Cathulhu Online, MUNYA!

Chapter 180 – Cat Dad Merges Dungeon Core and Holy Grail

In front of Xiaomao was a partitioned lobby area, which looked like a cat café.

The wall seemed to be carefully made for cats. Wooden shelves were mounted on the wall like a small maze. Stairs, scratching posts, beds, and tunnels made them the best playground for every cat.

Nya! (Who's there?!)

Meo (New slave?)

Xiaomao jolted when he heard two familiar voices of his cats. Upon looking up, he spotted Nyanko and Mama Cat.

He shed a tear of happiness, "You guys are safe, munya."

NYA! (That scent, PAPA?!)

Nyanko started meowing non-stop. Her tail swayed left and right while her pupils dilated.

On the other hand, Mama Cat seemed indifferent. She yawned and returned to sleep, forgetting about the recent events even though Xiaomao saved their lives.

Xiaomao jumped down from Lucky. He looked back at Undine, Nymph, and his retainers.

"Whatever happens, I'm still me, munya. Keep this to yourself and don't attack me."

Nymph repeatedly shook her head, "I would have been stupid to make an enemy of Mao Miaomiao's son. No way, Jose!"

Undine slightly grinned, "We have no reason to attack you. After all, you will join our country, right?"

"Of course, munya!"

"Then, I'll wait for you outside. We won't meddle in your private affair. Come see us when you're done."

Undine dragged Nymph out of the dungeon core room. The door automatically closed after they left.

Being alone with his subordinates, Xiaomao decided to switch his character and appear as a human Xiaomao.

WHOOSH

The transformation was instant. The catopus turned into a human. However, because Xiaomao didn't wear any cloth, he came out naked. Nyanko immediately rushed toward him and rubbed her head and back against his legs.

"…"

The boys glanced at Xiaomao's crotch area.

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In their tongue, he is Dovahkiin,

DRAGONBORN!

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Not bad, the men nodded.

However, the only female in the room, Lucky, passionately stared at the thing and drooled.

"Wow."

Xiaomao expressionlessly looked down, and his face turned dark. He opened his inventory menu.

Fortunately, Xiaomao's real body could access the game system, and their inventory was shared. He pulled out a set of rare priest robes to wear for the time being even though the pants were too small around the crotch.

"Ahem! As you can see, I'm Xiaomao, and this is my human form. Did mistake me for a stranger in the future, okay?"

Peter and Andrew smacked their chest with their right fist. James and John looked at them for a moment and mimicked the dwarves. However, James hit his chest too hard and decreased his HP by 30%. He coughed and clenched his chest in pain. The dwarves cackled while John awkwardly healed James.

Xiaomao rubbed his temples. The boys would still be boys, but they played around too much.

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The crew sorted their inventory slots and put all their non-food item in the treasure room.

After Nymph and Undine had taken over and managed the dungeon, the dungeon core room, aka the treasure room, was drastically changed - It became a mini-shopping mall with aisles of shelves and countless treasure boxes.

Gold coin chests were neatly arranged in the deepest part of the room while weapon racks and gears were kept in large boxes and were put on the top shelves. Each box had a written tag to display what this box contained.

Looking around, it was easier to find the right items. However, the items here were for weak characters under level 100. Since Xiaomao had no use for them, and they were not that valuable, he stored these low-tier items in his inventory and replaced them with the rare level-100 gears, spellbooks, skill books, and monster cores that he couldn't use yet.

After switching the items, Xiaomao went to the dungeon core – the floating orb on the pedestal in the middle of the room. He brought out the chalice and placed it next to the orb.

For the sake of safety, he reverted to his catopus form so that he could use the Dungeon Master Class.

The chalice sank into the orb as if it devoured the myth-grade container. Then, the dungeon trembled.

A game message appeared.

DING

<Will you merge your dungeon core with the Holy Grail of Mao Miaomiao?>

<Warning, combining the myth-grade artifact with the dungeon core may yield an unexpected result!>

Xiaomao snorted. He pressed the confirm button.

DING

<Merging the dungeon core and Holy Grail of Mao Miaomiao…>

RUMBLE

The ceiling and floor shook. Dust fell and the shelves let out a cranking noise while the others were taken aback by the sudden earthquake. Fortunately, the earthquake only lasted a few seconds.

DING

<Your Slave Dungeon has been upgraded to Level 1 Dungeon!>

<A new property has been added!>

<A new characteristic has been added!>

<Detecting your Dungeon Master Class. Will you awaken your class from tier 0 to tier 1?>

Xiaomao was surprised. He had thought that he couldn't use any Dungeon Master Class's skill until the next patch.

"Yes!"

Without hesitation, Xiaomao accepted.

<Awakening your dungeon master class…>

<You may learn one of these skills. Please select a dungeon master's unique skill to learn.>

A new menu appeared before Xiaomao. He saw a list of skills that shouldn't exist in the early stage of the game.

Upon seeing the skill list, Xiaomao was overjoyed. He skimmed through the list and picked the most useful unique skill that all players in his previous life hated the most.

