“Thank you, you saved me~” the dumb little loli who had narrowly escaped death said sincerely.
“No problem, it’s what I’m supposed to do.”
“So? What were you doing in there? Why did so many monsters suddenly appear?”
Compared to the polite Sophia, the brown-haired maid who had spent more time with Su Yao was giving her a look that said, “What kind of stupid thing is this guy up to?”
The twin sisters who were examining the minotaur corpses nearby also came over after hearing this.
Su Yao thought for a moment. “The DP I spent is coming back to bite me,”—it was better not to mention such a ridiculous and absurd thing.
“These monsters were generated when I designed the dungeon maze. I don’t even know why they’re chasing me.”
That was a lie, but to maintain the image of wisdom and authority (or so she thought) in everyone’s mind, this small bit of dishonesty was necessary.
The idea of monsters in her own dungeon disobeying her commands was headache-inducing; after all, Su Yao was still counting on them to guard the treasure chests.
She checked her status panel.
【Level】: Lv10
【HP】: 119 (106+13)
【Strength】: 29 (25+4)
【Agility】: 41 (35+6)
【Magic Power】: 133 (125+9)
【Skills】: Light Magic Lv3, Court Etiquette Lv6, Swordsmanship Lv10
【Innate Skills】: Royal Dignity, Magic Perception
According to the “Royal Dignity” skill description, when Su Yao gave orders to living creatures, there was a certain chance that the target would obey directly.
But when she used this skill on monsters in the dungeon, it wasn’t just ineffective—it was completely useless.
Judging from the previous slime incident, probably only if her level was higher than theirs would these monsters obey her commands.
Looks like before officially opening the maze to the public, she needed to level up fast.
At the very least, she had to reach the level where “Moving Stone Walls” would obey her.
But before that, there was one more thing to do.
“Do you all want to make a bet with me? If you win, I’ll agree to any request you have. If you lose, you have to do whatever I say!”
The blonde loli proudly puffed out her chest and said confidently.
“What kind of requests?”
“All agreed to?”
At those words, everyone’s eyes practically lit up. Even normally reserved Sophia got a little excited upon hearing the bet.
“Of course, they have to be reasonable requests within my power!”
Su Yao added this last part deliberately while glancing at Claire, since this one had a record.
Claire caught on immediately, and a blush slowly crept from the maid’s neck up to her cheeks.
You blush like a teapot!
Speaking of which, this one had always wanted to switch roles and be the master. Let’s be clear— even if Claire won, Su Yao wouldn’t put on a maid outfit and call her ‘Master’!
“Ahem, the bet is simple. A new maze has been generated in the dungeon. If you can open the treasure chest in the deepest room of the maze within the time limit, you win; otherwise, I win. How about that?”
“That simple? No monsters or traps?”
Claire asked suspiciously. Based on her understanding of Su Yao, this blonde loli was always very purposeful in everything she did.
There was no way she’d randomly hand out freebies. Since she said “any request,” she had to be hiding something.
“Nope, just one trap near the entrance, very obvious. The monsters you fought earlier are all defeated; now there are only slimes inside the maze.”
The brown-haired maid looked at her suspiciously, but Su Yao’s expression was natural, and in Claire’s impression, she had never lied to her.
Who knew what kind of tricks this blonde loli was up to this time.
“Alright, I’ll take that bet.”
“Miss Su Yao, I’m in as well.”
“Master, we’ll bet with you too.”
Good. She’d successfully recruited a group of maze testers. Not only that, but they had innocently agreed to her wager.
Now she didn’t just save on wages; her employees could also fulfill the boss’s wishes! This was what working on a loan looked like!
What? What if she lost the bet?
Impossible! Absolutely impossible!
Even without “Moving Stone Walls,” Su Yao was confident she could use just the puzzles and traps she had to keep ordinary people trapped in the maze for two to three days.
There was no way they could reach the deepest part in one day.
Thinking about this, she couldn’t help but start pondering what kind of requests she’d make once she won.
“The rules are simple. Each person chooses one of the doors in the entrance area where the large magic springs are located to enter the maze. Anyone who completes my requirement within a day wins; otherwise, they lose.”
After announcing the rules, Su Yao prepared torches for lighting and two Heartfelt Bento per person, then briefly explained some precautions.
For example, how to use teleport points, what to do if trapped inside the maze—just stay put and wait for rescue, and that two small magic springs could provide drinking water…
After finishing, she watched them enter the maze.
The lively dungeon entrance, once filled with people, was now left with only her and a pile of monster corpses (or remains).
Suddenly alone, the blonde loli was a bit dazed. Since picking up Claire, this was the first time this had happened. How to put it? Something seemed missing.
Oh well. Su Yao activated her ability to convert all this trash into DP. Honestly, this ability was really convenient for disposing of bodies.
During the time Claire and the others tested the maze, Su Yao planned to use the time to design rewards for adventurers.
Anyone who’s played games knew that for treasure chests to grant resources, the resources had to be limited.
Only then would players keep searching for chest after chest.
But her dungeon wasn’t a single-player game, so controlling how much players could obtain was crucial.
Ideally, about eighty percent of adventurers who cleared her maze would get a small portion of the rewards—two to three days of dungeon adventure equaling five days’ pay working outside.
Eighteen percent would get most of the rewards—two to three days of dungeon adventure equaling a week off outside.
The last two percent were the big dream she drew for everyone coming to the maze.
As long as they had enough strength and luck, she planned to let them make a little fortune in her dungeon.
Just like in gacha games, when a seal slaps their belly and says, “I got it in ten pulls, why do you keep hitting pity?”
Though such people deserved the worst, their existence made others keep throwing resources into the pool endlessly.
Of course, this was the ideal. In reality, there would also be unlucky “non-oil” players who might get stuck in the maze for a long time without much reward.
That was why Su Yao placed two small magic springs separately in the middle of the maze.
Running out of food wasn’t a big deal; she hoped these unlucky ones wouldn’t die of thirst inside.
Finally, she drafted the treasure chest reward list as follows:
【Common Chest—Bread】Consumes 30 DP, placed 100 times.
【Common Chest—Food】Consumes 100 DP, placed 50 times.
【Exquisite Chest—Iron Sword】Consumes 250 DP, placed 20 times.
【Exquisite Chest—Beginner Staff】Consumes 250 DP, placed 20 times.
【Exquisite Chest—Battle Axe】Consumes 250 DP, placed 20 times.
【Exquisite Chest—Bow and Arrow】Consumes 250 DP, placed 20 times.
【Precious Chest—Desert Lizard Leather Armor】Consumes 1000 DP, placed 10 times.
【Gorgeous Chest—Phoenix Tree Staff】Consumes 2500 DP, placed 3 times.
【Gorgeous Chest—Unnamed Magic Sword Blank】Consumes 5000 DP, placed once.
Su Yao planned for common chests to refresh every five days, with no guarding monsters around.
Exquisite chests refreshed every ten days, guarded by a few normal gargoyles, skeleton soldiers, or goblins.
Other chests’ refresh times would be decided case by case.
Precious chests were all placed in the rotating rooms, guarded by a larger number of monsters.
Gorgeous chests were behind puzzle iron doors, with higher puzzle difficulty, but no monsters inside the room.
As for the last gorgeous chest, it was naturally reserved for the BOSS room.
Originally, she had planned for a large number of minotaurs here, but these little cuties were disobedient.
Looks like she’d have to level up first and come up with another plan.