Two days after the castle was raised, Lilith woke up in a gargantuan, royal bed of black oak, lined with silk that seemed to absorb the darkness of the night. She stretched lazily, feeling the softness of the sheets against her skin - a luxury she could only dream of over the past few days.
"Sleeping in a bed is... infinitely more pleasant than under the open sky," she muttered to herself, still in her human form.
As a succubus, she could theoretically regenerate her strength through desire energy, feeding on the essence of others, but since she hadn't yet unlocked the corresponding skills from her development tree, she was left with old-fashioned human sleep. And although the castle accelerated regeneration by 100%, nothing replaced physical rest.
She rose from the bed and walked over to the great window. She pulled back the heavy curtains, allowing the pale light of the Valley of Eternal Darkness to illuminate her naked body. She sighed, lightly lifting her breast with her hand, and winced with distaste.
"I really need to sort out some clothes eventually..." she whispered.
In her demonic silhouette, with horns and wings, nudity felt natural to her, even majestic. However, this human form, so deceptively reminiscent of her previous life, made her feel exposed and strangely vulnerable. To make matters worse, her passive talent [Exhibitionist] refused to be ignored. It acted automatically, making her feel a pulsing warmth in her lower abdomen that distracted her thoughts and teased her senses.
Trying to draw her attention away from these troublesome sensations, Lilith looked outside. The last two days had been a murderous logistical marathon. Thanks to Izera, she had managed to acquire most of the ordered seeds, and the hordes of goblins - now over three hundred subjects - were constantly digging in the dirt, planting every free meter of the Spirit Fields.
Suddenly, she remembered her Analysis skill, which she had used yesterday for four solid hours, summoning every new goblin and examining each one individually.
"Thank goodness..." she exhaled with relief at the mere memory. "At least I know I didn't invite any Hero in disguise inside. If a spy had hidden in that green mass, I'd have a massive problem right at the source."
All the goblins turned out to be authentically primitive, loyal, and - most importantly - ready to work beyond their strength. Lilith knew, however, that the peace would not last forever.
Lilith leaned against the cool window frame, letting a gentle breeze brush her naked skin. She closed her eyes, analyzing the past events.
"I need to start using this Analysis skill more often," she muttered to herself, feeling the passive [Exhibitionist] talent send waves of heat through her body. "I've been neglecting it until now, but it's the key to this world. If not for it, I never would have found what the goblins pointed out to me."
In her mind, she replayed the conversation with one of the newly arrived elders, a former tribal chief. The goblin had been shaking with fear as he spoke of the "Great Hole," which had once given them riches but then became their curse.
"Mistress... it was an incredibly rich mine! But we dug too deep... too deep! We discovered something that had been sleeping for centuries. An ancient demon awakened and brought a terrible catastrophe. For generations, no one has dared to enter there!"
Yesterday afternoon, Lilith and Lysandra had performed a reconnaissance flight over the surrounding hills. Thanks to the Analysis skill, Lilith had spotted the yawning, black mouth of an entrance hidden in the thicket.
"The Mine of Sorrows, huh?" she whispered now with a predatory smile, recalling the name that had appeared in her field of vision.
She had wanted to enter immediately, driven by instinct and greed, but Lysandra had held her back with cool reason. Ancient demons were not an opponent to be taken lightly over morning coffee. They decided to prepare properly.
The plan for today was simple and brutal. Lilith, Mina, and Kala - three powerful succubi - along with a squad of 50 of the best undead warriors, were to strike at the very heart of the cave. Lysandra, meanwhile, was to stay in the castle to guard the altar and manage their territory in the meantime.
Lilith straightened up, and her human form began to ripple violently. Her skin became paler, almost porcelain; powerful, leathery wings burst from her back, and curved, black horns bloomed on her temples. In this form, nudity ceased to be embarrassing - it became part of her majesty.
"Time to see what interesting things this mine hides," she said aloud, her voice taking on a supernatural, deep resonance. "If there's a demon sitting in there, it's high time he met his new queen."
She stepped out of the chamber, the echo of her footsteps and the rustle of her wings carrying through the castle corridors, hralding the beginning of their first true dungeon expedition.
***
Three pairs of wings sliced through the humid air in a rhythmic, unhurried pace. Lilith led the formation, with Kala and Mina flying just behind her, casting long shadows over the army of skeletons marching below.
Mina, whose patience was always thinner than a spider's silk, glanced down at the bone-clacking squads and huffed with irritation. "Do we really have to crawl like this?" she moaned, twirling her hands. "Those piles of calcium are moving so slowly my wings are about to go numb. Lilith, can't we just leave them? The three of us could grind this mine to dust on our own!"
Kala, without taking her eyes off the horizon, shot back curtly: "Stop crying, Mina."
Mina braked sharply in mid-air, nearly somersaulting with indignation. "Who says I'm crying?!" she shrieked, her tail lashing the air like a whip. "I'm just stating a fact! We're succubi, not babysitters for an undead daycare!"
Lilith, hearing their bickering, smiled to herself.
"Quiet, girls. We're here," Lilith interrupted them, pointing downward toward a mountainside overgrown with unnaturally thick vegetation.
The terrain was masterfully camouflaged. If not for her Analysis skill, they would have passed this place a hundred times, taking it for an ordinary wall of vines. "Hell, that entrance is hard to spot," Mina muttered as all three landed softly on the damp earth. Kala merely nodded, alertly extending her claws.
Lilith narrowed her eyes, and the system window unfurled before her gaze once more:
[The Mines of Despair]
Description: An ancient mine rich in iron ore. Following a mysterious catastrophe, it became a cursed tomb.
Possible Rewards: Bronze Treasure Chest, Undead Gems, Rare Ores (Iron, Silver, Mithril), Technological Blueprints.
Lilith smiled predatorily. A bronze chest! That sounded far better than her previous chests she had found so far. She imagined the artifacts that might be waiting there.
They examined the entrance. Rusted metal rails and the remnants of wooden support structures protruded from beneath the layer of moss. "Look at this," Lilith pointed to the transport system. "Someone designed and built this. Since they have rails and mechanisms here, it means the creatures here have access to technology and engineering."
At that moment, the skeletons reached the entrance, standing in even ranks behind their mistresses. Lilith straightened up, her voice turning grave. "Let's go see what awaits us. Looking at the rewards, expect a large number of undead. This is their territory."
Mina winced with clear revulsion, adjusting her green hair. "Is the only thing that exists in this territory really green, stinking creatures and these clattering, dry bones?" she asked, frustrated. "Where did all the handsome elves go, or at least something with skin?"
Lilith smiled crookedly, feeling that deep down, she agreed with Mina. "Patience, little one. First we'll build the foundations on bones and potatoes, then we'll look for the rest of the world."
With those words, leading the squad of fifty skeletons, the three succubi entered the dark, cold maw of The Mines of Despair