Lewd Dungeon, Chapter 237

Chapter 237 – Shop Talk

Pleased with the way my initial introduction to the godly community had gone, I turned my attention to preparing for my next encounter. I didn’t know which god Judgement actually was, and I didn’t know who else they would be bringing with them, so that made preparations a bit difficult. Fortunately, the GodNet had a virtual chat area.

The virtual chat area was, in some ways, like the mental meeting ground I’d met Binja and Idos in. Only, this space didn’t require the prayers of followers to join in, but simply required the System’s functionality. As I was newly added to GodNet, it seemed that I could set up the area as I pleased. Interestingly, the room featured some interesting magic. I could host a party of twenty or thirty gods and it would not feel cramped, or I could have two over, and it would still feel cozy, and it adjusted automatically.

Even better, I could change the room according to my will. There was even a function to easily change the room between different presets, according to the theme of the conversation to take place. And you could place servants, too! Well, they weren’t really there, just conjured simulacra, but that was fine for anything except deep conversation. Certainly, it was enough for serving drinks, or otherwise entertaining guests.

Quickly, I threw together three presets. The first was a faithful representation of the altar I’d made in the Black Temple, as it was when I had my throne there. The altar in the middle of the room, as before, and torches on the columns lit the space, while also showing off the conjured mortals bound to the columns for entertainment value. This preset was what I’d use for people I didn’t like, or when I needed a meeting to be formal.

The second preset was based on my lounge back in my dungeon. A comfortable place, that felt like a rich bachelor’s pad. Comfortable couches, pillows, a big screen TV, a fully stocked bar, and special brownies on the table. With a wave of my hand, I could also send a bit of Enflaming Gas into the room. Not enough to overpower a god’s senses, certainly, but it would at least take the edge off and help them relax. And, of course, there were the succubi who were conjured to act as servants and entertainment. This room would be for entertaining with people I liked. Casual conversation, and all that.

The third preset was the only one not based on something in my dungeon. Instead, it was an image born out of a hundred movies, and a thousand books. A simple card table, illuminated by the single light above, and some chairs sitting around it. There were ash trays available, as well as a never-ending box of cigars, and a stocked bar to one side. It was the quintessential ‘smoky back room’ from so many stories.

This room had no conjured servants in it, but that didn’t mean there were none on standby. They would come in and out through the door, if there was any need. But this room was not for entertaining, or for formal affairs. It was for business, for wheeling and dealing. This was where actual negotiations could be made, in private, where no one would lose face by doing things in front of mortals, or through the GodNet.

It was this third option that I chose to use for the meeting, and I had just put on the final touches on a fairly tricky bit of work around the card table when I got the connection request from ‘Judgement, and party’. Even here, the System still used the chat names, I guessed. Still, I accepted the request, and set it so that people entering or leaving would come through the door.

The door opened, and four deities entered. As expected, the card table subtly shifted from four-sided to five with the new additions to the room. Each of them was in an avatar form, as I was.

The one in the center was tall, and thin, bearing the features of a Knelfi. That meant he was probably a Knelfi god, since most gods took the form they’d had before their ascension, or the form of the raise that spawned them, in the case of gods who were brought into being by the prayers of the faithful, rather than those that won the mantle of divinity. He wore a simple black outfit, an interesting mix between an Eastern-style martial uniform and a Western suit. He did not possess any weapons, that I could see, but he had a set of golden scales that was floating next to him.

He stepped forward, and said, “Thank you for agreeing to this meeting. I am known on GodNet as Judgement, but you may call me Athtar the Even-handed, God of Justice and Judgement for the Knelfi peoples. I pledge to keep my peace in your domain.”

I nodded respectfully. “And I shall ensure your safety whilst you are here.”

Satisfied with my response, Athtar stepped back, and another of the gods stepped forward. This one was a Fimaazro woman, a catgirl, with black and white fur in equal measure. She wore a simple gown of red, with silver trim. In one hand, she held a scroll of parchment, and in the other a quill, ready to write.

With a bow of her head, she said, “Well met, newfound godling. I am Kou, Goddess of Law and Contracts for the Fimaazro. On GodNet, I am known as Binder. Your exploits have caused quite a stir, I hope you know. I pledge to keep my peace in your domain.”

I returned the proper response, and the third goddess stepped forward. She was an Atlantean woman, I could see that clearly just by looking at her. She wore an elaborate and formal silver gown that almost made her look as though she had wings growing from her back. Silver pieces hang from either ear, and crimson gems formed the center of the tiara on her head.

She nodded, and said, “I am Selphie, Goddess of Truth, Justice, and Prosperity for the Atlantean people. My GodNet name is TrueFortune. It is good to put a face, at last, to the one who has caused so much upheaval in the world. I pledge to keep my peace in your domain.”

I again said the ceremonial response, and the last god stepped forward. He was a bit of a surprise, because I was looking at an incubus wearing a suit of leather armor made all in black, and adorned with demonic runes and draconic skulls. A katana and wakizashi rested uneasily in their sheathes on his belt, eager to be put to use. That wasn’t the surprising part. The surprising part was that I recognized his face.

The incubus smiled, and said, “Hello there. It is good to finally meet you at last, after you’ve provided such excellent hunting for my followers. As you no doubt have guessed, I am Darkmore, God of Domination and Slavery, though I’m known as Chainmaker on GodNet. I pledge to keep my peace in your domain, young dungeon god.”

I paused, and then just shook my head. No sense getting upset about it, now. “And I shall ensure your safety whilst you are here, blabbermouth god.”

