A few days passed. How do I know? Easy: the sun kept rising and setting, appearing in the east and hiding in the west. I calculated that the day has twelve hours of sunlight and twelve of moonlight, a complete twenty-four hour cycle.
By my third day, I was bored.
I spent my time watching the goblins' interactions with growing tedium. One thing I noticed is that goblins, unlike the wild ones in stories, don't need to eat. The dungeon's ambient mana fed their bodies directly.
From the ranks, I assumed that Rank F creatures possessed some kind of core inside them, which I confirmed when examining Ravenous. Inside his body, near his heart and spine, rested a glowing core about ten centimeters in diameter. The amount of mana he absorbed was much greater than what the goblins absorbed.
I wanted to run tests on them, see if I could upgrade the goblins to develop similar cores. They would be my lab rats. I still needed more information about the ranks and the core, and also about how to strengthen myself.
I checked my DP counter. I currently had about ten thousand, a good amount.
I improved certain areas in some places. In the boss room, where Ravenous was, I placed two large rock doors with intricate carvings. The first showed a large man in armor with a crown, reaching out to grab a shining star. Around him, tiny figures of monsters fought in a chaotic scene.
But my territory was limited to the first floor. I urgently needed to discover how to expand, and I had no idea how to do it.
Frustrated, I decided to focus on the outside of the cave to see if anything interesting happened. And wow, did it ever.
A long merchant caravan, with carriages full of supplies. There were also humans, though I couldn't identify them clearly from a distance.
Feeling anticipation and excitement, I patiently waited for them to approach.
And they did.
---
Agartha Continent — Unknown Forest
It was a rather pleasant day for the leader of the Steel Blades team.
Kai Andrech was a man proud of many things. One of them was his team of companions, as well as his fiancée, whom he would soon marry.
They were currently on a simple mission: escort a merchant caravan from the city of Medea to Dragon Rock City. To do so, they had to cross a dense forest full of monsters.
They had been traveling for two weeks and had at least another two weeks to reach their destination. Aside from keeping watch, he and his group didn't do much. He felt that if this continued, he would die of boredom.
—Leader.
The soft but firm voice of Lyra, the group's mage, snapped him out of his thoughts. Kai turned to see her pointing toward a clearing among the trees, where the undergrowth opened to reveal a strange rock formation.
—Look at that —she said, squinting—. Can you feel it?
Kai frowned and concentrated. As an experienced warrior, his mana perception wasn't as refined as a mage's, but even he could notice it. The air around that hill seemed to... move. Like an invisible vortex sucking energy inward.
—What is it? —asked the group's rogue, Kael, appearing beside him with his characteristic stealth—. Looks like a normal cave.
—It's not —Lyra replied, her eyes glowing as she activated a detection spell—. Mana is being absorbed inward at an impressive rate. This is...
—A dungeon? —completed Elena the priestess, Kai's fiancée, approaching with the other warrior, Markus, a silent colossus who rarely spoke.
Lyra nodded slowly.
—And from the way it absorbs mana... I'd say it's an undiscovered dungeon. Perhaps one that formed recently.
Silence fell over the group. Then a slow, dangerous smile spread across Kai's face.
—Are you sure?
—My detection magic rarely fails, leader. And I've never seen such... hungry absorption. This dungeon is young. Newly formed.
Kai let out a laugh that echoed through the forest.
—Do you know what this means, guys? —he said, turning to his team—. A virgin dungeon means unplundered treasures, inexperienced monsters, and most importantly, a guild reward for reporting it that could keep us for a whole year without working.
—It also means unknown danger —Elena pointed out cautiously—. We don't know what's inside.
—That's why we won't enter today —Kai raised a reassuring hand—. First, we talk to the caravan leader. We camp here tonight, explore the surrounding area, and tomorrow, first thing, we enter with all precautions.
The group nodded. Kael was already disappearing among the trees to scout the surroundings. Markus simply adjusted his grip on his greatsword. Lyra kept her gaze fixed on the cave entrance.
—A new dungeon —she murmured to herself—. It's been years since one was found in this region.
Kai patted her on the shoulder.
