It was overwhelming. This man… this… monster. He stood in a clearing within the forest. One he had created himself. Those blasted orbs of his. What were they?!

I had believed we had prepared an adequate defense, the fire aligned squirrels preparing their fireballs directed by Eva, Levine leading the holy-aligned hares while Tolk stood in front with his goblins torches lit to keep our shadows away from that mage.

Except the mage didn’t play fair. He used those orbs to devastating effect. Before he even came into range, as soon as he saw us, he sent one of those blasted shadowspawn carry half a dozen glowing orbs running in our direction.

What happen next was light, extreme heat and a feeling of force as the defensive line was blasted away from a massive explosion.

Gone were the bumbling moronic antics of those other 12 shadowmancers. They were clearly novices, the one standing before us surrounded by a sea of flames was the true master.

The traps placed in the trees were no use. Arrow traps, destroyed, spears traps, destroyed. Pitfall traps useless, ceiling falls useless. Surprise attacks didn’t work, he had some blasted shield around him at all times.

It was like Alex had always said, beyond stats, beyond skills, there lies true battle power, true prowess. This mage borrowed power from a countless multitude of orbs, how can the system quantify that into a ranking? Can the system quantify the ruthlessness and cruelty needed to use one of your subordinates as an explosive weapon? Regardless of what the rank of this mage in front of us, there is no doubt he was formidable.

From the depths of his robes came an amused laugh, ‘Evolved rodents and puny goblins? You think you can stop me?’

He then drew out more than a dozen orbs. I held my breath… what new weapon is this?

But instead of attacking, when mana shone from these orbs, a shimmering shield shone around him.

I looked on confused.

Then he drew out one more orb… but this time, when it came out, the sound seemed to quieten. The crackle of the fire around us seemed to dull and its light seemed to dim. The faint sound… of people screaming seemed to be echoing yet just faintly like they were just out of reach. There were dark shadows that leaked out from the strange orb.

The shadowmancer started glowing with a dark aura of mana making all of it flow into the orb. The dark shadows started coming out faster and the sounds of screaming and wails of terror seemed to become stronger and louder.

‘Fuck! Stop him! Everyone attack! We can’t let him finish what he’s doing!’

Rox shouted out an order to everyone.

Everyone started pouring attacks towards that shimmering shield. Fireballs, spears, swords, holy light, the hum of skills being used filled the air.

But nothing worked. The shimmering shield didn’t even tremble.

Then the sounds stopped.

I paused… dread filling me. The shadowmancer leader was looking at all of us with a look of derision as he crushed the orb.

… What happened? The dark mage took another look at us as this time he raised a bracelet on his arm. Below his feet a strange shining glyph appeared. With a bright flash, he disappeared… he was gone.

Suddenly, an even more urgent Rox shouted at all of us, this time there was fear in her voice, ‘Out! Everybody out of the dungeon! Bees out through the secret entrance to the forests! Goblins, squirrels, hares charge to the first floor and out! Hurry! Hurry!’

The dungeon started to tremble…

Pain, I felt a pain stabbing my head and then the mana around the dungeon started to become chaotic.

What the fuck happened?

‘You heard Lady Rox! RUN!’

It happened when that mage took out that awful orb.

An [Orb of Corruption] has activated within your dungeon

The power of corruption gains a bonus against those of the Path of Purity

Due to the distance from the dungeon crystal room, the power of corruption is 80% of total

Corruption of the dungeon: 1%

Pain shot through me, like a burning hot lance. It wasn’t my human body but my dungeon crystal… we were one and the same. On the surface of the crystal a small dot of darkness had appeared… this was the source of the pain, beyond anything I had experienced in this world.

I couldn’t help it, I started screaming in agony…

Rox fluttered nearby, worry evident on her face, ‘A.. Alex? What’s wrong?’

I couldn’t think… I couldn’t… I can’t let them stay within the dungeon. Within the fires attacking my mind, I realized this fact.

‘Out! Get everyone out of the dungeon! I don’t know if I can control it!’

Corruption of the dungeon: 2%

A fresh wave of agony pierced into me. My human body was writhing from the shared pain. I could feel a corrosion in my mind. I couldn’t speak anymore, I used whatever willpower I had left to show Rox all the screens that had appeared.

Then my vision started to dim.

Corruption of the dungeon: 3%

Corruption of the dungeon: 35%

All around me was a pitch blackness. I could feel the darkness gnawing on my soul.

‘Why did you abandon us?’

A small child appeared in front of me… what was her name? I remember her...

‘I didn’t abandon you!’

I couldn’t think properly, the pain eating away at me.

‘But you let us all die’

‘It’s not my fault! We were all betrayed!’

‘You said you’d save us…’

Another voice echoed in the darkness, the small child disappearing from view.

‘You said to trust you.’

‘Why did you not save us?’

‘Why’

‘Why did you abandon us?’

So many voices all around me.

