"Hawthorn, your bat monsters are flexible and adaptable in battle. Take this wind-attribute monster system."
"Coconut, your rock constructs are sturdy and resilient. This earth magic system is yours."
"Rainbow Horn, your unicorns were unexpectedly impressive. Take this friendship magic and monster system."
"Slime, your humanoid slimes' acid corrosion is unmatched. Accept this corrosion magic and monster system."
"Aldwin, defeating the commander was no easy feat. Therefore… this entire dungeon shall belong to you!"
Having successfully exterminated every Burning Demon that escaped the seal and resolved the dungeon crisis, Red Fang immediately began distributing rewards.
These rewards had been jointly prepared by him and several of the oldest and strongest dungeons. No wonder they could casually hand out complete monster systems as prizes.
And judging from the results, every system perfectly suited its corresponding Dungeon Lord. There was no need for anyone to trade.
Everyone's face lit up with joy.
But when it came to Wade — the one with the highest kill count — the atmosphere suddenly became bizarre.
"You're giving me Eagle Dungeon?"
He blinked in disbelief. He genuinely had not expected his reward to be an entire dungeon.
Wait a second.
Wasn't Eagle Dungeon the one that asked you for help suppressing the sealed entity?
How do you even have the authority to give it away!?
And honestly, I wanted a monster system too! I really wanted to see what kind of monster system you'd choose for me!
But Red Fang merely smiled with the elegance of a refined gentleman and deliberately avoided eye contact.
Perhaps the truth was simply this:
He genuinely could not think of any monster system worthy of Wade.
"You have all proven your excellence through your strength. My judgment was not mistaken. A hundred years from now, you will surely replace relics like us."
"When that day comes, the responsibilities we shoulder now will become yours. Great duties await you."
Red Fang delivered a speech overflowing with passion and responsibility, encouraging everyone while praising their futures.
Wade suddenly felt as though he had returned to elementary school, sitting beneath a stage while listening to a long speech from some important official.
Now that the sealed artifact had been dealt with and the rewards distributed, there was little reason to remain. The other Dungeon Lords all began preparing to leave.
At that moment, the Slime Lord suddenly approached—
—or rather, slithered over.
Its body shifted shape until it transformed into a sticky, damp humanoid figure before extending a hand toward Wade.
"What's this?"
"A handshake."
The Slime Lord sounded oddly reluctant.
"You won. I only got second place, so I'm taking the initiative to shake hands. I admit your monsters are actually pretty impressive."
For some reason, the slime's tone sounded strangely tsundere.
Wade suddenly felt the urge to tease him a little. After all, the guy had been targeting him earlier.
So he asked:
"What year did you become a Dungeon Lord?"
"Why are you asking that? Around thirty years ago."
"Then you probably don't know this, but modern etiquette has already replaced handshakes with exposing your belly."
"W-What!?"
As the Slime Lord descended into an existential crisis, Hawthorn walked over and nudged Wade.
"Keep in touch in the future. I'd really like to ask how you design your dungeons."
"There's no problem discussing it now," Wade replied casually. "We've got time, don't we?"
"Really!?"
Hawthorn instantly looked ecstatic.
The other two overheard the conversation and immediately rushed over as well, loudly declaring that they wanted to listen too.
Watching the harmonious interaction between these promising juniors, Red Fang sighed emotionally and announced:
"Then let us hold a banquet. I also happen to have matters I wish to discuss with Aldwin."
Meanwhile, the Slime Lord was still trapped in deep contemplation over "handshakes being replaced by exposing one's belly."
Seeing everyone happily heading toward a celebration, he suddenly shouted:
"Wait for me!"
—and hurried after them.
With a flap of Red Fang's wings, everyone arrived inside his Dungeon Lord chamber.
It perfectly matched anyone's imagination of a dragon's lair.
Gold, silver, and jewels were piled everywhere. The sheer brilliance of the treasure was enough to blind someone.
