^^ 'Rune Stones' or Modules ^^

Despite my most chaotic impulses, I did not shell the planet below me, instead keeping myself from being bored by shooting tungsten darts into the moon, slowly hollowing out a small portion of it and finishing the top 30 Floors, though I didn't have all the monsters ready for the floors past 20; I had, however, as a dedicated agent of chaos, decided that part of the First Clear Reward in the Treasure Room would be a one-time use of the OKBL, auto-targeted on the Emperors I had previously found to be unbalancing their own ecosystems. I had begrudgingly agreed with Yetan's point about the stability of ecosystems and their inherent fragility, so the Invasive Species' were the only targets that could be fired upon, and even then with a Targeted Ballistic shot, not the full-powered Tsar Bomba I'd accidentally used the first time in the desert.

After the First Clear, of course, only Contracted Harvesters could access that particular reward, and only once per solo-clear of a boss, meaning a maximum of Ten Shots per lifetime, and with no guarantee of any large amount of XP Gain. I was sure people would begin to pay or pressure the Licensed Harvesters upon realizing this, but the Harvesters themselves wouldn't understand what was happening, as it would appear to them as a simple rune they would press on the wall, and a minute later they would get an inflow of Mana; I wouldn't explain it at all, but they would get the Battle Menu stating that they had killed monsters, and would likely believe that their reward was to kill monsters from the dungeon itself, not the continent below. Afterwards, I would send the drones to collect anything worth something from the blast site, and soon I'd have a healthy amount of economic value built up to begin my City's Economy with, once it was built on the moon some ways east of the Cradle.

I'd decided on a Dome, facing the planet below directly, so there was no question of its location, and I was now in the process of designing it, waiting for Hollis' group to return; a few other Adventurers had shown up, but seeing the dungeon under construction, and realizing they couldn't get in, they left. I needed Hollis to be the First Clearer, and I wasn't taking any chances.

The dome would be equal in size to the Cradle, like a half-sphere of the moon had been scooped out and then flipped over parallel to its previous placement, but equidistant to the other horizon, giving the illusion of Eyes on the Moon because I was a saucy, flamboyant, dramatic person, and thus I couldn't resist the Drama I would create there. A city only 2.5 kilometers wide wasn't all that big, but when you built it up to 1.25 kilometers tall in the center, and dug it down into the ground another few kilometers, you ended up with a city that had around the same expected occupancy as New Delhi, but with the expected living conditions of Seattle, or maybe Portland. Plenty of space for everyone, and plenty of space for the Market, which took place in the central 'Spire' or 'Tower' of the city.

Transportation was easy, as a series of maglev monorails connected the towers, running at several levels of the Dome and connected by high-speed elevators, but the economy was a bit more difficult; I needed to make jobs for people in a city which was completely automated. My first idea was essentially a Watcher, tracking and cataloguing things on the monster continents, (much like the majority of these, this was not strictly useful, so much as busy work, but they didn't need to know that,) and another would be to work in the Market Tower, to interact directly with the people coming through the Dungeon Portal to do business, both buying and selling dungeon goods or just normal goods from the planet below. Also for sale would be food, which I would be selling the excess of at just slightly above the market average of the planet below, once I knew what that was, and minerals for crafting, collected from the blast sites of my OKBL and then purified and smelted down into ingots for ease of use.

I set a portion of the computer to rendering the blueprints and 3D model of the city, deciding to make sure that the infrastructure of the city was self-contained, in several ways; first, the dome was made of the same crystal as the tree, collecting sunlight and photosynthesizing, creating Mana and Simple Sugars which would feed the Vertical Gardens and Orchards, circulating the water in the city and absorbing any waste into the cauldrons, changing it all back into simple sugars and water, to start over, or into materials for the city, or whatever it needed, as a fully functional and self-contained city. Mana, Waste, Heat, and Water were all handled by the 'Veins' of the city, making the infrastructure rather simple, but I still made up some positions to monitor the water pressure in the towers, the Mana Drain per Building, to clean the train stations, so on and so forth; I just created a few thousand different jobs that people could fill if they wanted, but could be easily automated if no one wanted them. The only thing that was actually needed was the merchants, but if I needed, I'd hire people through Hollis.

