Lewd Dungeon, Chapter 236

Chapter 236 – GodNet

The conversation between me and the other two gods only went on for a little while after that. We came to an amicable enough arrangement. They’d get the crusade to back off, and I wouldn’t do anything against them. At this point, on the divine scale, we could still all say that there was no harm done, and leave it be.

Of course, there were likely going to be repercussions to this. Idos, in particular, was already directing people to look into how the crusade got started. He probably wouldn’t have done anything, normally, since the attention of a god is stretched thin. But I had brought his attention to the situation directly, and now he was asking questions. I had a feeling that there were a few people in his church that were going to be less than thrilled to have their god’s personal attention in the coming days.

As for me? My name was already making another round through the DEN, on both the planetary level here on Atara, and in the Galactic DEN. At this rate, I was definitely going to get dungeons added to my domain, at some point. But that wasn’t the only outcome for me, personally.

Welcome to GodNet!

As a   divine being who has come into direct contact with other gods, you are now allowed   access to GodNet, the System’s primary resource for deity-to-deity   communication. As gods do not fall into the normal regional categories, the   GodNet is galaxy-wide, and allows free discussion between gods. Be warned   that moderators can and will institute punishments if conversations in public   cannot maintain a civil tone.

If you   have any questions, please forward them to Technica, Goddess of Technology, and   chief administrator for GodNet.

Ever since I found out about the DEN, I had figured that there would be some kind of System setup for god-to-god communications, but I didn’t know where to find it, or how to unlock it. The System no doubt had that information somewhere, but finding information about divinity and the things that came with it was not easy. Almost like they didn’t want mortals to try and find cheat codes to become gods.

Perusing the GodNet listings, it became clear that the organization of GodNet was a basic message board, like the DEN, but it lacked the marketplace functions of the DEN. That made sense, if you thought about it. The power of gods revolved around their faithful. What would gods trade with each other for? And what currency would they use? No, the lack of a formal marketplace made sense.

Not that I expected there to be no wheeling and dealing on GodNet. Just that, instead of a marketplace, it would be a kind of barter economy. Favors would likely be the biggest currency, or service in kind. But there would undoubtedly be deals to be made.

Looking through the different sections of the forum, I could see that there were several basic sections. There was a section for topics divided by planet, one for topics divided by subject, and one for topics divided by deity. That last one caught my attention.

It only took a bit of searching to find Pofmis’s section. There were three basic subsections, here. The first could be considered ‘Gossip’, though it was labeled as Current Events. The second was Organization, talking about her church itself. (That part looked to be both praises and gripes in equal measure, as far as I could see, but was mostly a notice board for when her church did new things.) And the last part? That was a ‘Future Plans’ section, where it was mostly Pofmis talking about future plans.

A quick check of the Current Events section showed that there were more than a couple threads discussing me. Or, more appropriately, discussing the back and forth between me and her people. There were also those discussing the fallout from the temple fleet attacking Sol, and getting crushed by a dungeon, if the headers were anything to go by.

I didn’t bother reading any of those threads right now, because that would make me look stalkerish. Only reason I had checked out Pofmis, before looking up anyone else, was because I at least knew some of the recent events to befall her church, so I wasn’t completely in the dark, there. But I wasn’t going to go and start a flame war with her, on her part of the forum. That would make me look weak, and that wasn’t my goal.

Instead, I turned to my own section, which was still relatively new. I was surprised to see that there were quite a few threads about me, already. Most of them were far from flattering, of course, but that’s just how things went.

And it turned out that my actions on Atara were already being noticed.

Who  is this Kuronoth?

Poster

Post

Lucksmith

Like the   thread title says. Who the hell is this guy? I’ve never heard his name   before, and yet he’s suddenly some up and coming god? And not only picking   fights with Pofmis, but winning? Now there’s that business on Atara, where he   somehow stopped the crusade of Idos and Binja cold. What is going on here?

Wordgirl

Well, there’s   some confusion there. The claims I’ve been able to gather through the Aether   call him a demon lord, perhaps on the cusp of true divinity. But there are   people who dispute that.

S.Queen

Damn   right I dispute that! I’ve been keeping a close eye on all the demonic planes   associated with lust and pleasure, making sure that there aren’t any upstart   challengers looking to make a play for my throne. I would have heard about   this male long ago, if he were actually a demon lord.

Chainbreaker

He’s   not a demon lord. My champion used the sacrificial spell of demon slaying   against him, and it just rolled off him. He’s clearly no demon, even if he is   a monster.

Vengeance

Hmm.   Then I wonder why everyone calls him a demon lord?

Take-Them-Hard

Well,   my people on [Earth] figured out a bit of that, actually.

S.Queen

Takey!   You wicked man! I heard that somehow you were one of those gods that already   got a presence on [Earth]. How’d that happen?

Take-Them-Hard

Funny   you should mention that, since it plays directly into this. See, I was one of   those lucky ones who actually got invited in by this Kuronoth guy, before he   was a god. Or, rather, the dungeon he lives in.

S.Queen

A   dungeon, really? You mean Kuronoth is a Dungeon Master?

Take-Them-Hard

Unclear.   He certainly speaks for and controls the dungeon, though. Far more than any   dungeon master I’ve seen ought to. But that could be because he was able to   use some form of domination magic on the core while it was still newborn.

Wordgirl

Such a   situation would be unprecedented, but then, everything about [Earth] is   unprecedented. I think it is best to assume that it will take some time for   the rules as we know them to fully apply to [Earth], and that those rules may   change as that world’s people join the rest of the galaxy.

Take-Them-Hard

Indeed.   But, as I said, when my delegation went to Earth, they met with Kuronoth. Or   an Avatar of him, at any rate.

