​

The silence in the Dungeon Lobby wasn't peaceful. It was expensive.

Director Vane and his entourage of fun-vampires had been gone for an hour, but the scar they left behind was pulsing in the corner of the room.

Thrum… Hisss. Thrum… Hisss.

Reed sat on a conjured stone throne, staring at the Revenue Spike. It was a hideous piece of magical engineering: a three-foot iron rod driven directly into the floor, pulsing with a greedy, rhythmic red light. Every time it flashed, Reed felt a physical tug in his chest, like someone was siphoning gas out of his soul with a garden hose.

[SYSTEM ALERT]

[Mana Tax Siphon: ACTIVE.]

[Rate: 40% of Gross Generation.]

[Current Reserve: 45 / 150.]

[Note: You are currently being audited in real-time.]

"It is disgusting," Seraphine hissed.

The Lamia General was coiled around the base of Reed's throne, her tail acting as a cushioned footrest. She was glaring at the spike with enough hate to melt steel.

"It is a parasite," she spat, her forked tongue flicking out. "It steals your strength, my Lord. I should rip it out. I should bend it into a pretzel."

"If you touch it, Vane sends an army," Reed sighed, rubbing his temples. "We signed the paper, Sera. We're Vassals now. We pay the rent."

He looked around the lobby. His staff was gathered, but the mood was grim. The victory against the Skeleton Army felt distant. Now, they were just broke.

Maira stood by the dry fountain, her clipboard hovering in the air. She looked exhausted. Her uniform was pristine again, but the dark circles under her amber eyes told a different story.

"Financial report," Reed called out. "Give it to me gently. Like you're breaking up with a nice guy."

Maira adjusted her glasses. She didn't look up from her ledger. "Financially speaking, Sir, we are destitute," she said flatly. "That was gentle. The alternative is 'insolvent and liable for immediate liquidation.'"

She tapped the paper with a sharp fingernail. "The bridge is destroyed. That cuts off foot traffic from the south. The 40% tax cripples our ability to regenerate structural damage. And we have seven high-level monsters to feed. Monsters who require mana to exist."

"I can eat rocks!" Terra offered helpfully from the corner. "ROCKS ARE CHEAP."

"You are a cheap date, Terra, and I appreciate that," Reed smiled weakly. "But Seraphine needs heat. Luma needs water filtration. And Grika needs… whatever Grika eats. Gunpowder?"

"Copper wire!" Grika chirped, looking up from a pile of scrap. "It's spicy!"

Maira sighed, a long, suffering sound. "Sir, without an immediate injection of capital or mana, we will have to begin… downsizing. I recommend shutting down Floor 3 and putting Terra into stasis."

"NO SLEEP!" Terra boomed, her eyes flashing panic-white. "I WANT TO SMASH."

"Nobody is going into stasis," Reed said firmly.

He stood up. The movement made his joints pop. He felt lighter than usual, but in a bad way—hollowed out by the tax spike. "We need a stimulus package," Reed muttered. "We need to cheat the system."

He reached into the deep pocket of his black velvet coat. His fingers brushed against something cold. Something jagged. Something that hummed with a frequency that made his teeth ache. The Void Shard.

He had looted it from the Lich. He had carried it through the forest. He had used it to mind-control skeletons on the bridge. It was dangerous. It was corrupt. It was literally a piece of an apocalyptic god.

"Maira," Reed asked, keeping his hand in his pocket. "The Revenue Spike… what exactly does it tax?"

Maira blinked. "It creates a differential pressure on your Core, siphoning Standard Dungeon Mana (Blue/Earth Type). It is calibrated to the universal magical frequency of the Authority."

"So," Reed grinned, a slow, predatory expression that made Grika shiver happily. "It taxes Blue stuff."

"Correct. Why?"

Reed pulled his hand out. The lobby instantly grew darker. The shadows in the corners stretched toward him. The air temperature dropped ten degrees.

In his palm sat the Void Shard. It wasn't blue. It was a swirling, abyssal violet, pulsing with a necrotic, heavy gravity.

"Boss," Grika whispered, dropping her wrench. "That looks… tasty."

"That is a Class-S Corruption Hazard," Maira warned, taking a step back. "Sir, if you integrate that, it could destabilize your personality matrix. It could rewrite your moral code."

"My moral code is currently 'Don't Get Liquidated,'" Reed said. "And besides… I've already had a taste. It didn't kill me."

He walked over to the Dungeon Core, the massive blue gemstone embedded in the center of the room. Right next to it, the iron Tax Spike was humming away, sucking up the blue light.

"Let's see if Vane's machine can digest this," Reed whispered.

He slammed the Void Shard directly into the surface of his Dungeon Core.

CRACK.