The first thing built would be the dome and the airlocks, then the Merchant's Spire, and then the Vertical Gardens and Orchards, and then a tower dedicated to Growing Vats for domesticated meats, providing the cities own oxygen and food, before any of the residential districts began growing. "Oh! I could make some Building supervisors, and Mining Supervisors as well... maybe some Drone Pilots? Give them a mining drone and let them loose, eh? That'd be fun... the Construction will be done by the Tree Growing with the Core's Direction, so there shouldn't be anything there to fix... unless I make it so there's intentionally some small roots and stuff growing on the outside of the buildings that need to be removed... that would be a job for the people who want something manual-labor related, give them a chainsaw with a blade capable of cutting the roots, set them loose as well... yeah, people will like that job, I think." I nodded, smiling, and made the changes; the buildings would have some random roots and branches growing out of walls or ceilings, and someone would have to cut them periodically to 'tame' them. Upkeep was job security, after all!

An alert dinged on the other monitor, and I grinned as I saw Hollis step through the Portal into Floor Zero, (which I'd dubbed 'The Station', due to its purpose of holding the main entrance and the portal that would go to the City, currently inactive,) alongside a group of three others, each visibly armed to the teeth; instantly, I stepped down the stairs and appeared as if from thin air as I emerged from the hidden door that hid the entrance to the Factory, behind them. "Hollis, darling, it's been too long!!!" I ignored the two swords and a... (stick?) being pointed in my direction, continuing to walk towards them amicably. "Have you spoken to your Ancestor Yetan, lately? They were a bit miffed with me for asking you to make a Contract, but I think they've gotten over it, by now!"

Hollis bowed deeply, responding politely. "Lady Reyna, Greetings; yes, I have spoken to Honored Yetan, and they did berate me for my... haste, but they did eventually come around to the idea, I think. May I ask if the dungeon been completed? Several Adventurers have stated it is closed, so we were a bit... hesitant."

I scoffed dismissively, waving a hand at the portal. "Oh, those riff-raff that tried to skip the line ahead of you? I sent them packing as I always would a group of Rats trying to steal cheese from my mouse!!! The dungeon is completed down to Floor 20, you can delve as deeply as you like, within that! The First Clear and First Solo Clear Rewards have been saved for you as promised, and they are extremely valuable, I promise, so I have kept my word with exceptional excess! So; are you interested in being my Exclusive Harvester? Your friends can get short contracts too, if they like, but you'll still be the First!"

They smiled awkwardly, looking at the others in their party briefly. "I... I don't know if they'd be comfortable signing such a contract..."

"That's fine, do you need anything before you Delve? Soon I'll have the City up and running, so you can buy and sell goods there, but for now everything goes through me, instead of some employees! Oh, by the way, do you have any Medicines I could buy? I need samples so I know what to make Drop in the Dungeon; I can only make Loot that I can find on Harvesters' corpses or create myself, after all."

They looked at their companions, speaking quietly in volumes I pretended not to hear, out of politeness. "Should we sell her some potions? Just one of each? If she can make them in the Dungeon, we'd save a good deal of money on buying them..."

The one with the Stick, a tall humanoid with horns and a thin tail, hissed, whisper-shouting at their fellows. "Can we trust a Dungeon Master, though?!? You know how crazy they are!!! You said they were nice to you, but what if that's a trap?!?"

"I believe they do not mean us harm; their words were true, and they did not lie except when they said they believed that the Honored Yetan had gotten over your contracting, Hollis. Their emotions are calm for the most part, beside a bit of loneliness and excitement for visitors." This speaker was the taller creature with a full Draconic skull and scales, wearing plate armor and bearing a heavy tower shield on their back, emblazoned with what I imagined to be some form of holy symbol.

"I vote yes; if we charge them twice what we paid, we make profit even if they just take the potions and don't make them spawn in the dungeon." The final speaker was another elf, but one with dark grey skin and a longsword and axe on opposite hips, standing with their back straight and firm, and speaking in a normal volume while looking right at me. "Also, they're a moon elf; they can certainly hear us from anywhere in this room, there's no point in whispering."

"Star Elf, actually; a bit different, my dear." I corrected them calmly, smiling at the immediately confused quirk to their eyebrows. "I'm Starborn, crafted from the Dust of the Cosmos, not birthed from a mortal Womb. But yes, I could hear you from the bottom floor of the dungeon; I was just pretending to be deaf out of politesse."

The dragon-man hummed softly. "The truth... curious. We meant no disrespect, Dungeon Master."

"Lady Reyna, please, 'Dungeon Master' is so reductive, don't you think? I'm many more things! The Starborn Soul of the World Tree, the Creator of Nidhogg, The Dragon In The Roots, Firstborn Star Elf, First of my Kind, First of my Kin and my Kith... so many things! Now, have you decided whether or not to sell me one of each of your potions? Do you need some food, or will Gold and Silver do?"

