When it came to matters of life and death, the Dungeon Book proved remarkably concise and adaptable.
They ultimately reached an agreement: Tasha would help the Dungeon Book locate the source of the Abyss's problems. Unless the latter breached the contract, it could not be destroyed nor suffer irreparable damage. In return, the Dungeon Book must impart all known knowledge of this world to Tasha, answering her questions truthfully and exhaustively, never lying or acting against her interests. Their pact held for one hundred years, after which Tasha must set it free.
Now Tasha could address the Dungeon Book by name—the contract demanded a true name. The book bore an exceedingly lengthy name, one nearly impossible for human tongues to pronounce. Tasha decided to choose a syllable resembling its beginning and named it Victor.
Or "he"—for the inhabitant within these pages was a male demon. Over four centuries ago, during the war between the Abyss and the Celestial Realm, he had suffered misfortune, leaving only a fragment of his soul bound within the book.
This was not an equal agreement, but a master-servant contract. Tasha was the master. She considered herself quite generous, especially since the book had initially tried to trick her into signing a slave contract. Upon gaining ownership of the Dungeon Book, Tasha naturally learned the Abyssal language—those patterns resembling designs on its pages. Cunningly, they had added supplementary clauses beside the original contract: the soul signing its name would fuse with the Dungeon Book, thereby gaining dominion over the dungeon. The whole "gain power" nonsense was just a literary trap.
The master-servant contract was more like an employment arrangement. While it still meant the servant couldn't survive if the master died, it was far better than a slave contract that could destroy the subordinate's soul in an instant, right?
Incidentally, the language they'd been using to communicate was Necromantic—a universal tongue for all death-bound beings. Tasha found this shortcut to learning new languages incredibly convenient.
As soon as Tasha returned to the hall, Ah Huang, who'd been waiting impatiently, trotted over to greet her. She had sent the mass-produced miners down to fight earlier, ordering Ah Huang to stay above ground—unwilling to risk this unique little pet being killed by potential dangers below. He seemed to have waited impatiently, circling around Tasha while curiously examining the books other miners had carried up behind her.
"A goblin?" Victor exclaimed in shock. "You shared your Core Power with a goblin?!"
His pronunciation of "goblin" carried the disgust of a germaphobe discussing a sewer slug—though he'd previously called the mole a goblin too. Tashan glanced at Ah Huang a few times, still finding it rather adorable.
"What's a goblin?" she asked.
"The lowest-tier earth elemental golem—the basic building block of dungeons. They can only beat goblins!" Victor explained. "The Core is the dungeon's lifeblood. Its power is non-renewable, non-recyclable!"
"Oh." Tasha murmured, still not quite grasping it. "What's a goblin?"
"...Extremely weak humanoid monsters. Cowardly pests that raid in packs. A single human farmer could kill one." "Victor sighed. "Put it this way: a typical Dungeon Lord would only share Core Power with their most trusted lieutenant—a deputy ruler or steward. It could elevate a vampire vassal directly to Count, grant a low-level mage the knowledge of a high-level mage, or let a young dragon clash with a full-grown one!"
"So what could it turn a goblin into?"
"Smarter goblins," Victor replied irritably. "The strongest ant is still just an ant. Who would bestow primordial power on such a creature? Is that what your instincts taught you?"
"I think it's rather cute," Tasha declared earnestly.
"The Abyss!" the pages sighed with a rustle. "What kind of dungeon spawns such fools?"
From this, Tasha surmised that the "Nest Mother" was likely a blank consciousness spontaneously born within the dungeon. The book had arbitrarily assigned her an origin, and she was quite content to let it remain a misunderstanding, concealing her greatest secret—that she had traveled through time.
"Me, or a demon who signed a master-servant contract with me—which one is the fool?" she retorted.
"That was a mistake. I didn't know you were the Nest Mother!" Victor argued. "Only my severe injuries prevented me from detecting the fluctuations of ghosts and dungeon-born entities—yet even then, I could sense every demon passing within hundreds of miles! In my prime, my voice could make sirens bow, a single sentence could steal a kingdom. I am the collector of silver tongues, ten thousand secrets flowing from fools into my chest; I am the serpent of lies..."
"Fine, fine, now I know where those false advertising slogans came from," Tashan muttered. "Can we talk about something real now?"
One month after his arrival, Tashan finally grasped where he had ended up.
This was an unnatural continent. Beyond the Material Plane—home to all manner of creatures (commonly called "the mortal world")—lay the Celestial Realm and the Abyss. The Celestial Realm housed the gods, while the Abyss was home to demons. These two factions were mortal enemies. They had come to this continent called Erian to cultivate their respective followers and declare war upon each other.
"Why don't you just fight each other?" Tasha interjected. "What does the human world have to do with this?"
"The Celestial Realm and the Abyss repel each other. These two planes exist at opposite poles of this world, with the Material Plane serving as a transit zone connecting them," Victor explained. "The human world is too fragile. Great demons and gods would be repelled back to their original realms before they could traverse it. However, their kin and followers are another matter entirely."
