They made their way to the center of the 10th-floor structure. Karl, facing the Gatekeeper, said, "I believe we’ll be seeing much more of each other from now on, Gatekeeper. As much as I would love to discuss the details of this place with you, I must return to the upper floors."
The Gatekeeper’s booming voice replied, "Of course, Dungeon Lord. My allegiance is with you now that you are the new owner."
Karl nodded. "Then, we shall be leaving." He activated the dungeon edit’s new teleportation feature. Outlines of light blue appeared around Leo and Libera, and an interface materialized before him.
[ Please Confirm Passengers and Destination ]
Karl tapped on Leo and Libera’s outlines, which turned green. His 3D map appeared, and he selected the 9th floor, specifically the area near Rook and the others. The interface updated:
[ Mass Teleport: 3 Passengers total Dungeon Mana/NQ Cost: 30 ]
[ Confirm ] [ Cancel ]
Karl pressed [Confirm]. The Gatekeeper smiled faintly and gave a slight nod.
Bathed in a sudden cascade of light particles, Leo and Libera were surprised. In an instant, they were back in the forest where they had defeated the beast. Their sudden appearance startled Schalezusk, who had been leaning against a tree, trying to rest. Rook turned to Karl. "My lord, you have returned."
"Yes, we have," Karl replied. "We’ve cleared all the floors. We should be ready to go back up now."
"Congratulations, my lord," Rook said. "Did you defeat the Gatekeeper?"
"We did, in a way. He’s an ally now," Karl chuckled. "You should introduce yourself soti. He mostly just sits there."
"Is that so, my lord?" Rook asked.
"Yep. Did anything happen here while we were gone?" Karl asked.
Rook shook his head. "Nothing so far, my lord."
A wave of relief washed over Karl. "Good. Get the core out. It’s ti to go ho."
Schalezusk, hearing the words, imdiately stood up. "Finally!"
"This took longer than expected, but next ti, we’ll be ready," Karl said.
Rook then commanded his soldiers, "Dig out the core! Prepare to move out."
A short while later, after the soldiers had hoisted the six-foot-diater beast’s core, Karl activated the teleport feature again. He selected the 19 soldiers with the core, along with Schalezusk, Dullahan, Leo, Libera, Rook, the Corpse King, and the chanical beast’s corpse they had defeated.
The 3D map appeared again with the prompt [ Please Select Destination ]. Karl selected the 4th Floor. The panel transitioned:
[ Mass Teleport: 26 Passengers and 2 Items total Dungeon Mana/NQ Cost: 355 ]
[ Confirm ] [ Cancel ]
Karl muttered to himself, "Ughh... I didn’t know teleporting this many would be this expensive." He pressed [Confirm] anyway.
Everyone was surprised by the sudden light particles surrounding their body. "W-what is happening?" Schalezusk stamred.
"Stay still if you don’t want to appear with another arm missing," Karl smirked, his words sending a shiver down Schalezusk’s spine.
As they were bathed in light, they instantly appeared on the 4th floor. Lines of skeleton soldiers were there, aiming elental rifles at them. Upon recognizing their lord, they imdiately lowered their weapons. Dullahan and Libera, new to this environnt, looked around, their eye sockets wide with wonder.
Simon, seeing his brother, rushed to him. "Elder brother!" The two orcs t, embracing each other. "How are you?"
"I’m fine, elder brother," Simon replied. "I was worried sothing had happened to you."
"Hahaha, I was having fun, instead." Schalezusk laughed.
Karl, however, was surprised at the skeletons’ new weapons. Did Dolrik already finish the elental rifles? he thought, a smile spreading across his face. Dolrik, the master blacksmith, appeared from behind the skeleton lines, his expression relieved. "My lord," he said, eting Karl.
"Did you finish the elental rifles already?" Karl asked.
"Yes, my lord. When we heard that this floor was attacked by giant spiders and that you and the others were heading to the lower floors, we rushed to make them. Since most of the main soldiers and elites are with you, the executives have ford five replacent squads from all available departnts as defensive contingency."
The sight of replacent squads lined up in neat formations gave Karl a new idea. Defense drills. Once the dungeon expanded into the upper world, he would need proper, disciplined legions. The thought made him grin.
Dolrik’s eye sockets then fell upon the unfamiliar skeletons wearing strange armors. Karl, noticing his gaze, gestured for Dullahan and Libera to co closer. "Dolrik, this is Eoghan Dullahan and Libera. They hail from the lower floors, a place they call the Underworld."
Dolrik’s eyes widened. "The Underworld?!"
"Yes, the lower floors have their own undead civilization," Karl explained. "These two were, I believe, part of the Exiled Knight Legion."
Dullahan and Libera nodded, confirming Karl’s words.
"You can read my mories for the details," Karl added. "Dullahan, Libera, this is Dolrik, our resident master blacksmith. Although he is not yet specialized in smithing with dark steel, he is the main man who produced every weapon and armor that we sell to the outside populace. You can consult with him for any of your armor or weapon needs." Dolrik nodded in response.
"In the anti, familiarize yourselves with the place. Rook will be happy to give you a tour, as you three will be working together from now on. After the expansion into the lower floors, I will assign new departnts, but for you three, you will be handling the Military and Intelligence Departnt, which is responsible intelligence gathering as well as military training. Rook will provide you with updates as soon as the production of new weaponry has begun. But for now, everyone’s dark mana integration and combat tactics training will begin, and that includes you, Dullahan."
