If you died, you'd just be reborn. If the monster jar was destroyed, it would likely take every monster with them, including your new friends. If the Shrine of Resurrect was destroyed, the monsters would be the winners, but also have no purpose. And those higher up the chain seemed to be aware of this reality.
"Hey, B, you okay?" FBG-A (Female Blue Growlyap A), asked, shaking you some.
"I... I was just realizing... this is me... for eternity... no vacation, no retirement, just a wheel in an endless cycle."
"And there we go," C remarked. "If you're going to cry. Cry. Best to get it out of your system, because you won't be changing reality. Just be careful, the boss doesn't care for monsters who KO themselves over and over and clogging up the pipes to the respawn pits... there are punishments worse than death around here."
You ask. "Are... are we really evil? I mean, are we just Saturday Morning Cartoon evil, or, ya know, actually serving bad people?"
"Does it even matter?" C asked. "We're bound to the monster jar, and the monster jar is bound to the boss. His strength is our strength, his will is our will. Like you said, we're just cogs in the machinery. And face facts... I'm betting if you weren't a cog in the machine BEFORE you came here, you were wishing you were! Nobody accepts a job unless they're looking for one... well, except for this one Blue Slime Girl... she was a investigative reporter... Now she mostly thinks about hugging adventurers and spitting out their skeletons for the necromancers."
"So... what even is the pecking order color anyway?"
"Oh that's easy, if nonsense. At the bottom are the reds, cannon fodder really. Then there's the blues, in other words, us.
followed by the blacks. Blacks are tough, but they're still consider normal monsters. After them is silver monsters... Most adventurers try to avoid fighting them if they don't have to. And above THEM is the gold monsters... who are as tough as you can get without being a unique monster or floor boss. You can guess, there are LOTS of reds... fewer of us blues, even fewer blacks... only some blacks, and you can fit all the golds there are in one room. Or at least now you can. Construction the dungeon is never finished. That's why they need more and more of us to fill the ranks. I once risked asking around... and it was pretty obvious that we're not all from the same planet, or even the same universe! I think we all speak the same language because it's what we've been remade to understand."
The thought of somehow finding a way to escape home never once crossed your mind, even if you weren't brainwashed to obey, you KNEW even this existence was better than the bleak and aimless life you'd wasted before. At least here you knew promotions were always based on merit and not who could kiss up the boss most.
You felt a sense of determination inside you. You clenched your paw a little. "I'm going to become a gold! You'll see, because you'll be there with me! We're going to do everything together, so we'll be gold together!"
C's eyes widened."Whoa... B's only just arrived and you already have lofty ambitions... I guess we've all gotta have something."
"Can we explore outside the dungeon?" You asked.
"No way." B shook her head. "Not a chance. Heck, even leaving your assigned floor without orders can be bad news... if you get caught. But going outside? Your instincts will scream at you to turn around and go back inside before you even get three steps up the stairs... "
"Not entirely true," C said. "If you're taken on a town raid by a raid boss then you can. Though in that case, it's only to destroy whatever it is the boss wants trashed. And there's no retreat. We either succeed, or get respawned trying! And since it's raiding the Town, it's enemy territory, and there's no limit on how many heroes you'll run into. The Shrine of Resurrection is overseen by the Princess and guarded the First Hero... so yeah, any attempt on that is a kamikaze attack."
"The adventurers, the townsfolk... are they... like us?"
C shrugged. "No clue. Maybe. Not exactly have time to chat with them. Some hidden monsters bribe heroes with loot to leave them alone, but it's a secret to everyone, and BIIIIIIG trouble if you get caught!"
B said, "The boss doesn't want us 'distracted' in our purpose as his nameless faceless hordes. So playing a game of cards, singing, dancing, drawing, writing... It's stuff you gotta do where you won't get caught. There's a huge underground market for stuff like that from successful raids ... but good luck finding it, or having anything worth trading. Oh, by the way, watch out, the goblins and the kobolds are technically low-tier, but their booby-traps and contraptions make them FIERCE rivals to prove who's more useful to the boss."
"Why hello you lovely ladies." You three turn around... and behold a beautiful, perfect, and male GOLD Growlyap... his body is beautifully chiseled muscle. His boomerang is a huge page of blades with a grip. He towers above, white hair flows behind him. You hadn't been attracted to guys before, but you weren't a girl at the time either.
In the larger corridor you'd gone down, you saw transparent goo in smiling female shape (some with bones and armor in them) of different colors. You saw other Growlyap of varying stages. Along with skeletons (some wielding bits of their own body). Little humanoids bats (maybe imps). Pig faced men with giant clubs, pairs with tiny pig faced women with spears both protected only by their thick hides. Haunted suits of armor carrying various weapons (from short sword to repeater crossbows with explosive tips.).
He spoke elegantly, you held onto every word. "The boss has given us lower tier monsters, the honor of raiding the surface world. Our target is a new song-and-dance created to bring joy to the Townsfolk... destroy it, slay everyone inside. How would you fine ladies like to be my shields and leap in front of me or have me grab one of you and absorb the first hits from whatever 'instant kill' spell, bolt, or limit-use technique the heroes will throw at my golden person?"
The three of you eagerly nodded. The idea of serving his beauty was wonderful, the honor of being respawned to protect his handsomeness was even better!
"YIP YIP!" The three of you barked, hearts in your eyes. You were pretty sure you were being charmed, or maybe stronger monsters simply had dominion over weaker ones, but you really, REALLY didn't care, you felt nice. And next you'd remind those filthy Townsfolk why the Dungeon was to be feared. You happily fall in line with the golden male growlyap. And the horde marches on, collecting other lower tier monsters along the way including a couple mid-tier.
"I see you ladies got back together, happy too." Remarked a female black growlyap who joined the horde.
You came too what looked like a simply circular brick stone shaft that went up and down... A rumbling, and what crawled up was a drill contraption manned by grinning goblins. Laughing as their machined moved up, their only covering being their googles and tool belts. And like anti-gravity, things began to fall 'up' in the shaft. There was a explosion, human screams, and the scent of fear from weak Townsfolk.
"Forward!" Said the incredibly good looking gold male growlyap pointing. The skeletons going first, followed by the pig men and women, and the imps, slimes, the black growlyap going in next leading the rest of your kind. The haunted suits of armor, you three, and the golden growlyap staying behind.
"Shouldn't we go?" You asked.
"Wait for it sweetie," the golden said with a grin. There was shouting, monsters being sent back to the monster jar, followed by the sound of heroes being sent back to the Shrine of Resurrection. "Now we go."
You stepped in, followed by the golden and the suits of armor.
You 'fell' up and up and up and UP! And poof, you landed neatly in the middle of a town square, the the monsters have secured the spot, you saw they'd also cleaned up any Townsfolk who had been nearby, and overwhelmed any heroes who happened to be near by.
"Now... we have a school of the arts to burn down."
+++
"MIKE! CUZ'! MARIGOLD! TOWN RAID! TOWN RAID!" Shouted the heavy-sword wielder. "Grab your weapons, slap on your weapons and let go!"