Chapter 26 – Floor 1 – The Main Character

Years after Lavilin left the first floor, the Great Dungeon Party entered Hell. Two days into their voyage across the Ocean of Souls, 21 sat in his room, reading a book alone.

"Ah hello, it's fancy seeing you here." He smiled at the audience.

"You must be wondering; how do I know you're there?" He laughed.

21 showed the cover of the book he was reading, Dungeon Conquerors.

"This book is a special one written for me by Wandering Sage Mite himself! He should be on the 11th Floor by now. It's incredible to think about the difference in sectors…" 21 rambled and stood up, pacing back and forth.

"For us, it'll take a full year to reach the 10th Floor, but the second sub-group will cross five floors in just five days! Let's not even get started on the other two parties!" 21 laughed hysterically.

"Augustus and Skele are the ones who drew the short straws here, don't you think?" 21 tilted his head.

"101 members of the Great Dungeon Party! How exciting." 21 clapped.

21's face turned dark.

"I'm sure you all were so excited seeing Lavilin wander around the first floor all those years ago but grew tired of his journey. Sometimes, he would do exceptional and astounding things, only to then turn around and be boring for years on end."

"How exciting it must be to witness the Great Dungeon Party. With so many characters and scenes spread out over dozens of floors, you all must be so enthralled! Who should I care about? Who will live? Who will die?"

"Yet, you all gave up on conquering Hell, didn't you?" 21 sighed and put down Dungeon Conquerors.

"As you can imagine, I am a prophet, so I know all about Floor 42, the Floor of Entertainment. The souls fortunate enough to get to that point all gather around the televisions and computer screens to eagerly watch others conquer Hell. It is a great break, and fun stories of underdogs rise through Hell every so often, right?"

"Even by subscribing to the Dungeon System Program and giving up your lifespans, you all can see the future floors of the dungeon and enjoy even greater feats and stories. Every so often, these underdogs can even climb past the 80th Floor! How exciting.

But, it always ends the same, doesn't it? Any ghost or Shade lucky enough to get that far is recruited to become a new Dungeon Administrator, or they die, and your entertainment ends.

That is, until the next underdog comes along. Now, you all are watching me now and have gained 101 underdogs to constantly spy on. Not just that, but the 101 members of the Great Dungeon Party are all alive! Unlike you, the living are under slightly different restrictions. A different clearing experience makes us that much more entertaining to watch, doesn't it?"

"Although, there are bound to be a difference in opinion over this grand reality tv show.

Some of you will want to root for different characters, and the plot is unclear.

Some of you want the amazing and powerful Deities to conquer Hell! The High Mage Council brought in Grand Councilman Ziphe along with nine other councilmembers.

Others of you look up to the five priests that serve the Seven Paths Church!

And then there are those who still remember Oceanus! I'm sure some of you have caught on by now.

Yet, others want to see the underdogs win. Clico and his party against The Demon Lavilin, the stowaway who came with nothing, even the weak and unknown sages like Wandering Sage Jing and Mite could become favorites." 21 paused.

"But just who is the main character? Who should you root for?" 21 raised his voice.

"The anti-hero Lavilin who is to conquer the dungeon against the odds and morality?

The hero Ziphe with righteous ideals?

No, maybe the main character is me, the prophet 21.

Argh, how can you know, sitting on your computers, tv's and phones? Sure, you have a greater view than each individual party member, but there are just too many people!

So, who is it then?

No one!

There is no main character!" 21 laughed until he grew tired. Sitting back down, 21 picked up Dungeon Conquerors.

"Let's see here." 21 flipped through the novel.

"During each Sector, there should be different people who have more important roles than others. Keep an eye on your favorite party members while you can, not many will survive." 21 continued flipping through the book.

"To me, Clico and Lavilin are the main characters, but to you, you may enjoy Grand Councilman Ziphe's journey as the party leader." 21 flipped closer towards the ending.

"Others will like how I know so much and be interested in me." 21 smiled sinisterly.

"Some may like the Administrators, who can be villainous at times…" 21 said awkwardly.

"But in the end, less than one sub-party will remain alive, and even less will leave the dungeon with their memories and souls intact. For all intents and purposes, not even ten people will survive out of the original 101!" 21 laughed but held sadness in his eyes.

"It is an unfortunate consequence for conquering an unconquerable dungeon like this." 21 couldn't hold back his sadness any longer. Flipping backwards, 21 arrived to a particular page.

"Just like it says in this book, Chapter 26 – Floor 1 – The Main Character, ah yes, this is where we are at the moment. Let's see here, what am I supposed to say next?

Ah, yes! Guess who lives and who dies! You'll never know what's going to happen nex-" 21 stopped and put the book down.

"Forget it. It's too hard to act all the time." 21 sighed again and put his head into his hands. A few minutes later, 21 composed himself.

"Two days have passed since we arrived, and how many do you think have died?" 21 asked the audience.

"In our party, none, and I can't imagine you all on Floor 42 are keeping track of every sub-party. Some of you are just watching one party like ours while others are just watching highlights."

"Come on! Guess! Two days in the dungeon." 21 screamed at no one.

"Two people." 21 said coldly.

"What do you think would happen after five days? How many will die?" 21 got emotional.

