Part 4

"Purpose? Oh yeah!" I laughed nervously. The figure looked up at me, then cocked its head as it awaited my response. I quickly cleared my throat, then held my palms against my hip and declared, "From this day onward, you're the dungeon boss of this place! Below us is something called a 'dungeon core'. I want you to protect it with your life."

"That's all?" The figure asked.

"In the future, there will be many different types of mobs in this dungeon. I want you to lead them. How you do so is up to you, but I must know about it beforehand!" I said, quickly adding the last part. I had no idea how to control monsters, so it was a good idea to have some sort of backup figure with lots of power to act as some sort of second authority, "Do you understand?"

"A splendid duty, Creator," The figure asked, "I understand my duty perfectly. Now, what is my name?"

"Name?" I muttered, confused.

"Yes, a name. I feel a deep connection to you already, but that would only become stronger if I were to be given a name," The figure told me, "If I am to grow in strength as a warrior, I will need a name. Please give this servant a name."

"Oh, I guess you want a name," I muttered. I looked up at the ceiling, thinking hard of a name, then eventually looked back down at the figure, "Your name will be Aros."

﹃

Dungeon Boss Named!

Subordinate Created!

Skill: 『 Summon 』, Learned!

﹄

"Oooh, a skill!" I whispered to myself as I saw the string of notifications. Aros looked to me and bowed his head once more.

"What a wonderful feeling! Now that I have a name, I shall serve you as if my life depends on it! I look forward to the future, Lord Creator," Aros yelled as he brought his fists into the air in front of me.

"Lord Creator?" I gasped, "What? No! Please, call me Aureys."

"I cannot possibly cal-" Aros yelled in fear.

"Do it, Aros," I commanded, "You're my right-hand man from now on, my first monster."

"I understand, Lord Aureys," Aros said. I sighed, then shrugged. I looked back to Aros, then used my 'Appraisal' skill on him. Suddenly, all of the information about him popped up.

﹃

Aros

Race: Dragon Soldier

Core Level: 1

HP: 70

MP: 40

AC: 90

Rank: F

Titles: Dungeon Boss

Skills: Fury, Sword Skills, Slash

﹄

After seeing his stats, I grew both excited and disappointed. For a dungeon boss, Aros didn't have much MP, but his AC was several times higher than mine. Was that because of his armor or his race?

I grew disappointed when I saw his rank, but then realized it was likely because this dungeon's core was still level one. Most likely, if the core increased in power than the entire dungeon would increase in rank.

Then I moved to his title and skills and began reading those.

『 Title- Dungeon Boss: While equipped, Aros gains a 20% boost of stats while inside the territory of his dungeon. This does not transfer to other dungeons owned by the user 』

『 Fury: In times of Dire need, Aros has the ability to use 'Fury', a double-edged skill that will increase his power in battle but decrease his sense of reason. 40% boost to all stats, 10% damage reduction, 100% reduction of reason. Cost: 40 MP 』

『 Sword Skills (LVL 1): Because Aros is a Dragon Soldier, he instinctively knows how to use a weapon. In his case, he uses a sword 』

『 Slash (LVL 1): 40% damage increase for 2 seconds. 20 second cooldown. Cost: 5 MP 』

"These skills aren't bad!" I smiled as I looked at Aros's stats. Then, after I looked at his level, I realized I got a certain special notification earlier. I had leveled up. I quickly opened my own status.

﹃

Aureys

Race: Dragon

Level: 2

HP: 85

MP: 115

AC: 10

Rank: SS

Titles: Dungeon Master

Skills: Appraisal, Morph, Ancestral Magic (LOCKED), Summon

﹄

"Morph is unlocked!" I shouted in glee, "And it looks like both my HP and MP increased, too! 30 points for HP and MP? My rank is SS, so shouldn't that be a bit higher? Oh well, nothing I can do about it other than working more on my dungeon!"

I quickly opened my status and looked to the right panel, the dungeon panel. On it was a few lines of bright golden letters.

﹃

The Dungeon can now be accessed from the outside world

DP can now be awarded per death inside the dungeon

Aros has been granted the 『 Respawn 』 skill

From now on, all future Dungeon mobs will also have the 『 Respawn 』 skill

﹄

『 Respawn ( Core Level 2 ): Dungeon Monsters do not know death. After being defeated, all monsters will resurrect to full health to protect the dungeon once again. Dungeon Bosses will only respawn a full ten days after being defeated. However, this skill can only be used if the death occurs in the monster's home dungeon. Any deaths that occur outside of the 『 Nameless 』 dungeon will be permanent 』

As I read the several lines of bright golden letters, I grew excited but also fearful. The dungeon was literally only one room now, and Aros was the only enemy inside. As the golden letters disappeared, the map popped up again. This time, the boss room and core room weren't surrounded by emptiness.

