He’s an older, muscular giant with a bald head and a full white beard that flows like a river of snow. On his back, he carries a long spear crafted from blue-tinted metal, crackling faintly with static electricity.

  The moment he emerges, his piercing gaze locks onto me. Without hesitation, he strides toward me, each step purposeful and commanding.

  He stops in front of me and removes the spear from his back, planting its butt into the ground with a resounding thud. A few arcs of electricity crackle out, grounding themselves in the dirt. Without warning, he drops to one knee and lowers his head in my direction.

  The surrounding giants pause, their gazes darting toward the kneeling figure. A murmur of confusion ripples through the crowd, but it quickly gives way to wide-eyed realization. One by one, they follow his lead, dropping to their knees in unison.

  The giant before me speaks, his voice booming with authority and reverence, loud enough to echo across the entire village.

  “I, Thor of the J?tunn, welcome our great creator!”

  A moment of stunned silence follows before the rest of the village erupts into cheers and shouts. The giants stand and slam the butts of their weapons into the ground in rhythmic celebration.

  Thor rises to his feet, his gaze filled with respect as he addresses the gathered crowd. “Everyone! Tonight, we celebrate the return of the great dungeon core!”

  The village roars with excitement as the J?tunn scatter, immediately diving into preparations for the celebration. Thor turns back to me, his voice now quieter but still carrying a commanding tone.

  “On behalf of all J?tunn, we welcome your return. Please, join our celebration, held in your honor, and tell us of our new purpose.”

  Caught up in the flow of events, I follow him toward an open area in the village where a massive bonfire has been constructed. At its center sits a pedestal holding a sphere of carved red ore. The flames dance around it, casting flickering shadows that resemble lightning.

  Around me, excited J?tunn sprint back and forth, hauling firewood, slabs of raw meat, and barrels of alcohol—each barrel seemingly half their size. The air buzzes with their shouts as they coordinate the final preparations. I even catch snippets of their arguments, including one about how there isn’t enough alcohol and someone yelling to ‘bring the good stuff.’

  The preparations are completed with astonishing speed, and soon the entire village gathers around the slowly growing bonfire. Thor steps forward, placing his hand in front of the red ore at the fire’s center. I feel a subtle shift in the surrounding mana as he channels energy into the sphere. After a moment, he steps back and pulls a bulbous knot of glowing blue wood from a sack at his waist.

  Wait... isn't that one of those natural batteries grown by the local plants? I didn’t think they’d figured out how to use those yet. Huh. Guess they’re more resourceful than I gave them credit for.

  Thor turns to the crowd, holding the glowing wood aloft as he shouts, “To the return of the great dungeon core! Drink and eat to your heart’s content!”

  The J?tanr roar in response, raising their weapons skyward. Thor throws the wooden battery at the red ore, and it bursts into a brilliant ball of flames. Sparks scatter into the air as the fire intensifies.

  With the bonfire now roaring intensely, the J?tunn disperse to enjoy the feast. They roast meat over the flames and indulge in copious amounts of alcohol, their joyous voices filling the night. As I observe their revelry, Thor approaches me, this time speaking in a hushed tone.

  “I hope you don’t judge the J?tnar too harshly. I assure you, we deeply respect you and your authority. This celebration is our way of showing it.”

  His apology catches me off guard, and I quickly respond. “No, it’s fine! I appreciate it, really.”

  Relief washes over Thor’s face, and the tension in his posture melts away. “I thank you for your understanding. Now that you have returned, I wish to know: what is our purpose, if we have one?”

  Meeting his steady gaze, I answer carefully. “You were created to live in my dungeon. Adventurers will come here seeking fame, fortune, and strength. Your role is to challenge them, helping them grow stronger through their struggles.”

  Thor ponders this for a moment before nodding firmly. “A noble purpose indeed. Very well. Our people will defend the third floor of this dungeon—our home—with pride. I will see that this message reaches every village.”

  I nod in agreement but then realize something. “Wait… how do you know this is the third floor?”

  After a brief exchange with Thor, I uncover a surprising truth. Apparently, the intelligent residents of my dungeon, and even some of the monsters, subconsciously access fragments of my knowledge through the innate link I share with them.

  It’s not mind-reading, exactly—more like instinctively pulling bits of information from our connection. That’s probably how the Myconids knew Holly was a floor boss. Huh. The more you know.

  As the night wears on, I chat with Thor and watch the celebration continue, the J?tnar reveling late into the night. Meanwhile, I sense the adventurers gradually retreating from the first floor of my dungeon.

  Right! I almost forgot—I wanted to check the average stats of the J?tnar, so show me those stats!

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Name: J?tunn

  Type: J?tunn [Lightning Giant]

  Rank: Rare

  Level: 35

  HP: 800/800

  MP: 375/375

  - The J?tunn's skin is inscribed with glowing, ancient runes that channel elemental lightning magic.

  Effect: Increases resistance to Lightning Magic and grants a boost to all lightning-based attacks. The runes also periodically discharge arcs of lightning, dealing damage to nearby enemies within 5 meters.

  - The J?tunn channels lightning into its weapon or fists, delivering a devastating melee attack.

  Effect: Deals additional physical damage and lightning damage.

  Additional Effect: chance to paralyze the target for 3 seconds.

