94 – Dungeon! (III)

—————————

PART 0 – Random!

—————————

(Author: I decided to add something extra to [Parts 0]. There are specific scenes or scenarios that I don't see how to insert into the story without breaking it, so I decided to add something random, which may be insignificant or very significant, or something that had the potential to be relevant to the story.)

Years ago, a few months after Skarla achieved her 2nd Metamorphosis, consolidating her power to rival and surpass Demigods.

In a small town in the Veremor Territory, under the care of Berinto Veremor, mysterious cases of rape and pregnancy began to occur.

It wasn't something that would catch Skarla's attention, that was Berinto's job, but the real problem is how it all happened. Men and women became targets of abuse by an absurdly fast individual, who is like a ghost.

He simply appears, where he is described as a man, not a woman or futanari, but a man wearing a black mask on his head. He attacks his victims at high speed, they do not react, even the strongest tried to fight, but were unable to, and in the end, when the individual released them, a wave of pleasure exploded, continuous orgasms.

After that, the individual would disappear.

Skarla became interested because of how absurd it all was. So using Disguise Arts, she traveled to this city, disguised as a large, muscular, ugly adventurer. She sought to learn about the cases, tracked them down, and analyzed the vital signature of the fetuses.

When she arrived in the city, she discovered that the cases were already spreading to other locations. She traced the past and found the origin in a small village, curiously discovering some mysterious disappearances among the younger ones, memorizing their names and researching.

She followed the trail and, as the individual went after beautiful people, in the case of women, she only needed to alter her body, becoming slimmer and smaller. She was beautiful and hot, a young Level 8 knight.

Under her disguise, she traveled and searched for her target. After a few days, she ended up in a small village, sensing him nearby, but she hadn't captured him yet. She revealed herself, then went to a tavern, where she drank and had fun, attracting a lot of attention and finding him.

He was a fairly ordinary young man, but relatively high level for his age. His name was Ethan, one of the missing people from that village. He boldly tried to flirt with her, but Skarla just teased and mocked him, saying that his level didn't matter when he was so weak.

She humiliated him, everyone laughed at him, so Skarla went to her room at dusk.

Skarla watched as he broke into her room using stealth techniques. He was pathetic; he would never escape her eyes, especially since he had passed right by her. Others would hardly notice, because the speed at which he moved was absurdly fast, or more precisely, it was as if the world around him had slowed down.

She felt like she was on quicksand, she was moving normally, the problem was that she was comparing herself to him. It was difficult to describe, but she noticed that everyone within a certain range was also slower than a certain area.

Skarla realized that Ethan was able to create a domain where time slowed down. He used this power to commit such atrocities.

And now, he had her as his target. Naked and hooded, the 15-16-year-old advanced towards her, thinking she would be an easy target, but Skarla is an aberration with absurdly heightened senses, a speed of movement and attack dozens or even hundreds of times greater than the human eye can see.

Ethan can move at high speeds and react at that speed, but when Skarla tries hard, she matches or exceeds that speed, rendering his power useless. As a result, she grabbed his neck before he could react, but when he was grabbed, he fought desperately until he was put to sleep.

Snorting in disdain, Skarla put him into a temporary coma. Throwing him to the ground, she returned to her original form and the entire environment returned to normal.

She searched Ethan's body, trying to find the artifact he uses for this, but found nothing. She sighed, and perhaps her greatest fear was coming true.

...

Ethan woke up two days later, chained up, and immediately activated his power, trying to escape, but without success.

In front of him was Skarla. He recognized her and was terrified. “Your Majesty?” he asked, smiling.

Skarla was indifferent and only asked, “What do you use to slow down time?”

After that, a little torture and this 16-year-old boy, who had never trained properly, told her everything amid tears and despair. About a year ago, while helping to take care of cattle, a Special Ability awakened, called [Stop Domain].

This Special Ability is a growth type, the higher your Wisdom, the greater the slowdown of time. We're talking about dozens of times slower. At his current level, only a Legendary power could deal with him, but with information and preparation, it wouldn't be difficult to trap and kill him.

Ethan, upon discovering what he was capable of, especially with the shocking 50M³ range, as well as no time limit or cost, realized he could maintain that state forever.

Skarla was speechless at how random and powerful Special Abilities could be. The ability to slow down time without cutting anything and without time limitations.

Ethan used this power to kill monsters with ease, level up, and began to abuse people he didn't like or who treated him like trash. He started in his village, until he decided to kill some of them because he hated them. They were all men; he impregnated the women.

He continued spreading his reign of terror to other villages and cities, delighting in adventurers, high levels, and lots of free EXP for himself. He invaded some dungeons, leveled up, stole what he wanted, and never had the misfortune of encountering a legendary being, not least because they are not common.

