The control room echoed with laughter and the clinking of forks as Freya's cake party went into full swing. With the dungeon's interior fully operational, the mood was incredibly celebratory.
Bromir quickly polished off his slice and stood up, stretching his thick, muscular arms. "I'm going to pull some overtime," the dwarf announced to the room. "I'll get started on the surface entrance right now. I need to make sure the dimensions are perfectly calibrated to accommodate those massive Grey Knights."
Shiroi glanced at the clock glowing on the control console. "It's getting late. Risa, Yuna, and I should head back to the Imperial Palace. If the Emperor and his two fiancées go missing for much longer, the capital and the Dark Village will be in an absolute uproar by morning."
With warm goodbyes and full stomachs, the three of them took their leave.
Vergil stretched his sore back, rolling his shoulders with a heavy sigh. "Well, the structural phase is complete. Anastasya, we can begin outfitting the traps whenever you are ready."
Anastasya pulled out her trusty clipboard. "Excellent. I was hoping to start drafting the security measures tonight."
"In that case, you are in luck," Vergil smiled, gesturing to his twin children. "Traps are Fenrir and Camilla's specialty."
Immediately, Fenrir and Camilla raised their hands in perfect, eager unison. "Auntie Anastasya!" they chorused. "What kind of traps do you want?"
Vergil chuckled, finally collapsing onto one of the plush manager sofas to rest his eyes while his kids took over the briefing.
Anastasya looked down at the excited twins, genuinely curious. "What kind of traps are appropriate for a dungeon of this scale?"
"There are hundreds of varieties!" Fenrir beamed, his eyes shining with innocent malice. "We can adjust the potency and lethality depending on the floor."
"And it isn't just about rigging fake treasure chests," Camilla chimed in, equally enthusiastic. "We can design mechanisms that slow adventurers down, separate their parties, or outright kill them. We can even build hidden traps that act as secret shortcuts for the smarter explorers!"
Anastasya nodded slowly, taking diligent notes. "Fascinating. Where do you typically place them?"
"Wherever you want, Auntie!" Fenrir said cheerfully. "Different placements just require different trigger mechanisms."
Camilla nodded in agreement. "A pitfall in a hallway operates very differently from a poison-gas trigger inside a sealed treasure room. Just give us your layout ideas, and I will explain the engineering behind all of them."
Vergil glanced at his pocket watch, realizing just how far into the night they had stayed up. Freya walked over and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "We should all get some rest," she suggested softly. "It has been a very long day."
Vergil looked around the room and nodded. Mina and Sylvy had already slipped away to their assigned manager quarters to sleep. Over on the far sofa, Kurogami was completely passed out, snoring softly with an open book draped over his face.
Anastasya stifled a polite yawn behind her hand. "Lady Freya is right. I need to write up the final progress report for my Master and Emperor Shiroi, and then I will retire as well."
Pushing himself off the sofa, Vergil gently guided the energetic, trap-obsessed twins toward the residential wing to tuck them into bed, before finally heading off to the master suite to get some well-deserved sleep alongside Freya.
The next morning, after a full night's rest and a hearty breakfast, the management crew gathered back in the control room to resume the dungeon's construction. The heavy doors hissed open as Emperor Shiroi arrived, accompanied by Risa, Yuna, and his ever-present shadow, Ashcroft.
Vergil clapped his hands together to get everyone's attention. "Let's gather around. It is time to discuss the trap placements."
Anastasya nodded, checking her clipboard. "All the foundational infrastructure and monster habitats are fully built. The traps are indeed the final step."
Before she could elaborate, Fenrir and Camilla simultaneously shot their hands into the air, practically vibrating with excitement.
"We have the scematic!" the twins cheered. They enthusiastically pulled out a massive stack of blueprints detailing every single lethal trap they had ever encountered or studied.
Fenrir stepped forward, puffing out his chest proudly. "While I was studying the dungeon's control system yesterday, I discovered something amazing. The dungeon actually has a feature to auto-generate traps! You don't have to build them manually. You just have to input the parameters: what kind of trap it is, where it goes, and how long the cooldown period is before it resets."
Anastasya's eyes went wide. "Is that true? I haven't even had the chance to fully analyze that sub-system yet."
