I’d just starting the resummoning process for Mulan and ordered Mary and Almar the order to return when I was teleported. Even though the official notification declaring the wars end went out to all dungeon masters and monsters involved the unaware mercenaries were still out fighting. Mulan would alert captain Eli and Simmons upon her revival while Mary and Almar would alert any of our hired adventurers they met on the way back home. Hopefully they’ll surrender peacefully.

After the sudden countdown from the voice hit zero I found myself hovering within an endless white void. I’d been shifted to my [Projection] form but my usual flight was disabled leaving me incredibly vulnerable. Even though [Projection] is separate from the core itself the voice had warned I could still be killed. Not forever mind you, but at worst I could lose levels, creature templates, [Named], or even entire floors as collateral.

Just as I was beginning to worry about getting back home two lights flashed a ways away from me in the empty space. The first to appear was light green in hue, accompanied by the gentle sound of a flowing waterfall. The second in stark contrast was a pulsating red and orange that appeared in a shower of sparks and bangs. Even before the figures were deposited by the lights I could wager a guess as to who they were.

Emerging from the green light was a handsome blonde haired young man with deep green eyes and the makings of a strong beard on the way. His face bore an expression of disbelief, sadness, and acceptance. While I’d never actually laid eyes on him I could assume he was Leol Osin.

Dropping out of the flashing red and orange light came a screaming and bleeding dark haired young woman with various red highlights in her hair. Similar to Leol she was likely very attractive under usual circumstances but given her profusely bleeding leg stump and missing eye Megun Yui wasn’t looking her best.

Grimacing at my enemies injuries as she writhed in pain I asked “L-Leol and Megun I assume?”

Shooting me a look combining both fear and hatred Megun did her best to crawl away from me “You! Don’t kill me! I’m sorry for insulting you! It will never happen again I swear to the gods!”

‘Jesus Christ Mary... what did you do to her?’

Now that I could put a face to the “bad guy” I’d labeled Megun Yui as I felt pity for her. I couldn’t forgive her actions and nor did I regret my own, but I did regret things had to come to this. No one deserved to suffer in pain.

“I have no plans to do that so relax. I was actually wondering if either of you tell me where we are right now? Obviously it’s related to war’s conclusion since there was a notice from the system but its never teleported me before.”

Scanning the surroundings Megun’s face whitened as she came to some unknown conclusion and muttered between tears “No... no! Not like this! My destiny isn’t over yet!” before continuing her crawl until she crashed into some invisible wall.

As Megun continued yelling something about her legacy needing to continue Leol spoke in a detached tone “So this is the Zone of Recompense? It’s a lot more... white, than I’d heard.”

‘I think Everest mentioned this place before we decided on the truth circle.’ I thought in passing.

Picking up on the fact I needed an explanation Leol explained “Basically it’s where matters involving the... I think you called it the system? Never heard the god’s voices called that but regardless it’s where matters involving them are resolved. Dungeon wars falls under their jurisdiction given the ritual to initiate them. Until me and Megun here follow through with our end of the deal the god’s won’t let us leave this place.”

“Sounds pretty useful.”

Still surprisingly casual given the circumstances Leol continued “Yeah, well... some of the top merchant guilds exclusively deal here. High tier magic shit to come here on purpose, expensive too. Can’t argue with the results though.”

A pretty awkward silence came over the void and my social skills were not developed enough to console an enemy who attacked me first but I also felt kind of bad for? I mean what was I supposed to do pat him on the back and say good game?

Rocking awkwardly on my heels I said “Soooo, I guess you need to hand over your cores then. Then we can all get out of here.”

Putting his hand over his heart Leol flashed a bright green and chanted “[Manifest Core]” before removing a glowing green and light blue orb from his chest. Being one myself I knew it was the core of the Dungeon of Fairies.

I held out my hand for Leol to place it in. The voice never told me exactly what owning another core would bring me but it was assuredly a good thing. Enough so that these two would declare a war over splitting just one between each other.

Staring into the ever shifting light of the core Leol’s detached expression grew more seldom. According to The Reapers he had only received his core 4 years ago when he turned 20, and he’d already managed to lose it. This one mistake had likely just cost him and his family everything. So it was with the last of his honor as an Osin that he dropped the core into my hand without making a fuss. Soon as he let it fall Leol seemed to relax. He had just officially given it up and couldn’t go back now.

