Proof of Absolute Power
Before heading to work, I climbed up to the second-floor playroom for an inspection. Standing in front of the door, I let out a sigh. “Haah, what a hassle.” I picked up the bear doll mask hanging by the door. It was annoying, but there was no helping it. This place's rule. In the playroom, you must wear a doll mask. A rule created with the intention of protecting the children. This rule is absolute. Even I, the owner who made this space, was no exception. That's what ghost stories are like. Uncompromising, absolute laws. That's why you need a bypass method.
‘The Red Mask dungeon's the same.’
I'd told the dungeon master who bought that dungeon the bypass method. They seemed to still be operating it smoothly.
“Alright, time to head in.”
I slipped the mask on familiarly. My vision narrowed, stuffiness closing in, but so what? Wearing this meant I was recognized as a safe member of the room.
Creak—
The sweet scent of cotton candy wafted as I opened the door and stepped inside. In the dim room, dozens of bear dolls lay scattered across the floor.
“Let's see.”
I counted the dolls. One, two, three, four…
But then.
“Hm? One extra?”
There was one more bear doll.
‘I never added a ghost story like this.’
I tilted my head. Just in case, I quickly pulled up the dungeon management screen and checked the log. Sure enough.
Dungeon ‘Abandoned Mansion’ has successfully repelled intruders.
Death of intruder confirmed.
Cause of death: Captured by Clown
“Ah.”
An adventurer must have snuck in overnight and gotten killed. Turned into a bear doll, it seemed.
“……”
I fell silent for a moment. Mourning the dead adventurer? Nothing like that. Just one thought crossed my mind.
‘Guess I need to stock up on more bear doll masks.’
More guests would come in the future, and with dolls multiplying, hiding spots would run short. I patted the new bear doll's head and left the playroom.
“…Contact lost?”
Baal set down the report, furrowing his brow. Before him stood his informant, sweating profusely.
“Yes. After Sebastian headed to Aiden's residence, there's been no signal at all.”
Baal's fingers drummed on the desk. Sebastian was his most capable subordinate, a powerful vampire. For him to vanish while raiding a mere half-demon's home? This wasn't just getting lost or trapped.
“And one more thing.”
The informant continued cautiously. “According to reports from scouts near the Fog Forest, the humans entering that abandoned mansion never return.”
“Hoo.”
Interest gleamed in Baal's eyes. Anger? No. Pure curiosity.
“Interesting. Very interesting.”
Baal twisted his lips into a smirk. At first, he'd thought Aiden was just a mongrel thorn in his son's side. Something to crush or buy off easily. But no.
“He's not just good at making dungeons.”
Baal rose and approached the window. “He turned his own home into a massive demon's maw, waiting with jaws wide. One that even swallowed Sebastian.”
“M-Master. What should we do? Send a subjugation team now? Or put a bounty on adventurers—”
“No. Leave it be.”
Baal waved him off. “If Belial catches wind, it'll get messy.”
More than that, it was too fine a toy to ruin with crude measures. Baal picked up Aiden's photo from the desk. A soft impression. But eyes hiding who-knows-what.
“Commission him.”
“Pardon? A commission?”
The informant blinked in confusion. Handing work to an enemy? Unthinkable.
“Request a dungeon with the trickiest, most vicious conditions. Hide my name, pose as an anonymous VIP.”
A sinister smile curled Baal's lips. “Theme: ‘Proof of Absolute Power.’”
His voice carried heavy weight. “A dungeon that crushes intruders with pure martial might, no tricks or cheats. An arena no strongman survives. Say that's what I want.”
This was Diendi Make's philosophy. What is true strength? Baal was curious how Aiden would build it.
“Offer a blank check. Make it impossible to refuse.”
“Understood. I'll handle it immediately.”
And once built, he'd dissect it thoroughly, grafting the tech into Diendi Make dungeons.
“Achoo!”
I sneezed mid-paperwork. Someone cursing me? I rubbed my nose and turned on the monitor. That's when it happened.
“Aiden, a word?”
Team Leader Liliane approached my desk, holding a luxurious letter stamped with a red seal. Her face was a bit flushed, more than usual.
“Team Leader? What's up?”
“Congratulations. Another designated request for you.”
Liliane placed the letter on my desk. “From an anonymous VIP client, no less. You're skyrocketing in popularity, Aiden. Word must be spreading fast.”
