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'What... Where am I? Why is it so dark here?' Malenia blinked in the darkness, trying to process where this place is and how she got here.
'How did I get here? Didn't that bastard husband of mine just sell me to his boss a minute ago, and wasn't the boss about to have his way with me?' Her heart pounded in her chest as she tried to piece together the events that led her here.
'Am I saved? But I still don't know where I am. Did they knock me unconscious and kidnap me? Is that why it's so dark here?'
She shivered, suddenly aware of the strange coldness that clung to the air around her. 'The air feels strange, and it's unusually cold...'
"Wait—what? Why is there ground beneath my feet? Is this not a room? Could I be in a cave or something? But how is that possible?" she murmured aloud, her voice echoing in the darkness.
As she stood there, confused, a faint bell-like sound caught her attention. Startled, Malenia watched as a glowing, floating screen appeared before her. The light from the screen was completely opposite to the darkness, blinding her eyes for a moment.
A voice came from the screen, calm and neutral.
[Greetings, Mistress. I'm a dungeon evolving system, and I can assist in making you, the Mistress of this dungeon, and your dungeon powerful.]
"What? How can a screen talk? And what's this thing that you're calling me Mistress of? A dungeon? What does that mean?" Malenia asked, her confusion only growing.
[Mistress, in this world, dungeons are common, diverse structures filled with monsters and traps. Adventurers enter to defeat monsters and claim treasures by either defeating the dungeon master or taking the dungeon core by force. Dungeons vary, including combat, maze, trial, elemental, and sex dungeons. They are filled with magic, presenting enchanted traps and environmental hazards.]
"W-what do you mean by 'in this world'? And you said dungeons are common, but I never heard about this on Earth," Malenia asked, trying to calm her racing thoughts amidst these foreign concepts.
[Mistress, that's because this isn't Earth. The world you're in right now is called Satania. It's a different world filled with magic and unbelievable things.]
"Is this really a different world? Will I be able to go back to my world? Can you tell me why I got here? Are there others from Earth who arrived here like me, or am I the only one?" Malenia's voice wavered as she spoke, anxiety creeping into her tone.
[Yes, Mistress, this is indeed a different world, and you can return to your own world anytime you wish. As for your other questions, I'm not sure if there are others from Earth or why you were chosen. I'm just a new system assistant for a dungeon mistress.]
"Oh, sigh~ that's a relief. At least I can go back to Earth. Though I don't think there's anything special about me that led to being chosen for this. Also, what am I supposed to do as a dungeon mistress?" Malenia exhaled deeply, feeling a bit calmer now that she knew she could return home. Filled with curiosity, she asked more about her role.
[Mistress, being a dungeon Mistress means you have to protect this dungeon from adventurers who may come here for the dungeon core. The dungeon core is very important as it is directly connected to your life for the time being. If anything happens to the core, your life will be in danger as well.]
"Ohhh, go on. Tell me how I can protect this dungeon from adventurers," Malenia urged, eager to learn more.
[To do that, Mistress, you will have monsters as your minions. You can also set up traps, and I have many features to assist you. You'll need to protect the dungeon and continuously enhance its power to survive.]
"Monsters? Are they real here too? Wow. Also, show me all your features that can help me. And if I die here, will I die on Earth as well?" Malenia asked, anxiety tightening her chest at the thought of losing her life.
Malenia's life had been filled with sorrow and misfortune. Shortly after her marriage, her parents tragically died in an accident. Later, she discovered she was infertile, causing strain in her relationship with her husband, who began to cheat on her. Feeling trapped and guilty for her inability to conceive, Malenia's husband manipulated her guilt to justify his infidelity.
[Mistress, your situation is unique. Half of your soul is connected to Satania while the other half remains linked to Earth. This dual connection allows you to travel between the two worlds freely. There has been no previous case of a normal person seamlessly traveling between two worlds like this.]
"Oh, I don't know how to feel about this. This isn't a bad thing for me, right? Anyway, show me your features now," Malenia requested, trying to stay focused.
[Mistress, I don't know if it's a good or bad thing as it has never happened before. Anyway, here are my features and your current status:
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| (࿄•1)
Name - Malenia
Age - 32
Race - Dungeon Mistress
Class - None
Possession - F-rank Dungeon, Otherworldly Portal
Health Condition - 100% Well
Strength - 4
Dexterity - 5
Mind strength - 3
Charm - 32
Stats points - 0
Abilities - None |
Shop (100 Dungeon Coins)
Summons (Level 1 - Can summon rank 9 to rank 8 creatures. 1 per day)
These are my current features, Mistress.]
( Monsters rank go from Lowest rank 9 to rank 1)
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"Wow, there's so much here. But I think you got the health condition wrong. I'm infertile, so that's not 100% healthy, right?" Malenia asked, her voice tinged with sadness as she was reminded of the source of many problems in her life.
[Mistress, don't worry. As you can see in your status, your race is Dungeon Mistress. It's a special race, and when you came into this world as a Dungeon Mistress, all of your health issues were cured.]
Malenia couldn't believe what she had just heard. It was an even bigger shock than being in a different world. She had been infertile her entire life on Earth, suffering greatly. Her husband had exploited her body to climb social ladders, selling her to his boss for promotions. Remembering all the hardships and suffering she had endured, Malenia started crying. Even though she was very happy, she could finally conceive of having a child.
But as she thought about the child, she also remembered her husband, and she hated him. So there's no way she will have his child. She decided to think about this later.
"Thank you. I don't know who chose me to be a dungeon mistress, but I'm indebted to you forever." Malenia was grateful to whoever granted her this chance, but she would definitely use it to make her life better.
"System, open the notification."
[Notification-
1. Gift—beginner package (claim)]
"Oh, what's this? Like a gift for someone new like me in this world, maybe." Malenia wondered as she clicked to claim the gift.
[Congratulations, for claiming the beginner package.
1 Summon of rank 6 to rank 3!
500 shop coins!
10 stat points!
1 random artifact! ]
"Wonderful, that's a lot of free stuff. Who doesn't like free gold stuff, hehe. System, can you help me use these rewards? How do I use them efficiently?"
[Of course, mistress, that's my duty. For stats, a normal human's highest stat is 10, so you can use those 10 stat points to increase your attributes and become more powerful. And with 500 coins, you can use them to buy abilities or artifacts from the shop. And the other two are like random lottery tickets to get a monster or magical artifact.]
"Oh, then add 3 points each in all attributes except charm. Also, I wanted to ask, why are my charm stats so high?" She asked as the system had said 10 stats is the highest for normal humans, but she got 32 in charm.
[Mistress, that's because you are the hottest mil-cough cough! I mean, you're very beautiful, and your beauty doesn't fall compared to that of goddesses.]
"S-stop it, you're exaggerating it. I'm not that beautiful; even my husband cheated on me. If I were that beautiful, then he wouldn't have cheated on me and sold me to his boss for promotion." Malenia was happy, as no woman would ever feel bad after someone complimented their beauty.
"Between, is there no light in this dungeon? It's so dark here; could you do anything to solve this system."
[Sure, mistress. You can buy crystal lights from the shop for that.]
"Ok, let's buy it, and I can also check what other items or abilities are in the sho—"
The system interrupted Malenia with an alert.
[Alert!! A team of four adventurers has entered the dungeon!!]
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