Countless specks of light filled the darkness, giving Selen the feeling she stood among the stars.
She walked in the dark, but when she stepped forward the lights moved without depth. These 'stars' were in fact glowing crystal dust stuck to the walls of the tunnel she had taken. The shift in perspective dispelled her romantic delusion of walking on galaxies, leaving only harsh reality behind.
Selen was a destitute sovereign, rotting away in an underground crystal mine. The living conditions were unbearable; even something as basic as taking a shit demanded monumental effort. The tunnels were nothing but slopes and uneven paths, and for an elderly woman like her, climbing them for the sake of necessity was exhausting beyond reason. Every trip felt like it would break her knees, and each time she cursed the life that had reduced her to this.
Bathing was out of the question. She couldn't remember the last time she had washed herself, nor when she last smelled anything but dust, sweat, and filth. Her body carried the reek of neglect, her skin sticky with grime, her hair plastered to her scalp. For someone who once held dignity, this slow decay was a humiliation she could no longer escape.
She would have wasted away in the slums if not for her final assignment: guarding a crystal mine while her faction pushed their tunnels deeper. Her debts to her comrades would be erased once the Dungeon's passageways finally reached her post. But at the rate things were going, she would likely die of old age long before that ever happened.
The entire situation was too unpleasant to think about, so she pushed it aside and let herself drift into the fake cosmos that existed only in her mind. Her neck ached as she forced her hunched frame to tilt upward, but she endured it just to watch the 'stars' glitter against the tunnel walls. For a fleeting moment, she pretended they were real, that she was anywhere but here.
The sparkling dust that littered the tunnel was worthless… just like Selen. No merchant would bother scooping it up, no miner would waste their strength on it, and yet it shimmered faintly in the dark as if mocking her. Still, in this miserable stretch of hardship, the glitter almost felt like it belonged to her alone, shining for no one else. For a moment she let herself believe in that small comfort.
But the thought was fragile, and it crumbled quickly. No matter how hard she tried to cling to the false beauty around her, the bitter truth pressed harder. The illusions she spun inside her own mind were already exposed, leaving her with nothing but the cold, filthy reality of the mine.
"If only I had some Basilisk Brew, these crystals would swirl like galaxies, hehe…"
She sighed. Melancholy crushed her exhausted flesh and weathered bones. Her heart ached as she reflected on the dusk of her unfulfilling life.
Selen held the title of Exarch, the highest rank of nobility. With it came the power to summon servants and even entire structures from other worlds. Blessed with great magic from birth, she was hailed as the Maleficar's finest creation and the destined champion of the Dungeon.
Yet she squandered it all and became nothing more than a failure. Her mind knew what had to be done, but her heart never followed. The lack of will was maddening. Now it was only a matter of years before she would take her final rest among the crystal dust, forgotten by all.
Selen muttered, "How…? Why…?"
She didn't understand how her life had spiraled so far out of control, and as a result, could never come to terms with her own failings. The promises and hopes of her youth had turned into knives of regret and shame, stabbing at her heart with every waking moment. Every memory of ambition, every fleeting dream, now twisted into a reminder of her inadequacy. She carried the heavy, suffocating belief that she was unworthy, flawed, and unfit to exist.
"Dear preternatural gods, if you hear me… why did you make me so defective? And for what purpose—ugh!" Selen doubled over, clutching her groaning stomach as a sharp cramp twisted through her gut.
Her urgent need for a toilet cut her existential rambling short. She forced herself up, wincing at the ache in her knees, and shuffled out of the tunnel, each step scraping along the rough, crystal-strewn floor.
A vast cavern opened before her, branching into multiple chambers and shadowed paths. In the center stood a towering crystal pillar, glowing far brighter than the scattered crystal dust along the tunnels. Its light reflected off the walls, casting fractured patterns across the cavern floor.
From another tunnel, a winged woman appeared. She circled the pillar with effortless grace before diving toward Selen. Her massive vulture-like wings beat slowly, controlling her descent, until she landed lightly on her talons—which shifted into human legs as she touched the ground.
