When Liu Shu ordered the <Dungeon System> to take over the <Corruption Engine>, her energy drained as if a hole had opened in a water bucket. This feeling of having her energy being sucked in such large quantities had not happened for so long that Liu Shu gasped. "W-Woah… How much energy do you even need?"

She looked at her Ternary Essence reserves, and her mind shook. "I-I am losing 25,000 Aether Mana Shards per second! That's almost higher than my regeneration!"

With her current stats, Liu Shu recovered around 1,000 Aether Mana Cores per hour, or 100,000,000 Shards per hour. Then, if you made the calculations, that translated to around 27,777 Aether Mana Shards per second.

Now, Liu Shu was a World Tree; her regeneration compared to other living beings was incomparable. For reference, Ignatia naturally recovered around 1,500 shards per second for her best ternary essence, which was Phoer. Any other creature in Liu Shu's position would be dried out in a matter of hours.

With no other way, Liu Shu needed to stop her berry production and every other passive skill that consumed any amount of ternary essence. Otherwise, she would be sucked dry by the <Dungeon System>.

"This is quite crazy…"

Shaking off her shock, Liu Shu focused on the central area of the <Origin Water Continent> to see what was happening. "Hm… The <Corruption Engine> is… activating?"

A trace of unease appeared in her heart. However, she didn't stop the process. After all, even if the <Corruption Engine> were activated, there would be no important casualties.

The engine was a mechanical structure nearly ten meters tall. Its internal workings were a marvel that mixed blacksmithing, rune crafting, arrays, and other principles that Liu Shu couldn't understand to absorb, change, and release ternary essence.

"The fact that it isn't an S Tier artifact must be because its effect area is small… no? Or is it because the charging time is too long? If it could work yearly, then it would've reached the S Tier without a doubt."

However, as she observed, the energy that the <Dungeon System> was using kept entering and altering the engine. "What is the system trying to do…?"

Unlike the normal System, the <Dungeon System> actually interfered with reality. The System showed your stats, abilities, and feats through numbers, while the <Dungeon System> used the energy of the world and Liu Shu's to alter reality.

"What is the <Dungeon System> either way?" A trace of doubt appeared in Liu Shu's mind. She had not questioned it at first, but now that she was looking at it closely, she felt that it was strange.

Gaining the ability to manipulate an area and transform it into a <Dungeon> was far from an easy process.

It was when she asked that someone answered.

[Wisdom: The <Dungeon System> is part of your inheritance abilities. The ability is too complex to use at will, forcing you to need a medium for <Dungeon Creation>. The first time, it was a powerful item that manipulated space around it. Reversing its effects and taking it over, creating a dimensional breach that you could manipulate at will, was not a problem.]

Liu Shu hummed and commented. "I guess you are using that same principle with the <Corruption Engine>. You must be changing it into something similar to a <Dungeon Core>, am I right?"

[Wisdom: That is correct. The <Corruption Engine> is a failed artifact. However, its inner workings are perfectly functional. Therefore, by changing a few runes and array lines, you can manipulate it and transform it into a <Dungeon Core>.]

"I see…" Liu Shu muttered softly, her mind understanding the cause and effect involved. "So… If I were capable of creating something similar, I could develop a way to create <Dungeon Cores>."

[Wisdom: That is only one of the conditions. <Dungeons> are able to manifest where important <Feats> have occurred. Of course, the <Dungeon>'s limits will be related to both the <Core> and <Feat> that occurred where it spawns.]

"What about the Terragore dungeon? There were no items there that could be used as the core, right?"

[Wisdom: That's incorrect. In the <Terragore Empire>, there was a powerful mineral drilled deep underground below the <Terragore Queen>'s living quarters. Tianlian Liu Shu never really discovered it before it was used.]

"Huh? What kind of natural material is so powerful that it can be used for a <Dungeon Core>?"

[Wisdom: The material found was a <Star Core Meteorite (A Rank)> of about 1.5 tons.]

"...A piece of a star's core? Like, a literal star?"

[Wisdom: That's correct. The <Terragore Queen>'s rapid growth and specialness were due to the influence of this meteorite. She inhaled some of the natural dust produced by it.]

"O-Only the dust? What if she had eaten it entirely?"

[Wisdom: The <Terragore Queen> would've died from an overload of energy. In the rare case that she was able to control her hunger and eat wisely, she might've been able to break the limits of <Ceperet World> and reach over Level 100.]

"..."

Liu Shu was speechless. She was fortunate that she discovered the <Terragore Empire> before any of that happened. The <Terragore Queen> was already strong enough with just the dust of that thing, so if she ate even a small chunk… "Things would've gone quite differently, huh?"