Camilla swung her legs from her chair, smiling innocently. "I tried to install a few traps in the hallways just for fun, but the system rejected it. The trap templates were completely empty. So, Fenrir and I figured it out: the trap system works exactly like the blueprints Dad used. The raw data has to be fed directly into the Dungeon Core before the auto-generation can work."
Realizing the sheer efficiency of the twins' discovery, Anastasya didn't waste a second. She immediately escorted Vergil, Freya, Fenrir, and Camilla back down to the Dungeon Core room. Once there, she calibrated the massive magic crystal to receive data, allowing the Core to absorb every single trap schematic the twins had brought.
When the integration was complete, they headed back to the control room. Vergil looked around, noticing the room was a bit emptier. "Where did Sylvy, Aeka, and Valkrieya go?"
Freya, who was relaxing on the sofa, smiled. "Aeka wanted to watch a fight. Sylvy and Valkrieya are currently having a duel down in the training room."
Over at the main console, Fenrir and Camilla were already busy tapping away at the magic mirrors, their small hands moving in a blur. When Camilla noticed Anastasya walking back in, she beamed.
"Auntie Anastasya! The trap installation process is already seventy percent complete!"
Anastasya nearly choked. "How is that even possible?!"
Giggling, Fenrir waved her over and began demonstrating their lightning-fast method for deploying traps across the dungeon floors like it was a simple strategy game. The Deeper location more deathly the trap is, and need short time to reset.
Seeing that his youngest children had the dungeon's security completely under control, Vergil kissed Freya on the cheek. "I am going to head down to the subterranean forge," he told her. "I have a project I want to work on with Bromir."
Freya nodded, letting him go. Meanwhile, in the corner of the room, a hilarious sight was unfolding: Mina, Lira, and Chloe were sitting quietly with notebooks in hand, diligently taking notes as their genius little twin siblings taught a masterclass on designing lethal dungeon traps.
Down in the subterranean forge, Vergil stepped into Bromir's private workshop. The master smith was hunched over a heavy oak table, completely absorbed in a spread of complex weapon schematics.
Hearing the footsteps, Bromir looked up. A wide, welcoming grin split his bearded face. "Prince Vergil! Come in, come in."
"I was hoping to commission a few new weapons, if you have the time," Vergil said.
Bromir's eyes lit up with professional interest. "What caliber and rank are we talking about?"
"The highest rank possible," Vergil replied easily. "Bladed weapons, primarily."
"As long as you have the materials to support it, I can forge anything," Bromir boasted, crossing his thick arms.
Vergil reached into his spatial bag. With a heavy clatter, he dumped a massive pile of pristine, shimmering black and white dragon scales onto the workbench.
Bromir's jaw dropped. He stared at the legendary materials, entirely speechless for a moment. "Well then," he finally managed to say, bursting into a loud, booming laugh. "That will certainly do! What exactly do you want made from these?"
"A katana, and a pair of high-tier daggers," Vergil requested.
Bromir laughed even harder, gesturing to the massive pile of scales. "Prince Vergil, you have brought me a king's ransom in dragon scales! Even after forging those, I'll have more than enough material left over."
Vergil stroked his chin thoughtfully. "In that case, let's add a pair of twin swords to the order."
"Consider it done," Bromir grinned, already reaching for his forging hammer.
Suddenly, their earpieces crackled to life. It was Anastasya's voice broadcasting from the control room. "Attention all managers. The trap installations are complete. The dungeon is ready for a live stress test."
Vergil tapped his comms. "Understood. I'll take floors one through five."
"I claim floors fifteen through twenty!" Sylvy chimed in over the network.
"I will sweep floors six through ten," Mina added smoothly.
"I'll use my summoned familiars to test the floors below that," Chloe volunteered.
"And I will run standard Trap Detect spells on my sectors!" Aria announced.
Freya's calm voice echoed next. "I will handle the lower bounds, floors twenty-five through thirty."
Vergil nodded to Bromir, taking his leave, and slipped into the dungeon's back routes to reach the first floor.
As the family spread out across the massive underground labyrinth, Fenrir's voice piped up over the comms, taking his role as head of security very seriously. "Attention everyone! Keep an eye out for any floor tiles or stones that look slightly raised or out of place. Those are the primary physical triggers!"