It didn't shatter. It melted. The violet crystal liquefied on contact, sinking into the blue gemstone like ink dropped into water.

For a second, the room went dead silent. Even the Tax Spike stopped humming. Then, the Core screamed.

It wasn't a sound; it was a vibration. A shockwave of pure, unadulterated power blasted outward.

BOOOM.

Reed was thrown back into his throne. He gasped, his back arching as the energy hit him. It wasn't the warm, cozy heat of the Paladin. This was cold fire. It was the freezing vacuum of space, heavy and intoxicating. It rushed into his veins, filling the hollow spaces the tax had left behind.

His eyes snapped open. They were no longer brown. They were solid, glowing Amethyst.

[SYSTEM ALERT]

[Resource Absorbed: VOID SHARD.]

[Mana Reserves: OVERCHARGED.]

[Capacity: +40,000 MP (Void/Shadow).]

Reed gasped for air, staring at his hands. Violet smoke curled from his fingertips. He felt… incredible. He felt like he could bench-press the mountain.

But the best part? He looked at the Tax Spike. The iron rod was sitting there, dumb and blind. It was humming its dull red note, trying to suck up Blue mana. But there was no Blue mana. The Core was now a deep, swirling Indigo.

[SYSTEM NOTE]

[Audit Status: PASSED.]

[Tax Siphon: 0 MP Collected.]

[Reason: Mana Signature 'VOID' is incompatible with Revenue Spike. Tax Evasion Successful.]

Reed started to laugh. It was a dark, rich sound that echoed off the obsidian walls. "It can't see it," Reed whispered, standing up. "It's untaxable income. It's an offshore account in the abyss."

He turned to his staff. "Ladies," Reed announced, his voice layered with a subsonic rumble. "We are back in business."

But nobody cheered. The room was very, very quiet.

Reed frowned. "Guys?"

He looked at Seraphine. The Lamia wasn't looking at the Core. She was looking at him. Her pupils were blown so wide her eyes were almost entirely black. Her chest was heaving. Her tail was thrashing against the floor, cracking the stone tiles with rhythmic thump-thump-thumps.

"My Lord," Seraphine purred. The sound was wet and deep. "You… you are leaking."

"Leaking?"

"Power," Grika whispered. The goblin was shaking. She had climbed onto the table. Her yellow eyes were locked on Reed's neck. She was drooling, actually drooling a little bit of oil.

"It's so much," Grika breathed, her voice trembling with manic need. "The voltage. It's vibrating. I can feel it in my teeth. I want to… ground it."

Maira stepped forward. Her clipboard fell to the floor with a clatter. She didn't pick it up. She adjusted her glasses, but her hand was shaking violently. A deep, heavy blush was spreading up her neck, contrasting sharply with her stern, administrative face.

"Sir," Maira said, her voice tight and breathless. "My diagnostic readings indicate a severe… pressure differential. The Void mana… it creates a vacuum."

"A vacuum?" Reed asked, taking a step back as the girls began to circle him.

"Nature abhors a vacuum," Maira whispered, biting her lip. "We are creatures of the dungeon. We are connected to the Core. When the Core becomes… hungry… we become hungry."

"Hungry for what?"

"For the filler," Luma bubbled. The slime girl surged up from the fountain. She wasn't her usual bubbly blue. She was a deep, translucent purple, resonating with Reed's new aura. "You feel empty, Boss," Luma gurgled happily, expanding her mass. "I want to fill the gaps. I want to filter you. Everywhere."

Reed backed up until his legs hit the throne.

[SYSTEM ALERT: HAREM PROTOCOL ENGAGED]

[Condition: VOID OVERLOAD.]

[Effect: Your monsters are suffering from 'Abyssal Thirst'.]

[Translation: They need to stabilize their connection. Physically.]

[Suggested Action: RUN. (Or don't. We don't judge.)]

"Okay," Reed squeaked as Seraphine slithered closer, her massive body blocking the exit. "We need to burn off this excess energy. We need to stabilize the grid. Maira! Upgrade!"

"Upgrade?" Maira breathed, unbuttoning the top button of her collar, a gesture so out of character it was terrifying. "Yes. Efficiency requires… upgrades."

"Floor 2!" Reed shouted, pointing a violet-smoking finger at the ceiling. "The River! Execute [Abyssal Resort Package]. Turn it into a luxury spa! Now!"

He dumped ten thousand mana into the command. The dungeon shook. Below them, the rough limestone of Floor 2 groaned and shifted. The water heated up. The rock smoothed into obsidian.

"Everyone to the pool!" Reed ordered. "Hydrotherapy! Mandatory attendance!"

He tried to dodge past Seraphine. She caught him. Her tail whipped around his waist, lifting him into the air. She didn't look like a General anymore. She looked like a starving apex predator who had just found a steak.

