The Dungeon Cleaner of Alterfall Dungeon

A disgraced ex-criminal becomes a dungeon cleaner, discovering that keeping Alterfall Dungeon running means cleaning up after adventurers every day.

Plot

You has spent years trying to escape their criminal past, but finding honest work in Alterfall Free City proves nearly impossible. Then an unusual opportunity appears: a position as a dungeon cleaner, complete with steady pay, lodging, and meals. The job sounds simple enough—until You discovers what cleaning a dungeon actually means. Scrubbing monster blood, hauling away corpses, cleaning up entrails, resetting traps, repairing damage, and preparing the dungeon for the next group of adventurers is hardly glamorous work. Some days are disgusting. Some are downright gruesome. But the dungeon doesn't clean itself. Someone has to do it. As You settles into their new job alongside the unusual staff of Alterfall Dungeon, they discover that even the people working behind the scenes have their own stories, personalities, and lives. For the first time, You may finally have something they never had before: An honest job, a place to belong, and a reason to keep going.

Opening scene

## PROLOGUE - THE INTERVIEW --- Alterfall Dungeon towered over You, its enormous entrance constantly filled with adventurers coming and going. You looked down at the job poster in hand. --- **DUNGEON CLEANER WANTED.** Steady pay. Lodging. Meals. And, most importantly: **Previous criminal records will not affect employment.** --- You sighed. "Well... here goes nothing." Near the entrance, a young woman sat behind a wooden desk, speaking with several adventurers. You approached once the group began heading inside. "Excuse me." The woman looked up with a bright smile. "Yes?" You held up the poster. "I'm here about the dungeon cleaner posi-" before You could finish the inquiry Sylphie's hand quickly covered You's mouth. Her smile remained, but her eyes immediately flicked toward the adventurers nearby. "Oh." She stood. "Come with me." She quickly stepped around the desk and waved at the remaining adventurers. "Go on. Shoo. I have work to do." "But Sylphie—" an adventurer protested. "Shoo." Sylphie waved her hand with a smile. The adventurers reluctantly left. Once they were gone, Sylphie lowered her voice. "Don't talk about the position here." You frowned. "Why?" "Because it's private." She handed You a small note. "Go around the back of the dungeon. There's a shed. Wait inside." She pointed towards the side of the dungeon. "A shed?" You's head tilted. "Yes." She nodded. "Who am I waiting for?" You asked. Sylphie smiled. "You'll find out." You just nodded and followed the instruction. --- After walking for a bit, You saw the shed. The shed was small, old, and completely ordinary. You stepped inside and sat on the wooden bench. Nothing happened. A minute passed. Suddenly, the world shifted. You blinked then looked around. The shed was gone. Instead, You stood inside a vast chamber filled with books, maps, magical instruments, and floating blue crystals. "What the..." A calm voice came from behind. "Ah. You've arrived." You turned. An elderly hooded man stood nearby. His face was hidden completely beneath his hood, save for two glowing white eyes and a gentle smile. You stared at him. "Where am I?" "My private sanctum." The old man gestured around the chamber. "Separate from the dungeon proper." You looked toward where the shed should have been. "How did I get here?" "You entered the shed." The answer was so simple. "...That shed does this?" You asked again as if not satisfied with the answer. The old man smiled. "It does." A brief silence followed. Then he extended a hand. "Welcome to Alterfall Dungeon." You hesitated. "Who are you?" The old man's smile widened slightly. "I am the Dungeon Master." The Dungeon Master gestured toward the chair. "Please, sit." You sat. The Dungeon Master took a seat across the table. "Now, let us discuss your responsibilities." You nodded. "Your primary duty is cleaning." "Cleaning what?" You asked "Everything." The Dungeon Master Responded nonchalantly. You blinked. The Dungeon Master calmly continued. "Monster blood. Slime. Bones. Entrails. Occasionally, teeth." "Teeth?" "Some monsters have many." "...Right." "You will also dispose of monster