"Your Builder Golem has delivered the ten Hover Chests and said he can create a tunnel to the Ruins. We are pleased to hear this!" Blackrock informed while his brothers inspected the Hoverchests like they got a new car.

"I look forward to seeing those six Miner and ninety-four Warrior Caste Imps when you return tonight," I reply, but Redrock scratches his bald head.

"The carriage can hold up to 25 Warrior Caste Imps at most. Since we need to bring back 100, we will require four carriages. The three of us can drive one carriage each, but we will need a fourth driver to deliver all of them by tonight. I understand this might seem like a bold request, but we hoped you could be our fourth driver," proposed Blackrock.

"I have never driven a carriage before nor want to return to Falar. You can invite another Black Market Agent into our arrangement," I reply.

"The three of us understand that you want to avoid conflicts with humans who do not threaten you. However, we cannot guarantee that other agents share the same perspective. As the groups that pursued us may still be waiting in Falar, we have decided to travel to Rodwin's Market, a merchant-run Riverport Town 100 kilometers from Falar. It is a place where adventurers buy, sell, and exchange the Non-Humans, Elemental Beasts, and Monsters for combat or mounts they have captured or raised. We will be teaching you how to drive on our journey there," suggested Blackrock.

"That is quite a distance away from Falar. Didn't the six Imps you brought here come from your warehouse in that city?" I point out.

"We have a holding facility in Falar for our regular clients who prefer not to travel to Rodwin. We only keep a few extra creatures just for a new client, but when the deals are as big as 100 Imps, we have no choice but to go to the source. Please think of this as an opportunity to personally pick the Imps you want, as long as they are of Clay Rank. We won't mind if it costs more. Accept it as our gratitude for your trust in us." Blackrock explained.

I can't tell them I don't care about an Imps pedigree, stats, and skills because I only want their souls for creating Golems. But it would sound odd to ask them to buy Imps randomly without caring about their potential. Hold on! Didn't Brock's Rogue soul have multiple evolution options because of his absurd skills? That could happen again if I select those with odd or rare skills.

"You convinced me! I hope to pick many Warriors with rare abilities," I answer.

"You must not restrict yourself to the Warrior Caste. The market will have Imps belonging to the Mages, Priests, Hunters, Riders, and Leader Castes. Since you are trying to build an army out of them, the Imps can display their true strength when the different castes support each other in battle." Redrock explained.

Redrock made a valid point. Why am I limiting myself to only Warrior Imps? I gave more priority to the Warriors because I could quickly turn them into Warrior Golems. However, now that I know that the Imps are willing to serve me, I should also be open to considering the other castes and not base the selection entirely on their soul evolution potential. I can't be sure if every Imp I choose serves me willingly like the ones before. It's better to have one of the six Imps with me to find those who will do the same.

"I can see the benefits from including the other castes. But I plan on bringing the Imp who spoke to me to help with the selection," I reply.

"It's your Imps! We have no problem with how you select them. It will take us six hours to get to Rodwin and back, so bringing a companion for the ride is a good idea. We will wait for you in the carriage outside the Dungeon." Blackrock replied, and I nodded in agreement.

The triplets pulled on the mana ropes connected to the Hover Chests to bring them back to the carriage, where the Draft Horses awaited their return. If only a horse could carry a Golem and get us around the Dungeon faster. A Golem could only dream of such a Horse...wait! I have the Blueprint for a Monster Breeding Farm. What if I created one that could do it? It doesn't have to be a horse as long as the creature is strong and fast enough for a Golem to ride.

A thought struck me. We are about to go to a Monster Market, where a wide variety of powerful creatures, including those that can be used as mounts, will be for sale. I should buy a powerful mountable pair for my Monster Breeding farm, which lacks 9500 Wood to build. But I can solve that by having the new Imps and Warrior collect that wood by chopping down the forests surrounding the Dungeon and the ones inside.

Now the problem again is how to pay. The Monsters or Elemental Beasts will be expensive if they need to be big enough to carry a Golem. I already spent 10 Mana Crystals to make 10 Hover Chests. Those ten were collected before Builder, and I went to Falar. Fourteen hours have passed since then, so 14 new Mana Crystals should be ready. I go over to them to collect what they have.

In total, I stored 16 Mana Crystals in my new storage ring. I informed Builder and Miner that I would leave with the triplets to get the Imps and shared my idea of buying a rideable monster for Golems at the market. They protested my plan to spend precious resources on the breeding farm. They suggested we have the Imps capture creatures in the nearby area and experiment until we got the mount I desired. But that was based on the luck of an encounter I didn't want to depend on. Not to mention, Redrock is a Tamer, and he could help me tame them if needed.

