"The master, the secret passage leading from here to the underground city has been connected."
Becks, dressed in a maid outfit, stood excitedly beside Jain, holding up a map with both hands raised high, like a student presenting their homework to the teacher as an offering.
"Everything is done strictly according to your requirements, I can guarantee that its safety is absolutely no problem."
"Alright, I know, youve done well."
Taking the map from Bixs hand, Jain scanned it and nodded in satisfaction. Since having this dwarf, the construction of the underground city had been progressing by leaps and bounds. Although Bix was only a dwarf who wasnt even a hundred years old yet, any race that lived underground would necessarily have some degree of digging experience, just like how fishermen living by the sea rarely couldnt swim. Although it still wasnt as professional as the gray dwarves, at least avoiding collapses, ensuring air circulation and dust removal werent problems for Bix.
Bikusu was visibly delighted by Zhens response, and she smiled slightly, then stood quietly beside him without saying another word. Bikusu didnt notice that the demonic crest was slowly changing her thoughts and views. If it were in the past, just being this close to a demon would have been enough to scare her into fainting.
But now, standing beside Jain, that instinctive fear and awe had not dissipated. Instead, under the influence of the branding, it developed in another direction - due to excessive fear, Becks tried every means to win over her new masters favor, and the clever dwarf also knew clearly that as long as she was useful to her master, she would not end up like those unlucky children in the stories told by her parents who were eaten by the demon king.
This is an action that any life would take for self-preservation, but the demonic tribes imprint distorted this sense of self-preservation. When Beixi tried her best to gain Jains recognition in order to save her own life, the recognition from the Demon King also made her feel unprecedented happiness and strong satisfaction. In the city of dwarves, Beixi was just an unremarkable one among thousands of her kin, and because of her bold and adventurous personality, she was not liked by most dwarves. But here, she could actually receive attention from a legendary demon tribe, which for Beixi was like a wonderful dream come true.
Bixie is now secretly grateful that being tied to the underground city was such a wonderful fate, otherwise she might not have realized that she had such value.
As for Bixs change, Zane naturally saw it with his own eyes, which was not surprising. He could be sure that it wouldnt take long before Bix would thoroughly become his own vassal with all her heart and soul. Dwarves were not a race with strong wills to begin with. They were clever but timid, and easy to control even without branding.
Not like dark elves...
Zhan En shrugged, glanced at the silent Vernna who was driving away the lizard and entering the passage, the dark elfs mind was very firm, generally it was impossible to accept the imprint. Even when she was unconscious, it was the same, but for Zhan En, this was a good research material.
As he thought of this, Zhan En withdrew his gaze and looked around. At this moment, beside him, those goblins were working hard - they held pickaxes in their hands, their feet constantly trampling the ground, muttering to themselves about something. But soon, accompanied by a soft "humming" sound, a square stone slab with bright red floral patterns suddenly appeared under the goblins feet, covering up the originally uneven land.
It only took a moments work, and the originally uneven ground was thoroughly covered with neat and clean stone slabs, becoming flat and clean. For Zhan En, this was a very important part of the underground castle expansion. Because the land where these floors with bright red floral patterns were located was the "true" territory of the underground castle.
If theres a flaw in the dungeon system, its that it provides extremely limited help for Jarns personal strength growth. As the master of the dungeon, Jarn can be said to share life and death with his city, which also means that only when the dungeon is upgraded can Jarns own strength increase. If the dungeon never upgrades, no matter how many monsters Jarn kills, his experience points wont budge.
There are only two ways to upgrade the underground city, either by completing the tasks it publishes or by eliminating enemies within its sphere of influence. Only in this way can Zhans underground city gain enough experience points to level up.
Of course, this setting is not without its benefits. Because it means that even if Zhan En sleeps soundly in the room with his head covered, as long as there are fearless monsters who dare to enter his sphere of influence, they will be killed and automatically converted into experience points for Zhan En to level up.
But on the other hand, if the dungeon itself cannot be upgraded, then no matter what Jain does, it is all in vain. On the contrary, other monsters belonging to the dungeon can gain enough experience to upgrade as long as they eliminate enemies wherever they are. Its like this time, after eliminating the Brain Eater, most of the experience gained was taken away by Enova and the female demon guards, leaving Jain with nothing.