"I will carry you," Seraphine hissed, nuzzling her face into his neck, inhaling the scent of the Void. "You are too precious to walk. You might spill."

Floor 2: The Abyssal Spa

Ten minutes later, Reed was chest-deep in hot water, fighting for his life.

The upgrade had worked miracles. The damp cave was gone. In its place was a high-end, gothic-noir bathhouse. The walls were sleek black marble veined with silver. The water in the massive central pool was crystal clear, steaming gently, and lit from below by soft, violet bioluminescence.

It was beautiful. It was relaxing. It was also a trap.

"Sir," Maira's voice came from the steam.

Reed wiped water from his eyes. Maira was wading toward him. Her uniform was gone. She wore nothing but the steam and her glasses, which were completely fogged up.

"Per the new schedule," Maira said, her voice shaking with suppressed need, "Stress Relief is mandatory. And you are the primary stressor."

She reached him. She didn't hesitate. She slid into his lap underwater, straddling him. The water was hot, but her skin was cool.

"Maira," Reed gasped, his hands hovering over her waist. "This is highly unprofessional."

"I am auditing your physical integrity," Maira whispered, leaning in until her lips brushed his ear. She grabbed his hands and placed them firmly on her hips. "Do not move. The data collection requires… friction."

She began to move. A slow, grinding rhythm that sent shockwaves through the water. Reed groaned, his head falling back against the marble rim of the pool.

"Boss!" SPLASH.

Grika cannonballed into the water next to him. She surfaced, shaking her wet hair like a dog. She wasn't wearing her overalls. "The water pressure is amazing!" Grika cheered. She swam over, latching onto his left arm like a koala.

"I need to check your RPMs," Grika breathed, pressing her small, wiry body against his side. She grabbed his hand and pulled it underwater, placing it… somewhere very soft. "My heart," Grika whispered, her yellow eyes swirling. "Feel it? It's racing. The Void… it makes me feel like I'm exploding. Calibrate me, Boss. Tighten the screws."

"I… I'm trying," Reed stammered.

"Not hard enough," Seraphine hissed. The water displaced massively as the Lamia slid in. She didn't splash. She flowed. She rose from the depths behind Reed, her massive emerald tail circling the entire group, sealing them in a wall of scales. She slid her arms over his shoulders, her wet breasts pressing against his back. She bit his ear, harder this time.

"Mine," she growled. "You taste like the deep dark. I want to drown in it."

"Boss is squishy!" Luma chirped. The slime girl bubbled up between Reed and Seraphine. She didn't have a solid form; she was a warm, viscous liquid that filled every gap. "I'm filtering!" Luma gurgled happily. "No space! Only Luma!"

"And me," a soft, ghostly voice whispered. The air above the water shimmered. Elara drifted down. She lowered herself onto Reed's shoulders, phasing her spectral legs through his chest. The sensation of her spirit passing through his heart was freezing cold, a sharp contrast to the boiling heat of the water and the girls.

"Balance," Elara moaned softly, resting her ghostly cheek on top of his head. "You are burning, Reed. Let me cool you down."

"SCREEE!" A wet, indignant squawk cut through the steam. Riva was there, too. She was perched on the marble rim of the pool, directly behind Reed's head, aggressively preening his wet hair. "Boss feathers are flat!" Riva chirped. "Riva fix! Riva make fluffy!"

Reed was pinned. It was sensory overload. It was terrifying. It was the best moment of his life.

[SYSTEM ALERT]

[Status: HAREM PROTOCOL STABILIZING.]

[Void Hunger: Sated (for now).]

[Mana Transfer: ACTIVE.]

"Okay," Reed whispered, closing his eyes and surrendering to the sensation of soft skin, hot water, and desperate affection. "Okay. We're doing this."

He moved his hands. He stopped being passive. He gripped Maira's hips, matching her rhythm. He squeezed Grika against him. He leaned back into Seraphine.

"We survived the war," Reed murmured, his voice husky. "We beat the tax man. We're keeping the house."

"We are keeping you," Seraphine corrected, tightening her grip until his ribs creaked. "Forever."

"Good," Maira breathed, biting her lip as she leaned down to kiss him, a desperate, clumsy, hungry kiss that tasted of steam and victory. "We have the mana, Sir. Now… we just need the Gold."

Reed broke the kiss, breathless. "The Casino," he whispered. "We build the Casino."

"And the customers?" Maira asked, tracing his jawline. "We are cut off."

Reed smiled, his eyes glowing a deep, confident violet. "Don't worry," Reed said. "Our Inquisitor returns in three days. And she's bringing the checkbook."

​The Spa filled with the sounds of splashing water, soft moans, and the low, contented thrum of a Dungeon Core that was finally, truly full.

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