Just as I promised Dungeon Master 03, one thing I did almost immediately after making my visit to Dungeon Master 06 was to gather all Dungeon Masters for a discussion.

  Speaking of Dungeon Master 06, with his enthusiastic behavior displayed, it was very obvious that he was doing very well, with the subcategory he took over, “Forest Creatures”.

  On top of having acquired many spawns of the forest creatures category, he'd already obtained a Guardian—a creature called Verdant Grove. While it lacked physical combat capability, it could be considered a vegan version of the Necrotic Overlord, my Dungeon guardian. In other words, a spawn that was natively bearing a title.

  In the wake of a loud, curse-heavy exchange, followed by a tense and awkward, also curse-heavy negotiation that ended up in a consensus, Dungeon Master 03's request was granted. But under the lone condition that the others would also be given the same privilege which is to deal with a "batch" of invaders and harvest G.P for themselves under the same benefits of the "sacred ratio."

  As per the consensus, each Dungeon Master would have the opportunity for a shot, and together we would all see how each Dungeon Master and their domain would fare. After all, one was never too sure about the level of the next invader, so in case it was something that the said-Dungeon Master's domain couldn't handle, the control would be returned to the strongest one—namely, the Undead Domain—so that “it” could deal with the said-invasion. With that established, all that was left for us to do was wait for the next batch of invaders, which we knew would be arriving soon.

  Ironically, the one to establish his domain first wasn't Dungeon Master 03, even though he was the one who had made the suggestion. Instead, it was Dungeon Master 06 who got the first shot. Dungeon Master 03 wasn't quite ready yet, as he had not acquired a Domain Guardian, while Dungeon Master 06 was already prepared with his spawns and Domain Guardian, ready to "tear things up."So we waited, and by "we," I meant Dungeon Master 06 and myself, as the others were all focused on their respective domains, eagerly awaiting the chance to handle the next batch of invaders. The anticipation was palpable as we waited, and eventually, something happened. Yes, something—not an invasion, but something. I wouldn't call it an invasion, for the simple reason that calling it that will be a stretch because for one, we didn't even receive the usual notification. Instead, what appeared on our interfaces was just a dot, one that, had it not been for Dungeon Master 06 and I being so bored waiting for invaders that we began skimming through our joint interface, we might have completely missed it for only god knows how long.

  The dot was unlike anything I had seen before. Normally, there were two dots that appeared on the map: blue representing my spawns and red representing invaders. Just these two, and nothing else. But at that moment, a white dot was there in the middle of Dungeon Master 06 Domain. It wasn't like the usual dot. If it was any other color other than white, it was a subtle shade of grey, and it was moving within my domain, or more precisely, within Dungeon Master 06's domain.

  Confusion ensued as Dungeon Master 06 and I tried to figure out what this apparent, non-invader visitor was. It took us clicking on that singular white dot to unveil the mystery.

  "Whut?!"

  _____________________________

  Naked mole-rat

  『Expand』

  _____________________________

  "Naked mole-rat, huh? Funny name. And an even funnier appearance, that’s for sure.

  As Dungeon Master 06 and I clicked on the white dot, the interface revealed a strange creature. Without it, I wouldn’t have been able to tell whether it was a monster from this world or just a regular animal. Something about it felt too ordinary but paradoxically also felt too alien.

  One can imagine how fast I sent an invitation to the other Dungeon Masters to check out our bizarre discovery. Their reactions? Pretty much the same as ours. I’d never had animals in my domain before, so it was a shock when, out of nowhere, one just… appeared."

  The way the interface displayed the "Naked mole-rat" itself was very different from how it does with my spawns and the invaders. There was this simple option of "harvest," which, in spite of how low-value it was, we were tempted to try to click, for science's sake. After all, there was no doubt that that creature was still alive, and there was already the option to harvest.

