Chapter 2 The Future Master Architect

"Half-orcs?"

Gazing at the ugly yet strong monsters before him, Jan pushed up his glasses, a hint of undisguised contempt flashing in his eyes. He had always had no affection for these creatures with the intelligence of a nine-year-old, stupid, incapable, and only capable of causing trouble. Although Enya had once suggested that he recruit a few half-orcs to defend the dungeon, Jan still rejected the idea.

Counting on these half-orcs to guard the dungeon was even less reliable than expecting them to demolish a house.

"Oh oh oh oh oh!"

Seeing the frail mage before them, the half-orcs, whether because they found a target to vent their anger on or for some other reason, saw the leading half-orc captain roar angrily, then clenched his battle axe and pounced towards Jan. Following him, the rest of the half-orcs also raised their weapons high and strode forward in quick steps.

Seeing this scene, Jan just snorted coldly.

"Stupid waste, you're of no use to me."

While saying this, Jan stretched out his hand and pointed forward.

"Boom!!!"

The next moment, dazzling thunderous light filled the entire passage, and the searing spears of lightning shot out from Jan's fingertips, whistling as they flew forward. For a time, the dazzling white light swallowed everything, and as far as the eye could see, the whole world was nothing but white.

It seemed like a long time had passed, or perhaps it was just an instant. When the white light faded again, what appeared before Jan were only a few bodies that had been completely charred, twisted, and torn apart.

[The enemies invading the dungeon have been completely eliminated, the lord has gained 85 experience points]

That's why I say these experience-less and annoying wastes are so bothersome.

Glancing again at the prompt that appeared before him, Jan frowned. The biggest downside of the dungeon system was that although it allowed the monsters Jan hired to level up individually, it didn't allow Jan to level up on his own. If he wanted to level up, he had to absorb the overall experience points of the dungeon and level up together with the entire dungeon.

A single monster's level up only required a little over a hundred experience points, but leveling up a dungeon to level two required thousands... Hence, it's clear why Jan was so displeased. In the face of thousands of experience points, a mere hundred points of experience was not even enough to fill the gaps between his teeth.

Well, at least it's also an income. Thinking of this, Jan snapped his fingers, and quickly, five small goblins with bags on their backs and pickaxes in their hands screamed and darted out from the depths of the corridor. They began to search and scrape on those charred bodies, collecting all usable items and treasures. Then they dragged the mutilated bodies and ran wildly, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

It's a pity that the dungeon level is too low, otherwise, if it were possible to build a graveyard and prison, then these bodies could at least be used to cultivate a few skeleton soldiers for me.

As for death, Jan had long become indifferent to it. After being reborn in this world at first, he indeed wasn't very accustomed to death. But after spending so many years in the Demon Realm, death, corpses, blood, these things had gained a whole new value for Jan.

"Hmm?"

Just then, Jan's eyes swept over a trembling figure, making him raise his eyebrows. Knowing that the system's prompt just now was [All enemies eliminated], that meant, this uninvited fellow, in the eyes of the dungeon, wasn't considered an enemy?

Thinking of this, Jan couldn't help but become a bit curious, and then he slowly walked towards the other party.

Seeing Jan approaching, the figure trembled even more violently. Under the firelight's gaze, Jan also saw the true face of the other party.

On the surface, it seemed to be a human little girl, about ten years old, wearing a somewhat dirty dress, timidly leaning against the corner watching him. But Jan recognized her true race from her slightly brown skin and minor differences.

It was a gnome.

Gnomes are one of the races of the dark underground, and if there's one thing that characterizes this race, in Jan's view, it's their stature. Adult gnomes are only as tall as twelve or thirteen-year-old children, and their appearance is no different from that of children, full of various innocent and wonderful ideas.

Of course, if Jan were to summarize, then it would be —— an entire race of legal lolis, with a long shelf life (at least a hundred years), which would definitely make lolicon fans on Earth cry tears of joy.

"Don't kill me... don't kill me..."

Seeing Jan approaching, Bix was so scared she was about to faint. She had clearly seen how those terrifying half-orcs died miserably, even those few strongest warriors couldn't even make a move under this terrifying demon lord and were completely turned into charred corpses.