—Get ready. Tomorrow we'll make history... and fill our pockets.
---
Inside the dungeon, I felt it all.
Through my bond with the territory, every word, every movement, every breath of those five adventurers resonated in my consciousness. I couldn't hear them clearly —the distance was too great— but I could perceive their emotions: excitement, caution, greed.
And I also felt when the mage activated her detection spell. It was like a small electric current ran through my core. A strange tickle that made me... laugh? Yes, I definitely laughed.
So this was what it felt like to be discovered.
I watched as the group spoke with the caravan leader, a fat, nervous man who gestured with exasperation. Finally, they nodded. The caravan began moving toward a nearby clearing, where they started setting up tents and campfires.
They were going to camp. They were going to wait until the next morning.
My smoke fingers drummed on Ravenous's throne, even though my physical body was merged with the dungeon. I could materialize whenever I wanted.
The orc looked at me with those yellow eyes of his, feeling my agitation through the bond.
—Easy —I told him mentally—. Tomorrow you'll have action.
Ravenous grunted with satisfaction and stroked the edge of his axe.
---
During the night, I didn't sleep. Why would I? I didn't need to sleep or eat. I simply observed.
I watched the adventurers dine around the fire, watched the rogue return from his exploration and report, watched the mage draw circles on the ground with her staff, probably preparing some spell.
I also watched my goblins. The hundred small creatures lurked in the shadows, feeling my order to prepare. Some moved restlessly, others remained motionless like statues. They all waited.
I spent some points buying them rusty swords, bows and arrows, rusty but sharp knives. They wouldn't be stronger, but they would be more dangerous.
I also mentally reviewed the floor design. The entrance, the S-shaped hallway with its hidden niches, the echo chamber with the central column, the labyrinth with its dead ends, the antechamber with the rock trap, and finally the boss room with Ravenous on his throne.
One hundred goblins stationed in every dark corner, in every nook, in every shadow my luminous crystals left untouched.
Ten thousand DP in reserve in case I needed to improvise something on the fly.
I smiled. Or I would have if I had a mouth at that moment.
The night stretched on. The stars wheeled in the sky. The caravan's fire reduced to embers. The merchant guards changed their shifts. And the five adventurers slept, perhaps dreaming of the treasures they would find the next day.
---
When the first rays of sun began to tinge the horizon orange, they were already awake.
I watched them gear up, check their weapons, their armor, their potions. The priestess prayed briefly before a small portable altar. The mage enchanted her staves with inaudible whispers. The rogue twirled his daggers between his fingers. The silent warrior simply waited, impassive.
And the leader, Kai, stood up with a confident smile and headed toward the entrance of my cave.
They approached.
I felt their footsteps on the earth, their breaths, their hearts beating with that mix of adrenaline and fear that precedes every battle.
They reached the threshold. The darkness of my dungeon opened before them like a hungry mouth.
—Lights —Kai ordered.
Lyra raised her staff, and three floating orbs of light emerged from the tip, illuminating the first meters of the hallway.
And then, they crossed the threshold.
They entered my territory.
My entire being vibrated with the sensation. Invaders. Finally. After days of absolute boredom, of endless waiting, of doubting whether this world was actually inhabited, someone had entered.
---
The five advanced, cautious, their eyes scrutinizing the gloom beyond the floating orbs.
The first to notice was the rogue, who stopped dead and raised a fist. The signal to halt.
—What's wrong? —Kai asked quietly.
—The murals —Kael pointed with the tip of his dagger—. This isn't a natural cave. Someone built this.
Lyra's lights illuminated the walls, revealing the carvings I had made. The kneeling figures, the clasped hands, the dark silhouette descending from the sky.
Elena, the priestess, quickly crossed herself.
—This is... a temple —she murmured—. A temple dedicated to something. Or someone.
—It doesn't matter —Kai regained his composure—. Now it's a dungeon. And dungeons have masters. Keep moving forward.
They advanced. Not knowing that each step brought them closer to my goblins' claws. Not knowing that I watched their every move from the darkness.
I smiled mentally, eager to see what would happen.