Chapter Twenty-Eight: Redirecting Calamity Eastward

[The invading enemies in the dungeon have been completely eliminated. The Lord has gained 6,428 experience points.]
[Available trap quantity: 3/20]

“As expected, my foundations are still too weak.”

Staring at the system prompt before him, Zane let out a long breath and shook his head helplessly. Just dealing with fewer than fifty invaders had nearly exhausted all the traps he’d painstakingly crafted over time. If another wave came, he’d be forced to stand against them himself. What troubled Zane even more was that, despite slaughtering so many elites, he’d only earned a little over six thousand experience points, yet had almost sacrificed all his traps in the process. It was a loss, plain and simple. The traps, though powerful, had their durability limits; each use consumed a significant amount. Coupled with the cost of materials and money to make them, this battle had left him decidedly in the red.

But it was hardly surprising. According to the dungeon system’s experience calculation, enemies killed by traps only granted the player one-third of the experience. Only those slain by the player’s monster army yielded the full amount. Clearly, this was a shameless design, meant to steer players toward spending to summon monster armies rather than relying on traps—the audacity of this system was truly staggering!

With this in mind, Zane snorted coldly and reopened the system panel. The dungeon’s information swiftly appeared.

[Dungeon Construction System]
[Lord: Zane]
[Level: 3]
[Development Progress: 4,028/15,000]
[Dungeon Resources: Ore (5,100), Mercury (3,700), Gems (1,650), Crystal (5,850)]
[Special Resources: Sulfur (300), Wood (5)]
[Followers: 23]
[Existing Structures: Heart of the Dungeon, Study, Bedroom, Nest, Blackstone Watchtower]
[Available Structures: Grand Library, Training Grounds]
[Dungeon upgraded to Level 3]
[+1 Spell Slot, +1 Population Base]
[New Building Blueprints Acquired]
[Blueprint: Prison (whips, wooden horses, candles. There’s nothing more thrilling than playing bondage in a dark, damp cave. Watching a once-defiant enemy bow their head, begging for your forgiveness and mercy, that electric thrill is utterly intoxicating and irresistible.)—Power suppression, +1 prisoner capacity]
[Blueprint: Dark Sanctuary (This is the place of eternal darkness, the evil holy hall. Offer your sacrifices, open the gates to other realms, let the Death Guardians descend, and praise your greatness and glory.)—Unlock: Grand Summoning]
[Blueprint: Forge Workshop (Weapons, traps, equipment. For soldiers, shining new gear always beats scavenged secondhand goods. The forge workshop is the foundation for building an elite force. Remember: ragged foot soldiers will never stand atop a hero’s corpse.)—Refinement +1, special construction conditions]

Level three, at last...

Zane narrowed his eyes at the dungeon system. The first three levels were mere practice for players; only now did the true hell of dungeon construction begin. For Zane, building a powerful dungeon army, conquering the Northlands, and eventually invading the surface world—all depended on his efforts from here on out!

“Master.”

At that moment, the study door opened, and Enoia entered, offering a respectful bow before speaking.

“The battle is over. The dungeon suffered minimal damage. The goblins are currently cleaning up as ordered. As per your command, we have captured Miss Elise.”

“Thank you.”

Zane nodded at Enoia’s words, then turned to the girl before him.

“By the way... I’m surprised you managed to defeat her. If I’m not mistaken, she’s a high-level mage, isn’t she?”

Regarding Elise, Zane had always found her troublesome. That’s why he’d had Vilna cooperate with Enoia, even preparing to intervene himself should they be outmatched. Yet, unexpectedly, Enoia had subdued the opponent single-handedly, which truly astonished Zane. Judging by the data, it should have been a daunting task.

