Having become the dungeon through the Demon Core, Victor could create anything he could imagine. Having spent so many months fighting for his survival, to now wield the power of creation as if he were living in creative mode was a nice change of pace.
"I was supposed to make this mini-dungeon exciting for the citizens of Necron, not for myself." Victor chuckled as he floated backward and observed the sky-high obsidian obelisk that served as the entrance to his gem-themed dungeon styled off the 70th floor of the Grand Dungeon that had been home to giant golems made of crystals.
Although the new mini-dungeon he had spent the last few hours working on was mostly underground, he could see and feel everything within all hundred floors of the Grand Dungeon above him whenever he wished, so checking out on his handiwork was a breeze. He was the dungeon, after all.
"Alright, five floors with progressively harder-to-kill opponents," Vox mumbled as he floated there using Vox, his shadowy avatar, as his Netherborne body was busy nearing the Frostland border with Alice.
Considering his draining mana due to the four other World Core's hellbent on his destruction, going this far for Necron could be regarded as a little wasteful, but it wasn't his fault creating things was so fun. If only everyone would let Necron thrive in peace and stop calling him a Demon Lord, life would be better for everyone!
That aside, he had made sure the dungeon served an intended purpose. Creating materials out of raw dungeon mana was very inefficient, and since the residents of Necron had nobody to trade with, he needed to provide them with materials somehow.
He had placed minerals such as iron ore in the ground all around Necron, but a labor-intensive and straightforward task like mining was better left to the undead. Victor would much prefer Necron's residents to contribute to the black ocean network's knowledge by furthering combat classes and skills.
Keeping this in mind, Victor had made the first floor contain easy-to-kill monsters that provided some basic materials. For example, he had created a new monster race in his vision, which he called the Ferrum Wraiths.
They were ghostly figures with chains of rusted iron that hung from their necks and hands. They could corrode metal on contact, including armor and weapons, making them dangerous to those who tried to fight alone without a mage. Or the warrior could coat their swords in flames and slice them with one hit.
Whatever worked for them, Victor didn't care. The point was those rusted chains could be taken and then melted down and repurposed by the citizens. If he didn't make the iron hard to get, it would have no value, and he would lose a lot of mana to people farming the wraiths. There was a balance to be maintained here.
There were also Crystalline Slimes that were nearly invisible but contained a gem core on the upper floors that were resistant to magic but could pop like a balloon from a sword thrust or even a pickaxe to the face.
Continuing the theme of progressively stronger monsters giving out better rewards, he created monsters like an Amethyst Wyrm, Ruby Salamanders, and even Talc Trolls, which could crumble into a powdery form to slip through small cracks or evade attacks and then reconstitute themselves.
"That was fun. If I had some more time, I would create some other dungeons for the citizens," Victor mused as he drifted away from his new mini-dungeon. "I wonder if I should make a dungeon of flesh-eating trees to provide different types of wood or maybe an ocean-themed one to give them a supply of succulent fish! Maybe they could even learn how to make sushi?"
Victor headed back to Necron but noticed that the obelisk looked rather dangerous in the distance all alone, so with a simple thought, he manifested an obvious cobblestone path from Necron to the obelisk.
He knew the monsters he had made were rather challenging for the people here, but since the residents of Necron had absorbed the Green Card to become citizens and had the [Revive] skill, he wasn't worried about casualties. It was more a case of if they could defeat the monsters and steal the materials that made up their bodies in the first place.
"The more grizzled veterans in the town should be able to defeat those wraiths and slimes at least, and if they can't, then I hope for their sake I never need them to go to the front line," Victor floated down the cobbled path and on his way, he waved his hand and walls of rubble manifested on either side of the road. Within these stone enclosures, he spawned some fat animals that the locals could slaughter for food.
"That should do it," Victor sighed as he surveyed his surroundings.
It wasn't much, but looking at Necron from afar. He was rather pleased with himself. Although the wooden architecture of the majority of the buildings was primitive, it had a nice vibe. The white stone palace that belonged to Andrew the King Ooze gave the place a more official feeling than some simple town.
"Victor, we are nearing the north," Alice's voice rang in the back of his mind over the ocean network.
Victor felt like grumbling as he wished he could enjoy the sight a little longer, but unfortunately, it was time to face the real world.
[The other World Cores have designated you as a world-ending threat. As a result, your System access is restricted, and the world's denizens will gain rewards for your destruction. Your allies have also been marked as hostile.]
Victor dismissed the notification that popped up every now and then.
The Empire and Eshnar would soon be scrambling to create armies to slaughter his hordes of undead for these contribution points being given out by the other World Cores and make use of the triple exp from quests.
Killing his skeletons would be even easier due to the abundant mana pouring out from the other World Core, allowing destructive mages to unleash army wipe spells and recover their mana faster.
"Toby is going to be having a lot of fun on the Empire border," Victor chuckled to himself. He had told the One-Eyed Demon King to refrain from attacking, but self-defense was acceptable. "And there's no way those greedy Empire nobles won't send their champions to challenge that fighting maniac one by one."
Dismissing these thoughts, Victor's view shifted as he overtook his Netherborne body that had been mindlessly following behind Alice like a puppet. His eyes glowed golden as he looked around.
"Oh, there you are," Alice said as she placed her hands on her hips, "Had fun while I mindlessly led an army of the dead around the Grand Dungeon for hours?" Alice asked sarcastically but with a smile on her face. Her liquid golden eyes, much like his due to the Royal Card bonded with her soul, were mesmerizing, and the skin-tight armor of shadows she wore matched her hair.
Shaking his head, Victor refused to admit the amount of fun he had, so he just shrugged his shadowy shoulders, "It was alright. I just helped settle the residents and set them up with basic things like farms and cattle. Nothing that exciting."
"Boooring," Alice said as she turned and gestured to the mountains in the distance, "Over there should be the entrance to the mountain valley where the Frostlands is located. Our first target for world domination!"
Victor rolled his eyes, "Why do you have to word it like that?"
Alice laughed, "You will come around to my grand conquest plans eventually. These people deserve it."
"Stop joking around. We are here to take over the World Core and attempt to cooperate with the locals, not mindless slaughter."
"Fine," Alice grumbled. "Slaughter later."
"No. Now, wait here with the army. I will scout ahead," Victor activated [Stealth X], and his body vanished to everyone. Floating through the forest toward the Frostlands reminded him of the old days before he first met Alice and had debated going to try and visit the human civilization.
"Now that I think about it, this will be the first time I've laid eyes on how the humans live here," Victor mused as he emerged from the treeline and looked up at the mountains. It looked like they had been cleaved in two by a god's axe, and at the end of the valley, he saw the glow of a distant city in the evening light.
He tried to move closer but was unable to. "Huh?" Looking down, he could feel a border between his Demon Core and Frostland's World Core, and he was being pushed back.
"Interesting," Victor said as he drifted back. "Looks like I will need to bring in my army to push the border to the Frostlands before I can set foot on their land."
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