We discussed it for several minutes, but in the end, they reluctantly agreed after I told them about the 5000 Mana Crystal we would be receiving in a week by selling the Mana Trees. I also added that I wouldn't convert the Warrior Imps into Golems unless they died in defense of the Dungeon since they are willing to serve me without being forced into it. That way, we could save on Mana Crystals until they were needed to revive the Imp's soul into a new Golem. They couldn't believe the Imps were willing until I spoke of their religion and their desire to turn into Golems, which are technically immortal bodies. But if I chose to slaughter the Imps to make them into Golems, I might destroy their faith in the Dungeon Lord prophecy. This set their minds at ease with me spending a few Mana Crystals for my Mount Breeding project.

I instructed Miner and Builder what to do while I was away before leaving for the first floor of the Dungeon to find the Imps. I went to the areas where the livestock were avoiding. Eventually, I heard loud snoring and found their resting spot, where they had chosen to dine on their prey. The Six Imps had devoured Two Bison and One Elk. The skulls, horns, hides, fur, hooves, broken bones, and antlers are neatly piled at the center, surrounded by the sleeping Imps.

The Warrior Imp, who had spoken to me before, sensed my Golem's presence and opened his eyes.

"Dungeon Lord!" He got up and woke the others before asking. "What is your will?"

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"I need you to accompany me and the humans to help select 100 capable Imps to serve me. The remaining Imps must go to the second level. I want the Miner Caste Imps to work under the Miner Golem in the Stone Quarry. The Builder Golem will provide two Warrior Caste Imps with crude Stone Axes to chop down Oak and Pine Trees. Please treat my Golems with the same respect you show me. I will evaluate your work when I return. Do you understand?" I explained.

All the Imps nodded before five ran off on all fours toward the gate connected to the second level. The one that remained seemed to be smiling.

"Why are you smiling like that?" I ask him.

"Serving the Dungeon Lord's side is an honor I only dreamt about." He passionately explains.

"Ah! That reminds me! I would prefer it if you stopped using the title Dungeon Lord." I request.

"May I address you as 'Chief'? That is what we call our tribe leaders!" he explains.

"That will do! Oh, and do you have a name?" I ask.

"Failure!" The Warrior Imp replied, but I couldn't comprehend why he said that.

"Wait... is that the name your parents gave you?" I ask.

"Our Chief, the Ruler Caste of the highest Rank, bestows names for every Imp in the tribe. They can change our name at any time for any reason. Since the Dungeon Lord has a higher rank than them, it is right to call you 'High Chief'!" he explains.

"Adding High to Chief " sounds a bit grand, but if you feel it fits me, I won't complain. So why did your old Chief name you Failure?" I ask.

"Many Imps from my generation have reached the Steel Rank, but I failed to reach the Rank of Stone. That is why the Chief named me so," Failure explained.

Is there something wrong with this Imp? I should check his details. Hold up! Why haven't I checked them before when I got them? Oh, right! I didn't care to check because I only wanted to harvest their souls. Well, better late than never.

"Stand still while I... use my Dungeon Lord power to inspect your... soul," I order Failure in a way that he can understand.

"Interface! Open Failure Status!" I order.

[Name: Failure

Race: Imp Warrior Caste (Non-Human)

Title: None

Class: Monk Fighter (Combat Class)

Rank: Clay

EXP Bar: Lv 10 500/500 =>(Clear conditions to Rank Up or Evolve)

Skills: Feral Bite (Clay), Chest Drumbeat (Clay), Rammer (Clay), Eye-Stinger (Clay), Flesh-Regeneration Prayer (Clay), Stamina-Restoration Prayer (Clay), Pain-Nullification Prayer (Clay), Morale-Rejuvenation Prayer (Clay), Believer-Identification Prayer (Clay), Roar, Religion (Clay), Muscle Freak (Clay), Ancestor's Wisdom (Clay), Sucker Punch (Clay), Jump (Clay), Enhanced Senses (Clay), Challenger (Clay), Pride (Clay)

Language Skills: Falaran, Impan]

[Failure has unlocked the following Evolution Tree Paths:

Pride Sin Tree (Unlocked by gaining the skill Pride)

Warning! Those who awakened 'Pride' cannot pursue Rank Up or any other evolution tree due to the 'Sin Restriction' system. Losing the Pride skill will remove this restriction.