Since arriving in this world, Zane had compared its combat capabilities with those of his original reality via the system, learning its classification standards. The stages were as follows:

☆ (Below Human)
★ (Normal Human Level)
★☆ (Above Human to Elite)
★★ (Quasi-Elite)
★★☆ (High Elite to Master)
★★★ (Quasi-Master)
★★★☆ (High Master to Legendary)
★★★★ (Quasi-Legendary)
★★★★☆ (Legendary to Demi-God)
★★★★★ (Demi-God)

When assigning these ranks, the dungeon system based them solely on the individual’s inherent strength, disregarding equipment, weapons, and other enhancements. In a sense, it was the most direct expression. According to this system, Enoia’s combat power was one and a half stars, while Elise’s ranged from two and a half to three stars. In theory, even with Vilna’s help, facing a high-level mage of three-star strength should have been no easy feat.

Yet Enoia had dispatched Elise alone? How was that possible? The dungeon system didn’t account for equipment, but Enoia herself possessed no particularly powerful weapons. Apart from her innate lightning magic bonus, she wasn’t especially formidable.

“Hmm hmm hmm…”

Upon hearing Zane’s words, Enoia’s expression shifted, revealing a peculiar smile.

“You’re right, Master. If she were an ordinary high-level mage, I’d have struggled. But fortunately, Miss Elise is no ordinary mage... she’s a sorceress.”

“Pfft!”

Zane nearly spat out his water at this revelation. Now he understood the oddity in Enoia’s smile.

Sorcerers are a unique breed of spellcasters. They possess supernatural bloodlines, bodies infused with potent chaotic magic. Most distinctive of all, sorcerers don’t require external aids; a gesture or movement suffices to cast spells, and they can do so without limitation!

Their most obvious trait is the ability to wield a flame known as “arcane fire”—not ordinary fire, but magical flames born from their bloodline’s power. Any creature touched by this fire is swiftly subdued. In this regard, Elise was indeed a formidable high-level caster.

Of course, sorcerers aren’t without flaws. Their constitution prevents them from learning diverse spells like other casters. Yet for sorcerers, this is no obstacle; often, their arcane fire alone achieves results akin to other magic.

Thus, Elise was undeniably strong. Not just Enoia—even other high-level mages would fare poorly against her. So how had Enoia not only survived but easily overcome Elise?

As previously mentioned, sorcerers’ arcane fire is exceedingly powerful; any creature struck by it suffers greatly.

Any “creature.”

That’s right—the arcane fire is pure negative energy! For living beings, negative energy is deadly. This is why most casters lose to sorcerers; negative energy is a nightmare for the living, something all instinctively avoid. Even spells granting immunity to negative energy are temporary—yet a sorcerer’s arcane fire is inexhaustible. In this sense, they are far harder to contend with than other mages.

But Enoia is different. She is, from top to toe, inside and out, an undead being. Thus, Elise’s arcane fire was little more than a soothing hot bath to her—not only did it fail to cause harm, but it temporarily boosted her strength. Elise’s attack achieved the opposite effect, empowering her adversary instead... No wonder Enoia’s smile was so strange.

It made sense. With anyone else, Elise’s touch meant certain death. But Enoia was undead—the sole nemesis of sorcerers.

Sometimes, fate simply has no mercy.

Zane silently mourned Elise’s luck for three seconds, then pushed it aside. As the dungeon lord, he had far more pressing matters. That troublesome Elise could wait for later.

“When the battlefield is cleared, don’t rush to repair the traps. Have Bix lead the goblins to excavate a four-by-six space to the south. It’s about time we built a prison. After all, we can’t let our noble mage guest sleep on the floor.”

“Understood. I’ll get started right away.”

With a nod, Enoia departed to carry out Zane’s orders. Only then did Zane turn to the shadowy corner of the study, which, at first glance, seemed unremarkable. Yet he could distinctly sense a blade-like, icy gaze emanating from there, scrutinizing him coldly.

“There’s something I need you to do next, Miss Vilna…”

With a gentle smile, Zane pushed up his glasses and spoke at a leisurely pace.