“Sooooo, I think the simplest explanation behind why Xeel is so strong is that your soul is strong. Even with it being weakened, you could still beat any S class creature in terms of soul.” Pecan said, landing on his shoulder.
Xeel was silent most of the time, deep in his thoughts. The only ones who dared to bother him were the other named goblins who didn’t seem to know fear. At one point, Tamiel said to Viv that he felt warm when he was around Xeel.
Now that Pecan was here, it was time to continue building the dungeon. “I got carried away building the first floor. I still need to figure out how to get out of here - they need to know that I’m here, I’m still alive.”
Quest Received.
Side Quest - Original Sin.
Humans are wicked creatures. Once pure, they turned to sin as time went on. Arrogance, greed, and many other sins are present in every human, and each day they wallow in sin, defiling the world around them. Once, they committed a sin so grave that they doomed their entire race. It must be rectified, and the only way to do it is in blood.
Eradicate Humanity
Humans Remaining - 189 481 578
Reward - ???
Quest Received.
Side Quest - Chains of Freedom.
The Demon Lord escaped death, but it cost him his freedom. No dungeon creature is allowed to leave the dungeon, or so the public thought. If left to escape, the demon lord would walk along with his kin and rule those lesser than him.
Leave the dungeon.
Reward - Levitate (tier 2), Fly (tier 3), Wings of Freedom (tier 4), Teleportation (tier 7), [Grant Freedom] Menu, Teleportation Platform.
Quest Received
Side Quest - Is anyone out there?
Some goals were lesser than others - a way of communicating would be easier than escaping, or so the Demon Lord thought. A way to communicate with the world around him would create many opportunities for an intelligent dungeon to grow.
Communicate with a creature at least 1 kilometre away from the dungeon.
Reward - Mind Link (tier 3), Mind Parasite (C), Signal Ring (grade 3)
“What?” Viv began to examine the slew of quests that appeared in front of him.
“Oh, oh, I can explain,” Pecan piped in, looking at the same quests.
“You didn’t have this before since you were considered to be mindless, but any strong desire will be formed into a side quest with appropriate rewards for its difficulty.”
“So now, not to mention my emotions being affected, my mind is also being read. How are they doing this?” Viv asked calmly, his anger hidden.
“Well, uh, I can’t really talk about that. Not that I don’t want to, don’t misunderstand. It’s just that us fairies have some rules we absolutely can’t violate, or else something really bad will happen to us.”
Viv kept silent.
“A-anyways, let’s move past that. We need to get started on the second floor. Before we can create a second floor, we need a way to separate the floors. It’s mostly for mana and guardian purposes.”
“Let’s do this and this,” he said, looking at invisible objects in the air, madly waving his hands around.
Quest Received.
Main Quest 07.
Every floor needs a boundary, and every floor needs to be unique. When creating a guardian, everything - from its history, environment, and the creatures around it - affects it. To make the distinction, dungeons may place Dungeon Gates at the end of their floor. Immediately after, the floor choice will follow.
Place a Dungeon Gate, Choose a floor type.
Progress - 0/1, 0/1.
Reward - [Expansion] upgrade, floor type creature.
As soon as the main quest appeared, another similar interface popped up.
Available Choices
* Orc Village (Orc (C))
* Crypt (Mummy (C))
* Labyrinth (Minotaur (C))
* Molten Earth (Lava Salamander (C))
* Lake (Kappa (C))
* Plains (Bloodfang Wolf (C))
“Right, it’s pretty simple. The main quest will help you develop the floor in the direction you choose, granting appropriate traps, buildings, and creatures to help you along the way. The choices this time seem pretty standard, except for Molten Earth, I believe that’s a rarer type,” said Pecan.
“They’re all so underwhelming. I’ve got something different planned regardless,” Viv said, examining each option.
After quick deliberation, he decided it didn’t matter and mentally brushed against the Plains option. The interface closed just like when he completely read a quest, but he didn’t feel any different having made the choice.
Pecan looked like he had something to say but wisely chose to keep that to himself. Instead, he started flying through the air, making hoops. From what it looked, he was here to stay no matter how long Viv took.
[Expansion] [Creatures] [Spells] [Traps] [Buildings] [Title Forge]
Mana - 168
Mana Regeneration - 43 / day
[Buildings]
Dungeon Gate 50 MP
Selecting it from the interface, in his mind appeared a blue outline of a majestic gate. It was five metres tall and just as wide. On it was inscribed a myriad of different creatures - dragons, giants, krakens, and demons.
Viv thought for a moment before plopping it down in his current core room. It was past the sphere of darkness that was Xeel’s room, and he would be relocating to the second floor anyways.
Main Quest 07 Complete.
Reward - [Expansion] upgrade, Bloodfang Wolf (C).
“One mana now can clear out a 10x10 metre room, and you can change the dimensions as you want as long as the total area remains the same,” Pecan answered what Viv was wondering.
