“I think you might be the best choice.” I said to Christina.
“Would you tell me why I am over my husband or like the adventurer’s guild master?” She asked.
“Well your husband has not exactly impressed me with his attitude towards Alice. And didn’t you hear about the guild master's reaction when I told him about the dungeon.”
“I didn’t hear about it. What happened?” Christina asked.
“He got mad and threw me out of his office.” I said to her. “He was also threatening me with things like ‘You’ll never be an adventurer’. Then I asked Zayaan of Prime Rib for help and he brought me here to meet Brandon.”
“Well I guess given the guild master’s past it is possible.” Christina said.
“His past?” I questioned. “Could you tell me about it?”
“I guess I can. How much do you know about dungeons? Dungeon masters specifically.” She asked.
“I did hear some information from Laura.” I answered.
“Laura? Ah, yes your system support, right?”
“Yes.”
“Well as you know there are two kinds of dungeon masters. Remote and live-in ones. The guild master Alexander used to be a live-in dungeon master at a dungeon near the capital.” Christina told me.
“Why would that make you freak out when you hear the word dungeon?” I asked.
“I was just getting to it.” Christina began. “The dungeon he worked at had a shift of 2 dungeon masters. Each would spend a month living in the dungeon and then switch. But the dungeon preferred Alexander over the other master and didn’t want him to leave. The dungeon would purposefully get multiple powerful monsters to be in the way of the other dungeon master’s escort party, causing them to retreat on a few of the first tries. Eventually the dungeon even managed to kill the other dungeon master. This left Alexander trapped in the dungeon for a long time, until a new master could be named. And even then, they still had to collect high ranking adventurers to clear a path to the dungeon master’s room.”
“How long was he in the dungeon?” I asked. If he really was there for a long time, I could see that causing some bad memories.
“In total over 16 years.” Christina said. 16 years? Holy shit. “And during those sixteen years a lot happened. His wife was plunged into poverty and was forced to sell her body for survival. His son was murdered by the dept collectors that she had borrowed money from. And he couldn’t help them at all. He blamed the kingdom for everything and he was nearly executed for treason. But the queen forgave him and he ‘retired’ here. Him being a long time dungeon master is also the reason he looks a lot younger than he is. In actuality he is almost sixty, but he looks like he is in his forties.”
Holy, that’s a lot to take in. Being basically a prisoner for 16 years. And coming back to a dead son and an abused wife. And then the king, or some other higher up, wants to kill him, because he criticizes you for not protecting his family. This kingdom has some fucked up nobles.
“Well I guess I should say sorry for him, the next time we meet.” I said out loud.
“Did you insult him?”
“Well I might have said something about him losing his job. And called him something like ‘whining old man’. Not my best insult ever, but I’m sure he didn’t like it, given the circumstances.” I told Christina.
“Yes, I would recommend you say sorry to him.” She said to me. “The main reason he came to live here was to stay away from any dungeons. And during his time here, he really has helped in improving this town for the junior adventurers. Things like classes and combat practice were introduced. It’s said around the kingdom that if a person is young and wants to become an adventurer, they should come here.”
“Well that most certainly is a lot. But that still leaves him out of the running for the dungeon master position.” I reminded her of where this rabbit hole started.
“And you still want me to do it, instead of my husband.”
“Yes.” I told her. “And aren’t you the real head of this family? As in the one born to the previous lord?” I just have a feeling she is. Because of the way Brandon reacted to her coming outside and scolding him.
“No, I’m not. Brandon is the son of the previous lord.” She answered. But my theory. Come up with a backup plan. NOW!
“But I am the daughter of an earl that happens to be his superior.” She told me. Well, just go on and drop a bomb on me why won’t you. Why would an earl’s daughter marry a baron?
“But, why would you..?”
“Marry so far below my family.” She interrupted me. “My father was not blessed with a son for a long time. I have six sisters. He finally managed to get a son as his eighth child. He had to find some place to marry all of us. And the previous lord Watchman was able to breed up the boars roaming the plains, creating a great source of meat for the kingdom.”
“And that’s how you two ended up together.”
“Well that, and also the prophecy of the return of the behemoth.” She said. “The Watchman family prioritizes getting blond haired magicians to the family.”
