In the cozy bedroom, the flames in the Mana Fireplace danced merrily. Labrynth lay sprawled on the soft velvet bed in a starfish position, her pale, slender legs idly kicking in the air.
She fiddled with a high-purity Magic Crystal refined from the Thunder Thermal Furnace, her mind preoccupied with the fate of the two humans in the water dungeon.
Should she just kill them and toss them into the furnace?
Labrynth pursed her lips, thinking it would be a terrible deal. At best, two human corpses could only yield a few pieces of low-quality Refined Iron and a tiny bit of Mana–a complete waste.
As a ruthless capitalist determined to build her Dungeon into a thriving enterprise, she would never allow such wastefulness in her territory.
She had to find a better way to make use of them.
Labrynth rolled over, burying her face in a lace pillow.
She was deeply curious about the vast Noxar Kingdom on the surface world and longed to see what human towns were really like.
But the Dungeon's game-like rules frustrated her to no end.
That old adventurer Buck had said that all Monsters were absolutely bound by the Stratum Barrier, making it impossible for them to ascend to higher levels, let alone step outside the Dungeon.
If living Monsters couldn't cross strata, what about Dolls… creations without life?
As soon as this bold idea surfaced, Labrynth sat up excitedly.
She channeled her psychic power at once and, using her Remote Mental Manipulation Skill, transmitted her thoughts to Arianna, who had wandered off to the outer edges of the Labyrinth again.
During Allen's interrogation earlier, the man had spilled the exact location where the fifth and sixth strata of the Dungeon intersected in a desperate bid to survive.
Now, that information would come in handy.
In the cold, dark passageways on the outskirts of the Labyrinth.
Arianna's Jadeite Loop spun rapidly, its six Poison-Tempered Blades having just shredded an unlucky Cave Bear into a pile of minced meat.
Upon receiving Labrynth's psychic command, her movements in slaying the Monster paused slightly.
"Attempt to cross strata?"
Arianna tilted her head, a flicker of confusion in her green eyes; regardless, her master's orders were the absolute truth.
She swiftly sheathed her weapons, unfurled the green demon wings on her back, and vanished into a blur, racing toward the coordinates Labrynth had provided.
Before long, Arianna arrived at the boundary between the sixth and fifth strata.
The environment here had changed noticeably; the cold, dry air of the sixth stratum's ruined city gradually gave way to the damp humidity of the fifth stratum's Crystal Fungus Swamp, with the scent of decay permeating the atmosphere.
Arianna keenly detected movement ahead. She immediately folded her wings and melted silently into the dark shadows along the side of the passage.
Several fully armed adventurers were descending the stairs from the fifth stratum.
"Stay sharp, everyone!"
The lead heavy-armored warrior warned his teammates in a hushed voice. "Up ahead is the edge of the sixth stratum's Silver Ruined City. I heard the Silver Blade Squad was completely wiped out down here; not a single trace left."
"Captain, maybe we should just scout around the edges of the fifth stratum?"
A young Rogue behind him gulped nervously, his hands trembling as he gripped his dagger. "Even if the sixth stratum's overlord is missing, those Gargoyles are no joke."
"Shut up, less talk. We're just picking up scraps at the border, not going deep."
The warrior sternly cut him off, leading the team as they cautiously felt their way forward along the wall.
Arianna hid in the darkness, coldly observing these prey. With just one command from the My Lord, she could slice these weak humans into pieces within three seconds.
However, she kept today's mission firmly in mind and did not act rashly.
After the adventurers had moved far away, completely disappearing into the darkness of the sixth floor, Arianna waited in place a while longer.
Confirming that no one else was coming down from above, she stepped out of the shadows and walked straight to that invisible boundary between floors.
Arianna slowly raised her right hand, reaching toward the air of the fifth floor.
No obstruction whatsoever!
Her fair, slender fingers easily passed through that legendary, supposedly impassable barrier, even able to feel the sensation of the damp fifth-floor air brushing against the back of her hand.
Arianna withdrew her hand, turned, and walked to a nearby crevice in the rock. Roughly, she dragged out a Shadow Goblin that was hiding inside, trembling.
Holding the struggling little Monster, she hurled it toward the floor boundary like a sandbag.
The Shadow Goblin in mid-air let out a terrified shriek–In a blink, a translucent, rippling wave appeared in the air.
The Shadow Goblin seemed to slam into an indestructible, invisible wall, flung back by a tremendous force, and crashing heavily onto the rock, blood streaming from its head.
Labrynth, sharing the vision from her bedroom far away, saw this and nodded thoughtfully.
Living Monsters indeed could not pass.
"Greeny, kill it, then throw it again."
Labrynth issued a new command in her mind.
Following the My Lord's idea, Arianna stepped forward without hesitation, raised her foot, and directly snapped the Shadow Goblin's neck.
Then, she picked up the goblin's limp corpse and threw it toward the floor boundary once more.
This time, no ripples appeared.
The dead Shadow Goblin traced a parabolic arc through the air, passing smoothly through the barrier and landing steadily on the ground of the fifth floor.
Now, Labrynth fully understood.
The Dungeon's rules only restricted living native Monsters; they had no effect on inanimate objects or soulless creations like Dolls.
"Greeny, well done. Come back now."
After giving the command, Labrynth immediately jumped off the bed. She straightened her white gothic puff dress and walked out of the cozy bedroom with light steps.
Inside the damp, dark water dungeon, the air was thick with despair.
Allen and Ryan, soaked and shivering, huddled in a cold corner; They had been imprisoned in this sunless place for who knew how long, their mental defenses long since on the verge of collapse.
The heavy metal door suddenly made a grating, scraping sound.
