“Oho…? So, they’re approaching us? Well, I’ll let them come closer.” I grinned maliciously at the holographic screen showing 30-ish humans coming in deeper into my Dungeon.

I was armored with my Armor of the Primates, and in my hand, I held a new weapon I forged with my blacksmithing skills. It wasn’t anything unique, or even above average.

Really, it’s just a large piece of metal, with a handle… Though, it could still bash in a man’s skull because of how heavy and hard it is.

Using my glorified club as a crutch, I look once more at the holographic screen showing the progress of the soldiers moving in my Dungeon.

During their time traversing that giant pitfall trap I had made, I commanded the chimps to wait until a sizeable number of soldiers passed the trap after botching their attempt to kill the commander to trigger it, and it looks like the number of soldiers heading our way is enough for me to get a good grasp on how strong my Dungeon mobs/defenders are.

I’m keeping my promise with Domino. Unless there is an emergency, I won’t step into the fight. My mobs/defenders should get some real battle experience, for those who haven’t experienced it yet, at least.

Observing the area around me, I see the rest of the mobs and defenders psyching themselves up for a fight. Though, in my eyes, I doubt this would be a fight, but a massacre.

We outnumber them, have the home advantage, and most of us are stronger than an average human. The only trouble I could think of are the unknown Hunters, as well as their commander. I have too little information about them.

Could they use magic? Do they have a trump card? Do they have that get-out-of-jail card like the Hunter team led by the deceased couple in stock?

So many questions, but no answers, but I couldn’t distract myself with those thoughts. Throwing those thoughts into the back of my mind, I focused my gaze back on the holographic screen, showing the soldiers already moving through the passageway.

I grinned.

‘Time to get to work.’

[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]

~ Third Person POV ~

“It’s quiet… Too quiet…”

The lead Hunter murmured as he exited the passageway after having crossed the poison swamp. This led him to a forest biome, one full of green grass and green leaves.

“Shit… Visibility is low.” The commanding officer cursed as he observed the surroundings. Motioning for a moment with his hands for the group to huddle.

“In the case of an unwinnable fight, I want all of you to group with me so we can leave with the Return Stone.” The soldiers gulped as they mentally thought about an unwinnable fight.

Taking the warning to heart, all of the soldiers and Hunters cautiously moved through the forest, making sure that they wouldn’t trigger another trap that could spell their doom.

From the intel the commanding officer received from Bentley, the Dungeon Master, Jionni, was a huge, black, hairy brute that was about 10 times as strong as a human. The information he also got from the dead human couple also told him that there were more of the same species as him.

‘We need to find out more about this Dungeon,’ he grimaced as he recalled the time before the monster surge, ‘otherwise, they may turn into a threat.’

While advancing, a soldier accidentally stepped on a twig, alerting everybody in the group. Their glares sent at the offending soldier made him wince as he shielded himself with his thick skin. The commanding officer sent more hand signals, relaying to be attentive to their surroundings.

“Strange… I can’t spot a trap anywhere…” The lead Hunter whispered towards the commanding officer. ‘They are either extremely well hidden, or there are none in this area.’

Being a trap detector, the lead Hunter had his fair share of diving into Dungeons with a lot of traps. For the most part, traps mostly appear in one area, and disappear in the next. Or, areas could have traps continuously at the price of having the monsters defending the Dungeon susceptible to them as well.

Traps weren’t only lethal to the invaders; they were also lethal to the monsters inhabiting the Dungeon. That is the reason why areas in Dungeon could have traps in one area, and none the next.

And if his hunch was correct, then this area would have a number of monsters waiting for them to pounce, but so far, he has seen not a single monster.

“Keep your guards up, I don’t like the looks of this.” The lead hunter said to the rest of the soldiers, including the commanding officer. Of course, they obliged, receding their complaints about the noise because the Hunter wasn’t well-versed with their hand signals.

They slowly advanced, until they came upon a clearing. They stood rooted in their place, shock gracing their features as they beheld the wooden fortress in their vision. The Hunter, knowledgeable about Dungeons, had a near hysteric fit.

‘Screw this Dungeon being B-rank! This is A-rank!’ The lead Hunter grimaced at their predicament. ‘There’s an intelligent Dungeon Master here! We need to leave now!’

Oblivious, but seconding the thoughts of the lead Hunter, the commanding officer tightly gripped the Return Stone in his pocket.

The commanding officer gestured with his free hand towards every soldier to group up as he brought the Return Stone out of his pocket to use it, only to be stopped when a projectile made of fire tore his arm off from his body, dropping the Return Stone in turn.

“GAAH!” He clutched the stump of his arm, the bleeding staunched because of being cauterized.

“Now, now, guests shouldn’t leave without being tended to by the owners. That would just be bad manners.” A deep, gravelly voice entered through the ears of every human in the group. When they saw the monster, all of them had their eyes widened in fear. “After that distasteful stunt you pulled at the entrance of my home, do you think that I would let you go scot free?”

The monster chuckled to itself, before it suddenly halted, its face no longer holding any emotion.

“Filthy humans,” and that expressionless face, soon gave way to rage, “you all don’t deserve to live.”

With a stomp of its foot, a giant wall of earth rose around them, causing the soldiers and Hunters to yelp out in shock and fear. The walls rose higher than the height of three average humans combined, effectively trapping them, with no way out but forward.

And into the monster itself.

Soon, more monsters started appearing. Those that resembled the intelligent monster before them, some smaller variants, ones with colorful faces…

Then the orcs, and goblins, as well as a lizardman…

If their despair wasn’t visible earlier, it was now.

“Now then, let the games, begin!” The monster smiled.