Seeing the dark figure approaching her, Bix's face turned ashen. The stories her parents had told her about demon lords eating people in the dark dungeons resurfaced in her memory. Could it be that she would also be captured by this demon lord and eaten as a snack? Or used as a sacrifice for some terrible experiment? Oh, stone above, Bix is still young, Bix doesn't want to die yet!

Interesting.

Looking at the gnome before him, Jan's lips slightly curled up, revealing a hint of a smile. Gnomes are cautious and careful creatures, Jan's dungeon is not close to the surface, and such intelligent creatures are rarely seen on ordinary days. The ones who came to his dungeon before were all unremarkable creatures like the Terror Claws or half-orcs. Now the system has sent him a prisoner, and although he doesn't know what this gnome can do, at the very least, she can serve as a servant for him.

This way, Enya can also be relieved from her part-time maid status.

"Stand up."

Thinking of this, looking at the gnome before him, Jan said in a deep voice. Hearing his words, Bix, although very scared, still leaned on the wall and stood up tremblingly.

"Your name?"

"Bi, Bi, Bix. Bix Mooncrystal..."

"......"

What kind of messed-up ghost name is this?

"So, Bix, do you swear by your true name to forever be loyal to me, submit to me, dedicate your soul to me, and become my most loyal servant?"

While saying this, Jan stretched out his right hand. Soon, a bizarre, twisted red symbol appeared out of thin air, quietly floating in the air. Bix just stared blankly at the red symbol, her originally clear eyes gradually becoming dull and lifeless. She then blankly raised her head and nodded at Jan.

"I am willing... Bix Mooncrystal is willing to forever be loyal to you, my great master..."

Muttering as if in a dream, Bix reached out her hand, and the moment her right hand touched the red symbol, the symbol instantly turned into several thin lines, quickly merging into Bix's body. Immediately after, the gnome collapsed to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.

And at that moment, the pleasant system prompt sounded again.

"Ding..."

[A new member has joined your dungeon, recruiting Bix Mooncrystal (Silver) successfully]

[Daily recruitment task completed, gained 100 experience, new building — Summoning Crystal]

"Hmm?"

Seeing the second system prompt, Jan was momentarily stunned. He remembered clearly, this daily recruitment task was exactly for an architect — could it be that this gnome was actually an architect? Not only that, Jan also clearly saw that the system's evaluation of Bix was (Silver), which means, she was actually on the same level as Enya?

Thinking of this, Jan quickly focused his attention, looking towards the gnome lying on the ground. Soon, another character information panel appeared in front of Jan.

[Bix Mooncrystal (Silver)]

[Race: Gnome]

[Combat Power: ☆ (This is a weakling with a combat power of less than five)]

[Management: ★★ (She can organize everything neatly, from cleaning rooms to burying corpses, she is the best helper for home travel, murder, and disposal)]

[Influence: ★ (Even a dog looks at its owner, without your presence, what she says basically won't be listened to)]

[Loyalty: ★★ (Fear and terror are also a way to buy people's hearts, especially when using life as bait)]

[Traits]

[Invention and Creation — Gnomes are naturally fond of invention and creation, their wisdom sometimes brings unexpected gains (Extra creation +1)]

[Brilliant Ideas — There's nothing impossible, only things that can't be done, the spark of wisdom always flashes inadvertently (5% chance to discover rare blueprints)]

[Held Skills]

[Wonderous Crafting: The ability to invent and create various strange and curious items, unlimited types]

[Architectural Design: The ability to design and construct buildings of ordinary level, unlimited types]

[Personal Exclusive Quest "Bix's Future" — Don't think what you've obtained is a fine jade, in the dark realm nothing is cheaper than gems. If not carefully polished, then even the best raw stone will only become waste. But even the most foolish person can have a protagonist's halo due to a stroke of luck, it all depends on how the script is written. Requirement: Train Bix into a talent, advance to either an architectural master or an invention master. Reward: 5000 experience points, dungeon expansion +1]

Architectural Master?

Seeing this, even Jan couldn't help but feel a jump in his heart. If he could really train the gnome before him into an architectural master, then he wouldn't need to negotiate with those greedy dwarves. And even if not an architectural master, with Bix's current skills, helping him construct the dungeon would be no problem at all!

Together with the Summoning Crystal rewarded by the previous task, this way, his dungeon was finally starting to take shape!