  Naturally, with all the questions we still had pending, we didn't click on that thing. Instead, we chose to click on "ignore." While none of us were sure what it actually did, we unequivocally had the feeling that this was an option of the same kind as that of the "aggroing" that could be put on invaders. But this time, perhaps, it would allow the animal to be ignored, or that's what we assumed. And fairly enough, we were right—well, perhaps not "right" as in absolutely correct, but there was nothing that came around to disprove what we believed could be the truth.

  ***

  The Dungeon Masters and I watched with interest as the white dot representing our "Naked mole-rat" casually roamed Dungeon Master 06's domain, passing by his spawns without being torn apart like any invader would be in my domain. It seemed almost comical. As interesting as it was to see our guest hop or crawl around, soon came the time when we, as Dungeon Masters collectively, began to ask ourselves questions—how and why? Those were reasonable questions to ask oneself. We had never seen such a creature enter our domains before; we've only ever had invaders, humans, so why now?

  Two main theories circulated among us. The first was that it was a new addition, much like the "Mechanical Construct" section of the interface, which had continuously expanded over time with various options from different sections and a few original mechanical designs. We accepted the fact that the system—the entire interface—was updating, even though the "how exactly" part of it was still a mystery to us. We felt that this could be the answer as to why there was a "Naked mole-rat" in Dungeon Master 06's domain.

  The second theory revolved around Dungeon Master 06 himself, or more precisely, his domain. Even though we didn't have much ground to stand on for this theory, his domain was centered around forest creatures, boasting spawns and a proper guardian of that category. As a Guardian-owning Dungeon Master, I knew that the Guardian provided a boost in both offense and defense to my spawns, but that was just what it looked like in the interface.

  In the real, tangible world, the boon granted by a Guardian’s existence took shape as a biome specifically tailored to it—to the Guardian itself. Any spawn belonging to the same category as the Guardian would benefit from the biome’s enhancements.

  In Dungeon Master 06’s case, his domain revolved around forest creatures, so we speculated—no, we were certain—that his domain boasted a lush environment, a biome suited for spawning or, at the very least, attracting creatures like the Naked Mole-rat. This theory, combined with our initial one, made perfect sense to us.

  However, just as we were considering other possibilities—before we could settle on another equally satisfying theory—one of us spotted something on the interface.

  "A second Naked Mole-rat!?"

  ***

  Not long after the second Naked mole rat dropped off, a third one promptly followed, and another appeared the moment we looked away. At exactly five Naked mole rats, we collectively agreed to do some experimention.

  The first thing we did was flag half of them with the "ignore" option, leaving the other half as they were. With that done, we observed the difference regarding how they were perceived by the spawns and the domain itself. The result: nothing much changed. Both the marked ones and those that weren't were ignored. Having established this, I proceeded to the main part of the experiment, manifesting my domain, the undead domain, as the main domain, taking over the place that was occupied by Dungeon Master 06's domain. The Naked mole rats were transported to my domain, and the moment they arrived, I was confronted with an outcome completely different from the one in Dungeon Master 06's domain.

  The moment they were transported to my domain, half of the Naked mole rats—the ones I hadn't flagged to be ignored—were instantly attacked by the spawns in the vicinity without me doing anything. They weren't even flagged as invaders, yet the spawns instantly aggroed them. Needless to say, they simply stood no chance. From that alone, we were able to figure out the difference in behavior between Undead and Forest Creatures. The mole rats I had flagged as "ignored" were, on the other hand, just like in Dungeon Master 06's domain, ignored by my spawns. However, while they were ignored, we all soon noticed something—they died too. The Naked mole rats flagged as "ignored" all died.

  This discovery left me with mixed feelings. On one hand, it added a layer of understanding to the dynamics of our domains, but on the other, it highlighted the limitations and peculiarities of each of our respective domains.

  The longer I lingered on what I just witnessed, the more I felt a tinge of regret for causing the demise of the Naked Mole rats. We should've tried what we did with the other dungeon Masters first, instead of starting with mine. My domain was dominated by undead beings, so, while I had no means of knowing, I should have foreseen it.

