I was calm. The center of control, a creature of such… calmness that no other could compare. I repeated that internally over and over while my claws dug grooves in the floor. Sleep? Is it delicious?

Nearly a day had passed, so very soon would I be rid of that pressure in the back of my mind, and I could finally get something done. So much potential wasted, my mana having long been at full, because the dungeon core refused me while I had invaders.

Chion watched me warily from his nest, a dagger in each claw. How could he be wary of someone as calm and collected as me? I kept the deal in mind each time the urge to tear apart that little goblin came up. The things that it would bring would improve my options a lot, probably. I never did specify what it should bring, but anything at this point would help.

I got up and Chion tensed. “Finally!”

My suffering had ended and the goblin had finally been able to leave. I dashed to the and snagged the dumb cube off its pedestal. I carried it back to the lair while bringing up the creature list.

“Get up, Chion, you’re about to have company.”

He relaxed his shoulders and put his daggers away on his tunic. “More kobolds?”

“Yes!”

White light bloomed in the lair as four shapes morphed into kobolds. Each of them stumbled to their feet with a particularly small one falling face-first to the ground in their confusion at suddenly existing. Ah, more minions, what a wonderful thing!

Hmm, I didn’t have enough mana to give each of them a nice fur nest like mine and Chion’s, yet did they even deserve one? I bought them each a and had just enough mana to not blackout. Now that I had a lot more mana since I was first created having barely any made my not-stomach hurt and my head ache. I quickly assigned them to their nests so that they could revive when they died.

“Chion, here.” I snapped a claw and pointed to my side. All the new kobolds stared blankly at me when I snapped. Ah, they were going to be so dumb until they got classes. I was still wondering how to do that. Maybe the goblin would know?

...Why didn’t I ask when it was locked in here!? Ah, I was so dumb. Past me, please rot in a spike pit because of how dumb you were. It even had a skill for combat and I just ignored it. Truly my worst enemy is that awful alert.

“Listen up, my minions! This is Chion, my chief minion. That makes him your… chief? Yes, your chief! Anything he says you do unless I tell you otherwise. Got it?”

They nodded their heads. I inspected each one and resisted clacking my fangs. Three of them were males just as ugly as Chion, all taller than both me or him, with a little more muscle. The smaller, clumsy one was a female who was annoyingly better looking than me with her longer tail and shiny scales, but my horns and fangs were far better! I wanted to mess her up but it wasn’t like there were any good males anyway.

Chion rested his claws on his daggers and looked impressive if one didn’t know how lazy he was. “I Chief. First thing is fight.”

Really? It wasn’t like it mattered, right? Ah, well, he was their chief and it wasn’t like I had anything for them to do. My instincts told me to have them gather, hunt and other things normal kobolds probably did but as dungeon creatures they didn’t have any use for that. Their whole existence was to fight and die for the dungeon.

The kobolds began to fight with all their strength like Chion did whenever we first sparred. Well, a minute later the three males were dead and the female was bloodied but breathing. It would be a couple hours before they revived.

Why did it feel like I wasted my mana summoning them?

“Was there a point to that?” I asked Chion.

“Yes, Master. Fight different, big ones stronger with claws, small one smart and quick.” He tapped on his dagger. “She maybe use dagger or knife, big ones you teach claws?”

...Was my chief minion actually smart? No no, that couldn’t be, right? I nodded as if I knew about it all along. “Of course, I knew that.”

Chion gave me a dubious look but stayed silent when I raised a foot. “Lair okay spot, but maybe make room to fight? We get more minions later, will be crowded.”

“The east room then. I’m still unsure what to do about the entrance room. I want it to be deadly and scary, but if it was I wouldn’t have had the chance to make the deal with the goblin. Leaving it empty is bad, but what to do?”

“Room?” asked the bloodied little kobold as she approached. Ah, her voice was pleasant and easy on the ears. I slowly pulled out my claw that had magically appeared in her chest, blinked, and watched her drop to the floor. Chion frowned at the sight of her body fading away.

“Any ideas?” I ask Chion completely ignoring what just happened.

“Master eats and need drink. Is a lot of mana? Maybe make food room.”

It was a good idea, but it really wasn’t that much mana now and I was the only one who needed to eat. Although, even if they didn’t need to eat, did dungeon creatures want to eat? Chion fidgeted at my silence and scrutiny. It could also lure things from outside the dungeon and trap them in here. As annoying as the was it was a fact of dungeon life.

“Alright, I’ll see what I can do when I recover. You want to spar until then?” Chion nodded and pulled out his wooden dagger.

“Yes, now Chief. Can’t lose to minions,” he said with determination. Kekeke, I understand that feeling entirely. After all, it was how I felt every time we fought. We clashed for a few hours, taking breaks when he got exhausted, and worked on our skills.

