Free Web Novel“Lord Ian’s magic?”
“Yes! Since Lord Ian created this dungeon, he can do anything inside it!”
Sema puffed out his chest proudly as he explained, despite not fully understanding it himself. Lord Ian had said so, therefore it was true.
Well, maybe it worked on principles similar to a magician’s workshop. Within their own workshop, magicians could practically play god.
Of course, no ordinary workshop was remotely this enormous.
“If something like that is even possible, then that means...”
Genea trailed off.
Could someone like this still be called human?
Before she could continue, something suddenly rose from the center of the plaza.
Right before her eyes, a tall pointed structure shaped like a wizard’s hat shot upward like an enormous beanstalk. Genea’s mouth slowly fell open.
Ian casually jerked his chin toward it.
“Sema. That one’s yours.”
“Mine?! Mine what?!”
“You said you wanted a magic tower.”
“Huh...?! Lord Ian!”
Sema clapped both hands over his mouth and practically danced in place.
“I-I didn’t mean something this huge! I just thought it’d be nice to have a classroom since there are more people learning magic now, so I mentioned it once in passing, but—”
“Should I get rid of it, then?”
“Ah! No! Absolutely not! It’s perfect! Long live Lord Ian!”
The apprentice Ian had personally assigned to Sema joined in the celebration, and before long every magician in the dungeon had gathered around the tower, holding hands and cheering in circles.
Even the newcomers who had no idea what was happening ended up celebrating along with them.
And somehow, everyone was happy.
“And this one is for Momisia.”
“For me?”
Nestled comfortably in Contacca’s arms while tinkering with something labeled “Prisoner Gag_Modified Version_2,” Momisia blinked in confusion and looked up.
“It’s your workshop. Use it however you want. Bring in assistants if you need them.”
“My workshop...!”
Her cheeks flushed scarlet beneath her red cloak.
Unable to contain herself, she tugged urgently at Contacca’s sleeve.
“Uncle, hurry! Hurry!”
“Don’t run. You’ll trip,” Contacca said as he set her down. “It’s not going anywhere. And Momisia, what do you say when someone gives you a gift?”
“Ah!”
Momisia hurriedly spun around and bowed deeply toward Ian.
“Thank you, Lord Ian!”
Then she immediately dashed into the workshop without waiting for a response.
Contacca scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.
“She’s been spoiled rotten because everyone dotes on her... I’ll make sure she thanks you properly later.”
“Just let her be. Seeing her that happy is nice enough.”
‘That place will probably become her second home from now on.’
As long as she was sent home before ten at night, it probably didn’t violate child labor laws.
Ian vaguely remembered hearing something about child actors not being allowed to work late.
Not that he intended to overwork her in the first place. Kids needed proper sleep if they wanted to grow well.
‘Sleep plenty and grow strong. Children and adults have completely different work efficiency, after all.’
Ian smiled to himself in satisfaction.
Momisia would have a mountain of work ahead of her in the future. The Momisia and Contacca route was the quintessential fortress-defense storyline. Protecting and maintaining the dungeon’s defenses would ultimately become her responsibility.
Completely unaware of Ian’s thoughts, Contacca was immersed in his own.
‘For all its oddities... there’s nowhere else like this place.’
At some point, Ian’s dungeon had become home to both him and Momisia.
They couldn’t even joke about leaving anymore.
A home. A hometown. A place to return to.
Even if they left temporarily, they knew they would always come back.
A place they could confidently call their own.
Contacca had once worried about Momisia’s education, but with Lord Ian himself acting as her mentor, there was no longer any reason for concern.
Of course, giving a child an entire workshop just because she wanted one might not be the healthiest form of parenting, but—
‘Well, I’m no different. I’d give her anything she wanted too.’
Ian’s magic continued without pause.
Everywhere his gaze swept, the scenery transformed.
The barren training grounds lined with nothing but military barracks gained proper buildings. Crude peanut-shaped huts clustered together became neat family homes.
The temple expanded as well, complete with a towering bell tower and chapel.
Parks and playgrounds appeared, while dirt roads transformed into proper brick pathways wide enough for carriages to pass.
An orchard sprang up in one area, while a management building appeared beside the farmland. Somewhere nearby came the sound of cows lowing.
Where had the cows even come from?
Naturally, Genea was the only one still asking such basic questions.
Even those who had joined during Ian’s absence had already endured Sema’s endless storytelling sessions titled “The Miracles of Lord Ian, Volume 13.” And if Sema’s shameless boasting wasn’t enough, Louise’s confirmation made everything undeniable.
Unlike Sema, Louise was genuinely trustworthy.
Even so, the newcomers found themselves astonished.
‘So Sema wasn’t completely exaggerating?’
Well... not completely.
There had definitely been embellishment.
But it wasn’t entirely false either.
The paradise they had desperately searched for truly existed.
And their lord possessed power beyond common sense.
Ian, meanwhile, paid absolutely no attention to what anyone else was thinking.
His mind was completely consumed by the glorious infinite cycle.
“Dungeon Level Up → World Tree Level Up → Dungeon Level Up.”
