Chương 185: Reborn as the Dragon — Chapter 185 - Dungeon

Between the time lost in the Morigan Desert and the journey back, it was already noon the next day when Su Nian returned to the Dragon's Nest. Rolls-Royce, it turned out, was a dragon of deep emotional attachments. He hadn't just brought along his "human friend." Passing by his old lair on the way out, he'd made a special stop to collect the sandworm, the owl, the rotund desert giant scorpion, and all their respective broods. Then, as a final touch, he'd rounded up an entire pack of sand-scaled snakes.

The reasoning was simple: if he was going to follow the Black Dragon from now on — likely never returning to his lair again — leaving his followers behind in that barren desert felt like a death sentence. So he'd brought everyone. [Ding! Would you like to use four Novice Village Core Fragments to synthesize one Village Creation Token? Obtaining the Village Creation Token will grant you the authority to establish a Novice Village.]"Synthesize!" Su Nian stood atop the Dragon's Nest, chest puffed, heart surging.

He already had a Dragon's Nest, yes. But a Monster Novice Village was something else entirely. How to put it? It was like a gang of mountain bandits suddenly being recruited into the imperial palace guard. [Synthesis complete. Congratulations, Host, on obtaining a Pure Monster Novice Village Core.] [Please select the type of Novice Village.] [Option One: Primary Fortress] [Option Two: Primary Dragon Lair] [Option Three: Primary Dungeon] Su Nian's eyes lit up.

These options sounded leagues above anything a plain Novice Village had to offer. As expected of a Pure Core assembled from four destroyed villages. The difference was real. But which one? He skimmed the preview images the system provided. The Primary Fortress looked exactly like a human fortification, high, armed walls, every facility built for war. The Primary Dragon Lair was a massive nest-shaped structure, far more imposing and regal than anything the Kobolds had thrown together.

One glance and you knew a dragon lived there. And the dungeon... On first look, it seemed underwhelming. It was split into a main city and a maze of corridors. To reach the main city, you had to work through the maze first. Honestly, for Su Nian and his monsters, that sounded like a daily headache.

"System, this dungeon design isn't great. Spending all that time just getting in and out every day — isn't that a complete waste? And no sunlight all day? Easy way to get everyone sick." Su Nian jabbed a claw at the structural diagram and started listing his grievances. [Host, a teleportation array can be constructed within the dungeon to allow easy entry and exit for the host and monster followers. Construction only requires System Points.] This story originates from a different website.

Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. [Additionally, the dungeon is not lightless. The Light Mirror Array will draw sunlight from the surface and concentrate it into a simulated sun. The host can adjust brightness freely.] The System Assistant answered promptly, defending her product's flawless record. Su Nian nodded slowly, thinking it over. He tilted his head up at the sun blazing overhead. The weather had been getting brutal lately.

His little treasure couldn't handle the heat, she kept having to run to the river to cool off, or she'd end up damp and uncomfortable all day. But she couldn't live in the river. She was an elf, not a mermaid.

"System. I'm choosing the dungeon." He couldn't fight the sun. But he could hide from it. He'd take his little treasure underground and let the sun bake whatever it wanted above ground. And once the dungeon was up, bathing could happen in a proper private space, no chance of any monster wandering past, no awkwardness. Two birds, one stone. Bathing out in the open all the time, Anna was always a little shy about it. She could never fully relax. That wouldn't do. If she couldn't even bathe in peace.

Couldn't even be free in her own skin. What kind of life was that? As a dragon who took wellbeing seriously, Su Nian decided this required immediate attention. His little treasure deserved a healthy, happy environment to grow up in. [Please select the dungeon entrance location.]"The entrance... let's put it inside the Dragon's Nest."

"That way, when players and hero-types come looking for a fight, I'll just run them in circles forever. Heheheh..." The Black Dragon's laugh had barely faded before the entire Dragon's Nest shuddered. Every monster froze mid-task and looked up. There, on the bedrock platform at the heart of the Dragon's Nest, a circular mechanism door had appeared, covered in carved monster reliefs, slowly turning on its axis. The dungeon entrance. Then the real tremors hit.

Deep in the Silvermoon Forest, dust exploded from the earth. The ground split open in long jagged lines, like something beneath the world was tearing loose. Every bird in the forest burst from the canopy at once, wheeling overhead in panicked spirals, staring down at the trees as if they'd gone mad. Small animals pressed themselves into their burrows and refused to move. Even the fish in the river flung themselves onto the banks, thrashing desperately. The entire Silvermoon Forest held its breath.

Only one Black Dragon hadn't moved an inch.

"Brother, is it an earthquake?! Should we go somewhere safe?" Anna came flying toward him, face pale, both hands clutching his neck. Her eyes were wide and genuinely frightened. That sound, the cracking, the groaning, the sheer weight of it, had scared her badly. Not that her own Fireball and Explosion spells were any quieter. But those she caused herself. This was different.

"No need! It's just our new home being built. Almost done." Su Nian scooped her up and gave her cheek an unhurried lick. Prprpr. That soft, warm, sweet face, he could never get enough. Like licking a milk pudding. Anna, however, was not thinking about milk pudding. The tremors were still going. Getting worse, actually. The ground heaved. Dust rained from overhead. She shoved the enormous tongue away from her face, grabbed his foreleg with both hands, and stared at him with flushed, desperate urgency.

"Brother. Forget the new home."

"The Dragon's Nest is going to collapse. Can we please just go somewhere else?!" Su Nian remained completely unmoved. He pulled her into his chest and sealed her mouth with a kiss, slow and unhurried. Big quake? Nowhere to run. Small quake? No reason to. Might as well hold your wife and wait it out. [Dungeon construction complete. The host has one opportunity to teleport all monsters into the dungeon. Begin teleportation?] The moment the notification sounded, the earthquake stopped. Not gradually. All at once.

No aftershocks, no settling groans, just silence, as though the ground had never moved at all.

"Teleport." At Su Nian's word, a purple magic circle blazed to life beneath every monster in the Dragon's Nest. Each array turned like a clockface, slow and deliberate, its light building and building until it swallowed each monster whole and blinked out. They were gone. Teleported. Below the surface, a vast palace constructed entirely from obsidian stretched out in every direction. Strange glyphs and bas-reliefs crawled across the black stone walls.

At the far end of the hall, a throne rose to dominate the space, enormous, severe, occupying a full third of the palace's floor plan. Its backrest rose like a colossal black blade, tall enough to nearly graze the vaulted ceiling, radiating a pressure that hit you the moment you laid eyes on it. Along the dim passageways flanking the throne, statues of monsters lined both walls, eyes wide with fury, claws bared, every carved face locked in a permanent snarl directed at the palace entrance.

Any invader with less than ironclad nerves would turn and run before they made it ten steps past the door. Su Nian stood at the center of the hall. He turned and looked outward, past the palace, to where a vast, sweeping city rose from the obsidian dark, silent and matte and enormous, standing firm in the deep underground black. (Dungeon concept art below.) (Also: here's a Bugs Bunny dio for the road.) ➤ Next: Multi-Functional Dungeon — System Unlocked