“And you could use the earth magic?”
“Exactly.” She said. “And with dear using wind magic, we believed we would have children with great magical abilities.”
“So it is as I suspected.” I said.
“What do you mean?” She asked.
“You two have opposing attributes.” I told her.
“And why does that matter?”
“It makes it more likely to have a child with lower attributes, or even no sufficient attribute. Like Alice.” I informed her.
“Is that true?” She immediately asked. “What’s the source of your information?”
“The system support.” I told her. “I don’t think Laura would ever lie to me. I don’t even know if she can lie.”
(I am incapable of lying to my Master.)
“I see, but Alice's brother can use wind magic.” Christina said. She has a brother? Where is he? I’ve never seen him.
“It’s not like it’s impossible to have children who can’t do it just because the parents have opposite attributes.” I told her. “If it was that simple, someone would have figured it out already. Laura just told me that the chance of having a child with no attribute is increased, if the parents have opposite attributes.”
“This is still massive news.” Christina said. “By that logic, would it mean that two people with the same or well combining attributes would be more likely to have a child with strong magic attributes?”
(Laura, what do you think?) I asked Laura before throwing out my own theory.
(I do not have full information on attribute passing, but two people with the same one will have an increased chance of a child with strong affinity to that attribute. I don’t have access to information on combining attributes. Sorry.) Laura told me. Well she is still on standard level so I guess she can’t do everything.
“According to Laura, parents with the same attribute should have an increased chance at a child with high affinity for that attribute.” I told Christina what I heard from Laura.
“I see.” Christina said. “If the system support says so, it must be true. We’ll have to include that in the report.”
“What report?”
“The dungeon founding report.”
“Oh, yeah. You probably would need to make a report on something like that.”
“Yes. And we would appreciate it if you would go with the one to make the report.” She told me.
“And that would result in me heading to the capital. Would I have to report to the king himself?” I asked.
“It’s not required by law, but if you want the honorary noble title that all dungeon founders are obligated, you would have to meet with the king.” Christina told me.
“Mother, Brian. Are you two ready to see my magic?” Alice came in and asked.
“I think you might be the best choice.” I said to Christina.
“Would you tell me why I am over my husband or like the adventurer’s guild master?” She asked.
“Well your husband has not exactly impressed me with his attitude towards Alice. And didn’t you hear about the guild master's reaction when I told him about the dungeon.”
“I didn’t hear about it. What happened?” Christina asked.
“He got mad and threw me out of his office.” I said to her. “He was also threatening me with things like ‘You’ll never be an adventurer’. Then I asked Zayaan of Prime Rib for help and he brought me here to meet Brandon.”
“Well I guess given the guild master’s past it is possible.” Christina said.
“His past?” I questioned. “Could you tell me about it?”
“I guess I can. How much do you know about dungeons? Dungeon masters specifically.” She asked.
“I did hear some information from Laura.” I answered.
“Laura? Ah, yes your system support, right?”
“Yes.”
“Well as you know there are two kinds of dungeon masters. Remote and live-in ones. The guild master Alexander used to be a live-in dungeon master at a dungeon near the capital.” Christina told me.
“Why would that make you freak out when you hear the word dungeon?” I asked.
“I was just getting to it.” Christina began. “The dungeon he worked at had a shift of 2 dungeon masters. Each would spend a month living in the dungeon and then switch. But the dungeon preferred Alexander over the other master and didn’t want him to leave. The dungeon would purposefully get multiple powerful monsters to be in the way of the other dungeon master’s escort party, causing them to retreat on a few of the first tries. Eventually the dungeon even managed to kill the other dungeon master. This left Alexander trapped in the dungeon for a long time, until a new master could be named. And even then, they still had to collect high ranking adventurers to clear a path to the dungeon master’s room.”
“How long was he in the dungeon?” I asked. If he really was there for a long time, I could see that causing some bad memories.
“In total over 16 years.” Christina said. 16 years? Holy shit. “And during those sixteen years a lot happened. His wife was plunged into poverty and was forced to sell her body for survival. His son was murdered by the dept collectors that she had borrowed money from. And he couldn’t help them at all. He blamed the kingdom for everything and he was nearly executed for treason. But the queen forgave him and he ‘retired’ here. Him being a long time dungeon master is also the reason he looks a lot younger than he is. In actuality he is almost sixty, but he looks like he is in his forties.”