“Mind if I ask you something?” Leol said as his form began to fade from the Zone of Recompense.

“Fire away.” He deserved that much at least. I was still pissed at them both for attacking me unprovoked but this was likely the worst day of his life already.

“Who are you? We never did nail down which of our suspects was controlling the dungeon.”

Smirking despite the time and place I answered honestly. I told him I was in fact the actual dungeon core, that I was from another plane entirely, and even my real name. The secret was basically out anyway.

With a look of awe and regret Leol ran his hand through his hair and simply chuckled darkly as he vanished. Back on Earth I’d seen some people with the same far away stares as Leol’s. In the faces of those who’d lost everything and given up hope of ever getting it back.

Approaching Megun with my other hand outstretched I asked “Do you mind if you answer one of my questions? Why did you declare war on me at all? Far as I know I’ve never wronged you. I’d hate for this all to have stemmed purely from greed.”

Megun banged the invisible barrier a few more times in desperation. On the final hit her palm slowly dragged down to the ground as tears began to fall from her eyes.

As she manifested her own core Megun answered bitterly “It was for my future! Illia’s future! The current dungeon masters are failures who’ve grown fat on their wealth and lost all ambition. Soon as their dungeons grew deep enough to repel the majority of adventurers they halted all further efforts and devoted themselves to frivolous spending. I would’ve shown them just why we need to keep growing in power! None of them seem to truly understand where we stand in this world.”

‘Where we stand in this world? Meaning Illia? I’ll have Mary find out more about the history of this country when she gets back. Megun may be my enemy but if she believes all of Illia to be at risk that includes me.’

Dropping the sparking core into my palm with much difficulty Megun finished “I only got Leol involved to weaken his reserves before I conquered him too. Before your dungeon, or rather you, came along I’d been planning to challenge him anyway. I’d thought this the perfect opportunity.” She chuckled lightly “How wrong could I have fucking been eh?”

The sparks from her core bounced harmlessly off my [Projection] as I turned away “A pity. I certainly didn’t want this war but you attacked my home and family so I don’t regret finishing it. As one pursuing growth myself I wish you’d come to me with an [Alliance] instead.”

Ignoring my attempt at a peaceful resolution Megun spat out “Did you call those things your family? Those monsters aren’t normal. They’re mana constructs you’ve somehow gifted intelligence. Sure they may be loyal now but who’s to say they’ll stay that way? You’re playing with fire bringing more of those things into this world before any of us understand them properly.”

Clicking my nonexistent tongue at her as she began to fade I chided “The last thing I want is mere puppets like you do. Far as I’m concerned we’re all equals. Sure I brought them to life but without them I couldn’t survive. We need each other. If they ever decide they don’t need me I’ll have probably done something worthy of their betrayal.”

Whether Megun had any further retorts to my words I’d never know. Just as I finished Megun Yui faded into nothingness leaving me alone in the white void once again. I closed my eyes to let out my anxiety, and when I opened them I was hovering back in the core room with both my prizes still resting in my palms.

For a moment my mouth shifted between both a frown and a smile. While I had obvious reason to celebrate Megun’s warning, Leol’s despair, and the ramifications of destroying two decades old dungeons left me feeling somewhat somber. In a way I’d just extinguished the futures of two noble houses. Rationally I knew I held no blame, but their faces had seemed so... sad.

---

A few hours after the wars end the core room was encompassed in a bright red light. When I began the resummoning process for Mulan a large black oval loosely shaped like an egg had appeared in the core room. Apparently the voice decided she needed to come back in a much flashier way than usual since it had been so long. Not that I disagreed. It had only been around 2 weeks but I missed my favorite bird samurai.

The egg exploded across the room before dissipating into the air as Mulan burst out with her wings extended. She took a moment to stretch and rustle her feathers before hopping onto the floor and giving a graceful bow.

“Congratulations on your victory Milord.”

A smile grew on my face as did hers. For a moment we just stood there smiling at each other.

Walking over and giving her my best hug given the size difference I said “Thank you for all your hard work. We all missed you.”

Even though she hid her face I could hear the blush in her voice when she stammered “I-I missed you too Milord. I mean I could still listen in through the link but, well, you know what I mean.”

Over the link I felt a completely exhausted Mary groan and say “Would you quit your squawking! My heads about to split open...”

This got a good chuckle out of me while Almar gave a simple, “Good to hear from you little bird.” before disconnecting. Irwin sent some positive feelings Mulan’s way on his end.