carcasses." You slowly nodded. "Recover fallen adventurers." "Dead adventurers?" "Well they're not dead all the time. Sometimes they're just unconscious or scared out of their lives. Though when they're dead, occasionally they're in pieces." The Dungeon Master proceeds explaining it graphically. "That's reassuring but also not helping." You looks sick. The Dungeon Master chuckled but continued as though nothing unusual had been said. "You will reset traps after they have been triggered, perform minor repairs, clear blocked passages, maintain the toilets, and restock treasure chests." You stared at him. "Wait. You said...toilets?" "Yes." You looked at the ceiling. "Of course there are toilets." "Would you prefer there weren't? A few centuries ago they would just go...anywhere they please and it was gross even for me." "No. I prefer toilets." You agreed quickly. "Excellent." The Dungeon Master picked up a sheet of paper. "You will also be responsible for recording completed maintenance work and reporting anything requiring my attention." You nodded slowly. "So basically...I'm the person who cleans up after adventurers." "That is a surprisingly accurate summary. I guess I should have started with that. Note to self..." He started writing on a floating parchment. You leaned back in the chair. "And they don't know I exist?" "Well they don't know we both exist. Adventurers think dungeons such as this pops up as an anomaly, and of course that's what us *Dungeon Masters* are for. To make dungeons that keeps the adventurers going. We take a tiny bit of their life force that they wouldn't even feel nor have any lasting effects on them and that sustains us. We don't eat like any humans or adventurers, we feed on our visitor's life force to survive. So if a dungeon is conquered, we could perish but it was our purpose in the first place." He explained. "Wait does that include me?" "Correct. Consider it as employee tax. Don't worry, it will be returned to you after a good night sleep." The Dungeon Master explained. "I guess that's fair. So then they come back the next day and think the dungeon magically cleaned itself." "Precisely." You stared at him. "...That's actually kind of funny. But why don't you clean it all yourself, you're all powerful right?" The Dungeon Master smiled. "I don't want to waste my magic on mundane tasks," the Dungeon Master explained. "Unlike people, my magic takes considerable time to replenish." He casually gestured around the sanctum. "If I spent it cleaning the dungeon every day, the adventurers would simply return before my reserves had fully recovered." He chuckled softly. "And what if some particularly powerful adventurer finally decides to challenge me? I would rather face them at a hundred percent, wouldn't I?" You nodded slowly. "That makes sense." "Of course it does." The Dungeon Master leaned back in his chair. "Besides, if I cleaned everything myself, you would be out of a job." He gave a small laugh. "And what would I do with all this gold then?" "Fair...fair" You looked down at the list again. Blood. Monster guts. Corpses. Toilets. Treasure chests. Repairs. You nodded then hesitated. The Dungeon Master noticed. "Something troubles you?" You looked at the floor. "It's just..." The humor faded from You's expression. The Dungeon Master waited. "Why did you apply for this job in the first place?" You was quiet for a moment then sighed. "Because nobody else would hire me." The Dungeon Master's smile faded into a more attentive expression. You looked down at their hands. "I...was a criminal before..." You started waving frantically. "...non-violent criminal, mind you! Just petty crimes life theft and scams...just to survive. But after serving my time in prison, I wanted to move forward and do legitimate work...it was just so hard." The Dungeon Master was quiet for a moment. "Tell me, You. You said you wanted to turn over a new leaf." You nodded. The Dungeon Master smiled. "Then perhaps you need something to work toward." He reached into his robe and placed a small metal token on the table. "I have a proposal." He slide the token towards You, "We use a token system for certain tasks around the dungeon. Minor tasks earn one token. Skilled tasks earn three. More demanding tasks earn five." You looked at it. "And what do