[Warning! Your dungeon has been declared at war against a faction!]
[From now on, your monsters cannot be resurrected until the war ends!]
Well... I was kind of expecting it. In the game Dungeon Master, wars between factions and dungeons, or dungeon versus dungeon, are rare, but I didn't expect to have one after just a year...
But I'm ready! Ready to face whatever I must face!
And soon, within a month, in front of the dungeon, there were plenty of explorers — ranging from adventurers, mercenaries, to people from the church. But unlike them, I have the advantage of the dungeon, and most importantly, I have countless monsters spawning rapidly!
I transformed into a woman — Alicia — with her long black hair, golden eyes, and a muscular, but not overly muscular, form. All this thanks to the two skills: Slime Lady Shape and Mimic of Woman.
Everyone was shocked to see me, especially the real Alicia.
"What?!"
"Calm down, Alicia!"
The Guild Mistress held Alicia back, preventing her from attacking immediately.
"You're the dungeon master, aren't you?"
"Yes..."
"Why show yourself to us in this form?"
"It's the only way to speak with you..."
"Oh? And what do you want to say?"
"You cannot win this war. My monsters have no restrictions on movement within the dungeon, and as we speak, more and more are being born."
As I said that, several shadows began emerging from behind me — shadow golems thanks to Inverse-Shadow, both guards and regular ones together, easily a dozen of them, and on top of that, slimes of three types — normal, water, and acid — also emerged.
But it didn't stop there — spiders and arachnes appeared as well, and above all, a swarm of normal and bloodthirsty rats poured out of the dungeon.
Normally, these creatures would fight each other over territory or food, but during wartime, dungeon monsters unite against invaders!
"Surrender, or let the war begin!"
"You...!"
But before the Guild Mistress could continue, Alicia spoke up.
"Why did you take my appearance!"
"Because you're the strongest I've seen among your groups, dear."
Once said, I activated one of her skills, Lightning Body, surrounding myself with lightning and moving at insane speed in front of her, before returning to my position.
Everyone was stunned! They realized that not only could I take on appearances, but also the skills they had learned!
"I see... The stronger we are, the stronger you become..."
"Exactly... Do you still wish to wage this war?"
"Yes! We cannot back down here!"
"Everyone, charge!"
The explorers of all kinds rushed towards us, as my army kept pouring out of the dungeon!
"My monsters... Today, invaders dare attack us! Show them our absolute power!"
The monsters roared and charged towards the explorers. I myself created two swords from my body, using both Ice Sword and Explosive Sword from Alicia, and added my own skill Attack Reinforcement.
On top of that, I fully activated my passive, Circle of Mana Absorption — whirlpools of mana appeared around me, keeping my mana at its maximum sustainable level, and with full power, a circle of runes lit up on my skin, glowing a dark purple.
I rushed forward, launching ice projectiles and exploding bodies approaching me. Thanks to Attack Reinforcement, my power was greater than Alicia's version.
And because I kept feeding mana into it, the skill never stopped, continuously increasing the power of my attacks.
Alicia and her group came towards me, several Black Flame Whirlwinds coming at me from the front — an attack from Kaelyra.
(Black Flame Whirlwind: Summons a whirlwind of black flames that attacks in front of you. The more mana spent, the more whirlwinds there are or the more powerful they become. The flames stay on the enemy until their mana is exhausted.)
Knowing this attack, I exploded them with my Explosive Sword, but right after, Lyna charged at me using Provocation, causing my eyes to turn red.
I attacked her blindly, going all out with Explosive Sword and pumping as much mana as I could into Attack Reinforcement, causing a massive explosion and filling the area with smoke — but thanks to that, I was no longer under the effect of Provocation.
Phew... That was dangerous!
CRIIIIIIIIIIE !
I screamed, and a group of monsters came to support me, attacking Alicia's group and allowing me to fight her one-on-one!
"You... Not only my skills, but you can also use your own..."
"That's right! You and I make a good combination!"
Two similar figures stared at each other, eyebrows furrowed, eyes cold, preparing for the upcoming battle. The only difference was that one had runes glowing violet all over her body!
We both activated Lightning Body, and our swords clashed. We moved at an incredible speed, but my defense was stronger thanks to the hidden passive of Attack Reinforcement!
