Chapter 23 | Dungeon Raid 4

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GUIDE: Generally Upgraded Intelligent Dungeon Entity.

Alisha thought it was a clever name but Guide didn’t care what he was called. The soul contract spell was commonly used for slaves but the terms for this contract were a lot less strict. It was a mutually beneficial contract and the parties could exit whenever they wanted. An added bonus to this type of contract seemed to be linked minds for telepathy. Neat.

She also gained control of the entire dungeon from Guide. It was vast and it stretched past the lake she stopped at. She could see everything in the dungeon at once through her Monster Sight. It was as if a three-dimensional computer rendering was uploaded into her mind. This was Guide’s Dream Space.

The dungeon had numerous triggers for traps and the golems throughout. She could also see the dungeon monsters reacting to the sight of their new master. She was just looking at the rendering in her Dream Space, how could the monsters act like she was there?

Alisha had a faint feeling of the dungeon calling to her.

It was alluring.

She began questioning Guide about what he knew. Guide didn’t know the concept of age so he didn’t know how old he was. Since Guide first awakened, he had followed his instincts and did his ‘function’ as a Dungeon Master. His ‘function’ was to survive and kill humans. However, after a raid that almost cost him his life, Guide decided to adopt a more passive approach.

After his adjustments to the dungeon, he didn’t have a human raid his dungeon for a long time until Alisha came. All the humans he killed simply fell to their deaths when the ground shallowed them.

“Was that it?” Alisha asked. She was surprised by how short his story was.

“Yes, this is all the events that had transpired since my awakening.”

Alisha was amazed, “You never once thought about the outside world or what you were?”

“I never had the thought until you spoke of the concept of sentience. I had never thought for myself before.”

So, Guide was a shut-in. Was this something Alisha could fix? Admittedly, she was a bit of a shut-in too before coming to Theia.

“Since I’m the new master of this dungeon, I’ll make this my new base of operations. I’m going to do some ‘redecorating.’”

“This dungeon is already configured for optimal efficiency and effectiveness.”

“Yes, according to you. But what if I can add some welcome additions? Guide, show me around my new home.”

The dungeon was carved out in a large hilly area underground which spanned a few miles. Alisha took the straight path to Guide and it still took around two hours. However, without knowing the right path could take someone days to get through the dungeon. According to Guide, he built the dungeon one room and section at a time like ant tunnels and it eventually reached his limits.

The golems looked like normal stones on the walls until Guide activated them. Apparently, Guide made them by accident one day and stuck with it. He created a new creature all on his own and thought nothing of it. The double-bladed polearms were the creations of the golems themselves.

“You created a life-form and that doesn’t surprise you?” Alisha asked.

“It was merely a result one day when expanding my territory.”

Creating artificial monsters was that easy? Infusing a crystal with mana and dungeon stones equals monster? If it was that easy, why hadn’t she heard about this until now? She already knew that the Church and Empire were suppressing certain information. Perhaps this was one example. She could understand the situations they wanted to avoid by keeping this fact secret.

There was one other thing that was worth noting but she couldn’t interpret what it was from her position.

“Do you know of the Network?”

“The Network, Madam?”

Alisha never acknowledged the Network until Black made it known to her so it was possible that shifting Guide’s perception could make him aware of it too.

“Madam, now that you’ve explained it, I believe I am aware of it.”

“Okay. Can you tell me what’s in this room here?”

Alisha pointed a room out in her mental map. It was a strange room because of its size and the fact that it didn’t have a specific purpose. All the rooms and corridors in the dungeon seemed to have a function from monster rooms to traps but this one.

Guide explained, “That room is for soul storage.”

Alisha went down to the room to inspect it and found the souls emitting their light in the otherwise dark room. They were floating and were connected to each other in a kind of ‘sub-network.’ Their essences were drained and had no will to escape.

According to Guide, the human souls he collected were put in here to be used for a spell to generate mana. The spell was called Mana Engine and it generated more mana than its input. With hundreds of souls, why didn’t Guide used this mana against her?

“I did. But your mana output exceeded my own.”

In other words, it didn’t matter how much mana he had, Guide couldn’t use it effectively against her.