At Red Fang's command, tables, chairs, wine, food, and even a live orchestra to improve the atmosphere were instantly summoned.
This was a proper victory banquet.
Still, the more Wade looked around, the stranger things felt.
At least two of the Dungeon Lords clearly couldn't even eat.
Specifically Hawthorn Skewer and Coconut.
Their expressions were literally represented through magical lines.
What a gathering of bizarre lifeforms.
"Aldwin, I've wanted to ask this ever since meeting you," Hawthorn said immediately after sitting down. "How did you manage to bind adventurers so tightly to your dungeon?"
Rainbow Horn nodded deeply.
"I've heard people say many adventurers become completely addicted to Sein. If they don't enter it for even a single day, they feel uncomfortable all over."
"And if the scenery were beautiful, I'd understand — but most of the environments are terrifying! I genuinely don't understand why people still want to enter."
"It's obviously the rewards."
The Slime Lord spoke with the expression of someone who had seen through all truth.
"As long as the rewards are good enough, adventurers won't care how terrifying the dungeon is."
"But what kind of rewards could possibly achieve that?"
"I heard Sein's background story is incredibly fascinating. Something about the First Flame and the origin of the world."
The moment those words were spoken, everyone turned toward Wade — the "astonishing ancient being" in their minds.
"Do you really know the origin of the world?"
Wade merely smiled faintly and tapped his head.
"Because those memories exist in here, I simply released them. But how much of it is truly accurate… even I cannot say."
"At the very least, the dungeon really can recreate the things inside my mind, can't it?"
The implication was obvious.
If the things inside his mind were entirely fictional, then the dungeon should not have been capable of recreating them.
A riddle.
An absolutely infuriating riddle.
The kind of cryptic nonsense capable of making even Batman angry.
The image Wade projected now was that of a being carrying countless fragments of ancient history within his mind — but due to soul erosion from living too long, those memories had become incomplete.
Only fragments remained.
Never the full picture.
"What a pity…"
Everyone sighed.
"Soul erosion cannot be healed," Rainbow Horn said. "Once memories are forgotten, they're truly gone."
"There may still be hope," Red Fang suddenly said. "If ancient magic can be found."
Finding ancient magic…
That level of difficulty was absurdly high.
The group quickly lost interest in the topic and moved on.
Still, ever since the banquet had begun, every conversation somehow revolved around Sein Dungeon.
Wade simply enjoyed the feeling of being treated as the center of attention while occasionally throwing in a few comments.
Eventually, the main topic finally arrived.
"We got sidetracked again!" Hawthorn cried. "You still haven't explained how to design dungeons!"
He looked almost pitiful.
"Is there any way to attract adventurers without relying on massive rewards? Giving out too many rewards is financially devastating."
"Theoretically, no," Wade answered seriously.
"No matter what kind of adventurer they are, the ultimate thing driving them through endless danger is still rewards."
"There are many forms of rewards. Material rewards, mental rewards…"
"For example, even giving first-clear adventurers a shiny title that automatically appears when they enter the dungeon can make them absurdly happy."
"Titles…"
Rainbow Horn muttered thoughtfully.
"That's brilliant."
"But mental rewards don't feed people," the Slime Lord pointed out. "In the end, everything still comes back to material rewards."
Wade smiled.
"Correct. Mental rewards are seasoning. Their purpose is merely to ignite passion."
"The true core is still material rewards."
"I see…"
Hawthorn looked disappointed.
Seeing this, Wade suddenly patted him on the shoulder.
"But I can teach you something else."
"What?"
"A method where the mana required to create rewards stays the same — but you harvest more mana in return."
He placed three wine glasses in front of everyone.
"Imagine these are three treasure chests for adventurers. How would you arrange them?"
"Wouldn't you just put magic scrolls, gold, equipment, and things like that inside?" Hawthorn replied. "If adventurers receive three chests at once, then naturally the contents would only be average."
"My dungeon actually has setups like that."
Wade nodded.
"Here's the trick."
