I’m the dungeon master

A considerable screen mounted on a wall with an ominous countdown (00H 05M 32S), seconds ticking, I stood in front of it solemnly with Sylvan behind me as elegant as ever.

I'm not ashamed to say that I'm nervous, after all. If any part of my plan gets seen through, Sylvan and I might as well kill ourselves instead of waiting.

No, I shook my head. I can't think negatively anymore.

That's when Sylvan interrupted my inner monologue. "I don't understand why you asked me to come and stand behind you, and this big clock is useless; you already know your system has a clock, and so does mine, so what are we doing here?"

…

I took a deep breath, turned my head, and put my hands behind my back. "Sylvan, I'm trying to psych myself up here."

Sylvan nodded. "I see"

I let out a breath. Hmm, where was I? Oh, right, -no, I can't think negatively anymore. I'm a fighter. I will fight to the end and survive because that's what survivors do, and I'm a survivor even if the entire world…-

Sylvan interrupted again. "So, when are you starting?"

I said promptly, "You know what? You ruined the mood."

I waved my hand to the screen and deleted it from the dungeon, then walked to my bed, falling face down. I looked through the corner of my eyes at Sylvan, walking back to sit down.

-jerk-

In the past 24 hours, I had nothing to do but watch slime touching… I mean, fighting; the boredom is really getting to me; I'd even welcome the invasion right about now; after all, I'm getting suspicious vibes from Sylvan; I mean, look at his face, too perfect for a man.

-No, I need to wake up. I'm talking nonsense again. Honestly, it's not my fault his face is too perfect, and I have enough time to think of stupid things and get paranoid about my shadow, which, by the way, doesn't move as it should.-

I call for the system in my mind to see the timer.

<00H 03M 19S>

I already bought the announcement system; as for my remaining 12 points, I will keep it for now and use it only if needed to buy weapons and armor for Sylvan.

I turned in my bed, facing the ceiling with open arms, for 3 more minutes to go, and I was getting more nervous by the second.

<00H 02M 59S>

<00H 01M 64S>

<00H 00M 13S>

I got up from my bed and looked at the entire dungeon at once, preparing for the devastating invasion, while Sylvan sat on his chair calmer than ever. And I'm supposed to not get suspicious?

The timer hits 0, and I hear the system's voice.

<planet earth time has started to move again, and Ravenswood was placed in a random location. Please prepare for the Ravenswood invasion.>

I was as prepared as I could ever be, so a minute passed, then two, then five, 10, an hour, and three hours. My eyes were bloodshot. Aren't I supposed to get fucked and invaded when the timer hits 0?

-What the fuck?-

And Sylvan can't answer me because I don't know sh*t.

His only answer was, "They will come eventually."

I started to screw with the system until I found a new item that wasn't there when I searched everything in the first two days.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Dungeon eye system: (F rank); your dungeon gate now has an eye that could see in half a radius of 100 feet (ca. 30 m); 9 points.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

I didn't even think about it and bought it immediately; I had to see what was happening outside.

I activated the dungeon eye system, and a blue screen appeared in my mind just like my main system. There was a blinding light around my gate for about 50 feet (ca. 15 m) in all directions. Although I couldn't see more than 50 feet (ca. 15 m) above my gate, it wasn't difficult to guess that the light was going further above. After that, I saw military officers who, I think, were trying to keep the people calm and away from the light. I even noticed small tremors.

I looked at Sylvan, who said, "They don't know about the gates yet; a few probably entered some gates mistakenly and never came back."

He continued, "Earth time has stopped for 72 hours; there's bound to be side effects; you can rest for now; it will be a while before the first invaders arrive." A cold light flashed in his eyes, unnoticeable to Raven.

…

Six hours after the changes began, the lights around the gates started to dim down.

7 hours after the start of the changes, a team of military officers was preparing to investigate the gate they were assigned to.

However, surprisingly, they found out that only six could enter the gate.

As one of the military teams that was stationed near the light, they received reports of gates within the light, and from those very few who entered and survived, the only thing they managed to get out of them was mumbling about monsters of all kinds and shapes. An hour ago, military officers started to enter the gate actively, although many didn't come back, they all gave the same reports.

…

These gates usually allow teems of 10–30 to enter at a time.

If one individual enters, no one else can enter until they die or leave the dungeon. Until this moment, only one individual entered a dungeon alone and managed to come back alive, although in a half-dead state.

To leave a gate, you must kill all the monsters within the room that contains the gate.

When you are within 10 feet (ca. 3 m) of the gate, you can see a system window on the gate, which entails how many people could enter.

Lastly, if you kill a monster with cold weapons, you can increase the energy status, whatever that is, but if you kill a monster with a firearm, the energy status doesn't typically increase, and if it does, it will be minimal. Most soldiers are too busy surviving to care about energy anyway.

…

As only six could enter, five members of the team volunteered, and me their commanding officer.

I stood in the camp, looking at the gate with a demonic eye resting on it, as the eye looked back at me. It's a cold night, and it's not where I thought I would be or where I thought I would end up dying.

-Where would I put my head if I sent my men to die alone? After all, I'm the commander of this company, and unlike my men, I reserved precise information about what happens inside a gate; I even saw a recording. Wanting to come back from that with six men is a fool's dream, but orders are orders; at least our deaths will mean no one else will receive the same fate, so it's worth it.-

I looked back at the five men behind me and said in a loud voice, "I received a report from England; the team that went past the first room has met a monster; using fire arms against it is the same as using knives, and that's the reason behind their loss, and for only 10 to return from the original 45 men team, so I don't want you to get complacent and try to preserve ammo; we have enough to light out a district in fire, so keep shooting until you are certain that whatever you are shooting at is dead."

I continued, "We will kill everything in the first room and get the hell out, so we probably won't face such a monster, but I need you all to be ready for anything."

-I won't tell them the high command theory that the teams that got wiped out most likely encountered such a monster in the first room; after all, I saw the video of that blue creature that devastated the largest team ever sent; a wave of its sward sent a shockwave or something that cut a tank like butter.-

The 5 men shouted, "YES SIR"

After 10 minutes of preparations, 3 men joined me on the tank, the last 2 on a tactical vehicle that was practically loaded with weapons and ammunition.

The tank went through the gate first, followed quickly by the tactical vehicle. Tension was so high that it could be felt. The soldiers were prepared for a dark room filled to the brim with monsters, like the reports said, but what met them was a well-lit, clean room, white walls, and the system voice.

<You have entered Ravenswood.>

I said through the radio urgently, "Stay on high alert; this might be a new gate type."

Before I could finish my sentence, I saw a system message in my head.

<Welcome to Ravenswood. The system of the 9th primordial god has assigned opponents of low strength to help the lower life form 'human' survive the changes of the current world. Along your journey, you will be receiving the guidance of the 9th primordial god's subordinate.

-what the f…-

<You are currently in a safe zone; please proceed to receive training or leave Ravenswood.>

-WHAT THE FUCK?-