"Seven." 21 whispered.

"Seven people will die after five days…" 21 trailed off blankly.

"By the time this first sub-party reaches the second sub-party, how many do you think will have died?" 21 whispered even quieter.

"About 25 people. That's one fourth of the whole party." 21 looked down.

"By the time we meet the third sub-party, how many? How many?" 21 yelled abruptly.

"39!" 21 howled.

"And what about when the party finally meets and becomes one unit again?" 21 stood up with tears in his eyes.

"Over 50 people will have dropped out of our party by the time we all meet on Floor 39!" 21 clenched his fist.

"Over half of the Great Dungeon Party will fall…" 21 sat back down again.

"Although Clico and Lavilin are the Kings on this chessboard, I still have a conscience." 21 spat out.

"Truly, this whole party is the Main Character. Sacrificing people like pawns makes me just as bad as the evil Authorities. Everyone has value, even the despicable and useless party members." 21 continued his solemn monologue.

"Even when your favorite member dies, don't let hopelessness consume you. We will conquer Hell. You can count on that." 21 looked at the audience intensely.

***

Clico and Omira entered the control room curiously. For the past five days, the Gatekeepers and the High Council members had been working around the clock, mainly in the control room.

Adjacent to the control room was the engine room and operational facilities. Tyermsy noticed the two in the entrance.

"Are you two going to stand there all day?" She asked with a frown.

"Sorry ma'am." Clico apologized. Ziphe laughed.

"Don't let this old woman harass you. Everyone is welcome here." Ziphe smiled.

"Who are you calling an old woman, old man!" Tyermsy glared at the Grand Councilman.

"Don't mind her." Ziphe ignored Tyermsy.

"Welcome to the Control Room!" The Grand Councilman stopped what he was doing and showed the duo what happened in the control room. Although they were all working overtime, they were mainly there to make sure the ship's operations were running smoothly and efficiently. The intensive work itself was actually at a minimum once they had set the navigations.

"Over here we have Council Trainee Goln on his radar shift." Ziphe pointed at the small trainee, who was watching the radar a little too closely… Any Shades or spirits in the waters below didn't dare bother the ship because of the Deities on board. Their aura alone was scary enough to keep everyone safe. For this reason alone, the first floor was more of a test in patience than a test of strength.

"Yes, and over here we have Councilman Ryke operating the navigational coordinates." Ryke, who sat in his full Void Continent attire looked out of place and menacing. He friendly waved his hand at Clico and Omira.

"Hello!" Omira didn't mind his odd appearance, maybe because she too, looked odd.

"We can't forget the Gatekeepers. In charge of equipment and ship operations is High Queen Tyermsy. I'm not sure if you've met her bodyguard, but that is Gatekeeper Groth." Ziphe pointed to the central command station where he had been earlier with Tyermsy. Both of the Gatekeepers ignored their introductions, however.

"She needs a bodyguard? Isn't she stronger than you?" Omira asked Ziphe.

Laughing, Ziphe responded, "Who ever said Tyermsy was stronger than me? I could take her on in a pinch!" Ziphe punched at the air.

"Yeah right!" Tyermsy suddenly interjected from across the room. Some of the Gatekeepers and Council members laughed at the exchange but stayed focused on their work.

"Oh yes, at night, Groth is in charge of surveillance and watches for any suspicious activity. You never know." Ziphe shrugged. Clico nodded. Although everyone on board was a trusted expert, shady dealings were bound to occur with 25 powerful individuals wandering about a large ship like the Labyrinthian, especially if the voyage was drawn out. Boredom was a cruel mistress. That's why they wandered into the control room in the first place.

"You definitely need to put up some cameras all right. That prophet 21 is always up to no good." Omira nodded.

"That Shade isn't as dumb as she looks." Tyermsy interjected again. She loved to eavesdrop and meddle with Ziphe. Maybe it was because she was in charge of ship operations.

"Thank you!" Omira didn't realize it was a backhanded compliment.

"What else? Zirene and Blue are off duty right now, but there are a few other important facilities close by. The med bay run by Gatekeeper Realeh is around the corner to the right, and the engine room run by a few other Gatekeepers is on the left of this room. Feel free to explore." Ziphe was friendlier than they expected. Waving them on their way, Clico and Omira decided to go to the Med Bay first.

Realeh, a girl with beautiful blue eyes and long brown hair greeted the two.

"Are you two okay? Do you need any help?"

"Nah, we're just here to say hi!" Omira smiled with her ugly yellow teeth.

"Ahh, thank you…" Realeh didn't know what to say. The Shade was truly hideous.

"Ziphe told us to feel free to explore, and he suggested we come here." Clico explained.

"Well, it's nice to meet you two!" Realeh was friendly. The three chatted briefly, and the pair went to the engine room next.

Inside, two buff and burly men were arguing.

"Come on, you can do better!"

"No, you're the one slacking off!"

Omira interrupted them.

"What're you two doing?" They jumped, not noticing Omira and Clico enter.

"Hi, we're-"

The buffer looking man of the two cut Clico off.

"This is a restricted zone. Get out of here! Don't sneak up on us!" They shouted and chased the pair out of the room.

"Maybe we should've knocked!" Omira exclaimed.