Skarla heard him recount his crimes; she herself had a list of his victims. After making sure she couldn't use him, she decided to kill him.

Ethan may be re-educated, but he is a young man who succumbed so easily to temptation and evil with so much power in his hands, so for him to betray her or try something with her family is highly likely.

At the moment, he is weak, but only a Legend or above can deal with him. So as Ethan got even stronger, not only would he be able to slow down time around him by tens or even hundreds of times, but he would also have the physical abilities to boost his speed and heinous actions.

In the end, even at Level 20, probably only Demigods could deal with him. By becoming a formal Legend and rising to Level 25-30, Skarla believes that even she would not have adequate countermeasures against Ethan, and she would become one of his many future victims.

So his very existence is a danger. Even though she believes that people can change and he is still very young, Skarla will not bet on uncertainty. Normally, the World itself would protect children with Special Abilities, but even now it has not manifested itself, showing that Ethan is not under its protection.

So he died!

...

Years later, Hackel recovered memories from another life and while researching the secret books that everyone in the Verona Family has access to, in the case of wives, children are not yet allowed to access such items.

Hackel found out about Ethan and told the story of something similar, only much worse.

The “Abusive Thief God” is the title given to the extremely fast individual who abuses men and women across the continent. It started with commoners, no one cared much, until it escalated to adventurers and the nobility paid some attention, but they still didn't do much.

About a year after his emergence, he touched the daughter of a baroness, and since then his main target has been the nobility. He abused entire families, and a cult was created in his honor, many of whom were his victims who became addicted to the strange explosive and orgasmic pleasure.

Hackel explained that she was not his target, luckily, but she probably wouldn't care if she had been, given what happened to her.

In any case, he was never caught, even at the end of his life. But she knows that before all the events that led to his death, she learned that the events had stopped on the continent, but that in fact, they had emerged on another.

Hackel told her a lot about his exploits, because in addition to constant abuse, theft was probably his greatest strength. No one could catch him or track him down. Of course, there were countless attempts, many of which almost succeeded, and he was seriously injured, but he always escaped with his monstrous speed.

So she doesn't know what happened to him, but she knew he was still alive.

When Skarla learned this, she knew it was the right thing to kill him, so she stopped thinking about useless things that had already happened.

(Author: Ethan was something I prepared to cause some headaches for the protagonist, because apart from Demigods, Gods/Transcendents, nothing will be a real challenge for her, so I need to create other types of challenges and problems. Ethan was one of many I had prepared, but he was very unlucky and all my plans for him annoyed me more than they satisfied me, so I'm discarding him here.)

(Author: Ethan had enormous narrative potential, but due to his bad luck (dice rolls), he ended up with less than 2,000 words and will not be mentioned again in the future.)

—————————

PART 1 – Exploration!

—————————

Skarla led the expedition group of 100 people, 20 of whom were combatants for protection and exploration, followed by skilled specialists in various fields, from Alchemy, Monstrology, Black Magic, and more.

Equipped with magical accessories perfected by Berard's blacksmithing skills, they were able to withstand the surrounding miasma without any problems, but of course, Skarla, advancing and leading the way, used her Element of Order to ward off the densest miasma.

Monsters that came their way were purged, the only thing moving were their legs to walk, she didn't need to move any other muscle to finish off dozens of undead.

In about 48 hours, with little time to rest and nap, they reached the 15th floor.

Skarla sent half of the capable troops and, of course, Curboris Flameheart. Then they waited patiently for 6 hours before advancing to the next floor. They appeared in random locations, but the fighters had already spread out properly and quickly kept the specialists safe.

No deaths were caused, some injuries, but nothing significant.

At the exit portals of the Dungeon, as well as to go to the 16th floor, the camp was established. Sacred Matrices to ward off the Miasma were installed, followed by protective barriers to prevent monster attacks.

Research began immediately. Analysis of the soil, dead trees, rocks, and even minerals found, all contaminated by Miasma, turned up rare Necrotic materials, some of which had never been heard of before.

They found a vein of minerals and would bring miners to work here in the future, if they did not use golems.

Curboris set up his laboratory for research and dissection, while still conscious, of the creatures from the floor. He found it fascinating that they were practically undead, but still biological beings, alive and able to reproduce, a creature that contradicted itself.

Alchemists and magicians researched the soil where they found magical herbs, analyzing large areas and understanding the properties and needs for such magical plants to grow.

Soon they began to plant them, experiment, and do what humanity does best: select and change vegetation for better results.

Skarla received constant progress reports, with the entire place being mapped and continuously investigated in case they found secret passages or hidden chests.

Then the days passed, and Skarla spent much of her time cultivating.