  "Shame," I muttered to myself.

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  "Truly a shame," echoed the sentiments of the other dungeon Masters.

  "I want to try sending these creatures into each of your domains to figure out something. Do you guys think another batch of them will pop up if I give control to Dungeon Master 06?" I asked.

  "That's possible," came one response.

  "We don't know for sure," chimed another.

  "We don't know for sure, but you're giving me control regardless. I've yet to get the batch of invaders promised to me," a voice chimed in, obviously that of Dungeon Master 06, who was set on harvesting those G.P himself.

  "You've changed, Dungeon Master 06. You've let greed change you," remarked one of us.

  "Aye," Dungeon Master 06 unapologetically admitted, for he was right, he was the one whose control of the domain should be returned to. So we did, not knowing that it would change almost everything.

  Not long after we, for science’s sake, sacrificed those five poor Naked Mole rats, and I handed domain control to Dungeon Master 06, more Naked Mole rats began appearing, and not just them; worms, insects, small birds, mammals such as deer and rabbits, and numerous rodents like rats and mice soon followed. In other words, creatures of low G.P value, and were possibly for the same reason, not considered invaders by the interface.

  However, the influx of creatures didn't stop there. As we, who had only dealt with humans as invaders until now, finally encountered "them": monsters, specifically animalistic monsters as invaders. A heated debate erupted among us about what should be considered invaders and what should be not. According to our agreed-upon consensus, Dungeon Master 06 was to handle his batch of "invaders" , harvest their G.P and then pass control to another Dungeon Master for him to do the same. But since these invaders were animalistic monsters, not particularly powerful and of high G.P value, Dungeon Master 06 refused to consider them a proper batch.

  After an insulting and tumultuous negotiation, the Dungeon Masters and I reached another consensus. We agreed that a batch of invaders should have a total G.P value higher than 254.76 G.P to be considered valid. Under this joint agreement, we waited for Dungeon Master 06 to have monsters in his domain with a G.P value exceeding that threshold for him to begin harvesting.

  It didn't take long for us to witness this happening. While it wasn't, as I said, a “long time,” it was just an extended enough period, for Dungeon Master 06 and me, who were observing his domain, to understand something about the popping monsters, and mostly "us."

  From the way monsters, especially the new ones, were popping up in Dungeon Master 06's domain—both from the entrance and the depths of the domain—and the way some of the dungeon's low-G.P value creatures accordingly decreased, we deduced that the monsters were attracted to the low-G.P value creatures that had initially popped up in Dungeon Master 06's domain. In some way, these creatures acted as bait, luring monsters into our domain. Not only did the bait work, but it also allowed the monsters to thrive.

  At first, Dungeon Master 06 and I were perplexed about why monsters, particularly those deep within the domain, were multiplying. There were some that came from the outside world, attracted by the critters wandering into Dungeon Master 06’s domain, but there were also others that clearly spawned from within the domain. It was only as we realized that this phenomenon was not exclusive to monsters that we understood what was happening: new creatures were being born inside Dungeon Master 06's domain.

  The logical conclusion we reached, which was likely accurate, led to understandable conjecture about something that, in retrospect, I probably should have figured out much earlier. We mulled over it, but since there was nothing we could do about it and the fact that it didn't alter our immediate goals, we decided to set aside further contemplation and focus on what we collectively and individually needed to pursue.

  However, this conclusion also sparked a discussion that, under different circumstances, I might never have considered or allowed as a Dungeon Master.

  While it was natural and logical to consider my domain, the Undead Domain, as the "main" domain due to hosting the strongest spawns and the most powerful Guardian, the revelation led us to understand that, if our goal was still to harvest as much G.P as possible, Dungeon Master 06's domain should be the one we heavily rely on. Given its characteristics, his domain acted as excellent bait for various animals, which, in turn, attracted monsters. Dungeon Master 06, with his domain's spawns, could handle these monsters efficiently, and if necessary, I or any other Dungeon Master could assist.

