There were still a few other things Riven needed to do before reopening the portal for a new wave of victims…
He corrected himself with a smirk, “customers.”
After all, his job was to provide them with an experience, wasn’t it? To let them test their mettle, to enjoy the thrill of danger while they unwittingly donated their precious mana to his growing dungeon.
He was eager to get back to it, but he wanted to make sure everything was properly fortified this time. Yesterday’s fiasco had been a lesson he wouldn’t soon forget. His first floor had been adequate for the average low-level adventurer, but that last pair—the boy with the blinding light spell, and his companion—had thrown a wrench into his carefully laid plans.
They’d managed to breach his floor and rob him of his hard-earned mana with ease, an indignity he was determined not to suffer again.
But now, with Darnel the Kobold stationed in the shadows outside his management chamber, he finally had an additional line of defense. Darnel was far from pleasant to look at, but his appearance alone might be enough to scare off any adventurers who stumbled this far. And if the kobold wasn’t enough… well, Riven could always assist.
‘That human who blinded me… he couldn’t blind both of us at the same time,’ he thought, a hint of smug satisfaction creeping in. If they returned—and he secretly hoped they would—Darnel would be lying in wait, ready to pounce.
‘There’s no way they’ll dare come back after seeing him lurking in the shadows’, he thought. ‘And not just because he looks like something dredged up from the bottom of a bog.'
He chuckled, feeling a renewed sense of confidence. Still, there was one more improvement he wanted to make before he settled in for the day. While his own management floor was similar to the one Sorvax had used, it was a far cry from the fully outfitted lair his master had cultivated over decades. Sorvax had spent countless years upgrading and expanding his chamber, transforming it into a veritable fortress surrounded by lower floors filled with deadly traps and powerful creatures.
Riven wanted that too—no, he deserved that. His dungeon was new, yes, but he would build it into something truly magnificent. A monument to his skill, and a place of fear and challenge that adventurers would speak of in whispers.
Pulling up the tablet, he navigated to the Floors tab and selected his own management floor, watching as the symbols rearranged themselves on the screen to reflect its status.
[Management Floor]
[Daily Upkeep: 2 MP]
[Rewards: 0/1,000,000 MP]
[Creatures]
→ [Level 1 Darnel the Kobold]
[Upgrade to Level 2]
His eyes lit up when he saw the option to upgrade his floor to Level 2. It had cost him 500 MP but it was worth it. That would not only unlock additional facilities he could use to grow his dungeon more efficiently, but in the later upgrades would assist in what he could do with the dungeon itself.
Sorvax had always insisted on the importance of a well-equipped management floor, even though he himself had rarely ventured into the rooms it contained.
"That’s what apprentices are for, boy," he’d say with a sneer, sending Riven off to handle whatever menial tasks he didn’t care to deal with himself.
Riven smiled, feeling a strange mixture of nostalgia and pride. Sorvax may not have liked the grunt work, but Riven had learned to appreciate it. He knew the importance of every room, every resource, every small advantage a well-equipped management floor could provide.
Without a second thought, he pressed the Upgrade to Level 2 button.
The floor beneath him gave a slight tremor, and he heard a faint, surprised squeal echo from the hallway behind him—no doubt Darnel reacting to the sudden shift.
The air shimmered briefly as the room expanded, the stone walls inching outward, giving him a bit more breathing room. A new door materialized on the right side of the chamber, seamlessly blending with the dark stone.
Riven’s heart skipped a beat when he saw it. He knew that door well. How many hours had he spent going in and out of it, lugging materials and following Sorvax’s orders?
It was the Laboratory.
The door’s dark iron handle felt cool and familiar under his hand as he opened it, peering inside. Just as he remembered, the room was a modest size, lined with shelves filled with alchemical ingredients, enchanted tools, and an assortment of dusty tomes stacked haphazardly along the walls.
A long, stone table dominated the center of the room, its surface covered in an assortment of flasks, beakers, and strange metal apparatuses. In the corner, a cauldron simmered, though with nothing in it yet, it only emitted faint wisps of residual smoke from whatever last potion had been brewed within.
It was everything he needed to start producing his own potions, upgrading his creatures, and even crafting enchanted items. Sorvax had rarely used the lab himself, but he’d drilled Riven mercilessly on potion-making, enchantment rituals, and the finer details of alchemical experimentation.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
“If you’re going to be of use to me, boy, you need to know how to handle these things,” he would say, thrusting a pile of ingredients into Riven’s hands and ordering him to produce a stock of health potions or poison vials.
At least… that would be the case if he had the time to gather these materials. In truth, it was just a room filled with empty beakers and vials.
But it was ready for future use!
Riven took a deep breath, a mixture of nostalgia and excitement bubbling up in his chest. This room had been the bane of his existence under Sorvax’s rule, but now… now it was his. He wouldn’t be the disgruntled apprentice slaving away in here; he’d be the master, the architect, creating the tools he needed to make his dungeon as lethal as possible.
With the lab now part of his management floor, he could also use it to expand his dungeon’s capabilities without exhausting his mana reserves.
Potions to heal or strengthen his creatures, traps infused with poison or paralytic agents, enchanted gear for his guards—it was all possible now. He just needed to gather the ingredients and put in the time.
The expansion of his management floor was modest, only adding a bit of space, but it made a surprising difference. The extra room allowed him to move around freely without feeling like he was crammed into a stone closet. For the first time, the chamber felt less like a prison and more like the beginnings of a palace. Granted, a humble, starter palace—but he’d get there.
