Chapter 390: Conquering The Macabre Forest Dungeon, The System’s Response!

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Riven went on to explain what he had seen, who he had fought, and what this dungeon actually was, along with what had happened to him there.

Daniela interrupted him with a question now and then, while Vladimir let him finish for once. Label kept looking between him and the core.

Riven tried to explain things in order, but there were parts he still didn’t understand himself. Having to say them aloud only made that more obvious.

Naturally, this left everyone rather speechless.

It was pretty insane after all.

"This dungeon is something from the Noosphere?! No fucking wonder it tried to eat us!" Vladimir said.

"So the System is being tricked by these demons?" Daniela asked. "A-And they almost got you..."

Riven nodded. "I think one of them spared my life. He was probably... no, never mind."

He stopped before he could say more. He wasn’t sure enough to explain that part, and he didn’t want them worrying about another possibility he couldn’t prove. Daniela looked like she wanted to ask anyway, but after seeing his expression, she let it go. Riven was grateful for that.

Label looked afraid of such beings and worried about Riven’s physical and mental health. "W-Well, for now, how about we go back home? I think you need to rest, Riven..."

He nodded. "You’re right. This was... quite the day. I can’t believe there are beings like that out there. This whole world has so many secrets I had no idea about. It’s hard to process everything."

Vladimir nodded. "Goddamn it, Claymore and those fucks were already a problem, and now we’ve got this... Can you please stop making enemies all the time?! We’ve still got Mordred and Fenrir’s Cult to deal with!"

Riven couldn’t even argue with him. They already had enough to worry about without adding beings he barely understood to the list. But it wasn’t like he had gone looking for them! He glanced at the core again. They had entered a dungeon, and somehow even that wasn’t as simple as it should have been.

"I know," Riven said. "I know, Vladimir. It’s hard... it’s really hard to process everything, but you’re not wrong... I have to get through it. For now, I want to check something."

"What is it?" Daniela asked. "Oh, the dungeon core! D-Don’t touch it!!!"

"It seems it hasn’t been conquered yet..." Label said. "But nobody’s coming in from outside either. It’s odd... So there are dungeons made of dreams and thoughts from the Noosphere, fragments of the Conceptual Plane... Can you really conquer them, Riven?"

That was what he wanted to know too. Leaving the core alone would be the safest choice right now, but what would happen to the next people who came here? He didn’t like the idea of walking away while it could still do the same thing to someone else.

"I have to try," Riven said, looking at his glowing hands. Bright white psionic energy emerged from them, drawn from his Sword of Memories, which had become more deeply integrated into his Psyche and further refined. "I think... I’ve figured out a way."

"Really?!" Daniela panicked. "But be careful!!!"

"I will," he said. He understood why she was scared. After what he had just told them, watching him reach for the core probably seemed ridiculous. But the power gathering in his hands felt different now. He could control it better, and he intended to keep that control this time.

Riven nodded and touched the core without hesitating.

FLAAASH!

Bright pink and white light surged from the core as soon as he touched it, surrounding him. But this time, it couldn’t do what it had done before.

Daniela called his name, but he could still hear her clearly. He was still here. The light pressed against his hand, and for a second he expected to be pulled away again. Instead, his own power held it back. Riven kept his palm against the core and concentrated. It was working... He just had to keep going.

His white psionic energy completely enveloped the dungeon core and began refining it. The crystallization of pure psychic power became his, and the entire dungeon... answered him.

His power as a Lord even extended to these "fake dungeons" made by the Hand of Inevitability!

Ding!

[Congratulations, Ascendant. As the bearer of the {Sovereign Codex}, you have been chosen as a Lord.]

[Using your Authority of Pride as a Lord, you have taken over the C-Rank Gate "Macabre Forest."]

[The former Gate Ruler, "Puppet Master," has been slain and is unable to contest your control. You have claimed the Gate.]

[The former C-Rank Gate Ruler, "Puppet Master," now serves you. Once he respawns, you can issue special commands to him.]

[You can now summon the Believer Race "Puppet".]

[You gained +700 GP.]

"It worked!" Riven felt his authority expand throughout the dungeon.

The entire dungeon’s volatile structure quickly stabilized, as if nothing had happened.

He pulled his hand away and looked at it, then back at the core. Nothing dragged him in. Nothing tried to take control of his mind.

Daniela finally let out the breath she had been holding, though she still didn’t come any closer. Riven couldn’t blame her. He wasn’t exactly eager to touch it again either.

However, another message appeared in front of him.

[It has been detected that the Dungeon Core was previously tampered with and that the Dungeon Structure was artificially created from volatile elements of the Forbidden Zone.]

[Due to negligence in System Security, the Dungeon’s true creators were able to tamper with it, unnecessarily risking the lives of the hunters inside.]

[The System has now properly registered this error and will notify the Lord whenever they encounter a Dungeon with similar characteristics.]

So it knew now. That should have been reassuring, but they had nearly died because something had slipped through, and the System was only noticing after he had taken control of the core.

A warning would help, sure... but it didn’t answer the question that bothered him.

"So the System can’t just remove them? Is it too late?" he asked after thinking it over.

[Affirmative. These artificially created Dungeons have already been assimilated into the System Interface and the System Rules. Thus, this process cannot be reversed under normal circumstances.]

After reading the System’s response, Riven’s eyes narrowed.

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