  So, despite meaning that I had to relinquish the title of the main domain, this strategy made the most logical sense. To align ourselves with this new approach, which suggested giving up our desire to individually harvest the G.P that would be reinvested into our respective domains, we—myself, the others and Dungeon Master 06 included—adjusted our Dungeon Mastering strategies accordingly.

  Dungeon Master 06, as the first to adjust to our new strategy, shifted his focus from building a strong army of spawns and a powerful domain to making his domain as welcoming as possible. He invested in a dungeon version of cattle raising, with the goal of increasing the dungeon size to accommodate the said cattle. This adjustment didn't mean he would give up on acquiring spawns and a strong guardian, but that strengthening them wasn't his primary focus anymore. Instead, he left that task of dealing with invaders to the other Dungeon Masters.

  The rest of us—Dungeon Master 01, Dungeon Master 02, Dungeon Master 03, Dungeon Master 04, and Dungeon Master 05—took it a step further by completely giving up on acquiring spawns and dedicating all available G.P to nurturing a powerful guardian. In my case, I already had many spawns, so I had to adapt to some extent. I didn't want to give up all of them, as it felt like wasting the enhancement provided by the Dungeon Guardian onto the spawns.

  However, I had to give up some of my spawns, and the worst part was that I didn't get the opportunity to reinvest the G.P value of these spawns onto my dungeon Guardian, for the other Dungeon Masters ever-the-greedy bastards came to me, wanting their share of it. While I was reluctant to give it up, facing several versions of myself in this battle that couldn't be won with logic, I had no other choice but to share with them using the sacred ratio.

  To be honest, I was and still seething at this whole new layering of our roles. Losing my title as the main domain was one thing, but what bothered me more was how much in the background my domain was put. Its nature, which brought death upon anything living, made it challenging to rely on my domain during invasions beyond Dungeon Master 06's ability to handle. Bringing anything living from Dungeon Master 06's domain to mine meant leading them, our supposed "cattle," to an unwanted death like it’s been the case with the un-aggroed mole-rats, and we certainly didn't want that. In fact, we wanted them to thrive. So before ever relying on my domain, we would first rely on the other Dungeon Masters, who had a much more living-friendly domain.

  So yes, my domain was still the strongest, but it meant being heavily sidelined. I understood the logic behind this decision, but that understanding was the most tragic part of it all—I saw the logic of it, I could not contest it.

  To waste time, I spent my days much like the other Dungeon Masters—watching Dungeon Master 06's massive farm-domain grow. He had invested heavily in the domain aspect of his domain, resulting in a gigantic shape resembling the one I spawned with, circular like a pouch filled with countless little white dots and scattered blue dots. Due to the bait-relying nature of Dungeon Master 06's strategy, his domain was never left idle and was constantly invaded, mostly by monsters. While human invasions still occurred and cycles passed rewarding us with free G.P, soon came the time where they were minimal compared to what Dungeon Master 06 acquired through harvesting various monsters.

  In terms of levels and individual rewards, if one were to compare them to the averagely harvested monsters, Verdenkinds and Highbreeds yielded substantial G.P, especially considering the level of those typically invading. However, when looking at the constant invasions, particularly by monsters, provided a steady stream of G.P. The amount of G.P gained from these monster invasions ratioed to that of the one gain from the average human invasion were of a staggering 47:1 and still going up with the creatures breeding and spawning all over the domain. The results were impressive, and it forced me to acknowledge the practicality of the new approach and accept it.

  Yes, that ratio was indeed ridiculous, leaving me wondering why I hadn't come up with this earlier. I couldn't help but think about the missed opportunity for harvesting G.P. Instead, I had chosen the undead path, ending up with the suboptimal strategy of patiently waiting for humans to appear in my domain somehow. "Ah, tragic," I sighed, "truly tragic."