DING

<You have learned a new class skill, Dungeon Domain.>

<Please establish the new dungeon's first rule to complete the awakening.>

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<strong>Dungeon Domain (Incomplete)</strong>

Once upon a time, a dungeon master from the primordial era before the great reset by the name of Brocell used this domain ability to dominate half of Aves Continent. He survived Mao Miaomiao's onslaught over and over again with this ability and ended up as the only mortal who squared against Mao Miaomiao's army and made it out alive.

All domain skills are exclusive to cultivators with a level of 700 and higher. Dungeon Domain, however, is an exception to this rule.

Dungeon Domain is reliant on a dungeon core and the dungeon master's location. When the dungeon master is near his dungeon core, he can use the domain ability, making him stronger in his dungeon.

The domain ability varies, depending on the personality and traits of the dungeon.

<strong>Skill Type:</strong> Active, Continuous, Domain

<strong>Rarity:</strong> Ultra Rare

<strong>Requirement:</strong> Dungeon Master. Must be near the dungeon core.

<strong>Cost:</strong> Depends on the rules.

<strong>Cooldown:</strong> Unknown

<strong>Effects:</strong> You may create any rule in the dungeon. Currently, you can create one rule.

<strong>*[Cathulhu Instinct]:</strong> Think carefully before you make a dungeon rule. Once you complete it, you cannot change it.

<strong>*[Foresight]:</strong> A strong dungeon rule has high mana upkeep. Make sure to utilize the dungeon rule preview before you decide on the rules.

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The detail was vague. If a new player saw this, they might be confused about what "Domain" and "Rules" actually were.

Fortunately, Xiaomao knew what they were for. He pressed on the skill and closed his eyes, thinking of the new rule of the dungeon.

DING

<You have input a new rule of the dungeon. Will you review it?>

"Yes, munya."

DING

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<strong>Slave Dungeon (PREVIEW)</strong>

<strong>Specialties</strong>

As its name implies, this new dungeon has been created to enslave beasts, monsters, humans, and the ethics of any race. The dungeon master can exchange collected mana of the dungeon core to turn intruders or residents of the dungeon into female slaves, who will always be loyal to the dungeon master.

The dungeon master may assign his slave here to protect the dungeon. Any slave assigned to this dungeon does not consume a retainer slot. However, the dungeon has a limited capacity, and it is required a lot of maintenance and care.

The dungeon master can also absorb mana from the dungeon core to replenish his mana pool at any moment even though he is not inside the dungeon.

All water that comes into contact with this dungeon's SPACE will be converted to SACRED WATER. The dungeon also continuously produces SACRED WATER randomly on the wall, floor, ceiling, and even on the local residents of the dungeon.

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<strong>Slave Dungeon Status</strong>

Max Population: 50,000

Total Population: 30,000

Total Floors: 4

Max Mana Capacity: 50,000,000

Current Mana: 10,000,000

Mana Gathering Rate (Per Second): 50,000

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<strong>Dungeon Domain Rules</strong>

Rule #0: Only when Xiaomao is near the dungeon core, the rules can be enforced.

Rule #1: Male intruders cannot harm all female residents of Slave Dungeon.

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Xiaomao cackled as it showed up as planned.

This was the broken part of the dungeon master class. As long as they could come up with absurd rules, they could make their dungeon invincible. Many players complained to the game company after they stumbled upon another player's dungeon and were restricted by these ridiculous rules.

For example, some classes couldn't use any skill or spell. Some high-leveled players couldn't access a specific dungeon area. Players couldn't use any item upon entering the dungeon, etc.

In short, they were restrictions and handicaps that all dungeon invaders were forced to comply and play by the dungeon master's game.

There was a downside to doing this. The stronger the effect, the higher the upkeep. Such a ridiculous rule naturally came with a consequence.

Xiaomao examined the upkeep and the cost of activating the dungeon domain rule.

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Activation Cost = (The sum of the intruders' levels + the sum of all residents' levels) x (Xiaomao's Level)

Upkeep per second = Total Residents x Xiaomao's Level

Cooldown: 30 days

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Xiaomao's mouth twitched. He started calculating, and he didn't like the upkeep cost.

Currently, a total of 30,000 mermaids were living here, and their average level was 700. Thus, the activation cost would be 21 million mana!

The dungeon didn't have enough mana. Even if its max capacity was increased after the unexpected upgrade, it could barely maintain the effect. After all, it cost an additional 4.5 million mana per second at the minimum.

'Too OP, maybe. I'll downgrade a bit.'

Xiaomao lowered the effect. Then, he reviewed the effect once more.

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After experimenting with the calculation and effects, Xiaomao finally settled on the moderately strong domain rule, which was enough to deter strong invaders and high-leveled NPCs.

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<strong>Dungeon Domain Rules</strong>

Rule #0: Only when Xiaomao is in the dungeon core's room, the rules can be enforced.

Rule #1: Intruders will gradually lose their sanity upon entering this dungeon. Consuming the sacred water can recover their sanity, but they will fall unconscious for 24 hours.