“Usually, dungeons go deeper to allow more space for upward growth for future floors when needed, but it’s up to you.”
After being with Pecan for only a few hours, Viv wanted the mindless fairy back. It was concise, telling him what he had to do and immediately leaving. Pecan kept yapping, and even if he gave decent suggestions, it was getting to Viv’s nerves being told what to do constantly.
“What’s the next quest?”
“It should be ready, but, before I forget, there’s something else that came with the expansion upgrade.”
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Pulling up the expansion interface, he saw a couple of new options appear.
[Expansion]
Excavation. 1 MP 10x10
Create Soil. 1 MP 10x10
Grow Grass. 1 MP 10x10
Grow Trees. 10 MP 10x10
“See, isn’t it exciting?” Pecan looked over at the dungeon core, only to receive complete silence.
“Those are some very powerful tools, but the question remains - why would I wish to do this? The guardians I create will be powerful regardless, and any creature given to me will be weaker than one made with my spells. It seems like a waste of mana to simply grow grass, and I fail to see how that will affect a guardian in any major way.”
“Well,” Pecan thought for a moment, growing more serious, “you’re a special exception. The first reason is simple - the quests will be forcing you to create more diverse floors, so, if you want to progress, you’ll need to do this. But, that’s not an explanation behind why dungeons create floors.”
“The deeper explanation I have is that dungeons aren’t inherently malicious. Each floor is its own ecosystem where life thrives and evolves, creating things that aren’t possible in the outside world. In a way, it’s a place for these creatures to live.”
“At the same time, the main purpose of a dungeon is to attract humans - it does so by placing down treasure it gets from humans in the first place. A dungeon becomes more dangerous as you move to deeper floors, which brings greater danger and reward. It becomes a very efficient cycle of fueling growth. Both for the humans, the creatures within, and the dungeon.”
It was a more thorough answer than he expected from Pecan. Following that, he fell silent once again, pondering on the nature of dungeons. Despite the deadly monsters and the countless deaths, dungeons were benefiting humans more than not. If there was a way to set all the dungeons free from their barriers, it would cause massive damage to the world.
He waited for the ding of a side quest, but nothing ever came. Perhaps his resolution to make it happen wasn’t as great - he knew too little about dungeons and their creator - the fairy king, Auberon.
Quest Received.
Main Quest 08.
Plains outside the dungeon are boundless grasslands with teeming wildlife. Underground is the exact opposite of it, but a dungeon has every tool to shape the landscape. With enough space, life can flourish.
Excavate 5000 m2 area, Grow 5000 m2 of grass, Grow 1000 m2 of trees.
Progress - 0/5000, 0/5000, 0/1000.
Reward - Spirithorn Deer (C), Lightning Cheetah (C), Mistfire Fox (D), Longtail Snake (D), Thieving Ferret (D), Twin Hare (D), Spirit Voice (tier 2).
“1100 mana. About a month of waiting. What a colossal waste of mana.”
“Well, you know, it’s not that bad. Later quests might take years to complete. The greatest dungeons start small but slowly grow over the years, y-you know,” he stuttered towards the end as a large amount of bloodlust was directed at him.
Viv didn’t have years to rot away in this place. Currently, everything here would die if his previous body even breathed in the dungeon’s direction. Who knew what would happen to his kingdom if he left it alone for so many years. The next demon king was still too young, even if he was powerful - he would get manipulated by older, more cunning demons.
It was time to speed up the process. Since he had created a monster of a first guardian, he had no qualms about going all out on any further floor. He simply had to create something so attractive to humans that they would ignore the danger of the guardians.
Wild ideas started popping up, similar to the countless interfaces he was looking at right now. He had spent a week - maybe two, Viv found it bothersome to keep track - in the cave. During that time, small creatures would wander in, only to get killed by goblins.
Various types of spiders, earthworms, mites, beetles, snakes, and rabbits were available to be summoned. The non-venomous things cost only one mana, while those a bit deadlier cost more.
Looking at these creatures, he made up a plan of how to first excavate the area. It was a gamble on how effective it would be, but if what Pecan had said about his soul was correct, he had a chance.
“First, let’s deal with the goblins. Pecan, you’ll be spending most of your time with them. Make yourself useful, start teaching them magic, combat, and the like.”
Pecan looked back and forth between the orb and the goblins, eventually taking off towards the goblins, his ears slightly drooping. Viv had to admit that the goblins had grown on him. He concentrated on the first floor, observing the six named goblins individually.
First was Artorius. A few hours had passed since his defeat, and he had cleared out the first room for himself to sulk in. He wildly swung the sword, slashing at an invisible target, continuing to do so until he dropped from exhaustion. Moments later, he would pick himself up and continue.
“Artorius, you’ve disappointed me. On one hand, you disobeyed my orders, on the other, I applaud you for using some of Lyn’s trickery. Despite that, you’re weak and pathetic. The only reason you had to resort to tricks was that you didn’t have strength,” he perked up for a moment before balling his fist up in anger.