Holy, that’s a lot to take in. Being basically a prisoner for 16 years. And coming back to a dead son and an abused wife. And then the king, or some other higher up, wants to kill him, because he criticizes you for not protecting his family. This kingdom has some fucked up nobles.
“Well I guess I should say sorry for him, the next time we meet.” I said out loud.
“Did you insult him?”
“Well I might have said something about him losing his job. And called him something like ‘whining old man’. Not my best insult ever, but I’m sure he didn’t like it, given the circumstances.” I told Christina.
“Yes, I would recommend you say sorry to him.” She said to me. “The main reason he came to live here was to stay away from any dungeons. And during his time here, he really has helped in improving this town for the junior adventurers. Things like classes and combat practice were introduced. It’s said around the kingdom that if a person is young and wants to become an adventurer, they should come here.”
“Well that most certainly is a lot. But that still leaves him out of the running for the dungeon master position.” I reminded her of where this rabbit hole started.
“And you still want me to do it, instead of my husband.”
“Yes.” I told her. “And aren’t you the real head of this family? As in the one born to the previous lord?” I just have a feeling she is. Because of the way Brandon reacted to her coming outside and scolding him.
“No, I’m not. Brandon is the son of the previous lord.” She answered. But my theory. Come up with a backup plan. NOW!
“But I am the daughter of an earl that happens to be his superior.” She told me. Well, just go on and drop a bomb on me why won’t you. Why would an earl’s daughter marry a baron?
“But, why would you..?”
“Marry so far below my family.” She interrupted me. “My father was not blessed with a son for a long time. I have six sisters. He finally managed to get a son as his eighth child. He had to find some place to marry all of us. And the previous lord Watchman was able to breed up the boars roaming the plains, creating a great source of meat for the kingdom.”
“And that’s how you two ended up together.”
“Well that, and also the prophecy of the return of the behemoth.” She said. “The Watchman family prioritizes getting blond haired magicians to the family.”
“And you could use the earth magic?”
“Exactly.” She said. “And with dear using wind magic, we believed we would have children with great magical abilities.”
“So it is as I suspected.” I said.
“What do you mean?” She asked.
“You two have opposing attributes.” I told her.
“And why does that matter?”
“It makes it more likely to have a child with lower attributes, or even no sufficient attribute. Like Alice.” I informed her.
“Is that true?” She immediately asked. “What’s the source of your information?”
“The system support.” I told her. “I don’t think Laura would ever lie to me. I don’t even know if she can lie.”
(I am incapable of lying to my Master.)
“I see, but Alice's brother can use wind magic.” Christina said. She has a brother? Where is he? I’ve never seen him.
“It’s not like it’s impossible to have children who can’t do it just because the parents have opposite attributes.” I told her. “If it was that simple, someone would have figured it out already. Laura just told me that the chance of having a child with no attribute is increased, if the parents have opposite attributes.”
“This is still massive news.” Christina said. “By that logic, would it mean that two people with the same or well combining attributes would be more likely to have a child with strong magic attributes?”
(Laura, what do you think?) I asked Laura before throwing out my own theory.
(I do not have full information on attribute passing, but two people with the same one will have an increased chance of a child with strong affinity to that attribute. I don’t have access to information on combining attributes. Sorry.) Laura told me. Well she is still on standard level so I guess she can’t do everything.
“According to Laura, parents with the same attribute should have an increased chance at a child with high affinity for that attribute.” I told Christina what I heard from Laura.
“I see.” Christina said. “If the system support says so, it must be true. We’ll have to include that in the report.”
“What report?”
“The dungeon founding report.”
“Oh, yeah. You probably would need to make a report on something like that.”
“Yes. And we would appreciate it if you would go with the one to make the report.” She told me.
“And that would result in me heading to the capital. Would I have to report to the king himself?” I asked.
“It’s not required by law, but if you want the honorary noble title that all dungeon founders are obligated, you would have to meet with the king.” Christina told me.
“Mother, Brian. Are you two ready to see my magic?” Alice came in and asked.
