Chapter 205 - Monke And The President
Inside the Monster Town, the president of the USA stared in shock at the bustling community of fantastical creatures known as monsters.
Huge orcs towered over the humans as they passed by, lugging around huge crates of products. Arachnes glanced at the humans, before going about with their lives. There were also some humans and demi-humans, namely beastmen, running some errands here and there.
"Chieftain?" A gruff voice called out to me, prompting our group to turn around. When we did so, we saw a mass of red muscles, shocking the humans into silence. "New faces?"
"Zurug? Are you on patrol?" I watched Zurug nod as he brandished his huge labrys with a single arm.
"Yes, Chieftain." Zurug placed the labrys on his shoulder, striking an intimidating pose for the humans. Gulping in slight anxiety, the president and his group took a step back slightly. "Xex told Zurug to find Chieftain. Said Xek had something to show."
I raised my eyebrows at his words and grinned slightly.
"Sure, I'll head over there now." Bidding goodbye to the ogre, Zurug nodded, then left, his labrys still resting on his shoulders. "If you're curious, the ogre's name's Zurug. Don't let his speech impediment get to you. Most of the monsters living here have some kind of verbal impediments."
The group nodded, and we went on our way. Walking through the crowded streets of the Monster Town, we were greeted by various monsters, humans, and demi-humans, all of them looking warily at the group of neatly dressed humans following behind me.
It didn't take long for us to arrive at the Colored Ogres Tribe house. In front of the house, Xek was sitting on the ground in a meditative state, the grass shifting beneath his feet as the wind slightly picked up around him.
"You've arrived, Chieftain." Opening one of his eyes, Xek grinned as he stood up. Grabbing his staff that was lying on the ground, he smacked the bottom of the pole on the ground, a gale of wind exploding out of him. "And I see you've brought guests."
"Yes, I did." Xek looked at the humans with a stare, scrutinizing anything from the mannerisms of each human in the group present. He zeroed in on a female reporter, however, who was busy talking to the camera right behind her. "Are they recording this with their… What did you say this was again, technology?"
"Indeed." The president quickly directed his eyes at me. With confusion present in his gestures, I smirked at him, his reaction showing me that he was fooled for a second, thinking that I was some kind of uninformed monster about their technology.
"I see." Xek rubbed his chin as he fiddled with his staff. "Anyway, I wanted to show you something."
Raising my eyebrow, I looked at Xek as he procured something from his pocket. It looked like a mix of metal and an egg. In fact, I was tempted to call this an "iron egg" due to how it looks.
"Crystallized Black Magic." Xek grinned as he showed the iron egg-lookalike to us. The president looking on in curiosity, the same as his bodyguards and reporters.
Me? I was drooling figuratively. Catalina also looked impressed, while Drake was nodding with his lower lip protruding forward.
Approaching Xek, I took the crystallized magic from his hands and rubbed it gently, its black sheen shining in my eyes.
"This is wonderful." Grinning like a lunatic, I placed it in my inventory and thanked Xek. "I'll have you rewarded when I finish touring around my guests."
"Thank you for your kindness, Chieftain." Xek bowed and entered the house. Turning back, I saw Catalina looking at me with impressed eyes, and Drake was giving me a thumbs-up. The president and his group were confused throughout the whole ordeal, but were nonetheless curious about the exchange.
"Now, where was I? Ah, right. Welcome to my Dungeon, where monsters, humans, and demi-humans live in harmony with each other. My name is Jionni, the owner of this Dungeon." I gestured to Catalina, who waved at the humans with a cheerful grin, although her eyes still held wariness. "This is Catalina, another leader of her own Dungeon. Now, you might be thinking, 'What is a Dungeon?'"
The president nodded silently, opting to listen instead of letting his voice be heard.
"Well, to put it simply, a Dungeon is a place inside a different dimension. It is infinite in its capability to expand, and also incredibly flexible." Their eyes widened as I navigated to the Dungeon Menu, taking in the futuristic, holographic screen that appeared in mid-air. "As the leader, or by my title, the Dungeon Master, I can create any kind of Dungeon I want, so long as I have the funds."