They glanced at each other, and eventually agreed to let me buy one of each for twice their worth, which just meant they could show me some of their currency, and I replicated a few disks of the same size, weight, and material purity, paying for four different 'Potions', which appeared to be just enchanted materials dissolved into a liquid in order to be imbibed more easily. They were mildly addictive, like that of sugar or alcohol, and each provided a different effect; one regained Physical Health, one Physical Stamina, the third increased Mana Regeneration for a short time, and the fourth simply replaced Mana, refilling a set amount of Mana upon imbibing, by far the most expensive out of the batch.

I sent all four with a quickling towards the factory to be analyzed and replicated, then added to the Loot Arrangement according to their values, before looking back at the group of Harvesters. "Damn... the enchantment I put on your Bow and Armor was a lot more expensive than I thought... Ah well, who cares, eh? You're welcome!!! Enjoy the dungeon, call out for me if you have any questions or concerns, and do your best! Good hunting!!!"

"Good fortune, Lady Reyna!" Hollis bowed smoothly, followed by the Dragon and the Moon-Elf, who hadn't stopped looking at me since they'd spoken to me the first time, but the horned one, which sort of looked like a Teifling, though with pale olive skin, simply turned their nose up at me and followed with a snatch of their cloak like an Opera Villain.

"Testy little cunt, aren't they? I do hope they survive... it'd be poetic justice if they had to beg for healing in the Healing Spring in the Treasure Room..." I returned up the stairs after they'd disappeared below, intent on watching the party Delve, only to be interrupted by a massive series of notifications.

Alert: Contract Conditions Fulfilled!!! Rewards Distributed!!!
Alert: Contract Conditions Fulfilled!!! Rewards Distributed!!!
Alert: Contract Conditions Fulfilled!!! Rewards Distributed!!!
Alert: Contract Conditions Fulfilled!!! Rewards Distributed!!!
Alert: Contract Conditions Fulfilled!!! Rewards Distributed!!!
...
Summary: Dedicate (25) Skill Point/s, Choose (5) Classification/s, Choose (73) Class Skill/s!!!

"Fuck, I forgot this was all backed up... alright, let's look at the easy stuff, I'll deal with the Classifications first, then the Dungeon Skill Points."

Alert: Confirmed!!!

Dungeon Classification Options:
Castle
(Fortification)
Mobile Dungeon
(Mobile Fortification)
(Ship)
(Battleship)
Small World
(Verdant World)
(Spore World)
(Brood World)
(Living Dungeon)

Glancing at the screen and seeing the Party easily destroying a Crystal Spriggan and examining its corpse as the Loot Generator gave them some coins and crystals as loot, along with a pair of Eclipse Gloves, I smiled at Hollis animatedly telling their party that the gloves were the same as theirs, but then I refocused and read the list again. "Alrighty... Uhm... let's get Mobile Fortification, Battleship, Verdant World, Brood World, and Living Dungeon."

Alert: Choices Confirmed...
Alert: Special Classification 'World Tree' Created.

——————————————————————————
Dungeon Designation: Roots of Yggdrasil
Level: 26
Classification: World Tree
Dungeon Floors: 20/100
Mana: 2990/2990
Mana Regen: 75/hour
Monsters: 6,520
Harvesters: 1
Dungeon Skills: None (25)
——————————————————————————

"Alrighty, now for Skills." The Party was entering the Second Floor already, casually smashing apart the Crystal Spriggans, though the Ironwood Spriggans gave them a tiny bit more pause.

Alert: Confirmed!!!

Classification Skill Choices:
Ram Lvl 1
Empowered Mobility (Passive) Lvl 1
Unhindered Movement (Passive) Lvl 1
Rapid Bombardment Lvl 1
Detection (Passive) Lvl 1
Sharp Shot Lvl 1
Verdant Growth (Passive) Lvl 1
Disrupt Terrain (Passive) Lvl 1
Sweet Fruit (Passive) Lvl 1
Fast Growth (Passive/Toggle) Lvl 1
Brood Mind (Passive) Lvl 1
Pack Tactics (Passive) Lvl 1
Dungeon Breath (Passive) Lvl 1
Dungeon Growth (Passive/Toggle) Lvl 1
Dungeon Supply (Passive/Toggle) Lvl 1

"Mm... I'll take them all, all 15, and then with my ten points remaining, I'll increase Rapid Bombardment to 3, leaving me 8 to use later."

Alert: Choices Confirmed...

