Gong Qiying Teaches the Art of Screwing People Over

Hawthorn Skewer, your Bat Monster is flexible and versatile in combat, bestowing upon you a complete system of wind-attribute monsters.

Coconut, you are a solid and hard rock formation, take the earth-attribute magic.

Rainbow Horn, your unicorn is unexpected, keep the friendship magic and monster system safe.

Slime, your humanoid slime is invincible with strong acid, corroding magic and monster systems.

Godwyn, defeating the leader was no easy feat. This dungeon is yours to keep!

Having successfully defeated all the escaped Burning Demon and resolved the crisis in the dungeon, Red Fang immediately began the ceremony of distributing rewards.

These rewards were prepared by him and several other top-ranking and strongest dungeons, which explains why they could even offer complete monster systems as rewards.

Moreover, it seems that these monster systems are very suitable for the corresponding city lords, and there is no need to change them. The others have already shown their joy.

However, when it came to the character of Gong Qiying, who had the highest number of enemies defeated, the tone suddenly took a dramatic turn.

"Give me the Eagle Capital Dungeon?" He blinked, genuinely surprised that his reward would be an entire dungeon.

Wait, didn't Eagle Capital Dungeon invite you to help defeat the Sealed Object? How come you have the right to give things away here?

And I really want a monster system too! I'd love to see what kind of monster system you'll pick for me!

But Chiya gave a gentlemanly smile and stopped making eye contact with Gong Qiying.

Is it possible that he simply couldn't think of any demon that could be worthy of Gong Qiying?

"You have proven your excellence with your strength. My judgment was correct. A hundred years from now, you will definitely be able to replace us old folks. At that time, what we are doing now is what you should be doing. Important responsibilities will be handed over to you."

Chi Ya gave a speech that sounded very mission-driven, but it was nothing more than encouraging everyone and expressing optimism about their future. Gong Qiying felt a sense of déjà vu, as if he were back in elementary school watching a leader give a speech on stage.

Now that the Sealed Object had been defeated and the rewards had been obtained, there was no point in staying any longer, so the other city lords all wanted to leave.

The Slime lord suddenly walked over, or rather, crawled over. His form changed, and he finally turned into a sticky, wet humanoid figure, reaching out his hand to Gong Qiying.

What's going on here?

"Shake hands," the Slime said somewhat reluctantly. "You won, and I only came in second, so I'm shaking hands with you first. I have to admit that your monster is indeed quite powerful."

This Slime even sounds a bit arrogant!

Gong Qiying suddenly felt like teasing this guy, since he had just been targeting him, so he asked, "What year did you become the city lord?"

"Why ask this? It's been about thirty years."

"You probably don't know that the current popular etiquette has changed from holding hands to showing your belly."

"Wh-what!?"

Just as the Slime was contemplating life, Hawthorn Skewer came over and nudged Gong Qiying, saying, "Let's keep in touch. I'd like to ask you how you design dungeons."

"It's okay to say it now, there's still time, isn't there?"

"Really?!" Hawthorn Skewer looked surprised and delighted. After hearing Gong Qiying's words, the other two couldn't help but run over and say, "I want to hear it too."

Looking at the harmonious and loving scene of the younger generation in front of him, Chi Ya couldn't help but feel a little emotional and said, "Let's have a banquet. I also have something I want to talk to Godwyn about."

Seeing everyone happily heading off to a party, the Slime, still lost in a state of contemplating life where "handshakes have been replaced by belly-baring," called out, "Wait for me!" and quickly followed.

With a flap of his wings, Chi Ya and the group arrived at the lord's room in his underground city.

This place truly lives up to anyone's imagination of a dragon's lair, filled with gold and silver treasures, so dazzling that you'd be blinded by its brilliance if you walked in.

Under Chi Ya's direction, tables, chairs, food, and even the orchestra to create an atmosphere were all summoned here, a perfect setup for a victory celebration.

But the more Gong Qiying looked, the stranger it seemed, because at least two of the city lords couldn't eat anything, namely Hawthorn Skewer and coconuts, and their expressions were conveyed through magical lines.

It's an alien gathering!

"Godwyn, I've wanted to ask you this ever since I met you," Hawthorn Skewer couldn't help but ask as soon as he sat down, "How do you keep adventurers so firmly bound to the dungeon?"

Rainbow Horn said with deep feeling, "I've heard people say that many people who have been to Sien are so captivated by it that they feel uncomfortable if they don't go in for a day. But if the scenery inside is beautiful, that's fine, but most of the scenes are terrifying. I don't understand why people are willing to go in."

"Rewards? As long as there are enough rewards, adventurers don't care about how scary it is," the Slime said with a knowing look.

"What kind of reward would that be?"

"I've heard that Thane's backstory is quite intriguing, involving the First Flame and the origin of the world."

Upon hearing this, everyone looked at Gong Qiying, the "amazing old man" in their eyes, and asked, "Do you really know the origin of the world?"

Gong Qiying merely smiled and pointed to his head, saying, "Because I have this memory in my head, I released it. But as for how much of it is true, I can only say I don't know. At least the dungeon can really reproduce what's in my head, right?"

He meant that if everything in his mind was fictional, then the dungeon could not be recreated.

Riddles, crazy riddles, riddles so bad they'd make Batman angry.

The impression he gives off now is that his mind is filled with a vast amount of history, but he has lived for so long that his soul has worn down, resulting in memory loss. As a result, this history can only be released in fragmented pieces, unable to form a continuous narrative.

"What a pity." Everyone sighed, and Rainbow Horn said, "Soul damage cannot be cured; once forgotten, it's truly forgotten."

"There's still a chance, if we can find ancient magic," Red Fang suddenly said.