  Cooldown: 15 seconds.

  - The J?tunn slams the ground with immense force, creating a shockwave of thunder and lightning.

  Effect: Deals AoE damage in a 15-meter radius and knocks enemies back 5 meters. Enemies within 5 meters take an additional lightning damage.

  Cooldown: 30 seconds.

  - The J?tunn channels its inner lightning, increasing its speed and reflexes for a short period.

  Effect: Increases movement speed by 30% and attack speed by 20% for 15 seconds.

  Cooldown: 300 seconds.

  - Lightning Magic: High

  - Air/Wind Magic: Moderate

  - Cold/Ice Magic: Moderate

  - Earth Magic: High

  - Water Magic: Moderate

  - Plant/Nature Magic: Moderate

  Description:

  The J?tunn are a proud and ancient race, their massive forms crackling with electrical energy. Their Runic Tattoos are not only a source of power but also a symbol of their lineage, connecting them to the primordial storms. They live in high-altitude mountain ranges where thunderstorms are constant.

  Wow, these stats are impressive! I bet the village chief’s stats are even more remarkable than this. So, now that I’ve spoken with the J?tnar, what should I do next?

  The top priorities on my list right now are figuring out the plans for the secret bosses and creating a super dungeon floor. That way, I can stop any insanely strong adventurers from sweeping through my dungeon and exposing my secrets.

  I suppose I could design the super floor so that, when adventurers clear all the regular dungeon floors, the boss drops a unique key instead of the usual one. This special key could unlock the extra floor I’m about to create. Unlike the other floors, this one will be positioned off to the side rather than below.

  As I carve out the space for the extra floor, I start brainstorming what to include on it. While browsing through my blueprints, I come across something I hadn’t noticed before: a blueprint for an [Earthen Golem].

  Apparently, it’s a simple construct created by implanting a programmed core into the ground. Checking the logs, I see it was discovered in the ancient underground city, mostly destroyed in a ruined factory. From what I can gather, it was based—albeit very loosely—on regular dungeon cores that were likely found and studied by whoever built it.

  While checking the logs, I discovered that the spider in charge of looting the ancient city found an old map sealed in a scroll case. On this map, I can see the locations of other ancient cities. Although the map is obviously outdated, if the spiders use it, I’m confident they could search the general areas underground.

  All I would really need is an updated map of the world, which I can easily obtain from that massive library my spiders also found. After instructing one of the spiders to get a new map, I hand out copies of the ancient map to all the spiders so they can begin their search as soon as possible.

  With that taken care of, I return to creating the extra floor. Instead of following the usual setup, I decide to make this floor home to a single boss, with no other monsters roaming the area.

  After creating the basic room, I expand it with magic and begin customizing the floor. With a basic idea already in mind, I start by designing a desolate wasteland covered in dust and ash. Large hills are the only features in sight for now, as I ponder where to put the boss.

  Maybe I could create a golden temple to contain the golem? That sounds cool, but it would probably work better as an open-air structure. Isn’t there a term for that? Hypaethral, or something?

  Finding an empty spot in the wasteland is easy enough. As soon as I do, I start constructing the massive golden building, reinforcing it with magic. One of the perks of being a dungeon is getting a free blueprint called [Dungeon Stone], a material exclusive to dungeons used to create nearly indestructible surfaces.

  The original blueprint is stone, but it can easily be altered to almost anything—like gold! And if I really wanted to, I could further reinforce the dungeon walls to make them even more indestructible.

  Using this blueprint, I create the golden hypaethral, which will withstand the attacks of whatever boss monster I summon for this floor.

  A few hours pass as I finish creating the golden structure. Most of the time went into making the hypaethral as ornate and impressive as possible. Next, it’s time to create the golem. To get the result I want, the best method is to take the basic blueprint and infuse it with an overwhelming amount of magic.

  In the center of the hypaethral, I summon the basic looking golem and begin pouring my limitless magic into it. The sheer amount of mana flowing from my ruby-red dungeon core is on an entirely different level compared to my other floor bosses.

  The air around me warps from the intense magical energy flooding the floor. This continues for hours. I even feel adventurers reentering my dungeon at some point, continuing their exploration as I stay focused on creating the extra floor’s boss.

  After what feels like an eternity, I finally stop pouring mana into the golem and look at the only boss of the extra floor.

  At the center of the temple stands a golem the size of a two-story house. Its bulky humanoid form lacks a head, standing on two short, stubby legs with long arms that nearly touch the ground. Its hands end in four blunt fingers, arranged like claws from a claw game.

  Instead of a face, it has a multitude of eight holes on its upper chest, arranged like a T. Each hole glows with an otherworldly light, rapidly flickering on and off. What was once a dull core hidden by dirt is now a radiant blue core the size of a basketball, encased by a marble-like material with faint golden accents.

  The golem stands motionless in the center of the golden temple, looking like a statue. Wow, this guy looks so cool! It reminds me of a monster from a certain game where you capture monsters to put in your pocket.

  Now, should I take a look at its stats? I bet they’re off the charts! Just as I’m about to check its status window, I suddenly feel something in the back of my mind. Shifting my focus back to the adventurers, I discover something I didn’t expect to happen for a while.

  Huh, I guess adventurers move fast in this world!