<------------------------------------>

[No core detected in the sacrifice.]

[Please choose an option:

-> Equivalent Exchange

-> Reanimate]

<------------------------------------>

’What reanimate... revive?’ Thinking, Dhruv turned his head upside down and asked in bewilderment, ’What is this supposed to mean?’

Frowning his brow, Dhruv tried to read the panel again and again. He hoped something would change, but the content remained the same. For him, death was the ultimate truth. A fate one has to kneel in front of.

But now he was seeing that it could be changed. It wasn’t the ultimate truth, but a lie told many times.

To Dhruv, this shouldn’t have been that shocking, as he had experienced it once. But that was different. There, the reason was unknown... and unknowns couldn’t be comprehended.

But now the way to it lies in front of him.

’How?’

As if listening to his thought, something whispered in his head.

[Offerings have three purposes:

-> The Codex

-> Equivalent Exchange

-> Reanimate]

Dhruv wanted nothing more than to directly skip to the last part, but, making an effort not to skip ahead, he clicked on the first option.

[The Codex: After sacrificing a being, the dungeon scans the being’s core and extracts its ancestrix. Using it, the dungeon can create a monster for the master to summon. The more you sacrifice a similar type of species, the purer its ancestrix and the higher tier you can spawn.]

’So... this is the part where I have to collect monsters... and what is this ancestrix thing, is it like genes in a human?’ Thinking, Dhruv asked, but unfortunately, no reply came this time.

’Now this is like you, cube...’ Keeping the ancestrix in the back of his mind, he formed an impression of the dungeon.

’So... the dungeon rewards quantity over quality. Why does it operate on the opposite principle? Then again, who am I blaming when its name is literally the dungeon of greed...’

Looking at the shimmering core, he sighed, ’Obviously, it would want more and more. Now that I think, is this dungeon alive... it almost feels alive.’

Dhruv didn’t know why or how he had come to this conclusion, but somewhere along the way, he had felt it.

Dungeon or the cube is moving him in a systematic, or so to say, a pre-planned pattern, all for the sake of making the dungeon stronger.

If it were anything that aligned with his principle, then the cube should’ve prioritized a human life over a structure, but that clearly wasn’t the case.

’Forget about it... There are more dire things I have to deal with...’ Not wanting to get trapped in a web of questions, he moved forward and clicked on the next option.

[Equivalent Exchange: Instead of extracting its ancestrix, you can turn the sacrifice into dungeon points. The higher the tier, the greater the dungeon point granted.] 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

’Pretty straightforward, I guess...’

Nothing more to do there, Dhruv moved to the last and the option he was most curious about.

[Reanimate: If the being doesn’t possess a core and is of the same species as you. You can sacrifice some of your blood to bring them back from the dead.]

’So it’s exactly as I had thought... I would really bring someone to life...’ As he read the description some more, he found something intresting.

’Noo noo, there is no mention of making them alive... it would only bring them back from the dead. Would turn into a zombie... did they have their memory?’

Thinking he contemplated every possible way it could go, but having no concrete evidence, he couldn’t place his bets on any. So, in the end, he comes to the only thing that mattered the most.

’Would the reanimated being be loyal to them...’

To his question, no reply came. The dungeon remains silent.

’It’s a risk I have to endure... is that the right cube?’

Smiling Dhruv remembered his past days in the dungeon. During their training, he had tormented goblins many times, to which they didn’t even whimper once. Even when he tortured some of them, the truth remains the same.

They were devoted to him in every possible way.

Evaluating his options, Dhruv shakes his head and whispers, "Exchange for the dungeon points." He didn’t find it was worth it... at least not when the invasion is ongoing.

[You have received 50 Dungeon points.]

’50 for a single human... that’s cheap when I had to sacrifice this many goblins to do that.’ Shaking his head, he brought the other corpse and exchanged it for the points as well.

[You have received 50 Dungeon points.]

Having another 100 points to spend, Dhruv opened the administrative tabs and navigated to the summons. To his disappointment, a restriction was in place.

[You can’t use the summon function during an invasion.]

’Why is this making it soo hard to protect itself...’ Loathing the dungeon, he moved to Lucian and teleported to the armory.

As he opened the gate, instead of a smile, he felt a pinch of sadness in his chest. There were ten items lying on the ground, all of which were forcefully stripped from their owner.

To him, it was a place that reeked of injustice. Dhruv knew he was a hypocrite to think like this, but he couldn’t stop himself. He, too, had to survive, and hypocrisy was a small price for it.

Shaking his head, he pointed toward the armor and instructed, "Go wear whatever fits you and distribute what is left among the goblins."

"At once, master."

Saying Lucian hopped toward the items. First, he picked up a leather armor which was twice his size, but when he put it on himself, it adjusted to his structure.

’Well, how convenient... perks of the magical world, I guess.’ Shaking his head, Dhruv opened the panel listing his summons.

After comparing, he discovered that 17 of his goblins had been killed. 12 of which were the warriors, 2 were the scouts, and 5 of them were the thieves.

He wasn’t worried about others, but the death of the scouts pinched him slightly. With each of their demises, he effectively lost one of his eyes.

While he was inspecting the dungeon, Lucian called, having encased himself in new armor.

"Let’s go, master..."

Nodding, he grabbed him by the armor and teleported in the middle of the jungle. If he weren’t the one to create it, Dhruv would’ve never believed this place was somewhere underground.

The jungle, it was thick and full of life. Tall trees stand close together as their leaves form a green roof that blocks most of the sunlight— the sunlight whose origin was unknown.

That wasn’t all. Birds chirping and the buzzing of the insects filled the surroundings. He had even seen some animals moving around in this thick jungle.

’ Just what is the limit of this dungeon. It can already have the power to create things... now it can even bring someone back from the dead... what can’t it do...’

Something came up in his mind as he mocked the dungeon’t limit.

’Apparently summoning monsters during an invasion.’ Nodding his head, Dhruv climbed a tree and watched the dungeon from the scout’s perspective.

This one was on the edge of the jungle, keeping an eye on the entrance between the jungle and the cave.

While he was doing it, Dhruv remembered something. Calling Lucian toward himself, he tapped on him. Soon, a panel appeared in front of him showing his status.

<------------------------------------>

[Name: Lucian]

[Species: Demonling]

[Level: 3 [0%] [Tier: I]]

[Stats: Strength: 11, Agility: 9, Stamina: 6, Spirit: 17]

[Authority: [Blood],[Curse]]

[Quirk: Alteration]

[Skills: Blood Manipulation Lv. 5, Blood storage Lv. 3, Intermediate Mana Manipulation Lv. 6, Mana Regeneration Lv. 3]

<------------------------------------>

’So there is really an exp of sort in this world...’

Taking a deep breath, he looked at his own level, which was stuck on zero, and continued his duty. Time passed, and soon he could see multiple silhouettes appearing at the edge of the jungle.