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• A BOON OR A CURSE:

[ INTRODUCTION ]: You've discovered a corpse that shows the signs of forced mutations due to the consumption of beast crystals. However, it doesn't necessarily mean that the beast crystals cannot be used to evolve a being beyond the limitations placed upon them by the nature.

[ TASK ]: Study the effects that consuming beast crystals can have on humans along with monsters and find whether it is possible to evolve a being using the beast crystals.

[ PROGRESS ] :

10/10 attempts to evolve a being.

5/5 monsters successfully evolved.

1/1 humans successfully evolved.

COMPLETION REWARDS :

• Intelligence (INT): +100

• Mystic (MYS): +100

• A hidden reward.

[Claim the rewards?]

YES or NO?

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'Yes.'

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You have obtained:

• Intelligence (INT): +100

• Mystic (MYS): +100

• A hidden reward.

Would you like to open the hidden reward?

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'Yes.'

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Randomising rewards, please wait...

Procedure complete.

Please accept your reward:

• Dungeon crystal

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'What even is this thing?' Arnold thought as the crystal got stored in his inventory. He quickly took the emerald crystal out of his inventory before using his probe skill on it.

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OBJECT: Rare Dungeon crystal

TYPE: Summoning crystal

GRADE: Cosmic C

REMARK: Extremely rare crystal, that can be used to summon a Cosmic dungeon. The dungeon will contain high ranking monsters from throughout the universe and the user will gain 2x experience points by hunting inside the generated dungeon. This crystal can only be obtained as a hidden reward. Importantly, only the user and the ones affiliated with them are only allowed to enter the dungeon. Once the dungeon has been cleared it doesn't disappear, instead, it goes into a cooldown period. When that period is over, the user can reenter the dungeon to collect rewards again. No breakout happens even if the dungeon is not cleared within the set time limit. One crystal can generate only one type of dungeon. 

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"My luck stat really went berserk this time, didn't it?" Arnold smile before storing the crystal back in his inventory.

"What was that thing?" Devon's eyes were sharper than ever. He knew a rare item as soon as he saw one. Although it was his first time seeing a dungeon crystal, he knew it wasn't a common crystal.

"Something we desperately needed and yet I never thought a thing like it existed," Arnold replied as he slipped back into his clothes, "Everyone go and get ready, we're about to go hunting. I'm excited to test our newfound strength." 

"Yes, master!"

With Arnold's command, everyone went into action. While Arnold equipped his gears, Devon kept hovering around him like a housefly. He kept on insisting Arnold to rest for a while but Arnold shut him down for good.

"Devon, what do you think about having our own private dungeon?" Arnold asked him absentmindedly in an attempt to divert the topic.

"Are you going to buy one? I mean if that's the case then we'll have to check up with the syndicate or buy one illegally from someone who already has one."

"I'm not talking about that." Arnold smiled. "What if I told you we can have our own dungeon, inside this place? A dungeon that never disappears. A dungeon no one will ever know about. A dungeon filled with monsters you've never seen before."

Devon went silent for a while. What Arnold was saying was way too good to be true. Regardless of it, Devon knew Arnold wasn't a man who'd joke about such things. If Arnold was telling this to him, then he must be true and then it hi him.

"Wait... so that crystal-"

"Yup. The crystal can be used to summon a dungeon. A dungeon that defies our knowledge of the regular dungeons."

"And you're gonna make such a dungeon inside this... domain of yours?"

"Mm-hmm." Arnold nodded.

Arnold's mind was already set on using the crystal to summon a dungeon inside the void. He had a plethora of reasons for doing so. Firstly, if he were to summon a dungeon that regenerates on its own, he'd be inviting trouble right to his doorstep. While he'd be able to deny access to the country with his current strength, handling the vassals and the paladins would be a different matter entirely. 

Secondly, how would he explain the existence of an item that could spawn an entire dungeon to the world? He wanted to keep strength a secret from the keen eyes of those basta*d paladins. Otherwise, they won't attack him directly and try to use underhanded methods to get to him as Andrex did. Although he was suspicious that anyone in their right minds would pull such a stunt.

Thirdly, he wanted the dungeon to act as his private hunting ground. A place where all of the dungeon's resources solely belonged to him. Also, setting up the Dungeon inside his domain would decrease the cooldown period required for it to reset.

And lastly, his summons could freely use the dungeon to train themselves, rather than just lazing around, even in his absence. These reasons were more than enough for Arnold to make up his mind. 

"But what if you're unable to clear the dungeon? The monsters will destroy everything in here." Devon inquired with genuine concern.

"I guess I haven't told you about it yet. Well, better be late than never." Arnold put his guns away and turned to face Devon, "Pick up this gun."

"Why would I- wait! How is my hand moving on its own!?" Devon tried to stop himself but couldn't. It was as if his hand had a mind of its own. No matter what he tried, his body did as Arnold told him to.

"Place the muzzle on your forehead." Arnold smiled while Devon desperately tried to push the gun away.

"ARNOLD... Stop it please!!!" Devon yelled. His futile attempts couldn't do a thing against Arnold's command.

"And... shoot!"

Devon tightly shut his eyes as his fingers pulled on the trigger and waited. But nothing happened. He slowly opened his eyes again, the pistol was still in his hands.

"There weren't any bullets in the gun, right?" Devon mumbled as Arnold finally let go of his control over him.

"Nope. I just wanted to demonstrate one of the abilities associated with the domain." Arnold took his gun back, "I call it absolute authority. I can control anything within my domain, so even if the monsters got out of the dungeon, which won't be happening, I'll easily deal with them."