Dark Sovereign

Chapter 2 The Future Master Architect

"Half-orcs?"

Looking at these ugly yet strong creatures before him, Janen pushed up his glasses, a hint of undisguised disdain flashing in his eyes. He had never had any fondness for creatures with intelligence equal to 9, finding them stupid, incapable, and only good for causing trouble. Although Enoa had once suggested recruiting a few half-orcs to defend the dungeon, Janen had dismissed the idea.

Relying on these half-orcs to guard the dungeon was less reliable than expecting them to dismantle a house.

"Oooooh!!"

Seeing the frail mage before them, the half-orcs, whether finding a target for their anger or for some other reason, became agitated. The leading half-orc captain bellowed and, gripping his battle-axe, charged at Janen. The remaining half-orcs also raised their weapons and followed him in large strides.

Witnessing this scene, Janen merely snorted.

"Foolish waste, you're of no use to me."

Saying this, Janen extended his hand and pointed forward.

"Boom!!!"

The next moment, dazzling lightning filled the entire passage, and a spear of scorching lightning shot from Janen's fingertip, whistling as it flew forward. For a moment, blinding white light consumed everything, turning the world into nothing but whiteness.

It seemed like a long time or perhaps just an instant. When the white brilliance faded, what appeared before Janen were only several bodies, completely charred, twisted, and torn apart.

【The enemies invading the dungeon have been completely eliminated, the dungeon lord has gained 85 experience points】

That's why I say these annoying, worthless things are so bothersome.

Glancing again at the prompt that appeared before him, Janen frowned. The biggest drawback of the dungeon system was that although it allowed the monsters Janen employed to level up individually, it didn't allow Janen to level up on his own. To level up, he had to absorb the dungeon's overall experience points and level up along with the entire dungeon.

Leveling up individual monsters only required a little over a hundred experience points, but leveling up a dungeon to level two required thousands... This is why Janen was so annoyed. In the face of thousands of experience points, a mere hundred was not even enough to fill the gaps between his teeth.

Well, at least it's some income. Thinking this, Janen snapped his fingers, and quickly, five goblins with small statures, carrying sacks and wielding pickaxes, shrieked as they scurried out from the depths of the corridor. They began to search and scrape the charred bodies, collecting any usable items and treasures. Then they dragged the b****y corpses away, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

It's a pity the dungeon level is too low; if it were possible to build graveyards and prisons, then these bodies could at least be used to raise a few skeleton soldiers.

As for death, Janen had long since become indifferent to it. At first, after being reborn into this world, he indeed wasn't very accustomed to death. But after so many years in the demon world, death, corpses, and blood had taken on a whole new value for Janen.

"Hmm?"

At that moment, Janen's eyes caught a trembling figure, causing him to raise an eyebrow. The system's prompt had just indicated 【All enemies eliminated】, which meant this uninvited guest, in the eyes of the dungeon, was not considered an enemy?

Thinking this, Janen couldn't help but become a bit curious, and so he slowly walked towards the figure.

Seeing Janen approaching, the figure visibly trembled even more. Under the glow of the firelight, Janen could clearly see the other's true face.

At first glance, it appeared to be a human girl, about ten years old, wearing a somewhat dirty dress and timidly leaning against the corner watching him. However, Janen recognized her real race from her slightly brown skin and minor differences.

She was a gnome.

Gnomes are one of the races that inhabit the dark underground, and in Janen’s view, their most notable characteristic is their stature. Adult gnomes are only as tall as a twelve or thirteen-year-old child, and their appearance is indistinguishable from that of children, full of naive and whimsical ideas.

Of course, if Janen were to summarize, it would be with one sentence — an entire race of legal lolis with a long shelf life (at least a hundred years), which would definitely make lolicon enthusiasts on Earth weep tears of joy.

"Don't kill me... please don't kill me..."

Watching Janen approach, Bix was so frightened she was nearly fainting. She had clearly seen how those terrifying half-orcs met their gruesome ends, and even the strongest warriors among them didn’t last a single move against this fearsome mage before turning into charred corpses.

