Who Designed This Underworld Dungeon?

A game's map design takes a lot of time, and spending one or two years is not unheard of.

But Gong Qiying didn't have that much time, so he could only crudely stitch it together.

After a brainstorming session, the new Sain Dungeon emerged.

Upper level, amalgamated [Fran Fort]and [Sick Village].

adventurers roll around in the poison pool to light three flame altars to open the fort, challenging the BOSS inside—Double Stone Statue Ghosts.

[Stone Statue Ghost (native Monster)]

[Spiritual power required for summoning: 120]

[Life: C, Strength: D+, Intelligence: E, Endurance: D, Speed: D-, Overall Combat Power: D]

Upon successful challenge, one can descend the staircase to reach "Sick Village," a dilapidated village built on a cliff.

Here, Gong Qiying incorporated all the treacherous designs he could think of, so much so that many traps in the middle and lower levels overlap with the upper layer.

He didn't place any BOSS throughout the entire Sick Village, instead, he set up a few surprises heavier than the BOSS.

It is estimated that the death rate in the upper layer can reach about fifty percent.

Middle layer, infused with [Pokemon], [Undead Town Outside the City], and [Big Tree Hole].

Centred on Undead Town filled with enemies like Animated Corpses, surrounded by a forest of towering trees full of waist-high grass, from which Pokemon may sprout randomly.

He's still out of budget for a BOSS here, so Gong Qiying set up a super thick stone door in Undead Town, nearly impossible to force open. Only by passing through numerous traps and defeating Elite Monsters in two locations to find two keys can one open the door.

Behind the door lies Big Tree Hole, a map intertwined with various colored branches stretching up to a kilometer. adventurers play a perilous game of jumping on the tangled branches, with one misstep leading to certain death, only those who survive can qualify to challenge the lower level.

The lower layer integrates underground map designs from soul-like games, such as Little Londo ruins, various underground cemeteries from Elden Ring, mines, and so on, a great mix and match.

The final BOSS is naturally the Molten Furnace Knight, a C-class Monster and the strongest unit Gong Qiying could currently utilize.

After defeating the Molten Furnace Knight, adventurers can teleport back to the upper layer through the Teleportation Gate, leaving the Sain Dungeon.

Following Gedwin's example, Gong Qiying also set up several complex decryption mechanisms in front of the hidden City Lord's room, traps and monsters lurking between each mechanism. The map design of the underworld disgusted even himself.

But this way, at least his own safety can be ensured.

Various maps also had some rewards arranged, and he was confident that these unique rewards of Sain Dungeon would surely attract adventurers.

[City Lord Panel]

[Gong Qiying/Gedwin]

[Life: E+, Strength: E, Intelligence: E+, Endurance: E, Speed: E, Overall Combat Power: E]

[Can use spiritual power for upgrades]

Gong Qiying stared at the panel for a long time, but ultimately did not use his spiritual power on himself.

He could spend a substantial amount of spiritual power modifying the map to hide more Monsters, but he also opted to save expenses by not upgrading himself.

In short, he spends money where it makes him happy.

"My personal strength is not important, I also have the mimicry ability,"

Second-tier City Lord Authority has unlocked the ability called "Mimicry."

Besides freely changing his own appearance, voice, and more, Gong Qiying can also transform into any of the [Available Monsters]by spending half of the required spiritual power for summoning.

Summoning a Molten Furnace Knight costs 800, transforming into one only requires 400.

The downside is that each transformation can only last 24 hours, with remaining time accumulating after de-transformation, allowing continuous usage next time.

"That's enough, it's not possible to achieve perfection in one go,"

Completing the final modification, Gong Qiying sighed in relief and collapsed on the altar.

His City Lord's room was empty, featuring only an altar without any statues, its purpose unknown.

He groped around and found a small notch at the base of the altar, which seemed familiar.

Gong Qiying suddenly realized,

The shape of this notch exactly matches the City Lord's ring!

He inserted the ring into the notch, turned it slightly, and the altar immediately emitted a rumbling sound.

[Insufficient Authority]

The sound stopped.

Gong Qiying shook his head, realizing he still needed to upgrade his Lord Authority to unlock the secrets of the altar.

"Teleport, upper layer entrance,"

His figure blurred slightly, then reappeared at the upper layer.

In the dark environment, a fortress loomed in the distance through the trees, his feet standing on a dark green swamp mixed with dung yellow, bubbling and emitting a nauseating stench.

Anyone in this environment would experience a rapid drop in SAN, but not Gong Qiying.

He even let out a laugh.

"This is far more impressive than looking at the scale model!"

Being personally in the map that can only be seen in the 게임, Gong Qiying was overwhelmed with mixed feelings, a sensation of a dream becoming reality.

