The more I put Perry through physical training, the clearer it became that this guy had tremendous potential.
But when it came to handling that bizarre power called mana, he was even more hopeless than I'd imagined.
"Guhhhh!!!"
"Stop. It really isn't working."
Even after I taught him my ultimate training method, all he could manage was barely clinging to that oil-slicked iron pillar.
For now, physical training it is.
After that, Perry watched me train and was so awestruck that he lost himself in admiration.
There were incidents where players found the box I'd hidden in the first room.
Perry had brutal fights with the sandbag, or I sparred with him directly.
A lot happened.
And now!
"Puri! How're you feeling right now?"
"I feel!! So!! HIGH!!!"
Seeing Perry after his mental reprogramming was complete filled me with immense pride.
Nothing left to do now. While Perry and I were locked in endless sparring, the guy I'd been waiting for finally arrived!
"Lord Balak, I've nearly finished crafting what you requested… Huh?"
"You're finally here! Skeleton Merchant!"
"Um… what are you…?"
"Wrestling."
"Grahhhhh!!!"
The Skeleton Merchant watched Perry and me rolling around on the floor, and for some reason, the light faded from his skull.
"Uh… have a good time."
"Suddenly? Wanna join?"
"M-Me?! Absolutely not!"
"Grahhhhh!!!"
After that, I tossed the half-unconscious Perry aside and checked with the Skeleton Merchant on the status of my ordered items.
But…
"The coins I've spent so far are getting a 50% payback?!"
"You've bought so many items from us up to now, Lord Balak, so that's how it worked out."
"N-No way you'd give back this much! What's in it for you?!"
"Hahaha… Well, you're still around, Lord Balak."
"Damn it!! I misjudged you guys!! You're true merchants!"
Karian was annoyed at the extra work piling up, but there was nothing he could do—it was a unanimous decision from above.
Right now, Abyssal Coins in the dungeon were basically just Bruma-bul currency!
That's why we could generate resources endlessly.
And this payback was a little event from the Elder Council upstairs, for the champion suffering on the first floor!
Plus!!
"The catalog items have increased?"
"Your membership rank has gone up, Lord Balak. You're Silver now."
The other floor bosses, with nothing much to do, had started picking up hobbies, adding all sorts of new items to the list for Balak!
"Potions, spirit elixirs, uh, elixir? That elixir that cures all diseases?"
"We only have one right now, as far as I know."
"Ooh… True dungeon merchants, huh? But looking at these spirit elixirs, they wouldn't do much for me even if I took them."
"Still, with this payback, you've got plenty of coins left. Might not hurt to try one?"
"True… Nah. Maybe give it to that guy?"
"Oh, him?"
As Balak and Karian turned their gazes, Ferguson—who'd passed out during wrestling—was finally stirring and getting up.
"Groan…"
"You awake, Puri? Feeling okay?"
"My head's a bit dizzy. Huh? Is this the dungeon merchant big bro mentioned?"
"H-H-Ha… Nice to meet you. I'm Karian, currently handling merchant duties."
"I'm Ferguson, renting space in big bro Balak's dungeon. Looking forward to working with you."
And so, Ferguson and Karian met for the first time in the dungeon.
*********************
Watching the two of them awkwardly continue their conversation filled me with frustration.
Perry's life had been so tragic that even after mental reprogramming, the kid's introversion couldn't be fully fixed.
But—
"Skeleton Merchant! Your name's Karian, right?"
"You're just now asking…"
"Didn't seem important, so I didn't. Anyway, how's my order coming?"
"It's about 80% done. I came here for a midway check."
"Ooh!! Can I see it?"
"Have a look at this footage."
Let's see, the newbie playground turned out just like I wanted—
I froze.
"…?"
"Lord Balak, what's wrong?"
"Huh… There's a lot of it? And it's huge?"
"Hahaha…"
"No extra charges or anything, right?"
"No extra charges, so don't worry. Let's just say… our side went a bit overboard."
"Ooooh!! Artisan spirit!"
I'd planned a small, romantic mini-dungeon, but it turned out way bigger than I'd imagined!
At this scale, newbies can have a blast!
"But what's with those things wandering around over there?"
"They're spirits—natural phenomena that gained personality and form. To explain how that happened…"
Basically, those spirits needed a place to play.
And I was making a mini-dungeon right on time.
So they're volunteering as trash mobs that drop decent loot for free!
Spirits don't even have a concept of death—they respawn infinitely!!
What luck is this!!
Now I don't have to worry about that mini-dungeon anymore.
Next up: dungeon rest area and the rooms I designed!
After that, I told the Skeleton Merchant everything I wanted.
"Hmm… One thing I'm curious about."
