Part 34

When I awoke, I found myself underneath a familiar ceiling. I was in my dungeon, underneath the ceiling of Aros's throne room. As I breathed, I began to feel a terrible headache echo through my entire head, like my brain was nothing more than mush. I turned my head and groaned as I looked around.

I was on the floor of the boss room, surrounded by three of my most trusted allies. Aros, Jonathan, and Icarus surrounded me like they were visitors at a hospital.

"I have got to get a bed," I sighed as I put my palm against my forehead. As soon as I spoke, Aros shouted with glee.

"My lord!" Aros shouted, his words cutting through my head like an ax. I groaned with discomfort as I turned my head to look at him. Then found him standing up and looking directly at me. Icarus began to climb over my chest, though he somehow had the restraint to know not to lick my entire face in his excitement.

I turned my gaze to Jonathan, who stared at me with indifference.

"We have to talk," Jonathan said with a cold tone. I nodded, then pushed myself to a sitting position. Once I was upright I was able to see the rest of the room but didn't see Hazel or Evelyn anywhere.

"Where's Hazel?" I asked with concern. For a moment, I was afraid that she had died. Had I killed her in that last fight? Did she die because she ran out of MP?

"She's fine," Jonathan told me, reassuring me from my negative thoughts. I sighed in relief, then slowly made my way to my feet. The pain in my head only got worse as I stood up, but Aros was there to support me as I almost fell over.

"Evelyn needs to hear my explanation as well," I said to Jonathan as I looked over at him. Jonathan nodded, then stood up as well.

"They're in your 'core room', or whatever that place is," Jonathan said, "I'll take you."

"Please be careful with him, young Jonathan," Aros said as he transferred the support of my body over to him. Jonathan nodded as he glanced at Aros, then turned away and began walking to the throne.

Jonathan and I didn't share any words as we made our way to the core room. The awkwardness this caused was almost unbearable and it seemed that way for Jonathan as well. The walk down took about a minute, as we were going slower than normal, but we eventually reached the core room.

When we walked inside, my eyes searched through the room until I saw Hazel and Evelyn. Hazel was on the ground, sleeping calmly with a single cloak to cover herself. Evelyn was on the opposite side of the room as her, also only with a cloak, as she huddled into the corner.

"He's here, Evelyn," Jonathan said. I turned to Hazel, then began walking over to her. Jonathan helped me over, then helped me sat down and check on her. Hazel's entire body was pale, almost like snow, and her breathing was unsteady. Jonathan sat on the other end of Hazel, then looked at me. Jonathan noticed my concern and said, "Aros said she's going through something called 'Mana Exhaustion'. She'll be alright as long as she's given time to rest. Now, explain."

"Thank you," I said as I looked up at Jonathan. I felt nervous as my eyes met with his. I didn't want to ever have to explain my background to anybody. Hazel was one of the few exceptions, as she was already getting involved. I sighed, disappointed, as I began telling my story, "First, why don't I answer any of the questions you have? Afterward, I'll fill in the blanks."

"Is Arthur even your real name?" Jonathan asked. I looked to him and nodded. Jonathan sighed in relief, then continued his string of questioning, "What about Icarus? Who is he?"

"Arthur is my name, you don't have to worry about that. As far as my relationship with Icarus goes, I consider him my son, as well as one of my first summons," I answered. Jonathan and Evelyn gasped, shocked by this information. As far as they knew, I was an ordinary human, albeit a little too good-looking. Hearing that a dragon, something of a completely different species than me, was my son, was a nuclear bomb of information. Icarus was still upstairs, so he wasn't here to confirm, "He may be my son, but I didn't make him like I would other children. He's a copy of myself, with my image in mind. My blood flows in his veins."

"Wait, that makes sense," Jonathan gasped, "As soon as the portal opened, Aros dashed through to pick you up. He already knew you were unconscious. So he's a summon? You're a summoner?"

"Sort of," I laughed, amused by the idea of my class being a summoner. If the guild was aware of my position as a dungeon master, the summoner class would be too weak to classify the army I have at my command, "I also summoned all of the creatures in this dungeon. There are a few hundred Salamanders and a little over a thousand Kobolds, last I checked."

"Kobolds? What?" Jonathan roared. He looked at me with a shocked expression, like he had just been relayed a secret that only I should've known. I mean, I understood his sentiment. Dragons were supposed to be extinct, as well as most of their lineage. Icarus, Hazel, and I were probably the only dragons left. Salamanders were rare as well, but nowhere near as rare as Kobolds.

"You heard me right," I nodded, "We're underneath a massive dungeon. It's like a labyrinth, full of traps and enemies. It protects my home, as well as my dungeon core."

I looked to the core, which was floating in the center of the room. Jonathan turned to the core as well, still wearing his shocked expression, as he tried to find the words needed to summarize his emotions.

"I'm... shocked," Jonathan managed to get out as he struggled to speak, "Over a thousand summons? That's an entire army!"

"It is," I nodded, "I already talked with the vice-guild master in Hewe. She's aware of this, but can't tell anyone else."

