Chapter 4

When it comes to the Demon King's underground dungeon, what would be the first thing that comes to mind?

A vast and complex labyrinth, treacherous and terrifying traps, and... powerful and fearsome monsters.

That's right, that's the key point. Any Demon King would have a large group of monsters serving under him. Even other Demon King candidates are no exception. Eldest brother Klein's Black Knight Order is the most elite force in the Demon Realm, while second sister Lillith's Dark Elves and Succubus Legion are lethal weapons in the darkness. As for fourth sister Vivian's Black Dragon Legion, it is even more terrifying. Even the devils who run rampant in the Demon Realm would cower in fear at the deafening roars. Even the relatively peaceful fifth sister Nebelius possesses the power to easily crush any force in the underground.

This is the orthodox path that every successor to the Demon King follows—once they start building their own underground dungeon, the successors will command their armies to sweep through all the intelligent races around the dungeon like a storm, either enslaving them or using them as guards.

To put it bluntly, it's a bit like the Age of Exploration, where the old empires would set out with invincible fleets to explore new continents. So even if they encountered natives who would shout and scream, a few cannon shots would be enough to make them scatter in all directions. At that point, whether to capture slaves or establish colonies would depend on their mood.

Jann, however, started from scratch, with nothing. It's no wonder, as the demons respect strength, and Jann had not shown enough power to easily gain the loyalty of his subordinates.

Fortunately, Jann was well aware of this and did not think about finding help. Otherwise, his ultimate fate would probably have been to be used as a puppet.

Unable to gain assistance from the outside, Jann could only rely on the summoning crystal within the dungeon. In fact, at the very beginning, Jann did have a chance to build a summoning crystal. However, at that time, he was still in the Demon Realm and could not set up the dungeon. Therefore, Jann ultimately abandoned the idea of building the summoning crystal and instead summoned Enya.

It turned out to be a very wise decision for Jann.

However, the summoning crystal still needed to be built. To expand his power, he naturally needed more guards. Jann couldn't rely solely on himself and the goblins who were mining to protect his dungeon. He also found the orcs and troglodytes, with their low intelligence, to be unsuitable. Therefore, after completing the daily tasks given by the system and regaining the right to build the summoning crystal, Jann immediately and without hesitation chose to build it.

And then came the fateful day.

"Master, the summoning crystal has been completed..."

After carefully checking the summoning crystal again, Bix stood up and timidly spoke to Jann. Bix was no longer the dirty gnome slave she once was. Her dirty robe had long been replaced by a black and white maid's dress, along with white stockings and deer leather boots, giving her a genuine maid's appearance.

If this were on Earth, Jann would probably be arrested for employing child labor—although, in reality, the girl who looked to be only about ten years old was actually nearly eighty.

"Very good."

Hearing Bix's report, Jann waved his hand, and Bix lowered her head, a look of joy on her face as she obediently stepped aside.

On the surface, the gnome seemed no different from before. But Jann knew that after accepting his demonic mark, Bix had changed.

Unlike a wizard's contract or mental control, the demonic mark is not a forced brainwashing that turns the marked into a mindless idiot. Instead, it is more insidious, cunning, and difficult to break.

It does not force the marked to be loyal and obedient, but rather slowly influences their inner mind, suggesting that the one before them is their master, and that they will feel very happy and content as long as they complete the tasks given by their master.

When the marked completes a task, they will feel a strong sense of happiness and satisfaction. This will make them work even harder for their master, and as this becomes a cycle, the marked will automatically fall into it, becoming the Demon King's most loyal subordinate and servant without any brainwashing.

Moreover, the marked's personality, knowledge, and memories will not change.

For example, Bix still clearly remembers her hometown, her parents, and her friends. Her feelings for them have not changed. However, she no longer thinks about returning home. Under the influence of the mark, Bix's current priority is to serve her master.

Compared to this, returning home is almost negligible.

This is why there are no records in history of anyone who has fallen to the demons being able to reform and return to the right path.