Our swords collided amidst explosions of fire and ice, moving faster and faster, ice spikes shattering all around!
Then, I created a massive explosion on the ground as a surprise attack! A tentacle, fully charged with Attack Reinforcement, struck Alicia, sending her flying several meters away!
We continued our duel for several rounds!
Across the once lush plain, now stripped of natural life, bursts of power erupted everywhere, with hand-to-hand combat raging all around...
A war causing countless deaths! But while the explorers' numbers dwindled, my monsters kept coming, thanks to the continuous births!
This lasted until nightfall, when we retreated into my dungeon.
"Until next time, Alicia!"
"You!"
Alicia tried to chase after me, but the Guild Mistress stopped her!
"Stop, Alicia! Only death awaits you inside the dungeon!"
"But...!"
The Guild Mistress gave her a cold glare, and Alicia immediately calmed down.
"Anyway, we'll enter the dungeon with elites and B-rank explorers to find the crystal!"
The next day, several B-ranks and Alicia's group entered the dungeon.
"Let's go!"
The war continued inside the dungeon, but the explorers were overwhelmed by the monsters and the traps. And once inside, escaping became difficult due to the dungeon's terrain changing every midnight, along with constant monster harassment...
Very quickly, the explorers who entered were annihilated, with only a small group managing to escape almost intact. But even outside, the war against the monsters raged on!
"Did you find the dungeon's crystal, Guild Mistress?"
"No! We got destroyed in there! DAMN IT!"
"Where the hell is that damn dungeon crystal!"
The whole army looked exhausted, and above all, completely hopeless!
"We can't go on like this! The monsters are too many!"
"I requested reinforcements from the Adventurers' Guild!"
"And we requested some from the Church as well, Guild Mistress."
"Thank you..."
Thus, several days turned into a week, filled with war, weeping, and curses toward the monsters for killing friends, comrades, and lovers.
But the monsters had no such emotions — only winning the war mattered!
"Damn monsters!"
"The demi-bosses are coming out! Watch out!"
Barely warned, the Iron Lizard hardened its body and joined the fray, killing countless explorers of all kinds!
The Multivariant Arachne Queen activated her magic, slaughtering countless others too.
"Multivariant Queen, target the healers at the back!"
I ordered, while rushing forward myself! Alicia and her group tried to block me, but I was too fast, and lots of monsters helped hold them back.
I began a massacre.
Maybe because I'm a monster... but I didn't feel much pity for the humans I killed. Still, I don't want to fall deeper into this monstrous side...
I must be careful, or I might lose my humanity!
"Stay there, dungeon master!"
Alicia and her group shouted at me desperately!
Normally, with B-rank adventurers, the war would have tilted in favor of the humans, but entering the dungeon and facing endless monsters and demi-bosses, along with traps, quickly eliminated them.
The war continued, and finally, both sides started to grow tired — the war had been raging nonstop for two weeks now.
I approached the Guild Mistress while still keeping Alicia's appearance.
"Let's stop here... If we continue, neither side will have anything left to win!"
"No! Not until we find your dungeon crystal!"
"..."
"Look around, Guild Mistress. Your people are dying for something you'll never find, and only more death awaits if you continue!"
"But since you want to continue... let's continue the war!"
Another week passed, but the explorers stopped coming to support those already fighting...
Inside the Guild Mistress's tent...
"Sorry, but the Church believes we are losing more than we're gaining... They won't send reinforcements anymore..."
"DAMN IT! DAMN IT! Even the Adventurers' Guild refuses! Too many losses, they say?!
Too many losses?! We'll have more if the dungeon continues growing out of control!"
"Sigh... Guild Mistress, I think a Calamity-level dungeon is about to be born... We can't do anything anymore..."
"But—!"
The Guild Mistress was furious but powerless, starting to throw everything she could onto the ground in rage!
"Guild Mistress, the priest is right... We should accept to talk to the dungeon master..."
The Guild Mistress knew it but really didn't want to! After taking a breath to calm down, she nodded.
"You're right, Alicia... Let's go see her..."
I saw them coming toward me, ready for negotiations...
"Finally... This war will end..."