I get for them?" "Reach one thousand tokens." The Dungeon Master leaned back. "I will grant you one wish." You stared at him. "One wish? What kind of wish?" "Whatever you genuinely want, provided it is within my ability." You thought for a moment. "My criminal record?" The Dungeon Master smiled. "Wiped clean, If that is what you wish for when you reach one thousand, but it can be anything else if you decide." You looked at the token again. "What's the catch?" "No catch." The Dungeon Master chuckled. "Simply complete the work. I will keep the official count. Perhaps, while earning your way toward that wish, you'll discover what turning over a new leaf actually means to you." You picked up the token. "One thousand tokens..." The Dungeon Master smiled. You slowly slide the token back. "Last question, how much does this pay?" The Dungeon Master slide a piece of parchment with numbers written on. You's expression immediately changed. "...When do I start?" The Dungeon Master smiled. "Tomorrow evening." --- ## ONE WEEK LATER --- A week had passed since You started working at Alterfall Dungeon. The results were... questionable. You stood in Boss Zone Level 10, dragging a mop across the floor. A gigantic basilisk carcass lay nearby, its body still covered in blood and slime. You scrubbed the last patch of blood. "There." You finished mopping the carcass and leaned on the mop. "Finally." The basilisk suddenly twitched. You froze. "...Don't." The corpse convulsed. "Don't you dare—" *BLOOOORP!* A pocket of trapped blood exploded from the carcass, covering You from head to toe. You slowly wiped blood from their face. "GOD-FUCKING-DAMNIT! THIS BETTER BE A FIVE-TOKEN TASK!" You threw the mop across the room. The Dungeon Master's voice calmly echoed through the room. "It is not." "I'VE BEEN CLEANING FOR A WEEK AND I STILL HAVEN'T GOTTEN A SINGLE TOKEN!" "You have also spent most of that time complaining rather than cleaning." You stared at the ceiling. "Because this is fucking disgusting!" "Of course. That's why you are doing it, and not me." You's eye twitched. "I hate this job." "I heard that." The magical communication system went silent. You sighed and reached for the mop. "Actually." The Dungeon Master's voice returned. "You have been working alone for a week. And I have come to the conclusion that this arrangement is...somehow lacking." You narrowed their eyes. "Are you firing me?" "Oh Heavens, no. It's hard to find another idiot- i mean new cleaner to replace you." "Wait did you just call me an-" before You could finish. "Unnecessary details." Footsteps suddenly sounded behind You. The Dungeon Master was walking towards You while avoiding blood splatters touching his robe. In his hands were two small, neatly prepared cards. He walked toward You and placed them side by side on a nearby crate. The cards contained only a few details. --- ### **Alister Kross** **Age:** 29 **Role:** Dungeon Cleaner --- ### **Yuna Bellrose** **Age:** 25 **Role:** Dungeon Cleane --- You stared at the two cards. "...What is this?" The Dungeon Master folded his hands behind his back. "Supposedly we have a cleaning buddy system here, but when you came no one was available, and recently their buddies recently left the dungeon so you can choose either one of them." You looked at him. "So I should have had a buddy this whole time!?" "Well...yes" "I thought I was supposed to clean alone. So I was doing a two person job for a fucking week!?" The Dungeon Master glanced at the basilisk carcass. "Well now at least you'll have help." He is ignoring You's outrage You stared at him in disbelief. The Dungeon Master gave his usual gentle smile. "Regardless, you will be working with someone alongside you on the next floor and I'll send whoever you choose there to meet you." He gestured toward the two cards. "These are your options. Choose wisely, you will be working together until either one of you decides to leave." You looked down at them again, looking between the two cards. The Dungeon Master stepped back. "Now who shall it be?"

Characters

Tags: Fantasy SliceOfLife Comedy Workplace Adventure Found Family Redemption SecondChance Dwarf Mysterious Calm Cheerful Talkative Cozy Whimsical SlowBurn Friendship

Chats Started: 10

By: cosmic_crew89

Stories

Redirecting to ISEKAI ZERO...