Chapter 105: Windows Defender Update
The total NP cost, however, was staggering. The sheer expense made him flinch, a testament to the structure’s complexity and power. Still, the amount of flexibility the system had was astonishing. He hadn’t even needed to think too much about the engineering details; his mere contemplation of a concept was enough to bring a working blueprint into existence.
Karl smirked, a new idea forming. "Let’s try this," he thought, trying to test the system’s capabilities. "How about a structure that creates absolutely anything?"
[ Error! ]
[ You lack the general knowledge to create the blueprint! ]
Karl laughed. "Haha, of course." He shrugged, accepting the limitation, and then climbed the stairs toward the pyramidic ziggurat’s entrance, the laughter echoing hollowly in the cavern. The system had its rules, and he was a pragmatist; he would push boundaries, but he wouldn’t waste time trying to break them.
He arrived at the deepest layer, where the spherical chambers containing the dark mana swirled with dark purple light, a powerful, swirling vortex of necrotic energy. He walked to the right side, where a small console on a pedestal still lit up. He approached it and read the screen.
███ SUBTERRANEAN UTILITY CONTROL NODE ███
System Kernel v12.4.993 Dark Matter Pipe Control System
Available modules:
elevator Manage utility elevators
darkmatter Reroute, release, or drain dark matter
tasks Schedule automated functions
status Show system status logout Exit control system
He typed status. The console responded immediately.
> status
System Summary:
Elevators: 3 online
Dark Matter Flow: stable
Automated Tasks: 1 active
Structural Integrity: 93%
He muttered, "Hmm... How should I do this? There’s no setting or config I can change." He frowned, frustrated at the limited options. He knew the elevator was a security risk, but there was no way to lock its destination, leaving it as a glaring vulnerability. The "Structural Integrity" reading also caught his attention; it was a subtle warning that the dungeon, though vast, was not infallible and required ongoing maintenance.
Suddenly, the console’s screen changed, and a new message popped up, a welcome sight after his initial frustration.
[ Admin Karl_Leech Detected. ]
[ Would you like to update system security settings? ]
Karl was surprised, then relieved. "Oh my god, finally!" he exclaimed. He typed yes. "I was waiting for this to happen." The system responded with another message.
[ Consciousness Print Logged. ]
[ Updating security parameters.. ]
[ Task Completed! ]
[ Locking Destination ]
[ Floors Accessing this utility route must be authorized by the administrator. ]
[ Advisory: Update Authentication Parameters on the 10th Floor: Monitor and Security Wing. ]
Karl stared at the screen, a mix of relief and confusion on his face. "Huh... It’s that easy?" He had expected a complicated process, not a simple confirmation. The logging of his "Consciousness Print" was a powerful detail, cementing his role as the true administrator.
The "locking destination" feature was an immediate and effective fix to his elevator problem.
"Also, how come I didn’t know about another wing on the tenth floor?" he muttered. The dungeon was clearly holding more secrets than he had anticipated. He sighed, the complexity of the dungeon becoming more apparent with every new discovery. "This is getting exciting but troublesome."
Karl then used the teleport feature of the dungeon edit. His body was bathed with lights. He then materialized at the center of the tenth floor, a massive bridged and hanging structure with a large deep dark pit below them. At its heart stood a massive, 120-foot-tall, Level 500 Gatekeeper.
The statue-like knight, a grim figure in black armor, usually sat on a throne with its greatsword planted on the ground, but today, its gaze was fixed directly on Karl, its eyes glowing with a brilliant blue light. Behind Karl, Leo, Rook, and ten elite soldiers carried their precious cargo: a large Cerberus core, six feet in diameter, with a magnetic ring orbiting it. The core thrummed with raw, palpable energy, a miniature sun of pure power contained.
Leo approached Karl, his posture stiff with respect. "My lord, everything’s ready."
"Did you check the core?" Karl asked, his eye sockets scanning the pulsating artifact. He had to be sure it was stable before they attempted this risky procedure.
"Yes, my lord," Leo responded, his voice a low, steady rumble. "It seems fine. The researchers say it’s highly stable, even with its degraded state. It’s just a matter of finding a way to integrate it into the Cerberus unit."
"Good." Karl turned to the Gatekeeper, his voice echoing in the cavernous hall. "Gatekeeper!"
