“Could that be...?” Sebekton asked, his golden eyes lighting up as he gazed at the item Viktor had in his hands.

  “I told you that I would give you the biggest book I could find, didn’t I?” Viktor replied with a broad grin, handing the heavy tome to the Crocodilian. In the towering Guardian’s hand, however, it looked like a mere booklet. “This is ‘The Great Chronicle: Five Centuries of Strife,’ which records the history of the entire continent for the last five hundred years.”

  Sebekton turned the book over in his scaled hands, clawed fingers tracing gilded symbols etched on its ornate cover. “I see,” the Guardian said, his voice a deep rumble. “So if I read this book, I’ll be able to understand a lot more about this world. Very useful.” He bowed. “Thank you very much, Master.”

  “There are seven volumes in total,” Viktor continued. “Unfortunately, I’ve only found Volume III, so I’ll bring the others later when I have them. But don’t worry, each volume is independent of the others, so you don’t need to read them in order.”

  “Understood, Master.”

  These books were quite expensive. Two silver coins for each volume. However, since Cedric had just given him a handsome amount of money, it was not an issue at all. Also, there was another reason why he gave Sebekton this.

  “By the way, if you don’t mind,” he said, “after you finish reading, can you summarize the important points for me? I’m also interested in what has happened around the world in the last three hundred years.”

  “Of course,” the Crocodilian replied. “Do you have any particular topic that you’re interested in?”

  “Let me see,” Viktor said, stroking his chin as if he were actually contemplating something. “If it’s possible, read for me the section about a city-state named Beryn.”

  Sebekton nodded. “Understood. If that part is in this book, I’ll be sure to do it.”

  It is. Viktor had checked the index earlier, and he knew the section on Beryn was included in Volume III. In fact, he already had the full set, but the third book had the bit that mattered the most at the moment, so it was the one he chose to give Sebekton.

  The Guardian took the book to a corner of the room, where he sat down and started reading immediately. With one task checked off, Viktor turned and walked toward Celeste.

  “How’s the situation?”

  [Since the departure of Cedric’s party, seventeen adventurers had entered the dungeon in total. None of them had reached the staircase to the second floor. Four of them perished in the process, while the rest fled.]

  “Have they managed to find any gold?” Viktor asked.

  [Other than the chest Cedric’s party has looted, we have not placed any other rewards on the first floor yet.]

  That won’t do, Viktor thought. The treasure Cedric brought back was certainly enough of an incentive to lure people here, but if they kept dying without any reward for their efforts, it might have a negative effect on their morale. Perhaps he should build several small rooms on the first floor, where he could place some chests with gold. Nothing too shiny, just enough to keep the dream alive.

  The maze needed to be bigger, as more and more people would come. He was also going to have Celeste knock down a few walls here and there while building new ones to shuffle the layout a bit. But before that, he needed to check the resources he had at the moment.

  “How much mana have we gained?”

  [We have harvested 1,700 mana from those four dead adventurers I just mentioned.]

  There was also 3,750 mana that had been converted from Lahmia’s essence. And consuming the white-haired woman’s soul had allowed Celeste to level up and unlock a variety of new options for dungeon development. Still, Viktor had been quite busy with his scheme to expose the dungeon’s existence to the public, so he had barely spent any resources yet, except for summoning some goblins and spiders to replace the losses from recent encounters.

  “Show me your stats,” he said.

  [Yes, Master.]

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  The Dungeon Core was now at Level 5, allowing him to build a third floor and summon more minions to defend his stronghold. The skill “Summon Lesser Minions” had also been upgraded, and Venom Spiders were added to the summoning options.

  If he remembered correctly, these spiders could not shoot out silk to ensnare their enemies like the Dread Spiders. Instead, as their name suggested, they employed poison as their weapon. The Venom Spiders were smaller and faster than other spiders, able to quickly get close to their foes, sink their fangs in, and flood their victims’ veins with nasty stuff that could make a grown man cry for his mother. Not only did such wounds cause unbearable pain, but they also weakened the victims and potentially killed them outright if left untreated.

  Yet, these spiders were not particularly important in the grand scheme of things. No, the greatest addition to his arsenal was—

  Domains.

