Eugenius Lucrosus Imperiosus considered himself a master strategist.

  He sat quietly, sipping tea, the teleportation crystal held in his line of sight as he waited for the perfect moment. Only another heartbeat passed before Alycia De’Falgar appeared in a muted flash of light. She was clearly rushing back to her guild, paying little attention to her surroundings.

  Eugenius finished his tea before rising to his feet. He left a generous tip—for never let it be said that Imperiosus was lacking in generosity toward the common man.

  With confident strides, he approached the teleporter and transitioned to the backwater that was the newly established dungeon town.

  Eugenius Lucrosus Imperiosus was mildly surprised to find cobblestones beneath his feet instead of simple mud. He pushed the thought aside as he strode toward the Adventurer’s Guild. His timing, as always, was impeccable. The new branch head would scarcely have had time to warm their chair before his arrival.

  Eugenius Lucrosus Imperiosus knocked twice on the branch head’s door before letting himself in without waiting for an answer.

  “Oh, it’s you,” Greg sighed. “What does the D.D.D. want this time?”

  “Eugenius Lucrosus Imperiosus is here to clear this dungeon,” Eugenius proclaimed. “It is a travesty that you have not committed the necessary manpower to do so.”

  Greg snorted. “There is no amount of manpower that can clear that dungeon right now,” he shot back. “The Envoy informed us that the dungeon recently increased in rarity and is still sorting out its passives. That’s caused population booms all across the dungeon. We won’t be letting parties in for at least a week, until things calm down. That’s not even accounting for the tide of slimes reportedly returning from the little war the dungeon just had.”

  “The D.D.D. demands that this dungeon be made compliant and conquered,” Eugenius Lucrosus Imperiosus declared. “Thus, a fifty-man team has been assembled under Eugenius Lucrosus Imperiosus to accomplish this task. This visit is merely a courtesy.”

  Greg looked unimpressed. “Did you hear nothing I just said?” he tried again. “Monster populations didn’t just rise—they exploded. We’re talking up to a fivefold increase in baseline numbers.”

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  “Eugenius Lucrosus Imperiosus has gathered only those at or above level one hundred, all with celestial classes,” Eugenius announced. “We will be clearing this dungeon.”

  With that, Eugenius Lucrosus Imperiosus turned on his heel and left.

  Greg’s mouth opened and closed soundlessly as he tried to process what he had just heard. Then, with a curse, he shoved his chair back and hurried after him.

  When Eugenius Lucrosus Imperiosus stepped back onto the street, his men were already waiting. Pride swelled in his chest as he surveyed the fifty-strong raid party he had assembled.

  “To the dungeon, men!” Eugenius Lucrosus Imperiosus called.

  They echoed the cry as one.

  Together, they marched toward the dungeon.

  A flash of light cut them off mid-stride, and a Valkyrie manifested directly in their path.

  “This action is not advised,” she called out. “My master knows not who may have tasked you with this, but it is folly. Turn back now and spare yourselves the pain.”

  Moments later, an elegant elven maiden stepped from a beam of light not far from the Valkyrie.

  “Am I to assume you are an Envoy as well?” the elf asked.

  “Indeed,” the Valkyrie replied with a dip of her head. “I speak on behalf of Ilvir, Core of the Bastion Dungeon.”

  “My… dungeon seems to hold your kind in high regard,” Rey said thoughtfully. “He has instructed me to welcome you to perform your duties within the dungeon, should you so choose.”

  “He would allow such a thing?” the Valkyrie asked, surprised.

  “He does not see it as a favor,” Rey explained. “Only the natural processes of the world continuing as they should. My… dungeon knows the myths of your kin.”

  “You hesitate when you speak of him,” the Valkyrie observed.

  “I keep wanting to call him my master,” Rey admitted with a small laugh. “But he is adamant that he is not. He says he merely sculpted my species—not the one who will shape its future.”

  “He sounds oddly wise for one so young,” the Valkyrie noted.

  “While all of this is very touching,” Eugenius Lucrosus Imperiosus interrupted, “Eugenius Lucrosus Imperiosus does not answer to worldly dungeon cores. My duty was handed down by my goddess.”

  “And yet you work for the Department of Dungeon Diplomacy,” the Valkyrie replied dryly. “Surely you can see the conflict of interest.”

  “There is no conflict,” Eugenius Lucrosus Imperiosus proclaimed. “The will of the gods supersedes the will of both men and dungeons.”

  The Valkyrie sighed.

  “Then I assume you are not adventurers?” Rey asked.

  “Of course not!” Eugenius Lucrosus Imperiosus sneered.

  “Then my master is not bound by his vow to return your bodies,” Rey said, her smile sharp and vicious. “Good delving.”

  She stepped backward into a ray of light and vanished.

  The Valkyrie lingered a moment longer, her expression heavy with resignation, before she too disappeared.

  With a sneer and a sharp command, Eugenius Lucrosus Imperiosus ushered his men forward and into the dungeon.