Much as I was enjoying our little reunion, as the leader I put my feelings aside and looked towards the notifications blinking inside my [Dungeon Status]. Likewise Mulan headed out to go halt the fighting between humans.

*DUNGEON WAR VICTORY DETECTED! 10,000,000 MANA WILL BE PROVIDED PER DUNGEON CORE OBTAINED!

*PRE-PLANNED BLUEPRINTS DETECTED! EXCESS MANA WILL BE ALLOCATED TO PREDETERMINED STRUCTURES!

*DUNGEON HAS REACHED HIDDEN REQUIREMENT: Fight and emerge victorious in a dungeon war

*ACCESS TO SKILL “ALLIANCES” GRANTED

*DUNGEON HAS REACHED HIDDEN REQUIREMENT: Emerge victorious in a dungeon war while outnumbered

*ACCES TO TRAIT “UNDERDOG” GRANTED

Even before I could wrap my mind around the astronomical sum of 20,000,000 mana coming my way, I felt the raw mana gush into my core and into the blueprints for Covenant Cavern. It was such a grandiose amount I staggered to the ground and needed to revert back into core form. From there I watched the 7 biomes begin construction as planned. I would of course need to make more specific changes once the major landscaping was done but no major flaws were popping up from the pre planning phase.

20,000,000 million though... Even with my 80% increase in efficiency, meaning if Megun or Leol had won they’d have only earned 2,000,000 for my one core and had to split that between themselves, that number seemed to high. To put that number in perspective before the war I generated a passive 1,000 mana a day. Any other dungeon masters at my level would be making a measly 200. Of course the majority of my mana comes from adventurers falling in battle, buying Withdraw Orbs, or monsters hunting each other but at my current rate of production it would take 2 years to generate 20,000,000 million. That’s how much I’d just earned.

After making sure I would have enough left over to finish the 3rd floor safe zone and most of Covenant Cavern I gave [Dungeon Status] enough mana to reach level 25 for my selections. On one hand I wanted to grab another sentient race in case the Lamias didn’t work out but the level spree was also to curb my spending habits. Get it out of my system you know?

*DUNGEON HAS REACHED MANA REQUIREMENTS FOR LEVEL 24!

*MAXIMUM NUMBER OF [NAMES] ABLE TO BE GIVEN INCREASED TO 10

*DUNGEON HAS REACHED MANA REQUIREMENTS FOR LEVEL 25!

*MAXIMUM NUMBER OF FLOORS HAS INCREASED TO 6

*MAXIMUM NUMBER OF [NAMES] ABLE TO BE GIVEN INCREASED TO 12

*APROPRIATE LEVEL REACHED PLEASE SELECT A FREE BASIC FLORA TYPE ORGANSIM. NEXT FREE SELECTION WILL BE AVAILABLE AT LEVEL 30.

*MANA GRASS

*MANA KELP

*MANA LILY

*MANA CORAL

*SPIDER PLANT

*CACTUS

*BAMBOO

*PEANUTS

*WATERMELON

*COCOA BEANS

*CATTAIL

*APPLE TREE

*PALM TREE

*FLY TRAP

*PULSE VINE

*BALM BARK

*GRAPE VINE

*DRIFTING CHERRIES

*DILERIUM GOJI

*APPROPRIATE LEVEL REACHED PLEASE SELECT A FREE BASIC CREATURE TYPE ORGANISM. NEXT FREE SELCTION WILL BE AT LEVEL 30.

*KOBOLD

*SKELETON

*HARPY

*ONI

*CYCLOPS

*COMMON DOLPHIN

*ANGLERFISH

*LEATHERBACK SEA TURTLE

*SMALL REEF SHARK

*SWORDFISH

*IMP

*DIRE WEASEL

*DIRE RAT

*BISON

*MONKEY

*CHEETAH

*FIRE ELEMENTAL

*WATER ELEMENTAL

*EARTH ELEMENTAL

*AIR ELEMENTAL

*SHADOW ELEMENTAL

*LIGHT ELEMENTAL

For some reason the Flora list had updated from the last selection at level 20 unlike last time. This isn’t the first time the selection lists have acted strangely so I’m beginning to wonder about their usefulness going forward. Most of my monster templates come from donations and payments nowadays anyway. If I want the really cool and rare stuff like golems and lamias though I’m unsure if I can just find them in the world around me. Hiring someone to kill a hippo and bring it to the dungeon is easy. Abducting a potentially sentient cyclops from its family? Not a great P.R. move.