  A domain, or “biome” as the adventurers called it, was a special environment that could be found in the dungeon. As one descended further into the depths, they would find out that, at some point, the place stopped being a mere warren of corridors. Instead, there were different subterranean realms characterized by their distinct ecology. Each one presented a unique type of hazard, along with new types of defenders that the intruders had to overcome.

  And now, he was about to unlock the first domain for his dungeon.

  “What exactly will happen after I choose the domain?” Viktor asked.

  [Choosing a domain will modify the skills we already have. For example, I will have more options when I want to alter the dungeon using the “Shape Terrain” skill. Additionally, new skills related to the chosen domain can also be acquired.]

  “What are our choices, Celeste?”

  [At Level 5, we can choose to unlock either the Domain of Fire or the Domain of Water.]

  One of the greatest threats to his minions among the lower-ranked adventurers was the pyromancers. Their fireballs, while simple and straightforward, were devastating, capable of incinerating a large number of opponents instantly. However, it seemed that this type of mage wouldn’t fare well in either of these domains. After all, the environment of the Domain of Water countered them by default, while the Domain of Fire was full of creatures immune to their attacks.

  Both domains had their merits, but which one should he choose? Fire, or Water?

  “How do you fare in underwater combat, Sebekton?” Viktor asked, glancing over at the Crocodilian. He was now deeply immersed in the history book he had just received, his slit-pupiled eyes darting across the pages like a predator sizing up fresh prey.

  “I could handle it, but not very well,” the Guardian said without looking up. “On the other hand, I have no problems swimming underwater and staying there for a long period of time to ambush enemies.”

  It was not like the adventurers were going to dive into the water to slug it out anyway. Most of the time, an encounter happened when some monsters lurking beneath suddenly attacked them when they crossed a bridge or traveled in a boat, catching them off guard.

  Clearly, the Domain of Water posed no issue for Sebekton. After all, the guy was a crocodile-man. On the other hand, while he could withstand heat, staying in the Domain of Fire was definitely not going to be pleasant. This made it clear which option Viktor should choose. Nevertheless, there was one more question he needed to ask.

  “If I choose one, can I choose the other later?” he asked Celeste.

  [Yes, that option will still be available the next time you unlock a new domain.]

  “In that case,” Viktor said. “Let’s choose the Domain of Water then.”

  So I can now have up to one hundred minions. Let’s check the details of the “Summon Lesser Minions” skill.

  Froglings, huh? Viktor remembered these frog-faced little nuisances. In a straight-up fight, they were barely better than goblins, but they had a few tricks up their slimy sleeves that could make them useful in the right situations.

  First off, they were amphibious. Which meant they could hide underwater to launch surprise attacks or retreat when the battle was not in their favor. Also, unlike other aquatic minions, they could stand on the ground and fight if needed. Better still, they were not tied to their respective domain, so he could deploy them on other floors as well.

  Then there was the spit, some sort of nasty, poisonous sludge they loved to vomit at their foes. Not deadly, not even reliable, but certainly maddening when one was simultaneously targeted by a large number of these little monsters.

  And finally, they were agile. Their ability to leap should not be underestimated. They could jump to great heights or distances, making fighting them a pain in the arse, especially when they used this in combination with their other abilities.

  In short, very useful minions, Viktor thought. Now, let’s have a look at the “Summon Water Minions” skill.

  These were fully aquatic monsters, so he could only place them in his watery domain, which meant he needed to create one first. He would have a closer look at the new minions later, when the construction was completed, and the floor was up and running.

  “Celeste,” he ordered his Dungeon Core. “Make the third floor a Domain of Water and move the Core Room there.”

  [Understood, Master.]

  As the dungeon expanded, he would keep pushing Celeste farther down into the depths. It was a hassle, sure, but a necessary step to keep the most important part of the stronghold safe. And the old Core Room could be repurposed for something else anyway, so nothing went to waste.

  That’s enough for today. It’s time to leave.

  He was going to pick up some real good meat on the way back. Now that he had the coin for it, there was no reason to settle for the usual crap Claire always brought home.