Chapter 7 - The Dungeon (2)

Dungeon Master: Drake Wota

Dungeon Level: 1

Type of Dungeon: Void (Automatically chosen due to designated area)

[Market]

[Customization]

[Statistics]

[Community] (Available at Dungeon Level 5)

[Set Dungeon Portal] [1/2 Used]

"Hmm… Looks like a new option was added into the . This must be from the location."

To make it easier to understand, I can place a portal in any area where invaders can come in, basically an entrance.

"But if already one is in use, it probably must have come from the ."

A simple explanation would be an entrance was formed by using the , hence the usage of one .

"For now, I'll set that tab aside until I find a good spot to place a portal."

I ignored the tab for the moment and headed to the tab. Following that, a window appeared filled with various tools, much like the application 'GOMP', as well as a few more tabs unrelated to 'GOMP'.

The first one was , while the others were still locked because of the low level of my dungeon. I accessed the tab and was taken to another window showing the floors I have. Because of the level of my dungeon, I only have one floor for now. The floor had a size of about a basketball court.

Tinkering with the tool, I found out that the maximum surface area of the floor could only reach 4700 feet. No matter how long or wide it is, as long as the surface area has the size of 4700 feet, it can be used to repel invaders.

"Then, I can make a long tunnel a meter in width and the rest for length to make it useful to burn the stamina of the invaders. Fill it up with traps and you get a long corridor deathtrap."

I marveled at my intellectual ability only to realize that the traps must be placed in at least an area wider than the trap itself, which is about 5 meters in size, making it impossible to use the long corridor deathtrap.

"These damn balance fixes…"

I cursed at the God of Dungeons, Abruptum, for making these kinds of changes to the manipulation of a dungeon.

"What use is a dungeon if it can't repel the invaders just because a trap is wider than the area of a specific spot of a dungeon?"

I stopped with the cursing and continued on recreating my dungeon's first floor. I placed walls and made a maze with the basketball court-shaped room. Once I was done with setting up the layout, next was the interior design.

Once again, because of the low level, I could only design the inside like a damp cave. With occasionally dropping droplets of liquids from the ceiling, and a draft of wind coming from the outside, the first floor of the dungeon was completed.

"Too bad I can only design it like this. At least, I wanted it to look more like a haunted house. Then again, the only monsters I can summon were rabbits and wild boars. Uhmm, speaking of which what are the official names of the rabbits and wild boars in this world?"

I went back to the and accessed the tab in hopes of seeing the listed names of the monsters I defeated. And finally…

Monster Species: Horned Rabbit

Special Ability: Horn Tackle

Threat Level: F

Cost: 10 MP

Influence from the Dungeon: Gains the special ability and increases agility. Raises by 2 ranks.

Additional Cost: 30 MP

***

Monster Species: Wild Boar

Special Ability: Body Charge

Threat Level: F+

Cost: 15 MP

Influence from the Dungeon: Gains the special ability and increases health. Raises by two ranks.

Additional Cost: 40 MP

"Oh, so it was a horned rabbit and a… wild boar… Looks like the name didn't change for the pig."

Next, I squinted on the details of both the monsters.

"Both of them are at most, the bottom rung of the ladder. Their special abilities aren't that much either."

[Horn Tackle] – Charges towards a target with the horn in front to deal damage. Can cause bleeding.

[Body Charge] – Charges towards a specific direction without care for oneself. Deals damage to enemies in the path. Can cause fractures and concussions to the user or the enemy.

But what I'm more interested in is the option. Because the summoned monster gains another special ability along with its innate one, increased stats, and increased .

"I wonder what kind of skills are they?"

[Phase Shift] – Phases the user into another dimension, becoming immune to all incoming damage and crowd-control, gaining invisibility, and free movement for 5 seconds. Cannot deal damage while phasing.

[Void Charge] – Charges towards a specific direction without care for oneself. The moment the charge starts, the Void element wraps around the body, making the user immune to physical damage. Can cause fractures and concussions to enemies.

"These are…!?"

'OP ABILITIES!!!'

"The first one can be a repositioning and ambush tool, while the other one can be used as a tanking method!!"

Countless of methods to use against invaders could be used with these two abilities!

"If these are two are good enough with the option, I wonder what will it be like with other monsters? Kukukuku…"

On another note, I can still purchase the monsters without the option, making them regular monsters and invalidating the additional price.

I released a chuckle and continued to think on where to place them to make the best of them.

"Hmm…?"

That is, until I saw another option.

[Automatic Dispenser]

Because of curiosity, I checked the description of the option found on the tab.

[Automatic Dispenser] – Automatically Summons a specific monster you have chosen every day. Maximum number of each is 10. The monsters summoned by this can be placed anywhere in the dungeon and is not limited to where the was set. Requires 100 times the normal amount of MP used to create an of a specific monster.

"OHHHHHH!!!!"

This option changed everything I had planned for the dungeon. Even I didn't think of this when creating 'Dungeons and Mayhem'.

"But 100 times the normal amount? I don't know if it is high or small, but once I see the daily income of MP, I will know for sure."

