Upgrade to Lv. 7

Margary Town, Central Castle.

Early in the morning, Lord Korien Os had just finished his morning training. After the maids helped him change into a comfortable robe, he returned to his study and had barely sat down when hurried footsteps sounded outside the door.

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

"My lord, something terrible has happened."

"What is it?"

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

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

"What?!"

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

"Tell me. What happened?"

"Lord Mark and the others have been out of contact for nearly two days. Yesterday was supposed to be their scheduled check-in, but the knight squad members stationed in the dungeon never saw Lord Mark and his party return."

As a knight, Mark could not possibly have made such a basic mistake. According to their prior arrangement, Mark and the others would return to the upper levels every three days to rest and report on the dungeon's situation.

This would not only keep their intelligence on the dungeon up to date, but also allow Mark and his party to rest fully and replenish their depleted equipment and supplies.

But now, Mark's squad had failed to appear at the scheduled reporting time. The knights assigned to meet them had even waited an extra day, in case Mark and the others had merely been delayed inside the dungeon. Yet in the end, none of them appeared.

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

"Dead? Just like that?" Korien Os walked dazedly to the window and looked at the Knight Apprentices still patrolling the training ground below. Then 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, an official mage from the Magic Guild. On top of that were all sorts of alchemical potions, weapons, armor, and magical items. Every single one had cost him hard-earned gold.

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

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

"Haa..." A full half minute passed before Korien Os suppressed the rage in his heart. He took a deep breath, looked at his personal valet, and asked, "How long 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 from childhood, he understood that getting angry over things that had already happened was the mark 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 a thousandfold, ten-thousandfold what he had invested. Perhaps even his title could be raised.

"My lord, according to the main family's reply, the Advanced Professional team they dispatched is already on the way. They are expected to arrive within three days at most."

"Good."

At last hearing some good news, Korien Os's expression improved somewhat. His gaze turned toward the dungeon's location. A fully equipped team of high-level adventurers would be enough to hunt even a draconic subspecies.

According to the intelligence gathered so far, the strongest monsters in the currently explored floor were only around lv. 4. They might be powerful to ordinary official adventurers, but a team of Advanced Professionals could sweep through them with ease.

After all, Advanced Professionals were already considered quite formidable. As long as they were willing to pledge loyalty to a great noble, obtaining noble status was simple enough.

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

"Yes, my lord."

The personal valet hurriedly 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 Magic Guild. Before the support arrived, he needed to settle all the trouble caused by this incident.

In the blink of an eye, two days passed.

[Dungeon Name: None]

[Floor Level: lv. 6 (0/700)]

[Floor Creations: Hidden (Click to Open)]

[Special Resources: None]

[Primordial Power: 986 (Dungeon Level lv. 6, Primordial Power +70 per day)]

[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 within the dungeon), Layer Shaping (consumes Primordial Power to alter floor forms)]

[Skills: Adaptive Evolution lv. 6, Mycelial Network lv. 6, Combat Instinct lv. 6, Necromancy lv. 6...]

At the deepest part of the Sixth Layer, Luo Ao looked at the panel before him. In just two short days, he had accumulated nearly a thousand more points of Primordial Power. The rapid growth was all thanks to the adventurers' diligent contributions.

The greatest contributor among them was Norton, whom Luo Ao 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 coerced and tempted several newcomers into joining his group.

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

Luo Ao looked at the amplification section. Through his accumulation over this period, his treasury had gained a modest reserve. The amplification effect had even reached three digits. Now, even without any contributions from adventurers, Luo Ao could gain two hundred points of Primordial Power every day.

As for the newly added skill section, those were the abilities of the various monsters within the dungeon. As the dungeon's absolute ruler, Luo Ao would automatically gain every skill possessed 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 began to vanish rapidly. In the blink of an eye, he had gathered enough experience to level up.

Lv. 7 (0/800)

Boom!

The next second, the entire dungeon began to shake violently. A brand-new dungeon floor opened within the Void, while scorching, violent power was born from within him. That pure, mighty strength made Luo Ao feel himself continuously growing stronger.

As the dungeon itself, Luo Ao was the true ultimate boss, the eternal dungeon's strongest existence.

However, Luo Ao had never personally taken action. After all, what kind of dungeon would run off to fight adventurers itself?

What if he accidentally failed and the adventurers successfully conquered the dungeon and seized its core?

Then Luo Ao would become whatever shape the adventurers wanted him to be.

Therefore, constantly growing and becoming stronger was what he should be doing. As for fighting, that was naturally left to the monsters under his command. Otherwise, why had Luo Ao created them?