Putting the options aside for now I pulled up my newest [Dungeon Status]. And upon doing so I realized how long it felt since I looked at the thing. It felt nice going back to basics.

Unnamed Dungeon Level 25

Unused Core Level 1

Unused Core Level 1

Mana Capacity: 143,344/1,000,000

Mana Bank: 350,000/350,000

Passive Regen Rate 3,300/day

Floors: 3/6

Named Creatures: 4/12

Skills: Remote Absorption, Create Creature, Create Flora, Dungeon Status, Naming, Expansion, Terraforming, Marking, Mana Bank, Loot Control, Creature Core, Treasure, Banners, Population Control, Bosses, Auras, Micromanager, Note Keeping, Construction, Projection, Alliances

Traits: Fast Paced, Purposeful, Perfectionist, Underdog

Notes:

Make [Taming] available as per the adventurers deal Make a public statement regarding future relations with sapients. Meeting with Simmons or someone higher up the chain of command would be helpful. Come up with 4th floor safe zone name Ask one of the humans about Rhilos inflation in this world. Does all money come from monsters or did Rhilos become a currency because of how they’re obtained? I’m dying to know. Send someone to buy some stained glass Look into Illia’s standing in the world as per Megun’s warning

After adding some changes to my [Note] section for later my attention was drawn to the two “Unused Cores” underneath my own level. Before messing with the new cores though I should do some research about dungeon formation. Obviously Megun had a plan for my core so what an Unused Core does is known, and hopefully not classified, information. My gut tells me I could start some other dungeons out in the world which would be great for my future plans.. Although the idea of managing 3 times what I already run is a bit daunting... the mana generation upgrade from 1,000 to 3,300 is appreciated though.

Leaving it for later I started thinking about what second race to select. Lamias would be the big draw of the 4th floor so choosing a group they can get along with is necessary. Drawing on my extensive fantasy game knowledge that had yet to lead me astray I went down the list by memory.

Kobolds are lizard men, or sometimes dog men depending on the story, who serve under the dragons they view as gods. In terms of potential the kobolds would likely become more draconic as they evolved. That could lead to some interesting monsters when combined with the Leviathan Whelps for the 5th floor. But if they serve big reptiles the Lamias might end up being the subject of their worship rather than partners. Not ideal for my plans.

I’m less familiar with harpies but I believe that they are an entirely female race with wings instead of arms and talons instead of legs. Lamias may or may not be female only depending on the story so hedging my bets on two female races doesn’t seem like a good idea. Having a race that could fly around the world would be nice but I already have enough bird women in my life.

Oni’s are slightly less familiar to me being a westerner. What I had learned from my fair share of d&d games was that Oni’s usually came in shades of red and blue with heavy metal clubs. I’m unsure if they qualify as yokai but more modern takes depict them less as monsters of folklore and closer to a sentient race that feuds with humanity. They may slightly break my unofficial “don’t summon demons” policy from months ago but my classification of demons is iffy. Some legends I’ve heard do depict them as phenomenal weapon smiths though which catches my attention.

Cyclops are either depicted as brilliant craftsman banished to Tartarus, or lumbering dunderheads more similar to trolls. I’m long overdue for some brute strength monsters and they could make a good labor force in the near future. That said I’d definitely prefer my cyclops as craftsman over loud barbarians. I can teach an intelligent monster to craft or fight but not an idiot to socialize and make sales with humans.

I weighed the pros and cons around in my mind for about half an hour before deciding on the Oni’s. They were the most well rounded far as I could tell and I knew for certain they came in male and female. If all goes according to plan they’ll live alongside the Lamias on the 4th floor safe zone but actually appear on the 5th floor in some fashion.

Selecting Oni’s along with Delirium Goji since it sounded neat I asked the voice about my new trait and skill. During my tests Mulan alerted me that Simmons had come looking to meet in person. I had her inform him I was busy dealing with the internal results of winning the war. Speaking with a mayor required some mental preparations from me and I thought managerial duties a good excuse.

[Alliances] was a rather simple skill that allowed me to contact other dungeon masters to form contracts through the Zone of Recompense. Specifically it related to exchanging templates and promising to back other masters during times of war. Tempting as it was to gather some powerful allies to help deter future wars I don’t exactly know any other dungeon masters right now. Let alone anyone I’d feel comfortable fighting a war for.

