Dungeon Runner

Stepping Up, Chapter 97

"Tibs," Alistair greeted him stiffly as Tibs entered the training room. "I'm glad to see you came."

Tibs let out the breath he'd been holding. "I'm sorry for how I said what I said at the bazaar."

"But not for what you said," his teacher said coldly.

"Have you—" Tibs closed his mouth on the anger and took more breaths. "Have you talked with the townsfolk, or are we too Street for you?"

"I haven't, but not for the reasons you imagine." He stepped around Tibs, making him feel like he was on display. "I'm an adventurer. There's nothing I can do to hide that." He looked Tibs up and down, and Tibs did his best not to see judgment in those vivid blue eyes. "When an adventurer shows up in a town, or a city, it is because something bad has happened, or will happen. We are not people the common folk want to speak with."

"Kragle Rock isn't just another town," Tibs replied. "We live among them here. They know we aren't any different than they are."

"Only you are." Alistair stepped before Tibs and put his arms behind his back. "You, Tibs, wield essence. Magic. Something the common folk can only dream of doing because they can't imagine putting themselves through the hardship required to unlock the possibility. You're right that Kragle Rock differs from most places, but again, it isn't for the reason you imagine. It has nothing to do with Runners living among the people, but with how young the dungeon is. How not too long ago, you were one of them, without essence, without power. Many here remember you as the Omega you were. As the child filled with fear, unsure of his future. Even now, many who come to brave the dungeon are little different from the people living here. But in a few years, after the dungeon has graduated a few times, the Omegas will be lost among all the others who come here to strengthen themselves. The people here will no longer see those similar to them, but powerful adventurers, here to become more powerful. They might even see Gammas or Betas, should the dungeon become strong enough. Then, it will not be adventurers they see, but forces of nature."

"Not all dungeons graduate to the point where all levels of adventurers can train there?"

"No, but you will not sidetrack me this time. This isn't about dungeons, but about the reality you are still too young to fully understand. A Zeta adventurer can level a house with a thought. It doesn't matter the element they wield. Even a Purity fighter can cause it to happen. Bards tell stories about how we travel the world and stop monsters. They leave out the destruction caused in the process. Or if they leave it in, they do so in a way that the monsters shoulder all the blame. After all, if they weren't out there, the destruction would not have happened."

He collected himself. "Monsters are rare, and everyone is grateful for it. I am grateful for it, for if I have to go after a monster, no matter how careful I am in taking it down. There will be little left of the area the fighting takes place in. The monster will not be the one causing all that destruction. And keep in mind that I will take care to cause as little of it as I can manage. Not every adventurer is as careful about the power they wield as I am. Few are, really. Our position within society leads many to be, as you would refer to them, nobles." There was no anger or disdain in his teacher's voice, but sadness.

"You say the people here are different, but they have heard the same stories sung in every city in every kingdom. They have heard the darker stories told by traveling merchants. Few will be true, but when one tells of a village or town no longer being there as they pulled in to sell their wares, it will leave an impression, regardless."

Alistair sighed. "We are both saviors and destroyers. We can not escape one role without abandoning the other. And people forced to flee the place they were born too quickly forget the danger that led to that happening, but remember the people who forced them to leave. So some stories whispered between people are true, and in those stories, who is the monster is rarely as clear as in the bards' songs."