“Quite surprising,” Thomas said, his tone a mix of amusement and disbelief.
“What is it?” Ludwig asked, his curiosity piqued as he grabbed a bottle and examined it more closely.
“For this wine to survive for so long… Looking at the rest of the crates and cellars, they had different brands and storage methods. This one, however, was stored here. And it looks like the only type of wine that was untouched, unlike the rest. Do you think it was so bad that even the rats didn’t want to touch it?” Thomas asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
“There’s one way to find out,” Ludwig said, a mischievous grin spreading across his face as he snapped the bottle’s neck with a single twist of his hand.
“You’re gonna taste that?” Thomas’s small figure popped right in front of Ludwig, his expression one of utter disgust.
“What’s the worst that could happen?” Ludwig replied, his tone nonchalant as he brought the bottle to his lips and took a swig. After all, he hadn’t had any real food or drink since he was back in Rima. Now, with him so far away from anything remotely human, alcohol was too precious to pass up.
[Your Undead nature is immune to dizziness, drunkenness, alcohol poisoning, and abdominal pain.]
[You have gained 200% regen for all your regenerable stats.]
Ludwig smiled, a satisfied look on his face. “This is even better than a health potion,” he said, grabbing the wine bottle and pouring its contents into several potion vials he had stored in the soul lantern.
“You’re insane,” Thomas said, his tone a mix of disbelief and exasperation.
“Hey, man, it’s not easy to come by potions. I’m already down to my last two. This is actually a godsend,” Ludwig replied, his voice cheerful as he carefully stored the remaining bottles in the lantern’s inventory for safekeeping.
“You won’t use the rest?” Thomas asked, his tone skeptical.
“These are enough for me, the rest should be saved for another occasion,” Ludwig said, his attention already shifting back to the task at hand. He ordered his three zombie rats to continue hunting, their rotting forms shuffling ahead as they scouted the dungeon.
Without having to lift a finger, Ludwig followed behind, his steps slow and deliberate as the rats did the heavy lifting. The dungeon seemed to stretch on endlessly, and after some time, Ludwig couldn’t help but voice his growing suspicion.
“Is it just me, or isn’t this dungeon a little bit too big…” Ludwig said, his voice tinged with unease.
“What do you mean?” Thomas asked, his glowing form flickering slightly as he hovered closer.
“We’ve been walking for hours, and I’m sure as hell that the Bastos Mansion isn’t this big. Why would the basement be this size?”
“This isn’t the basement, though. This is the dungeon made from it. Once a dungeon encroaches on a territory, it reforms it. Physically so. How do you not know that? Oh, maybe because you never studied the dungeon content we all had at the start of the school year…” Thomas said, his tone dripping with sarcasm.
“You’re the one with the knowledge. Tell me, then,” Ludwig replied, his voice firm.
“Right… How can I explain this… A dungeon is basically a living being,” Thomas began, his words causing Ludwig to raise an eyebrow in disbelief.
“Just hear me out,” Thomas continued, undeterred. “It’s like a non-physical creature that holes up in a specific place—a place with dense mana. It comes in, encroaches on the land, and begins reforming it. After a while, the dungeon will open up and invite mindless monsters inside it, promising them mana, which they need to gain power. On the other hand, the monsters inside the dungeon will act as guards for its core. The core is usually hidden from sight, deep inside the dungeon. Most dungeons don’t ever reveal it.”
‘So basically the monsters level up inside a dungeon…’
“To what end? I mean, what’s the dungeon benefiting from doing all that?” Ludwig asked, his curiosity piqued.
“Food,” Thomas replied simply. “The dungeon also feeds on the remains of what the monsters inside it kill. Their blood, their mana, and so on. It gifts a portion of it back to the monsters. It’s a coexistent relationship between the dungeon and the monsters inside it.”
“That’s a weird enslavement contract…” Ludwig muttered, his tone thoughtful.
“It’s not enslavement per se. The dungeon itself doesn’t affect the creature’s social structure or hierarchy. As a matter of fact, it only stops them from leaving. Well, it stops the majority of them from leaving. They can still go out in batches to hunt and bring prey, even if they’re the social type, like Giant Fire Ants or even the rats. We saw one of them outside the dungeon entrance before.”
“Wait, by that reasoning…” Ludwig said, his eyes narrowing as he looked around. “This dungeon should have been packed full of rats. They reproduce incredibly fast…”
“That’s the other thing,” Thomas explained. “Most dungeons have a capacity that they cannot go over. When they reach that stage, they’ll expel most of the creatures inside it. We call that a Dungeon Break. The creatures will be freed from the dungeon’s control and let loose outside to find their own way of life, while the dungeon will keep a minimum of creatures inside it. Dungeons are actually a protected species in Lufondal, even…”
“What? Really?” Ludwig asked, his voice filled with disbelief.
“Yeah,” Thomas replied. “I mean, they’re an almost infinite source of material and monsters, and are used to help soldiers and adventurers grow. So the empire has strict rules about destroying dungeons. Only ones that could threaten the lives of people or even the country are permitted destruction. The rest are all being tended and carefully raided to keep the monster numbers at a manageable state…”
“That’s a lot of stuff to digest,” Ludwig said, his mind racing as he processed the information. He looked ahead, his eyes narrowing as more rats began to appear. This time, however, there were more than ten of them, their glowing red eyes fixed on Ludwig and his undead servants.
“Looks like I’ll have to personally involve myself. My rats won’t make it fighting against that group,” Ludwig said, his voice firm as he gripped his weapon tightly and prepared for battle. He jumped ahead, his movements swift and precise as he engaged the swarm of rats, his undead servants following close behind.