He spent some time inspecting every corner of the Dungeon, discovering more problems. Indeed, observing just the miniatures wasn't enough.

"Raise this cliff a bit higher, hide some goblins below, and place a white light point near the cliff edge to attract, eh, attract adventurers."

"Dong... Dong..."

The sound of a bell from an unknown origin echoed again, interrupting Gong Qiying's train of thought.

He reluctantly closed the architectural interface, knowing that once the Dungeon officially opened, he could no longer modify the terrain, only change the distribution of monsters.

"Let's look forward to today's earnings,"

————————

Bed City, a city built next to the Sain Dungeon, gathers people who dream of becoming adventurers.

The Sain Dungeon has always provided a simple challenge giving newcomers a sense of achievement. Others, unable to challenge other dungeons due to their insufficient strength, turn to seek solace in the Sain Dungeon.

Thus, it became a spiritual haven for many in this dangerous world, the only place where they felt safe.

But that sense of safety was now gone!

The adventurer's guild was in complete chaos.

"Wah, my Sain Dungeon, why did the mutation have to happen to it!"

"Damn it, does this mean there's no dungeon I can clear anymore? Do I have to go back to farming..."

Apart from some whiners, the capable adventurers were already forming teams.

A new mutation meant new opportunities; the dungeon's map, types of monsters, and resources like minerals or medicinal herbs were all valuable information. Moreover, the adventurer's guild issued a task to all its members, promising substantial rewards for those willing to investigate.

Therefore, those confident in themselves were ready to pounce.

And the clever ones had already rushed to the Dungeon with their Teleportation Crystals!

For example, a bronze-ranked adventurer, Jack.

"Hehe, lucky I brought lots of cannon fodder, no matter how strong the traps, we can break through with human lives!"

This despicable guy thus gathered nine partners using various means, ruthlessly sacrificing others when encountering traps or ambushes.

By relying on this cunning mindset, he managed to open the gates of the fortress and even narrowly defeated the Stone Statue Ghosts, becoming the first adventurer to reach Sick Village!

Now with no cannon fodder left, he planned to stop here.

"I have thoroughly memorized the map of this area and master the types of monsters—it will make me a fortune selling this information. Even if those nine cannon fodders beat me up, it's worth it! Hehe, if someone hires me to explore with them, I can even point out the traps, but the price, hehehe..."

Before heading back the way he came, he carefully searched the fortress again, only to find it big and empty with nothing inside—like it was specifically designed for a boss battleground for the two Stone Statue Ghosts.

However, Jack "fortunately" found a chest hidden in a corner and quickly opened it.

It was a light point of a precious purple color, and upon picking it up, he was stunned.

"Is this... a Great Sword?"

It was just a great sword with no distinctive features, other than being overly heavy, it didn't give Jack much of an impression.

His expression quickly soured. "All this effort for a great sword, what a stingy reward!"

"Whatever, the forging seems decent, I should make some money selling it,"

But something strange happened.

As his hands gripped the hilt of the great sword, a peculiar sensation filled Jack's mind.

Then, he lifted the great sword and slashed down fiercely, his body leveraging this power to leap and roll high, striking down again with more strength than he possessed!

The ground trembled, leaving deep gashes.

"What, what the hell..."

Jack was dumbstruck for a long time, staring at the great sword. "Did I do this, is this the power of a Combat Skill?"

Combat Skills, techniques honed through endless practice by martial artists, required extensive time for training and a particular talent for understanding, which is why few people could wield them.

As a lower-level adventurer, Jack had neither the talent for learning Combat Skills nor the perseverance for consistent practice. What he knew were mere lock-picking and barely passable stealth.

Even though he had given up on himself long ago, deep inside he always yearned to wield Combat Skills like the strong fighters, exhilaratingly slaughtering enemies!

The moment he held the great sword, knowledge of a Combat Skill called "Lion Slash" immediately flooded his mind, and with a mere thought, he actually performed it!

This great sword allowed its wielder to use a Combat Skill!

No practice needed!

No talent required!

Just a pair of hands capable of holding a sword!

Thinking of this, Jack was trembling with excitement.

"Treasure, oh treasure, I've never heard of a weapon that comes with its own Combat Skill!"

"Now I'm going to be rich!"

All his reactions were closely observed by Gong Qiying through a Crystal Ball monitoring the Dungeon.

Showing a slight "according to plan" smile, he thought,

"Betting on a weapon that comes with Combat Skills being rare in this world proved right,"

"Now, what's obvious to do next is to wait until the 'news of Sain Dungeon producing weapons with built-in Combat Skills' spreads. No shortage of visitors then, freedom of spiritual power is just around the corner!"

[Great Sword]

[Combat Skill: Lion Slash]

[Rating: E]

[Spiritual Power Required Per Use: 10]