Her Chaos Element Cultivation Arts are still in development, originating from the Demonic Arts of Murim, but she began to incorporate Black Magic, Necromancy, and more into this element, finding a volatile balance.

Then there is Miasma, an energy perfect for Black Mages, but mainly Necromancers, but it is also a corrupting energy that abhors life, so even Black Mages and Necromancers cannot escape corruption.

Skarla was able to cultivate and absorb Miasma, but it damaged and tainted her, so she needed to purify it, as she did with mundane energy that was not Miasma. However, Miasma itself is a dense energy.

Purifying Miasma generates a part of the Chaos Element that is not volatile and harmful to her, which she can use, but she certainly wasted a lot, showing that she is still unable to use Miasma.

She seeks to understand more about this energy, to be able to use it without suffering side effects while she is a living being. It is not an easy task, not least because even the Sueika library does not have much information on Miasma.

What it does have is knowledge of Necromancers, who are corrupted by it and end up becoming Lichs. In the end, all results lead to the same thing, where in order to gain control over Miasma, they abandon their flesh and often their sanity.

Skarla spent her days experimenting, but in the end found herself unable to progress. She decided in the second week that it was enough.

The camp was sustaining itself adequately, there would be no problems, and soon a team would arrive with more resources and people.

She then told everyone that she would advance to the 16th floor alone, no one could say otherwise, Skarla would not accept their opinions on the matter.

So she went to one of the portals and entered it, the space distorting, her feeling everything and abruptly appearing in another place, the Miasma even heavier, but there was something different in the air, her senses alerting her to danger.

—————————

PART 2 – 16th Floor!

—————————

Skarla observed for a moment, then spread her senses. Details of hundreds of meters appeared in her mind, then energy signatures kilometers away.

She calmly observed and soon put strength into her legs, jumping and hovering in the air. She could now fly.

“What's so special about the 15th floor?” Skarla scratched her chin, then looked down at the place below... she soon realized she could fly, but no higher than 100 meters.

Skarla looked up at the artificial sky, feeling her limit, but unable to go beyond it. Something blocks even her senses that demigods are unable to detect, or gods are able to deceive.

At first, she thought the world was playing a trick on her, but it is her ally and would not harm her, which indicates that there is something in this dungeon. Many assumptions run through her mind.

She concentrated below, looking at the entire territory, certainly more than 100 km in area. She began to see structures, such as villages or cities, all destroyed, but there were things there.

She flew to a nearby village. She saw several zombies and rolled her eyes at their lack of anything better. She landed, not bothering to hide.

Skarla assessed the houses, finding nothing special.

KYAAAAHHH~

Suddenly, a female zombie with a guttural scream lunged at her, jumping abnormally high and extending sharp claws.

Skarla waved her finger slightly, the zombie flew and... Skarla frowned!

“What?” She watched the zombie fly away, probably dead, but what surprised her was the fact that it hadn't disintegrated.

As she thought, she felt the shock on her barrier. But feeling the attacks of the various zombies around her, she realized something familiar, from long ago, something that ignores her wives, children, and disciples. Something she uses a lot to her advantage.

“Internal Energy?” Skarla noticed the attacks trying to infiltrate her barrier, like Internal Energy spreading when it hits enemies, looking for gaps, accumulating and causing internal injuries.

“That... aren't they zombies?” Skarla grabbed one of them by the neck, its sharp black claws trying to tear her arm, she ignored its struggle, pinching its face and tearing part of its cheek, but noticed an incredible resistance.

Soon she landed a punch in its stomach, loaded with strength and Internal Energy. She saw the energy disperse and accumulate. Naturally, the zombie didn't know how to deal with it, but its body and... - ‘It looks like a Dantian?’

She discovered an energy core similar to the Dantian, but it doesn't have the same functions and doesn't connect to the meridian. It's something of low quality, but feeling and analyzing it, she found several elements of nature present.

“It's martial arts... how?” Skarla threw him away. The structures around them did not resemble Murim, so there was no way this place could be from that world, not even the people were Asian.

She did not sense any real cultivation techniques coming from these walking corpses, but she still felt something that mimicked Internal Energy and the Dantian. It's just like when she started in this world, but the other part is just trying to imitate the energy, it doesn't have the knowledge or concepts behind it all.

Skarla understood where that Vampire had gone. The Dungeon had taken her, not to protect her, but to study her. Skarla injected a lot of Internal Energy into her body to torture her and get information.

The Dungeon probably analyzed this and as a result.

“These things are not mere zombies, they are close to Ghouls, but they are not merely carrion, because their bodies are even more resistant, they absorb more energy, they can move more naturally and seem to possess a slight intellect... are they Jiangshis?” She frowned, then laughed.

