Leveling Up to Lv. 7

Margary Town, Central Castle.

Early in the morning, after finishing his daily training, Lord Korien Os changed into a comfortable robe with the maid's assistance. He had just returned to his study and taken a seat when hurried footsteps sounded outside the door.

The door opened, and Korien Os's personal manservant entered.

"Viscount, something terrible has happened."

"What is it?"

Korien Os frowned at his personal manservant. As a member of the Korien Family, he demanded that everyone maintain noble etiquette at all times. This flustered behavior instinctively disgusted him.

"Lord Mark... Lord Mark and the others have all died in the Dungeon!"

"What?!"

The instant he heard the news, Korien Os could no longer remain seated. He slammed both hands onto the desk and rose, his eyes fixed intently on the manservant before him.

"Speak. What happened?"

"There has been no news from Lord Mark and the others for nearly two days. Yesterday was their scheduled contact time, but the knight squad members stationed in the Dungeon did not see Lord Mark and his group return."

As a knight, Mark could not possibly make such a low-level mistake. According to their prior agreement, Mark and the others were to return to the upper levels every three days to rest and report on the Dungeon's situation.

This would not only keep the Dungeon's intelligence up to date, but also allow Mark and the others to rest properly and replenish their depleted equipment and supplies.

But now, Mark's Squad had failed to appear at their scheduled reporting time. The knights sent to meet them had even waited an extra day, in case Mark and the others had merely been delayed within the Dungeon. Yet in the end, Mark's group never appeared.

The only explanation was that Mark and the others had died in the Dungeon.

"Dead? Just like that?" Korien Os walked somewhat dazedly to the window. Looking at the Knight Apprentices still patrolling the training grounds below, he suddenly punched the wall. "How could he just die like that?!"

For this expedition, he had spent a fortune hiring a priest from the Church of Light, as well as Oliver, a formal mage from the Magic Guild. Then there were the alchemical potions, weapons, armor, and magical items—every last one had cost him real gold.

And now, only a few days later, he was being told that every member of Mark's Squad had died in the Dungeon.

Wouldn't that mean all his gold had been spent for nothing? And dealing with the trouble at the Mages' Guild and the Church of Light afterward would cost another huge sum.

"Hah..." A full half-minute passed before Korien Os suppressed the anger in his heart. He let out a long breath, looked at his personal manservant, and asked, "How much longer until the people sent by the main family arrive?"

At this point, anger and regret were useless. As a noble who had received an elite education since childhood, he understood that raging over things that had already happened was the behavior of the incompetent.

What mattered most now was continuing the Dungeon expedition. As long as he could conquer this brand-new Dungeon, he would earn back what he had spent a thousandfold, ten-thousandfold. Even raising his title was not out of the question.

"Viscount, according to the main family's reply, the Advanced Professional team they dispatched is already on the way. They should arrive in three days at most."

"Good."

Finally hearing some good news, Korien Os's expression improved somewhat. He looked toward the Dungeon's location. A fully equipped team of Advanced Professionals would be enough to hunt even a draconic subspecies.

According to the intelligence gathered so far, the strongest monsters in the currently explored layers were only around lv4. They might be powerful to ordinary formal adventurers, but an Advanced Professional team could sweep through them with ease.

Advanced Professionals were already considered extremely powerful. So long as they were willing to swear loyalty to a great noble, obtaining noble status was simple.

"Before the main family's support arrives, send people to gather the latest intelligence on the Dungeon. There must not be another mistake this time!"

"Yes, Viscount."

The personal manservant quickly answered, then turned and ran off to the Adventurers' Guild to gather information.

"Three more days..."

Korien Os gazed into the distance. After a long silence, he returned to his desk and began writing letters to the Church of Light and the Mages' Guild. Before the reinforcements arrived, he had to settle all the trouble from this incident.

In the blink of an eye, two days passed.

[Dungeon Name: None]

[Layer Level: lv6 (0/700)]

[Layer Creation: Hidden (click to open)]

[Special Resources: None]

[Primordial Power: 986 (Dungeon level lv6, Primordial Power +70 daily)]

[Amplification: 131.65/day]

[Talents: Monster Creation (can consume Primordial Power and any materials to create various monsters), Flesh and Soul Absorption (can devour and digest the flesh and souls of all deceased beings within the Dungeon), Layer Shaping (consumes Primordial Power to alter the form of layers)]

[Skills: Adaptive Evolution lv6, Mycelial Network lv6, Combat Instinct lv6, Necromancy lv6...]

At the deepest part of the Sixth Layer, Lucifer looked at the panel before him. In just two days, he had accumulated nearly a thousand points of Primordial Power again. Its growth had been so fast thanks to the dedicated contributions of the adventurers.

The greatest contributor among them was Norton, whom Lucifer had branded with a mental mark. In just two days, he had tricked nearly a hundred new adventurers into entering the Dungeon. To avoid arousing suspicion, he had later even coerced and tempted several newcomers into joining his group.

"However, with all these treasures plus the Fungus Lord, the amplification effect has now surpassed the rate at which I automatically absorb and convert Primordial Power each day."

Lucifer looked at the amplification entry. After accumulating resources for some time, his treasury had finally gained a small reserve. The amplification effect had even reached three digits. Now, even without contributions from adventurers, Lucifer could gain two hundred points of Primordial Power per day.

As for the newly added skill list, those were the abilities of the various monsters within the Dungeon. As the Dungeon's absolute ruler, Lucifer automatically possessed every skill held by each monster, and those skills would rise to the same level as the Dungeon until they reached their level cap.

"Since I've accumulated enough, it's time to level up."

With a thought, the Primordial Power on the panel rapidly vanished. In the blink of an eye, he had gathered enough experience to level up.

Level lv7 (0/800)

Boom!

The next second, the entire Dungeon began to shake violently. A brand-new Dungeon layer opened within the Void, while scorching, violent power surged forth from within him. That pure and formidable force made Lucifer feel himself growing stronger without end.

As the Dungeon itself, Lucifer was the true final boss, the eternally strongest existence in the Dungeon.

Yet Lucifer had never personally acted before. After all, what Dungeon would go out and fight adventurers itself?

What if he somehow slipped up and the adventurers successfully conquered the Dungeon and seized its core?

Then Lucifer would become the adventurers' property.

Therefore, continuously growing stronger was what he should be doing. As for fighting, that was naturally the job of the monsters under his command. Otherwise, why had Lucifer created them?