Now that checking what kind of monsters to place in the dungeon is done, which hardly required any thinking at all, next is to think what kind of treasures to place to lure in some invaders.

I opened the tab and was speechless on the items I found on the list.

[T-bone Steak] 20 MP

[Golden Bone] 10 MP

[Huge Carrot] 15 MP

"…"

A minute of silence elapsed before I was able to speak again.

"WHAT KIND OF SICK JOKE IS THIS!?!?"

Correct that please. Make that yell again.

"ARE YOU LITERALLY SAYING THAT ALL MY TREASURES ARE JUST SOME KIND OF FUCKING FOOD FOR ANIMALS!?!?!?"

My continued cursing and yelling reverberated across the small room. If there was another person in here, I doubt he would be able to withstand this kind of torture and would have fainted early on.

A few minutes of curses and yelling later, I was finally able to calm down and make a rational judgment based on the items listed on the tab.

"Thinking about it clearly, there are no humans here, so probably these treasures are meant to lure in monsters instead of humans. Sheesh, I shouldn't be this hot-blooded."

Thanks to the unseen AI, or some other entity that automatically processes the situation of the , as well as the dungeon itself, proper measures could be taken properly, unless the is an idiot.

"I should stop cursing the God Abruptum now. Who knows when his wrath would descend onto my mortal soul."

Speaking like some kind of old man from the medieval ages, at least what I think it was, I bought exactly 5 Void Horned Rabbits and 5 Void Wild Boars. Since the level of my dungeon is still one, it can only handle 10 monsters. Any more than that and it will automatically be unsummoned for 100% of its price.

I let them roam the dungeon by pairs, one Void Horned Rabbit, and one Void Wild Boar.

After that, I bought the treasures, , , and , 3 of each, and then placing them on key locations such as the end of the floor, dead ends, and hidden passages with breakable walls.

With the first floor of the dungeon done, a rift on one end of the dungeon appeared, the dead end that was the farthest away from the passageway towards the .

"What…?"

[Attention!!! An invader has successfully entered the dungeon!!!]

The next moment, another window appeared displaying real-time footage of the happenings in the dungeon. The screen was focused on the entrance of the dungeon, where a pack of wolves with pitch black fur was sniffing around.

[Invader Count: 5]

On the bottom-left corner of the screen displayed a line of text notifying me of the number of invaders left inside.

"So helpful… That's not the point here!!!"

I quickly shifted to full-alert mode and checked the map of the first floor. Close to them was a pair of my summoned monsters. I had them retreat for awhile and regroup with the others.

"I'll let them attack once they number more than the wolves."

The pair of monsters quickly backed off and took the shortest route towards the nearest pair of summoned monsters. While the pair was moving along with my commands, the pack of wolves finally made their move and advanced.

With the alpha wolf in the lead, the pack trekked through the maze. They took a turn once the first fork appeared. To my relief, the pack reached a dead end with no treasure inside it.

"Wait, I thought wolves are supposed to have good noses and sense of direction? Why are they getting lost in this maze?"

I looked for a reason but wasn't able to find one. They have no problems in this dark and damp cave because of their eyesight, but for them to be lost in this ordinary cave, there must be something.

I racked my brain to find just one reason, and finally, the most obvious idea popped into my head.

"Isn't it because the cave is a dungeon? And if not, then isn't it because the dungeon is situated inside my ?"

With those as the reason, I strengthened my belief of, 'Common Sense Does not Work in Dungeons and in Fantasy.'

I focused back into the screen and saw that three pairs of summoned monsters have regrouped.

"Looks like it's time."

I ordered the three pairs to advance forward towards the pack of wolves still trying to find their ways inside the maze. A few minutes later, the two groups met and thus start the clash.

"Buuummmooooo!!!"

To kick the fight off, the Void Wild Boars charged using their special ability . The wolves nimbly dodged charging boars and tried to counter-attack, but was unable to pierce through the defense of the boars while they were charging.

"Ruuaaghhhhh!!!"

Because of the recoil from the failed counter-attack, the wolves were vulnerable to looming attacks, and the Void Horned Rabbits didn't let this opportunity slip away.

"Kyuuuiii!!!"

The Void Horned Rabbits quickly stabbed the defenseless wolves with their horns. Because of the low damage output and tenacity of the wolves, they were unable to finish them off.

"Grrruoooohhh!!!"

The injured wolves swiped their claws towards the rabbits whose horns were still stuck inside their body, only to hit thin air.

"Grruuu?"

The wolves went speechless for a moment, and after 5 seconds, they were assaulted again with another batch of intense pain.

"GYAAAAOOOO!!!"

The Void Horned Rabbits, after having used the ability , quickly relocated themselves and once the duration ran out, stabbed their horns once more into the injured wolves.

While the wolves were being terrorized one by one by rabbits, the alpha wolf, as well as the other unharmed wolf, was desperately battling against the monstrosities known as the Void Wild Boars.

"Grrooooo!!!"

Every time a claw is swung, it bounces off from the mighty charge of the boar. Every time sharp teeth collided with fur and skin, the teeth broke and flew into the air.

"BUUUMMOOO!!!"

The cry of the mighty hogs, Void Wild Boars, sounded as if they were having fun.