I looked in terror at Amber, who was carelessly turning pages in the magazine. While I focused on my domain, I noticed every single building I built cost me a monthly upkeep. Spawners work even in idle mode, so besides additional mana spent on upgrades, they will eat mana for manual emergency spawning of mobs. That's good. But this will cost me...

Almost one million mana monthly.

Okay... Relax... I have twelve million mana in my vault. That means in the worst-case scenario, I have one year to figure out how to make more mana. Thank you Eriar...

So... How exactly do I earn mana?

My first thought was obvious. Based on what I heard from Amber, Dungeons kill people. However, what would be the point in sending me here to save the world if I could only kill people to gain my mana?

Hmmm... I gained mana by killing the previous dungeon. Maybe I can send my army and attack other bad dungeons? Seems like a valid option. However, I will need an army first, though I’m not sure what other dungeons had at their disposal. I needed to make sure they wouldn't overrun me in the long term, even if they created some form of alliance.

That's an option to explore later. Most likely I will have to do something about the other dungeons, anyway.

Mr System? Did I get any mana since I destroyed the previous dungeon? Huh...

Cemetary and mausoleum generated 100 mana so far...

However...

I looked at Amber. She generated about 300 mana while she explored the dungeon and ate the food I planted. And all mana income was just 30% of what normally I would gain from regular adventurers since she was my citizen? Resident? Chosen maiden? Mr System?

So she was a resident. Thank you SysBro! I quickly got an idea.

"Amber, do you think I can establish good relationships with some adventurers' guilds with good reputations to explore my dungeon?"

"Sure. But that might be hard. You are a powerful dungeon since you were able to vanquish the Castle of Blood Dungeon, so they might think you’re dangerous."

"Hmmm... I will need your help. I have an idea."

"Of course, my King." She smiled at me. "What do you need from your Queen?"

"I need you to post a quest to recover something from my domain," I told her thoughtfully, being too much in the work mode to pay attention to her attitude. She noticed I was too focused on dungeon stuff and brightly smiled, tilting her head. Her beautiful hair flowed like a river of fire. I noticed it was curling slightly now, as it was almost dry.

Eriar, you're working hard to make me upgrade your chapel to a church, aren't you? She's cute.

"What exactly?" She looked puzzled.

"Dunno. A ring, tiara, magic rock. Whatever. Even a broken stick will do. And we will offer a reward. Something good, but not suspicious."

"Sure... But why?" she suddenly stiffened and paled. "You want to bait adventurers here and kill them?!"

"No. I want them to explore and do adventurer things. Or whatever they do in dungeons." I paused and shook my head. "Besides staying alive. Look, I received mana from you when you gathered a few fruits and walked a bit. If we manage to convince some adventurers to do some regular exploring, I will gain mana steadily. And I will use it to figure out how I can save the world."

Amber relaxed and started with a slow nod, but after a while, she was nodding with conviction.

"This may actually work when people discover you are the Core..."

"No! This must be our secret, only known to those who swear loyalty and swear to protect us. We will keep it a secret as long as we can. I don't want to test what will happen if someone tries to kill this body."

My short scream made her jump in her chair, but my calm explanation made her rethink, and she nodded one more time.

"Ok. But I think some adventurers are already gathering near your..." She smirked "...our domain. That's normal when a new dungeon is established. They check if it is dangerous or not. If it is, then they try to break its core to weaken it and keep it contained."

"That's... Just mean..." I felt bad for some reason.

"What do you mean?" she asked, concerned.

"Look... You wake up in some strange place as some gemstone or whatever and you have 48 hours to set up your shop. Then some people just barge in, turning over every single stone and trying to kill you if some things just are slightly off in their opinion. That can explain why so many dungeons are murderous bastards that want to kill every person entering their domain."

She looked at me, very surprised. She clearly never looked at the world order from the perspective of a dungeon. I get that people of this world want to live, but geez! Show some respect. Amber was pondering the idea as she looked at me with a strange facial expression.

"I never thought about it from your, I mean, a dungeon‘s perspective, but you might be right." Now I know what's with her facial expression.

She was probably the most intelligent person in a few-kilometre radius with her broken stats. And her manner changed drastically when she received her new name and title. She was processing ideas that not so long ago looked strange or were too much for her.

When she looked at me again, I recognized her next facial expression. It was shame mixed with anger and the realisation of how fucked up the world is.

Well, girl... I was sent here to unfuck up things.

"Anyway. Spawners don't have upkeep. So I think I'll get wolves, spiders and rats."

"Whoa... Where do you plan to place them? If I may say something, it will be very crowded here if you place them near food nodes."