"What?"
"This mid-boss thing. I get it's a combat puppet you can roughly control, but what's the point?"
"What's wrong with having a mid-boss in the dungeon?"
"No, why are *you* controlling it, Lord Balak?"
"Bored."
"Ah…"
From what I'd seen of players so far.
It'd take them ages to reach my boss room.
Even if they got stronger, adding rooms to the dungeon would just stretch it out the same.
So I came up with this controllable puppet!
If I pilot this mid-boss, it'll kill my boredom and push players to get even stronger!
The mindset of a selfless sensei.
A true warrior's choice.
"So you're making something like a 2.5 floor."
"Exactly!"
"But instead of a puppet, why not just transform into a human yourself and act as the mid-boss dir—."
"Gah!!!!!!"
How dare he suggest human transformation to my face?!
I'm a boss! The final boss of this dungeon!
Even if I die, it'll be in this form.
I will *never* change my appearance!!
************
My enraged shout knocked the two of them out for a bit.
But combining the payback coins from this time with everything I'd saved up so far gave me a hefty sum—time to renovate the dungeon.
Bought a dungeon sealing scroll after ages; now to close it temporarily…
"Total Recall!!!!"
"Wh-Why the hell!!! Grahhh!!"
"Wh-What's happeningggg!!"
"Kyaaah!"
I ejected all the players from the dungeon.
"Wow… Even heroes aren't a match for big bro Balak."
"..."
"Why… are you…?"
"You have permission to use casual speech from now on."
"Thank you, big bro Balak!!"
"And don't underestimate them just 'cause they look like that—they're stronger than you now, and they'll get insanely strong later, Puri."
"Got it!"
Hearing Perry's ridiculous speech pattern, I realized 'banmal' was truly the worst bad habit.
Anyway! I'd originally planned to renovate just the first room and add a mini-dungeon for newbies.
But thanks to this payback event, I can add one more room and a mid-boss room!
I immediately used a magic scroll to expand the space, and Perry, watching from the side, went wide-eyed.
"Th-The space is…? Is this magic power?"
"I dunno either!"
"Huh?"
Honestly, this dungeon.
I noticed it during the first construction too—the space inside is kinda weird.
There should be surface ground above the dungeon, but even digging like mad upward just yields endless rocks and dirt!
Of course, dungeon bosses escaping via shoveling wouldn't do, so I get it!
Gameplay allowance!
This dungeon is infinite space!
"Heh heh heh… So drawing from past experience, I designed this room. Skeleton Merchant! Make it happen!"
"Uh… What's this? This room?"
"Explaining would spoil it—hurry up and set it exactly as I want!"
Alright, fourth room complete—now for the mid-boss room.
Fancy name, but it's just a big room between the second and third floors.
"You're just placing this one combat puppet here?!"
"Yup!"
"L-Lord Balak, you're not gonna design it that simply… At least pair it with golems or—"
"Gah!!!!!!"
A boss summoning trash mobs mid-fight?!
Argh!! What kind of lameass boss is that?!
Sure, in some past-life games, devs added trash mobs to boss fights to up the difficulty.
For that boss to get good reviews.
It has to account for every move a gamer could think of in the fight.
Every character must shine regardless of weapon or job.
Even with trash mobs spawning, the boss pulls WWE moves while.
The mobs aren't just simple trash—they each have unique patterns, but.
There are mechanics to stylishly take them out!
And succeeding gives players true satisfaction!
But every boss in the games I played that summoned trash mobs just led to bullshit gang-ups via mob-clicking deaths or.
Dragged out the timer for no fun at all!
Bottom line: trash mobs in a boss fight kill the boss concept.
What is a boss, anyway!
A being that faces challengers head-on, no matter their tricks.
That's the direction I pursue!!
The life of a true warrior!
"Guhhh…"
"Urghhh…"
"Tch, such drama queens."
Oops, my shout knocked them out again?
Anyway, leaving them like that, I started inspecting the puppet the Skeleton Merchant brought.
First, this mid-boss room has a mana relay like the video broadcasters I'd installed in the dungeon.
So I can control this puppet with my thoughts and mana from anywhere.
Plus, even without me piloting, it fights automatically using my past combat style—perfect convenience!
Ghost mode like in fighting or racing games from this world!
And the controls feel great.
In fact, something familiar…
Th-This!! Yeah!
It matches the feel of those fighting games I mentioned!
The Skeleton Merchant said I could freely add techniques, so I'll stuff it with all my busted moves.
Finally, this puppet's crazy expensive, so it can't break.
Limit entrants to 5-10 players, and after holding out a set time, they move to the next room.
And clearing this mid-boss leads straight to!!!
The dungeon rest area!!!