Ghost Knight King's Dungeon Project

Chapter 3 [Alien Underground Colony Construction System]

A tall, bronze wall, studded with gears and pipes, stood before Samael. It stretched endlessly upwards, downwards, to the left, to the right—boundless in every direction.

The bronze metal parts, interspersed with ancient textures and bluish-gray rust, are intricately linked and connected to each other, forming a massive and unparalleled machine.

This is an ancient relic, a world, an unparalleled... machine.

Pale blue arcs of light flickered amidst the intricate mechanical textures, and a virtual, deep cyan screen suddenly lit up:
[Type III working body detected. Space-grade. Requires no oxygen or thermal insulation; suitable for extreme environments and space.]

[An intelligent entity has been detected piloting the machine.]

[Activating...]

The alien underground colony construction system has been activated.

Identity verification failed.

[Two-factor authentication in progress...failed.]

[Failed during three-way identity verification.]

[Unknown user, level 0 privileges.]

[Only level 0 technology is available. Technologies above level 0 are locked.]

[Level 0 Technology Description: Can assist in survival on alien planets, manufacturing necessary weapons and production tools, processing and building basic living facilities, and constructing underground ecosystems]

[The cosmos is vast and boundless; this system will assist you in surviving on alien planets in deep space and building underground oases. Best of luck!]

Samael lowered his head, looking at his metal-forged armored hands. He suddenly remembered something, and sensed something, but the next second, he heard a voice:
"Samael?"

He awoke with a start from his dream, before him were Talia's steel-gray eyes.

“Samael? Samael?” Talia shook him. “Are you still there? You…you have no eyes, no breathing or pulse, and you don’t respond when I call you. I thought you had been banished—maybe your undead possession wasn’t sticking tight enough and fell off your armor or something…”

"It's nothing... I just accidentally fell asleep." Samael pushed himself up from the ground. "I had a... weird dream."

Talia had been searching for ancient ruins alone for a long time and was utterly exhausted last night. The two of them had rested on the dimly lit floor of the ruins all night and had just woken up.

"So ghosts sleep too?" Talia asked. "The ghosts I've seen before never sleep, and they don't seem to have any self-awareness. You're quite unique."

"This is the first time something other than scam ads and fake psychological tests has ever told me 'You're so special'..." Samael said jokingly.

he mused.

An alien underground colony? A dungeon?
He stared at his armored hands, and suddenly a phantom, cyan screen lit up in front of him.

[Model Number: Space Type III]

[System Condition: 79% operational, minor damage]

【checking……】

[Remaining Energy: 63% (Ambient heat detected, automatically absorbing heat to recharge)]

[Dynamic Frame: Good]

Component communication: Good

[Joint adhesion: Normal (easily loosens upon impact)]

[Level 0 tech tree unlocked]

[A missing technology map has been detected. Please immediately go to the nearest underground colony database to reset the technology map. Alternatively, scan technological artifacts to collect environmental information, analyze it, and manually complete the technology map.]

[Level 0 Artificial Organism Map Search...]

[Sliming organisms, primitive fungi, symbiotic plant type 1, symbiotic plant type 2, @incomplete item@, symbiotic plant type 4, fluorescent fungi, nitrifying bacteria, @incomplete item@...]

[Materials inventory empty. Level 3 technology "Artificial Incubator" not yet unlocked. Cannot be manufactured at this time.]

[Level 0 Technology Map Search...]

[Basic Categories: Basic Energy Science, Basic Phase Transitions of Matter, Basic Dynamics, Basic Materials Science, Basic Colonial Management, Basic Medicine, Basic Chemical Engineering, Basic Psionics, @Incomplete Items@, Basic Automation, Artificial Life Science, Xenobiology, Asteroid Survival Guide...]

[A missing technology map has been detected. Please go to the nearest underground colony database immediately to reset the technology map. Alternatively, scan technological artifacts to collect environmental information, analyze it, and manually complete the technology map.]

[Scanning auxiliary components:]

The scanner is ready.

The logic analyzer and oscilloscope are ready.

An incredibly complex array of entries popped up rapidly, interspersed with waveforms and analytical terms, like a vast data maze. Thousands of redundant data and information were presented to Samael in encrypted or semi-encrypted form.

In a daze, he was transported back to his high school days many years ago, to that afternoon when he first tried playing *Dwarf Fortress* and *Oxygen Not Included*. Looking at the countless rich information entries on the panel and the complex control UI with almost no tutorial, he felt a surge of exhilarating excitement, like an experienced locksmith standing before countless locked treasure troves. Samael meticulously browsed and analyzed the database and tech tree. The amount of data was enormous; even for a hardcore player like him, who had once calculated the heat exchange, total available energy gain, output power, and bio-cycles of engineering modules in the game world, it took a long time to understand a single device entry and its usage.