So for Zhan En, the best way is to expand the influence of the underground castle. The wider the influence of the underground castle, the more experience points are absorbed, and the faster the upgrade.
The inhabitants of the underground wouldnt pay attention to these stone slabs, after all, in the underground, various relics are everywhere. These stone slabs have no other significance for them except to prove that there is a man-made structure nearby. However, its different for Jian Ern. As long as he enters the range of the underground citys power, Jian Ern can clearly know the opponents number and occupation through the system. With the upgrade of the underground city level, even the opponents origin and current state can be investigated clearly.
Not only that, but within the range of his power, Zhans recovery speed and spell power will be increased several times. It can be said that even a powerful wizard is absolutely not an opponent of Zhan under the protection of the underground castle.
Although he can only cast two spells.
The goblins were fast, and these little monsters born from the dungeon system always did their job flawlessly. In just a few short minutes, the entire area of land around them was flattened and tidy. Even the area near the walls of Brandon Stone Castle had been thoroughly taken down.
Thats why Jenn named this place, although in Kadeks view, this ghost place has nothing. But he didnt know that by doing so, it was almost equivalent to sending the entire Brandon Stone City to the mouth of a giant creature. After Jenn expanded the underground citys power here, the fall of Brandon Stone City was only a matter of time.
"Ordered!!!"
Just as the last piece of ground was covered by the stone slab, the familiar system prompt sound reappeared in Jans ear, and immediately afterwards, the system panel jumped out in front of Jan.
"Completed quest Eliminate Dark Magic Monster, gained 460 experience points, obtained additional population base +1, additional spell slot +1."
Dungeon level upgraded to second grade
Progress: 120/2400
[Having resources: Ore (500) Mercury (300) Gemstone (300) Crystal (570) Gold (39520)]
Subordinates: 19 people
Magic Research (LV1): No research target
Blueprint (LV1): Currently researching (Biksu), progress 15%
Get brand new architectural drawings
Blueprint: Blackstone Whistle Tower (Whether on the surface or underground, standing tall and seeing far is an eternal truth. When you want to sneak a peek at a young girl bathing or a widow without being noticed, always remember that sharp eyes and agile right hand are your most loyal companions) —— Reconnaissance range +15
【Blueprint: Grand Library（The dark shelves whisper secrets of magic, chanting knowledge. However, when youre exploring the sea of books, dont forget how important physical exercise is for a spellcaster. If you dont want to capsize due to asthma and anemia, go out for a run now）———Magic Research Speed +15, Magic Power Boost +5】
[Blueprint: Training Grounds (A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Every hero starts from clumsy sword swings, and every charming gentleman was once a shy youth blushing at flirtation. After training, invite the demon beside you to grab a drink together, and youll surely gain unexpected rewards)] —— Experience value acquisition increased by 1.5 times, capped at level six
"Finally upgraded to level 2.................."
Looking at the panel in front of him, Jian couldnt help but mutter to himself that this meager 1200 experience had taken him nearly three months to accumulate. If it werent for the daily quest he received during his last adventure giving him a substantial amount of experience, Jian would probably have had to wait even longer to level up. But now that he had finally reached level 2, things were going to get much simpler for him.
It seems that after the dungeon is stabilized, going out for adventure and receiving daily tasks is a good way to upgrade the dungeon.
As soon as this thought turned around, Zhan En stretched out his hand and clicked on the system panel. Soon, rows of system prompts reappeared.
Detected underground castle territory, build structure?
"Build Blackstone Beacon."
Construct Blackstone Lighthouse (LV1), Consumption - Ore (150), Mercury (50), Gemstone (10), Crystal (200), Gold (3500), Confirm?
Confirmed.
Looking at the prompt in front of him, Zhan En nodded slightly.
The next moment, the situation changed suddenly.
The ground began to tremble slightly, and the dull, gray patterns on the floor gradually emitted a bright, fiery red glow. Soon, they intertwined with each other, spiraling upwards in a swirling motion, as magical symbols unfolded circle by circle, causing space to vibrate ceaselessly. Immediately afterwards, a tall, pitch-black stone tower emerged from within.
The radiance disappeared, and the symbol of magic power seemed to melt into the black tower body like snow, leaving only a few moments of magical light flickering. The sharp and tall tower body reached the vaulted ceiling, overlooking everything in sight.
The monster that had been sleeping all along finally showed its fangs.