“Guide, was creating this room part of your function or did you come up with this on your own?”

“It was my own creation to accelerate mana regeneration.”

“Wow. Guide, you keep impressing me.”

“Thank you, Madam.”

Alisha smiled at Guide’s ingenuity. Having another Dungeon Master answer her questions was quite beneficial. But there was a limit to what Guide could answer without some study.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

She went back to Guide’s core room and took out some books from her Expanded Space. Over a hundred books were taken out and it took only a blink of an eye. Most of these books were copied into her Dream Space and Alisha used her slime abilities to produce physical copies in the ‘Overworld.’ Black’s technique for instantaneous retrieval was very convenient.

“Guide, I want you to read these books. I gave you some knowledge concerning the Common Tongue through our mental link so you should be able to understand the printed words if you practice a bit.”

“Is reading necessary? I believed I was learning from you, Madam.”

“You need to learn the basics. No matter what or who teaches you, the basics will always be the same. This will also allow me to observe how you learn.”

“I understand, Madam.”

It was clear that Guide had a lot to learn and his lack of questions for her was troubling Alisha. Perhaps he didn’t know which questions to ask.

Alisha became acquainted with the dungeon quickly and progress was made towards her remodeling. Guide’s golems and a few skeletons were the only monsters that had opposable thumbs so they did most of the construction while the others carried materials.

The monsters did as she commanded and Guide was their direct supervisor. They mined mineral deposits in the labyrinth and used the materials to make a furnace and crucible. Identifying the materials was a simple case of visual observations and measurements. Alisha planned to make tiles out of silica-rocks to make the dungeon a bit more orderly. This had the added bonus of making glass from the lake’s beach sand. Adequate temperature to melt the sand and materials into tiles were made with air input and pure mana.

There were three conductors of mana, forms of energy that could be used directly to invoke spells or change themselves to and from mana. And so, a spell gem could be invoked by exposing it to a conductor either fire, light, or electricity at different critical points of energy input. A fire had the lowest activation energy and so was the most energetic and cost-efficient conductor. Basically, tossing mana gems into the furnace fire equals more heat.

She had Guide handle the rest of the project of tiling after she thoroughly explained it. This would be a good assessment of what he could do.

“While I’m gone, have the monsters and golems straighten things out here. I don’t want to keep working in caves.”

“You are leaving, Madam? You are the Dungeon Master. You must stay and maintain the dungeon.”

“Don’t I have you to do that? As long as one of us is in the dungeon, the dungeon will continue to function as normal.”

“I understand, Madam… I had the mistaken impression you were going to stay here.”

“I’m not going away forever. Geez~! I’ll see you tomorrow!”

It was like talking to a child. But this was what happens when you get sheltered at home all your life. The next day was much better and it seemed that Guide gained a lot of common sense. Well, mostly… Alisha came back to a horrid smell throughout the dungeon. It smelled like death.

“Guide! What is going on?!”

“I am providing the aesthetics to the dungeon. I have placed tiles on over half of the labyrinth surface and built three facilities dedicated to manufacturing for this purpose.”

Everything was being tiled nicely and the tiles were hexagonal with several dark hues of green and blue. They were compatible with her slime abilities so they also had a small utility which was nice. Alisha was impressed that Guide learned how to use slime so quickly. But how was she going to work here when the smell of death was everywhere? She examined the dungeon and found that most of the natural-born monsters died and became undead.

Alisha then unexpectedly stumbled and found she couldn’t breathe. She figured what happened. The process used to create the tiles used fire and distributing the tiles throughout the dungeon used up almost all of the oxygen down here and built up toxic levels of carbon dioxide. There was no ventilation underground.

Alisha flooded her lungs with oxygen from her Expanded Space and asked, “Why did you allow the monsters to die, Guide?”

“The monsters simply were dying. There was nothing to do but to allow death. Defense of the dungeon hasn’t been compromised.”

Alisha was getting irritated, “But, do you even know why they all died?”

“No. There was nothing I could do.”

“…”

Alisha didn’t want rotting undead monsters roaming the labyrinth and scolded Guide who didn’t understand why she was upset.

