This dungeon has its circumstances.

The Decaying Caverns of Death.
A place where death breeds endlessly.
The oppressive, deathly aura would make any living being hesitate to step inside.

Sitting on the bone throne in his boss room, Calandas rested his chin on his hand, contemplating the events that had transpired.

"Not all rank 7s are the same, it seems."

Death Knight Vargoer.
Unlike the former rank 7, Bango's Sooted Beast of the Dusk, Vargoer was something else entirely.

At the time, when Vargoer, an undead, showed compassion for humans, Calandas had been bitterly disappointed.
That disappointment quickly turned into murderous intent, and he had resolved to kill him on the spot.
But Calandas wasn’t one to act recklessly.

After all, Vargoer ruled over the Seventh Palace, the lowest-ranked among the Mugan Palaces.
Moreover, it was a newborn dungeon, with no ties to any of the 72 dungeons.
If Calandas decided to eliminate him, no one would challenge his authority.
Perhaps Valencia Roseshar, the rank 6 boss, might have objected, but the lords of the upper ranks were sure to remain indifferent.

If he killed Vargoer, the rank 7 palace would simply reset, replaced by another newborn dungeon.
There would be some noise for a while, but nothing significant enough to concern him.

"But it seems true—he did kill the hero with a single strike."

Killing a hero was no great feat. Even the Faithful Hero Valmonk was no exception.
But to do it in one strike? Not even Calandas could guarantee such a feat.

And yet, Vargoer had destroyed an artifact Calandas had kept by his side for a millennium, purely as a warning.
Destroyed wasn’t the right word. It had been utterly erased.
No trace of its power remained—not even a flicker. It was as if it had never existed.

It confirmed that, despite his rank 7 position, Vargoer’s essence was akin to that of a singular entity dungeon.
Unlike the higher-ranked Mugan Palaces, which commanded legions to secure their positions, Vargoer had stood alone, claiming the rank from the very start.

But even that wasn’t reason enough for Calandas to back down.
Even if he died, he had his Life Vessel.
Unless his dungeon core or Life Vessel were destroyed, Calandas was immortal.
In fact, dying might even work to his advantage. He could resurrect and maneuver politically through his forces.

"So foolish of me. I should’ve known from the beginning."

Calandas realized far too late that all his plans were nothing but empty dreams.

During their confrontation, Calandas had cautiously closed his eyes.
For a Lich King to open their third eye, they must first close their physical ones.

By transcending life, a lich achieves a higher state of spiritual awareness.
A Lich King of Calandas’s level could awaken the Third Eye, the Spiritual Eye.

The Spiritual Eye allowed him to perceive the essence of a soul. Over the past thousand years, Calandas had relied on it to discern and gauge the strength of his opponents.

All beings have souls, but none can train them.
Third-rate beings train their physical bodies.
Second-rate beings refine their magical energies.
First-rate beings perfect both body and mana.
But no one can cultivate the very essence of their being—their soul.

Furthermore, souls cannot be hidden or deceived.
They are inherent and immutable, defined by what is called the rank of the soul.

"...It was an utterly alien soul."

Had he not carefully opened his Spiritual Eye at that moment, his choice might have led to his death.
Ordinarily, the souls of undead were uniform in form, regardless of their rank—they were all the souls of the dead.

But if Vargoer truly was a singular entity ruling the Seventh Palace...
Driven by a sliver of curiosity, Calandas opened his Spiritual Eye.

What he saw was not the soul of an undead.
No, it was a soul that defied comprehension, impossible to measure or define.

It wasn’t because it was grand or powerful—it was simply something other.
Utterly alien.
So incomprehensibly different that it felt as though it didn’t belong to this world.

In over a thousand years of existence, had Calandas ever seen such a soul?
...Yes. Just once.

"The Old One."

The soul of the Old One, who slumbered in the First Palace of the Mugan hierarchy.
Vargoer’s soul reminded Calandas of that being.

Incomprehensible and alien, their souls seemed equally detached from this world.

When Calandas first witnessed the Old One, he had trembled uncontrollably, stripped of all dignity.
Now, he felt that same creeping fear clawing at him again.

"He is truly dangerous."

That such a being occupied rank 7—it made no sense. Even if he was a singular entity, it raised questions about the ranking system itself.
Perhaps the Seventh Palace relied entirely on its master’s power.
Or perhaps, as a newly emerged palace, its potential was boundless.

In a few years, Vargoer might rise to rank 6—or even surpass Calandas himself.

"...."

Reflecting on these thoughts, Calandas closed his eyes.
Even now, that alien soul lingered in his mind, etched into the darkness behind his eyelids.

