This was a dilapidated dungeon.
Its earthen walls stretched roughly five hundred meters in both length and width. Within its bounds stood only a crude lord's residence and a single, unadorned hall.
"My territory is finally opening for business!"
Standing in the center of the hall, Kanzaki Ren let out a heartfelt sigh of emotion.
He had once been nothing more than a freshly graduated corporate worker. Then, without warning or explanation, he transmigrated into the game world of Dungeon Lords. After years of relentless struggle and planning, he had finally become a Dungeon Lord himself—one with a dungeon that truly belonged to him.
This world was unlike any other.
It possessed only two professions:
Adventurers and Dungeon Lords.
Adventurers were a peculiar group of surface-dwelling undead. They wandered the world year-round, ravenously hunting for dungeons. Eternally curious, addicted to stimulation, and frighteningly reckless, they challenged secret realms in pursuit of treasure, fame, or sometimes nothing more than sheer pleasure.
Dungeon Lords were the creators of dungeons. Through mental power, they constructed secret realms to lure adventurers inside. When an adventurer died within a secret realm, a Soul Crystal would be produced—the core resource required to expand and develop a dungeon.
The two professions were tightly bound together, yet their relationship was one of constant contest and psychological warfare.
The core gameplay of Dungeon Lords revolved around Dungeon Lords outwitting Adventurers. Strategy, management, sandbox mechanics, and roguelike elements were all deeply intertwined, creating an experience that was dangerously addictive.
Kanzaki Ren had long since accepted the reality of his transmigration.
More than that, he had set his sights on becoming the greatest Dungeon Lord this world had ever seen.
He dared to make such an audacious vow not only because he thoroughly understood this world, but because he had discovered something extraordinary within himself. The Sea of Inspiration he awakened was a fusion of countless popular games, anime, and films from his previous life.
From it, he could draw upon an unparalleled wealth of creative material.
This was, without question, the strongest Dungeon Lord talent imaginable.
Adventurers were remarkably similar to the players of his former world. While many entered dungeons for practical rewards, they were equally driven by enjoyment. Even without sufficient material compensation, as long as a dungeon was fun, they would return again and again, never growing tired of it.
If dungeon creation were compared to game development, then the overall standard of this world was—frankly—abysmal.
Ninety-nine percent of all secret realms were nothing more than mazes, differing only in theme, structure, or visual dressing.
Why was that?
Because creating a dungeon was never easy.
First, one had to awaken the Sea of Inspiration and condense an Inspiration Crystal.
An Inspiration Crystal functioned as a material pack for dungeon creation, containing monsters, environments, items, and other foundational components.
The materials most Dungeon Lords obtained were scarce and monotonous. Only a rare few exceptionally talented individuals could awaken unique or special materials, yet even then, limited quantities made it nearly impossible to craft rich or varied gameplay experiences.
Kanzaki Ren was different.
His Sea of Inspiration was fundamentally extraordinary.
The materials available to him were tens of thousands of times richer than those of ordinary Dungeon Lords.
He could perfectly recreate the most classic and enjoyable games of his previous life, or even fuse elements from different games to create something entirely new—wilder, more creative, and better adapted to this world.
He was confident that he could bring the most entertaining and immersive secret realms this world had ever seen.
To Adventurers—and to other Dungeon Lords alike—this would be nothing short of a dimensional-level assault.
Kanzaki Ren activated the dungeon core.
A translucent control panel appeared before him, offering two options: [Information Management] and [Territory Management]. He began by checking his personal information.
[Name]: Kanzaki Ren
[Rank]: First Rank
[Mental Power]: 5/1000
[Soul Crystals]: 0
[Inspiration Crystal]: Left 4 Dead
[Current Secret Realm]: None
[Territory Capacity]: 0/100
After nearly twenty years of accumulated mental power, Kanzaki Ren had finally awakened his first Inspiration Crystal from the Sea of Inspiration.
It was none other than the once wildly popular post-apocalyptic zombie game from his previous life—Left 4 Dead.
