Cain nodded in satisfaction when the devils understood what the coin could be used for.
In fact, he was worried about the future of his dungeon. If he only provided a hidden reward, wouldn't the challengers skip the monsters and only go to the boss room for an item drop?
If it was the usual video game he knew, some players would surely use the walkthrough and just go to the place where they could get the rare drop.
He had a big problem with that. He even wanted the others to explore the dungeon and fight the boss later.
So, how to motivate the challengers to kill every monster they encounter?
The answer was pretty simple.
Item drop.
"Wow, I would miss that option if I didn't look closely at all the menus. The system never told me what changed, what a sneaky bastard. Still, this option is great." He muttered.
[Item drop: Randomly drops item. Can be customized by dungeon maker. 5,000 coins to enable it.]
He immediately bought it. It would become useful in the future.
Not only this, but he also created the coins he named Dungeon Coin with Item Creation. Because there was no special effect added to the item, he could create it pretty cheaply.
"5 Coins for 10 Dungeon Coins, this is so cheap. I still don't understand the conversion rate of coins to items. When I have more coins, I need to experiment with them."
With this item drop option and his creation, the challengers would have no choice but to go on an adventure and clear his dungeon.
And of course, the reward for defeating the boss and the reward in the treasure chest were better than item drop. Still, this should be enough to rouse their emotions and generate more coins.
"Hehehehe." Cain laughed evilly in the throne room.
***
At the same time, in Elemental Tower...
Sunagakure's ninja party entered the new dungeon entrance.
They arrived in the burning forest, the first floor in this tower.
"What is this?" Temari raised her arm to shield her nose from the smoke. It was a very unpleasant smell.
"It seems to be a forest of some sort. I have no idea what kind of trees these are though." Kankurou commented, looking around at the strange landscape. "It looks like it's burning in some places, but it's strange. and there is not much smoke compared to the fire."
The group looked at the strange, flaming forest around them.
Looking around, the group could see the strange trees that were covered in fire and a strange, blue flame that burned on some of them. They could feel the intense heat coming from the flames, and the smell of burning wood was strong.
They looked up, noticing that the sky was an orange color and that the air was filled with ash.
"What a strange place." Kankurou remarked, looking around in awe.
"I don't know where we are, but it seems like we've entered another dimension just like what that goblin said. It doesn't look like the place we came from, that's for sure." Someone said.
"I think we should keep moving." Temari said, looking at the others. "There's no use standing here, and we need to get to the end of this place. We don't even know what we're looking for yet, but we have to do something."
The group nodded and followed Temari's lead. They moved quickly and silently through the burning forest, keeping a careful eye on their surroundings. They could feel a sense of unease as they walked.
A fire goblin appeared from behind the burning tree. They were carrying a torch, a burning branch in their hand.
"What is that?" One of the ninja said.
"A goblin, no? It looked similar to the one we met earlier." Another said.
"We will eliminate it. It doesn't look that dangerous." Kankurou took the leadership and ordered, "Temari, you use your wind jutsu and blow the fire away. After that, everyone attacked with shuriken. I will take the last blow with my puppet."
The rest nodded. They knew exactly what to do, so they moved swiftly.
Unruffling her large fan, Temari swung it at the goblins. Wind blades appeared and attacked the goblin, extinguishing the fire from its torch and cutting its limbs.
Instantly, the group of ninja throw shuriken at it and the puppet Kankurou controlled followed behind.
It appeared and struck the goblin, sending it crashing to the ground.
"Is it dead?" Someone asked.
"I don't know, be careful."
"Temari, step forward a little and see if it attacks."
"Hey!"
Kankurou laughed as the ninja were still acting as usual.
The ninja moved forward and examined the dead goblin. It didn't look like it had any special features, just a normal goblin. They couldn't figure out why it was so weak, or what it had been trying to do. It was a mystery to them.
They decided to leave it and move on. As they were leaving, they found another adversary.
A fire slime suddenly jumped from the tree and took one ninja out of guard. It wrapped itself around the ninja's head, depriving him of oxygen and burning him at the same time.
"H-Hhh!" A muffled scream came from him.
"Shit, we are being ambushed! Defend and attack!"
"Someone, save that person! His life is in danger!"
Kankurou's face turned grim and he tried to help. He couldn't let the fire slime burn his subordinate to death.
"Temari! Use the wind again!"
"No, it's too dangerous. My wind will also cut him."
The ninja were panicking, and it wasn't a pretty sight to watch.
Kankurou bit his lip, trying to control his puppet. He tried to make them hit the slime, but their hands just passed through the gooey body and it was impossible to hit the core that moved around.
In a few seconds, the ninja's face was fully burned and his body limped. He was killed. But, before he died, he took the slime with him. He stabbed it on its core with a kunai, destroying it completely.
"..."
There was silence as the ninja group mourned for their companion. They weren't that close, but it was a huge blow to them. The first death in the new dungeon.
But, at the same time, they understood the danger.
"He will... be revived, right?" Temari looked at her brother. "We need to get back and revive him."
Kankurou was silent. He shook his head.
"Trusting that strange goblin isn't wise. Let's mourn for him."
He didn't want to let the person's sacrifice be in vain, and he was also angry. He was the one leading this party, so he had the responsibility to bring everyone to safety and back home. He felt that he had failed, and it was a hard blow for him.
But, he was also feeling something else.
"This place is dangerous." He muttered.
Temari, and the rest of the ninja group nodded. They had just lost someone in the dungeon because they lowered their guards due to the Smart Goblin's words and they didn't know what to expect.
It was a shocking moment for all of them.
"We need to be more careful." Temari said, her voice firm. "We need to take care of each other, and make sure that we don't lose anyone else. Look out for traps, and be on the lookout for any monsters. We have to do our best to protect each other, no matter what."
Kankurou nodded in agreement, his expression determined. "We have to move on, and find out what is in this place and where the exit is."
He was feeling something he had never felt before. The weight of leadership.
***
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