Looking at the dark figure coming towards her, Bix's face turned ashen. The stories her parents had told her about the dark lord of the underground dungeon who devoured people came flooding back. Was she going to be captured by this demon lord, to be eaten as a snack, or used for some dreadful experiment? By the stones above, Bix was young; she didn't want to die!

Interesting.

Looking at the gnome before him, Janen's lips slightly curved into a smile. Gnomes are cautious creatures, and Janen's dungeon, not being close to the surface, rarely saw such intelligent beings. The ones who had come to his dungeon before were the likes of fear-claw monsters and half-orcs, hardly presentable. Now, the system had delivered him a captive, and although Janen didn't know what this gnome could do, at the very least, she could serve as a servant.

This way, Enoa could also be relieved from her part-time maid duties.

"Stand up."

Thinking this, Janen looked at the gnome before him and spoke in a deep voice. Hearing his command, Bix, though terrified, still managed to stand up, leaning against the wall, trembling.

"Your name?"

"Bix, Bi-Bix. Bix Mooncrystal..."

"…………………"

What kind of a messy name is that?

"So, Bix, do you swear by your true name to forever be loyal to me, to submit to me, and offer your soul to me, becoming my most faithful servant?"

As he spoke, Janen extended his right hand. Soon, a bizarre, twisted red symbol materialized out of thin air, quietly hovering in the air. Bix stared blankly at the red symbol, her clear eyes gradually dimming, and she listlessly nodded at Janen.

"I am willing... Bix Mooncrystal is willing to forever be loyal to you, my great master..."

Murmuring as if in a trance, Bix reached out her hand, and the moment her right hand touched the red symbol, the symbol instantly transformed into several thin lines that quickly merged into Bix's body. Following that, the gnome collapsed to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.

At that moment, the pleasant system prompt sounded again.

"Ding..."

【A new member has joined your dungeon, recruitment of Bix Mooncrystal (Silver) successful】

【Daily recruitment task completed, 100 experience points gained, new building — Summoning Crystal】

"Hmm?"

Upon seeing the second system prompt, Janen was momentarily stunned. He remembered clearly, this daily recruitment task was for an architect — could it be that this gnome was actually an architect? Not only that, Janen also clearly saw that the system had rated Bix as (Silver), which meant she was on the same level as Enoa?

With this thought, Janen quickly focused his attention on the gnome lying on the ground. Soon, another character information panel appeared before Janen.

【Bix Mooncrystal (Silver)】

【Race: Gnome】

【Combat Power: ☆ (This is a weakling with a combat power of less than five)】

【Management: ★★ (She can organize everything neatly, from cleaning rooms to burying bodies, making her the best assistant for home travel, murder, and silencing)】

【Influence: ★ (Without your presence, her words would hardly be heeded by anyone)】

【Loyalty: ★★ (Fear and terror are also ways to win people's hearts, especially when using their lives as bait)】

【Traits】

【Invention and Creation — Gnomes naturally enjoy inventing and creating, their intelligence sometimes brings unexpected gains (Extra Creation +1)】

【Brilliant Ideas — There's nothing they can't think of, only what they can't do, the spark of intelligence always flashes inadvertently (5% chance to discover rare blueprints)】

【Special Skills】

【Wonderous Creation: The ability to invent and create various unusual and ancient items, unlimited types】

【Architectural Design: The ability to design and construct buildings of ordinary level, unlimited types】

【Personal Exclusive Mission "Bix's Future" — Don't think what you've obtained is a gemstone, in the dark realms nothing is cheaper than gems. If not carefully polished, even the best raw stones will become waste. But even the most foolish can have the protagonist's halo due to a stroke of luck, it all depends on how the script is written. Requirement: Train Bix into a talent, advancing to an Architect Master or Inventor Master. Reward: 5000 experience points, dungeon expansion +1】

Architect Master?

Seeing this, even Janen couldn't help but feel a leap in his heart. If he could truly train this gnome before him into an Architect Master, then he wouldn’t need to negotiate with those greedy dwarves. And even if not an Architect Master, with Bix's current skills, helping him construct the dungeon would be no problem at all!

Together with the Summoning Crystal awarded by the previous task, his dungeon was finally starting to take shape!