“Do you think it’s unfair? The goblin had abilities that you didn’t have. Life is unfair. I could easily make you stronger than the warchief, but why should I? Prove it to me that you deserve strength.”
“I’ll teach you the basics of aura. You have two weeks to grasp it. If you can’t, I will grant your name to the warchief that bests you.”
Artorius’ hand was bleeding, his nails dug into his flesh from anger, but as soon as Viv mentioned a chance to redeem himself, it was replaced with determination.
“Yes. I won’t disappoint,” unlike Lyn, he still struggled with sentences.
Next on the list was Blade. He was strong for a goblin, but that was all there was. Unlike Tamiel and Zagon, he wasn’t named after anything unique, and thus Viv had no expectations of him.
As it turned out, after Xeel became too scary to approach and Atrorius went off to sulk, Blade became the temporary leader of the bunch. Viv had barely noticed it before, but after every spar and every team battle, Blade would stay behind and teach the weaker ones how to properly fight back.
It didn’t matter in the end. They would forget where a pit was and fall in, or someone would accidentally fall on a rock and die. They would be resummoned and their knowledge would be gone, but Blade continued to teach them regardless.
“Blade. Artorius will be learning aura, and I will be teaching Lyn magic. You are free to do as you wish, but I hope you won’t fall behind others. You are someone I named after all.”
Blade solemnly nodded. Putting his head in his hands and closing his eyes, he was hard at work thinking of what to do.
While what he said to Artorius was harsh, it was true that everyone had to prove their worth. Once Blade awakened some skill or talent, Viv would teach him, but until then, he was free to do as he wished.
Next up was Lyn. He was diligently practising mana control. To be exact, Viv made him practise drawing mana into his body. The current test was going well, only his left arm had exploded into a shower of blood and gore.
Mana needed to be purified before it could be used to enhance yourself, or else it would rampage through your body and kill you. First, a mage needed to properly form his mind palace, and after that, he could begin storing purified mana there. At least, that was the human way, and it was terribly slow.
“Alright Lyn, listen up. Your training as a human mage ends right now. There’s no need to work on your mind palace or the runes anymore. You’ll have to continue drawing in wild mana as practice.”
“Demonic magic is very simple. Human bodies change when they become greater demons, and thus, it becomes incredibly simple to use wild mana. For you, it’s going to be hell.”
Lyn listened carefully to what Viv said. He was proud of being the strongest of them all, but that was until Xeel showed up. Now, even Lyn was afraid of what would happen if they fought. It was of utmost importance to become the strongest of the bunch again.
“The first step to demonic magic is condensing a demon’s heart. Draw into your body enough wild mana and let it flow to your heart. When it becomes pitch black, you’ve succeeded. Once per day, you’ll be doing this, and you’ll continue until you get it right. ”
Lyn paled at the suggestion. “How much more mana is that?” he asked.
“Compared to now, at least three times as much.”
Lyn hung down his head, looking at the floor for a few moments. His hands were shaking.
“You’re immortal. Get a grip. The first attempt is now. Go.”
Viv’s voice was harsh, but it did the trick. Lyn calmed his shaking hands, sitting down and closing his eyes. Slowly, he began to control mana outside of his body. It felt slippery, like it didn’t want to be caught by him, but it had no choice in the matter.
The first feeling of drawing mana into his arms was cold. Then, it became scorching hot. The cold that burned his veins threatened to tear his arm apart in the first seconds. If previously it was like an eel, now it was a rampaging bull. Lyn had no choice but to be dragged along with it.
This time, it was time to go further. Mana went from his hands to his chest, and finally, it settled in his heart. The pain was excruciating, every heartbeat felt like he was getting torn apart, sliced, and chewed whole.
From Viv’s perspective, it went as expected. Lyn first started shaking, his arms blackening and cracking. Then, mana went into his chest. His entire body began to wither and crack, oozing out black blood. Then, he lost control. His body exploded into a million pieces, coating the entire room with a fresh layer of blood. Black mixed with red to form a beautiful picture, or so it seemed to Viv.
When he resummoned Lyn, he immediately dropped to the ground, shivering and panting. His body was completely fine, but the damage had been done to both his mind and soul. If he was a little less intelligent, more similar to his brothers, he would have been less affected.
“Prepare yourself. The longer you take, the more you will have to die, and neither of us want that. Tomorrow, you’ll be doing the same.”
If Viv still had a bit of humanity left, he could’ve chosen a less traumatic method, or at least comforted the goblin. For now, he was only slightly fond of them, just like he would be with a brand-new set of toys. Only demons deserved to be pitied and understood, the rest were filthy human descendants that needed to be slaughtered.
Viv examined the first floor in its entirety. He was still so pathetically weak. If any of his old enemies came, he would be powerless to stop them, and he had made an enemy of humankind as a whole. The first floor was only a starting point. He would amass armies in the dungeon, creating horrors the gods had never seen.