Corruption of the dungeon: 40%

The darkness around me disappeared and then shifted to a familiar scene… one I dreamt about, had nightmares about.

In front of me was the body of Nautilus, a Rank S monster that our group had fought in that last year… that last year when all sorts of incredibly powerful monsters started appearing.

‘Well Al, it’s time for this bird to fly. I’ll see you when you manage to figure out how to summon us again.’

No… I remember this scene all too well, I knew every detail of it.

Nautilus was a young dragon that came flying out of the blackhole vortex. It attack our group and… and we fought it but Bird was gravely injured. Too injured. Not even my sister could heal him.

So he did what he had to, accepted the offer from that blasted god to go wait for me to summon him in the next world.

I remember this scene all to fucking well.

Then… the familiar scene distorted… twisted and some tendrils of darkness, like a fog crept into the scene.

The familiar face of Bird twisted as he turned around and asked me, ‘Why did you abandon us?’

‘NOOOOO, how fucking dare you!’

I tried to move, to struggle!

Corruption of the dungeon: 50%

In front of me was the signs of another massive battle. Fire lay everywhere, crackling and eating away at the body of a massive monster. Its name Pambria, a huge cyclops that wielded two incredibly powerful hammers.

‘Well little brother, it seems its time I joined Bird hey?’

Another scene that I knew very well…

‘You’re the last one bro. I know you can do it!’

I remember thinking she was so jolly, sitting there with her back leaning on a building… one of arms was missing, lost during the fight and she was bleeding out.

So she transferred as well, accepting the offer to wait for me to succeed.

Again… shadows started creeping around me… and her smiling face twisted.

‘You said to trust you?’

No fuck! Not her too!

Corruption of the dungeon: 55%

I watched so many scenes. So many people.

Duke, King, Skipper… all the codenames we gave each other flooded through my memories as I saw their faces once again… always in the last moments before their death. Before they left waiting for me to call them once again...

Duke as he held the gates of the city alone against a horde of monsters, their horns and spikes piercing into him.

Corruption of the dungeon: 70%

King as he led his team against the traitors, sent flying from an explosion that destroyed the entire west wall of the city.

Corruption of the dungeon: 71%

The twins Judge and Justice, fighting back to back, laughing in the face of death.

Corruption of the dungeon: 73%

Valkyrie shooting herself as fast as she could into the air and using her own mana to explode taking the attacking thunderbird with her.

Corruption of the dungeon: 75%

Scene after scene. One after another, all the people I fought alongside. I had made contracts with all of them. With the simple promise and the guarantees of a god, that I would summon everyone and create a safe haven for humanity on the other side.

Corruption of the dungeon: 80%

I felt… sluggish. As if I was stuck within some marsh… my thoughts were as dark as the scene around me…

Corruption of the dungeon: 81%

Maybe they were right? I hadn’t made any progress on summoning them this side now had I?

Corruption of the dungeon: 82%

But how come I trust the humans this side? They would be children of betrayers.

Corruption of the dungeon: 83%

We were supposed to fight together, all of the last of humanity together. But instead they ran. They abandoned us.

Corruption of the dungeon: 84%

We were powerless to watch as those who didn’t have the power to move to the next world were crushed, killed, destroyed… we could do nothing but watch as we fled into the night as well… our ragged group.

Corruption of the dungeon: 85%

Why did we abandon them? Because we were betrayed…

Corruption of the dungeon: 86%

Perhaps we could have tried fighting when the army attacked us and truly won. But millions of people fled that very night. The buzz of transference was unmistakable throughout our city.

Corruption of the dungeon: 87%

After almost a decade of fighting, completing missions and improving the strength of our team, we had decided we would hold a city. One that would be a safe place for all of humanity left to gather. Our team was strong and we were confident in our ability to defend the city.

The city lasted for almost 4 years. Then we were attacked, by the army. They who chose the Path of the Demon felt we were an eyesore, we of the Path of Purity. Our existence a thorn that proved their Path was not the strongest Path. We rallied the people, our city had grown to encompass 5 million people, truly amazing in a world filled with monsters.

And then when the army attack, we were betrayed. 3 and a half million people who lived in the city had the ability to move to the next world, but they had stayed… until the army arrived.

As the army began its attack, all of them abandoned us and left for the next world. Those remaining were weaker, or hadn’t finished the missions so they couldn’t travel yet.

Our team defended as much as we could but even we had to flee. Flee with as many people as possible… which was a pitiful 1500 people out of the 1 and a half million left.

We had to leave more than a million people to die.

Corruption of the dungeon: 95%

I knew what was happening… at least on some level. That orb that the shadowmancer had used was corrupting my dungeon crystal.

But knowing is not overcoming. I had no idea how to fight against it. Dark thoughts continued to swirl within my mind...

The clock was ticking as seconds went by. We had been stopped at the stairway up to the first floor. Two dozen adventurers were looking at us, some in surprise, others in shock, a few in anger. Around us the dungeon was still trembling.