Putting more force into it, she punched a Jiangshi and saw it turn to dust. Even if they are something close to the Legendary Jiangshis, they are mere copies, they need a lot of development, something that a few weeks will not be enough for.

“But to advance this much in less than three weeks... worrisome.” Skarla frowned, thinking about the problems this would cause, especially if it extended to the lower floors. “Maybe I need to destroy this dungeon!” Her gaze became stern.

...

Skarla annihilated the Jiangshis and soon reached one of the cities. On the way, she analyzed the Miasma. It was different, more concentrated, less scattered, and there was a lot of it on the Jiangshis' bodies.

She found no skeletons, no ghosts, only Jiangshis.

Arriving in the city, she sensed danger, a growing feeling. She advanced and saw hundreds of them, their levels around 10, but their skills... bodies as resistant as steel, natural defense that reduced the damage they received, among other worrying advantages.

Of course, they were far from being the real ones, with enough attacks, killing them would not be a problem. The problem was if they evolved and became the real ones, even she would have headaches.

So she frowned. These creatures didn't attack her, they just watched, making way for her. Skarla went ahead, reaching the center and finding, in what should have been the town square, a figure sitting on a fountain with murky water.

Gray skin with black veins, a wide, devilish smile, exposing sharp teeth and large fangs. Skarla initially thought it was some kind of Oni, but it was an undead, a different kind of Jiangshi, stronger and, judging by its energy, legendary!

The creature pointed at Skarla, smiling, then abruptly leaned forward, stepped on the fountain and shot forward, the shock wave sweeping everything behind it as it appeared in front of Skarla, attacking with its sharp claws.

BOOM!

Skarla used his arm to block, and a massive shockwave spread out, cracks appearing on the ground. The creature's face was close to Skarla's, smiling devilishly, then it abruptly spun in the air and kicked him in the face.

The kick hit her barrier, but the creature did not stop, sending a flurry of punches and kicks, like a wild beast. When it fell to the ground, it jumped up to gain momentum and continue attacking fervently.

Skarla felt waves of Internal Energy enveloping her. It seemed wild and violent, but the creature was intelligent. At some point, it realized it needed to find a weakness, but couldn't find one, so it decided to create one, noticing that Skarla was underestimating it.

Then it saw irregularities in his protection. Skarla found it amusing and took off his handcuffs. It was the first time he had ever done such a thing.

“Okay, that's enough!” She grew tired and threw a punch, hitting the creature's abdomen and sending it flying through the air. However, it spun around and landed on a wall, then catapulted itself back toward Skarla.

Skarla put more strength into her fist, then punched, and when the fist was about to collide with his head, he moved his body, a mysterious force seemed to move him, helping him change his trajectory, and like a snake, he advanced, using his supporting arm, and his claws shot toward her shoulder.

She watched and realized too late, pain surged, blood flowed, and the creature jumped away, laughing as it licked its bloody fingers.

Skarla looked at her wounded shoulder, which healed in an instant. “HAHAHAHAHAHAH~” She burst into laughter, confusing the creature.

Tears streamed from Skarla's eyes, she rubbed them, unable to stop laughing.

With a cruel smile she said. “I'm going to have to destroy this Dungeon!” Her tone became serious, she appeared in front of the creature, her palm touching its chest, which received a hole in the shape of her palm.

The creature blinked, unable to comprehend. Skarla soon clapped her hands, a massive wave of Internal Energy exhaling from her body, then the sky exploded, the air itself distorted, and a massive wave of Order element manifested.

Jiangshis looked up at the sky and began to despair, terror stamped on their faces as they tried to flee, jumping around. But the colossal palm descended, obliterating everything and everyone.

In the sky, above the gigantic crater with Skarla's palm, she floated with a cold look.

That last attack was not a simple attack, it was Martial Arts. Internal Energy Control in his movements, a penetrating attack, almost miraculous. He managed to pass through her absurdly high protections and defenses, then wounded her.

It was not a wound she allowed, something beyond her control. This Dungeon proved to be too dangerous.

—————————

PART 3 – Miasma!

—————————

Skarla encountered more legendary Jiangshis. Except for the first one she killed, the others did not know martial arts, showing that they had learned after receiving one of her attacks.

She understood that the Dungeon was dangerous, alive, researching and learning martial arts.

So she began to do her own research. She captured the Jiangshis and observed them, throwing them into places with denser Miasma, seeing how their bodies absorbed it, how their false Dantian accumulated and purified it.

She soon began to cultivate as well, studying the Miasma here, which was different from the lower floors. She understood that Internal Energy had been mixed into it, and she couldn't help but laugh.

It turns out that this copied her Internal Energy, so there is a lot of her signature in the environment. In other words, the Miasma was mixed with a copy of her Internal Energy.