"Combine the value of all three ordinary rewards into a single rarer item — something adventurers would genuinely cheer over."
"Then place it randomly into only one chest."
"What about the other two chests?" everyone asked in confusion.
"Are they empty?"
Hawthorn, however, seemed deep in thought.
Wade smiled faintly.
"Put Fireball spells inside them."
"Huh?"
"Fireball spells. Bombs. Mimics. Anything works."
Before anyone could react, he continued immediately:
"And beyond that, there are the classics."
"Rolling iron balls down sloped corridors."
"Double bosses inside narrow spaces."
"Poison swamps in open fields."
"Ambush enemies around castle corners."
The rhythm of his explanations stunned everyone.
"Then add collapse traps! The first time players walk over them, nothing happens — but when they try returning, the floor suddenly gives way!"
"And beneath it? A pack of wild dogs!"
Wade rambled endlessly, explaining what he considered the most fundamental traps.
Even without his explanations, determined people could eventually discover these ideas themselves.
But what Wade could explain was the optimal timing.
The best placement.
The most suitable rewards.
By the end of the discussion, every Dungeon Lord wore expressions that practically screamed:
We learned something incredible today.
Especially Hawthorn, who looked one step away from enlightenment.
A moment of silence for the future adventurers who would enter their dungeons.
"And now for the truly advanced material."
Wade suddenly asked:
"Do you know triangles?"
"Triangles? Of course we do. What about them?"
"You can directly apply triangles to dungeon design."
Wade began explaining something called the Triangle Principle.
Simply put, terrain should be designed around triangular elevation structures.
As adventurers climb upward, branching paths naturally appear, forcing them to make choices themselves.
Meanwhile, as they continue ascending, objects previously hidden by the terrain gradually reveal themselves, naturally creating new motivations.
And psychologically, the peak of a triangle possesses the strongest attraction.
Placing special rewards or memorable scenery there dramatically increases adventurers' excitement.
Then you repeat the process endlessly.
New triangles.
New discoveries.
Constant stimulation.
Even Nintendo's game design philosophy contained records of such principles.
This—
This was true high-level design knowledge.
Far more valuable than simple trap placement.
Something universally applicable to dungeon design itself.
This time, the Dungeon Lords remained silent for an unusually long time.
Even Red Fang closed his eyes in contemplation.
The way he looked at Wade changed once again.
Dungeon Lords had always relied purely on instinct when designing dungeons.
No one had ever considered formalizing actual design philosophies before.
"Triangles…"
The Slime Lord muttered softly while staring at Wade.
In a voice only he himself could hear, he whispered:
"A master…"
If Dungeon Lords could generate spiritual power, Wade would have harvested an enormous amount just now.
When everyone finally snapped back to reality, the way they looked at him had completely changed.
Their respect became even more obvious.
Their eyes overflowed with thirst for knowledge.
But Wade merely waved a hand.
"We'll discuss the rest another time."
"No! Please tell us now!"
Watching the panicking Dungeon Lords, Wade's tiny sense of vanity received immense satisfaction.
If nothing unexpected happened, four dungeons were probably about to undergo dramatic mutations very soon.
Future adventurers were in for quite the experience.
What should this style even be called?
"Sein-like" dungeons?
This extermination mission had benefited every Dungeon Lord tremendously, and the banquet ended joyfully.
When everyone finally departed, each of them insisted they would send Wade gifts and reminded him to check them after returning.
Wade watched them all leave before finally turning toward Red Fang.
He knew the red dragon still had something important to say.
Red Fang lowered his head slightly and waved away the music.
"I will not ask which era you come from again. Too much history has already been lost. Asking is meaningless."
"I shall grant you an additional reward besides the dungeon itself — a special privilege."
"Tell me what you desire, and I will do my best to find something suitable."
"And furthermore…"
Red Fang paused briefly before continuing:
"There is another responsibility Dungeon Lords bear besides maintaining seals."
"To eliminate any sealed entities that escape from dungeons."