Back then, it had been the favorite pastime of countless college students, fueling overnight gaming sessions in dormitories and internet cafés alike.
The moment the crystal was activated, its materials manifested.
[Monster Materials]: Ordinary Zombies, Exploder Zombies, Hunter Zombies, Charger Zombies… Tank Zombies, Witch Zombies
[Environment Materials]: Urban Street Pack, Forest Valley Pack… Parks, Stations, Subways, Airports, Ports
[Item Materials]: Melee Weapon Pack, Firearm Pack…
[Character Materials]: …
This Inspiration Crystal encompassed the entirety of Left 4 Dead parts one and two.
It was capable of recreating the entire game at a perfect one-to-one scale.
While zombie shooters had once flooded Kanzaki Ren's old world, their unique worldview and monster designs were completely unprecedented here. They were guaranteed to captivate Adventurers and ignite an overwhelming desire to explore.
Anyone who experienced it would inevitably recognize it as a work of genius.
That said, Kanzaki Ren had no intention of recreating the original game in its entirety.
When a Dungeon Lord constructed a secret realm, deploying monsters, designing environments, or crafting special items all consumed mental power.
The current monster costs were as follows:
[Ordinary Zombie]: 0
[Hunter]: 3
[Exploder]: 3
[Charger]: 5
[…]
[Tank]: 20
[Witch]: 20
Secret realm materials could only be used for dungeon creation.
With only five points of mental power remaining, Kanzaki Ren could not yet deploy many special zombies. Fortunately, dungeons could be continuously refined, adjusted, and expanded over time.
First, he needed a foundational framework.
He selected Urban Streets as the scene for this secret realm.
Total area: approximately one hundred square kilometers—the size of a small to mid-sized city—consuming exactly five points of mental power.
Deployment of Ordinary Zombies:
No mental power required. No quantity limit.
Tens of thousands—no, hundreds of thousands—of zombies flooded the city, filling every street corner and hidden alley.
Some roamed fixed zones, while others spawned dynamically over time.
Kanzaki Ren added an infection mechanic to the design. Even a single bite or scratch would inflict continuous damage, significantly increasing both realism and difficulty.
To conserve resources, the dungeon launched with single-player survival mode.
Anyone who had ever played such a game knew the truth—these games demanded teamwork. Solo play was brutally difficult, especially under realistic settings.
Adventurers entered with ordinary human bodies. Their survival odds were self-evident.
There would be no shortage of harvest.
As a designer, creativity was essential. The resource pool provided by Left 4 Dead possessed enormous development potential. In the future, Kanzaki Ren could expand it into story modes, co-op modes, PvP modes, survival competitions, and even battle royale variants.
Why would a Dungeon Lord painstakingly create secret realms for Adventurers?
Out of love?
Of course not.
The sole purpose of dungeon creation was exploitation—and how to exploit sustainably was an art in itself.
A dungeon that was too easy would fail.
Adventurers would grow bored and stop coming.
Unless extravagant completion rewards were offered—but generating such rewards drained the Dungeon Lord's resources. Many dungeons had gone bankrupt this way.
A dungeon that was too difficult or too boring would also fail.
Adventurers were not fools. A malicious dungeon designed purely to harvest without hope of completion might trick a few people once, but it would quickly destroy the dungeon's reputation.
This dungeon was designed to be cruel and punishing.
But with a unique world, unique monsters, and entirely fresh gameplay, how could it fail to attract wave after wave of willing Adventurers—each eager to be harvested?
After three days of relentless work, it was finally complete.
Though inspired by Left 4 Dead, this secret realm was essentially a fully reimagined original game.
Considering future expansions into team play, story-driven content, competitive modes, survival challenges, and battle royale formats, the original name no longer fit.
Thus, the dungeon was christened:
Apocalypse Frenzy.
The first dungeon game was complete.
"Hehehe… everything is ready."
Kanzaki Ren rubbed his hands together, anticipation gleaming in his eyes.
"Let me give these innocent Adventurers a proper taste of a zombie apocalypse."