A Bar a Vampire and the Apocalypse

“Now then do you have any questions for me? I asked.

Sarah sat for a while contemplating then said. “My only real question for now is have you killed anyone recently?”

Replying instantly I said “Since I have met you I have not killed anyone.”

Hesitating for a moment she nodded. We sat in awkward silence for a moment until I broke the silence.

“So what now?” I asked.

Gathering herself again Sarah said “Well the only thing left to do is look over our available skills and classes. After that, we need to decide whether or not to act. I think it would be best to wait until the world has finished its metamorphism and go from there. We still don't know how much the world is going to change. There might be so much damage to the infrastructure that it's almost impossible to go back to a normalish life. But on another note the changes could last months and waiting that long could cripple us. It is also the best time to start preparing and the like. Because if things go well we could be leagues ahead of other people that did little hoping things would calm down soon.”

It is a conundrum. We can sit back and wait for the cards to play out or we can try and be proactive hoping we have a winning hand. Also with me our hand is a bit stacked.

“Ok well in that case” I was interrupted by a valiant shake. The whole building began to move. In an instant I picked up Sarah with a yelp and I was bolting down the stairs to the ground floor the building moving the whole time.

I jumped out of the back room and out the back door and that's when I saw a massive tree growing out of the middle of the parking lot. It sprouted rapidly and it seemed the ground below it was also rising, forming a mound for the tree. Not wanting to be in its way when it took out not only my home but the buildings around it I ran to the street. There I watched with Sarah still in my arms as the tree grew more and more. Concrete and asphalt ripped from the ground as it did so. It then began to take out the buildings around it. Mine was still safe for the moment but I was not holding out hope. Its branches were already covering the sky above us when we were at least 100 feet away from it at this point.

“Umm can you put me down.” Sarah asked, I did as she asked and kept watching. I recognized the tree as a Chinese elm but as tall as a redwood and the same width. It was a gorgeous tree. It glowed with life, literally. The leaves seemed to have a slight glow to them. Though I have seen trees that do similar things, it has been a long time. But what I knew for sure was that this behemoth of a tree held power and a lot of it at that. I could feel the waves of power radiating off the tree. But it was not off putting. It was a gentle power, a natural power. It was almost inviting.

The tree and the mound it sat upon finally stopped growing. By some miracle the mount that the tree stood on stopped no more than five feet from the back wall of my building. Looking up into the vast expanse of the trees branches and leaves was a unique sight for me. I could not help but wonder what the willow tree in central park was like. If it was anything like this it must be a sight to behold. I turned to Sarah who was in complete shock looking at the elm.

“I'm going to check things out, stay over here okay.” I said. She absent mindedly nodded to me. I made my way to the trunk of the elm. With each step the presence of the power increased. But there was no pressure or suffocating feeling, it was just there. Getting to the bottom of the mound I found it was much bigger than I first thought. I started to climb up the mound and stood next to the trunk. It was massive. The trunk had to have a 20 foot diameter. I went and touched the tree and was given a system message.

(First contact with Dungeon has been made. Dungeon Master is now being summoned.)

Before I could react a swirl of power gathered in front of me. What looked to be blue and green space dust swirled with that power and that's when the being took form. The being was a semi transparent blue and green celestial like feminine body. Its face was undefined but you could see where the eyes, mouth, nose and ears would be. It was not wearing any clothes, had hair that looked like its body and seemed to partly ignore the laws of physics, and was towering over me at least 8 feet tall. To top it off was a set of antlers that most deer would be jealous of. With the being fully formed a pressure fell upon me I have not felt since I first met the dragon Esmeralda over 1700 years ago. Being as old as I am there's not many beings in our world that can make me feel much pressure. The only ones that tend to, are the ancient mythical beasts like Esmeralda. They have both age and a natural power and power growth that is unfair.

The being looked down at me. I did my best to not shrink back. It really was a humbling moment for me. Being pinned down by the presence of a being I have no knowledge of, it was frightening.

“You are not what I was expecting my first meeting to be.” Said the being. Its voice was feminine and it flowed around me and seemed to gently hug me. It was almost intoxicating and utterly beautiful. Taking a breath, I found the courage to respond.

“May I ask what you were expecting?”

“Hmm I was expecting a weak human not a vampire and a powerful one at that. Whether it was lucky or not we have yet to find out.” It mused. My mind reeled at its statement. It saw past my ability meaning it had an epic tier identity skill. Though I still don't know where Epic ranked on the hierarchy of skill tiers, I can't imagine its low. I also couldn’t imagine that it only had one epic tier skill. Finding myself I continued the conversation.

“Why would it be unlucky?” I asked

“Well that all depends on you I would guess. As for if you were a human it would be much easier to” it swirl its hand in the air thinking of a word. ”Mold them into a helpful tool. As for you, I can not mold. You are not much younger than myself if I were to guess and though beings at our age can change it is much harder to shift how we act and think compared to those that are younger and mortal.” The being said. It had a good point. Though I would think of myself as one of the ones that can change with the times fairly well, it is still nowhere near as easy as say Sarah who does not have millennia of knowledge and habits to overcome.

“You make a very good point that I can't help but agree with. As for our age I don't know how you measure age but if your power is anything to go off of I don't believe we are anywhere near the same age.” I said

The being gently chuckled “I guess from your perception of power level does come with age. But because I have had the system for much longer than you, I have accumulated power that would have taken you hundreds of thousands of your years to acquire. As for how old I am, in your years I believe I would be about 2500 years old. Before I came here the system blessed me with some basic information about your world.” It said, to think it really was not that much older then me all things considered. But also for them to have accumulated that much power in that time frame. Just their presence is overwhelming. Esmeralda could not hold a candle to the shear power radiating off of them. The system really is going to up turn the world.

