"This way, everything is foolproof."
"After all, the power of the Forbidden Fire is simply too immense, so there must be no errors in its imprisonment or sealing."
After spending so much time on this, Dalun Li himself almost believed that his dungeon had actually sealed away such a legendary flame.
With things as they were, how could adventurers possibly doubt it?
If they worked this hard and still could not find the Forbidden Fire sealed within the Lava Stratum, they would only think it was their own failure.
And in truth, it really was their problem.
He had put so much effort into the design that if they still could not find it, it could only be their fault.
In this stratum, land was far too scarce, and there were no large mineral veins or solid landmasses.
Therefore, it was not suitable for the intelligent monsters Dalun Li currently created to live in.
However, at this depth, Dalun Li could not leave the entire floor without a single intelligent monster.
After some thought, he used the skeletal shaman as a template to create a new kind of monster.
[Lava Skeletal Shaman lv14]
The lava skeletal shaman remained in the form of a lizardman skeleton, but its undead abilities were weakened in exchange for fire magic.
Additionally, the lava skeletal shaman possessed the intelligence to tame wyverns as mounts.
This granted them the ability to engage in high-altitude combat.
To ensure that the skeletal shamans and the Fire-resistant Wyverns could coexist peacefully, Dalun Li had originally intended to expend some effort to give the Fire-resistant Wyverns a certain degree of intelligence.
Unfortunately, the Fire-resistant Wyvern was only an ordinary monster, and since it was already packed with combat abilities, there was no memory capacity left for high-level intelligence.
Dalun Li had no choice but to give up and choose another path.
He granted the Wyvern Leader higher intelligence.
He would have the Wyvern Leader control the other wyverns to live in peace with the lava skeletal shamans and arrange for the wyverns to serve as their mounts.
With this, the monster deployment and environmental setup for the entire Lava Stratum were complete.
While Dalun Li was arranging these matters, the footsteps of the adventurers did not stop.
The adventurers inside were steadily pushing forward.
Caiman's knight order easily broke through the defenses of the fifth floor's Wellmouth Sentry and reached the sixth floor, the Desert Stratum.
They were well-prepared for the monsters and environment of this floor, possessing not only battle priests who specifically countered undead creatures but also water mages capable of creating streams in the desert.
Continuing their advance according to the map, their speed was even faster than it had been in the upper floors.
Outside, the number of adventurers dispatched from the Gray City Adventurer Association continued to grow.
Every day, a steady stream of adventurers arrived at the small plain town, either in carriages or in teams on foot from the southern mountains.
If Dalun Li's senses were correct, the roads leading to both locations had been widened more than twofold during this period.
Among the arriving adventurers, there was no shortage of truly extraordinary beings.
These beings either formed temporary teams or were already part of established parties.
After resting, they continuously surged from the surface toward the depths of the Well of Eternal Imprisonment.
This was partly because all factions wanted to maintain a balance; when one side increased its stakes, the others quickly followed suit.
Another reason was that the importance of the Well of Eternal Imprisonment was constantly rising in the eyes of various powers.
The information regarding this dungeon on the North Sea border was being accurately and effectively transmitted to the ears of various factions through their respective channels.
Monsters never before seen in other dungeons.
Extremely unique dungeon coins.
Neutral monster merchants.
And now, rumors of the powerful Forbidden Fire imprisoned and sealed within the Well of Eternal Imprisonment.
All this intelligence made the various powers realize that this Well of Eternal Imprisonment appearing on the border was not so simple.
The guesses of various factions regarding the depth of the Well of Eternal Imprisonment changed again and again.
Now, the positioning of the Well of Eternal Imprisonment had shifted from a common small-scale dungeon to a high-quality small-scale dungeon with great depth and substantial treasures.
No one guessed it was a medium-scale dungeon.
Medium-scale dungeons with over 30 floors were a completely different concept from small-scale dungeons with fewer than 30 floors.
No matter how many small-scale dungeons one controlled, the treasures within could at most nurture a fifth-rank combatant, the limit of human potential.
A medium-scale dungeon, however, could produce a ring seal stone, allowing one to break the limits of lifespan and power to become a sixth-rank angel.
Now, all factions were determined.
They had to get their hands on the legendary Forbidden Fire within the Well of Eternal Imprisonment.
Therandil, the Lord of Gray City and a member of the Prince's faction hostile to the Grey family, had already sent a secret message to the Prince and made arrangements for the Forbidden Fire.
Adrian, the president of the Gray City Adventurer Association, also had his sights on the Forbidden Fire and issued a secret mission within the association that could only be viewed by second-rank adventurers and above.
They were acting stealthily behind the Grey family's back.
Though the Grey family had lost a masterpiece grade magical artifact and suffered a blow to their foundation, the North Sea Territory where the Well of Eternal Imprisonment was located was still their domain.
A secret letter changing the mission was quickly delivered to Caiman's knight order as they explored the depths of the Well of Eternal Imprisonment.
At the same time, a letter of dismissal reached Bishop Claude, but he showed no signs of pain or despair as he stepped down from his position and vanished from the town.
The three factions each had their own hidden agendas and were wary of one another, struggling to divert their limited forces.
The medium-scale dungeon in Gray City was the true core of their competition.
And all of this was within the expectations of the silver orb deep within the dungeon!
Through his Tongmu, Dalun Li accurately tracked every extraordinary being hidden among the adventurers.
Dalun Li was certain that whether it was the Grey family, the Adventurer Association, or the Prince's faction, their main forces were preoccupied with the medium-scale dungeon in Gray City.
Therefore, he would always be dealing with the remnants left over from the conquest of the Gray City dungeon.
With his current growth rate and power, the threat from these remnants was greatly reduced.
Dalun Li had to attract attention and reveal a certain amount of value as a dungeon to draw in enough adventurers and seize the time to grow.
Because the conquest of the Gray City dungeon was nearing its end.
If the Gray City dungeon were captured, he would likely face a full-scale invasion from the main forces of the three factions.
Thus, all current changes were within his expectations.
Before Gray City was conquered, he had to become strong enough to withstand the combined assault of the three factions.
This was Dalun Li's plan and intention.
He was destined to stand on the opposite side of all intelligent beings in this world.
Even surviving the assault of the three factions would not be the end.
If he did not grow stronger, he would die, and the stronger a dungeon became, the more it would attract even more powerful people to conquer it.
To survive, he was destined to become a being stronger than anyone else.
He would become a dungeon that could never be conquered.
Rate on N.U.
