For the next hour, Mize walked Harapan through every nuance of the skill she’d just handed over.

 No grand speech, no cryptic riddles, just direct teaching. 

She unfolded the true uses of the ability, explaining the theory with ease and correcting his missteps before he even finished them. 

Her fingers traced the air as she demonstrated energy flow, giving ideas how to utilize it and more. 

But of course, everything depends on Harapan himself.

Mize wouldn't really care if her expectations weren't fulfilled, but at the very least, try to make something greater out of these gifts. 

'In the end, no matter how powerful an ability is, it depends on the person who uses it"

She whispered to herself, her eyes gleaming in thoughts.

At intervals, she gestured calmly and summoned four more guards from the wooden veins of the library floor.

Each one rose in the appearance of old human men, tier 5 in strength, identical in loyalty to the first. 

Their presence settled in the room like statues, immovable yet breathing, eyes sharp and waiting for her words.

Mize wasn’t one to waste time dressing a corpse. She needed them to work as the first line of defense against whatever is currently encroaching on this territory. 

 She could feel it, something strange was going on. 

To the fact that the strongest lord in the whole world of the human race failed to do anything about it, well... 

Disregard the cases casually, it shows... That perhaps Liam was afraid of something? 

Maybe, Mize wasn't sure. But now she will take this issue into her hand. 

The pattern of those deaths, strange and scattered as they were, had a rhythm.

More like a subtle undercurrent, deliberately targeted. 

 And that rhythm was familiar in the worst kind of way. 

She’d always trusted her instincts, especially when they started clawing at the back of her mind like this.

She didn’t share her suspicion aloud, not yet.

'but... It couldn't be that... right?' 

She questioned it again, though shortly after, she forcibly brushed it off, trying not to think about it. 

'whatever the case, let Harapan test the water first. Worst case scenario, I just have to create several more fake stories to make the whole thing believable'

'if the water is too deep, then I will bail out'

'if it's doable for the current me, then I will play along with whatever is going on'

'My strongest point isn't fighting, but creation! As long as I create more and more pawns, I doubt I wouldn't be the final winner'

Then, she shifted topics, raising her hand to demonstrate the second ability she had granted him: the golden palm.

At first glance, the skill appeared destructive, a clean, brutal weapon meant for ending lives.

 But Mize guided him through its deeper mechanics. 

The golden palm wasn’t only about obliteration. 

With the right technique, it could be shaped into a shield, folded into sensory webs, even adapted for entrapment.

“Power doesn’t come from a skill,” she said, as she wrapped her hand in a soft glow of golden light, “it comes from the one wielding it.”

And she meant it.

She’d seen what Harapan had managed to pull off before, those skills he crafted out of a single inherited ability. 

Dozens of tiny techniques, spun from scraps and made into tools.

 It wasn’t just talent, it was something beyond! 

If possible, Mize would love to spread his abilities as much as possible to his followers. For what? Of course to establish a force of her own. 

At any time, she can take back these abilities if she wanted to. The same applied to Harapan. 

It wasn't a gift exactly, it was "lending for benefits"

And once the benefits ran out, then she will take everything back. 

But then, the cost of sharing her abilities might be a bit too much and time consuming. However now, Harapan had shown a new way to solve this issue. 

If he could do that with the bare minimum, then it was only a matter of time before this library would grow thick with shelves lined in leather-bound tomes. 

Each one a record of something new, something brilliant, created by his own hand.

She was just laying the groundwork.

And time wasn’t something she could afford to waste.

Whoever, or whatever, was behind those deaths might threaten the stability she’d worked so hard to build. 

The so called points utopia. 

If it reached her territory, if it disrupted her plans to turn this place into a steady stream of propelling points... that would be a problem. 

A large one.

Still, Mize wasn’t planning to face it herself.

 That wasn’t her role. 

Harapan would be her blade. A sharpened edge forged under her hand, sent into the dark.

So after a few more rounds of guidance and final adjustments, Mize stepped back, nodded once, and quietly made her exit from the scene. 

No dramatic farewell, no lingering looks. Just the soft echo of her departure, leaving behind a still library, and one bewildered Harapan, standing with the other five tier 5 experts fully under his command.

He turned slowly toward them, eyes catching the edge of the sunlight spilling in through the tall arched windows.

 Gold flickered in his gaze. 

“You were created to serve me,” he said, voice low, almost conversational. “Forged under the Mother’s will. Born with a purpose, a single purpose"

The guards didn’t move, but they listened. Like a puppet attached with strings. 

Then he paused, his gaze narrowing slightly, and his words shifted.

“But I won’t treat you like mindless tools, just machines made to follow orders,” he continued. “You were given life. That means you carry something more now. Feelings, perhaps. Intent.”

"I am no god, I am just a mortal. So I won't take the greatest blessings that you have... Life"

He waited.

No answer came. The guards stood still, unmoving.

 Yet the silence wasn’t empty, it had changed, subtly. He could sense it in their eyes. 

Harapan drew a slow breath. “I was like you once,” he said. “Living without reason. Moving just because I was made to.”

He looked up, a calm smile flickering across his face. “But then I met the one who gave me hope. And she gave me something more, a name. And a reason to live.”

His voice settled. “So now... I’ll do the same for you.”

He stepped forward, closing the distance between himself and them.

His shadow stretched across the wooden floor like a reaching hand.

 “I’ll give each of you a name,” he said softly. 