***

Before heading to the tropical forest, Charlotte and I examined the dungeon map together. Isabella, as usual, tried to poke her head into our discussion, but we ignored her.

"We need to improve the traps first," Charlotte said.

It was an obvious point. With a limited number of personnel, traps were essential.
The dungeon’s structure was labyrinthine, consisting of seven levels in total.
Traps were placed only from the first to the third level. Below that, there were no traps or monsters, essentially leaving open doors.

"I’ll hand this over to Isabella for now," Charlotte added.

She pulled out a crystal orb she had crafted herself. It was connected to a magical thread at the entrance, serving as a security alarm. If intruders arrived, the orb would alert us. But since we had no immediate way to return quickly, carrying it would’ve been pointless.
Handing the orb to Isabella, Charlotte continued:

"Based on my limited perspective, no ordinary raiding party would make it past the third level. If they somehow did, they’d be stopped at the fourth. As you know, the dark cavern environment is highly advantageous for vampires."

"Hmph!" Isabella thumped her chest with pride.

"But I repeat—this applies only to ordinary raiding parties. If a stronger group invades, we’ll be wiped out before we can even gather our bones."

Isabella’s triumphant expression cracked slightly.

"Even with the vampire horde and Valmonk combined, I doubt we could hold off an A-rank raiding party. And Mugan Palaces typically attract A-rank raiding parties in droves."
"Hmm."
"No matter how much we strengthen the traps, they’re ultimately passive obstacles. What we need are strong, proactive monsters for the dungeon."
"Can’t we hire them through the guild?"
"We’ve been looking for suitable monsters, but nothing worth noting is available. And even then, it’s more about planning for the future than immediate solutions. At the moment, we can’t rely on the guild for help."

When I raised an eyebrow, questioning why, she answered immediately.

"We can’t afford to incur more debt with the guild. Between monster hiring fees and dungeon construction costs, we already owe millions. If the few kobolds currently stationed here leave, we’ll even lose our mining operations."

"..."

"The guild is profit-driven. No matter how grand the Seventh Palace’s title is, they won’t care unless there’s visible income."

So not only were we failing to build up the dungeon, but we hadn’t even managed to repay our debts.
Great, just great.

"There is one option, though..."

Charlotte hesitated, glancing at me.
What was this about? I motioned for her to continue.

"We could request support from other dungeons under the banner of the Seventh Palace. However, doing so would severely damage our reputation as a Mugan Palace."

She was right. Even as a new dungeon, the mere rumor of the Seventh Palace asking for help from lower-ranked dungeons would spread like wildfire.
At the upcoming gathering of the 72 Dungeons, we’d be the laughingstock.
And naturally, that would lead to suspicions.
Is this guy really the boss of the Seventh Palace?

"What about asking another Mugan Palace for help?"

While it might hurt our pride, the difference in perception would be significant. As a higher-ranking dungeon, they might see it as understandable, especially since we were a new one.

"That’s a brilliant insight. Truly befitting of our boss."
"...."

I swear she’s mocking me.

"But Boss, you’ve already antagonized the Fifth Rank, the Lich King, just for my sake."
"It wasn’t just for you. You’re a capable lieutenant."
"...Thank you."

Raising morale with a well-timed compliment—always a good idea.

"By now, the other Mugan Palaces likely know about what happened. Even if they help us out of ignorance, they’ll feel betrayed once they learn the truth. That would lead to conflict with the other Palaces."
"And if they’re already on bad terms with Calandas?"

There was one boss I knew who didn’t get along with Calandas.
The Sixth Rank, Valencia Roseshar.
Charlotte seemed to follow my train of thought, nodding.

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend. If it’s her, she might be inclined to help us. But if things go south, we’ll permanently burn bridges with the Fifth Rank."
"Doesn’t matter. I never liked him anyway."

Even now, the memory of his attempt to kill me sent chills down my spine.
Why would I cozy up to someone who tried to off me?
I’d rather ally with a lower-ranked boss who was reasonable.

"...You’d go that far for me," Charlotte murmured, clearly misinterpreting my intentions.
I didn’t bother correcting her.

And so, it was decided—we’d seek help from Valencia Roseshar.
Whether she’d actually help was uncertain, but doing something was better than sitting idly by.

"Fortunately, the merchant assigned to me also handles her accounts. I can contact her through him."

That devil of a merchant knows Valencia, too?
How connected is this guy to the Mugan Palaces?

Charlotte tore a black ticket, summoning a portal through which the merchant emerged.
After hearing Charlotte’s explanation, the merchant’s expression became priceless.

"Sixth Rank? Seriously?"
"Yes."
"Are you certain about this?"
"It’s the boss’s decision. Any further questions would be unwise."
"Then what will you offer in return?"

