Eun-ho sat on the floor…or would it be the floor? Since it was just empty white space, it was hard to tell, but that's besides the point.
He stared at the door made of branches. There was no knob he could twist and he had tried multiple times to pry it open, yet it didn't budge. By this point, he doubted whether it actually was a door.
And then there was this glaringly bright screen in front of him.
[Dungeon Master(Infancy)]
[Skill Inherited: Labyrinth Creation (Level 1)]
[Grace Period: 30:22:07:48 Remaining]
After sifting through the unfamiliar memories he obtained, he quickly understood what the grace period was for.
Back when he was still the human, Yoon Eun-Ho, there were special [Dungeons] the system categorized as [Evolving Dungeons].
The unique thing about them was their rarity and quality. It wasn't like they held amazing treasures or something..it was because they were so weak, nobody cared about them.
They were the only [Dungeons] that appeared and fizzled out just as quickly by the time a normal [Dungeon] would begin a monster surge. A month.
And that was exactly how long he had for this grace period.
Eun-ho came to a very horrifying conclusion when reviewing this information. [Evolving Dungeons]...were terrifying.
Yes, they were weak and disappeared quickly, but his mind was elsewhere; a single, dangerous thought. They had creatures like him, [Dungeon Masters]...and the others were intelligent.
Further on his point, the moment his grace period ended–his shield–would mean his death. That was the one thing he was determined not to do.
Other [Evolving Dungeons] in their infancy stages will gradually grow stronger and gain more wisdom.
Once that timer ticked to zero, he would step into the realm of toddler stage. It didn't matter who, he was now free game. His survival depends on his spawn luck. This is the reason why [Evolving Dungeons] disappeared, consumed by stronger beings.
Eun-ho pressed a clawed finger to his chin, thinking. The only way he could combat this was to prepare…but prepare how? He had nothing but the system interface, a strange door, his body, and his memories.
The moment those thoughts clicked into place, the system, encouraged by the direction, popped up.
[Skill: Labyrinth Creation (Level 1)]
[Hound Scout unit (level 1)]
>Summon? (Y/N)
[Husk Warrior unit (level 1)]
>Summon? (Y/N)
[Wisp Shamin unit (level 1)]
>Summon? (Y/N)
"Hm..?" Eun-ho tilted his head. Right, looking back on it, how did [Dungeon Masters] create monsters? Actually, what did they use to summon them?
He stared intently at the scout unit. It wouldn't hurt to try.
"Summon [Hound Scout]," he ordered aloud.
[Summoning Hound Scout unit (level 1)]
>Sacrifice pinky finger? (Y/N)
>Buy for 10 SC?(System Currency)
[System Balance: 0]
Eun-ho paused. Sacrifice a finger? To summon one unit!?
Either the cost was steep or the unit was stronger than he thought. If he sacrificed his body parts like this, would they even regenerate?
That's when his gaze landed on the system balance. Was it because it was at 0 that they gave him this option? Did he really have to sell himself for a hound?
There had to be some kind of solution, an alternative.
[Sacrifice]
[Barter]
[Buy]
[Loan]
More options popped up in front of his eyes. No matter how much he thought about it, this was strange.
There was nothing like this in his memories. If he looked through them carefully, he understood this skill to be more of a master-slave contract.
The options he had now and the way the system worked for him seemed more along the lines of a business-to-business partnership.
Could it be…? Was it because this wasn't his former body? The system was inherited but it didn't have the influence over him like it would over a normal [Dungeon Master].
The only explanation to complete this theory is:
—1. He was formerly human
—2. The labyrinth system, a skill [Dungeon Masters] are subjected to at birth and is linked to their soul, must become a symbiotic existence to survive and repair itself after the huge implosion that occurred around an hour prior.
—3. It no longer "owns" this body because he is the new inhabitant.
Either a combination of that or something else. Eun-ho was leaning more towards reasons 1 and 3, but 2 might make sense as well.
The thing he wondered was…just what the hell is the system?
He shook his head, looking back at the options. He ignored two and three. He didn't want to sacrifice a finger and he had no currency in his balance.
"Barter."
[Barter]
[Description: a trading system to replace system currency.]
[Tradeable items: Memories, Body parts, Corpses, Artifacts…>>continue?]
"Memories, huh?" Pass. "Body parts…wait.." If sacrificing his finger was part of the Bartering system, what the hell was [Sacrifice]?
[Sacrifice]
[Description: A trading system to replace system currency]
[Tradeable items: Live offerings(Please note: you cannot sacrifice your summoned units. The offering must be subdued first)]
Eun-ho swallowed. Live offerings? He probably will and should ignore this for the time being. He turned to the only other viable option.
[Loan]
[Description: A system to loan system currency. Interest will accumulate at 5% over a period of time(once a month). There will be a grace period depending on the amount. (Please note: if you do not pay it back in time, the system summoning function will be put on lockdown until fully repaid. Next loan interest rate will increase by 10% for every failed repayment attempt)]
[Enter Loan Amount]
Eun-ho tapped his chin. He wasn't sure of when he'd gain points. The loan system was a double edged sword.
He looked back at the summoning screen.
[Summoning Hound Scout unit (level 1)]
>Sacrifice pinky finger? (Y/N)
>Buy for 10 SC(System Currency)?
[System Balance: 0]
Better late than never. If he hesitated like he did when he was human, he'd end up dead again.
"Loan 10 SC and buy Hound Scout," he announced. The system flashed for a moment. He watched as a shadow streak out a second later, forming a doberman.
It looked like…a normal dog? Besides the somewhat charred fur, glowing red eyes, and smoke curling from its maw, it was…less terrifying than he expected.
Then again, it was a level one scout unit.
At least he wasn't alone anymore…
[Grace Period: 30:21:55:34]
[Send out scout?]
>(Y/N)
To be continued…
Additional Information:
>The units/creatures created aren't ONLY limited to predetermined designs/abilities, feel free to give me any descriptions you have and I might add them if they fit criteria