Open the Gates, 1: Create your first monster.
Alright, this is a simple quest - and I have a skill for this, besides. This shouldn't be too tough.
"[Forge Monster]!"
A faltering feeling passes through me, and rather than a monster, I summon a System box. I really suck at dungeoning.
Forge Monster Lv. 1
You create a monster from amongst your saved designs. Mana cost varies.
Saved Designs: None.
Oh, I don't have a design. System, help please!
Query: Monster Designs
Everything in a dungeon is formed from concepts given form through mana - monsters are no exception. [Forge Monster] requires you to imagine the monster you wish to create. A design is a thought, solidified, so that stray musings don't interfere in the creation process.
Casting [Forge Monster] without using a design is possible, but runs the risk of malforming creatures.
Alright - so all I need to do is focus on what I want to make, and I'll create a design?
I take a deep breath in, not that I breathe out often, and sink into my thoughts. I don't particularly have a monster in mind - after all, my goal is still to become a hero. I suppose I never did anything with those desires, though. Far am I from a knight in shining armour...
"[Forge Monster!]"
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Elsewhere, fractal lights dance in the sky, a sign of the gods calling their chosen. As the scintillant aurora draws on, the fractal splits, breaking into its constituents, each shade crashing down as a bolt. A ritual, meticulously prepared, draws the divine lightning into a cathedral hall, and when the flashes fade, new heroes are born.
Six bodies shoot upright, taking desperate gasps of air, and six gods turn away, returning to their own affairs.
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A fractal shatters, and an iron footfall echoes through the cave. Tarnished armour groans, a tattered cape fluttering without wind. The newborn monster bows before me, soundlessly swearing fealty.
False Hero: Passion
A being born from your sense of irony - your desire to be a hero, crossed with your goal of making a monster.
This variant of the Hollow Armour has been forged with a noble soul, and unless commanded otherwise, will always spare defeated opponents. Its form resonates with your virtue of Passion.
A perfect monster. It may cost a nasty chunk of mana to create, but I'll recover it shortly. Quest Reward!
Open the Gates, 2:
Create your first monster. Complete!
Expand your domain.
My desire for instant gratification is crying right now. All I got was a follow-up quest. And if I didn't get rewarded for the first one, I bet I have to finish the entire line for a prize.
I wait the minute it takes my spent mana to recover, and with a push of will, expulse it.
"[Set Domain!]"
My mana spills out in a frothing wave, flooding the empty chamber before spilling out past the walls. I can feel my domain widening, as I lay claim to the areas I can't see. I'm not satisfied, however, so I recoup my mana, before using [Set Domain] again, and again, and again, until it stops claiming new space.
I can't feel the cavern walls, so I haven't claimed the whole cave. A level-related limit, maybe? As I check my System, a new message appears:
Skill Level Up! Set Domain has reached Lv.2!
Set Domain Lv.2
By releasing a wave of mana, you can claim your surroundings as your own. Claimed territory increases the range you can draw in mana from.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
By expending mana, you may project your vision through your monsters.
To sate my curiosity, I quickly activate the skill. Seeing through the eyes of my monster, I will it to explore my domain. As it exits the church, we witness a city below, devoid of life. Great pillars of crystal sprout from the ground, as though the world swallowed the city whole, and chipped a tooth in the process.
Most of the buildings sit akimbo, resting on damaged foundations. Others are hardly noticeable, having sunken such that only the rooftops remain. Searching indoors proves fruitless, with thick carpets of dust proudly announcing the lack of creatures around here.
My minion decides to use the tilted architecture for traversal, as several streets are wrecked, the pointed cobbles making walking difficult.
As we draw to the edges of my domain, I witness the answer to my question of expansion. A veritable river of mana, flowing around the city, before continuing elsewhere. My domain can't extend into this moat, much less past it.
Since I use mana to claim land, it makes sense that more mana could stop me. That said, this also explains my swift mana regeneration - between my domain giving me increased pull, and this river of magic, I can gather mana as fast as I spend it.
I command my False Hero to return to me, and I end the skill, returning my vision to my body.
Open the Gates, 3:
Create your first monster. Complete!
Expand your domain. Complete!
Populate your domain.
As requested, I make more monsters, and station them across the city. Despite using the design that was made with the False Hero, the resultant monsters are called Hollow Armours. Still, a legion of knights sends a message about who is and isn't welcome here.
I command some to patrol the streets, while others stand vigil, guarding crossroads and rooftops. Of course, the path to me is most heavily defended, an honour guard assembled before the church doors.
Open the Gates, 4:
I learned to make treasure. From what I read before, it wasn't too different from making monsters - a lot cheaper on the mana costs, too. Treasure wasn't high on my priorities, but an empty dungeon is poor fare. I hide a few chests around the city, and that's apparently enough to gain another level of [Set Domain.]
Open the Gates, 5:
With said new level, this quest proved far easier than the last. For this one, I was assigned trap creation - falling rubble to block roads, hidden potholes to trip people up, and other such hazards of a crumbling city. I also rig a single treasure chest so that it looks trapped, but it's actually just empty.
Open the Gates, 6: Anoint your Monster Lord.
After a quick System query on how to do that, I turn my gaze to my first monster. It's the most unique of them all - of course I'll pick it.
"False Hero - I hereby grant you the title of Monster Lord, and the name of Mordred. Your duty remains the same - shield me from harm, at all costs, and by all means."
I feel my mana pull towards my knight, and the suit flares with mana. Decrepit, damaged armour sloughs away, revealing shining plate beneath. Their cape ignites, edges dancing with pink flame. But most striking of all, a fire alights in the knight's helmet. Locking eyes with its flaming sight, I feel a wave of emotion pass across me.
His sight holds gratitude, loyalty, and something else, burning fiercely.
With a suitably heroic amount of drama, he turns to gaze upon the city, and System box appears in my view:
Monster Lord's Request:
Mordred would like to establish a Rule - The Noble Knights.
Accept? Y/N
A rule? System!
Query: Dungeon Rules
A Dungeon Rule is a concept applied to the entire dungeon, which can range from simple decrees such as, "Ranged attacks are Forbidden," to unnatural effects such as, "Those who die within the Dungeon are immediately raised as undead."
To summate, Rules can be some of the most powerful abilities a dungeon can unleash.
I'm a little miffed that my boss monster knows dungeon construction better than I do, but I have no reason to say no.
As soon as I accept, the air charges with mana - my core is emptied.
As soon as I refill it, it drains again, each repetition straining me.
It burns - my mana is continuously ripped away as Mordred pulls the energy from me, weaving it into a lengthy scroll. Across the city, I can see my mana surging - enveloping the Hollow Armours.
Countless repetitions later, my core fills one last time, and only a small pittance is taken to finish the Rule.
Raising the Rule on high, Mordred unleashes flames from his palm, engulfing it. With the scroll's destruction, the weight of the Rule presses down on my domain, and I begin to black out.
Before my vision fades, the last thing I see is Mordred returning to me, once more taking the knee.