"If you wanted to, you could invade, couldn't you?" Jonathan asked. I blinked at him, staring for a moment in silence before I slowly nodded. My eyes drifted to the ground as I sighed.

"I could," I admitted, "But I don't have any intention to. I don't have a very good opinion of the people outside, as I've met several dozen people that wear their greed like a fashion statement, but I won't invade purely based on annoyance. On the other hand, this is my home, so I'll defend it when I need to."

Jonathan looked at me, then sighed. He seemed to be internally struggling with something for a moment before he turned back to me.

"What would you do if we decided to tell everybody about your secret?" Jonathan asked with a scornful voice. I looked back up at him, my brows furrowed in suspicion, "Would you kill us?"

I looked at them, then mentally asked myself the same question. 'Would I really be able to kill them?' I asked myself, 'or would I risk my dungeon to save my friends?'

I looked down at Hazel and thought about the question. However, as I thought of the question more and more, I looked back up at Jonathan. The answer was obvious.

"I would," I said. I had originally gone to Hewe to have a bit of freedom and explore the world. Having friends was part of that, but freedom wasn't my main concern. I was going to protect my dungeon and identity as much as I could, even if I had to kill my friends to do so.

"Good," Jonathan nodded as he stood up. I turned to him, only to find his expression was full of approval, "If you didn't take this seriously, I'm not sure what I would've decided to do."

"Huh? You're not going back to Hewe? I thought you wouldn't want to be associated anymore," I muttered quietly as I let my eyes fall down to the ground. I looked to Hazel, then sighed.

"Evelyn and I already agreed," Jonathan said, "We were terriyfied of Hazel when she transformed. We thought she died, but it looks like nothing was wrong. We're friends, Arthur. We'll stick with you, even if you've got an entire army of monsters at your beck and call. Why don't we spend a day here, then head back. In the meantime, show me what you can do."

Hazel woke up a few hours later on a warm bed in the core room. In the time since the twins left, I had upgraded and redecorated the core room. I had a full 400 DP to work with, so I decided to create a home on the bottom of the core room. It wouldn't be a permanent home, as I would probably still find myself out in the world a lot more than in the dungeon, but it would serve as a good pit stop when we were out adventuring.

Jonathan wanted to see what I was capable of, so I decided to show off a little. I removed all of the traps on the staircase and increased it's size, so it was easier to navigate and even Aros could fit inside. Then, at the bottom of the staircase, I created a large field of grass and a small farm. The field was built inside what looked like a dome with bright crystals at the top of the dome that replicated the time of the outside world.

At the edge of the field was a small forest full of peaceful creatures and giant trees. On the other end, opposite of the forest, was a small river. If I was going to make this place my home, I didn't want to make it feel like an underground hideout.

Once the surrounding environment was completed, I replaced the core room with a large house. The house was two stories tall, allowing enough room for several different types of rooms on each floor.

On the first floor was a kitchen, two large rooms, and a dining room. I decided to add another room, twice the size of one of the other first-floor rooms, as a small library. I still didn't know a lot about this world, so I needed a place to store lots of information. The two empty rooms were then separated as a large storage room and a workshop.

On the top floor were four large bedrooms and another living room, then a small ladder that led to the attic, which contained the core itself. After everything was paid for and decorated, I only had 3 DP left.

After a few hours of rest, Hazel finally woke up in one of the second-floor bedrooms. When she opened her eyes, she was assaulted by a bright stream of light escaping from one of the nearby windows.

She immediately groaned and turned around as she stretched her body.

"Wait, where am I?" She suddenly asked as soon as she realized something was wrong. Her room in the guild didn't have a window, nor was her bed nearly as comfortable as this. She sat up and looked around.

She found herself in a large, yet simple, room. The walls and floor were all made out of wood, while the ceiling was made out of some sort of plaster. There were two doors in the room, presumably to a bathroom and the hallway outside, as well as a small chair in the corner and dresser just next to the bed.

"What?" She muttered, confused. She turned to the window, which had already been opened to let a comfortable breeze inside the room, and began to move out of the bed as she went to the window.

Once she was standing, she noticed she was completely nude, so she decided to grab one of the blankets on the bed to cover herself before she walked to the window.

Once she looked outside, she was shocked to see a bright summer field. At the edge of the field was a large river with what looked like a small dock. The window she faced out of appeared to be on the front of the cottage she was in, as the front porch laid below her.

However, what shocked her the most was the giant blue wall that seemed to trap the entire field in a dome. Even the bottom of the wall, which wasn't far from the field itself, was as blue as the sky. It was a strange feeling, almost akin to being on a floating island, but she instantly knew she was underground. She felt it in her bones.

This place was home.

She immediately turned around, then walked to the door leading to the hallway. Once she was near, she saw a small paper with messy handwriting taped to the door.

"There's clothes in the closet. Get yourself dressed before getting breakfast. Arthur," She read. She smiled as a warm feeling stirred in her heart. Then, as soon as she realized she was naked, she gasped and read the rest of the letter with a fiery temper, "PS, I didn't look."

Somehow, that last bit made her more annoyed than before. She quickly crumbled the paper and threw it to the bed before she turned around and walked to the closet.