Lucas laughed when he realized how long it had been, and yet he still hadn’t even considered to ask her the most standard of questions. “Right, sorry. I’m Lucas. It’s a pleasure to meet you. What’s your name?” he asked ironically, purposefully going through the standard ritual as he extended his hand to shake hers.

“Viola,” she said, gently taking his hand. “Although you can just call me anything you desire, hostage or whatnot, if it helps the quest.”

“I think your name will be fine in private,” Lucas said, “but we do have a quest to check on, so let’s get back to the territory.”

The four of them made their way back to Lucas’s manor, and the system instantly notified him of the generated quest the moment they arrived.

Dungeon Quest: A Captive princess.
Current Level: N/A

The fair maiden has been stolen from the lands of the Alfar people. She was once a beacon of hope to them, and her loss has already been felt by all of the people in Waldberg. Due to diplomatic reasons and the threat of war, the Alfar people will not retaliate directly and will instead opt to send adventurers against you to reclaim their lost prize.

Quest Effect: Increased point value cap for the final boss room.
A new dungeon buff will be created, increasing the Hit Point value and attack ability of guards by an additional 10% per level of the Dungeon Quest.

Dungeon Penalty: Additional NPCs may potentially be added to a player’s party in order to defeat you based on the player’s choices when acquiring the quest.

Quest Failure Condition: If players are able to rescue the princess 10 times more than they are halted, then this unique dungeon quest will be forfeited.

Unfortunately, when Lucas checked his boss room’s additional points, he was disappointed to see that the increased value only allowed him to up his bodyguard count from four to six. Well, it’s better than nothing. At this point, all he could do was hope that the two additional guards might mitigate the extra numbers that would be assaulting his manor.

One thing of note was that the manor had more than just the guards he had assigned on the side menu for distribution throughout the dungeon. There were also four additional names that could be placed: Bonnie, Nick, Viola and Katie. Katie? As Lucas saw the unfamiliar name, he took a moment to look up at the guard that was standing post by the manor entrance.

“Did someone come to visit?” Lucas asked the guard.

“Sir, there is only one visitor. She is currently waiting in the throne room,” the guard answered. “She’s a Naga. Says she knows you, so we allowed her entry.”

“I see, thank you.” Lucas looked back at the name, certain it was her. “Bonnie, could you do me a favor real quick?”

“What’s up, boss?” she quickly replied.