Labrynth walked in with her hands clasped behind her back, moving with elegant steps. Her pure white eyes looked down imperiously at the two humans on the ground, a demonic smile playing at the corner of her mouth.
"How are our two guests finding their accommodations?" Labrynth asked in a soft, sweet voice.
Hearing this voice, Allen and Ryan trembled in fear, scrambling to kneel before Labrynth.
"My Lord! Please, spare us!"
Allen kowtowed with loud thuds, the dignity of a high-ranking mage long trampled into the mud. "I'm willing to offer all the magical knowledge I know to you!"
Ryan cried even harder, tears and snot streaming down his face. "I'm just a passing novice, I haven't done anything!"
Seeing the two groveling like this, Labrynth smiled with satisfaction.
This was exactly the feeling of utterly crushed obedience she wanted.
"Don't be nervous. I'm in a good mood today."
Labrynth leaned down slightly, gently patting Allen's cheek with her fair, small hands.
"As long as you obey obediently and serve me wholeheartedly, I can not only spare your life but also let you return to the surface alive."
These words were like a bolt of lightning splitting through endless darkness.
Allen and Ryan abruptly looked up, staring in disbelief at the petite, white-haired Demon loli before them.
Return to the surface? This was a luxury they hadn't even dared to dream of.
Ecstasy instantly overwhelmed their reason. Both trembled with excitement, tears, and snot covering their faces.
"I'm willing! I'll do anything for you!"
Allen declared frantically, wishing he could tear out his heart to prove his loyalty. "If you tell me to go east, I'll never go west!"
"Me too! My Lord, my life is yours from now on! I'll go through fire and water without hesitation!" Ryan quickly followed suit, swearing his loyalty, afraid that if he spoke a moment too late, he'd be dragged out to be refined into materials.
After confirming that Allen was completely subjugated, not even daring to harbor a single thought of resistance, Labrynth put away her smile and replaced it with a cold expression.
"Good. My task is simple." Labrynth straightened up, looking down at them. "I want you to return to Blackedge Town on the surface."
Allen was taken aback and cautiously asked, "My Lord, after I return, what do you need me to do for you?"
As for the purpose, Labrynth hadn't fully thought it through yet.
She simply wanted to use these two spies to truly see what was happening in the surface world, to guard against powerful adventurers suddenly entering the Dungeon, or the adventurers' guild taking targeted actions against the sixth floor, while she remained oblivious like a blind person.
"After you return, just find something to do. I want you to gather all information about the Dungeon in Blackedge Town for me, especially the movements of high-ranking adventurers and guild leaders."
Labrynth said coldly, "I'll be watching you. If you dare to harbor any thoughts of betrayal, you know the consequences."
"Absolutely not! I'll deliver the intel exactly as it is!" they promised in unison.
After dealing with Allen, Labrynth returned to her cozy bedroom in high spirits.
Though she didn't understand why the newcomer was so excited by what she said to Allen.
Nonetheless, such trivial matters were quickly set aside.
Labrynth pulled up the Silver Castle Lord's control interface panel, watching the constantly fluctuating Emotion Points balance, mentally planning to create more Dolls to bolster her defensive forces.
Just as she was about to exchange for blueprints, she delightedly discovered a hidden System mechanism.
Previously, exchanging a featureless basic Pure White Doll required 750 Emotion Points.
But now, as long as the physical materials like Refined Iron and Magic Crystals in her Storage were sufficiently abundant, mass-producing these already unlocked basic Dolls could actually exempt the consumption of Emotion Points.
It was like a pie falling from the sky!
Thanks to the tireless Thunder Thermal Furnace, which incinerated large quantities of Monster corpses every day, Labrynth's Storage was now piled high with high-purity Refined Iron and Magic Crystals.
She immediately opened the interface panel and, without a second thought, poured a large batch of resources into it.
Accompanied by a slight spatial distortion, a dazzling silver light erupted in the spacious and pure white hall outside the bedroom.
Ten featureless, snow-white basic Pure White Dolls rose from the ground.
They uniformly knelt on one knee, their cold, hard stone bodies exuding a suffocating sense of pressure.
Looking at these tireless, absolutely obedient guards, Labrynth was so happy she nearly jumped for joy.
With this Doll army, the Labyrinth's safety rating skyrocketed. Even if a fully-formed Silver Rank adventurer team barged in, she was confident they wouldn't make it out alive.
Just then, a crisp System notification suddenly rang in Labrynth's mind.
[Creation Proficiency has reached maximum capacity.]
[Skill "Silver Castle Lord LV2" has successfully advanced to LV3.]
Along with the skill upgrade, Labrynth felt a surge of immense psychic power explode in her mind.
The Holographic Map Projection before her eyes instantly expanded outward frantically.
The area, which originally only covered a radius of 200 meters, had expanded to a terrifying radius of 500 meters!
Large swaths of previously unknown Dungeon areas lit up on the projection, and countless red dots representing Monsters and adventurers clearly appeared in her vision.
She now felt like a true deity, overlooking this vast underground world.
"Hehehehe~"
Labrynth let out a giggle, her mood so good she almost wanted to burst into song.
At the same time, the bedroom door was gently pushed open.
Arianna, who had just completed her cross-class test, walked in and stood respectfully by the bed.
Seeing her most satisfactory creation return, Labrynth, in an extremely good mood, immediately pounced from the bed, wrapping her arms around Arianna's soft waist.
"You've worked hard, Greeny!"
Labrynth buried her face in Arianna's chest, nuzzling against it, then looked up and said in a soft, sweet voice:
"The Mana outside is too chaotic; it must have damaged your body. Come, as the Castle Lord, I'll give you a deep Mana Synchronization Maintenance right now!"
...
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