Chapter Two: The Future Master Architect?

"Half-orcs?" Gazing at the ugly, muscular creatures before him, Jan pushed up his glasses, a flicker of undisguised contempt flashing in his eyes. He had never had any fondness for these dull-witted beings whose intelligence barely rivaled that of a child—stupid, incompetent, and only ever troublesome. Although Enoya had once suggested recruiting a few half-orcs for dungeon defense, Jan had firmly rejected the idea.

Relying on half-orcs to guard the dungeon was less reliable than hiring them to tear it down.

"Oh oh oh oh oh!" Seeing the frail-looking mage before them, the half-orcs, perhaps finding a new outlet for their anger or thinking of something else, charged forward. The leader let out a furious roar, gripping his battle axe tightly as he lunged at Jan. The others followed suit, weapons raised, stomping after him with heavy strides.

Jan merely snorted coldly at the sight.

"Foolish trash, you’re of no use to me anyway."

As he spoke, Jan extended his hand and pointed forward.

"Boom!"

In the next moment, dazzling lightning filled the entire corridor. A blazing spear of electricity shot from Jan’s fingertip, whistling through the air. Brilliant white light swallowed everything; for a brief instant, the world seemed nothing but white.

Perhaps it lasted an eternity, or maybe just a heartbeat. When the brilliance finally faded, only several thoroughly scorched, twisted, and torn corpses remained before Jan.

[All dungeon invaders have been eliminated. The lord receives 85 experience points.]

And that’s why he despised these annoying, worthless creatures that barely yielded any experience.

Glancing at the notification floating before him, Jan frowned. The greatest flaw of the dungeon system was that although it allowed monsters he hired to level up individually, it did not allow Jan himself to level up independently. To gain levels, he had to absorb the dungeon’s collective experience and upgrade together with it.

A single monster required only a hundred or so experience points to level up, but getting the entire dungeon to level two demanded thousands… No wonder Jan was so disgruntled—less than a hundred points was hardly worth mentioning compared to what was needed.

Still, it was income of a sort. With that thought, Jan snapped his fingers. Instantly, five diminutive goblins, carrying sacks and wielding mining picks, came shrieking from the depths of the corridor. They began rummaging through the charred remains, collecting every usable item and bit of treasure. Then, dragging the mangled bodies behind them, they vanished in the blink of an eye.

A pity the dungeon was still so low-level. If only he could build a cemetery or prison, these corpses could be used to raise a few skeleton soldiers.

Jan had long since grown indifferent to death. Upon first being reborn into this world, he had found it hard to accept, but years spent in the demon realm had given death, corpses, and blood an entirely new value in his eyes.

"Hmm?"

Just then, his gaze swept over a trembling figure, prompting him to raise an eyebrow. The system had just notified him of "total enemy elimination," meaning this uninvited guest was not considered an enemy by the dungeon.

Curiosity sparked, Jan strode slowly toward the figure.

As Jan approached, the trembling only grew worse. By the flickering light, Jan saw the stranger clearly—a small girl, seemingly human and about ten years old, clad in a dirty dress and cowering in the corner. Yet from her slightly brown skin and subtle features, Jan recognized her true race.

A gnome.

Gnomes were one of the subterranean races. Their most obvious trait, Jan thought, was their stature—adult gnomes were no taller than children of twelve or thirteen, and their features were indistinguishable from those of a child, brimming with innocent, whimsical ideas.

If Jan were to sum it up: an entire race of legal lolis, with an impressively long shelf life (at least a century), enough to make enthusiasts weep with joy on Earth.

"Please don’t kill me… don’t kill me…" As Jan came near, Bix was nearly faint with fear. She had seen those terrifying half-orcs die so miserably; even the strongest warriors had been reduced to charred husks in a single move from this dreadful demon lord.

Staring at the shadow looming before her, Bix’s face turned ashen. Stories her parents had told her about demon lords in dark dungeons resurfaced in her mind. Was she about to be eaten as a snack, or sacrificed in some horrifying experiment? By the stones above, she was young—she didn’t want to die!

Interesting.

Jan’s lips curled into a faint smile as he regarded the gnome. Gnomes were cautious creatures, and his dungeon was not close to the surface; rarely did he encounter such intelligent beings. Previously, only clawed beasts and half-orcs had wandered in, hardly worth noting. Now the system had delivered him a captive. Whatever use the gnome might have, at worst she could serve as a servant.

That would finally free Enoya from her part-time maid duties.

"Stand up."

Jan’s voice was deep as he addressed the gnome. Despite her terror, Bix steadied herself against the wall and shakily rose to her feet.

"Your name?"

"B-B-Bix. Bix Mooncrystal…"

What a ridiculous name, Jan thought.

"Well then, Bix, are you willing to swear by your true name to serve me forever, to submit to me, to offer your soul and become my most loyal servant?"

As he spoke, Jan extended his right hand. A strange, twisted scarlet symbol appeared beside him, quietly suspended in the air. Bix gazed at it, her once-clear eyes growing dull. She raised her head blankly and nodded to Jan.

"I am willing… Bix Mooncrystal will forever serve you, great master…"

Murmuring like a dream, Bix reached out her hand. The instant her right hand touched the scarlet symbol, it dissolved into fine lines and swiftly merged into her body. Instantly, the gnome collapsed like a puppet whose strings had been cut.

At that moment, the pleasant chime of the system echoed.

"Ding..."

[A new member has joined your dungeon. Recruitment of Bix Mooncrystal (Silver) successful.]
[Daily recruitment task complete. 100 experience gained. New structure unlocked—Summoning Crystal.]

"Hmm?"

Seeing the second notification, Jan froze. He remembered clearly—the daily recruitment task was for an architect. Could it be this gnome was actually an architect? Not only that, the system had rated Bix as Silver—the same level as Enoya.

Jan hurriedly focused his attention on the gnome lying on the floor. Soon, a character information panel appeared before him.

[Bix Mooncrystal (Silver)]
[Race: Gnome]
[Combat Power: ☆ (Hopelessly weak—less than 5)]
[Management: ★★ (She can organize everything neatly, from cleaning rooms to burying corpses—the perfect helper for home, travel, and disposing of bodies.)]
[Influence: ★ (No one listens unless you’re present—even dogs heed their masters.)]
[Loyalty: ★★ (Fear and terror are effective ways to win hearts, especially when life is the bait.)]
[Traits]
[Invention and Creation—Gnomes love inventing and creating, and their intelligence sometimes yields unexpected rewards (extra creation +1)]
[Whimsical Ideas—Nothing is impossible, only unattempted; sparks of genius flash unexpectedly (5% chance to discover rare blueprints)]
[Special Skills]
[Curio Crafting: Ability to invent and create all sorts of strange objects, without category limits]
[Architectural Design: Ability to design and build ordinary structures, without category limits]
[Personal Quest “Bix’s Future”—Don’t think you’ve found a precious gem; in the underdark, gems are the least valuable thing. Without careful polishing, even the finest raw stone is waste. But even the dullest can gain protagonist’s luck through adventure; everything depends on the script. Requirement: Train Bix into an architectural or invention master. Reward: 5,000 experience points, dungeon expansion +1]

Architectural master?

Jan’s heart skipped a beat. If he could truly train this gnome into a master builder, he’d never need to negotiate with those greedy gray dwarves again. Even without that, Bix’s current skills were more than enough to help him construct his dungeon!

Combined with the Summoning Crystal reward, his dungeon was finally beginning to take shape.