Darkmore laughed, and clapped me on the shoulder. “Good, I would have hated to see that you were so thin-skinned that you couldn’t take a bit of a jab like that.”

“So, when did you figure it out?”

“Well, I suspected early on. Even for a Dungeon Master, you have too much control over your dungeon. Even if you had actually found a way to enslave the dungeon you were the boss of, without breaking the System into pieces with the paradoxes, the level of control is still too great. But it wasn’t until you responded to the Atara situation that I knew.”

“Um, excuse me,” interrupted Selphie, “What do you mean, dungeon god?”

“Ah, that’s right,” I smiled at her. “Allow me to introduce myself. I am Kuronoth, God of Pleasure, Domination, and (just recently) Dungeons, or Pleasurable Domination on GodNet. I am also Kuronoth, the Forbidden Chambers of Exotic Pleasures dungeon. Though I would appreciate it if you kept that bit to yourselves.”

“Truth,” Selphie intoned, her eyes white, and with a weight of magic behind her words. Then, her eyes cleared, and she looked at me in wonder. “How can this be possible?”

Athtar shook his head. “The divinity part is easy. If a being with enough power convinces people to worship them, then they can ascend into being a god, usually as they tier up. It is unprecedented for a dungeon to go that route, but it is not impossible.”

I nodded. “Especially when the dungeon just happened to put shrines to himself around, while never confirming or denying whether he was actually divine. Eventually, the people’s faith made it so, regardless of what it had been at the beginning.”

“And you were one of those who were reincarnated when that [Earth] place was suddenly reconnected to the System after so long,” Kou nodded. “I see, that makes perfect sense. And no one on [Earth] would know enough about dungeons to know whether your dungeon was abnormal because of a reincarnated Dungeon Master, or because of something else. At least, not until the Ambassadors visited you.”

I chuckled. “The Ambassadors are part of a bare handful of mortals that aren’t bound to me directly and completely who know that secret. However, I made them sign a contract to keep them from spreading the news. It would have hindered my development for people to know that.”

Darkmore nodded. “Yes, they would have started treating you as just a dungeon, instead of two separate entities, one of whom was building towards godhood. What about now, though?”

I shrugged. “Well, it would certainly hurt my expansion plans on Earth, but I’ve opened up Dungeons as a possible route to spread my faith, as well. I’d rather not deal with the fallout, but I would survive it, no problem. It would just set me back, rather than completely derailing my plans.”

Athtar nodded. “Even so, it is appropriate to note that, as a rule, it is considered rude to share things learned through GodNet with the mortals, unless there’s consent involved. Now, there are ways of disseminating information without just giving a divine revelation, as I’m sure you’ve guessed, but it needs to be in a roundabout way. While there are no actual rules against it, such rudeness will be remembered. And since we are all immortal entities, keeping to some semblance of rules is important. Even the Chaos-fueled gods respect the community guidelines, though grudgingly.”

Darkmore laughed. “That’s because it gives me someplace I can brag, without people coming and trying to foil my plans! I had enough of that when I was a mortal! Plus, when one of the high and mighty types oversteps, I get to rub their faces in it, and have everyone support me taking them down a few pegs.” He sighed, contentedly, “The feeling when you see a God of Light broken and begging at your feet? Priceless.”

“So, anyways,” Selphie broke in. “We were wondering about these contracts and dungeon laws and things you were mentioning on the forums. This is a potentially huge change in all our domains, you understand.”

“Yes, I can see that,” I nodded, smiling. “Well, to put it bluntly, most contracts made through the System are effectively mind control. The System actively forces people to carry out the contract, to the letter, right?”

There was a round of nodding, and I continued. “Well, this approach wouldn’t really work on [Earth]. Humans, the species that grew up there, are too attached to their ideas of ‘free will’ to accept that kind of contract, not seeing it as any different from Slave Magic.”

“What? That’s crazy! They’re completely different things!”

I smiled at Kou, who shrunk back after her outburst. “Well, that goes into the whole ‘not having a System for their entire civilization’ thing. Human contracts do not rely on a System to compel actions. Instead, they introduce consequences. Consequences that only come into play if one side breaks the deal. Thus, the System does not force someone to follow their contract, preserving the person’s free will. However, it does enforce the consequences, which could even include enslavement.”

Athtar nodded slowly. “It is something I’ve seen on smaller worlds, from time to time. But those kinds of contracts usually fall out of use, in favor of the simpler contracts.”

“That’s because most races don’t have the kind of litigating history that humans do. They haven’t needed to, with the System doing enforcement for them. But humans, without that system, were forced to do things the hard way.”

I shook my head. “But enough about that for the moment. We’re all just standing around here. Grab a drink, a smoke, and let’s enjoy ourselves a bit. We can talk about everything over a few hands of cards.”

Kou coughed. “Not to disparage you, but you’re not exactly known for playing fair, and Darkmore cheats.”

“True,” nodded Darkmore, happily.

“Well, I’ve actually got a field up around the table. You can still use your divine abilities, or even things like telepathy, if you like, but the details of hands, or other such stuff, will be blocked. And powers that affect reality, or predict the future, won’t work against the card game, and those playing it.”

Eyes darted to Selphie, who just nodded. “Truth.”

“Daaamn! That’s a sweet setup!”

I chuckled at Darkmore’s outburst, and nodded. “Thank you. Also, it is set so that players can’t alter the cards, or banish them to another dimension, or anything like that.”

“Truth,” the Atlantean said again.

“So, with that out of the way, who wants to play some poker?”