[You have earned 3000 exp.]
[A new achievement has been unlocked.]
[Lord of the Dungeon.]
[40 exp has been rewarded.]
Kai didn't give much of a reaction to the information.
In truth, he had expected the system to give him a reward, especially since he just killed that many players in his supposed dungeon.
Which meant he played his role as the boss well.
As curious as he was to understand what the achievement was and what the exp he got could be used for, he needed to first address the elephant in the room.
Moving his attention away from the system notification, he turned to look at Lyra, who was of course already staring in his direction.
He could also see the shimmering pixel frames of the players they had just killed, disappearing into the atmosphere, though he paid them little attention.
'Dang it. No doubt she is strong as hell. But the vibes I am getting from her are quite different from what I'd expect from a summon. Seems as though she wants to kill me or something.'
[Notice!]
[System has detected new information from your summon "Lyra."]
"Hm…"
Kai looked towards the opposite side where the system runes had spawned.
[Lyra's Backstory.]
[Lyra was the ruler of a small nation in the kingdom of Azarth, a place where she ruled and kept her people happy. However, that all changed when a war broke out, and she was used as a sacrifice to please the gods. She was burnt alive and disregarded as an offering for peace.]
'Holy shit. I summoned a damn witch with trust issues and severe trauma?'
He subtly looked at her. It was quite impressive that she hadn't even tried to utter a single word since the massacre.
'What am I supposed to do here? On one hand, I want to know if she is loyal to me. On the other hand, my communication skill is so bad I might end up upsetting her.'
Kai sighed internally.
Nothing much to expect from a jobless gamer who spent most of his life playing games in his single room while acting like an edge lord as he dominated all the games he downloaded.
"Master, may I ask you a question…"
She finally spoke.
'Yesss! Ahh, thank God she is initiating the conversation.'
"You may," he replied, keeping his voice deep.
"Forgive my rudeness and ignorance, as I am not from this world to begin with. But are all the bosses in this world cursed with having such a small place as their hideout?"
Lyra had a simple poker look on her face, quite different from the indirect insult she just blurted out.
'That is what she utters first?! Then again, she is not wrong. For a dungeon, this place is rather small. No wait, she is from another world? Come to think of it, I never heard of a kingdom called Azarth in the game description.'
He looked at her intensely.
"Where do you come from?"
Lyra was a bit surprised that he didn't answer her question, but she pushed on.
"Apparently, I am from a different dimension, a place far from this one. In that world, I used to be a queen, and now I am merely a shadow of my former self. A fleeting regret that was summoned to this world to be your servant…"
'I see... I think I get it now.'
"You've been through so much. A heart knows only where it has been. This is a good place to start all over again."
He smiled internally at his own comment.
'Yes, if she acts as my summon, she won't need to worry about old times. Hmp, yes, this works for me. I just have to not get on her bad side.'
Suddenly Lyra's eyes widened.
The very next moment she dropped to her knees with her head bowed low.
'Eh?'
"Master, so that is why you chose this place. You already knew of my origins and wanted me to prove myself by building a much better place in this dungeon than I did in my kingdom; you knew I failed and wanted me to prove myself with a second chance."
'...Eh?'
"I should have known. Please punish me. From the very first moment I was summoned, I assumed you were just a weak creature not worthy of my respect and loyalty. I see now that I was wrong. Master had my best interest at heart this whole time, and I- that is why I was picked as your summon, wasn't it?"
Kai stared at her for a while.
It was bad enough that it seemed like she would burst into tears any time soon, but how exactly did she come up with this conclusion?
'Well, if it keeps her in check, then I don't care what she thinks.'
He pointed a shadowy hand at her.
"Do not disappoint me."
Lyra smiled, and immediately raised her head to look at him, her red eyes glowing slightly with adoration.
"May my life end the moment I think of doing such. Please allow me to swear my loyalty to you."
"Proceed."
Lyra didn't waste a single second before she stood up from the ground and steadily moved closer.
Once she was close, she fell to her knees and picked his foot up—or where his foot would be if he had flesh—raising the swirling mist toward her lips for a kiss.
Mwah~
She spoke—
"I, Lyra, the Abyssal Empress, hereby swear my loyalty to you, to live and die by your side. Allow me to be of use to you, great Shadow of Victims."
'Oh…'
"You may."
Lyra smiled, then slowly settled his feet back to the ground.
[You have unlocked a new achievement.]
[Make your first summon loyal to you.]
[40 exp has been obtained.]
Kai smiled, though his face outward was stoic.
'This is a great turn of events. If she is focused on the dungeon, I can finally understand the game mechanics on my own. Hehe, this is good.'
"Please excuse me, I would like to proceed with renovating your dungeon. Master, may I begin?"
"Yes. Just make sure to be as silent as possible."
"I will do my very best." Lyra bowed her head a bit and then walked towards the middle of the dungeon.
[Your summon Lyra is requesting for exp to complete her task.]
'Huh?'
Lyra had her hand stretched out in front of her, red mana leaking from her body.
'She needs exp? I don't know how much I have, but surely she can't use too much. Sure, give her whatever she needs.'
[Request has been accepted.]
…