Vergil began his patrol through the cavernous upper floors. To thoroughly test the lethality of his children's designs, he didn't just walk through them; he actively triggered them using advanced shadow clones and high-level assassin techniques, watching with pride as the traps instantly decimated his magical decoys.
Across the dungeon, the girls were testing the defenses using their own unique styles. Aria flawlessly executed Trap Detect and manual trigger spells to safely spring the mechanisms from a distance. Lira and Mina relied entirely on their elite assassin training, feeling out the lethal tripwires and pressure plates in the dark. Sylvy, ever the battle maniac, simply sprinted down the hallways at top speed, relying purely on her terrifying physical reflexes to dodge the swinging blades and pitfalls as they sprung around her.
Back in the control room, Anastasya, Fenrir, and Camilla diligently monitored the live feeds, checking off each trap as it activated and reset perfectly.
Kurogami, who had been watching the screens from the sofa, suddenly stood up and stretched. "I am going to head back to the Demon Realm for a bit."
Risa and Yuna looked at him curiously. "Why?" Yuna asked. "What is the final phase?"
Kurogami flashed them a sharp, slightly wicked grin. "A dungeon isn't complete without its monsters."
With a swirl of dark magic, Kurogami teleported out of the room.
A few hours later, the live stress tests concluded with a one hundred percent success rate. Vergil, Freya, and their five adopted daughters filed back into the control room, dusting off their clothes.
Vergil looked around, noticing an empty spot on the sofa. "Where did Kurogami wander off to?"
Anastasya didn't look up from her glowing monitors. "He has gone to make the final preparations for the monsters."
It wasn't long before Kurogami reappeared in the control room in a swirl of dark magic. "The preparations are complete," he announced.
Vergil cracked his knuckles. "Then it is time to open the gates."
Down in the dungeon, Anastasya immediately initiated the first phase. She released the containment seals on the upper levels, allowing the swarms of lesser beasts—Horn Rabbits, Wild Bunnies, and the newly formed elemental Slimes—to flood into their natural habitats on floors one through five.
Meanwhile, in the massive, empty multipurpose room they had toured earlier, the crew set up five distinct interview stations. Aeka and Valkrieya took their seats at one of the tables, while Vergil, Freya, Shiroi, and the twins manned the others.
Kurogami stood near the back of the room, acting as the summoner and usher. "Is everyone ready?" he asked.
Freya, sitting elegantly beside Vergil, surveyed the room and nodded. "We are ready. Send them in."
With a wave of his hand, Kurogami summoned the first batch of candidates from the Demon Realm. He directed a towering Minotaur toward Vergil and Freya's table, pointed a spectral Ghost Knight toward Emperor Shiroi, and sent a necrotic Lich drifting over to Aeka and Valkrieya.
At the first table, Vergil looked up at the massive Minotaur. "Have you ever faced human adventurers in combat?"
"No, sir," the Minotaur rumbled respectfully. "But my younger brother currently works as a vanguard boss in the Arudi Dungeon. He highly recommended the job."
Freya smiled warmly. "What a coincidence! My husband and I are the former managers of the Arudi facility. If you are anything like your brother, you will be a perfect fit. You are hired for the lower depths."
Over at the second table, Risa was hiding behind Shiroi's chair, trembling at the sight of the terrifying, heavily armored Ghost Knight. However, the moment the undead warrior spoke, her fear completely vanished.
"Hey there," the Ghost Knight said in a surprisingly casual, polite voice. "Thanks for having me."
Shiroi chuckled, leaning back in his chair. "Why do you want to be a dungeon boss?"
"Honestly, I want to train," the Ghost Knight explained. "I want to be the first Ghost Knight in the Demon Realm who can strike absolute terror into the hearts of mortals and fight flawlessly without ever making a single sound. A silent, terrifying executioner."
"I like your ambition," Shiroi grinned, standing up to shake the undead knight's gauntleted hand. "You're hired. You will be the boss of floors eleven through fifteen. It's a graveyard biome, so you will fit right in."
At the third table, Aeka was interviewing the Lich, who was clutching a heavy, dark grimoire of summoning magic. "Our floors eleven through fifteen are exclusively designated for zombie-types," Aeka explained professionally. "So, I am assigning you to floors thirty through thirty-five as the supreme commander of the skeleton legions. Is that acceptable?"
