Chapter 6 – Grand Councilman Ziphe

"Hello, I am Grand Councilman Ziphe, the organizer of the Dungeon Party Selection and the Party Leader of the Great Dungeon Party." Grand Councilman Ziphe addressed the world. Despite his old age, he looked to be in his thirties, but his messy short brown hair and tired light brown eyes gave away the stress running the Selection and High Council at the same time truly had.

"We on the High Council congratulate everyone who made it to the beacon zone. The 500,000 of you who arrived there in a timely matter officially passed the second round of the Dungeon Party Selection!"

Although Ziphe was enthusiastic, the participants who were brutally murdered during Murdoc's rampage started to get angry. Even though their memories of signing the soul contract were surfacing, the methods of the Council were deceitful and extreme. Some, including Omira, even began to argue with the Council technical staff.

"You may be questioning the morality behind signing the soul contract and broadcasting of the slaughter perpetrated by 'Murdoc'," Ziphe continued.

"Yeah!" Omira yelled at the helmet television screen.

"However, I believe the complicated and somewhat brutal trial that round two posed would be a good showcase of what the future hardships Hell will be like." He paused.

"Hell is unlike Heaven, which is forgiving to its climbers. Hell is a place of suffering, sorrow, and death. The purpose of the Dungeon Party Selection event isn't just to select the best of the best, but also to educate.

Heaven has five sections, or rather, five sectors. Hell on the other hand, has a total of one hundred floors according to the vast accounts pertaining to Hell. While contradictions and inconsistencies run deep in the historical documents, we have learned much about Hell's inner workings.

Each floor is run by a 'Floor Administrator', who, can set up reality bending rules on their floor. For every ten floors of the dungeon, a 'Sector Administrator' oversees nine Floor Administrators. This is part of the reason accounts differ so wildly; administrators change periodically. If Heaven is divided into five 'sectors', Hell would be divided into ten sections or 'sectors'.

On paper, Hell is at least twice as large as Heaven in terms of size and difficulty. While adventuring and exploring Hell will be a primary focus of the expedition, we must keep in mind the difficulty and sheer magnitude of Hell.

What we decided to do with the second round was simple: create a trial floor. We allowed those who wished to participate to sign a 'soul contract' to agree to temporarily lose some of their memories while signing non-disclosure 'soul contracts' with those who did not wish to participate in the second round after hearing its rather harsh contents.

Now that the world understands a bit clearer the gravity joining the Great Dungeon Party will entail, I implore all 500,000 of you to make a personal decision. On your VR headgear, a green and red indicator will appear at the top. Clicking the green indicator will allow you to participate in the third round, while the red indicator will disqualify you from continuing the Selection. I will give you fifteen seconds to decide."

Behind Ziphe, a participant count appeared on a screen. The number 500,000 started to dwindle slightly. Clico watched Ziphe's speech with intrigue. The veteran party looked at each other grimly. Omira was the first to speak.

"Unlike the others, we already knew the risks Hell posed. Don't let him trick you again!" She eagerly clicked the green indicator. Soon, the rest of the party followed.

At the end of the fifteen seconds, 321,292 participants remained on the scoreboard near Ziphe.

"300,000 participants remain, which is slightly more than expected… In this case, I have prepared a generous offer for those who have remained in spite of the risks. The High Mage's Council will issue a badge indicating your bravery and commitment to the security of Ryko. By holding the Dungeon Selection Badge, we guarantee freedom for slaves, respect amongst peers, and prestige and promotions at your workplace. Or, you can sell the badge to another if you so desire." Ziphe held up a badge to the camera. It had the spherical crest of the High Council on it. All seven branches of magic were represented in the sphere.

"Incredible!" Aventi exclaimed. "That badge should be worth at least 10,000 aura credits!" The party as well as nearby participants gasped in shock. 10,000 aura credits is enough money for regular people to retire!

"Once again, I will give you fifteen seconds to ponder this offer." Ziphe spoke to finish his second offer.

"Don't be bought off by those idiots." Cheptah chuckled. "Aura credits can be worked for, but this opportunity comes once in a lifetime!"

Everyone in the party once again clicked the green indicator.

From 300,000 down to 111,383 participants, the count dropped by two thirds.

"200,000 of you shall receive the honorable Dungeon Selection Badge indicating your completion of the second round of the Dungeon Party Selection! Congratulations!" Ziphe clapped. Some less fortunate individuals who hit the red indicator before the second offer cursed to themselves.

"Now, we still have too many people! For the fourth and final round, we need 256 participants, but we have well over 100,000… We expected a large number to wish to join the party, but the overwhelming support for the Selection is unprecedented. Over five billion people registered for the first round, and three million ended up advancing and travelling to the second round.

The third round we came up with is in line with the second round. All remaining participants will put the helmet back on and face Murdoc again. Unless he is defeated, or the number of participants drops to 256, we will not enter the fourth and final round of the Selection, the Dungeon Selection Tournament.

If you cannot face Murdoc, a D Rank God, without fear, you can not face the one hundred Administrators of Hell, all of which are equal if not stronger than him.

Let that sink in. In our world, a D Rank God could create a nation or change the political landscape entirely, and yet in Hell, a D Rank God is a common boss.

The second offer still stands. If you wish to exit the Selection, press the red indicator, or, put the helmet. You have fifteen seconds."

Behind Ziphe, the 111,383 number started to dwindle again, but Clico and his party put their helmets back on. All they had to do was outlast those in over their heads. Clico and Aventi's estimation were that those below the B Rank Mortal realm would quit, and the elites would advance to the tournament. No average person from a civilian background could bare a twisted 'trial floor' like this one.

***

Awaking inside the beacon zone, Clico stared up at Murdoc: he was preparing his monologue once again.