Skarla began to absorb it and saw how the Dungeon made her work easier. As Internal Energy and Miasma mixed, they purified each other for the better.

So as she cultivated, her Chaos Element naturally grew stronger, and as she absorbed the ambient energy, her power grew. It's as if she were recovering something that is hers.

The Dungeon's mistake was to copy her power, thinking she couldn't take it for herself.

Then the Chaos Element began to grow, and along with it, her Internal Energy began to grow in months, then years, decades, and centuries.

The Jiangshis began to dry up and die as their energy was absorbed.

Before entering the Dungeon, Skarla had almost 2,000 years of Internal Energy. Her decades of effort, cultivating and consuming resources, all kinds of treasures, matrices, and the Heart of the World, all helped to accelerate this.

When she reached the 2nd Metamorphosis, along with her absurdly high physical and mental attributes, she didn't have to worry about any biological limits to her Internal Energy, something that existed in Murim.

Harmony and control over her Internal Energy and body were necessary, but the body of a Cultivator had limits, and the amount it could absorb was also limited. Time provided more strength and energy, and higher Cultivation Realms allowed for even more energy to be stored.

But in the end, there were still limits. Even Supreme Cultivators rarely lived past 500 years, let alone reach 1,000 years.

But Skarla has already surpassed 1,000 years, her body is far beyond the strongest in Murim, perhaps not even the Immortals would have a body as strong as hers, due to the laws of this universe. Then there is the 2nd Metamorphosis, something from another universe that only strengthened her body and mind even more.

It can be said that she has no limits to how much Internal Energy she is capable of possessing. So this place, hundreds of kilometers long, filled with Miasma and Internal Energy that is a copy of hers, is like an extension of her body.

Floating in the air, she absorbed everything, passing 2,500 years of Internal Energy. Irregularities? Chance of qi deviation? Death? There was none of that.

Her body was strong enough to resist, and she converted the Miasma into power, not something that would corrupt her or drive her mad, but only a part of her ever-growing power.

It seems that the Dungeon noticed, but it was too late. When it stopped generating the copy of her Energy, Skarla had already consumed so much energy, making it her own, expanding the limits of her body and mind.

She now has a shocking 5,000 Years of Internal Energy. The percentage of Chaos Element power reached a shocking 884%, until then the highest was the [Thunder God Mantra] at 413%, more than double.

Skarla looked at her arms, felt her body, took a deep breath, her energy reserves more than doubling, the quality also skyrocketing. [Chaos God Mantra] not only became stronger, but also boosted the other Mantras, because the energy present was not only from the Miasma, it was her Internal Energy and there were 7 other elements.

She took a deep breath, smiling and watching from the skies as the place became empty, even more dead. There was no more Miasma, the place had become a desert, with no residual energy, slowly recovering.

Skarla laughed. “You tried to steal something from me, so I took it back, don't resent me.” She practically mocked, looking up at the sky, feeling more precisely that there was something there.

She calmly went to where the portals had opened, there were two of them, one to the 17th floor and the other to the 15th floor. She decided to return.

(Author: I want to give the protagonist challenges, but it's difficult when she's getting stronger all the time.)

—————————

PART 4 – Questions & Changes!

—————————

Upon returning, Skarla noticed that the Miasma no longer affected her, even if she stopped protecting herself. She found it curious.

She calmly went to the camp and saw that everyone was fine.

“What did you find out?!” Curboris was the first to greet her, extremely excited, his eyes shining.

“Let's go somewhere more isolated and talk,” Skarla said, and Curboris took her to his office.

...

“Internal Energy? Your Martial Arts? I see... so the Dungeon researched and imitated your power on the next floor, and you just took it all?” Curboris blinked, not even thinking about the Jiangshis that were his initial focus.

“Yes. Now I have control over the Miasma, I didn't even have to spend years to understand it, the Dungeon literally gave me answers about this energy without me even asking. I found how to mix Internal Energy and Miasma.” Skarla smiled as a mass of black energy floated in her palm.

Curboris swallowed his saliva, feeling such a dense amount of Miasma that he even felt nauseous.

“My wives are going to be very jealous.” Skarla joked and stopped the Miasma.

"A Dungeon that is alive, researching who comes and goes, evolving its undead... worrisome. Good thing you thwarted her plans.“ Curboris smiles.

”That was the goal. Initially, I planned to destroy the Dungeon, even if it provides valuable resources, with such potential, it becomes dangerous. I can take care of it, since I am the pioneer of Internal Energy Cultivation Techniques, what I am teaching the world is of lower quality than what my family and I use. The Dungeon evolves too fast, and whoever dies will probably become the target of their research. If they gain access to the concepts of Cultivation Techniques, I can't even imagine what they will become.“ Skarla sighs.