You get what you give.
For major support, we’d need to offer something of comparable value—or at least make a solid promise for the future.
Joining her faction would certainly work, but that was a last resort.
We didn’t know enough about the power dynamics to make such a decision lightly.

There was one idea I had, though it was absurd. Bordering on shameless.
But desperate times called for desperate measures.

"If Calandas is correct, Valencia has an interest in me. And if I know her, she makes decisions based on personal interest."

"Tell the Sixth Rank this: If she helps us, she’ll have the chance to leave a good impression on me before our first meeting."
"...Pardon?"

The merchant blinked, dumbfounded. Understandably so.

You’ll make a good impression on me, so help me out?
That’s the kind of demand a higher rank makes of a lower rank.
Coming from a Seventh Rank to a Sixth Rank, it was outright insane.

But I knew Valencia well enough to understand that she liked bold, even reckless attitudes like this.
And it wasn’t a direct commitment, but a subtle hint that I might consider joining her faction.
If she knew about my clash with Calandas, she’d be even more inclined to help.

"Go deliver the message."
"...."

The merchant, clearly nervous about being caught in the crossfire, hesitated before finally stepping through the portal with a resigned expression.

"...Boss," Charlotte said softly once the merchant had left.
"You’re about to make two enemies."

I shrugged.
"We’ll see."

***

"They gladly accepted. She said she has some leeway and would dispatch part of her standing forces. Whew!"

The returning merchant was drenched in sweat, but his expression was one of immense relief.
See? I told you it would work.
I glanced at Charlotte, and her lips were slightly parted in surprise.

The demon merchant unrolled a parchment and read its contents aloud.

"Let’s see... She will send support forces consisting of 100 succubi, 100 incubi, 100 werewolves, and 100 vampires. A total of 400 minions of the night. She didn’t mention any further specifics."

Four hundred. For a Mugan Palace, it wasn’t much, but at least she delivered.
On second thought, considering they were night minions, it was more than satisfactory.

Night minions were monsters that excelled in the darkness or under cover of night.
With them, we could exploit the defensive and environmental advantages of the dungeon even further.

"When will they arrive?"
"She said immediately, but—"

Whoom!

Before the merchant could finish, a pink portal materialized.
From within, the monsters began emerging in an orderly fashion.
Succubi, incubi, werewolves, vampires.
Just as promised, 400 night minions assembled before me in formation.

Despite their sheer numbers, their movements were anything but chaotic.
They didn’t seem like a regular army so much as a group of elite, highly disciplined servants.

"""We greet the new master of the Mugan Palace."""

In perfect unison, they all bowed.
Feigning nonchalance, I glanced around.

[Lv. 35]
[Lv. 47]
[Lv. 58]
[Lv. 61]

Their levels were inconsistent, but they were adequate for now.
Of course, there was always the possibility they could betray me and seize the dungeon.
If that happened, well, I didn’t have much of a plan.
If worse came to worst, I’d just abandon the dungeon. I wasn’t tied to the dungeon core and could escape elsewhere.

But I trusted Valencia Roseshar.
Betrayal was Calandas’s style, not hers.
Roseshar might be sly, but in matters like this, she had a certain nobility.
This was a mutual agreement rooted in trust.

I was just about to turn my gaze away in satisfaction when—

[Lv. 41 (?)]

...What was that?
One of the succubi had a question mark next to her level, along with a marker reflecting my current confusion.
I’d never seen that in the game. Was it a bug?

Drawn by curiosity, I found myself walking toward her without realizing it.

"...."

The succubus remained bowed, her question-marked level still visible up close.

Questions swirled in my head.
This couldn’t be a glitch. There had to be a reason for it, but I couldn’t figure out what.

"...Could it be?"

Valencia Roseshar was the Succubus Queen.
Among her many abilities, most were tied to her race, but she also possessed unique powers unrelated to succubi.
If this was one of those abilities, it would explain the question mark.

"I never thought you’d have such peculiar tastes."

The succubus flinched ever so slightly. That confirmed it.
Feigning ignorance wasn’t like her—she must’ve been trying very hard to conceal herself.

"I had hoped to meet you in your true form."

At last, the succubus raised her head.
Her expression was utterly calm, devoid of tension. On the surface, she looked like any ordinary succubus.
But I knew better.

"Valencia Roseshar. Drop the act."

A sly smile crept across her lips.

Before I could react, she suddenly wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled me toward her.
On her tiptoes, she leaned in until our faces were mere inches apart.
Our foreheads touched, and I found myself staring into her eyes.

"Darling, how did you figure it out?"

Roseshar asked with a sultry smile, licking her lips seductively.