Once he finished upgrading the dungeon, Ian walked toward the World Tree.
From his pocket, he pulled out a small paper pouch.
To Genea, it looked like nothing more than dried leaves and petals.
The moment Ian scattered them—
Light burst from the World Tree.
Golden branches stretched outward, while blooming petals cascaded down like rain.
“That...!”
Genea’s eyes widened.
She had heard stories before.
There existed, supposedly, special offerings meant for sacred trees.
Most of the knowledge once inherited by the guardians of sacred trees had vanished after the demon tribe invaded and the elves scattered.
The offering ritual had been among the lost traditions.
Genea had only ever heard fragments of it from older generations.
“If the ritual could be performed, the sacred tree might recover its vitality.”
Though she had never witnessed it herself, Genea instinctively understood what Ian had just done.
Standing before the flourishing World Tree, Ian looked almost as though he were communicating directly with it.
Ding!
[Dungeon expands: Thorn Trap 4]
Ding!
[Dungeon expands: Rock Trap 2]
Ding!
[Dungeon expands: Field 13]
Ding!
[Dungeon expands: Field 14]
...
‘Perfect.’
Not only had the residential district expanded, but the defensive zones had widened dramatically as well.
The current level’s expansion capacity had been completely maxed out.
Ian continued immediately.
Ding!
[4-Star Hero ‘Genea’ joins the dungeon!]
Ding!
[Dungeon Level Up!]
[Dungeon LV.24 → LV.25]
Then came another World Tree upgrade.
[Using ‘World Tree Fertilizer.’]
Ding!
[World Tree Level Up!] freewёbn૦νeɭ.com
[World Tree LV.5 → LV.6]
Before leaving the elf settlement, Ian had emptied the merchant’s entire stock of World Tree Fertilizer.
And he intended to use every last bit of it.
‘This is pure ecstasy.’
The dungeon map inside the system window expanded endlessly, while the World Tree’s golden branches spread farther and farther.
At this rate, it felt as though the entire dungeon would soon ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) be covered in gold.
Like a gambler spinning a roulette wheel in a frenzy, Ian continued leveling up the dungeon nonstop.
And when he finally created the last room—
Ding!
[Dungeon expands: Field 31]
Ian clenched his fist.
His body trembled with exhilaration.
‘This is insane.’
The mega-dungeon was complete.
“...Lord Ian, are you feeling alright?”
“I feel fantastic!”
“Yes... that’s rather obvious.”
Keith answered with a crooked smile.
Ian didn’t care.
Everything felt wonderful.
His chest felt lighter, and the entire world looked beautiful.
“All the suffering from being away from home was worth it!”
“Was it difficult?”
“Yeah! Because someone refused to listen to me!”
“That’s unfortunate. My own master caused me quite a few headaches with his nonsense as well.”
“Trying to pick a fight?”
Ian swung a playful punch toward Keith, grinning brightly.
The joy bubbling out of him was impossible to suppress, leaving his cheeks flushed red.
Keith opened his mouth to answer—
Then stopped.
Ian’s radiant smile lingered vividly in his mind.
Their journey together had genuinely been enjoyable.
And although Keith felt a faint sense of regret now that they had returned...
“Lord Ian is back!”
“Lord Ian!”
People flooded out from workshops and buildings, cheering loudly.
Their lord had returned.
The news alone had spread already, but seeing Ian with their own eyes—and witnessing the World Tree sing while the dungeon transformed around them—made his return finally feel real.
And then came the grand finale.
Actus.
Thud. Thud. Thud—
THUD!
A massive figure barreled toward them with earth-shaking force.
“Mom!”
Ian barely escaped having his ribs pulverized as Keith instantly yanked him aside at the last second.
The dragon, having failed its attempted hug, crashed into the ground, rolled once, and immediately launched itself back up.
The tiny creature that had once been small enough to fit beside a puppy had now grown nearly to human size.
Panting heavily, it resembled an oversized, hyperactive dog.
“Mom! Mom! Mom!”
“Yeah, yeah. Could you maybe avoid breaking my bones?”
“I waited for you! Sema lied! He said you’d come back after a hundred nights, but you didn’t! Don’t leave me again....”
Actus tried to throw itself at Ian once more, but Keith instinctively moved to stop it.
Ian quickly waved him back.
If those two started fighting, it would only create an even bigger disaster.
As a result, Ian ended up crushed beneath the dragon instead.
“Mom....”
Reptilian tears poured down over Ian’s hair, face, and chest.
He squeezed his eyes shut, feeling like he’d been caught in a torrential downpour.
Still...
It wasn’t entirely unpleasant.
“Yeah, yeah. I’m back.”
Ian patted the dragon, whose scales gleamed far more brilliantly than before.
‘So much for fixing the “mom” problem.’
It was far too late now.
He should have corrected it from the beginning.
A sigh escaped him, but honestly—
He didn’t dislike it all that much.
Lying there beneath Actus, Ian stared up at the glowing golden dungeon overhead.
The tension slowly drained from his body.
Ah.
He was home.
