10,000x Reward Multiplier: Hell-level Kingdom Building-Chapter 24: [0] Become a dungeon lord?

Whether time had moved so fast or the system had purposely reduced the deadline, he could not really tell.

All that was clear right now was that if he didn’t act fast, everything he had struggled for would be over.

He began to survey the hall, which was now littered with corpses and sprayed with blood, his gaze moving from place to place as he searched for the dungeon core, which he unfortunately had no idea what it looked like.

After two scans, he realised he was totally fucked, as there were no sightings of anything unusual, not even a protrusion that shouldn’t be present. Nothing stood out at all.

’Crap...’

Cursing inwardly, he turned to look at Anton and Jabba, then at the women.

"I need your help, everyone," he barked, drawing their attention immediately.

"I am searching for something, some sort of crystal. It should be somewhere around this hall. It is very important, not just for me, but for all of you. If we fail to find it, the worst case scenario might be death."

Floki said, the last part of his words sending shivers down their spines.

Yet he did not mind that he had told a lie. He simply needed something to get them moving and thinking, something that would push them into action without hesitation.

After all, if he was cursed with failure, there was a 99.9% chance his village would suffer.

"What?!"

One of the women cried out, panic clear in her voice.

They had just been rescued, and now they would die if they didn’t find something? The sudden shift left them shaken.

"I’m serious," Floki said, his tone firm.

"Even if you run out of this cave, your chances aren’t good." He pushed the lie further to prevent anyone from deserting.

And it seemed to work as he intended.

Jabba and Anton swung into action, separating into different paths to search for the unknown.

The women got up as well. In this situation, they did not care about their nakedness. Their lives were far more important than their dignity.

Floki joined in as well. He went from spot to spot, searching thoroughly, his movements quick but controlled.

He felt a flicker of guilt as he saw the panic on their faces, especially the traumatized women, but he pushed it down almost immediately.

’It is totally justifiable. After all, it is because I entered this cave that they are still alive,’ he cleared his guilt with this thought.

And then, as he recalled their situation, an idea he had foolishly skipped due to urgency arose in his mind.

"Hey, ladies..." he called out.

The fourteen naked women turned to look at him.

"If I may ask, how long have you been in here?" he asked in a hurried tone, urging them to respond quickly.

The women fell silent. Their bodies stiffened, and some instinctively wrapped their arms tighter around themselves, as if trying to hide from memories that refused to fade.

Floki noticed it, but he forced himself to look away. If he allowed himself to dwell on it now, it would only slow him down.

"Please, be fast, we only have a few minutes," he urged them.

One of the women with long black hair parted her trembling lips, her arms tightly wrapped around her body as if she could still feel their touch.

"We don’t know..." she said, her voice shaking.

"They... use us," she continued, her voice breaking slightly.

"Then when we’re too tired, they give us something to make us sleep."

She swallowed anxiously. "For me... it’s been over ten times."

’So a couple of days,’ he muttered inwardly.

"During this time, did you see the goblins pay more care to any particular location in this cave that you found strange?"

The black-haired woman’s eyes lit up slightly.

"Yes..."

She pointed at a seemingly clear spot on the ground on the west side of the hall.

"The goblins usually gather around here sometimes to chant. Sometimes it seemed like they were praying to something."

Floki observed the location she pointed at.

’This should hopefully be it.’

Thinking that, he rushed there.

But getting there, he saw nothing that stood out. The place was just like every other spot in the hall.

’Is what she said true?’

For a brief moment, doubt surfaced, but then his eyes caught something.

A small hole.

It was subtle, but it seemed to bore deep underneath.

He rushed towards it without hesitation and squatted beside it.

He observed it closely from different angles, then lifted his hand and punched down on the spot.

The sound that resulted was abnormal.

It sounded hollow.

That alone told him there had to be some sort of compartment beneath.

[ You have two minutes remaining. ]

The system reminded him.

Floki totally ignored it and struck the same location once again with more power, resulting in a louder bang and a crack appearing on the surface, though it was still small.

Floki continued to punch.

Each strike landed harder than the last.

The crack grew wider.

And with a final strike, the surface caved in, revealing a deep, squared hole where a rough and rusty-looking chest could be seen.

[ You have one minute remaining. ]

Floki brought the chest out.

Thankfully, due to the rust, he was able to break it open with his strength, ignoring the lock that clearly required some type of key.

Afterwards, a blood-red coloured orb the size of a football was revealed.

It gave off a faint, ominous presence.

It was undoubtedly the dungeon core.

[ You have thirty seconds remaining. ]

’The quest is to destroy the dungeon core after finding it.’

So without a second thought, he lifted the orb and smashed it on the ground with so much force that it shattered.

As the dungeon core broke into many shards, the entire cave trembled violently, causing those without balance to fall to the ground.

[ Dungeon core destroyed. Bond with former dungeon lord has been shattered. ]

[ As the destroyer, you have been granted the chance to decide what happens next. ]

[ You have two options. ]

[ 1. Become The Dungeon Lord: A new core would be created with your blood and soul and would be linked to this place. ] 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Requirements:

~1) Must be at least level 15

~2)Must not be human

~3) Must be any low-tier monster race

[ 2. A free chance to spin the wheel of legacy ]

( Note: Rewards obtained will be randomly selected from the former dungeon lord’s assets, including skills, traits, or treasures )

[ You have ten seconds to make a choice. ]

[ In the situation of no choice made, the dungeon would simply disappear after twenty minutes. ]

[ You’ve completed your quest, reward has been distributed ]