Pride-Warrior Imp (Stone) - Defeat 100 Clay Rank Imps in battle without killing them (100/100)

Pride-Priest Imp (Stone) - Learn 5 Priest Caste Prayer Skills (5/5)

Pride-Leader Imp (Stone) - Challenge, Duel, and Kill 1 Stone Rank Leader Imp (0/1)

Pride-Zealot Imp(Stone) - Clear the conditions for Pride-Warrior Imp, Pride-Priest Imp, Pride-Leader Imp]

"Interface! Expand Skill Details!" I order.

As I delve into Failure's skills, a flood of data engulfs my sight. It momentarily stuns me, making it difficult to process, so I pull out of my control of the Warrior Golem to speak to Rachel.

"Rachel! Can you simplify all the Skill details and remove the stat calculations?" I ask.

[I am adjusting the filters and removing the formulas]

"Thank you! Oh, and can you prioritize the order of the skills based on rarity?" I request.

[Will do!

Reformating...

Done!]

I regained control of my Warrior Golem and noticed simplified details.

[Pride (Clay):

Pride in your body, mind, skills, and faith has unlocked the Sin-Pride Evolution tree. At Clay Rank, the strength of your combat skills will receive a 10% boost. If you lose your sense of Pride, you will lose this skill.

Religion (Clay):

Your dedication to faith will allow you to learn priest skills as support skills that can be used during combat and noncombat. Support skills can grow without suffering from class restrictions. At Clay Rank, the strength of your noncombat skills will receive a 10% boost. If you lose faith, you will lose all the Priest Skills you learned.

Flesh-Regeneration Prayer (Clay):

Chant the prayer to heal your flesh by sacrificing MP.

Stamina-Restoration Pray (Clay):

Chant the prayer to restore your stamina by sacrificing MP.

Pain-Nullification Prayer (Clay):

Chant the prayer to ignore all pain by sacrificing MP.

Morale-Rejuvenation Prayer (Clay):

Chant the prayer to restore your morale by sacrificing MP.

Believer-Identification Prayer (Clay):

Chant the prayer to identify those who possess the Religion skill by sacrificing MP.

Feral Bite (Clay):

It uses sharp fangs to bite an opponent's jugular points.

Chest Drumbeat (Clay):

Beat the chest four times for a temporary Buff +100 ATK for 1 minute.

Rammer (Clay):

Ram at a target after building momentum over 10 meters with skull and body.

Eye-Stinger (Clay):

Use the arrow tip of the tail to stab the eyes of the enemy.

...]

I quickly read through the rest of the skills and skipped the ones that sounded plain. Failure could evolve into a Pride Warrior or a Pride Priest. But his Pride refuses to settle for less than the Pride Zealot path. It must be better than the other paths since its requirements are much higher.

"So, you failed to Rank Up to Stone because you are trying to evolve into Pride-Zealot Imp?" I asked Failure.

"Yes! It is the only path I aspire." He admitted with a smile.

"Why can't you kill a Leader Caste Imp even with all these skills?" I ask.

"It is not that I lacked the physical strength to kill the leader. I lacked the will to kill my family for my growth." Failure explained.

"Why not kill an enemy Imp Leader of Stone Rank?" I asked.

"I have gained knowledge from my ancestors that made me realize all Imps of Arya are descended from the same ancestors born in this Dungeon. We are all from the same family, and I refuse to kill my own family even if they don't consider me as one of their own. That's why my Chief calls me Failure, hoping it would break my Pride and shame me into evolving in the usual way," Failure explains.

"You are a... Imp of principle. But that means you are stuck at Clay Rank till you die." I point out.

"If that is my faith, I will die with Pride for what I believe in. It also allowed me to meet you and gain entry into the promised land! For that, I am grateful for my decisions and faith in your return." Failure explained.

If family is everything to him, what will he do if they oppose his faith?

"Failure... I plan to connect this Dungeon to the Imp territory under a ruin nearby. If they don't submit to me willingly, then I will be forced to capture and kill them in my Dungeon. Will you still follow me or try to kill me for harming your family?" I ask.

"The last Dungeon Lord gave life to Imps and a home for them to defend. My ancestors failed to protect both. I will protect the one who has given Imps a second chance. If there are Imps who wish to harm you or refuse to serve you, then they are no family of mine!" Failure was declared with a firm voice, but I could tell it pained him to say that in the last line.

So, there is still a way for him to evolve. All I have to do is set the right conditions for it to happen. Wait! I am sounding like the General who made me commit a war crime!

I shook the evil thoughts away and refocused on Failure. Failure should decide how to deal with the self-imposed restrictions. However, the first step is to create a new identity that reflects Failure's true nature.

"Since I am your new High Chief, I will give you a new name... Nazrat!"

"Nazrat? Does it have a meaning?" He asks.

"One who is of great pride!" I answer.