Searching for ancient magic is far too difficult.

People didn't seem very interested in the topic, and after a few words, they moved on to the next one.

But ever since the start of the show, everyone's conversation has revolved around Sain, while Gong Qiying just sits on the sidelines enjoying the feeling of being the center of attention, occasionally saying a few words.

Now comes the main event.

"The conversation has gone completely off-topic. You still haven't told us how you're designing the dungeon!"

Hawthorn Skewer looked pitiful and said, "Is there a way to attract adventurers without relying on large rewards? Giving out too many rewards is really unsustainable."

"Theoretically speaking, no," Gong Qiying said seriously. "No matter what kind of adventurer it is, the ultimate goal that sustains them through all the difficulties of exploring the dungeon is the reward."

"There are many kinds of rewards, including material rewards and spiritual rewards. For example, giving adventurers who clear a dungeon for the first time a shiny title that automatically appears when they enter the dungeon can make them happy."

"A title," Rainbow Horn murmured to himself. "Wonderful."

"But spiritual rewards can't put food on the table," Slime said. "Ultimately, we still have to come back to material things."

Gong Qiying smiled and continued, "That's right. Spiritual rewards are just a seasoning, and their role is nothing more than to arouse the adventurers' enthusiasm. The real main prize is still material rewards."

"Okay." The Hawthorn Skewer looked disappointed.

Seeing this, Gong Qiying suddenly patted him and said, "But I can teach you something else."

"What?"

"A way to summon rewards without changing the amount of Spirit Power required, but to gain more Spirit Power."

He placed three wine glasses in front of him and said, "Suppose you have three treasure chests in front of you to provide for adventurers, how would you set them up?"

"Isn't it just magic scrolls, gold and silver jewelry, weapons and equipment? If you give an adventurer three treasure chests at once, then you can only give them some ordinary things." Hawthorn Skewer shifted its body. "My dungeon actually has this kind of design."

"I'll tell you a way: combine the ordinary items from the three treasure chests, use their combined Spirit Power to create a rarer item—it has to be the kind of item that adventurers would cheer about—and then randomly put it in one of the chests."

"What about the other two boxes?" the others asked, puzzled. "Are they just empty?"

The Hawthorn Skewer seemed lost in thought.

Gong Qiying smiled slightly and said, "Use Flame Burst."

"Ah?"

"Flame Burst, bombs, Treasure Chest Monster, you can cast them all!"

Gong Qiying pressed on while the iron was hot, and continued:

"Besides these, I also have the most classic setup: a sloping corridor with a large iron ball, a small space with two bosses, an open area with a poison pool, and the 'Old sixes' tucked into a corner of the castle."

Is this really rhyming? It left people completely bewildered.

"We could also add a collapse trap. It won't trigger the first time you walk across it, but you'll fall in when you return. Put a pack of wild dogs underneath!"

Gong Qiying went on and on, explaining what he considered to be the most basic traps. Even if he hadn't said them, anyone with the will could have learned them by asking around.

But he can explain the best time to trigger these traps, which sections of the road they should be placed in, and what rewards they should give.

After this conversation, all the city lords had expressions that said, "We've really learned something new," especially Hawthorn Skewer, who looked like he was about to have an epiphany.

Let's take a moment to mourn for the adventurers who are about to enter their dungeon.

"And here's the real substance: do you know what a triangle is?" Gong Qiying suddenly said.

"A triangle? I know what that is, so what?"

"When designing underground cities, triangles can be incorporated."

Gong Qiying described something called the Triangle Law.

Simply put, the terrain is designed in a triangular shape, and the route will diverge during the climb, allowing adventurers to decide which way to go.

As they climb higher, the things that were originally hidden on both sides of the triangle gradually come into view, naturally giving the adventurers new motivation.

The apex of a triangle is most attractive to people, and placing something special there can greatly stimulate the enthusiasm of adventurers.

Constantly setting up new triangles, constantly generating new things, and constantly stimulating the spirit of adventurers.

This matter is also recorded in Nintendo's Yugi design compilation book.

This is real design knowledge, even more useful than trap design, and it's something that can really be widely used in dungeons!

This time, the city lords took an exceptionally long time to think. Even Chi Ya closed his eyes in deep thought, and the way he looked at Gong Qiying changed.

The city lords designed the underground cities based on their intuition, and none of them thought about forming a design concept or anything like that.

"Triangle," the Slime muttered to itself, looking at Gong Qiying and saying in a voice only it could hear:

"Master."

If the city lords could also generate Spirit Power, Gong Qiying should be reaping a harvest right now.

When the city lords came to their senses, their gazes toward Gong Qiying were completely different, filled with increasing respect and a strong thirst for knowledge.

However, Gong Qiying waved his hand and said, "We'll talk about the rest another time."

"No! Please tell me now!"

Faced with the commotion of the city lords, Gong Qiying's small vanity was greatly satisfied.

If things go as expected, four dungeons will soon undergo strange changes, which will be good news for adventurers.

What should we call this, the "Sion-like" dungeon?

The campaign was very fruitful for the city lords, and they enjoyed the banquet immensely. As they were leaving, they all said they wanted to give Gong Qiying gifts, asking him to remember to receive them when he returned home.

Gong Qiying watched everyone leave, then looked at Chi Ya, knowing that the red dragon must have something else to tell him.

Chiya lowered his head and waved to turn off the music.

"I will no longer ask you which era you come from. History has been severely lost, so asking is meaningless."

"How about I give you a new reward privilege besides dungeons? Tell me what you want, and I'll try my best to find something that suits you."

"In addition, our Dungeon Lord has a second responsibility besides maintaining the seal."

Chiya paused for a moment, then said:

"Destroy the Sealed Object that escaped from the dungeon."