Aston walked for hours—carefully, silently, always checking over his shoulder.
The Nile Forest was darker here, its shadows thicker, its roots twisted like sleeping serpents. The air smelled faintly of sulfur and wet bark. Strange calls echoed in the distance—half beast, half something else entirely.
But every time a creature approached… it fled.
At first, he didn't understand.
A rustle in the bushes—
A small, boar-like beast with stone-like hide poked its head out. Its eyes glowed faint yellow. It sniffed once—
—and bolted like its soul had been yanked out.
Aston blinked.
"…Huh?"
Later, a long-tailed lizard—Level 7 from the faint aura it gave—crept across the path. Its forked tongue flicked toward him.
The moment it sensed his presence, it squeaked and disappeared into a hollow log with panicked scrambling.
As the hours passed, this kept happening.
Beasts of all shapes—feathered foxes, horned rabbits, chitin-backed rodents—kept running the second they noticed him.
Aston wasn't sure whether to be relieved or offended.
"Do I look that terrifying?"
Whatever the reason, it worked in his favor.
The deeper he went, the fewer signs of predators he sensed… until finally, the forest thinned.
The trees opened.
Aston stepped into a wide clearing nestled between three jagged mountain ridges. The cliffs curved inward naturally, forming a basin-like cradle. Sunlight filtered in through gaps in the stone, painting the area in warm, golden beams.
A waterfall trickled gently from a high ledge, leading into a shallow pool before cutting back into the forest. Soft moss covered the rocks. The air was cool, fresh, peaceful.
His instincts stirred. Safe. Defensible. Hidden.
Aston exhaled slowly.
"This… might be it."
He scanned the terrain the way a predator might—checking escape routes, vantage points, blind spots. The narrow path leading into the clearing would serve as a perfect choke point. The mountains blocked larger beasts. The water supply was clean. No strong auras anywhere nearby.
For the first time since arriving in this world, he felt… hope.
He stepped to the center of the clearing and opened his hand.
A faint mark glowed on his palm—dark, swirling, as if made of liquid shadow.
The Forbidden Skill.
He hadn't wanted to use it too soon.
But waiting was even more dangerous.
He needed a base, a safe zone, a foothold.
Aston closed his eyes and muttered, "Alright… Dungeon Creation. Let's do this."
The skill responded immediately.
[Forbidden Skill Detected — DUNGEON CREATION]
[Would you like to expend the skill to birth a Dungeon Domain?]
[Warning: One-time use only.]
He looked around the valley one last time.
Then nodded.
"…Yes."
The moment he confirmed it, the air tightened—like the world inhaled sharply.
The mark on his palm burned.
Shadows bled out of it, spilling across the ground like ink dropped in water. The darkness spread outward, tracing complex sigils across the earth, weaving into a vast circular pattern that covered the entire clearing.
The mountains groaned.
The earth vibrated.
The waterfall froze in mid-air for a heartbeat.
Aston staggered as the shadows surged upward, forming towering spirals of black mist. They twisted, coiled, and collapsed inward toward the center—condensing, compressing, until—
BOOM.
A shockwave of dark energy exploded outward, sweeping leaves into a swirling vortex. The ground beneath the clearing shifted as if being hollowed. A faint rumbling echoed beneath the soil.
Then—
A deep chime.
[Dungeon Created Successfully.]
[Dungeon Name: Laplune]
[Dungeon Rank: F]
[Dungeon Master: Aston Garfield]
Aston fell to his knees, breathing hard.
The clearing had changed.
Where there once was moss and grass, now stood an obsidian archway carved into the earth, its entrance glowing faintly purple. Roots—dark, metallic—slithered down from the mountain walls, feeding into the dungeon heart buried below.
The air smelled of raw mana.
Aston wiped sweat off his forehead.
"…Holy molly!...."
The system wasn't done.
A thin ripple of force swept out from Aston's body, stirring the air like a silent breeze. The ground beneath his feet vibrated—softly, rhythmically—almost like a heartbeat syncing with his own.
[Innate Talent Lucky One (Epic) has reacted to Dungeon Creation.]
[Triggering evolution to align with Dungeon Master authority…]
Aston exhaled sharply. After some minutes,
The system chimed again:
[Evolution Complete.]
[New Talent Acquired:]
Legendary Talent (A-Rank) — Lucky Halo
All dungeon-related gains are TRIPLED
Description:
Your presence warps probability within your dungeon's sphere of influence. Luck is not merely increased—it is engineered to benefit the Dungeon Master. The Dungeon adapts faster, grows stronger, and rewards you more generously.
Effects :
• Dungeon Resource Yield tripled: Mana crystals, essence stones, herbs, and rare materials generated within the dungeon appear twice as often.
• Dungeon Core Growth Accelerated: Your dungeon ranks up significantly faster than normal.
• Summoned Creatures Spawn with Higher Potential: Monsters born within your dungeon have a chance to gain improved bloodlines or rarer traits.
• Trap Efficiency & Success Rate Increased: Dungeon traps activate more effectively, with higher lethality to intruders.
• Hidden Room & Rare Encounter Chance Elevated: The dungeon naturally forms more secret chambers, treasure vaults, and rare events.
• Master's Fate Bias: Inside your domain, lethal attacks and fatal mistakes have a moderate chance to be negated or shifted.
The halo dimmed, but a faint shimmer remained—a ring of translucent runes orbiting just above his horns, then fading into invisibility.
Aston lifted a trembling hand, exhaling slowly.
The connection to the dungeon throbbed beneath his feet… like a pulse he could feel through the ground, resonating with his own heartbeat.
He stepped forward.
One step into the darkness.
Another.
The air shifted—cooler, denser, humming faintly with arcane pressure.
A moment later, he crossed the threshold fully.
The first floor of his dungeon.
A vast, empty chamber unfolded before him—smooth obsidian stone, faint violet mist drifting low along the ground, and at the very center…
A floating, black, crystalline sphere.
The Dungeon Core.
It hovered like a condensed piece of the void, faint runic patterns spiraling lazily inside it.
Then—
A new icon flashed in the corner of his vision.
[Status Updated.]
[New Tab Unlocked: Dungeon Menu]
Aston blinked as the interface unfolded before him like a spectral screen.
[Dungeon Menu]
• Dungeon Management
• Dungeon Store
And below that—
A counter he had never seen before:
Dungeon Points (DP): 20,000
His eyes widened.
"…Wait. That was supposed to be experience."
Another message chimed:
[All unspent XP has been automatically converted into DP.]
[Conversion Rate: 1 DP = 10 XP]
[Exception: First-time Dungeon Creation bonus — XP converted at a 1:1 rate.]
Aston froze.
"…So normally I'd have only 2,000 DP… but because it's my first dungeon—"
He clenched his fists.
"—I kept all twenty thousand."
The system continued:
[Dungeon Masters require Dungeon Points to level up themselves and their Dungeon, unlock functions, purchase structures, and summon creatures.]
[There are only two currencies within a dungeon:]
• Souls — harvested from intruders
• Dungeon Points — earned through leveling, cores, and XP conversion
Aston read it twice.
"Souls and DP… simple enough."
His gaze flicked back to the floating core.
Right now the dungeon had: Only one floor; No monsters, No traps, No resources, Nothing except the core itself
A blank canvas.
Aston inhaled deeply, excitement rising like fire in his lungs.