A powerful force swept through the dungeon.
In the aftermath that had raged like a storm, pits had been gouged into the floor here and there, and part of the ceiling had collapsed.
Even the undead monsters, who usually guarded their sections of the dungeon without the slightest emotion, were now shaken.
And their gazes turned toward a single being—the Arch Lich.
The Arch Lich looked the same as always.
He wore the dark-blue, high-grade robe bestowed upon him by his great Master, and in his hands he held a fountain pen and a notebook.
No matter how one looked at him, nothing seemed to have changed on the outside.
And yet something was different.
To be precise, he had changed after what had just occurred.
First of all, the power emanating from the Arch Lich had grown even stronger.
Each time the Arch Lich took a step, the surrounding air trembled faintly. That was how much the force of his power had changed.
On top of that, the concentration of mana in the dungeon had also grown denser.
At this point, everyone could understand.
All these changes had been brought about by the Arch Lich.
He had taken one step closer to becoming the ruler of the dungeon.
Every undead monster knelt on the floor and paid respect to the Arch Lich and to the Great One.
“……”
But the Arch Lich himself had no interest in the actions around him.
First, he lowered his head and inspected his own body.
Outwardly, his appearance was the same as usual.
But even he realized that a special power had formed within him.
The Arch Lich raised a hand that was nothing but bone.
When he applied a little strength, a violet light wrapped around his hand.
The mana he could wield had become far stronger than before.
It was a power he had never felt before.
At the same time, he could feel that he and the dungeon had become more closely connected.
It was dominion.
“Clack!”
After confirming that he had gained power, his next action was to open the notebook.
Just a moment ago, the notebook had floated into the air.
He had quickly grabbed it with his hand, but there was a possibility something had gone wrong with it.
The Arch Lich turned through the notebook page by page, checking to see if anything had been damaged.
And he found one part that had changed.
New content had been added to the notebook.
“Clack?”
It was not the household ledger the Arch Lich himself had written, nor was it anything he had recorded as an inspector.
New information had been written about the mid-bosses of each section of the dungeon.
[First Layer, Section 1 Mid-Boss]
- Death Knight (★★★★★)
[First Layer, Section 2 Mid-Boss]
- Goblin Lord (★★★★★)
[First Layer, Section 3 Mid-Boss]
- Vacant
[First Layer, Section 4 Mid-Boss]
- Vacant
Although it was recorded only for the First Layer, this alone was tremendous.
There was no longer any being here who could stop him.
Ah, except for the Great One and the General Manager.
The Arch Lich continued staring at the notebook.
A certain hazy memory seemed just about to surface.
What was that memory?
The Arch Lich desperately racked his mind.
* * *
- The Arch Lich has been designated as the [Guardian of the First Layer].
- The Guardian Arch Lich’s stats have increased.
- The Guardian Arch Lich’s dominion has been strengthened.
- The [Guardian of the First Layer] manages all sections of the First Layer.
Alarms rang without end.
They were saying that the Arch Lich had become the Guardian of the First Layer and that his stats had increased.
Not only that, but his dominion had been strengthened as well.
Thanks to that, one major change appeared.
- The [Guardian of the First Layer] may recommend mid-boss appointments for the First Layer to the Master.
“So this is how the dungeon starts running on its own?”
The Arch Lich, now a Guardian, had gained another authority: the ability to recommend mid-boss appointments.
It meant that even if the number of monsters increased, I would not have to personally agonize over who to appoint as mid-boss.
“If the Arch Lich recommends them on his own, all I have to do is approve.”
I also manage the dungeon.
But I cannot manage everything forever.
Above all, the monsters who live there directly would know the dungeon’s ecosystem far better than I, who merely observe it through a screen.
All I had to do was summon monsters and occasionally intervene.
“Anyway, Section 3 and Section 4 should be getting mid-bosses soon.”
[First Layer, Section 3 Mid-Boss]
- Vacant
[First Layer, Section 4 Mid-Boss]
- Vacant
Until now, Sections 3 and 4 had no mid-bosses.
