Skills

Name Rank Specials

Magic Eyes [Element Sight] • [Mana Sight] • [Spell Sight] • [Slay Sight] • [Move Sight]

Magic Capacity B+ [Superb Magic Capacity] • [Fast Magic Recovery] • [Greater Realize Area]

Spell Destruction C- [Magic Symbol Destruction] • [Magic Symbol Alteration]

Magic Comprehension B+ [Spell a.n.a.lyze] • [Symbol a.n.a.lyze]

Magic Power [Magic Penetration] • [Magic Rewrite] • [Magic Compression] • [Fast Realize]

Mana Manipulation B+ [Flow Sense] • [Mana Compression] • [Mana Generation]

Swordmaster [Agility] • [Dexterity] • [Counterattack Specialist] • [Destructive Blows] • [Discern Weakness] • [Weapon Momentum Cancel] • [Vector a.s.sist]

Magic Theory B [Fast Cast] • [Sequence Cast] • [Efficient Cast] • [Symbol Hide]

Reclaim B- [Treasure Presence Sense] • [Ore Sense] • [Mineral Appraise] • [Prospect]

Trans.m.u.tation C- [Refine Metal] • [Shape Metal] • [Shape Gem]

Gale Steps B- [Windwalk] • [Momentum Cancel] • [Lightning Step] • [Voidwalk]

Void Sword C- [Information Layer Destruction]

Magic Refining C- [Enhanced Purity] • [Efficiency] • [Process Efficiency]

Magic Smithing D+ [Shape Magic Metal] • [Deadly Weapons]

Magitech D [Mana Generation Efficiency] • [Increased Capacity] • [Reactor Power Increase]

Enchantment Expert C [Compact Arrays] • [Efficient Arrays] • [Array Optimization]

Imperium D [Subordinate Attribute Bonus]

One thing began to increasingly bother Somnus. Within his operational parameters, an absolute necessity was information and controlling that information. Meanwhile, in a corner lay a dozen Ancient Treasures that he could not identify. These items were made with a magic Somnus did not understand. Somnus could understand the Arrays on the items, but they were merely binding spells and containers for something else entirely. Those items were living items, imbued with a will that slumbered through the eons and still remains trapped in an eternal dream.

He was told that only a Loremaster could identify those items. He wasn't one, Arcadia and Emily weren't one, and the monsters… well, the monsters had other priorities. He also strongly suspected that the Reclaim skill would eventually allow him to identify those items, but he could no longer improve it. He had been prospecting the Dungeon but once he had discovered everything there was to discover, it would no longer gain mastery.

"Master, I gets three kills. Two monster and one human," a goblin said as he fell to one knee in front of Somnus. In his hands, he held a tag made out of gold. "Velria" was written on the tag.

"Second door, first pile," Somnus said after glancing at the tag from his lavish, marble throne.

What Somnus desired and want the monsters desired were two different, but synergetic, things. Somnus figured out that the monsters liked his creations to the point that they would kill each other to own one of them. What Somnus needed more than anything was an effective fighting force. He no longer had Close-In Weapon Systems or a nuclear a.r.s.enal to effortlessly crush an entire army—now he required actual soldiers. Therefore, he made a compet.i.tion.

He sent the monsters into the other dungeon to kill everything they find, adventurers included. Based on their performance, they would be allowed to choose an item from one of the piles that contained Somnus's experiments.

The first day, the monsters did not do well, in general. The powerful ones like Lod and Det did fine. So did the orcs Scarface and Gr.i.m.j.a.w. The Baby Dragon, Veyron, also did fairly well, managing to evolve into a Young Crystal Dragon. Most of the others died in the attempt, killed by adventurers or bigger monsters.

It turned out that the Red Skulls had returned to the adjacent dungeon, looking for whatever killed their scouts. It wasn't just the Red Skulls, the monsters reported the presence of other powerful guilds and clans.

"One human, one elf, two orc," another goblin said, presenting two tags and an orc ear. One of the tags was silver, the other bronze.

"First door, third pile," Somnus said.

The second day was much better. Perhaps it is because of their shorter lifespans, but monsters have an uncanny ability to learn from their mistakes. The second day, the goblins formed sub-guilds and went out as parties. The orcs copied the goblins and did so as well. The other monsters, the minority mostly, created one of their own. The compet.i.tion between the races was cutthroat, but it was even more ruthless among each other.

Lod and Det were in the "Fight for Food" Division—the official name of a sub-unit within a guild—even though their banner was spelled "Fite for Food". Despite the idiotic name, they were one of the most powerful Divisions. One of the orc Divisions was in close second place, the "Fellows.h.i.+p of Smash". Somnus had no idea how a stupid creature like an orc could come up with that name. Between them, they had acc.u.mulated the greatest amount of merits, vastly outperforming all the other Divisions, and thus possessed the greatest amount of treasure.

The two Divisions often went into the lowest levels of the adjacent dungeon and killed the Named Monsters, powerful creatures in their own right. Fight for Food dispatched Kella, the White Serpent, and Reto, the Deathless Giant. In fact, one of the Ancient Treasures came from Reto. Fellows.h.i.+p of Smash killed Zargos, the t.i.tanic Basilisk and Faela, the Corrupt Mother of Earth.

