The void around him pulsed faintly, waiting to be molded.
Kaiden folded his arms and thought aloud.
"Before I start designing kill corridors and lava rivers, I need to know where the entrance is. That’s where all the invaders come from."
He turned his gaze around, scanning the blank horizon. Nothing but darkness welcomed his sight. Then, after a minute of searching, something flickered at the very edge of his vision.
Kaiden floated toward it, gliding through the black expanse. The deeper he moved toward that glow, the more the shimmer sharpened. Soon it was clear: a door-like outline suspended in the void, a gate-shaped distortion of reality.
"Found it."
He could now finally see the light where the outside world would connect to his domain.
Hovering close to it in the air, Kaiden could feel it. That force of dimensional energy, the threshold where invaders would one day set foot.
He grinned in excitement before even getting started; he was already having great fun. "Alright, let’s see what I can do to make their welcome memorable."
A simple thought summoned the interface again. Layers of text and icons spun around him like a digital storm until one menu caught his attention:
[AUTOMATIC DEFENSES]
Turrets, glyphs, traps, barriers. These were defenses meant to protect key choke points.
Kaiden began scrolling. The list was long, but one entry made him instantly pause.
[Lava Turret] – 500 DMP
Automated defense that launches molten projectiles at invaders. Effective against large groups. Medium-range. High destruction and armor penetration. Low recharge rate.
"Oh, hell yes," Kaiden grinned devilishly, already picturing it in his mind. The look on the invaders’ faces as the gate erupted in waves of liquid fire made him grin from ear to ear.
"A warm welcome."
He tapped the icon.
[Confirm placement: 1 Lava Turret.]
[Cost: 500 DMP]
"Confirm," Kaiden said. He only had 10,000 DMP, or Dungeon Master Points, to work with. This meant that 500 for a single turret was quite the steep price, but he was willing to pay it.
Kaiden thought setting up a brutal kill zone right at the entrance was the best use of his points. Because after leaving the entrance, they could go on different routes. Thus, anything he placed here would have to be tackled by the invaders, while other defenses might be skipped simply by not going toward them.
This was thus the most effective use of his points.
For a second, everything seemed fine. Then the interface flashed red.
[Error: Locked Structure.]
[Low-Tier Dungeons have no access to Lava Turrets.]
"...What?" Kaiden blinked, then frowned. "Then why the fuck are you showing it to me in the first place?"
The interface didn’t respond.
He groaned, rubbing his temple. "Ugh, fine. I’ll have to work with what I’ve got."
He swiped again, scrolling through the cheaper list of low-tier traps. His eyes landed on a simpler and much cheaper option.
[Spike Trap] – 50 DMP each
Simple, reliable, and painful. Deployable in any terrain. Can be concealed under false flooring or an illusory cover.
He selected one, intending to place it right in front of the gate entrance.

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