"What kind of funds?" The president looked at me with concealed greed in his eyes, but his face showed no signs of said intent.
"Dungeon Points, or DP for short. And no, I'm not talking about that action. Get your minds out of the gutter." I snarked in a joke, gaining no reaction from the group of humans in front of me. However, I was sure that I had garnered a reaction from those viewing through the live video feed. "DP can be used to purchase anything the Dungeon Master thinks of. Weapons? Check. Armor? Check. Magic? Also check. Anything is at the tip of your fingers, but all of it comes at a price."
"How do you gain DP, Jionni?" The president asked another essential question I wanted him to ask.
'This risky venture is bearing fruit. Now, if I could just get him to agree with my terms.' Grinning, I continued with the explanation. "There are two ways I can get DP. The first one is to have other people not native to the Dungeon live here. Total DP calculated is dependent on their race, but in special cases, their strength. Now, I'm not trying to be racist here; it's just how it is. Some people are born luckier, I guess."
Shrugging, I stared directly into the camera.
'I've probably pissed off a lot of people, mostly on Chirper, but who cares? There are a lot of woke people there; might as well trigger them.' Cackling mentally, I looked back at the president, who was clearly in favor of fostering a relationship with me now that he knew the pros.
In fact, the pros far surpass the cons. Anything you've ever wanted? Right at the front of your fingertips? All you need is just the right amount of currency, and all you need to get it is to have people live inside.
"Then there is the second way. It's simple. Kill those non-native to the Dungeon." Once I said that, the group of humans froze. "Which is a very inefficient way, may I add. Although some Dungeon Masters might prefer that way over the other."
And with that, my glare increased in intensity.
"This is the warning I'm giving you. Dungeons will appear all over the world. Some are hostile, some are friendly. I'm not even the strongest of them, and your bullets can't penetrate my skin." I looked directly into the camera. "I suggest you all prepare. Declare martial law or a state of emergency, I don't care. Make sure that if ever a Dungeon pops up, if they're friendly, befriend them. If not, scout them before attacking. They might be part of a group, and you don't want to anger a group of Dungeon Masters."
The group of humans went silent as they stared at me with either anxiety or fear.
"Anyway, I think it's time you leave. You can still use the school, but if you want to enter my Dungeon, contact me with this first." I handed them a tablet that I bought from the market, and then a Teleport Stone that could send them to the entrance. "Use this. This will take you back to the entrance."
"Wait, can I ask you a few questions?" The president finally spoke up as he approached me with a stern gaze. I raised my eyebrow, and nodded. "What do you mean by Dungeon Masters stronger than you?"
"I'm talking about me being an ant and them being elephants." I gestured to Drake. "Take this guy for example. Drake, would you show them?"
"Really? Now?" I nodded, and he sighed. "Fine. All of you, follow me."
We followed Drake outside the town. Rolling their shoulders, the cameramen all recorded his actions in extreme detail, not letting even a frame escape their sights.
Sighing out, Drake materialized his gauntlets, the surprise already taken out of the humans after their brief tour. Taking a stance, he clenched his fist and let out a light punch.
A giant chunk of the forest was torn out of the area as a buffeting gale of wind unbalanced all of the humans. I was still standing straight, while Catalina hid behind me, using my body as a shield.
"That was just a light punch." Drake suddenly said, causing everyone of them to go pale.
"Now you understand? If so, please, prepare yourselves." Snapping my finger, the stone in their hands began to glow, before their group vanished into a beam of light. "Gotta love the teleport stone commands."
"You sure that was a good idea?" Drake looked at me with skeptical eyes. My response was to shrug back.
"Hey, I didn't have any other ideas. At least with this, they can prepare, and they owe me."
"True." Drake shrugged, and Catalina hung on my back like a cat.
"You're from this world, right? Him too?" Catalina's eyes were sparkling. I chuckled, and Drake did as well.
"Yes, we are. Come on, I'll tell you more about my world as we eat.. I'm hungry again."