The massive knight turned its head down, its glowing eyes fixed on Karl. The motion was surprisingly fluid for its size, without a single creak or groan of metal. "How shall I serve you today, Dungeon Lord?" it’s voice booming echoed.
Karl then responded. "Can you guide us to where the Cerberus units are?"
"By your will, Dungeon Lord." With a single, graceful tap of its massive sword on the floor, a section of the wall to their right opened with a grinding of metal. A bridge extended from the wall, massive chains and interlocks popping into place, creating a suspension bridge that connected their current platform to a new, previously hidden structure. The walls then closed behind it, a final thud securing the connection. A new bridge appeared with the new one leading to the Monitoring and Security Wing where the Cerberus units were stored.
The Gatekeeper’s deep voice echoed through the hall once more. "Dungeon Lord, the path toward the Monitoring and Security Wing is now opened. However, the doors will need a one-time authorization link to be accessible. This is a failsafe to prevent unauthorized access to the security systems."
It must be the same consciousness link, Karl thought. The system was designed to lock down critical areas, and his unique signature was the key. He decided to test the waters, a small smile forming on his skull. "Alright, thank you Heimdall."
The Gatekeeper’s head tilted slightly, an almost human gesture of curiosity. "Can I call you Heimdall? It’s a name related to a Norse god who watches the gates of Asgard, though it’s from a movie, but you clearly depict him, except he’s just standing there, watching mortals like on a movie theater, instead of a popcorn, it’s a sword," Karl joked.
The Gatekeeper slightly smiled and nodded. The smile was a brief, almost imperceptible shift of its stone-like face. "By your will, Dungeon Lord."
Karl noticed the text above the Gatekeeper’s head change from [ Level 500 Gatekeeper ] to [ Heimdall Level 500 ]. Karl’s smile grew wider. It seemed the system recognized the granted name.
For him, it was just a name for convenience, but for others, accepting a name from a lord was a profound sign of allegiance and loyalty, a complete submission of will. He had just recruited a massive Level 500 Guardian. Even Rook was astonished, his respect for Karl rising with every second. He had just seen the Gatekeeper’s unyielding posture and grim silence and now, it was a loyal servant to his lord. It was a testament to Karl’s unique power and status as a dungeon lord.
Karl gestured for them to follow. "Come on!"
Leo smirked, his own respect for his lord rising and it’s not the shield hero.
As expected of my lord. Even the heavens look up to him,
He then said out loud, leading the others. "We’re right behind you, my lord."
As they approached the massive door made of an unknown, metallic material, a console appeared. [ Admin Karl_Leech Authorization link required ] it read, with a simple instruction: [ Please Place Your Hand ]. Below the console was a screen with a hand sign.
Karl hesitated. "Hmm... I’m not gonna get sucked in, am I?" he joked, taking off his gloves and placing his bare, skeletal hand on the screen.
The console hummed, a low vibration running through the floor, and then responded with a series of rapidly scrolling text.
[ Consciousness Print Logged. ]
[ Updating security parameters.. ]
[ Authorization Parameters Updated ]
[ Floors 1-10 Security Parameters patched ]
[ Floors 1 Marked: Open For Visitors ]
[ Unauthorized Entities will be marked as hostile.]
[ Detecting Entities.. ]
[ 111 Entities Authorized for Level 4 Clearance ]
[ 0 Hostile Entities Detected ]
[ Adjust Parameters on the Main Console ]
The massive doors slowly opened with a hiss, revealing a line of five 60-foot-tall Cerberus units. The robots, made of a sleek, metallic silver, were shaped like lions with horns on their heads, and they were all deactivated, their powerful frames inert and lifeless.
Karl slightly paled, his confidence momentarily shaken. "Good thing we only fought one of them. If all ten of them were activated at once, we might have been fucked."
Leo, ever the pragmatic one, said, "I wonder how long they have been inert. The maintenance work done on this place is crazy."
"I don’t know, exactly," Karl replied, "but if I had to guess, maybe a million years? The energy drain would have been too much to sustain them all."
Suddenly, a small, white, three-foot-tall robot rolled out of the shadows. Rook readied the katana at his side, and Karl’s elite guards postured, their hands on their spear hilts. Karl raised a hand to stop them, and the robot scanned them, its digital eyes glowing with a cheery expression.
"Hello~" it chirped in a synthetic, childlike voice.
If Karl had eyes, he would have blinked a thousand times. "What the fuck?" he muttered.