"Attention participants, I am Murdoc, God of the Voidlands. I, a D Rank God, will consume you, consume all. On this day, I declare war on Phanec and will feast on your souls!"

Again, thousands of hidden monsters attacked the remaining participants in the beacon zone.

"Well, it'll be easier to just die," Omira shrugged and raced at the hovering Murdoc.

"A King challenging a God? Pathetic." He grabbed her telepathically from the air and dragged her next to him once again.

"At least you have guts." He sneered.

"Hahaha! At least change his voice lines." Omira posed for the camera.

Murdoc clicked his teeth at the disrespect and snapped Omira's neck.

"Who's next?" He boomed.

Hardcore adventurers and mages that understood the predicament they were in followed in Omira's footsteps and fought recklessly against Murdoc. They weren't afraid of death since it was all a simulation anyways. The pain felt real, but for experienced parties, pain was not new. In fact, the experience of dying was valuable in of itself, and they wouldn't be penalized anyways.

"Let's end this charade, shall we? With the spiritual energy of 75,000 souls, I could maybe ascend to a higher rank."

"Void Fall!" Murdoc chanted his finishing move. The blue hue of the beacon zone turned to black, and the sky rained the void until the sky fell completely. In a moment, 75,000 died.

***

Awaking inside the beacon zone, Clico stared up at Murdoc: he was preparing his monologue once again. A time loop like this was a popular trope; would the dungeon administrators run their floors like this as well?

"Attention participants, I am Murdoc, God of the Voidlands. I, a D Rank God, will consume you, consume all. On this day, I declare war on Phanec and will feast on your souls!"

Again, thousands of hidden monsters attacked the remaining participants in the beacon zone.

"HAHAHA, again, again!" Omira raced at the hovering Murdoc.

"A King challenging a God? Pathetic." He grabbed her telepathically from the air.

"At least you have guts." Omira and Murdoc said at the same time.

Murdoc looked at Omira strangely but snapped Omira's neck anyways.

"Who's next?" He boomed.

The scene had less participants than before. Experiencing death twice was enough to traumatize the less hardcore participants. Experts came at Murdoc one after another until he got bored.

"Let's end this charade, shall we? With the spiritual energy of 50,000 souls, I could perhaps ascend to a higher rank."

"Void Fall!" Murdoc chanted his finishing move. The blue hue of the beacon zone turned to black, and the sky rained the void until the sky fell completely. In a moment, 50,000 died.

***

Awaking inside the beacon zone, Clico stared up at Murdoc: he was preparing his monologue once again. The repetition and drama were mesmerizing to the audience; for the participants, it grew annoying.

"Attention participants, I am Murdoc, God of the Voidlands. I, a D Rank God, will consume you, consume all. On this day, I declare war on Phanec and will feast on your souls!"

Again, thousands of hidden monsters attacked the remaining participants in the beacon zone.

"Make it stop! Make it stop!" a deranged participant yelled.

"Don't worry young one; I shall make your deaths swift!" Murdoc smote the crazed civilian from the air, offering him a quick and painless death.

"Who's next?" He boomed. The scene then played out similarly to before.

"Let's end this charade, shall we? With the spiritual energy of 37,000 souls, I could perhaps ascend to a higher rank."

"Void Fall!" Murdoc chanted his finishing move. The blue hue of the beacon zone turned to black, and the sky rained the void until the sky fell completely. In a moment, the 37,000 died.

***

"Attention participants, I am Murdoc, God of the Voidlands. I, a D Rank God, will consume you, consume all. On this day, I declare war on Phanec and will feast on your souls!" Iteration after iteration flashed one after another.

"Who's next?" He boomed.

"With the spiritual energy of 21,000 souls, I could perhaps ascend to a higher rank."

"Void Fall!" Murdoc chanted his finishing move. In a moment, 21,000 were finished.

***

"I am Murdoc, God of the Voidlands. I, a D Rank God, will consume you, consume all. On this day, I declare war on Phanec and will feast on your souls!"

"Void Fall!" Murdoc chanted his finishing move. The blue hue of the beacon zone turned to black, and the sky rained the void until the sky fell completely. In a moment, 17,000 died.

Again and again, the participants count reduced slowly and methodically. 17,000 became 15,000, and then 11,000, 10,000, 9,000, 6,000, and finally down to 1,000 after twenty-one iterations.

***

Awaking inside the beacon zone, Aventi stared up at Murdoc: he was preparing his monologue once again. Aventi wondered if the time loop was really like a real dungeon floor. It seemed more like a movie plot more than a trial. Then again, if every Administrator was given creative authority, there could be much worse floors than this one.

"Attention participants, I am Murdoc, God of the Voidlands. I, a D Rank God, will consume you, consume all. On this day, I declare war on Phanec and will feast on you-!" He stopped talking and looked around confused.

"Wait a second, where is everyone? Weren't there thousands of people here minutes ago? How can I progress my rank with only 1,000 souls?" Murdoc boomed out angrily.

"Oh, nice, the voice line changed!" Omira loved the storyline progression.

"Useless! All this preparation… for NOTHING! VOID FALL!" Murdoc screamed out his finishing move in rage at the meager numbers. In a moment, the 1,000 died.

The story went from a greedy God looking to consume souls to a frustrated God beating down participants. Maybe the Council was mad people weren't giving up fast enough.

***

"Useless! All this preparation… for NOTHING! VOID FALL!" 910 have died.

"Useless! All this preparation… for NOTHING! VOID FALL!" 571 have died.

"Useless! All this preparation… for NOTHING! VOID FALL!" 343 have died.

"Useless! All this preparation… for NOTHING! VOID FALL!" 256 have died.

After 51 total attempts, the third round of the Dungeon Party Selection ended.