Chương 188: Reborn as the Dragon — Chapter 188 - Undetectable

The labyrinth was vast. Dead ends branched in every direction, and the forking paths were too numerous to count. Su Nian had no intention of wandering around blind. He was the master of this entire dungeon. The moment he stepped inside, something settled into place in his mind, a quiet, unexplained certainty. He knew exactly which path was correct. He could feel it. He glanced sideways at Rolls-Royce and the other monsters. No confusion in their eyes. Only curiosity. So his followers had received the same thing.

The system had granted them all the correct route through the labyrinth. The entire place was pitch black. Not "dimly lit", pitch black. No torches mounted at intervals, no softly glowing magic lamps, none of the theatrical lighting you'd find in a storybook dungeon. This was the real thing. A dungeon labyrinth served exactly two purposes. First: buy time, give the monsters inside a window to prepare. Second: trap the enemy and grind them down. If the goal was to trap people, why would you hand them a light?

Then Su Nian remembered one of the Gloom Labyrinth's listed traits: Lethal Intent. Monsters that remain motionless gain the "Hard to Detect" status. He'd been curious about that one. Surely it didn't mean complete invisibility? He stopped walking and called over a Kobold.

"Go stand in that corner over there." He raised a dragon claw and pointed at the bend ahead.

"Don't move. Not until I say so." The Kobold had no idea what was happening, but loyalty didn't require understanding. It trotted over to the corner, pressed its back against the wall, and went completely still, rigid as a spear planted in stone. Five seconds passed. Su Nian blinked. The Kobold was gone. Not physically, it was still standing in exactly the same spot. It hadn't turned invisible. It hadn't blended into the stone or faded or shifted color. It was just... there, standing in plain sight. And yet.

When his gaze passed over that section of wall, every instinct he had told him nothing was there. If he hadn't placed the Kobold himself, he would have looked right through it without a second thought. Its presence had dropped to absolute zero.

"Brother, that's so weird." Anna's voice came from just behind him, slightly bewildered.

"That Kobold just... vanished? But it's still standing right there..." Her head was genuinely turned around. She could feel the wrongness of it, like two things she knew to be true were refusing to fit together. And that made sense. Even with the Dragon Heart, her perception still couldn't match a dragon's. The dissonance hit her harder than it had hit Su Nian. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

If she was this thrown off, Players and native humans wouldn't stand a chance. They'd walk right past a monster standing two feet away and never know it was there.

"It's normal that you couldn't catch it," Su Nian said, the corner of his mouth twitching.

"This is one of the Gloom Labyrinth's special functions. Any monster that holds still for five seconds enters an undetectable state." He said it loud enough for everyone. The surrounding monsters were visibly unsettled, their companion had vanished directly in front of them. They deserved an explanation.

"So that's how it works! Great Master, this Gloom Labyrinth has such a powerful function!" One of the Kobolds perked up.

"This subordinate has an idea. Could we station monsters throughout the labyrinth and have them set traps? Even without fighting, the labyrinth alone could stop a huge number of enemies."

"That idea is very..." Su Nian paused. He'd almost said sneaky, but these monsters wouldn't know what he meant by that.

"... very solid." He turned the full picture over in his mind. The Gloom Labyrinth already confused directional instincts at a fundamental level. Layer in undetectable monsters and Kobold-built traps, and he could paint a fairly accurate picture of what Players were going to experience in here. He almost wished he had some undead in his roster. A few horrifying-looking wraiths or skeletal horrors lurking in the dark would send Players straight to cardiac arrest. But even without them, he was satisfied.

Su Nian exhaled, and the last of his tension went with it. As long as he wasn't flagged as a World Boss, what did it matter if his dungeon showed up on the map? Sure, some Players might see it and decide to treat it like a raid instance. Let them try. Most of them probably wouldn't make it out of this labyrinth. When that time came, all he needed to do was sit in the Dark Sovereign Hall with Anna, watch the system points roll in, and enjoy himself. He led the monsters through the labyrinth at a steady pace.

It took roughly half an hour to reach the exit. Half an hour — and he already knew the route. A regular human with no directional advantage and no monsters trying to kill them would still spend four hours lost in here. Easily. That was the purest kind of cruelty. Once they were out, Su Nian began issuing orders.

"Move the potatoes to the Dark Wheat Field and put the human soldiers to work farming."

"The prisoners who refused to cooperate — take them to the Painful Black Prison. Lock them up." He let a beat pass.

"That Ooguchi Akise, the one who won't stop yelling about Bushido. The one swearing on his honor that a Sakura person would never disgracefully plant potatoes."

"Ten days in the dark. We'll revisit him after that." The monsters moved out immediately, carrying each order down the line with practiced efficiency. Once the arrangements were settled, Su Nian took Anna back to the Dark Sovereign Hall and settled into the great throne. Rolls-Royce had been assigned as hall guard and was currently coiled up on the spire outside, dangling his "human friend" and chatting away contentedly. Su Nian sat back, one arm around Anna's warm, soft weight, his chin resting on a dragon claw.

"Now that the funds are in place," he murmured, "time to spend some." Three enhancement projects were sitting at the top of his list. First: Muscle Strength Upgrade, to bring his body closer to the compatibility threshold for the Deathwing transformation. Second: Primary Swarm Will, a modification that boosted his subordinates' overall capability. Non-negotiable for where the dragon nest was headed. Third: Heart Strengthening, the expensive one.

He hadn't gotten a quote yet, but restoring his heart to full peak condition almost certainly cost more than he currently had. He scrolled through the modification list for a long time. Long enough that his eyes started glazing over. He'd walked in thinking he finally had a bit of money. One look at that dense, endless catalog of options, and he felt like he had nothing. He closed the list.

"System-chan. Come out and do the thinking for me."

"Reserve five thousand system points. Use everything else to put together the most cost-effective enhancement plan you can — best return for my current situation." A moment passed. Then: [According to the host's requirements, the System has identified the optimal enhancement plan based on the host's current abilities and physical condition.] [Recommended: Advanced Muscle Enhancement (??? points) + Primary Swarm Will (100, 000 points) + Heart Phase One Strengthening (100, 000 points) + Devour Optimization (100, 000 points)] [5, 000 system points reserved. Host's current remaining balance:???. Confirm and begin enhancement?] ➤ Next: Good Intentions, Bad Results