djarcher

The people of the alpha plane have made it their hobby to enter the dungeons of other worlds and conquer them. Naturally not everyone is happy with this as dark undercurrents begin to work against the conquerors.

As some people die in the dungeons they are made an offer. To give up their humanity in order to live on. 
Guy, a veteran carrier, is one of them, he can't bear to leave his family alone and accepts. From then on he must fight in the dungeons but as a monster while simultaneously continuing his life in the alpha plane in the shape of a human.
Jade, an elite adventurer, also accepts the offer but her intent is solely to get revenge on those who killed her and make humanity suffer for her life.
Monica, a little girl not native to the alpha plane is pulled into the happenings due to her childish innocence.

Counter Dungeon-Delving

After saying that Edward's eyes lose focus for a minute as memories of his former life seem to grip him. He suddenly shakes his head and looks at the gun in his hand with evident disdain.


"Don't ever become a gunner, Guy. You'll lose too much mobility and as soon as an enemy's defense outclasses your attack it's over. Not to mention the constraints brought by needing ammo for everything you do."


He sounds like he's saying this more to himself than me. Still, I am curious and while I can see a part of his skills I would have to look a lot deeper to find out what build he pursues. 


"If your not a gunner anymore then what are you if you don't mind me asking?"


"I don't mind. After dying, I held a grudge against the person who caused my death so I decided to become an assassin. I used a sniper rifle to take out the bastard's guards one by one and then when he thought he had hidden somewhere safe, I stabbed him in the back with a dagger repeatedly."


"Naturally, letting such a high skill go to waste would be a mistake. But they have become nothing but a facet of my arsenal of weapons now. I am not dependant on them anymore."


"You were the one who killed me, weren't you. That hooded figure that took out the entire combat team with ease and killed me before I could get a good look was you."


"I'm sorry. I didn't know about your circumstances at the time. If I had known I would have tried to let you go."


"Don't worry, I'm not mad at you. You had your orders and I would have eventually died in the dungeon anyway. My life improved since I died and I was able to give my family a better life. But could you really have spared me? The higher-ups weren't exactly pleased when I had such ideas."


"Forgive me for being blunt but as a carrier at your age, your future growth potential was negligible at the time. At most I would have received a notification of dissatisfaction from the dungeon we were in."


"Oh, really? That means I can spare carriers from now on without needing to fear retaliation!"


Sigh. Can you at least tell me when I encounter those 'special' carriers? You can't expect me to naturally tell them apart.


<Firstly, you can see levels and much more with your instructor's assessment skill. Secondly, I will of course inform you of any deviation from the norm of your mission. Things like this will be included.>


Seeing me go silent Edward must have taken that as the end of our little conversation and had left while I was communicating with Navi. I assume that he doesn't know how to face me since he was the one who killed me. Best leave him some space so he can figure things out.


Be that as it may, I distinctly remember that I have a meeting with a guy called Hades. He's a dungeon master on Vespasian's level and I hope he isn't some whacky maniac.


<Don't tell him I said that but he's not really mentally stable. Most of the dungeon masters have a few screws loose and Hades is among the craziest of them all.>


<Well, Vespasian as you might have noticed places great emphasis on living out his fantasies within his dungeon but to outsiders, he's rather pleasant and appears normal. Hades on the other hand has descended so far into his own little world that he becomes a bit hard to talk to.>


Vespasian wants to be a Roman emperor, then what does Hades want to be?


I never had advanced education. I started working as soon as I could.


<Sorry. Hades is the Greek god of the underworld. He's a god associated with death and according to mythology, he isn't very well-liked by the other gods. Making our Hades an edgy, death lord that is bad at socializing.>


You said he is a god. Is he actually a god?


<Sigh. Yes, the dungeon master of the great labyrinth of death is a god. He might only be a minor god of death and a bought one at that but he is nevertheless a god.>


What do you mean by minor god and bought?


Then why would he choose to become a minor god in that way?


<Time, efficiency, and most importantly due to a lack of courage. For many gods ascending was a bloody challenge that required them to put their lives on the line. And timing is also a factor.>


So it is customary for dungeon masters to use dungeon points to ascend?


<Firstly, there aren't a lot of dungeon masters that can even think about becoming gods one way or another. And of the five dungeon masters leading the great dungeon alliance, only two have decided to become gods through the use of dungeon points.>


Ignorance is bliss but knowledge is power