“If you’re going to serve me properly, it’s important to understand what my needs are.”

“…I understand, Madam.”

“Guide, I’m surprised you haven’t asked me who I am or what I want.”

“Madam is Madam. Is there more to know?”

“Yes, to ask the right questions is important in being your own person. Even though you are a monster and my servant, I don’t want you to be lesser than what I am. In time, I want you to decide whatever you want to remain my servant.”

“…Yes, Madam.”

“I am reincarnated from Earth so I’m human in some ways and require some necessities to make myself comfortable, such as breathable air!” Alisha snapped.

“…My sincerest apologies, Madam.”

Alisha took over the renovation and immediately got rid of the rotting corpse monsters by eating them and turning them into slime. Guide compensated the loss of defensive power by building more golems. For the next few days, she worked without rest.

For the ventilation issue, Alisha built a windcatcher system using small holes to the surface throughout the dungeon. Guide was a bit concerned if humans found evidence of his dungeon but as a former human, Alisha assured him that humans weren’t so observant.

These ventilation pipes ran throughout the dungeon and contained channels for her slime. These pipes also served two additional purposes: cooling and integration. The cooling from the liquid slime would create a temperature gradient to allow air circulation from the warmer air outside without the use of mana. The slime within these pipes would also allow her to control the dungeon to a greater extent.

Within the central control room and besides Guide’s crystal’s pillar, she installed a slime pool that connected her to her slime in the dungeon. There were other control points for her slime but this one was most convenient. Her slime stretched for miles throughout the huge dungeon.

The mana thread from the Dungeon Field spell was used to mark territory but also used to control the dungeon through prepared traps and triggers. Using slime was much better since it acted as an extended appendage. If one were to be technical, as Alisha was, her slime body was literally miles long while in her slime pools. Alisha also sat Guide into a cup of slime on his pillar to make sure he had a connection at all times.

Along with the monsters and Guide, Alisha sat in her slime pool and continued to mold the dungeon to her image. Guide was helpful and knowledgeable to accomplish what she wanted to be built. After five days of work, the renovation was finished.

Dozens of new rooms were built into the center hub of the dungeon surrounding what used to be Guide’s control room. All corridors and halls led to the central atrium which was over ten stories tall. The roof was made from transparent crystal and shined sunlight through the lake above to saturate the area in natural light.

The glass ceiling had a small opening which allowed for a small waterfall to drop into a mini lake. The fresh and cool water did wonders to saturate the dungeon in a pleasant and comfortable atmosphere. Alisha planted large swaths of different vegetation from the forest surrounding the atrium. This created a small ecosystem and felt like a cool spring day. She turned a deadly dungeon into one that celebrated life. Guide couldn’t yet appreciate what she had done.

The central hub was a contained structure and inaccessible to anyone besides Guide and herself. The entrances were walls with no obvious doors or signs of traffic. The corridor could turn ninety degrees and reveal the hidden entrance. As part of her deception, she created a random giant room to serve as a fake boss room and an exit point to the surface.

Rules on natural dungeons were universal in that they needed to have an entry/exit point and a room for the Dungeon Master. All she needed now was a boss monster and this could fool anyone. However, this was just a precaution in case this dungeon was ever discovered. She intended to kill anyone who discovers her dungeon without her permission.

Even if this dungeon were to be discovered, it was imperative that no one knows about the central hub. If enough people come to chart the dungeon, the large uncharted space within their maps would lead people to be suspicious.

“You shouldn’t worry yourself, Madam. I will protect this place at all costs.”

“Indeed, you will. From now on, we will focus our efforts in the Central Hub. Anything outside the Hub is merely for defensive proposes.”

“Yes, Madam. You are wise beyond your years.”

“Did you just try to flatter me?”

“Merely a compliment. I’ve been reading some dramatic books about human behavior and social interactions. How well did I convey my appreciation?”

Alisha giggled at Guide’s naïve nature. “You have some things to learn but I believe you had more success in your explanation when conveying your feelings.”

“Really now?”

“To learn more about the world, you should experience it. Allow me to show you.”