I still wasn’t sure the exact way to gain skills other than practice or doing something constantly. That was how I gained [Mana Manipulation], although even with my practice every day it hasn’t leveled. My [Claw Techniques] was growing close to leveling, a feeling of being on the edge of understanding something but not knowing the thing that would make it all click.

There was no flash of light or sound when the kobolds revived. One second they were just there and crawling out of their nests. I created a wooden dagger and tossed it at the small female and smirked when it pegged her in the head.

“We’ll do it your way, Chion.” He motioned for the female to come over to him. “You three, come here.”

Chion’s observation was on point as they were taller and had more muscle or bigger claws than he did. I was an exception by simply being me even if I was the smallest of all the kobolds.

“Alright, dumb minions, I’m going to show you how to use your claws.” One of them snorted and the other two looked at him in confusion. “What, you have a problem?”

Maybe he was truly dumb since he flicked his tail against the floor. “You small, tiny claws. What teach?”

Dungeon loyalty at its finest. I glanced at the other two. “You two also think that?”

One looked confused and the other slightly nodded. Well, even Chion was smart enough to not question me when I told him to fight me. I didn’t wait or tell them to start, instead I ran up to the one on my right who barely nodded and swiped at his knee.

He tried to block but when my claw hit his I dug into his wrist and threw him to the ground. Using that momentum I lunged at the foolishly brave one who was shocked into action and tried to rake me. What a useless rake, he only used his arm.

I used my entire body to have my claws pierce his own and used my other claw to swipe his leg out from under him. His scales were flimsy and weak and I tore through him with ease.

The confused one glanced at the two on the floor and readied himself. Oh, he looked like he had promise. I started off in a light run before jumping at him with a burst of speed. His claws struck my stomach but barely cut through my [Tough Scales] as I knocked him to the floor. My claw wrapped around his throat and I stared into his eyes as he understood I won.

I got off him and walked over to the brave one who was climbing to his feet while clutching his knee. “You’re weak, far weaker than me. Big? Tall?”

My foot crashed into his chest and sent him sprawling. “I’m your [Dungeon Master], and I rule here. If you don’t like it you should get strong. Maybe I teach you how to get strong? Kekeke, but then you never be stronger than me.”

I held two claws over his eyes as he stared wide. “Insult again and I show you who strong, why I Master. Death not escape, dumb minion.”

The lapse into basic kobold speech annoyed me as my emotions were running high. I kicked him in the stomach instead of taking his eyes for his rudeness, deciding that I actually needed proper minions and couldn’t just kill them like I did on the foxy occasion.

“Now get up, I show you real way to use claws.”

They all got up, the two who questioned me looking frightened but the confused one was staring in awe. I wasn’t sure which look I liked more but both were fitting. I spent the next hour showing them what I was sure was my skill’s knowledge on how to move my body or to angle a proper swipe. I knew I was still weak and it annoyed me, but nobody but myself was ever allowed to say so.

I didn’t have things to heal the kobolds after a second round of fighting in which they lay bloody and bruised on the ground while whining in pain. Did they revive at peak health after dying? Did healing naturally help or create any skills? Questions needed answers so I let them lay there as I checked on Chion.

Apparently he was a softer teacher than I because the female was still conscious and wasn’t covered in wounds. He was showing her a stab. “No, like this. See?”

She watched then tried to repeat it but like the other minions failed in moving right. There was no leg or body use, just throwing her arm out with the dagger at least pointing the right way.

“Going well? The other minions are done for the day.”

Chion nodded slowly, his glance at the female unsure. “I not wrong, she like me. Just something missing, maybe class?”

“No, a class helps but it isn’t the problem. They just need practice until they understand.” I frown and shrug. “Probably. You continuing?”

“Yes. Want succeed before more kobolds,” said Chion.

I waved and went to gather my core to spend some of the mana I recovered. We had foxes and kobolds now so now I wanted to focus on the dungeon. The eastern room would make a good training grounds because I definitely wanted more kobolds. Chion’s suggestion for the entrance room was interesting but I still wasn’t sold on it.

It wouldn’t help defenses or increase our strength and would be mainly for me. Before I forgot I bought a for that goblin when it came back. There was twenty-eight mana to use, although that meant more around twenty so that I didn’t have to feel sick.

The entrance room was simple and pleasant as always and its emptiness somehow felt bad when I compared it to my other two upgraded rooms. How would I make it a food room when the floor was still wood? It was looking impossible but I browsed through the list on the core.

There wasn’t anything under other than actual food items that my [Dungeon Interface] skill had probably earned me. When it leveled up it granted me a lot of some things like different magic or food, but didn’t get me better armor or weapons. Maybe it mainly increased the kinds of things I could get, but not the quality like stone or metal?