He turned back to the main room, glancing at the tablet again, pleased with his progress. His gaze drifted to Darnel, who was still lurking in the shadowed corner of the hallway as instructed, his yellow eyes glinting as he watched his master with a mix of curiosity and mild confusion.
He shivered…
‘Eugh. Still not pleasant to look at even in the dark…’
Though, Riven’s lips curled into a slight smile. With his management floor upgraded and the laboratory in place, he was better equipped than ever to handle the challenges ahead. And with Darnel standing guard, he felt just a little more secure. He even felt a faint glimmer of excitement at the thought of his next encounter with those meddling adventurers.
“Darnel,” he said, addressing the kobold, who perked up at the sound of his name. “Keep that hallway secured. If any intruders make it through the first floor and find their way here… well, you know what to do.”
Darnel gave a low, rumbling growl of acknowledgment, a sound that was both unsettling and oddly satisfying. Riven shivered but forced himself to nod approvingly.
‘Yes’, he thought, ‘that’ll do nicely.’
Satisfied, he turned back to his tablet, reviewing his next steps. With the lab now available, he’d have plenty of options to strengthen his dungeon over the coming days. And next time he opened the portal, he’d be ready for whatever those filthy humans tried to throw at him.
As he closed the lab door, his mind filled with plans for potions, poisons, and enchantments, Riven felt a surge of determination. Today had been a rocky start, yes—but tomorrow, he would begin the process of transforming this dungeon into a fortress worthy of his ambitions.
Back in the main chamber, Riven glanced down at the tablet to check his remaining mana reserves. After upgrading his management floor and summoning Darnel, he was left with 605 MP—enough for another minor upgrade, but it would leave him vulnerable if things went wrong. He drummed his fingers against the edge of the tablet, his mind racing as he weighed the risks.
‘I could use it for more traps… maybe an extra layer of defenses around the portal’, he thought, frowning.
But any additional upgrades would drain his reserves to zero, leaving him helpless if Darnel couldn’t hold his own. And if the adventurers managed to reach him again, he’d have no resources to fall back on for repairs or recovery.
He sighed, setting the tablet down for a moment.
‘No’, he told himself firmly. ‘I need to keep some mana in reserve.’
Sorvax might have been powerful enough to run his dungeon on a razor-thin margin, relying solely on his personal strength, but Riven knew he didn’t have that luxury.
The Dungeon Master’s Guidebook had advised young dungeon masters to always keep a mana stockpile for emergencies. It was one of the few practical tips in the entire book, buried in between hundreds of pages on honor, history, and the supposed “art” of dungeon management.
“Better safe than sorry,” he muttered, trying to reassure himself. He’d built up as much defense as he could, and now all he could do was trust that Darnel would be able to fend off any intruders.
Riven’s fingers hovered over the Refill Loot option on the Dungeon Management Menu. The thought of adventurers waltzing through the first floor, snatching up mana-rich items he’d painstakingly created, still grated on him. But the bait was necessary—if he didn’t offer enough enticing rewards, the humans wouldn’t bother coming back at all, and he’d be left with no harvest.
He tapped Refill Loot, watching as 95 MP was deducted from his reserves. It was a small investment, but one he hoped would lure enough adventurers to make the day worthwhile. With the loot restocked, his dungeon was officially ready for another round.
The real concern, however, lingered in the back of his mind. The fact that those adventurers had managed to map the path to the portal meant he could no longer rely on obscurity alone. If they came back—and he had little doubt they wouldn’t—they’d have a clear route straight to his management floor.
Worse, they might have sold the information to others. For the right price, stronger adventurers could easily be persuaded to buy a map, turning his humble dungeon into a high-stakes target overnight.
Riven’s stomach twisted at the thought of a band of seasoned adventurers storming into his floor, armed with spells and swords—and a map that led directly to his chamber. He feared that scenario more than he’d care to admit. Without a maze of lower floors to buffer him, he was one of the few dungeon masters with only a single line of defense between himself and the humans. And while Darnel was a good addition, he was still just one kobold.
But there was nothing more Riven could do right now. He had to start the day and hope for the best.
‘At least if I keep some mana in reserve, I can survive a worst-case scenario’, he reminded himself.
Injuries could happen—especially to young dungeon masters like himself—and if he had to hunker down and wait out a recovery period, he’d need mana to sustain himself and his floor’s basic functions.
He tried to take comfort in that thought, though it was hard to shake the anxiety lurking in the back of his mind. This wasn’t like training, or even like assisting Sorvax. This was real. One mistake, and everything he’d built could come crashing down. His dungeon could collapse, and he’d be left with nothing but failure and shame.
Taking a steadying breath, he refocused on the tablet, his eyes narrowing in determination.
“Alright, that’s enough fretting,” he told himself. “I’ve done what I can. Now let’s see if these humans are foolhardy enough to try again.”
With one final tap, he selected Start New Day.
The tablet’s screen flickered, displaying the familiar map of the first floor. Almost immediately, red dots began to appear at the entrance portal, small clusters representing the fresh wave of adventurers who had entered his dungeon. Riven’s eyes gleamed as he watched them filter in, spreading out across the corridors, eager for treasure and danger.
“Come on, you greedy pests,” he murmured, his lips curling into a grim smile. “Let’s see if you’re as lucky as you think.”