I felt envious glances from colleagues. A newbie deputy getting back-to-back VIP designations? Unprecedented.
“Like last time, a personal request?”
I picked up the letter. Her Majesty Lilith's had been purely personal, barely impacting my HR Score. Though the bonus was fat.
“No. This is an official company application, designated.”
Liliane shook her head, explaining. “They paid the hefty formal fee just to go official. Means they want you bad enough to spend extra. Proof they love your dungeon-making skills.”
“Hoo, quite the honor.”
I feigned calm opening the letter. Inside, I cheered. Official meant big HR Score boosts.
“Let's see, the details…”
I scanned it. Then paused.
“Hm… Odd theme? Overwhelming power?”
A dungeon showcasing an overwhelming power gap. Yes. The client wanted raw power in the dungeon.
‘Really unusual?’
Not unusual—bluntly crude. With modern adventurers' varied tactics, sheer power alone couldn't sustain a dungeon well. Possible, but poor cost-performance.
“Right? That's the weird part. These brute-force requests usually go to Diendi Make specialists. Yet it came to us—to you.”
“Yeah, tell me about it.”
I agreed. My style was psychological warfare via ghost stories or rules. They knew it, yet requested this.
“Hm.”
Liliane's words echoed.
—Usually these brute requests go to Diendi Make…
‘Diendi Make?’
The company that tried scouting me. Something tickled, but didn't click.
Seeing my contemplation, Liliane continued. “If it's too much, decline. Unlike Her Majesty Lilith, refusing a designation won't hurt your HR Score.”
But I shook my head. “No, it's fine. I'll give it a shot.”
She widened her eyes briefly in surprise, then smiled with trust. “Knew you would. You're the man for it.”
As she left, I eyed the letter again. “Overwhelming power, huh.”
So crudely put.
‘What do people think of for “power”?’
Hulking size? Mountain-shattering destruction? Army-wiping magic? Typical makers would deploy S-rank monsters like dragons or behemoths. But not my way. Too expensive, high upkeep.
‘What's the essence of power?’
Subjugating foes. Breaking their will to resist. So, did I need to wield power? If their strength couldn't touch me? If it became their own shackles?
‘Yeah, that's it.’
An untouchable foe. Uncuttable, unburnable. Despair thickening, growing vast the stronger they shine.
One ghost story surfaced in my mind. Formless black shadows existing only in darkness. Shadow Humans.
‘This'll be fun.’
Stage? A dense forest of towering trees. More trees, more shadows.
The moment terrified invaders lit torches, the whole forest becomes a monster hunting them.
‘Perfect. Let's do it.’
A vicious smile tugged my lips as I opened the dungeon editor. This stage: vast primordial forest, pitch-black. Filled with… very hungry shadows.
“Search. Environment setting, forest.”
“Search. Monster, Banshee.”
Environment: Forest — Dense primordial woods, zero light penetration.
Monster: Banshee — Incorporeal undead ghost. Ideal for shadow twisting.
‘Banshees will be perfect here.’
Undead, ghost-like, no form. I'd warp them into this ghost story's core.
And.
‘Come to think, my yellow room had a Hungry Shadow.’
Recent log: intruder went mad, became entity. System named it ‘Hungry Shadow.’
‘Reference its data.’
Overlay on banshees? Perfect combo.
“Master, your commissioned dungeon has arrived.”
The informant reported in a trembling voice. Baal stood before the massive dungeon entrance, arms crossed. Beyond it, darkness seeped with chilling cold.
“Hoo, a forest.”
Baal's lip curled. He'd wanted an arena, got a forest? Intriguing.
“But… the bypass method is weird…”
Dungeon commissions include bypass info. This one was absurdly simple.
Bypass Method
Never look.
‘Never look’? Ridiculous. The informant gaped; even Baal looked incredulous.
“Absurd. Ignore it—send in the prepared team.”
At Baal's order, the informant shouted into the radio. “Entry commence!”
The dungeon yawned open. A heavily armed monster squad plunged into the forest. Not ordinary monsters—Diendi Make's research elite. Top dungeon analysis team. Magic detectors, analyzers, magitech weapons to one-shot threats.
“Map the structure, recover the core. Eliminate and analyze all interference.”
Baal commanded coldly. Not mere clearing. Dissect Aiden's mechanisms, steal his tech—that was the goal.
“Roger.”
The team leader lowered his goggles and entered the forest. Their footsteps faded into the dark.