”Yes, dangerous, but... I'm curious about what the Dungeons would create using Internal Energy as a base. If, with only a rudimentary understanding, trying to imitate its energy, they developed enhanced zombies that have bodies as resistant as steel, superhuman physical abilities, and are certainly not slow or stupid like ordinary zombies, what would be possible for ordinary beasts or monsters?" Curboris' eyes sparkled with possibilities.

“Internal Energy is something that connects with the world, with its energy and much more. Unlike sentient beings, Beasts would act more instinctively, being able to advance, and I believe they would develop sentience in a few decades, maybe a century at most. So I tell you that it would not be advantageous for us humans, elves, dwarves, and so on.” Skarla says calmly.

“I understand that, but I'm curious and it's hard to calm down.” Curboris laughs. “Anyway, I don't know how to teach animals about this.” He shrugged and Skarla didn't react, but she knows how.

Inserting cultivation techniques into an animal's body and mind would not be difficult, after which it would only need to act on instinct and naturally cultivate and strengthen itself. But she will not say that, or Curboris will want to learn and use it to try to evolve animals and monsters, see their mutations and things like that.

Calah herself wanted to create a laboratory to research this and see what kinds of materials could be obtained from a mixture of Magic and Internal Energy, affecting the bodies of animals and monsters.

Skarla didn't allow it, too dangerous, and the world isn't ready for it yet, she isn't ready for it.

...

Curboris watched the 16th Floor, he didn't even know that something could be so dead. Not even the deserts he had visited in the past were so... deserted.

The place was recovering, but it would take decades or even longer. He was speechless at how a mortal was capable of this. The scariest thing is that Skarla is not a formal demigod, she is still considered a Legend.

And knowing that she absorbed energy from this place without being corrupted or suffering side effects, becoming even stronger, makes him both frightened and relieved that Skarla is an ally and not an enemy.

“Hmm... there should probably be some interesting resources here, unique things through Internal Energy, but we'll never know, you devoured everything!” Curboris rolled his eyes, kicking a log that practically turned to dust on contact.

Skarla smiles, she feels things inside her body, she didn't just absorb the copied Internal Energy or the Miasma, she absorbed everything affected by both, contaminated by her copied Internal Energy.

In other words... Skarla consumed everything perfectly, magical plants, whether poisonous or not. Everything in this place was consumed by her, even things unrelated to the Miasma, with remnants of its Internal Energy, she absorbed.

So inside her body, there are many sources of mysterious energy, taking shape, finding their space, being purified and providing all kinds of benefits to her.

The interesting thing is that her resistance to poisons, curses, etc., is growing stronger. She feels her whole body evolving, changing, and perhaps... remnants of what would be the 3rd Metamorphosis.

—————————

PART 5 – 17th Floor!

—————————

Skarla calmly stepped into the portal, sent between spaces, landing on the 17th floor. She took a deep breath; the thick miasma in the air no longer harmed her.

[??? invites you! Accept?]

Suddenly, a message appeared, something rare that she usually ignored because it was insignificant. When it was important, a higher being tended to pull her against her will to ask for something or impose limits, so she just had to get around them.

“Let's see what it wants.” Skarla smiled and confirmed.

Soon the space around her distorts, the Miasma becomes even denser and deadlier, Skarla feels slight pains on her skin, then observes the place where she now finds herself.

A floor covered in blood, mountains of bones everywhere, and looking at what would be the center, a huge white throne with skulls of various species, on top of which was a dragon skull.

Looking above the throne, a beautiful and picturesque scene, an eclipse spreading a reddish light over the earth.

Returning to the throne, a humanoid being with a masculine appearance, crimson red skin, a muscular physique, and about 2 meters tall, faceless, even though it has a skull that resembles a human's, with two long, pointed red horns with golden tips protruding from its forehead.

Skarla felt the power of a demigod coming from this creature, the stench of death that permeated it.

“What are you?” A voice echoed, with the creature at its center, spreading everywhere.

“I don't think it matters.” Skarla shrugged. “And you? Dungeon Master or just the last obstacle before conquest?”

"... a Legend, but wielding a power that should not exist, the first to possess such power... a physique that far exceeds the limits of a Legend. Power that rivals or surpasses Demigods, even without being at their level... an abomination that should never have existed!“ Aggression was in his tone, but so was frustration.

”Life is unfair, just feel lucky that you showed up on my land." Skarla sneered.

The creature stands up, appearing in front of Skarla moments later. She does not react, indifferent as she looks down, where it seems that he does not like this, and his body grows until he is 3 meters tall.

“Very mature of you, you want to compare to see who has the biggest dick?” Skarla mocks and soon sees sharp teeth appearing on his face, an angry smile.