I tapped on the last list under and got the biggest list I had seen yet, but sucked in a breath at one particular choice. Why was it hidden here of all places?

>Games and Toys

>Farming Supplies

>Clothing

>Small Objects

>Tools

>Crafting Materials

>Workstations

>Treasure Chests

What was this magical list doing with all these amazing sounding lists under it? No, I calmed down and thought about it carefully. A dungeon couldn’t function on the [Dungeon Master] doing everything. This was the first floor and my instincts for dungeons told me they could go deep, very deep.

That meant I should be setting up some rooms for kobolds to maybe be able to improve themselves, right? A training room was exactly the kind of thing that would be good, but I ignored all these background thoughts as the idea of having looked me in the face.

A chest containing a treasure that depends on the quality of chest and the room it is placed in. Can be opened once per delve.

>Wood Chest - 10 MP

>Bone Chest - 20 MP

I was a smart kobold so the fact that I only had two chests available meant that they were important and not something my interface skill unlocked. That they could only be opened when I had invaders was… displeasing. It also sounded like dungeon creatures couldn’t open it.

Kekeke, chests for invaders only? Then they should get bad treasure! Even if I was upset I was still a kobold of good taste so I created a and planted it right in the middle of the entrance room. It was a simple large chest that was made of splintered and chipped bones intertwined into a container as large as me.No extra treasure from being in an upgraded room!

Just to make sure I tried to open it and couldn’t. I clacked my fangs and kicked the dumb thing before sitting on it no matter how uncomfortable it was in order to show my superiority.

“Is that mine?”

I jumped and fell off the chest in surprise as of course the goblin had chosen that exact moment to show up. It was naked and in its arms was its crude rag bulging with random things.

The chest was immediately forgotten as I rushed over to the archway to see the goblin. It was still looking at the chest. “Chests are for invaders only because the dungeon hates me. Kekeke, if you want it you’re welcome to come in and get it.”

Wait… “No, really, please come in and get it.”

It eyed me warily. “I be trapped for one day again. Is it good stuff in chest?”

I laughed. “Who knows? First chest for me too. If you don’t want I don’t care. What did you bring, goblin?”

It hugged the makeshift bag of stuff. “Spear?”

I had dropped it when I fell off the chest and went to pick it up. Since kobolds and goblins were roughly the same size it was a proper spear for the goblin. It broke out in a wide smile and threw the stuff across the archway barrier. I was a kobold of her word and tossed the spear to the goblin who caught it with glee. Clearly items could pass through the barrier with ease.

Before the dungeon could absorb the bundle of stuff I picked it up and sorted through it. There was several kinds of rocks, or at least they all looked different, along with some flowers and berries, a couple kinds of nuts, a lot of bugs, a frog that had a hole in its head, half a rabbit, and a very rusty fragment of metal.

I dropped the rest for the dungeon and picked out the rusted metal fragment. “Where did you get this?”

The goblin was practicing stabbing with its spear and glanced over. “Found it near rocks. Useless to me, not sharp.”

True, it was dull and overall worthless, but it made the entire exchange with the goblin worth it. I gently set it on the floor and watched it fade away with a grin. After that I rushed over to the core and checked on .

It was there under every kind of weapon now for three times the cost of a bone weapon. It was thirty mana for a and the ‘crude’ part of it was no doubt truth to its bad quality. Still, any metal was great.

“This very good spear! [Pierce]!” the goblin yelled and stabbed at a nearby tree. Surprisingly the bone dug the entire blade into the tree with ease and the goblin had to work harder just to pull it out.

“Say, little goblin, that’s a good skill you have. How did you get it? You have a class, right?” I smiled as sweetly as I could and edged close to the barrier. “Mind if we talk?”

Fear etched itself on the goblin’s face and gulped. “What in it for me?”

I clacked my fangs and really wanted to kick the goblin. “You can open the chest and I won’t kill you.”

The goblin grew bolder and eyed the archway. “I’m safe when outside dungeon. Maybe, your friend’s armor. I want.”

Some hide armor for information? It was hard to keep my face straight at how good a deal it was. Instead I frowned and paused like I was thinking. “Sure, one piece. Two if you have good answers.”

The goblin sat at the barrier’s edge, merely an arm away from me but also as unreachable as another world, and laid the spear on its lap. “We talk peacefully now. Trade names?”

“Kekeke, I have no name. I am the [Dungeon Master] of this dungeon which also has no name,” I said.

“Okay,” it said confused at why we were nameless. Naming myself was in bad taste and no one else is worthy of naming me. “I’m Mudthorn, daughter of Quickspear, [Poker] of Redroots Tribe.”