The Lich nodded its skeletal head in silent agreement. Aeka flashed a thumbs-up to Anastasya, who immediately checked the Lich off her clipboard. "Hired."
Meanwhile, at the fourth station, Fenrir and Camilla were interviewing a massive Orc King.
"Excuse me," the Orc King grunted, his tusks gleaming in the light. "If I accept this position, is it possible to hire my entire tribe to work in the dungeon alongside me?"
Camilla immediately raised her hand. "Auntie Anastasya! We need a Head Manager's approval!"
Anastasya hurried over. She took one look at the Orc King and paused. Unlike the humanoid, green-skinned Orcs that lived in the Kainaldia Empire, this Orc possessed the classic, beast-like face of a wild boar.
"Please wait in the seating area for just a moment," Anastasya told the Orc politely. She then hurried over to Shiroi, who had just finished his interview with the Ghost Knight.
"Your Majesty," Anastasya whispered. "That Orc King wants to bring his entire tribe into the dungeon. Is that a political issue? I know the Kainaldia Empire has Orc citizens."
"It's not a conflict," Shiroi assured her, looking over at the boar-faced monster. "The Orcs who live in our Empire are Highborn Orcs—they are green-skinned and human-like. That candidate is a classic beast-variant. There will be no diplomatic issues."
Shiroi walked over to the Orc King's table and sat down. Risa cautiously followed behind him, only to be completely shocked when the massive, terrifying Orc King stood up and offered her a very polite, gentle bow in greeting. Risa quickly bowed back, entirely thrown off by his excellent manners.
Shiroi folded his hands on the table. "Can your tribe fight effectively in forests and open fields?"
"Yes, Your Majesty," the Orc King answered proudly. "My tribe consists of three distinct divisions: Warriors, Archers, and Shamans. We can adapt to any battlefield."
"What about defending a courtyard or a stronghold?" Shiroi pressed.
"I will personally ensure my troops are trained to hold the line to the last man," the Orc King vowed.
"Excellent. Final question," Shiroi said, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Does your tribe possess Wargs, or any other mounts for a cavalry division?"
The Orc King's eyes went wide. "How... how do you know about our cavalry tactics?"
Shiroi smiled knowingly. "I have adventured in other dimensions outside of Kurogami's domain. I am quite familiar with Orcish culture. In fact, my Empire's Minister of Construction is a Greenskin Orc."
Shiroi turned to Anastasya. "Assign the Orc tribe to floors twenty-five through thirty. That biome is designed as a 'Destroyed Village.' Uncle Vergil can provide them with advanced tactical training."
Vergil walked over, giving the Orc King a respectful nod of greeting. "I'd be happy to. We can establish a lore scenario for the adventurers: The 'Demon Lord' ordered the Orc King and his army to raze the village, and the adventurers have to break through their fortified camp."
Anastasya rapidly took notes. "Perfect. I will have the golems escort the tribe into the dungeon immediately so they can settle into their new home."
Kurogami strolled over, laughing as he heard the final verdict. He looked at the Orc King and clapped him on his massive shoulder. "You heard the Emperor! Go gather your tribe. Welcome to new unnamed dungeon. We still looking the name for Dungeon...."
"Vergil, Kurogami, come look at this," Freya called out from her table, her voice tinged with genuine surprise. "The next candidate is an incredibly rare species."
Piqued by her tone, Vergil and Kurogami strolled over. As they arrived, both men stopped in their tracks, genuinely stunned. Hovering before them was a Mirror Mind—a bizarre, ethereal entity that looked like a translucent, shifting ghost slime.
Kurogami tilted his head. "Why would a monster of a Mirror Mind's caliber show up to a standard dungeon recruitment drive?"
The Mirror Mind's voice echoed directly into their heads, smooth and calculating. "I heard rumors that a grand new dungeon was opening soon. I also heard that the human adventurers residing within the Kainaldia Empire are exceptionally strong. I wish to test them."
Freya leaned in, whispering discreetly to Vergil and Kurogami. "Doesn't a Mirror Mind's primary ability react by perfectly reflecting the target's absolute strongest opponent?"