Skarla seemed indifferent to this obvious threat. “If I start attacking, you won't last a minute.” She raised her hand and exhaled a desire to kill, and the creature retreated.

“Okay, that's enough!” A female voice rang out abruptly and a rustling sound came from above. A slender figure in a type of red armor descended, blood dripping from it. Looking closely, one could see that the armor was her skin, moving as if it were flesh.

[Image] →

“My name is Gersha, I am the owner of the Dungeon you are challenging.” Her tone was calm as she stood a few feet in front of Skarla, floating.

“Why did you invite me?” Skarla asked.

“You destroyed my 16th floor. Rebuilding it is practically impossible. It will take 65 years just to renew the energy you stole.” She growled.

“You should have thought about that before imitating my power. It's not something you do. It can anger the owner.” Skarla said coldly.

“I apologize, but I couldn't expect an Anomaly.” She snorts, clearly frustrated.

“Anomaly? Why did that sound so emphatic?” Skarla frowns.

“You—oh? I see... I wasn't given permission to speak, I apologize.” Gersha says calmly, and Skarla narrows her eyes. “But the answers will come as soon as you transcend mortality, becoming a God or Transcendent.”

Skarla rolls her eyes. “But anyway, how are we going to proceed? You stole something from me, so I took it back with interest.” She smiles.

“I want you to leave the Dungeon and never enter it again.” She says.

“That's not possible, it's on my land, I need to take what's valuable and see if it's worth allowing the Dungeon to exist on my land or not.” Skarla says calmly.

“I can compensate you.” Gersha says coldly. “In exchange, you will never enter any Dungeon on my property again.”

“Your property?” Skarla raises an eyebrow, but soon smiles. “I see... if Worlds have their own system, of course Dungeons would have the same.” She laughs. “So, what can you offer me?”

“Enough EXP to raise you to Level 41. That will save you decades,” Gersha says calmly.

“I don't need it. I can annihilate legendary beings as if they were goblins, and I can hunt as many demigods as I want if I feel like it, so I don't want to level up at the moment,” Skarla shrugs.

Gersha's eyes narrow, she contemplates for a moment. “I can make you immortal.”

“I can live for tens of thousands of years and will certainly become a Deity in the future, immortality will be just a bonus for me.” Skarla rolls her eyes.

“I can give you extra points, 5 points.” Gersha shuddered.

“I don't need it, I just recently filled all my skill slots. I don't use the system much, I prefer to skip it and not rely on it too much. I'm not at a very high level either, I'll get a few more dozen points until Level 50.” Skarla laughed.

“What do you want?” Gersha growls.

“I heard that in extremely rare cases, it is possible to acquire a divine reward in the Dungeons, which grants a Special Skill.” Skarla smiles.

“You already received a [Selectable Skill Book], there's a Special Skill in it.” Gersha snorted.

“I don't want to use it, I'll leave it for one of my children. I want to see what it has to offer and choose from among them. But that won't be all.”

“You want more?” Gersha growls.

“Of course. I have the opportunity to negotiate with a Dungeon Master, something that isn't even mentioned in books, I have to take full advantage of it.” Skarla smiles.

“I have no interest in doing your bidding, human!” Gersha exhaled a desire to kill.

Skarla sneered. “Then I'll destroy this entire Dungeon. I've already memorized your energy signature, and since I know you own other Dungeons, I don't know if you remember, but there are dozens of worlds connected to mine, so I should be able to find more of your Dungeons and destroy them all!”

“...”

“I'm bargaining with your assets against you. Either do as I say, or face the consequences. And since I know that Dungeon Masters really exist, I can try to contact others and find ways to harm you. I doubt you guys are such good friends.” Skarla laughed.

“You're worse than a demon!” Gersha trembled.

“A demon already told me the same thing.” Skarla laughed.

......

Minutes passed, and the setting changed to a type of office. Gersha shed her intimidating appearance, as if she were ready for combat, taking on a human form.

A pale-skinned beauty with large breasts and tall stature, bright crimson eyes, a red jewel on her forehead, and luxurious robes, like a noble empress.

[Image] →

“The fact that you're beautiful and hot won't make me go easy on you!” Skarla sneered.

“Let's get this over with, write down the terms.” Gersha growled as she sat down, a contract between them.

1. Gersha will allow Skarla Verona to see the Special Abilities in her possession, without hiding anything, allowing her to choose one of them.

2. Gersha will relinquish the 15th Floor, reducing its danger and turning it into a hunting ground, with random teleports redirected to the established camp.

“You want the 15th Floor?!” Gersha shuddered.

“Yes. It is possible to generate valuable resources using the environment and terrain, which are rare in my world. I cannot abandon them, and since I have a way to increase profits, I will do so.” – Skarla laughed.

