Reborn as the First Boss, Chapter 61

Chapter 61 – Report

The teleport circle returned us to just outside the entrance of the dungeon in a flash of light. Checking the position of the sun, I could see that it was late in the afternoon, almost dusk. Too late to go heading back to Magehallow Town, then. We would need to stay the night in the settlement outside the cordon. Probably should check in at the branch of the Adventurers Guild, too.

That in mind, we strode forward, a mere three days after venturing into the dungeon. Of course, I updated my [False Appraisal]s to have my new level and some of my new titles. If I tried to hide everything, that would be a red flag, but if I showed everything, it would be just as bad.

Mhyrsha Shadowsoul

Greater Angelic Succubus Female

Level 40 Mind Sorceress / Spellshooter / Courtesan

Titles: Enchantress, Illusionist, Seductress, Virgin’s Bane, Black Widow, Hero Slayer II, Roaming Boss, Baroness, Divine Curse, Executioner, Giantslayer, Divine Blessing, Vowslayer, The Impossible, Krenrena’s First Angel, Ant Kills the Elephant, Boss Slayer II

My true [Appraise] result was… impressive, to say the least. Considering I had barely been in this world a month, shooting from Level 1 to Level 40 of the first Tier so quickly was nothing short of insane. Of course, it was only possible because my entire existence was a cheat code, it seemed. Either way, I needed to hide some of those titles, and my race, or people would definitely get the wrong idea.

Alis Pureheart

Human Female

Level 40 Mind Sorceress / Spellshooter / Courtesan

Titles: Baroness, Enchantress, Illusionist, Hero Slayer I, Executioner, Giantslayer, Divine Blessing, Ant Kills the Elephant, Boss Slayer II

Alis Pureheart

Human Female

Level 40 Mind Sorceress / Diplomat

Titles: Baroness, Enchantress, Illusionist, Hero Slayer I, Executioner, Boss Slayer II

As before, for my ‘real’ [Appraise] results, I kept my level and classes the same, but changed the name to my Baroness name, put human as the race, and gave a somewhat shorter list of titles. Then, for the most outward [False Appraisal] result, I changed the class and profession, and pared back the title list even more. The titles I hid between the two versions were eye-catching enough that it provided ample reason for a [False Appraisal], even before considering the second class and my profession. Most people wouldn’t look past that second [False Appraisal] to see my true one.

The guards at the gate were staring at us as we walked up. They weren’t the same ones who had been on duty when we went to the dungeon, but there weren’t many adventurers who were actually diving the dungeon, so they’d probably heard about us. The one in charge stepped forward, and said, “The Voice of the World gave out some disturbing messages. A couple Bosses died. Then one saying that a god had been freed. And then a local message for everyone near the dungeon, saying that the core was destroyed.” Those weren’t questions, but statements. “Was it your doing?”

I shrugged, and said, “Things happen in dungeons. Sometimes, those things have bigger effects than you can think of. But the key point is that we found the cause of the recent trouble, and removed it. You won’t be having any trouble with high-powered undead spilling out of the dungeon anymore.”

The guard closed his eyes for a moment, and shook his head as he stepped aside. “Nope. Not my pay grade, and I’m not trying to tell a Level 40 what to do, without orders from higher. That’s something for the Baron, or the Adventurers to think on. But I would ‘ask’ you to go and speak with the Chapter Master of the Guild, before you go off doing anything else.”

I nodded, once. “Yes, I intended to speak to the Adventurers Guild before finding a space to bed down for the night. We’ll not be heading back to Magehallow until tomorrow morning, so I see no harm in giving a basic report, so that the Guild knows what happened.”

Walkelin

Human Male

Level 25 Flame Sorcerer / Scholar

Titles: Undead Bane, Defender of Fallhorn, Chapter Master

The moment we entered the Adventurers Guild, an older man, perhaps in his fifties or sixties, wearing a mage’s robes and holding a staff with a red crystal at the end glared at us. As he stomped towards us, I noticed that his right leg was gone, replaced by a construct of bone that was definitely not from any human, or human-like species. Humans didn’t have clawed feet, after all.

“You!” He growled. “I heard about a group of outsiders, came up showing a pass, even though I hadn’t signed on any new ones, and no one in Magehallow added any new approved adventurers lately. And what happens not three days after you lot go in, but we get a pair of warnings from the Voice of the World, talking about bosses dying, a god getting free, and now the dungeon collapsing? What have you lot got to say for yourselves?”

Well, this had to be the local ‘chapter master’ of the Adventurers Guild. Each major town or city had their own Guild, and smaller villages and hamlets would often have satellite chapters, if they were important enough (either by their station or by opportunities in the area) to warrant the regular presence of adventurers. A Guildmaster would be in charge of the Guild as a whole, while a Chapter Master was responsible for their area, and answered to the Guildmaster. However, chapters were relatively rare, at least in Dascora, since most of the villages and other settlements were either close enough to the towns that they could send people to town when they needed help, or were peaceful enough that adventurers weren’t typically necessary.