  With Dungeon Master 06's efficient strategy, human invasions beca—no, not became. They just felt like a rare and occasional interference, if not an entertaining spectacle. The humans would pop up and wander through the gigantic maze that was Dungeon Master 06's domain, appearing lost and confused. I couldn't even blame them; the size of his domain was truly colossal.

  Anyway, to pass the time when there's no human invasion or anything peculiarly interesting happening in Dungeon Master 06's domain, I would usually engage in discussions with the other Dungeon Masters. There's some form of madness to this, but talking to myself in this situation became a unique yet very effective way to pass my convoluted time. As for the topics of our discussions, they rarely make sense. Our conversations usually involve thoughts that shouldn't be voiced but are confidently expressed somehow.

  The conversation continued, with each Dungeon Master offering their own insights into the hypothetical battle.

  "Guys," Dungeon Master 04 suddenly began.

  "Hm?"

  "What?"

  "Which one do you think will win in a fight, a level 17 P-Ritter 04 or a level 7—no, 8 Nihility Wraith?"

  A moment of silence hung in the virtual air as each of us processed the question.

  "Dungeon Master 04, are you serious?" I asked, unable to suppress a chuckle.

  "Absolutely," he responded with a grin in his voice. "I mean, the P-Ritter 04 has that impressive defense and powerful attack coupled with several innate knight abilities, but the Nihility Wraith has its ethereal abilities. It's…an intriguing match-up."

  A lot had happened since my combat against the lone invader Tusko Vagar. One of these many things was that the Monsters Mechanical Constructs of Spawns Catalog section of the interface kept expanding, now including several sub-sub-categories clearly replicating the available Stamina-focused class of the verdenkind race, and several unique creations that mimicked robots.

  "And let's not forget the unpredictability of that skill—Ethereal Slip.” Dungeon Master 01 added, “The P-Ritter might have a tough time landing solid blows."

  Times like this, discussions like this made us wish that the system gave something to benchmark the strength of our spawns. Of course, there were stats like offense and defense that filled that benchmark aspect, but once you factored in abilities like "Ethereal Slip," which allowed the spawn to become intangible for a set amount of time and still be able to attack, it became complicated to rely solely on them.

  "Dungeon Master 05, who had been silent thus far, finally spoke up, 'Honestly, I'll take a Nihility Wraith any time of the day.'

  "Why's that?"

  "I'm not wasting 868 G.P on a level 17 P-Ritter 04"

  "Neither will I, by the way. Goddess forbid I acquire anything from that catalogue."

  "I wasn't trying to figure out which one is more rentable. I just wanted to know which one is stronger.”

  And one thing, however, that never changed was how ridiculously priced anything from the Mechanical Construct category is.

  "If it's that, then it's all about strategy. If the P-Ritter can close the distance and capitalize on its strength, it has a good chance. But if the Nihility Wraith can keep its distance and exploit its ethereal nature, it might turn the tables."

  "In the end of the day, it's a clash of strengths and weaknesses and most importantly brain. Each has its own advantages, and it depends on how the spawn will act. Unless this comparison was made with a Nihility Wraith and P-Ritter 04 as Guardian in mind?"

  In that moment, silence set in, followed by a guffaw from all of us.

  "Hahahaha."

  "What kind of idiot would take a P-Ritter 04 as a guardian!?"

  "I really don't know. But certainly not me."

  I was there talking and laughing nonsense with the Dungeon Masters when I felt it, “Something is happening.” I wasn't sure of what I was feeling, as it was something I've never felt before—a strange sensation that made me want to escape the form I was currently in. It took me a lot of puzzlement to eventually figure out what was happening here: A presence, an authority, was approaching, and the unusual feeling I was subject of was a signal from the “Authority gathering” authority picking up on it.

  “Guys, hold on a moment,” I interrupted the ongoing discussion, my tone shifting from lighthearted to serious. 'I sense an authority nearby. It's closing in on us.'

  The Dungeon Masters fell silent, their virtual selves turning towards me in a collective focus.

  There wasn't much we could do, except wait, and eventually, it finally came as an interface notification.