Abyssus was shocked when he felt the anger wash through Leon. He had not expected Leon to be angry at what just happened. Did he not know what it meant to merge with the consciousness of a dungeon?!
Although he felt affronted, Abyssus quickly obliged, and moved to the space he had made for himself within the Abyss Set.
After Leon felt the strange presence vacate him mind, he finally calmed down, although he was still simmering with rage. The reason for his anger was quite simple. He was tired. Of people just doing what they wanted to him.
“What are you?” He asked, his eyes glowing with rage.
“I am Abyssus, the dungeon consciousness of this dungeon. By clearing the Dark Abyss Spider Dungeon, you have freed me and gained control over this dungeon.” Abyssus dutifully explained the situation while also explaining what he was.
“Wait, what?!” Leon, upon hearing those words, failed to comprehend and stuttered.
“I said, I am the dungeon consciousness of this dungeon, Abyssus, and by clearing this dungeon, you have freed me and gained control over this dungeon.” Abyssus replied again.
“I-what?!” Leon was still too shocked to form a proper sentence.
“Did you truly not hear me the last two times?!” Abyssus suddenly exclaimed in an exasperated tone.
“I um… I heard you…” Leon said, frozen stiff.
“…” Abyssus did not reply, as he understood now that Leon was trying to come to terms with his new situation.
A few minutes passed as Leon sat down on the ground to think over things properly. After a while, he suddenly spoke up.
“How long have you been the dungeon consciousness?” He asked.
“I do not know.” Abyssus replied. He had been the dungeon consciousness from the point of his creation, and did not know how much time had passed since then.
“The what powers do I have now that I can control the dungeon?” Leon asked a different question.
“You can mobilize the creatures of this dungeon as you wish. Although there is a limit to what you can do at the time.” Abyssus explained. “By absorbing the Dungeon Core, its level has been reset to the lowest, so the number of creatures it can spawn is limited. Their strength will also be limited.”
“Oh?” Leon’s eyes went wide. That was amazing! If he could rely on the dungeon as a source of monsters, then he would be able to expand him army quite a bit more even on top of his Spirit Storage skill.
“How many can it store now, and how do I level up the dungeon?” He quickly asked, feeling his excitement overwhelming his other feelings.
“At the lowest level, the Dark Abyss Spider Dungeon can spawn only a thousand spiders. With each level, the amount increases exponentially.” Abyssus replied.
“Hmm, how many spiders were in this dungeon before I absorbed the core?”
“Thirty thousand.”
“Huh!?” Leon stuttered in shock. Had they really killed thirty thousand spiders? If they had, then that would have been amazing! But he knew that they had not actually killed that many. Perhaps the spider queen’s death had prevented the others from being summoned or something, but Leon did not inquire more. Instead, he stood up.
“Now… Tell me what you did to my body.” His tone turned steely as he addressed Abyssus.
“Your body is still as it has always been. I only merged with you to give you full control over the dungeon. I AM the dungeon core, so it is necessary that we fused together so that you will be able to use this ability to the fullest extent.” Abyssus explained.
“I see…” Leon rubbed his chin in thought. This was a good development, but he would have preferred to have been given a heads-up before Abyssus suddenly merged with him. It was still off-putting.
“Hmm, Abyssus, as the Dungeon Core, you must surely know where any other treasure is. Come on, tell me where it is.” Leon remembered the reason why he had stepped through the portal in the first place.
“As you wish.” A shimmering white portal popped into existence a foot away form Leon. “The treasury is on the other side.”
Nodding, Leon stepped through the portal and felt the warm wave of mana wash over him once again. When his vision cleared, he was flabbergasted.
A large hall that was at least as wide as a basketball court laid on the other side of the portal. The large hall was held up by golden pillars. Looking around had Leon wondering it the gold color was just paint or if it was actually real gold.
“Are those made of gold?” He could not hold back his curiosity and had to ask.
“Yes.” Abyssus replied easily.
“Heavens…” Leon sighed and stepped forward. His covered feet pushed aside several silver coins as he moved forward, and expanded his arms.
“I’M RICH!!!” He yelled up to the ceiling before bending down and picking up a gold coin.
“How the heck does a C rank dungeon have so much money? Are C ranks actually that rich in the outside world?” He wondered out loud.
“I do not know…” Abyssus replied, but Leon ignored him, as the question was never meant for him.
Leon dropped the coin and looked to the far end of the hall and saw a white fountain at the end of a wide pool that spouted white water. When he looked at it, that feeling that he got intensified, meaning that he had found the catalyst for his Race Advancement.
With a thought, the Abyss Set left his body, and he began to walk toward the pool, leaving everything, including Abyssus behind.
When he reached the pool, he had already kicked off his boots and shed away his clothes. His bony foot dipped into the white water, which was warm and fresh on his body.
“Ah…” He let out a sigh and kept on walking until he reached the center of the pool. The white water reached up to his chest at that point. Without wasting another moment, Leon allowed his body to go down to the bottom of the pool as he laid down.
[A catalyst for your Race Advancement has been found. Do you want to begin the advancement?]