Of course, since Sections 1 and 2 were solid, there was no immediate problem.
But I could not help feeling that something was lacking.
“I need to secure more 4-star monsters.”
In order to appoint a mid-boss, a monster had to be at least 4-star grade.
But that was easier said than done.
In the occasional pulls I did, I was grateful if even a 3-star appeared, let alone a 4-star.
Of course, it was not as though I had no 4-star monsters at all.
The half-goblins born a little while ago were also 4-star monsters.
And the Dullahan I had obtained through the Death Knight before was also a 4-star monster.
“Hmm.”
But there were many problems with appointing them as mid-bosses.
First, the half-goblins had not been born long ago, so they were rejected as mid-bosses.
And as for the Dullahan, who carried his head around in his hand, he went outside the dungeon every single day.
He seemed to spend most of his time in the forest, so I rarely saw him.
Likewise, appointing a guy like that as a mid-boss felt awkward.
“I should do some pulls while I’m at it.”
The dungeon’s current size had expanded beyond the First Layer and into the Second Layer.
In the future, more sections would be created, and it would expand into even more layers.
“Someday, each layer will need a Guardian.”
That meant each section would need mid-bosses as well, so I would need more monsters.
In particular, unlike mid-bosses, a layer’s Guardian could only be appointed starting from 5-star grade.
“I’ll need a lot of high-grade monsters.”
Now that I thought about it, at this point, there was no need to insist only on pulls.
Hadn’t I experienced it at the banquet?
Even the auction had far better cost-efficiency than gacha pulls.
Of course, whether a monster obtained through an auction would be loyal to me was a different matter.
‘I’ll ask Celia about this later.’
If it was Celia, she would probably solve that concern on her own.
“Should I call it here for now?”
I had also been working nonstop ever since I had returned from the auction.
Above all, I had not yet spoken to the elf I had brought back from the auction.
Just as I was about to turn off the smartphone screen.
- The Arch Lich has remembered the name he had lost.
- The Arch Lich’s original name is “Necros.”
- Necros is being converted into a unique monster.
- Some of Necros’s stats have increased.
Other alarms rang.
It was the Arch Lich’s true name.
“Necros?”
It was a name that suited the Arch Lich quite well.
That fact was immediately reflected in the system.
In the alarms that appeared afterward, the name Necros was displayed instead of Arch Lich.
[Guardian of the First Layer]
- Necros (★★★★★)
Well, I could not keep calling him Arch Lich forever.
Especially now that he had become the Guardian of a layer, it made no sense for him to have no name.
“At this rate, I should keep this guy as the First Layer’s Guardian.”
At first, I had considered changing the Guardian if another 5-star monster appeared.
But after seeing the alarm that the Arch Lich—no, Necros—had gained increased stats and received a name, I changed my mind.
“Right. It’s not good to change commanders too often either.”
Hoping Necros would manage the First Layer well, I moved on from the matter.
The dungeon was finally beginning to take on the form of a proper dungeon.
“Now, shall I really talk with the elf?”
I was just about to get up from my seat when—
- Azmo has gained enlightenment.
- Azmo’s [Dungeon Monster Enhancement System] has been unlocked.
- Azmo, having gained enlightenment, proposes creating a group on Earth similar to the Demon Realm Trading Company.
“?”
What was this situation now?
It seemed I would not be getting any rest today.
* * *
The heart of the Incubus Dungeon.
There, Azmo sat with a face full of worry.
Azmo was currently deep in thought, and it was related to high society.
“So true beauty was there.”
Then, suddenly, he let out an exclamation of admiration.
What he admired was nothing ordinary.
The beauty of the banquet hall where high society had gathered?
It had certainly been beautiful.
But it was not enough to make him admire it even now.
Then was it the fact that he, who had been on Earth, had crossed over to the Eldorad Continent?
It had certainly been an incredible event.
But that had only been possible because of the Great One’s power.
It was unquestionably an astonishing feat, but if it was the Great One’s ability, it was not something to be surprised about.
