Kaiden exhaled softly, the breeze carrying the scent of wet grass and wildflowers as he took in the view. The system display hovered quietly beside him, the map of his dungeon now showing three distinct sections, each one representing a piece of his new domain.
A patchwork of contrast.
A network of design.
[Abyssal Cavern – 1 km²]
This was what surrounded the dungeon entrance, the starting area.
Then, going down from it toward the seemingly endless depth of the abyss, was:
[Magma Vein Expanse – 1 km²]
Then, lastly, horizontally next to the Abyssal Cavern area stood:
[Verdant Expanse – 1 km²]
Three square kilometers of pure chaos, stitched together to form his new land.
He studied the glowing lines that connected each landscape. "So, I need to have two routes from the safe zone," he muttered.
He looked behind him, where the earth met the abyssal rock corridor. That part was already linked. Now, only the magma region remained.
Kaiden walked to the far edge of the forest area, took a breath, and began. The terrain bent under his command, the bedrock splitting to form a hidden burrow that tunneled downward, weaving under layers of stone until it reached the molten rivers far below.
Heat rippled against his face when the tunnel broke through. The magma below glowed a fierce orange, sending waves of oppressive warmth up the shaft. "There we go."
Now, the magma river and the verdant forest were joined as well.
As he returned to the forest's surface, he called up the map again. Two entry paths, check.
And from there, the rules required three separate ways leading to the dungeon's heart, the Abyssal Lord's Throne.
Kaiden grinned. "That part's handled as well."
The forest before him stretched endlessly; trees layered upon trees, rivers twisting in natural patterns that created countless possible routes. There was no single, restrictive trail. Every step an intruder took could lead them closer or farther from their goal.
"Infinite paths. That should count. I wonder if there's anything else I must do."
A new notification blinked into existence.
[Dungeon Creation: Requirements Incomplete]
[Total Dungeon Area: 3 km²]
[Minimum Required Area: 5 km²]
Kaiden groaned loudly. "What kind of evil plan is this? Were you hoping I'd run out of DMP before telling me? Is that how you regain freedom, failing your new master?"
[Clarification: The Dungeon System harbors no evil plans.]
He blinked, then squinted at the hovering screen. His suspicion was clear for all to see.
The interface flickered once, shifting back to the requirements window. The section showing "Two main pathways connecting to three secondary routes" shimmered. At the bottom, a small, barely noticeable line of text glowed.
[Click to view Page 2]
Kaiden's jaw went slack. "… You've got to be kidding me."
He tapped it with his mind, and the screen switched to a new list.
[Additional Requirements:]
– Total Area: 5 km² minimum
– [Abyssal Lord's Throne] must be placed to finalize Dungeon Creation
"Are you serious right now?"
[Affirmative.]
[The System is not evil; if the Dungeon Master fails to allocate 5 km², the System will automatically fill the area.]
Kaiden's eyes lit up. "Oh! Then I can skimp out on the cost!"
There was a brief pause.
[Warning: Automatically generated terrain is chosen at random.]
His excitement died immediately. "… Random?"
[Affirmative.]
Kaiden rubbed the bridge of his nose. "So, what if it spawns something like… a toxic wasteland? A corrosive swamp? A dimension full of screaming mushrooms? Those toxins would bleed into the rest of my dungeon."
[Possible.]
"Yeah, that's what I thought." He sighed, long and heavy. "Fine. You win."
He opened the [Terrain Purchase] menu again, scrolling down to the same peaceful entry that had started all this.
[Verdant Expanse – 100 DMP/km²]
He tapped it twice without hesitation.
[Confirm Purchase: Verdant Expanse (2 km²) – 200 DMP]
[DMP Remaining: 300]
The ground shuddered beneath his feet. The edge of the current forest rippled outward as new life sprouted from the abyss, rolling hills and meadows blooming in a wave, spreading seamlessly into the next.
When it was done, Kaiden zoomed out the map, tracing a line with his finger.
Starting from the dungeon entrance, the layout stretched forward in a straight corridor. There was one kilometer of rock followed by three kilometers of tranquil greenery leading deeper into the domain, before ending in the area that surrounded the throne's eventual resting place.
He smiled. "This works. Gives me room to breathe after the invaders enter and before they reach the end… If they ever manage to reach the end, that is."
[Update: Total Dungeon Area – 5 km²]
[Dungeon Creation Conditions – Complete (Pending Throne Placement)]
Kaiden rose from the ground, hovering a few dozen meters into the air. From above, the view was almost too much to take in; the greenery was the perfect scenery to observe from above. However, he didn't linger on it long because it wasn't just about looks.
Kaiden didn't mind that more than half his dungeon was now made of forest because, in his head, it wasn't a weakness.
Why?
Sustenance.
This forest biome was his long-term safety net.
If his dungeon were ever invaded, which would most certainly happen if he and his girls kept their current path to supremacy up. Though truthfully, Kaiden believed it was already too late to pull out. The seeds had been planted; he had too many enemies vying to unearth his secrets.
That's why this dungeon came at the perfect time.
Truthfully, after the government's debacle with the masked men getting the jump on them, he knew that living inside a bunker was risky. Living here was too, of course, but at least here, he had control.
If the enemies overcame his defenses, then it would be because his preparations were lacking, not because someone snitched.
As for the sustenance?
It was paramount because the enemy might occupy the entrance for days, weeks, or even months if there was nothing there to kick them out, cutting off Kaiden's path to Earth.
If every inch of his domain had been nothing but magma and abyssal stone, that would have meant starvation, death by isolation.
But not here.
Within these forests, he and his girls could live. They could hunt, drink, eat, and rest. They could thrive while their enemies slowly bled out in the depths, crushed by the killzones and traps that waited for them.
The greenery wasn't softness on his part but cold strategizing.
It was survival.
Kaiden drifted forward, gliding silently over the endless sea of green until he reached the very end of the last forest section. His boots touched the ground with a soft thud, grass bending underfoot.
A satisfied smile tugged at his lips. "Yeah. This is the spot."
…
He couldn't wait for his girls to see it, to watch their faces light up when he showed them what he'd made.
For now, though, there was one last step left.
Kaiden turned away and began his flight back toward the dungeon's entrance.
When he arrived at the start of it all, the swirling dungeon gate loomed before him.
His interface shimmered into existence once more, displaying a single, pulsing button.
[Finalize Dungeon Creation]
For once, instead of using his mind to command, Kaiden reached out and tapped it physically.
The satisfaction of the gesture was great, so much so that it made him smile.
The abyss trembled.
Every connection, every chamber, every pathway snapped into perfect alignment, threads of mana weaving the regions together until the dungeon was whole. The very air shifted as the system solidified it into being, transforming vision into reality.
A second later, the world around him rippled, and light burst outward.
Figures began to materialize beside him, suspended forms descending gently from the air. One by one, his girls appeared, their expressions peaceful as if waking from a deep sleep. Then, the Nova Circuit members followed, blinking in confusion at the sight of the gate and the darkness stretching behind it.
The dungeon was no longer an idea.
From a mere concept, it has been finalized and made real.
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