Dust drifted in the stale, stone-scented air of the dungeon's outer corridor.
Footsteps echoed—nervous, uneven, and accompanied by quiet muttering.
Kaelen's awareness focused like a blade.
There you are.
A girl stepped cautiously into his dungeon entrance.
She wore a plain leather chestplate, too large for her frame, and held a short sword with both hands as though expecting it to leap out of her grip. A battered rucksack clung to her back, and her wide hazel eyes scanned every corner with trembling vigilance.
[Target Identified: Human – Female – Novice Adventurer]Age estimate: 17–20Experience: MinimalThreat Level: LowEquipment: Basic iron sword, minor health potion x1, no visible enchantments
Kaelen watched her inhale sharply and take another tentative step inside.
Poor thing.She's in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The adventurer's boot pressed down on the first pressure plate just inside the stone arch.
[Trigger: Trap 01 – Loose Ground Collapse]
With a snap and a rumble, the stone floor beneath her gave way.
She yelped and scrambled backward just in time to avoid falling into the shallow spike pit. But she fell hard on her side, scraping her elbow.
The trap wasn't meant to kill—Kaelen had deliberately designed the first few traps to scare, to bleed confidence, not blood.
Fear is more corrosive than poison.
She stood quickly, face pale, breathing fast. Her sword shook in her grip.
Kaelen sent a silent command through his network of mana veins. A goblin and a slime were closest to her position—he wanted to see how she'd handle pressure.
The goblin scurried forward through a hidden vent and emerged from behind a jagged pillar.The slime oozed downward from a crack in the ceiling, silent and unassuming above her.
Kaelen watched the girl's eyes lock onto the goblin first.
"Wh–What the—!" she gasped, instinctively slashing out.
The goblin ducked, growled, and darted in. Its claws nicked her leg. She shrieked and backed up—right beneath the slime.
[Slime: Camouflage Mode → Attack]
The slime dropped, smacking her shoulder and latching on.
Panic overtook her as she screamed and tried to scrape it off. The goblin lunged again, and her blade clipped its arm—but not before it raked her across the hip.
Bleeding, panicked, and unbalanced, the girl swung blindly. The slime detached with a wet pop and retreated, mission complete.
She fled down the left tunnel, limp in her stride, tears forming at the edges of her eyes.
Kaelen didn't pursue.
Let her run deeper. Let her burn through her stamina, her will, her hope.
While she fled, Kaelen diverted mana to his core and watched with satisfaction as growth notifications pulsed.
[Goblin – Experience Gained][Slime – Experience Gained][New Trait: Coordinated Ambush – Slime + Goblin]
Even his monsters were learning, syncing with each other through shared encounters.
He summoned two more goblins and another skeleton, reinforcing the upper paths in case she tried to retreat.
Meanwhile, his strongest unit—the Goblin Grunt—waited in the chamber ahead, half-shrouded in shadows.
The girl stumbled into a room dimly lit by glowing fungi. Her breath was ragged, and she clutched her injured hip.
She collapsed against the wall, whispering to herself.
"Stupid… why did I even come here...?""You needed to prove yourself, remember?""But I'm not ready…"
Kaelen watched through the walls, silently, patiently. He learned more from listening than fighting.
She took a sip of her potion, barely enough to stop the bleeding. Her arms were trembling.
No better lesson than pain.
A sudden pulse of magic washed over Kaelen's core.
[System Quest Activated: Survival Protocol I]
Objective: Allow an intruder to escape with their life.Optional: Implant persistent fear or awe.
Reward: Minor Mana Capacity Increase + Trait: Dungeon Presence
Kaelen paused.
Let her live?Interesting. A test of cruelty... or mercy?
For a moment, he considered sending the Grunt in to finish her off. But a more insidious plan took shape.
Let her go—shaken, defeated… and terrified.Let her speak of this place.Let them come.
As the girl limped back toward the entrance, Kaelen retracted his minions.
No more traps triggered.
No more enemies appeared.
Just silence, broken by her labored breathing and the faint hiss of her sword dragging against the stone.
She emerged into the dying light of dusk, bloody, pale, and wide-eyed.
She would live.
But she would never forget what waited in the dark beneath the hills.
And Kaelen's dungeon would soon be more than a secret.
It would be a legend.