For those who have accepted the demonic mark, no matter how hard you try to awaken them, it is meaningless. They are not being controlled or brainwashed, but rather have voluntarily submitted to their master. What can you do to such people?

However, the demonic mark is not without its flaws. It can only be implanted if the other party is willing or if the power disparity is too great to resist. Otherwise, it will be nullified. Otherwise, if the demonic mark were so powerful, the demons would have long since emerged from the dark underground to unify the continent.

But for Jann, the demonic mark has other uses...

Enough idle talk, let's get to the point.

Looking at the summoning crystal before him, Jann sighed lightly. Then he raised his head and glanced at the system's display of oil, steel, aluminum... cough, silver, stone, and precious crystals, frowning.

"The day of summoning, the moment of life and death. Whether it's a success or a failure... no, whether it's a demon or a non-demon depends on this moment."

Although he spoke in a tragic tone, a hint of a strange smile played on Jann's lips. The reason was simple: Jann had already thoroughly understood the summoning mechanism of the dungeon system.

While he couldn't predict exactly what resources would summon what units, Jann could easily increase the probability of summoning rare units by adjusting the resources. This was the result of thousands of experiments and data modeling.

However, he didn't expect that the abnormally high summoning probability would attract the attention of the game company, who then found an excuse about an unimportant bot script to ban his account. This isn't an MMORPG, and it even involves controlling the character to run away. They even banned him for an auto-clicker?

But it doesn't matter, because before being struck by lightning and transported here, Jann had already increased the summoning probability of rare units to 100% in the main server system. Hahaha, I wonder what the game company's face would look like when they discover that all players, whether free or paid, are summoning rare units as if they were free... Wait!

Thinking about this, Jann suddenly paused.

Because just then, he realized something very important.

He was struck by lightning and transported here after modifying the system, so... does this mean that the system he has now is also modified? Does this mean he can summon rare units with 100% probability?!

Thinking about this, even Jann couldn't help but feel a bit excited. Although there are many rare units, some of them are not very capable. But even the least capable are still rare units! No matter which one appears, wouldn't their stats be higher than those of ordinary units? And since this is his own system, he doesn't have to worry about the game company changing it back!

If he had known this earlier, he should have changed all the system attributes to 99999...

Now, Jann felt a bit regretful. He had only modified the summoning probability to vent his frustration. If he had known this would happen, he should have changed all the data. At that time, he would have been unstoppable... But it doesn't matter now.

Thinking about this, Jann quickly calmed down. Whether or not it's 100%, he just needs to test it. So Jann didn't think any more and reached out, drawing in the air. Soon, a system prompt appeared.

[Summoning Crystal activated, please input summoning materials]

Even if it's 100% for rare units, there are still racial choices. Only by using a certain ratio of materials can you summon the race you want. Jann wanted to summon powerful units like bone dragons or vampires, but unfortunately, he didn't have enough resources or the necessary structures like a treasure vault or graveyard. So even with a 100% rare summoning probability, it would be impossible to summon those units.

Moreover, given Jann's current situation, even if it's 100% for rare units, he can't summon just any rare unit. Rare units are powerful, but they also consume a lot of resources. Jann's dungeon is poor, and there's not enough food. It's barely enough for him, and if he summoned a few more big eaters, everyone would starve.

So the best choice would be a unit with a small appetite, low consumption, and good combat ability... Decided, it's you!

Thinking about this, Jann had a plan. He moved his fingers in the air, quickly adjusting the resources.

[Ore (15) Mercury (10) Gems (15) Crystal (9)]

[Summoning materials confirmed, do you wish to summon?]

Summon!

The summoning crystal began to tremble.

Three vertically aligned crystal prisms emitted a soft magical glow, like a wave. Soon, a black, deep space rift slowly opened in the center of the "pin" shaped crystal prisms. A cold wind blew out, howling and echoing in the narrow space. The air became cold and damp, and layers of white frost appeared on the ground...

The whispers of the dead echoed in his ears, and at this point, a smile finally appeared on Jann's face.

It seems he had made the right bet.

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