Monsters crawled up from the dungeons onto the surface, angels descended into temples, while Archdevils and Archangels remained in their respective realms, locked in a battle across the void. Races favored by gods or demons continually emerged, while others were wiped out in the wars. Eryan was breathtakingly magnificent and utterly brutal.
"Before I fell into slumber, the races above were going mad," Victor muttered bitterly. "Druids persuaded some dragons; neutral wood elves joined the fray for foolish reasons; dwarves somehow halted their civil war. Who could have predicted orcs would ally with other races? Several merfolk gained some sense; The Abyssal Cultists in the west and the witches in the north were secretly colluding. Their leader deceived us, allowing them to wield magic without sacrificing to the Abyss... In short, with all these unexpected events converging, the situation was far from promising before this dungeon was attacked."
"Your defeat was a rout," Tashu stated bluntly.
"The situation above ground isn't much better either," Victor remarked with schadenfreude. "Before I was attacked and fell into hibernation, some blasphemers had already discovered ways to wield divine magic through willpower rather than prayer. You should know how much humans love profit and hate loss, how easily they betray their oaths. Think about it—if you could gain god-like power without sacrificing your body and soul, who'd want to be slaves to those celestial beings?"
"Slaves?"
"Sacrificing everything in life for the gods' whimsical handouts, then having your soul claimed by them after death—how is that different from slavery?" Victor snorted. "At least we spell out the terms when we make deals."
Given this guy's earlier attempts to trick people into sacrificing their souls, Tasha remained skeptical of his assessment of the divine race.
"But you can't sense the Abyss now," Tasha said. "Did the Celestials seal off the path connecting the Abyss to the mortal realm after their victory?"
"Blocked? What do you think the passage is?" Victor sneered. "This isn't our first victory, nor our first defeat. No matter which side wins, there are always pawns from the other side who can sneak across the plane. The wheel of fortune turns, and war will always reignite. Even if we and they both hold our ground, the races of the Material Plane will stir up conflict on their own. The charm of Eryan lies in chaos. Once you step onto the surface, you'll witness another spectacular battlefield."
"How dreadful," Tashu murmured, envisioning a scarred wasteland.
"Only when you're weak," Victor replied. "But you're a dungeon, dear master. You still have me!"
The pages dramatically curled at both corners, as if bowing.
"I possess ample knowledge and experience, and am bound to your palm by contract. Beyond old Victor, who else can you trust in this unknown, terrifying world? I can be as loyal as a hound and as harmless as a lamb to you! Just share a bit of your Core Power with me..."
"No." Tasha said.
"Why?" Victor stuttered.
"I've already shared some." Tasha repeated her earlier words. "Core power isn't renewable."
"But you even gave some to a goblin!" Victor slammed the pages, making them rustle. "A goblin! And I'm a thousand-year-old demon lord!"
Yeah, Tasha thought. Only a fool would give something so vital to a super-suspicious demon.
So she said, "Because Ah Huang is cuter."
The book snapped shut.
"Don't sulk." Tasha tapped the hardcover. "Back to the dungeon."
"Ask the goblin," Victor muttered sullenly.
Tasha ignored him and pressed on, "You told me before that the dungeon is like the Abyss's outpost. So where do the soldiers come from?"
"Most come from the Abyss." The book reluctantly opened.
Though their contract didn't bind Victor to obey all of Tasha's commands, it did require him to answer every question. As for the Book's opinion of Tasha? He couldn't just quit, and Tasha had no intention of becoming besties with this guy anyway—no need to dwell on the details.
"Dungeons were meant to connect to the Abyss," Victor stated. "The Dungeon Heart—that red stone—originated from the deepest depths of the Abyss itself, favored by its will. When each dungeon activates, its lord can sense the connection points between the Material Plane and the Abyss within its domain. After sufficient sacrifice, a portal between them can be opened, allowing Abyssal races to flow endlessly into the dungeon—the Abyss is vast, teeming with lower-tier monsters like ants."
"I haven't sensed any connection point," Tashu said.
"That's precisely the problem... Wait—you haven't activated the Flame Rune yet? Activate it! The imp summoned by the rune originates from the Abyss. It might directly open a passage to the depths."
Victor's voice grew excited, but Tashu shook his head again.
"You must help me find the source of the Abyss's disruption. It's stipulated in our contract!" Victor grumbled.
"Yes, within a hundred years," Tasha replied. "I won't recklessly venture into your dangerous homeland until I can protect myself. Is there another way?"
"Then we'll have to capture them on the surface," Shu said. "Capture a sufficient number of creatures, deconstruct them, and you can replicate an entire army. Hmm? You really are incredibly lucky."
"What is it?"
"I sense magical fluctuations on the surface—extremely faint, just within your reach." The Book's yellow eyes gazed toward the ceiling. "Come on. Grab your rat. Let's see if we can snag a few goblins."