s hot spring – an attraction that was unsurprisingly located in the desert near the center of the zone.

A quick perusal of the available texts revealed the zones intermittently changed, with at least a dozen variations documented. It was something Master Kairos had mentioned but hadn’t gone into any detail about. I’d probably do a little research into some of the changes another time. For now, I wanted to focus on the current arrangement.

Thankfully, someone had compiled a helpful floor guide with the latest environmental hazards, flora, and fauna for each zone.

I eagerly absorbed the information as Lisa copied everything into whatever served as my interface’s memory storage. She made sure nothing was overlooked or lost, though I doubted I’d forget anything given my increased mental attributes. Still, my mental improvements couldn’t hold a candle to the analyses and data organization Lisa could do.

A few hours later, I left the library with a plan in place.

“Mistress Emie!”

Hearing my name, I paused and turned around. A couple of blocks away, I saw a familiar visage heading my way at a jog. He was being followed by a Kastet, a human, and a Lillon – a humanoid bird I’d only read about. They were one of the many sapient animal-like species within the Alliance.

“Jackle! It’s good to see you,” I said with a smile as the former Merchant drew closer. “How have you been?”

“Good! I’ve been really good,” he replied before turning to his companions. “This is the generous Young Mistress I told you about. She is the reason I was able to continue my ascension. Without her, I’d probably have languished, barely progressing until my body gave out.”

I tried to wave his comment away, but the shorter man wouldn’t hear of it. “It’s the truth! I was stuck before you came along,” Jackle insisted. “We’re heading to dinner. Why don’t you come with us? It’ll be my treat! It’s the least I can do…”

I thought about declining. I really didn’t want the man to feel indebted to me. But allowing him to treat me to a meal was a small thing, and it probably meant a lot to him.

“That sounds good,” I said. “I was just starting to get hungry.”

With my agreement, the dungeoneer eagerly led me to a restaurant that he claimed was the ‘best on the floor.’ I wasn’t sure how reliable his opinion was when it came to food, but I was more than willing to give whatever he recommended a shot.

New food was always worth a try.