Shaking the strange feeling, Liu Shu finally understood a bit about the conditions for a <Dungeon> to spawn. "I need a <Catalyst> and a <Feat>. Then, using large amounts of energy, I can modify the space in the area through <World Tree Wisdom> and create the dimensional layering for a <Dungeon> to spawn… Speaking of that layering… How is my energy enough to do something like that? I feel that my strength is far from reaching that point, especially during the first time I deployed a <Dungeon>."

[Wisdom: Thanks to your <Hidden Attribute>, <Hidden Title>, and <Temple Of Summoning>, your energy has natural dimensional-manipulation qualities.]

"Hidden Title… and Hidden Attribute? Which one?"

[Wisdom: … It's hidden.]

"Tsk. Useless."

[Wisdom: …]

Liu Shu knew which one Wisdom was talking about, though. It was the hidden title she gained when she first made contact with that giant serpent. The green serpentine eye that blotted out the sky, belonging to some kind of powerful creature, clearly came from another place that was far from Ceperet. Thinking logically, it was most likely another dimension where the <Arboreal Winged Serpents> originated from.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

"As for the hidden attribute…" Liu Shu frowned, half-remembering. "When I learned about my affinities, the system clearly glitched. That attribute was probably too hard to control for me back then. Do I need to reach Level 100 for that attribute to reveal itself?"

It felt like Level 100 was a significant dividing point. Her eyes subconsciously moved towards her level.

***

Level: 99 [0/3,737,460]

Accumulated Experience Points: 28,680,249

***

After sweeping the continent, Liu Shu accumulated around 50 million Experience Points. It was much less than one would expect. After all, even if all the creatures gave just a single Experience Point, the Accumulated Experience Points would almost reach a billion. However, the system took into account all the creatures that were too low-level, and after calculations, the real experience was around a fraction of what could've been: 48,500,450

So, Liu Shu leveled up to Level 99, spending around half of the earnings, and didn't invest anything more. After all, the message that she couldn't breach through the Level 99 cap appeared for her as well.

"I need to take over the entire world before I reach Level 100… Or better said, without taking over the entire world, I can't reach that level even if I want to."

Now that she took care of the world's enemy, the rest was easy. Her roots just needed to stretch further and further away, taking everything over. "At my current pace, after Big Sister Skyflower and the others allowed me to enter their domain, I shouldn't take longer than 30 years to envelop the entire world with my roots."

It was not an easy thing to do. After all, Liu Shu wasn't randomly stretching her roots. As she expanded her domain, her complex and virtually perfect root net interconnected in a way that maintained perfect energy-delivering efficiency. Regardless of distance, the World Tree's influence would be essentially the same.

"At the current pace that the <Corruption Engine> is being influenced, it should take around 4 years to take over… right?"

[Wisdom: Time remaining until <Corruption Engine> becomes a <Dungeon Core> is 3 years, 11 months, 23 days, and 13 hours.]

"...Basically four years. I guess I can develop the <Dungeon Settings> in the meantime, can I not?"

[Wisdom: Yes. However, due to the specialness of an <Open Dungeon>, there will be some settings that are unchangeable. Here is the basic structure of your <Dungeon Interface>.]

***

Dungeon Name: -

Current Status: Closed.

Dungeon Level: 25~??

Difficulty Rating: -

Number Of Floors: 2.

Dungeon Reputation: -

Dungeon Alignment: -

Dungeon Theme: Free Hunt.

Dungeon Type: Open Dungeon.

Boss Character Sheet: -

Unique Traits: Monster Domain.

Adventurer Log (Click to Expand).

***

Liu Shu was surprised. "Oh! So many prearranged conditions. Two floors should refer to the underground and the surface. The <Dungeon Theme> is expected, as this will be a free hunting area. The type is obvious as well… What intrigues me is the <Unique Trait>. System, show it."

<Monster Domain>: This area is dominated by monsters. Monsters will gather in special zones restricted to their levels. Moreover, <Monster Nests> will spawn periodically at random locations and adapt to the zone's <Level>. The <Monster Nests> create creatures that match the area at high speed. Finally, all monsters will have limited intelligence, regardless of level and strength.

"Ho~." Liu Shu's gaze gleamed. "This is basically an experience farm. I can also guess that all these monsters can drop items and other treasures as well, right?"

[Wisdom: That is the case. The chance is set at the minimum by force, around 0.001%. Boss monsters have a 0.1% chance.]

"Whoa… That's one every one hundred thousand monsters for normal monsters, and one every one thousand for boss monsters. Ugly chances…" Liu Shu paused. "Although, won't my <Destiny Blessing> affect these odds?"

[Wisdom: That's a benefit you've created. The <Dungeon> won't counteract bonuses you can give just to make it "fair."]

"Aha. That's a relief."

Then, Liu Shu's eyes moved toward the <Species Roulette> of the <Dungeon System>. It was something she unlocked when she created the <Blood Curdling Cave>, which gave her suitable monsters to put in the dungeon.