Selen froze, heart hammering like a cornered rabbit. Gusts of wind whipped through her dirty white hair, smacking her face and carrying the faint scent of minerals from the cavern walls.
"Oh shit… it's Isyra! Not now!" she muttered, pressing herself against a jagged crystal outcrop.
Isyra was a 'harpy hag,' though like all the so-called 'rooks,' she had once been human, plucked from another world. Even now, with her sharp beak and vulture wings, she remained Selen's most precious friend—a constant in a life that had offered very few.
"Mistress Selen!" Isyra called out, bouncing with her usual cheer. "I found a source of ore at the surface to expand the Dungeon!"
Heeeeh, what a pain… Selen cared deeply for her loyal servant, but her pressing bodily needs weighed more heavily than any work.
By now, she didn't believe that any amount of labor could improve her miserable situation. Her eyes drifted toward the distant tunnels, scanning for an excuse—any excuse—to delay the fruitless effort ahead. The rough stone walls and scattered crystal dust seemed to mock her hesitation, yet she lingered, unwilling to move.
"But Isyra… the surface is scary," Selen muttered, her words weak and unconvincing, aimed at slowing down the ever-cheerful harpy.
"Scary? I'm not asking you to go there yourself!" Isyra chuckled, flapping her wings lightly. "Oh well, we can set it aside if you're busy." She knew Selen's tendency to resist change and understood it was better to let her suggestions sit in Selen's mind before bringing them up again.
"Y-yeah… I'm totally busy!" Selen stammered, forcing a hurried nod while internally plotting her next excuse.
Isyra narrowed her eyes and let out a sigh at her mistress' unkempt appearance. She had served Selen since she was an apprentice magician, watching her grow and bloom… only to wither in a flash. The 140-year-old Exarch was now a shadow of her former self.
There was nothing to be done about her wrinkles or sagging chest, but her white hair was streaked with mud. Selen had allowed her facial and leg hair to grow wild, neglecting basic hygiene for so long that a foul stench assaulted Isyra's nose.
Selen can't go on like this, Isyra thought.
She bit her lips in frustration, longing for the beautiful, commanding mistress with whom she had once shared passionate nights.
"How about I take Mistress outside to wash a bit?" Isyra asked.
"Whatever. I'm too busy with inspections today," Selen said, improvising as she turned away from Isyra's concerned gaze.
The harpy followed her mistress, making sure she at least went through the motions of her duties. As always, she carried the responsibility lightly, using her cheerful, upbeat attitude to lift the mood around her. She cleared her throat and called out, trying to encourage Selen with a bright, playful cheer.
"I'm curious to see how far the tunnel has come!" Isyra said, flapping her wings lightly.
"What…? We're so far behind schedule! This is hopeless! Why are you acting so cheerful about it?" Selen snapped.
"Don't worry~ It's the Shadow Lord's fault for sending us without proper tools," Isyra replied with a small shrug, her voice still upbeat.
Selen stopped abruptly and glared at her.
"You imbecile! I was made to serve the Shadow Lord, and you speak so casually of our failures!" She felt the sting of her own inadequacy with every word. Frustrated and ashamed, she stormed past Isyra and headed back to her room.
"Ah… my apologies, Mistress," Isyra called after her, wings drooping slightly.
Selen had been tasked with managing the mine's section along with a pack of cave dwellers and three elite helpers. She tried to oversee the tunnel construction and assign work, but nobody really expected much from it. Every effort felt as pointless as the scattered crystal dust littering the cavern floor.
Isyra said, "Mistress, shouldn't we be checking the warrens? This way looks right."
Selen grumbled, reluctantly correcting her path.
"Don't dawdle—it'll be over fast. We haven't even set up more living quarters yet," Isyra said, flapping her wings lightly. "Though I hope we can get a proper harpy loft built soon!"
Selen averted her gaze, a familiar sting of guilt twisting in her chest. Once again, she felt the shame of failing her only friend. She was an incompetent leader, unable to expand the dungeon quickly enough.