“...” – Gersha rolled her eyes, closed them, and looked contemplative, growling slightly. – “OK!”

“Don't act like you're missing out on something. Since Dungeons have a master and all kinds of dangers, but also rewards, it means that you gain something from those who enter. There are many Dungeons that haven't caused any deaths in decades, but they continue to generate monsters and treasures to attract more people. In other words, you gain something from those who are inside the Dungeon.”

“...you're annoyingly smart. But with such high intellect and wisdom, it's the least you can do.” Gersha snorted.

“Can you see my Status?” Skarla frowned.

“I'm a Dungeon Master, I create accessories and artifacts more powerful than that toy you use to try to trick me.” She rolls her eyes. – “I have details on everyone who enters my territory.”

“Interesting.” – Skarla smiled.

3. Gersha does not have the authority to use the power she copied from Skarla Verona on any of her properties.

“... no!” She refused after thinking for a moment. “My Dungeons go beyond just your world, I won't give up such an advantage just because you want me to. I'd rather lose all the Dungeons you have access to and risk making you my enemy than give up that advantage.”

Skarla laughed. “You want to act tough with me? Okay. In exchange for you not using anything you copied from me, I'll give you a book with the basic concepts of the techniques I use.”

“Would that be the 8 Trigrams?” She narrowed her eyes. “If so, I accept!”

“Are you crazy? You think I'd give you my most powerful Cultivation Technique? Not in your dreams.” Skarla scoffed. “I can give you a basic Chaos Element technique, which is what I used to absorb and control the Miasma.”

Gersha narrowed her eyes. “I can research this Internal Energy, it may take decades, centuries, or millennia, but I will achieve good results.”

“Good luck with that. You're just copying the result, not the foundation. There are many concepts behind Internal Energy, something far beyond your comprehension, but if you want to try your luck and create some trash technique, go ahead.”

“... add the method to create a Dantian and I will accept such an agreement.” Gersha said.

“I can give you the basic technique for something similar to the Dantian, but not the real thing, that belongs to me and my family, you don't fit in.” Skarla sounded a little seductive, but also mocking.

Gersha rolled her eyes but nodded.

4. Gersha cannot spread information about Skarla Verona, her family, or her descendants. She cannot sell the Cultivation Techniques she learned from Skarla, nor any potential variations she may create in the future.

“Huh?” Gersha frowned, contemplating. “I can't agree to that. If I buy something, I should naturally be able to choose how to use it.” She growled. “I can agree not to give out information about you or your family, but not the rest.”

“One hundred years. You may not spread any of my Cultivation Techniques of your own accord, directly or indirectly, for the next 100 years.” Skarla smiled.

Gersha contemplates. “If it's only 100 years, I can agree.”

“Then I'll change the first part of the fourth option. You cannot seek to harm me or my family intentionally, directly or indirectly, unless we are the cause of future conflicts.” Skarla says.

“… okay, I don’t want any more headaches interacting with you, your children must be even worse for having you as a mother.” – Gersha growled.

“My children are little angels, they will cause more headaches than me in the future, you can be sure of that.” – Skarla mocked.

Gersha snorted.

6. Gersha will give Skarla Verona the method or way to convert certain environmental energies, such as Miasma and potentially other types, contaminating them with another, as shown when using Internal Energy copied from Skarla Verona, assimilating it into Miasma and vegetation.

“That's not possible, because it's not something I did, but something natural to the system.” – Gersha grunted.

“Then I want you to create a special training Dungeon, in a location of my choice.” – Skarla smiled.

“What?!” – Gersha was surprised.

“I want a Dungeon that has this function and leave a manager there. I will train myself and my children using this method.” Skarla said calmly, a way to acquire decades, centuries, and millennia of Internal Energy with little effort, she couldn't refuse.

"It's not possible, I've already reached my Dungeon limits in your world. Don't even ask me to set up the 15th or 16th floors for that, I won't do it. You became drastically more powerful in a few days by consuming the entire 16th floor. If I create something like that, I will be punished by the Main System and its Administrators for allowing such an irregularity. I know myself that I will be subject to all kinds of limitations as soon as I start implementing your techniques in my Dungeons."

Skarla scratched her chin, thought about it, nodded, then began to list more than she wanted.

Gersha tried to refuse as much as possible, but Skarla overruled her, frustrating the Dungeon Master.

Hours passed, the agreement was signed, and Skarla took a look at the list of Special Abilities that Gersha has at her disposal. From what she explained, it is limited to those who died in her Dungeons, she can collect their Special Skills, and because she is very old, she has many.

Skarla watched, thinking about what to choose, and the next few hours were spent reading, until she finally chose one.