——————————————————————————
Dungeon Designation: Roots of Yggdrasil
Level: 26
Classification: World Tree
Dungeon Floors: 20/100
Mana: 2990/2990
Mana Regen: 75/hour
Monsters: 6,520
Harvesters: 1
Dungeon Skills: 15
Skill Points: 8
Ram Lvl 1
Empowered Mobility (Passive) Lvl 5
Unhindered Movement (Passive) Lvl 5
Rapid Bombardment Lvl 3
Detection (Passive) Lvl 5
Sharp Shot Lvl 5
Verdant Growth (Passive) Lvl 5
Disrupt Terrain (Passive) Lvl 1
Sweet Fruit (Passive) Lvl 1
Fast Growth (Passive/Toggle) Lvl 5
Brood Mind (Passive) Lvl 1
Pack Tactics (Passive) Lvl 1
Dungeon Breath (Passive) Lvl 5
Dungeon Growth (Passive/Toggle) Lvl 5
Dungeon Supply (Passive/Toggle) Lvl 5
——————————————————————————

The entire dungeon shivered for a moment, and I watched one of the monitors while also feeling with my own body as the trees all suddenly became more visibly green, the flowers visibly bloomed, Fruit grew on the trees inside the dungeon, even though they shouldn't have any, and all the monsters in the dungeon, all at once, suddenly began to share information, readying themselves for attack in whatever way was necessary, but not going to defend each other unless they were allowed to make Pack Movement by my rules. I also noticed a marked increase in carbon dioxide, which wasn't enough to make someone suffocate, but it would certainly reduce their Stamina, as they had to breath harder and more often to get the oxygen they needed, just in time for random roots to surreptitiously trip the Dragon-person. At the same time, small spires and roots began growing on the exterior of my Sphere, actively growing towards the sun in an attempt to create a Canopy of Crystal-Wood, until it ran out of material as suddenly as it began; immediately after, however, roots shot out of the bottom, grabbing an asteroid that the drones hadn't gotten to yet and devouring it to grow yet further before stopping again and resting. Next, the OKBL somehow gained a Rapid Fire Feature, with staggered staging being built for the Launcher and the metal springs being replaced by more springy metals, and a few different sizes of ammunition began to stockpile next to the launcher.

All of this happened in barely a minute, but I was reeling with all the new information and sensations, and I vaguely realized that I had toggled Fast Growth, Dungeon Growth, and Dungeon Supply Off very firmly, then looked at my Harvesters, who were already back to hunting, seemingly unbothered. The Tiefling had apparently called it a Passive Trap, and suggested they breath from their tanks every few minutes, so they weren't overly inconvenienced by it at all.

Alert: All Upgrades Complete!!!

"Fucking shit... couldn't I'd have had a fucking warning?!?"

Alert: Future Alert for Potential Mental Distress Confirmed!!!

"Smartass..." I groaned, rubbing my temples and leaning back in my chair. "That was deeply unpleasant."

Alert: Special Dispensation Permissions Required.

The monitor blinked immediately, showing the Boss Floor, where Hollis stood alone in front of the remains of the Thunder-Scarred Spriggan, breathing calmly to steady themself.

"Holy shit, they Solo'ed it? Damn, okay, so we'll upgrade their Suit to Rarity 1, and give them one more enchantment fitting their hunting style... maybe a Passive Lightning Damage to all Unaligned Attacks? And give them the Rarity 1 versions of their Modules, plus... eh, that should be good. And access to the Treasure Room, as well, obviously. Open the Treasure Door so they know to go in before they fight the boss again with their Party."

Alert: Current 'New Moon' Armor is already Rarity 0 Unique, and no Modules are attached.

"Shit... okay, give me a moment." I quickly pulled up the New Moon and Crescent Bow Information, upgrading everything I could, even using the best of the Magical Metals I'd gotten from the planet below in place of Titanium, because it was definitely superior in basic stats, somehow; next was the Batteries, which I replaced with Mana Batteries, made of a gel version of the Potion they'd given me, to maximize their storage capacity and regeneration abilities. Next, the reflective crystals on the surface were quickly and easily replaced by my new Ironwood Crystals, boosting their defensive capabilities whilst still having the invisibility factor, and the hood got a bit of a boost as it gained a few 'Runes' that gave a few types of advanced sight, such as Infrared and Ultraviolet, to enhance their tracking and hunting abilities in low-light environments. The filtration system was already pretty good, so instead I added in Module for a form of oxygen injection for a shock to the system, clearing away certain mental confusion and fatigue status effects temporarily. Lastly, I added a basic Lightning Passive on all attacks and a resistance/absorption option to incoming Lightning Damage, finishing the armor. The bow followed, and I altered the material in the same way, increased the Empowerment from +1 to +5, and then added more Lightning Damage to the arrows. With a few Rarity 1 'Rune Stone' modules thrown in for them to mix and match as they liked and a handful of platinum coins and gemstones, I was finished, and so I leaned back and nodded happily. "How's that?"