She walked silently behind Isyra, who led with pride, guiding her sovereign. The warrens were home to the dungeon's core workforce, the cave dwellers. But as they approached, faint moans and grunts echoed from deeper inside, sending an awkward tingle through the air.
"Gaah~ More~" a woman said, as a dripping green penis escaped her mouth.
They found their female minotaur elite in the middle of an orgy with cave dwellers. Her sweating body was covered in thick fluids and marked with scratches from sharp claws.With each stroke, her vagina and asshole spurted copious amounts of fluids, which pooled into a puddle on the ground.
She shook her hips, enjoying the double penetration from the green scaly monsters. She moaned as if her life depended on milking out as much semen as she could before getting caught.
"Faster~" the minotaur pleaded.
Her hair and the chains tied to her shackles whipped up and down. Her breasts wobbled from her movements and from the impacts of the cavedweller's hip against her butt.
Isyra and Selen gasped. The blushing old Exarch pressed her hands to her face, eyes wide with surprise and a faint sheen of sweat on her brow.
Isyra said, "Melithra, what are you doing?!"
"Anh~ it's the boss and the bird-brain. Wanna join?"
"You should be working instead of—" Isyra's words were cut short as droplets of fluid splattered against her cheek. She recoiled, crying out in disgust.
Melithra moaned, "Uaaaaanh~ I'm coming!"
Fluids flew all over the room from the minotaur's crotch. Her eyes rolled up as she shivered from pleasure.
Selen peeked through her fingers.
Isyra swiped her cheek, veins bulging on her forehead. "Stop ignoring me, cow-slut!" she snapped, yanking at the minotaur's hair.
The minotaur's expression darkened. "Ugh, so annoying. I'm doing my job defending this miserable place, alright?" She slapped Isyra's hand away.
The harpy stepped back, startled.
The auburn-haired minotaur ignored Isyra after that and straddled the cave dwellers, fully focused on her own pleasures.
"How dare you, in front of the Exarch!?" Isyra seethed, veins tightening in anger. She was far stronger than Melithra, yet even she flinched at the suddenness of it.
Then a voice rang out: "Ah, there you are!"
Selen's third and final elite arrived at the scene, leading her cave dwellers. It was Shaki, the blindfolded troglodyte. She yanked at the minotaur's ear and scolded Melithra.
Shaki barked, "You damn cow-slut, stop stealing the digging cave dwellers! I already found two dead bodies yesterday. You're going to kill everyone from exhaustion!"
"Ouch, alright!" Melithra stood up, rubbing her sore ear.
The exhausted green-skinned cave dwellers groaned as they collapsed. Their healthier comrades helped them back to the warrens to rest.
"Can't we just ask the boss to summon more cave dwellers?"
Selen extended her hand. "Sovereign Grimoire."
A glowing, floating book appeared in front of her. She held it out for her elites to see.
Sovereign Book
The women fell silent as they read the contents of the book.
Except Shaki. She tugged at Melithra's ear and complained, "I'm blind as hell. What does it say?"
Melithra groaned, "No cave dwellers are ready… Ugh, looks like we'll have to wait until Monday."
Isyra frowned, crossing her arms. "And when our sovereign points run out? Are we supposed to start digging ourselves?"
Shaki snapped, "I'm already working with both hands, thank you very much!"
They all knew the stakes: earn sovereign points by developing the Dungeon town.
Isyra's eyes glimmered with determination. "I scouted an ore vein earlier. No slacking off, cow-slut! Take some cave dwellers and secure it!"
Selen hummed thoughtfully. "Hmm… that might work. I'll let you command all the cave dwellers, but only if you're willing…"
Melithra grunted. "Hmpf."
Shaki added, "Good plan. Make me some shovels and I'll assign some cave dwellers to you."
Melithra rolled her eyes. "It's not like I want to deal with cave dwellers—I want male minotaur helpers, okay?"
Shaki snapped, "Stop being greedy! Get to work!"
"Ouch… Alright!" Melithra muttered, throwing a baleful glance at Isyra before heading off with her cave dweller companion.
The harpy sighed, flapping her wings. "This is going to get really complicated—huh?"
She turned around, unable to find her Exarch friend.