I took a deep breath as the implications hit. Somehow, I could feel the other dungeon. Just one floor, but it was easy to make the connection between that and the constant dungeon mist that had been flowing between dungeons.

I pondered on the implications, the next step of an ambitious plan quickly shaping up. Was it risky? Certainly. I had no idea what would truly happen if I pushed to somehow annex the floor, but it was tempting nonetheless.

Especially since I was tightly bound to my dungeon. If leaving was not an option, why not make the dungeon stronger? I had no method of achieving that, but until now, the dungeon operation had been pretty intuitive.

Of course, if it wasn't for the constant threat from Drakka and the other cities, I might have held back due to potential risks, but at this point, betting to increase my power was the safer option. If nothing else, it would increase the dungeon's ability to process mana.

My hammer danced on my anvil, creating more Radiant arrows and other equipment, multitasking to the best of my ability while I tried to come to a decision … until I did.

I opened another portal, and gestured to one of the soldiers. "Arrange delivery of decay trees," I said as I pointed at them toward the third floor, to the plant nursery. He nodded and left, while I continued my forging.

When the soldier arrived for a checkup, I asked him to summon Rosie. She appeared soon after. "I hope you're not going to yell at me," she said, playful yet serious.

"No, I have a different idea in mind," I said, then gave her a summary of what I had just realized, and what I planned to do, her eyebrow raised in shock.

"Really?" Rosie said quietly, pushing a lock of hair behind her ear. "You're really set on trying this? It seems risky."

I nodded, letting out a slow breath. "It is. But, I believe we need to do it. It's not a risk we can afford to leave untouched. As long as we leave it open, we'll have to deal with a threat we can't win against."

She exhaled. "I don't like it."

"I'm not a big fan either, but it makes sense," I replied and pointed at the decay trees. "Ask Terry to plant them across the dungeon. It'll help increase the spread," I said.

She frowned. "It'll be difficult to plant them in a fire dungeon. It's hostile ground."

"We better try," I said. "You handle it while I focus on the connection."

"Fine," she said. She managed the delivery of the trees while I did my part. I didn't ask whether she succeeded. I didn't need to, not with my connection confirming it. I could feel my senses seeping through the charred breach, my awareness of the floor getting stronger and stronger.

And, the difference was stark. The decay dungeon had always felt cold and stable, not too dissimilar to the decay mana. And, the new floor was the complete opposite. Raging, flaming, pulsating with rage. As I focused, I could feel heat pressing against my lungs, desperately trying to be set free. In a way, it felt like a raging wild beast that had been recently captured, buckling against the web.

It was also tired and unsuccessful in its attempts.

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Suddenly, I was glad that I made the attempt only after the heretic attack, where their methods of awakening the beasts had depleted the fire dungeon enough to render its resistance useless. And, with each decay tree planted and taking hold, the connection grew stronger.

Then, the connection started to spread to the other floors. It didn't surprise me. From my own dungeon, I knew that every floor had a role in creating dungeon mist, which was concentrated on the bottom floor. And, with decay trees and my own dungeon blocking it, the process had been interrupted. All that remained was for energy to spread to the other floors.

"Evacuate both dungeons," I ordered Rosie. They did, leaving me alone. Hours passed where I did nothing but forge, but they were not for nothing, I could feel another floor … and another, until the connection reached the first floor, with multiple gates leading outside. This chapter was made possible by the community at MV|LEM|PYR.

No doubt left for heretics.

I didn't know how things would have gone if the dungeon had owners, but without it, all it took was a mental push, and every single gate but one leading outside had been closed. But, no matter how much I worked, that remaining door stayed open.

"Close, damn it," I growled, as I had no intention of leaving it open, not knowing what was outside. But, as I focused, something else snapped.

The connection between the first and the second floors. Immediately, the fire dungeon came out … detached. The connections between my dungeon and the fire dungeon started to destabilize once more, as if the four floors that I had managed to capture were drifting. I felt like I could let them go and solve the problem.

But, I was feeling greedy.

I pushed my connection to them, doing my best to stabilize the shaky connections between the two … and a gate appeared next to me, connecting the two fifth floors together … and the wild drift stilled for a moment.

The floor underneath me trembled slightly, but I continued the process. I extended my soul to the dungeon, just like how I did back when I was trying to connect with the decay dungeon, but it failed.

Then, an idea appeared. I reached the supply box, and pulled several boxes, each holding a crystal from the boss lizards.

And I stood in front of the gate before I opened the box, and absorbed them. Previously, absorbing them had been ineffective other than a slight flicker in my soul … but now, under the glow of the gate, I could feel the connection. It was different from the awareness of my original connection.

I could have pushed to connect it just like I did with my own, original dungeon, but my own soul connection with my dungeon gave me a sense of uneasy dissonance. The new dungeon was foreign, a half-dead labyrinth that still pulsed feebly with leftover fiery energy. I was afraid of straining my soul.

The temperature soared as I used the method to extend the connection … but with one twist. I didn't link up with the second dungeon, but connected it to my own dungeon, like a subordinate entity.

Once again glad that dungeon modification operated instinctively.

Just like that, I felt the energies of my dungeon move. Not just the mist, which was the surface, but the whole dungeon, all the mana reserves, everything.

On some level, I could feel some kind of fight happening, but it was as quick as it was merciless, now that both dungeons connected on a deeper level, not limited to their mist.

The fight might have been deep and ugly back when the two dungeons were more equal, but mine had been steadily empowered for the last few months, while the fire dungeon had been depleted completely thanks to all the tricks the heretics pulled.

And, it meant that I could feel the new floors directly, though not as directly as I could the fifth floor. It was more like looking through a steamy glass, probably due to uneven connection, but still, I could feel it. I felt that all it needed was to put a mental order, and the decay would start to spread to other floors, destroying the conceptual fire once and for all.

That order, I did not give. Why should I, when the lizards from there had been a critical part of our supply chain. Instead, I kept it back, happy to maintain its nature while stabilizing its existence, pulling it closer and closer.

I was tempted to open a gate, but I held myself back. I saw no reason to and chose to instead bring it to a mana-dense location and change the equation completely.

Slowly, I detected a faint stirring, a disoriented presence as the second dungeon stabilized.

Success.

And, just like that, I was feeling far more confident resisting the next Drakkan attack.