[You have 14 <Super Rare Tickets>, 2 <Ultra Rare Tickets>, and 1 <Legendary Rare Ticket>.]

These tickets were obtained when Liu Shu encountered a species of that quality. For the <Super Rare> ones, creatures similar to the <Terragore Queen>'s children, which were fed her body parts, were just right. Those little ones were <World Nature Juvenile Terragores>, quite a terrifying species with the ability to manipulate nature and metals.

While sweeping the entire continent and ocean floor, Liu Shu encountered other similar species. The source of the two <Ultra Rare> species was the Kraken she found in the past, and the oceanic World Trees. Finally, for the <Legendary> ticket, Liu Shu's encounter with the <Spirit Of The Lake> explained it."

"Tell me the chances, system!"

[<Super Rare Ticket> chances: <Common> 35%, <Unusual> 20%, <Rare> 20%, <Super Rare> 15%, <Ultra Rare> 5%, <Legendary> 2.5%, <Mythical> 1.5%, <World> 1%.]

[<Ultra Rare Ticket> chances: <Unusual> 35%, <Rare> 25%, <Super Rare> 20%, <Ultra Rare> 10%, <Legendary> 5%, <Mythical> 3%, <World> 1.5%, <Core> 0.5%.]

[<Legendary Ticket> chances: <Rare> 40%, <Super Rare> 25%, <Ultra Rare> 15%, <Legendary> 10%, <Mythical> 6%, <World> 2.5%, <Core> 1.4%, <Star> 0.1%.]

"Wow! Two new rarities! <Core> and <Star> rarities! Please… Pretty, pretty pleaseeee. Let me get it! Roll for rewards!"

A roulette popped in front of Liu Shu's eyes. Then, instead of the roulette spinning, fourteen different arrows appeared at the top and began to circle the roulette. The spinning arrows were fast at first, but as time passed, they began to slow down. Liu Shu's heart surged as she pulled all the <Super Rare> tickets simultaneously. "Come on… Give me something nice, something nice pleaaaasee!"

While she was praying, she also hoped for "The" message to appear. However, as the route slowed down, Liu Shu didn't see signs of her beloved <Temple Of Destiny> triggering.

Her face crumpled as the arrows started stopping on <Common>, <Unusual>, and <Rare> rewards. "AH! W-What are you doing!? Spin faster! Faster, I say! T-This will be the eighth arrow that ends up in those low qualities!"

She was feeling so anxious that her roots started blending with the underground, where they would bother no one. Some animals in the distance shuddered as the earth churned under Liu Shu's nervousness.

Suddenly…

"...O-Oh. OH! YES! STOP! STOP THERE! YEEEEEESSS!!!"

[Congratulations! You've gained <Juvenile Earth Dragon (Mythical)>!]

(Author Note: I actually made the roulette with the same chances and got these results randomly in my first 14 pulls: Common, Super Rare, Unusual, Common, Common, Unusual, Rare, Rare, Unusual, Super Rare, Common, Mythical, Unusual, Common. Hahaha. I wasn't planning on the <Mythical> pull! QAQ!)

"WAHHHH! I GOT A DORAGONE!!! Even if it is a juvenile one, it will work perfectly as the [Main Boss] of the Dungeon!"

Dragons were a mythical species, something of legend at least in <Ceperet>. Of course, from now on, that species would appear once more thanks to the <Dungeon>. Now, whether people could kill it or not… That was a completely different thing.

Calming her trembling excitement, Liu Shu looked at the other three tickets. "Do I even need to use them? I have enough <Super Rare> creatures to act as mini-bosses… I'll keep them for now. I feel that it would be a waste to use them when I already got something quite great."

[Wisdom: … To think that you'd get a <Mythical> creature. Tianlian Liu Shu, we need to put back the date for <Dungeon> opening. The current <Dungeon> will collapse if you place such a powerful creature within it. For your knowledge, the Average Star Level of a Juvenile Earth Dragon is 19 Stars.]

Liu Shu almost choked. "T-That's a genuine S Tier creature! It's stronger than me! QAQ!"

***

Dungeon Name: Rumbling Earth Domain

Current Status: Closed.

Dungeon Level: 25~??

Difficulty Rating: Normal~World Heart Epic (Difficulties: Sproutling, Easy, Normal, Thornbound, Hard, Sylvan Crucible, World Heart Epic, Corrupt Nightmare, and World Tree Withering difficulties)

Number Of Floors: 2.

Dungeon Reputation: -

Dungeon Alignment: Pride, Avarice.

Dungeon Theme: Free Hunt.

Dungeon Type: Open Dungeon.

Boss Character Sheet: <Level 99 Earth Juvenile Dragon (Mythical)>.

Unique Traits: Monster Domain.

Adventurer Log (Click to Expand).

***

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.