Chainbreaker

Damn   that bastard! Of course an avatar would not suffer from the demon slaying   curse! It wasn’t designed for that! And he had to have known that curse,   since he’s enslaved other divine casters.

Take-Them-Hard

Yes,   my minions questioned his nature with some of the locals. I do not believe he   has ever actually claimed to be a demon, or a demon lord, or, well, anything specific,   not until recently, when his church began getting followers, and he started   to become divine. Then he embraced godhood as openly as he does anything.

Judgement

Interesting.   So, the likelihood of him being an actual demon is low. The trick of not   saying a definitive yes or no is not unknown to me. It is a common way for   people to get around spells designed to reveal falsehoods, which is why those   who enforce laws will ask the same question in multiple ways, to try and keep   the questioned from lying by omission or tricking the questioner into hearing   what they want to hear, instead of what is actually being said.

Lucksmith

So, he’s   one of those too clever for their own good types? And everyone has just underestimated   him until now?

Purity

No. He   is something far, far worse.

Wordgirl

Purity!   Your crusade got turned back, right? What can you tell us?

Purity

ShiningKnight   and I were called upon by our servants, at the head of the crusade on Atara.   Kuronoth was there, in a mortal avatar, defending the dungeon that had turned   to follow him. But instead of striking against the crusade, he wanted to   parley.

Chainbreaker

Oh,   Purity, please tell me you didn’t make any deals with him! From everything my   servants have said, he is wickedness incarnate!

Purity

Well,   we did make a deal, but it was not like that. ShiningKnight and I agreed to end   the crusade, and investigate those who called for it for possible corruption,   and he declared the whole thing an ‘unfortunate misunderstanding that,   thankfully, was cleared up before it could cause problems.’

Chainbreaker

What   made you agree to something like that? Had he empowered his dungeon follower   enough that it would be too dangerous to attack?

Purity

No, it   is worse. He brought ideas. I don’t doubt that he found some way to   empower the Labyrinth of the Dishonored Knight, but the true damage was in   the ideas he brought. Ideas about dungeon laws, and new ways to enforce them.

Judgement

Oh,   really? I’m interested to hear about this.

Pleasurable   Domination

Well,   I would be happy to discuss the finer points of contracts and law from a   human perspective at any time, Judgement.

Wordgirl

Wait,   who is this? Is it really?

Chainbreaker

You   fiend! What are YOU doing here?

Pleasurable   Domination

Oh,   Chainbreaker. Why shouldn’t I be here? Isn’t this whole section bearing my   name?

Take-Them-Hard

Of   course! First direct contact between a new god and an established deity adds   them to GodNet! I take it that you haven’t had any direct consultations   before you spoke with Purity and ShiningKnight?

Pleasurable   Domination

Yes,   they were my first direct contact with gods in general, as even Miss Chain   here only ever dealt through mortal followers, and never spoke directly to   me.

By the   way, Take, I’m happy to see how your church has settled in, down in the Congo.   Fertile ground for you, no?

Take-Them-Hard

Yes, I   really must thank you for the consideration when you directed my servants   there. While it would have been best to raise the First Shrine to a temple,   having the Hidden Temple in the jungles and spreading my influence outward   has been easy enough. And it isn’t really that much of a change from what   some of the warlords have been doing on that continent for years, just a bit   more widespread, now.

Pleasurable   Domination

Excellent.   I hope that the others are also satisfied with the advice I gave them. I know   their people certainly are, given the last reports I got from some of my   people in those areas.

Wordgirl

Keeping   an eye on the competition?

Pleasurable   Domination

Oh,   not at all. More like looking out for allies, to keep them from running afoul   of human systems, until everyone figures out the rules.

Judgement

So,   back to the ideas, what were the ideas you brought that frightened Purity and   ShiningKnight into calling off their crusades?

Purity

It is   a dreadfully human idea. Something called Mutually Assured Destruction.

Pleasurable   Domination.

Yes,   it is a very human idea. And it is perfectly MAD, I agree. Essentially, there   are three parts to the plan I gave to my dungeon follower, and spread to   every dungeon on Atara that would listen to my words.

1 – Establish   a Dungeon Contract that all adventurers must sign before entering the   dungeon. Those who sign, find that the contract is binding through the System   itself, and allows the adventurers who sign to use certain items to escape   the dungeon if they’re in too much danger, but it restricts some of the   weapons and tactics used on both sides, as well as forbids the adventurers   from attacking the dungeon itself, or allowing others to attack the dungeon,   with penalties enforced by the System itself.

2 –   Create two versions of the dungeon. One will be used for those who sign the   contract, and is essentially the ‘normal’ version of the dungeon. The other   is for those who do not sign, and all the tricks and traps and monsters are   much more dangerous, to the point where a dungeon might be declared Rogue if   they sent this kind of force against every adventurer who entered their   domain. All of it covered by a field which prevents escape by any means   except defeating the final boss.

3 –   Penalties in the dungeon contract for those who break it, or break dungeon   laws inside the dungeon, apply those penalties not just to the individual,   but rather apply them collectively to any organizations they are a part of,   such as their party, guild, nation, any clubs they have joined, their church,   their church’s pantheon, and so on. And those penalties would then apply to   all members of those organizations, even if they weren’t a member when it   happened.

Purity

ShiningKnight   and I decided that the potential damage was not worth stroking the egos of a   few of our more influential followers.

Judgement

Oh, my.   PD, would you mind if I called a couple of other law-minded deities to have a   private chat with you? This could change EVERYTHING.

Pleasurable   Dominion

Of   course. Talking is free, after all, and I think you’ll find that I’m a very   reasonable entity, when you aren’t trying to attack me, or mine.