Alert: Special Dispensation Budget Reached.

"Good! Put all of it into the Treasure Room, and provide power to the Rune for the Firing of the Launcher; we'll aim at one of the Biggest Emperors, and use a two-kilometer drop point and a tungsten dart for increased damage." They yelped when their armor disappeared off of their form, leaving them standing in their underclothes, and I winced in embarrassment as they sprinted into the Treasure Room. "Oops... Sorry Hollis!"

The irritated elf snagged their refurbished armor off the armor stand it was placed on, pouncing into it with a quickness not unlike lightning, then snatched their bow off the stand saucily before pausing as they viewed their Status Screen as it reflected their new Defense Stats and other Passives. I could hear them, weirdly enough, through my senses in the dungeon, when they gasped softly. "What the shit?!? Is this Mithril?!?"

"Is that what it's called? It was the best metal I could find, and considering your armor was already Rarity 0 Unique, I needed something decent to upgrade it."

"I am... 20% less pissed off about you taking my armor off of me."

"Head over to the wall and touch the rune, let's see if the rest of your reward can ease the other 80%!" I chuckled at their attempt at manipulation, making the rune on the wall light up as my 'Emperor' target got confirmed on the monster continent.

They frowned, considering if they should press the issue or follow orders, but eventually decided to walk to the wall with the Rune that was vaguely hand-shaped. "And... I just touch it?"

"Hold it for a minute or two, or just until the notifications stop." I released control of the Launcher behind me, selecting a 'Sharp Shot' and watching them press the rune, causing the spring-loaded launcher in the room behind the core to release. Immediately, I recognized something different, as the tungsten dart was spinning rapidly, and the portal was much higher than I'd set it at, almost up to low orbit. Still, the dart went, as there was nothing I could do about it now, and I watched the screens, waiting for impact. When it came, it came with a kind of military precision that I'd expect from a drone, not a kinetic bombardment, and it struck the 'Empress', a massive Spider Queen with a few million spawn, and flattened its surroundings for around fifty meters in every direction, shattering the rock and trees to near-powder. Then the damage report started rolling in.

——————————————————————————
Battle Menu: Harvester Hollis uses 'Sharp Shot' to deal Force Damage to (26,882,400) Creatures!!!
Summary: Dungeon Master Reyna's Dungeon (The Astral Grove) has Destroyed (26,882,400) Creatures! XP Calculating...
Summary: Harvester Hollis has Destroyed (26,882,400) Creatures! XP Calculating...
Notification: Dungeon (Roots of Yggdrasil) has gained (16) Levels!
Notification: Harvester Hollis has gained (20) Levels!
Notification: Dungeon Master Reyna has gained (27) Levels!
——————————————————————————
Name: Reyna
Kin: Star Elf
Class: Dungeon Master
Level: 100(Evolve?(Y/N))
—Stats—
Health: 100,000
Mana: 2990/2990
Mana Regen: 20/min
Strength: 115
Dexterity: 115
Constitution: 9999
Intelligence: 200
Wisdom: 115
Stat Points: 150
——————————————————————————
Dungeon Designation: Roots of Yggdrasil
Level: 42
Classification: World Tree
Dungeon Floors: 20/100
Mana: 2990/2990
Mana Regen: 75/hour
Monsters: 6,520
Harvesters: 1
Dungeon Skills: 15
Skill Points: 24
Ram Lvl 1
Empowered Mobility (Passive) Lvl 5
Unhindered Movement (Passive) Lvl 5
Rapid Bombardment Lvl 3
Detection (Passive) Lvl 5
Sharp Shot Lvl 5
Verdant Growth (Passive) Lvl 5
Disrupt Terrain (Passive) Lvl 1
Sweet Fruit (Passive) Lvl 1
Fast Growth (Passive/Toggle) Lvl 5
Brood Mind (Passive) Lvl 1
Pack Tactics (Passive) Lvl 1
Dungeon Breath (Passive) Lvl 5
Dungeon Growth (Passive/Toggle) Lvl 5
Dungeon Supply (Passive/Toggle) Lvl 5
——————————————————————————

"What the fuck?!?"

"Calm down dear, you simply crushed a Spider nest for me. Dungeons are full of monsters that the Dungeon Master didn't summon, after all, and they have to be routinely removed, or they'll fuck up the balance of the Dungeon! Congratulations!!! Now I advise you grab your rewards there in the chest and go fetch your friends for the Party Clear, okay?"

Hollis examined the screen in front of themself with some trepidation, but nodded with a shiver. "Spiders... at least I didn't have to fight them directly..."

"That's the spirit!!!"