[Underdog] was likewise a very simple skill that would decrease the cost of mana on my creatures during times of war. The discount was only around 10% but when summoning thousands of monsters like I’d been doing that would add up. Of course I’ve got my [Projected] fingers crossed we never have to go through a war again. But as a responsible leader I’ll work on some contingencies now that I know getting dragged into war is a possibility.

Before going to meet Simmons I checked on the 3rd floor safe zone’s progress. Compared to the 7 biomes the casino was a comparably cheap project at only 150,000 mana. Adding in the [Micromanaging] operated games and outfitting all the floors, submerged rooms, and decorating the reef would drive the cost up but I can worry about that when Almar, the casino head to be, gets back.

---

Talking in a hushed voice to his beloved Arin, Crabro muttered through the spell “Honey I made a bit of a bad bet on this war. Claire got me good and we owe her some money.”

Voice sweet as honey since they hadn’t seen each other in half a month Arin said, “That’s fine dear, just tell me how much she earned and I’ll send it over.”

“Thanks! If you could just send over 150,000,000 Rhilos I’d appreciate it.”

“How much was that dear? I believe I misheard you.”

“Oh, you know, just... 150,000,000 Rhilos...”

“YOU LOST 150,000,000!”

“Jastog will be treating us to a lovely date night on the waterfront in Krescea in two weeks as an apology for egging me on! Talk to you later honey!”

“JUST YOU WAIT TILL YOU GE-!” she managed to scream before he cut the connection with a wince.

Running a hand down his face Crabro could only dread the dressing down his wife would be giving him. He loved her, fiery temper and all, but he’d been hoping for a more peaceful return home. They had the money but it was still around 3 weeks earnings for the dungeon. Given his savings the family would be fine but it wasn’t a small number given their admittedly lavish lifestyle back home.

A sly grin across her face Claire raised an eyebrow in amusement at Crabro “Glad to hear Arin’s famous vocal cords haven’t died down at all.”

“No they haven’t, and she’ll be sure to practice on me when I get home.”

Taking the loss in good taste Jastog had brought Crabro and Claire out to an expensive dinner to celebrate the wars end. Ringley had been invited of course but he’d been furious at Leol and Megun for losing so badly and headed off to go find them before other masters kidnapped them. Capturing fallen masters for their templates was an ugly but not uncommon practice. But with the Dungeon of Fireworks and Fairies dissipating into nothing it was anyone’s guess where they’d ended up. No one was even sure if Megun had survived with her injuries.

With a bit of his sauce covered shrimp hanging from his chin Jastog asked “You’ve got to tell us how you knew lass. Are you involved with Unnamed already?”

“I would like to know as well. Even the mayor overseeing the territory was nervous when posed the idea of war. How could you have known?” Crabro asked.

Tapping her glass down on the table the rare eager Claire was more than happy to elaborate.

“My nephew was part of an infiltration into the dungeon a few months back, first to see the 2nd floor in fact. I probably shouldn’t be saying this but he works for the Mages Guild as a spy. After they finished picking his brain for information on that island of theirs he came over to my place to rest. He’s been hiding out with me for a while now and swore up and down the place was abnormally strong. I should mention he’s a highly accomplished weather mage who’s delved down to the 25th floor of my own dungeon before. I simply trusted his judgement.”

“What if he’d been wrong?” Crabro asked between sips of wine.

Laughing gently Claire answered “I’d kick him out again. Kind of an aunt as I am he can’t just keep running from the guild master forever.”

“Wish I could...” Jastog mumbled before taking a healthy swig.

After taking his own swig of understanding Crabro asked “Skipping again this year old friend? She might not be in attendance.”

“Bah! Keep your politics away from me and my home. Never did me any good.”

Looking to Claire Crabro asked the same with a look and she answered “Depends, but I’ll likely be there. I’m hoping to enter an [Alliance] with our new coworker and provide back up when they reveal themselves. Gods willing the nobles will be a bit more gracious given this display of force.”

Handing a drink to the waitress Jastog nodded “Greedy bastards will be like bloodhounds if they attend. Half will want to ally the other half will want to replace them. If our masters truly not human who knows what schemes they’ll put in place to screw them over.”

“Indeed.” Crabro said finishing his drink.