To begin with, the difference in their power was too great, so Azmo felt little emotion about it.
That was right.
In Azmo’s mind, there was no place for the splendor of high society or the wonder of dimensional travel.
The thing that made him marvel was something else entirely: the Demon Realm Trading Company.
“The Demon Realm Trading Company…”
To Azmo, the Demon Realm Trading Company was an extremely shocking organization.
The reason for their existence was to help various dungeons and increase their chances of survival.
Azmo closed his eyes and recalled the past.
When he had first opened his eyes here on Earth.
Azmo had managed his dungeon on his own, without receiving help from anyone.
He had repelled the hunters who invaded the dungeon, and while repelling them, he developed the dungeon.
There had been dangerous moments in the process.
After all, this was not a kind world where hunters would go easy on a dungeon just because it had only just been born.
Nor was there any culture of exchange between dungeon masters, which made it even harder.
In the end, Azmo struggled desperately to survive.
He captured invading hunters and used charm to obtain information from them.
He even scraped together the hunters’ weapons to build up his fighting strength.
Like this, every dungeon on Earth existed within a system of surviving on its own.
When a hunter was captured, the dungeon’s master gained power.
Once that power grew stronger, the matters that followed resolved themselves.
The dungeon grew, and the monsters guarding the dungeon increased.
Even without being taught, he could know it instinctively.
The only problem was that capturing hunters in the early stages was extremely difficult.
“Would things have been different if an organization like the trading company had existed on Earth as well?”
What if, as Azmo imagined, there had been an organization like the Demon Realm Trading Company on Earth?
What if someone had provided consulting for early-stage dungeon management and helped them grow?
Would Azmo himself not have been able to run his dungeon a little more smoothly?
If so, what if he used that regret as a basis to help other dungeons?
Surely the survival rate of newly born dungeons would rise.
An increase in survival rate would soon lead to an increase in the power of dungeons.
‘If the number of dungeons increases, that means we can easily suppress the hunters.’
It would not merely stop at increasing their forces.
‘If that happens, we could offer this Earth itself to the Great One…!’
There had once been a time when, due to his own mistaken judgment, he had offended the Great One.
It was the monster wave incident.
At the time, it had simply been his way of trying to reveal himself to the Great One, but he had realized just how reckless it had been.
But this plan was completely different.
Once his thoughts reached that point, Azmo nodded.
“Then how can I help them?”
Azmo’s plan returned to its starting point.
How could he help other dungeons?
The ultimate goal was the Demon Realm Trading Company.
But for now, even imitating the Demon Realm Trading Company was difficult.
Capital was one thing, but the difference in scale was overwhelming from the start.
Even if Azmo tried to copy the Demon Realm Trading Company right away, it would be difficult to provide any practical help to other dungeons.
“Hmm…”
As Azmo pondered quietly, he looked back on his own experiences once again.
Thinking about it, Azmo had been lucky.
Even after he had gotten through the early stages of management, there had been many crises.
Among them, if he had to name the luckiest event, it would be meeting General Manager Celia.
At the time, General Manager Celia had easily subdued the hunters who had invaded Azmo’s dungeon.
Had he not been captivated by that power and entered the service of the Great One?
And Azmo’s choice had not been wrong.
Afterward, he had also received help from the Death Knight and the Arch Lich under the Great One.
And now, the Great One had even sent him an adjutant to help manage the dungeon.
Azmo found the answer precisely there.
‘For the time being, I cannot imitate the Demon Realm Trading Company.’
But at the very least, he could dispatch monsters, could he not?
That was not all.
‘If I can use the General Manager’s ability…!’
General Manager Celia’s charm ability was extraordinarily excellent.
If they could use that charm to control hunters?
They might be able to dispatch hunters instead of monsters to dungeons that wanted help.
“Haha…”
The outline of an Earth version of the Demon Realm Trading Company had begun to emerge.
A smile formed on Azmo’s lips.
He intended to tell the Great One his thoughts at once.
That was the beginning of Dungeon Corporation.