The swordswoman was in front of me… it was the first time any of the dungeon denizens had ever been so close to her. Even Alex said he wasn’t a match…

I could feel the power coming off her in waves. She was surrounded by some aura as well, it was reddish in colour, she definitely could kill hundreds of us if she so chose…

The dozen adventurers behind her had their hands on the weapons, ready to unsheathe them at a moments notice. The other group were not so polite, they already had weapons in hand pointed in our direction.

Rox whispered into my mind, ‘Max, I’m going to get Tolk to be the one to talk to them. They haven’t ever seen your species before so they might not think you’re capable of talking.’

Rox had also made sure none of the squirrels or hares spoke a word as Tolk drew up.

The adventurers tensed up, a hobgoblin variant. This they had definitely seen before.

‘Can I ask you adventurers why you are blocking our way? We are trying to leave the dungeon quickly.’

A tremor ran through the group as Tolk spoke. Tolk was more eloquent than the other 4 hobgoblins that had evolved with him, so I could understand their surprise at this.

The swordswoman looked at him and said, ‘I am going to use an appraisal device on you, do not be alarmed.’

Using [Appraisal] or other observation skills was considered quite rude, even Alex and Rox had never tried it on me, even though I wouldn’t mind. Since high rank observation skills can show stat points as well as skills and their description, it’s no wonder its considered taboo.

Which made it all the more surprising that the swordswoman told us before using it. But how could we resist? We didn’t know her rank but it outclassed everyone in the dungeon. Perhaps we could barely defeat her if everyone attacked together…

Thinking back on us hammering futilely at the shadowmancer’s shimmering shield… well perhaps even all of us attacking together would be nothing more than creating more casualties.

The swordswoman pointed the hand which wasn’t on her weapon at Tolk, a bracelet shone with the light of mana. I was surprised. The swordswoman was heavily armoured, with a full faced helmet complete with two jutting horns, which is probably why Rox kept referring to her as an Ogre. Yet this bracelet shone right through the armour as if it was nothing… definitely a high rank equipment.

‘Noble Hobgoblin? Not Hobgoblin Noble?? I have never heard of such a thing…’ she murmured loud enough for the adventurers behind her as well as myself to hear. I frowned, there are some secrets we as dungeon denizens wanted to keep but if that device she had was high in rank…

She turned away from Tolk… and then looked right at me.

I froze, being stared at by someone leagues above you in strength is not a comfortable experience. Especially if you don’t know if they are friendly or not.

‘I want to know why you are all leaving the dungeon… also what you are doing in the dungeon in the first place.’

She was still looking at me as she spoke.

Tolk began to speak, ‘Well it’s because…’

‘Not you, your leader. That squirrel there. You cannot fool me, you understand every word we are speaking and all your companions look for your lead, even the ones hiding in the trees and shadows.’

Damn… we were powerless against this… this… monster.

So I walked forward to stand besides Tolk.

‘Lady Swordswoman, we live in this dungeon. I myself was a squirrel caught by wolves that brought me back to the dungeon. Within the dungeon I evolved to what I am now. In fact, those were the same wolves you killed months ago so I thank you, those wolves had killed most of my squirrel kin.’

When you want to fool someone, you need 9 parts truth and 1 part lie.

I didn’t want her to know that almost everyone was summoned by the dungeon itself then granted souls to become their own entities. In fact, apart from myself, Levine, a few of the hares and squirrels and the bees, everyone was summoned by the dungeon. But of course this was something to hide from them. They must assume we came into the dungeon from outside to live.

‘We found safety in the dungeon after the wolves left, and after finding the second floor to be a forest, we settled here… but now we must escape.’

The swordswoman did not react in any way to my words. Of course she was probably suspicious.

Things were at a stalemate when one of the adventurers from the other group came forward and said angrily, ‘Why are we even talking to these bastards? Let’s just kill them and find those shadowmancer pricks!’

Another of the second group ran to grab him and drag him back, fear shining in his eyes.

I narrowed my eyes. The mood of the adventurer group seemed to lower after those words. Things were not looking good.

Then finally the swordswoman reacted. However it wasn’t an attack, instead the hand dropped from her weapon as if in shock.

‘Starla?! Is that you??’

The group of squirrels and goblins transporting the folk in the healing centre had caught up with us. Among them was the mana drained water witch Starla lying tiredly on a stretcher. When she caught sight of the adventurers, she tried to rise up causing one of the squirrel healers to bark at her to lie back down.

‘Tetiana! What are you doing in here? We need to get out of the dungeon!’

So the swordswoman’s name was Tetiana? All of the adventurers had become unguarded, some open-mouthed in shock. I assume they thought Starla was dead.

'Tetiana! Get everyone out! That... that shadowmancer! He used an Orb of Corruption in the dungeon!'

Around us, the dungeon’s trembling was growing louder.