"And we will begin the operation tonight, be ready" 

"Yes, Master"

----------------------------------------

In a blink, Mize appeared high above the western edge of the town. 

Her figure hung suspended in the air, veiled from sight by a thin layer of invisibility.

Her gaze drifted downward as she surveyed the scene unfolding below.

At the edge of the main road leading to the western gate, a growing crowd had formed.

 People were gathered in clusters, voices rising, hands pointing toward the massive stretch of forest that had seemingly sprouted overnight.

 It loomed in stark contrast to the familiar landscape they had walked just yesterday.

It was bizarre, the way how something so huge just appeared overnight. 

“Hiss? This wasn’t here yesterday,” someone muttered, brow furrowed as they squinted at the treeline. “I walked this path last night. No forest.”

“Look at that,” another pointed, eyes narrowing at the shimmering surface that coated the place. “There’s some kind of film... a bubble, like the one around the territory.”

“A space bubble?” someone asked, uncertain.

“You mean the kind where it looks small on the outside but it’s bigger inside?”

“Exactly... but what’s it for?”

“There’s a gate.” A younger man nudged his friend and pointed to the entrance, where a wooden plaque hung overhead. “Says... ‘Dungeon’? What’s a dungeon?”

“Dungeon?” a woman echoed, the word strange on her tongue. “Never heard of it.”

A man in the back perked up, snapping his fingers. “Wait, I think I remember that term.”

He drew curious stares as he explained, “If I’m right, dungeons are sacred zones where Awakeners go. Dangerous places filled with monsters, but packed with treasure too.”

"There are a lot of dungeons in the inner region"

“For Awakeners only?”

“Yeah. These places are gold mines for them but also death traps if they’re careless.”

"As for us, don't even think about going in, else you would just be throwing your life away"

The buzz of conversation shifted as realization swept over the crowd. 

Faces lit with curiosity, fear, and wonder.

Up above, Mize tilted her head slightly, a faint smile curling at the corner of her lips. 

Her eyes squinted thoughtfully. “Good,” she murmured. “Let the word spread. The bait’s been cast.”

She lingered in the air, arms crossed as she watched the crowd murmur and speculate. “I saw a few native Awakeners wandering into the territory not long ago. No way they’ll be able to resist something like this.”

The smile deepened, tinged with amusement.

 With a flick of her wrist, a translucent panel materialized beside her.

[Dungeon Management System]

[Name]: Emerald Forest

[Biomes]: Nature, forest, gigantic traits, maze, damp

[Realm Access]: Tier 0 – Tier 3

[Size]: 10 kilometers

[Monsters]: Slithering Python, Verdant Fangwolf, Creeping Mossfiend, Ironclad Razorback

She skimmed the interface, one finger tapping lightly against her lips.

“Tell me, System,” she asked, her tone casual but direct, “if I used my own ability to tweak the dungeon’s structure, would there be any backlash?”

[No, Host. The dungeon operates independently from the Warp System. Your innate manipulation ability will not interfere.]

[However, altering system-operational values manually will result in mental strain. The cost may vary.]

Mize’s ears twitched faintly at the warning, and she narrowed her eyes. “So it’s possible.”

[Yes, Host. But proceed with caution.]

“Understood.” She nodded, lowering herself gradually until she hovered just above the surface of the translucent dome that sealed the forest below.

Her hand stretched forward, fingertips grazing the dungeon panel.

 She paused over the “Size” field.

“Then... let’s scale it up.”

Her fingers moved.

Boom.

A thunderous crack exploded overhead, loud enough to make the earth feel like it had flinched. 

Down below, the crowd recoiled, shouts breaking out as people stumbled away from the epicenter in a panic.

Mize didn’t flinch. 

She barely blinked.

Her focus was fixed on the panel, hand pressing in further as she forced her will into the numbers. 

The strain crept in immediately, like a wire tightening in the back of her skull. 

Her mental energy bled out in waves as she dragged the number upward, slotting an extra zero into the size.

“Brute force burns more fuel,” she muttered through her teeth, “but it gets the job done.”

The storm in the sky faded as quickly as it came. 

The dome and the forest within it looked unchanged from the outside, still a ten-kilometer ring of dense green. 

But Mize knew better. 

The internal space had stretched drastically, folding in on itself and multiplying its volume.

Which meant one thing: more monsters. A lot more will spawn.

As the pressure in the air settled, the noise had already attracted attention.

From the direction of the town, a group of sentry guards jogged over, weapons at the ready. 

They passed through the main gate, scanning the area for any sign of a disturbance.

They found nothing.

Then, a barked command: “Lord Elias has issued new orders. This entrance is now under our watch. We’re setting up post here, understood?”

The captain’s voice rang clear, and the soldiers quickly moved to position themselves along either side of the dungeon’s gate.

Mize observed the arrangement with a hint of amusement. 

The gate, plain as it looked, was the only real access point.

 No walls surrounded the forest, yet there was no other way in. 

Anyone who tried to sneak around would find themselves bounced back, dizzy and disoriented.

She chuckled to herself. “Would be hilarious if someone actually tried that.”

With a lazy flick of her hand, glowing signboards popped into existence around the perimeter. 

Each bore a simple warning: “Entry only through the gate.”

Of course, she didn’t expect everyone to listen.

She deliberately placed the signs in just enough spots to stir curiosity.

 For some, the warning would be bait more than deterrent. She counted on it.

Let them try. She was looking forward to the outcome.