Vergil and Kurogami nodded in solemn agreement. "Yes," Vergil muttered back. "If we hire it, it definitely needs to be stationed on one of the deepest floors, or it will slaughter the beginners."
Vergil turned back to the spectral slime, slipping back into his professional manager persona. "You're hired. However, your specific floor assignment will be determined after a formal power assessment."
The Mirror Mind wobbled, visibly confused. "What do you mean by a 'power assessment'?"
Freya offered a warm, polite smile. "All our hired monsters are placed on floors that correspond directly to their combat strength. The deeper the floor, the stronger the monster. But rest assured, you are officially part of the dungeon's roster now."
Across the room, Risa and Yuna were conducting their own interview with a terrifying figure mounted on a massive skeletal horse. Surprisingly, thanks to her earlier, very casual chat with the Ghost Knight, Risa wasn't scared at all. She was completely calm as Shiroi walked over to join their table.
Yuna looked up as Shiroi approached. "Shiroi! This Death Knight would like to apply for a position."
Shiroi studied the applicant. Despite the dreadful, suffocating aura radiating from the undead warrior and its skeletal steed, the Knight carefully dismounted and offered a deep, incredibly polite bow.
"I am a cursed former commander of a royal army," the Death Knight rasped, its voice hollow but highly respectful. "I have wandered the Demon Realm for centuries, seeking a new purpose and a place to test my blade."
Kurogami, having wandered over to watch the spectacle, looked highly impressed. "Well, well. I had heard rumors in the Demon Realm about a wandering, legendary knight who rode a skeletal horse. I was actually planning to track you down and make you the commander of my Hell Knight Battalion. I never expected you to just walk into a dungeon job interview."
Shiroi glanced at Kurogami. "What is your professional opinion on Death Knights?"
Kurogami crossed his arms, nodding approvingly. "They are warriors of the absolute highest dignity and honor. You couldn't ask for a better vanguard."
Shiroi turned back to the undead commander with a welcoming smile. "Then you are officially hired. Just like the Mirror Mind, we will conduct a power assessment shortly to determine exactly which floor you and your steed will command."
The recruitment drive proceeded smoothly, with a massive, diverse influx of monsters lining up for a coveted spot in the dungeon's ecosystem.
From his table, Shiroi watched a tribe of small, blue-furred, wolf-like Kobolds politely queueing up in Aeka and Valkrieya's lane, clutching their resumes. Meanwhile, Vergil and Freya were busy interviewing a hulking, green-skinned Oni wielding a gnarled magic staff.
The Oni leaned across the table, his deep voice rumbling with curiosity. "If I may ask... who is slated to be the final boss of this dungeon?"
Freya smiled politely, maintaining her perfect corporate mystique. "That position is still under review. The final boss will be decided at the very end of the recruitment process."
Suddenly, the lighthearted, bustling atmosphere of the room was broken.
Shiroi felt a sharp, frantic buzzing in his pocket. He pulled out his smartphone—a sleek piece of Kainaldian magi-tech—and opened a high-priority encrypted message from Ashcroft. As he read the text, his casual, relaxed demeanor instantly vanished. His eyes darkened, and his jaw set into a hard line.
He stood up, his chair scraping loudly against the stone floor. "Uncle Vergil. Aunt Freya."
Vergil looked over, instantly recognizing the dangerous shift in the Emperor's tone.
"I need you both to come with me immediately," Shiroi ordered, his voice tight. "There is a state of emergency at the Imperial Palace."
Anastasya quickly stepped away from her interview station, her brow furrowed in deep concern. "Your Majesty? What happened?"
Vergil stood up, slipping seamlessly back into his role as a military commander. "A priority crisis," he answered for Shiroi, his voice low and serious. "It requires our absolute and immediate attention."
Anastasya nodded firmly, her own professional instincts taking over. She didn't press for details. "Understood. Go. Leave the rest of the monster recruitment and power assessments to me and the remaining crew. We will secure the dungeon."
Shiroi quickly crossed the room, catching the attention of Risa and Yuna. He gave them a sharp, urgent hand signal.
"Pack up your things," Shiroi told his fiancées, his voice leaving no room for argument. "We are heading back to the capital right now."