“Well you're right I am 2100 years old so you are a couple hundred years my elder. But at this age that does not really mean much. But to think you could have that much power at that age. I have friends that make me look like a toddler and are naturally blessed with greater power growth that would have to kneel to you. This system really is something else isn’t it.” I said.

“Hmm it truly is. Now back to the problem at hand.” The pressure around me moved up a tick as it spoke. “For the first person to make contact with my dungeon in this world the system may grant you certain benefits for both me and you should I deem you worthy of being my handler. Each dungeon can designate one sentient being as its handler. It also does not have to be an intelligent being. They will act as both an intermediary for other people that wish to enter and a guardian of sorts to stop those who wish to destroy the dungeon.”

I was having a bit of a hard time breathing now with the increased pressure. But from what the being said something did not seem right. Why would it need an intermediary when it can come out of the dungeon like it is. Also why would the being want a weak mortal. If it wanted a guardian then it would want a stronger being. Things just did not add up.

“Your statements seem contradictory. Why would you want a weaker mortal if it would also be a guardian for you. Also why would you need an intermediary at all?”

The being gently chuckled. It was a glorious sound. “Well for starters it is a rare event for a dungeon Master to be outside of the core floor and even rarer for them to be out of the dungeon. Most dungeon masters are fairly weak outside of their dungeons. I am one of the exceptions to that rule. Next the handler will get special earned abilities to help them in defense of the dungeon. I won't go into specifics unless we make an agreement but just know they can borrow power for a short time. As for why I would want a mortal specifically is that it is extremely costly to replace a handler so if I end up picking a bad one I just have to wait for them to die to get another free crack at it. As for why I need one at all, well the system does not like what it calls rogue dungeons and it gives certain consequences to dungeons that do not have a handler. Though it is not outright impossible for them to exist, it is better to have a rat as a handler than to not have one at all.”

Well I guess that answers most of my questions about why they need one but what is the benefit of the handler? Also did it not say something about being a bonus for the first person to make a deal?

“Ok then what benefits do the handler get out of this and what is the first person bonus. Also what are the drawbacks? Something about this does not seem right.” I said

“To be honest the benefits for the handler are fairly short. To start as I said earlier you gain some earned abilities that let you borrow some of the dungeon's powers. Because of this you not only have more power then almost anyone or anything that would come to attack you while near the dungeon, but you get a sort of monopoly on the dungeon you are the handler too. You can choose who comes and goes from the dungeon to a certain point. I as a dungeon master have no power in who enters my dungeon and that is where the handler comes in too. You can control how many and who enters, this in itself is most of the benefits of being a handler.

If you are not aware of the benefits of a dungeon I will quietly enlighten you. All the creatures and people of the dungeon when killed give more experience then those outside of one. Also dungeons have unique environments where special materials can be found. Last sometimes the system will create items outside of things the creatures are made of or had on them. But this is normally only for the stronger creatures of the dungeon and even then it's rare.

As for the first person bonus I do not know that is up to the system to decide. What it gives you and me can be anything from a grain of sand to an Exalted skill. It all depends on the whims of the system. Now the drawbacks. There are rather few of them, first is you lose access to the dungeon skills once you are a certain distance from the dungeon. Next if you are away from the dungeon for too long I am given the option to remove you as handler. Even if I don't remove you, the system will. I don't know the time frame but say if you leave for 10 years you will be forcibly removed by the system. Some see this as a drawback while others don't but when people identify you while you are near the dungeon you will be given a handler title. So you will not be able to hide who you are. This is an absolute title that can not be hidden by any skill.

Lastly and most importantly should both the dungeon master and the dungeon core be destroyed while you are still the handler you will be stripped of the system. In turn any and all power you had cultivated due to the system will be stripped from you the moment both are gone. If you do not die trying to defend the dungeon, being stripped of the system would kill almost anyone. You might live but you would not last long even being an immortal with natural strength. Because anyone with a modicum of motivation could quickly grow more powerful than you.”

That was a lot to take in. I do not know the full scope of the benefits to the dungeon because a lot of what the being said I don't fully understand. What I would give to be able to talk to Sarah right now. She would know more about this but I don't think she would be able to stand here let alone speak with how much pressure the being is putting out. Regardless, the little I can understand is that I get control over a powerful resource in exchange. I have to do my best to defend it. Should I fail to do that I will forfeit my life. I presume there is more to it than that but I'm guessing that will come with time. Really I see no reason not to take the offer. I'm sure there is more than the being is letting on but if what I'm guessing is right this will put me and those I protect in a very powerful position.

I stared down at the blue celestial being in all its glory. Took a deep breath and spoke.

“Based on what you told me I see no reason to not be your handler, should you be willing to have me.”

“I like you, what is your name vampire?” it spoke as it lowered the pressure it was exuding.

“Viviana Justina Ioannou.” I answered

“Hmm in that case.” The pressure spiked once again but much heavier than last time. I was forced to a knee as the being continued.

“I Gareena Anita Symphony Accept you Viviana Justina Ioannou as the handler of my dungeon, the Forest of Stars” it spoke and placed its hand gently on my head. It was a feeling I will never forget. It was otherworldly and a feeling I could lose myself in if I had less self control. It was then I felt something flow into me and a system message popped up.

(You have become the Handler of the dungeon Forest of stars, you have gained the title Handler of the Forest of Stars. You have gained the earned abilities Call of the Dungeon, Defense of the Dungeon, Call of the Dungeon Master and Dungeon Life Bond. For becoming the handler of the Forest of Stars while being the first contact you have gained the earned ability Fruits of the Dungeon.)