Then of course, there was Veyron who did not belong to any Division. He went into even lower levels than the other two Divisions, and killed Argon, the Spiral Voidknight, a level 150 Named Monster. Immediately afterwards, Veyron received an Elder Dream—Somnus had no idea what that is—and returned as an Oblivion Wyrm, an advanced form of a Crystal Dragon. Veyron, a clever creature, did not want treasures in return—it wanted Somnus to improve it, the way he improved the Dungeon Core. This was, of course, fine with Somnus. He would've done it either way. Of course, there were issues with that. Somnus did not have the materials for such experiments yet.

A group of goblins suddenly approached Somnus, bleeding from a mult.i.tude of wounds. "Master, big trouble!" their leader shouted.

"What's the malfunction?" Somnus asked, barely even paying attention to them. He was still trying to figure out how to improve the refining process and make it faster.

"It is an invasion!" the goblin said, dropping to his knees. The others in his group did so as well.

"An invasion?" Somnus asked. Was that some sort of event? The goblins often talked about special events in the dungeon.

"Yes, master! The two-legs! They are attacking!" the goblin wailed.

"The adventurers?" Somnus asked. "How many?"

"All of them, master! They all comes!"

Somnus glared at the goblin.

The goblin promptly looked at the floor and began counting on his fingers. "Aaah… two… ten?"

"Twenty?" Somnus asked.

The goblin shook his head. "Two… ten… ten…"

Somnus narrowed his eyes. "Two hundred?"

The goblin nodded. "Fight for Food kill many, but Fight for Food losing. Orcs dead. Need help, master! Please be mercifuls!"

Somnus sighed and stood up from the throne. He stretched after standing up. Human bodies were so fragile. His legs felt numb from sitting that long and he could never truly find a comfortable sitting positions.

"Very well, let us depart."

"This way, master!" the goblin said, and began leading the way. The other goblins stayed behind, they were too hurt to continue. Emily and Arcadia were nowhere in sight. Did they also go to the other dungeon? Somnus almost entirely forgot about their existence.

The goblin hurried through the hallways but Somnus did not share this sense of urgency at all. To Somnus, it did not matter if he lost his army, the Dungeon Core would create more soldiers for him. What he did not want to lose was an effective fighting force, and this was a test, if nothing else, to see if his current "guild members" had what it takes to be the tip of Somnus's spear.

As they reached the place where the two dungeons connect, Somnus could hear fighting in the distance. Other than metal striking metal and explosions, he could hear chanting. There was quite a bit of noise.

Somnus doubted that the invader had two hundred troops. Where would they be deployed? In the narrow dungeon tunnels that could only fit six or so people standing side to side? If that was the level of the enemy's strategy, then Somnus did not need an army. Of course, he could not allow himself to forget that the adventurer guilds and the armies of the Empire were two entirely different things.

The tunnel began to widen as the goblin led Somnus towards the sounds of battle. Large, shoddy, double-doors stood in their way.

"Master… it is through here…" the goblin said, fear present in his voice.

Somnus nodded and then pushed the door open.

The sight that greeted him made him instantly re-evaluate his opinion on adventurer guilds. In the front stood ranks of knights in s.h.i.+ny armor, all wielding large s.h.i.+elds and varieties of swords and spears. Behind them were the more mobile fighters—the skirmishers—who waited for opportunities to strike at the enemy. Further behind and protected by warriors were the mages and the archers. Those who were chanting had the same type of magic that Arcadia does, and the enemy fighters were all overlayed with a thin film of golden light.

That was a proper fighting formation. Somnus noticed Black Skulls on the s.h.i.+elds of the first rank warriors.

Against them stood a mix of goblins and orcs, who had a similar formation, but not as advanced—they lacked a proper frontline after all. In the front were tough ogres and hobgoblins, while on the flanks the goblins and orcs waited to charge into the enemy. Even now, on the sides, the skirmishers faced each other while spells flew over their heads.

The goblin shamans used magic from the Ether—they called it 'spirit magic' but there were no real spirits involved—while the adventurers used all kinds of magic. Unlike the shamans, the enemy mages combined their power to perform huge spells; of what kind Somnus did not know yet.

On the ground were the dead, mostly orcs and goblins but a few adventurer corpses also lay there, making traversing the terrain difficult.

This was a large boss room, which could easily fit two armies of eighty or so people, which these were. The enemy did not have two hundred, but Somnus a.s.sumed this was not their entire force. Still, Somnus could identify a few people in the enemy ranks who clearly had the best gear. They were most likely the leaders.

Somnus did not understand why the goblin that led him here made him think that his monsters were losing. They suffered losses, that is true, but it was a sacrifice they had to make. Their goal was not to break through the front line, but to attack the backline. They could not do that while the front line was so close to the backline.

Somnus turned to look to the goblin and tell him to rejoin the battle when a fireball exploded against the goblin's head, shrouding it in flames.