"I'll place them in the lower castle." I shrugged and yawned after I placed spawners and made sure I could switch their location later. I was at 60000 mana and my sudden yawn might be connected with the amount of mana I have spent today. I noticed Amber's piercing gaze.

"What?" I asked from behind my hand that was masking my yawn.

"What do you mean, in the lower castle?"

"This is the upper castle or the main castle. If you pass the gatehouse you saw during your trip to the garden earlier, you will enter the middle castle. From it, you can walk down to the lower castle." I explained patiently and saw her absolute astonishment.

"It's already dark, but I would love to see the entire castle you have built. It sounds impressive." She yawned as well. She probably was still tired after almost being killed, along with everything else that happened in between.

"One last question. The hard one." I asked calmly and softly. She simply nodded in reply. "How bad it is out there, outside my walls, that you have chosen to volunteer yourself to the fate of being a willing prisoner? You can't leave Avalon ever again for more than one week, yet you still decided to be my Queen. You don't know me. You don't know who or what I am. But you basically made yourself my slave. Why?"

She sat in silence for a long moment. She looked down with her hands holding tight to her knees. I could see tears dropping down onto her pajamas.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

"Amber, I don't dislike you or your decision. It was yours to make, and maybe the system gave you only this option because of me. On many occasions before, I had already admitted to myself how stunningly beautiful you are. And call me by my name, please."

Upon hearing this, she calmed a bit and wipped her tears. I added with as neutral a voice as I could.

"I just want to know what this world is and how it looks. Amber look... Only you can tell me the truth, my Queen."

"My King... Theon. I..."

She took a deep breath, and after squinting her eyes, she sighed and responded.

"You must know that the World Words allowed me to choose. If I wanted to be a Lady of Avalon- your friend and ally, or if I wanted to be the Queen. I... I wanted something more from life. After these few hours I spent in your domain, I realised they were the happiest moments of my life since my parents died."

I nodded my head, uncertain about how I should feel. What drives a person in this world to choose as she has chosen? What circumstances may push anyone to such an extreme? I didn't want to interrupt her, and I waited for her to continue.

"How bad is it? I don't know Theon. I just... I feel... I know it's bad. I can only tell you my story and what I have seen..." She looked at me with uncertainty. I nodded in agreement.

"My parents were adventurers, very successful ones. They had a party of ten other high-level adventurers with whom they spent years together exploring even the most dangerous dungeons. We could afford a house and I lived a happy life. But even then, I remember there were plenty of homeless orphans or beggars on the streets. I was twelve and about to start school when four people from my parent's party returned. They claimed that the dungeon they were in was murderous and they had bad luck. Only they came back. I cried all night. But then I remembered what my mom always told me. Always watch closely and always check twice."

God damn it... I had a feeling of what was incoming.

"I see in your eyes Theon that you already guessed. Yes. These four killed the rest of their party. Apparently, the loot they claimed back then was worth plenty of full gold coins. Just like that. People who have known each other for years will kill you just like that."

She looked straight into my eyes with defiance and a fighting spirit.

She is strong. She never gave up.

"I ran. I took all the money we had back home, and I escaped from the city. For seven years, I was looking for a place to settle, but I ran out of money quickly. I never was able to obtain a class, either. But now I have one. Thank you, Theon."

She trembled a little and started softly crying. I stood up and closed her in an embrace. She continued to cry harder.

I was probably the first... Hmmm, person? Dungeon? To listen to her story at all. After a few minutes, she snuggled harder into my chest and whispered one more time thanks and fixed herself in a chair.

"I travelled, or maybe I ran, for seven long years. People are poor and desperate. In this world, all treasures lay buried deep inside dungeons. Gold, items, materials. *sigh* Everything. You can produce only a little from what is outside dungeons. And dungeons are murderous. You can't level up. You can't progress in your class. Without dungeons, this world is doomed. Even nobles are piss poor now." She pointed around the living room. "I'm almost sure this room and everything inside is worth more than everything Queen Josla, the ruler of this land, has in her possession."

She looked parched, so without a word, I summoned glass cups and a jug. I gave her a moment to collect her thoughts while I filled a jug with water from the tap in the bathroom. I poured her a full glass of water and after a second, I filled one for myself. She drank it quickly.

"Thank you, Theon. Maybe things are better out there somewhere. Maybe other dungeons in faraway lands are like you. But if that was to be the case, the other kingdoms would simply attack them. Even I know that. And that's why I agreed to stay here. Theon... When I finally ended up in Bolia Village, people there met me with open hands. Against all odds, I thought I could settle there. They were good to me and they were happy to give me some work. They gave me some food and shelter for two weeks. And then chained me on the altar to be eaten by the Blood Dungeon Vampire."

She looked straight into my eyes.