I simply shrugged, unconcerned, which probably wasn’t the reaction that the Chapter Master was hoping for, but I wasn’t in the mood to put up with his self-importance at the moment. “That doesn’t matter. What matters is that we found the cause of the recent troubles, and put an end to it. A demon with the Boss title was in the lowest level of the dungeon, and they had turned the Lich, Akkras, into a Boss, as well. This caused all the undead in the dungeon to grow in strength.”

The Chapter Master’s eyes flashed dangerously. No doubt, he was not used to people talking to him like this. But, given that he was Level 25, in a region where people rarely got to 30, and had titles like Undead Bane and Defender of Fallhorn, he probably got treated with a good bit more deference and respect than I was giving him. Of course, if we were going by titles, then Baroness, Hero Slayer, and Boss Slayer all trumped his titles.

Still, the old man took a breath, and looked at us more closely. There was a brief flash in his eyes, probably a skill activating. “Hmph. So, a Baroness using [False Appraisal]? Don’t want people finding about your Courtesan profession, or second class, then? Fine. But I’ll have answers all the same. Come back to my office, so we can speak easier.”

The Adventurers Guild hall was a simple affair. A reception area, with an office behind it, and a common area for people to relax on the side. Stairs led up to a second floor, where the Chapter Master had his room. Nothing terribly special, but there rarely was enough work for more than one person at this chapter hall, it seemed.

Walking back to the office area, Walkelin sat behind his desk, and said, more calmly than before, “Right, then. I’m Walkelin, chapter master of this branch of the Guild. And you’re Baroness Pureheart, who killed a Goblin Hero, if the tales are true, and you have the title to show it. Now, what happened in the dungeon? I need to make an announcement to the people in the settlement soon, or there’s going to be problems. Not to mention a report to the Guild in Magehallow.”

I gave him a relatively brief, and edited, account of what we’d seen. Monsters higher level than they ought to be, but few strange or new abilities. How they had been quickly advancing in strength, which had slowed our progress. Still took a couple hours to get through, as he asked questions about the different boss fights as we went through them.

Most of what I said so far was the truth, but as we got towards the end, I needed to start lying. Fortunately, my CHA was over 800, now, and my level was almost twice his, so it was very unlikely that he’d see through my lies. I turned the tome we found into a single-use spell scroll, containing the spell [Annihilation]. I mentioned that we found a hidden passage, that took us from the eleventh floor to the fifteenth, just outside the boss room. And then a quick story about using the spell scroll on Akkras and the demon before they could attack.

Walkelin nodded once. “Would have preferred you kept the scroll, so that maybe the scholars and scribes in the Royal Academy could have tried to decipher and reproduce it, but given what you said of its effects, it is probably best that it is done and gone. So, that was why the two bosses died. And I’m guessing that this Menorath was Tier 2, and that is how you got titles like ‘Giantslayer’, and ‘Ant Kills the Elephant’?”

“Indeed. When I realized that there was a Boss who was level 22 in Tier 2, I decided that using the scroll before they could do anything was the appropriate call. Fortunately, the demon apparently wanted to give a speech, something about going off to prepare another site, but I cut him off before he could speak too much.”

Walkelin actually snickered at that. “Yeah, that’s something you see a lot with masterminds and nobles. Like to hear themselves talk and brag about how smart they are, before the actual fight’s been won. But if half the stories from Windwater are true about you, Baroness Pureheart, then I believe you when you say you cut the demon off in the middle of his speech.”

“Now, now,” I grinned. “I’m not traveling as Baroness Pureheart. I’m and adventurer on the road to Crystalshield. Naturally, passing so close to the Necropolis of Akkras, I thought to take a look. Especially with the tales of things changing. Baroness Pureheart couldn’t do anything about matters in Shadescar Barony without a lot of talking and negotiations that would take weeks, if not months. A simple adventurer, however?”

“Right. Politics,” Walkelin practically spat. “Makes me glad I’m out here, instead of in Magehallow, where I’d have to deal with that sort more often. So, you blasted the lich’s phylactery, to make sure he couldn’t come back, and it turned out that it was also sealing up this Zerat?”

“Indeed. There were some writings in the Necropolis, which claimed that once, there was a god called Tarez, who was God of Death and Undeath. But, for whatever reason, he decided to cast off his domain of Undeath. Thus, Tarez became Eztar, God of Death, and his mantle of undeath was sealed away, becoming Zerat. And, given what the Voice of the World said, I’m betting he's pissed.”

Global Announcement:

Eztar, God of Death, has descended! Let all who follow him offer up their prayers for his safety while he walks in a mortal shell!

Astruth laughed. “You had to say it, didn’t you, Mistress?”

Walkelin just shook his head. “Fucking hells. Not going to deal with that. That is officially someone else’s problem. As for you, Miss Adventurer,” he sighed, “you can set up your [Spiritual Retreat] in the common room. In the morning, I’d like you to head back to Magehallow, and inform the Guildmaster about what you just told me. They won’t have gotten the message about the dungeon collapsing, since they were out of range, but the other messages will have reached them.”

“Sounds good to me,” I nodded. “We won’t take up any more of your time.”