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Dungeon system: The thousand realms
Owner: Knox light
Level:3 (100/600)
Mana 1000/1000
Dp:200 (Dungeon points)
Protectors:13
Intruders: 3
Abilities: Mana manipulation, vassal creation,
Dungeon shaping, weaken willpower
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Draco and Cabbage had ended their fight and looked over to see how the other two had fared — what they saw stopped them cold.
Sage was sitting on top of the kobold, pinning him down with ease. It seemed they'd had a much smoother battle altogether.
Draco grabbed two kobolds and Sage carried one. The group of four dragged their prisoners toward their new home.
Knox watched the kobolds make their way back and knew he had to act.
So Knox used more mana than he ever had before, and did something he hadn't thought possible — he switched the first floor and the second floor.
Ding — 900 mana used.
No one inside the dungeon noticed the change right away. The goblins continued their routines, hunting earth rabbits for food, unbothered.
Meanwhile, the kobolds had already put the new prisoners to work — helping build homes around the village.
Draco had made a promise: any kobold who built three homes would earn their freedom and be welcomed into the village.
And Draco knew full well that it would take weeks, if not months — even under the endlessly sunny skies of what was now the second floor.
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The reason Knox had switched the floors wasn't solely for the kobolds' sake.
It was also because Knox wanted to give any intruders a real fighting chance at survival.
He decided to check in on the new first floor — the Bridge of Eternal Winter — and shifted his attention toward it.
The small goblin tribe had grown by around fifteen members, bringing the total to eighteen. Food wasn't a concern; the rabbits kept them well fed.
Knox watched as they moved in and out of their squat little huts, built from mud dug up beneath the snow, with twigs gathered from the surrounding trees woven into rough roofing overhead.
He scanned each hut carefully. Eleven in total — barely enough to shelter the tribe, but they were managing.
Knox decided to give his new kin a hand. Just as he had done with the kobolds, he raised a large stone foundation from the earth, right in the center of their settlement.
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Hibiscus and her goblin followers watched in stunned silence as the massive stone circle slowly rose from the ground before them.
Hibiscus raised her voice, drawing every eye toward her.
"My people — this is a gift from our god. He has seen your hard work, and he is pleased."
She let the words settle before continuing.
"Tonight, you will eat your fill. This celebration is yours."
The goblins erupted. They leapt and hollered, shouting their thanks up to their leader with everything they had.
Knox noticed that some had already broken off into small clusters, buzzing with excitement over the blessings they'd received.
Goblin 1 nudged Goblin 6 with a grin.
"Hey, can you believe it? We get to eat our fill tonight."
Goblin 6 shook his head in disbelief.
"I know, right? We must be the luckiest goblins alive!"
Knox's gaze drifted to a louder group nearby. Goblins Three, Five, and Eight had launched into song — crude, off-key, and somehow completely impossible to ignore.
They sang in unison:
We get to eat tonight, cha cha cha.
There wasn't a single fight, cha cha cha.
And I can't wait to taste the first bite, cha.
They looped it again and again, growing louder with each pass — and earning themselves the full, burning attention of Hibiscus.
She watched the three of them with narrowing eyes, jaw tight, and began making her way over.
As she closed the distance, the trio sang on, completely oblivious to what was approaching. The other goblins, however, had already caught the look on their leader's face. One by one, they fell quiet.
The goofy trio remained blissfully unaware.
Hibiscus stepped up behind them and pressed one finger gently into the shoulder of the goblin in the middle.
Goblin Five didn't bother turning around. He just yelled.
"Hey — stop touching me before I beat—"
The words died in his throat.
There was hot breath on the back of his neck. He noticed that Goblin Eight was already slowly backing away. The silence around them felt very, very loud.
Goblin Five went very still.
Who just poked me?
He turned around slowly — and his knees nearly gave out. Standing there, towering over him, was Hibiscus. Beautiful. Furious. The village leader herself.
She cleared her throat and looked down at him with the patience of someone who had already decided the outcome.
"Who were you going to beat, exactly?"
Goblin Five's eyes went wide. Sweat crept down his back.
"I — I'm so sorry. If I'd known it was you, I never would've — please, forgive me."
Hibiscus held his gaze for a long moment. Then, because there was cause for celebration, she let it go.
"This is your first and last warning. Watch how you speak."
She turned and walked away, disappearing into her hut without another word.
The goblins collectively exhaled.
And then, the celebration resumed in full. They had caught more than enough rabbits, and a group of four goblins worked steadily to keep the whole tribe fed throughout the night.
The party stretched on well past dark, until every goblin had eaten their fill and drifted off to sleep.
Hibiscus never joined them. While they celebrated, she trained.
Late in the night, long after the last goblin had gone quiet, she sat alone beneath the open sky. The moonlight fell across her in silence — and it helped, somehow. Slowed her thoughts.
No point in getting attached, she told herself. Most of them will die anyway.
She trained hard. She trained with something specific in mind: the day she could leave this floor behind and reach one where the faces around her might actually mean something. She felt no real connection here, on floor one. Not yet. Maybe not ever.
But she kept going anyway.
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Thanks to everyone who has kept reading — I hope to see you again in the next one! :)