"Do you still have to ask why I decided to stay? Why had I chosen you? Of all the people I've met, only inside of your walls do I feel safe. Out of all people, only you- a Dungeon, is willing to protect me. I will happily do whatever you want. Just don't make me go away. Kill me instead."

She was dead serious right now. I looked at her, and when I realized what she just said, I boiled with anger.

"No, Amber va'Theon. I will not do that! You can stay in Avalon. This part of my domain, the upper castle, is your... our home. It's an exclusion zone where no one unwanted can ever dream to enter. It can be your golden cage if you want. Go to sleep now, Queen of Avalon, Amber va'Theon."

She smiled through tears at me. "And you?"

"I still have work to do. Thank you for your story."

"Then good night." Still smiling, she waved her hand at me.

"Sleep well, Amber." I waved her back with a gentle smile.

I left the living room and stopped for a brief moment in the corridor. With a heavy heart, I considered everything I learned so far. I returned to build mode but I was still thinking about Amber and her story.

Eriar... This world of yours really is fucked up. I would rate it right under grim dark settings. With a sigh, I focused on building.

I was wondering when everything around here moved downhill and why all dungeons just murder people. But I guess that is self-explanatory right now. People try to weaken dungeons to make them easier to explore. But when dungeons finally spawn something powerful and they manage to break free, then they will prefer killing than once again becoming slaves. A messed-up circle. How to unfuck such a system?

Still depressed by quite the grim reality of the world I'm in, I focused on my own little project.

System Guy? Do I need any resources for building any structures later? No help? Hmm, then maybe my skills? Let's see...

Looks like yes and no. If I have resources, I will spend less mana on a building. But if I lack resources, I will pay much more mana. Pffff... Woodwork costs 50000 mana. It's a magical mix of a lumber mill and wood workshop. I can build it somewhere in the middle castle. I just know I will need timber and a lot of woodcrafts, so it will allow me to save mana in the long run. I'll build one. Like there.

Also, this one skill I received during my talk with Amber looks important.

Your curiosity granted you insight into the nature of truth and lies. You can detect lies and deception.

Exactly. Let's see... Do I have some skill points to spend? Yeah. Ok, take it easy. For a change. Let's go with slow, easy steps.

I had 12 hours left until I would face the world and its inhabitants. I also felt horrible. I had this feeling of depression that fills you after, well... depressing talk. I looked at Amber. She washed her face...

What the fuck? Why is my body laying on the floor in the corridor?

I quickly returned to my body and knocked on the door first this time.

"Yes? I mean come in!" I heard the surprised voice of Amber. She was almost ready to go to bed and looked at me with surprise.

"It looks like I must watch out for what I'm doing with my body. When I entered build mode, my body dropped on the floor just outside. I will stay on the sofa, if you don't mind." She looked at me sceptically..

"The bed is big enough for both of us. Look, my King. Tomorrow is your big day when you will open your dungeon. Knowing you, you will get some crazy idea that will require your body to be in the best shape and you will be sore after laying on that small sofa."

"I... You're probably right. If that's ok?"

"Yes."

I entered the bathroom and took a quick shower. From the clothes I summoned earlier, I put on a pair of pajamas and laid on the bed while turning the light off. It was strange.

"What?" I asked, feeling her gaze. In return, I heard her giggle.

"You are a strange Dungeon, my King. But at the same time so wonderful and surprising."

"I'll take that as a compliment. Thank you. Sleep well, Amber."

"You too."

I said nothing back as I already entered build mode. I zoomed in on myself. That was a strange feeling. My body was just pretending to be asleep. Before I moved my consciousness elsewhere, I noticed Amber kissing my cheek.

She fell asleep soon after and slept for the first time in seven years carelessly, knowing that she was finally safe.

I was watching my entire domain from above. I watched skeleton archers taking their positions on walls supported by skeleton pikemen. I noticed Skeleton Knights acting as officers in a few key positions. So far, only the middle castle wall was garrisoned by my skeleton soldiers. In the lower castle, I saw small packs of low-level mobs patrolling the area. In the upper castle, though, my eagles made their nests on top of wall towers while lower-level ones moved into other parts of the castle complex.

My thoughts once again returned to Amber's story.

God...

There are millions of people like Amber out there. Countless orphans and people who don't have any sliver of hope for a better tomorrow.

How to fix this world? How to make it better? For dungeons? For people? For everyone? I looked from above over my vast domain.

I know what I need to do.

I will find more people like Amber, the people who never gave up hope and kindness.

And then I'll forge them in the furnace of battle. I'll make them strong and ready to face evil and the darkness of this world. I will be the place for them to always return, where lay the hidden treasures of unspoken power.

Like the holy grail was in legend.

I will be The Avalon of this world.