He suddenly realized that while it was a little hard to accept that he had died suddenly and been reborn in another world as a living armor, it wasn't entirely unacceptable.

"Samael?" Talia asked tentatively, "What are you looking at?"

She waved her hand in front of Samael, her fingers passing through the illusory, pale blue screen, but saw nothing.

Only Samael can see the screen of the "Alien Underground Colony Construction System".

“It’s nothing.” Samael turned off the virtual screen in front of him. “I just feel that we can definitely build an underground city. Perhaps, this undertaking will be even greater and more magnificent than an underground city.”

he mused.

“I once heard a saying that science that is too advanced is no different from magic.” He got up from the ground and adjusted his helmet. “Perhaps this world is like that too.”

He gazed at Talia, subconsciously scrutinizing her closely. Information, like a game UI, popped up on the side of his field of vision, displaying the scan analysis results:
[Hybrid Space Alien]

Parentage testing:

[Human (mother), Space Demi-human (father)]

[Brief Description of Space Demi-humans: A subspecies of humans with a unique biological structure, adapted to the prolonged darkness, extreme temperatures, extremely high or low gravity, and etheric radiation of space and alien environments. They possess strong sensory abilities, powerful healing capabilities, and strength approximately 340% to 5300% of enhanced human strength, while their psychic abilities are approximately 530% to 4700% of enhanced human abilities. They are natural-born alien pioneers. Some individuals exhibit occasional instances of temporary adaptive evolution of organs, including abnormal height, scales, claws, horns, ears, and skin color; these characteristics can change or degenerate.]

[Biological structural integrity: 99%]

[Stamina: 86%]

[Psionic Energy Reserves: 97%]

【Age: 21】

[Status: Healthy, Mildly Hungry]

[Mood: Low]

【@refresh@】

[Emotion: Unhappy]

Huh? Samael was taken aback.

"You used the [Appraisal] spell on me?" Talia frowned, hugging her chest and taking two steps back. "Using [Appraisal] spell on someone without permission is very impolite! It's extremely presumptuous!"

"Sorry, sorry! Red bean paste, private Marseille!" Samael bowed deeply at a 180-degree angle, then flung his helmet away, which rolled a long way with a clatter. "Ouch! My head!"

Talia sighed.

"Hey, body, over here!" The helmet, rolled in the corner, beckoned to the headless body, the knight's armor section, "Over here, come here!"

The headless body groped around and staggered a few steps.

"Yes, forward, forward, forward, forward, forward, forward, stop! ... Ouch! You kicked me, you idiot!" With a clang, the headless body kicked the helmet, sending it flying far away.

“Alright, let me do it.” Talia bent down, picked up the helmet, and placed it back on the headless torso’s neck. “Looking at you like this, I don’t really have the confidence to rebuild the dungeon…”

“Don’t worry, Talia, things take time.” Samael adjusted his helmet, securing the armor plates around his neck. “Are you hungry?”

"Uh... a little bit, I guess." Talia awkwardly turned her head away and put on her helmet to cover her face. But the soft rumbling in her stomach indicated that she now wished she could devour a cow alive.

“This is an underground ruin. Let’s figure out how to get back to the surface first, and find something to eat while we’re at it,” Samael thought to himself. “Man is made of iron, food is steel; you’ll get hungry if you skip a meal.”

He covered the visor on his helmet to prevent the empty space inside from frightening others.

"Uh..." Talia stammered, "Do you have any money on you? Ancient coins from the age of gods used by demons, or currency used by humans?"

“No.” Samael stared blankly. “Why would you think I might have money from this world… Wait, don’t you have any money?”

“I’ve been traveling around for the past two years looking for ruins. This is the last one, and I’ve already spent all my money on the journey,” Talia answered in a muffled voice from under her helmet. “Actually, I didn’t initially plan to leave this ruin alive…”

“Don’t think so much, Talia!” Samael interrupted her. “There are adventurers and mercenaries in this world, right? We can become adventurers to earn money first, and while we’re at it, look around and find a good location for the dungeon we’re going to build in the future!”

He strode forward resolutely, leading the way towards the temple's exit, leaving behind an optimistic and tenacious silhouette.

He turned around again as he reached the door.

“It’s a maze of ruins outside—I don’t know the way,” Samael said. “Um…could you please show me the way?”

“…Let’s go. Follow me.” Talia covered her face, dragging her heavy hammer and spear, and led the way forward.

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(End of this chapter)