On one half of the map, just outside of the giant doors leading to the boss room, was the outside world. I turned the camera to look through the door and peer into the surrounding environment. The dungeon itself seemed to be built into the side of a large hill surrounded by a lively forest.

The trees were all evergreen and taller than the boss room door itself. At the bottom of the hill was what looked like a small dirt path, but it was overgrown with weeds and grass. I continued to look through the forest, attempting to find any living creatures.

After my quick search, I concluded that the area around us wasn't close to any sort of town, as the only living creatures I found were small rabbits and other types of game.

"Maybe I should go exploring?" I muttered to myself.

"If that is your wish, I will protect this dungeon with my life," Aros suddenly said, "Though it may be wise to get your lordship something to wear, first."

"Oh, clothes," I gasped as I looked down at my naked body. I had been in this world for a little over three hours, and hadn't yet needed clothes. Now that I wasn't alone anymore the need for clothes was even stronger. I looked back at Aros, embarrassed, then quickly disappeared into the core room, "Thanks, Aros. I'll be right back!"

I quickly ran down the spiral staircase, leaving Aros behind in the main boss room. Then, once I touched down against the bottom of the staircase I stopped and opened my status. I quickly turned to my dungeon panel and searched through the shop's items.

Because there were only three lists available, I was unfortunately unable to find myself any sort of clothes. I sighed in anger as I scratched the top of my head. I turned to the core in the center of the room, then slowly walked over to it.

"I know the core can level up, but I was never actually told how," I whispered as I slowly placed my palm against the core's surface, "I assumed it would level up naturally, but what if that isn't the case?"

After I stopped talking to myself, I focused on the core beneath my skin. I only needed to focus on the core for a moment before my status screen reappeared. This time, there was a secondary panel over the dungeon panel.

『 Upgrade Dungeon Core for 100 DP? 』

『 Yes 』 『 No 』

"Shit," I sighed. I looked clicked the 'no' option and looked to the corner of my right window. At the top right corner of the window was the number that presented my remaining DP and the rate of the DP that I gained.

﹃

Available DP: 20

Current DP Gain: 10 per day

﹄

"I guess I just need to wait for a little over a week," I sighed as I looked at my numbers, "I guess I'll explore outside until then."

However, for now, I was tired. I ended up sleeping on the ground of the core room to recharge my batteries while Aros sat on his throne up top.

When I awoke the next morning, my stomach was cramping bad from unanswered hunger. I carefully made my way up to the boss room, clutching my stomach as I leaned against the wall for support. When I finally reached the top of the spiral staircase, Aros was waiting for me on his throne.

"Lord Aureys!" He shouted as he turned to see me. He jumped from his throne and turned his entire body in my direction. Although I couldn't see his face through his thick helmet, his voice was full of concern and worry. As he came close to me, he slightly held out both of his hands, but didn't come close enough to actually touch me. Something seemed to stop him from laying his hands on my body, like a subconscious block.

"I'm fine, Aros," I reassured him as I leaned my other arm on the throne, "I'm just hungry, is all. Can you go out and get some food? I don't know how to hunt, myself."

"Absolutely!" Aros shouted. He quickly turned around and bolted to the door. He managed to cross the distance of the entire boss room in a manner of seconds, showcasing a strength of speed I didn't know Aros had. Then, once he arrived at the door, he quickly opened it and ran into the forest outside.

I sighed for a moment as I watched him go. The door slowly closed on it's own, slamming with a loud bang that echoed through the boss room. I turned to the throne, which was a little big for my size, and sat down.

My stomach grumbled in the silence as I waited for Aros to return. Then, after barely a minute of lonesome, I saw a notification pop up in front of me.

『 +5 DP 』

"Plus five? How?" I muttered as I sat up in surprise. The rate of DP was 10 per day, so was this a part of it, or from something else entirely. Then, before I could figure out the cause for the sudden rise in DP, I saw another notification, then another.

『 +5 DP 』

『 +5 DP 』

"How?" I yelled as I pushed against the throne in excitement. However, after the three sudden notifications, none others appeared in front of me. However, now that I had suddenly gained fifteen whole dungeon points, I realized there was a more efficient way of acquiring them.

I patiently waited for Aros to return. After about two minutes of waiting, the dungeon door opened and Aros ran inside. In his hands were three rabbits, bloody and beaten. One of the rabbits didn't even have a head, while the other two had giant wounds that covered their body and soaked their fur with blood.

"My Lord!" Aros shouted as the door closed behind him. Aros ran up to the throne, still carrying the bloody corpses of the three rabbits, and stopped just in front of me. Then, he dropped his knee to the ground and bowed his head, "I have returned! Hopefully, these three rabbits will prove to satiate your appetite."