Karl looked at Dullahan. "As the forr Knight Legion Commander of the Temple of Thanatos, you will share your combat temple’s techniques, from low-ranking footsoldier training manual to your own secret techniques."
This shocked Dullahan. "But, my lord—"
His hand trembled over the hilt of his sword, as if he wanted to draw it out of instinct, but forced himself still. "You ask to share the heart of my blade... the secret I forged from the Temple Knight’s teachings, the very thing that was used against and my brothers. Do you know what you ask of , Karl?"
Karl’s tone was calm, unyielding. "I know exactly what I ask. And I know why you hesitate. But here, there are no lords scheming behind curtains. No cardinals twisting the truth for their gain. Every secret you share will never be turned against you—it will strengthen everyone. That is what makes us different."
Dullahan’s jaw clenched. His mind flashed back to that fateful day: the duel with his superior, ant to be a staged victory for the man to parade before the Church. Instead, Dullahan cut him down in earnest. A clean win, but a political disaster. Humiliation turned to hatred, and hatred into exile. His legion—his brothers—had paid the price for his honesty.
He thought, bitterly, We bled for lords who never saw us as more than pawns. We fought for temples that twisted Thanatos’s will for power. We endured death after death, revival after revival, only to be discarded like broken spears.
Libera stepped forward, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Brother... we’ve been betrayed before. We’ve followed lords who only saw us as stepping stones. But look around you." He gestured to the ranks of skeletons who stood silent, steady, united as one. "Do they look like pawns to you?"
Karl hearing that, side-eyed raising his left brow, smiling slightly.
Dullahan turned. The skeleton soldiers’ eye-lights burned steady, their stances unwavering. There was no fear of betrayal in them, no politics, no gas. Just loyalty to Karl, and to each other.
"This lord," Libera continued firmly, "does not ask us to kneel because of birthright, or temple decree. He asks because he has built sothing different. Sothing we always dread of when we were cast out. A legion where no secret dies with the man, and no brother is abandoned."
Dullahan’s hand tightened. His thoughts roared with doubt, but deep inside, he knew Libera was right. He rembered how his legion had looked to him after exile: lost, broken, dishonored. And now, for the first ti since then, he felt the faint weight of hope pressing against his chest.
He sank to one knee. "Then hear , Lord Karl. My blade is yours. My honor is yours. If your network truly binds us in trust—if no secret dies unshared—then I vow everything I am to your service. Until my core is shattered or ti itself ends, I stand as your knight."
Libera bowed beside him, voice steady and respectful, yet warm as only a close comrade could speak. "You heard him, my lord. Where he swears, I follow. Where he kneels, I kneel. We are yours, in loyalty and in truth."
As a wave of pride swelled within Karl, a panel appeared.
[ Knight Commander Eoghan Dullahan & Knight Assassin Libera have sworn their allegiance. Do you want to link their souls to the Lich-Uplink Network? ]
[ Yes ] [ No ]
Karl smiled wickedly and said aloud, "Your oath is received, recorded, and accepted. From this mont forward, your existence, function, and undeath are assets of my dominion. You will act as extensions of my will, compliant with directive and hierarchy. Betrayal is not permissible; failure is not tolerable; eternity is your contract."
He then tapped [Yes].
The Lich-Uplink Network surged as Karl bound them. Agony lanced through their souls, but beneath the pain ca sothing else—visions.
Dullahan gasped as alien mories flooded in. Towering spires of glass and steel, carriages without horses roaring across stone roads, tiny glowing panels that carried voices and words across the air. He staggered, overwheld. "What... what world is this? Magic so refined, yet not magic at all. Is this... is this where you ca from, my lord?" His voice cracked with awe. "They live in towers taller than mountains... they shape tal into birds that fly without wings... this is not sorcery. This is... this is the future we never dared dream of."
He clutched his head, shaking. If the Church had seen this, they would have burned it, buried it, declared it heresy. And yet—this knowledge is shared freely. No gatekeepers. No lords hoarding power. His thoughts hardened. This... this is the utopia we were denied.
Libera’s scream turned into sudden, uncontrollable laughter. He was on his knees, clutching his ribs, shaking as he flipped through Karl’s modern knowledge. "HAHAHAHA! By Thanatos, what is this?!" His voice cracked between hysterics. "You’re telling these ’s’—these stupid scribbles and phrases—this is what the priests called the ancient language of life itself?!" He slamd his hand against the floor, wheezing. "We spent centuries praying in solemn silence... and all along, the so-called forbidden words were just people drawing cats misspelled on purpose?!"
Dullahan, still reeling from the visions of skyscrapers and machines, turned to his old friend. "You mock it, but look at us. Even this—this humor—is shared. Not hoarded. Not forbidden."
Libera wiped his eye sockets with the back of his hand, still chuckling. "Yeah... and for once, I don’t mind being the fool who laughs last."
Leo pinched the bridge of his nose. "Great. Another one broke his brain on s."
Karl shrugged. "It happens."
Rook, slightly worried, asked, "Are they going to be alright, my lord?"
Karl smiled. "Yeah, just give them ti to adjust."
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