Just as he was about to leave, Crushir’s question about security popped into his head again. A niggling little worm that wouldn’t leave. Thinking about the prisoners in every jailbreak movie he had ever seen, where some hapless warden who thought security was good enough always ended up humiliated as the inmates escaped with ease, Atlas gritted his teeth. He wasn’t about to let his sense of safety turn him into that kind of fool. If this dungeon was going to double as a prison, it needed defenses that would make even the most determined escape artist with accomplices throw up their hands in defeat.

  ‘Guards outside? Dungeon fairy? That’s kid stuff,’ he thought, already dismissing the bare-bones setup the dungeon fairy suggested. ‘No way am I relying on just that. I need traps. Layers of them. Countermeasures so brutal even thinking about escaping will feel like a death sentence.’

  Ideas began flooding in—explosive runes, mana-sensitive walls, motion-triggered stun fields. Maybe even a labyrinth-like structure that could shift unpredictably, forcing would-be escapees to wander in circles until the guards showed up. He imagined prisoners running into illusions of walls that didn’t exist, only to trip into pits lined with anti-teleportation runes.

  Atlas smirked, a glint of mischief in his eyes. ‘Go ahead, try your luck. I dare you.’

  Atlas paced around the dungeon, his boots echoing softly on the cold stone floor. ‘If this is going to be my backup base, it better be impenetrable. Not just secure. Safe isn't enough anymore. I want Fort Knox-levels of protection.‘ As he exited, he greeted the guards with his usual calm demeanor.

  “Hey, guys. I know you're on rotation. There's always four on, right?”

  “Yes, sir,” one replied quickly.

  Atlas nodded, mentally checking off one of the many details rattling in his mind. "And no one gets in or out of the dungeon?"

  “That’s right,” came the swift response.

  “Including you guys?”

  “Yep.”

  Atlas raised an eyebrow, leaning in slightly. "Where do you pee? Or shit?"

  The guards shifted, clearly caught off guard by the unexpected question. Their faces flushed with embarrassment.

  “Well, um,” one guard stammered, avoiding eye contact, “we make like bears?”

  ‘Seriously?‘ Atlas thought, keeping his face neutral. ‘This is my elite guard, and they're out here shitting in the woods like we're still in the Stone Age?‘

  "Ah," he said slowly, nodding as if he'd heard something profound. "That’s not gonna do. Let’s start with that."

  He pulled out a notepad, scribbling down ideas for a more civilised solution. ‘If these guys are too busy dealing with nature calls, they'll be distracted when I need them most.‘ The guards exchanged awkward glances, probably wondering if they'd be demoted to latrine digging duty after this.

  Atlas continued walking, still deep in thought. ‘If this dungeon is going to serve as a backup stronghold, I need to think bigger. The whole empire could be at stake, and I'm not letting some lazy security measures ruin everything.‘ He tapped the pencil on his chin, trying to visualise the perfect defense.

  ‘How would I break in if I were the bandits or friends of the prisoners?‘

  He now imagined a group of bandits, rough-looking and armed to the teeth, trying to storm the dungeon.

  They’ll definitely attack with more people. ‘Three-on-one advantage at least, 'cause these types never fight fair.‘ The scene played out in his mind like a strategy game. ‘All right, so my imaginary robbers will be attacking with a three-on-one advantage. So…..12 bandits rush in.‘

  He pictured the bandits pausing now, sizing up the defenses. ‘What stops them?

  ‘Gotta think of everything—human error, mechanical failures, even sabotage from the prisoners. If I'm gonna keep this place safe, I can't afford any gaps.‘

  He continued scribbling, the imaginary bandits waiting for his next move.

  Atlas grinned to himself, pacing faster now, excitement bubbling up. ‘All right, let’s start by giving the guards some sort of defensive station,‘ he thought, tapping his notepad. ‘Like a barricaded sentry station. Yeah, something solid.‘ He scribbled down the idea, feeling a sense of triumph as his imaginary battle played out in his head.

  Now, the imaginary bandits hesitated, eyeing the guards who had smartly holed up inside the barricaded station. ‘That oughta frustrate them,‘ he thought, smirking. The imaginary bandits scowled, pacing back and forth outside the makeshift fort. ‘Oh, yeah, they’re pissed.‘

  But then, his mental movie took a grim turn. The imaginary bandits, with big, evil grins, took out explosives and triumphantly smashed the sentry station to pieces, leaving imaginary guards scattered on the ground with cartoonish X’s for eyes.

  ‘This won’t do,‘ Atlas thought, frowning as he added to his idea. ‘Still too easy. I need something sneakier.‘

  Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  “How about a pit trap?” he muttered, eyes lighting up. His pacing quickened, the momentum of ideas flowing faster. ‘Yes! Pit trap, right in front of the station. And why stop there? Scatter more throughout the area. Make ‘em guess where they can step!‘

  He pictured the bandits charging again, their overconfidence leading them straight into the hidden pits. Time rewound in his mind, and instead of an easy victory, the imaginary bandits were suddenly flailing as they tumbled into the earth. Yells and curses filled the air as a majority of them fell, limbs flailing wildly.

  Atlas snickered. ‘That’s right, suckers! Welcome to the dungeon of doom!‘

  “They won’t know what hit ‘em,” he muttered, practically giddy at the thought. “And unless someone bribed a guard, there’s no way they’ll see it coming.” He jotted that note down too, his grin growing wider. ‘Yeah, try smashing a sentry station now.‘

  “Okay, that’s working well”.

  "Number three, scouts," Atlas said, pointing toward the thick forest nearby. "This area has too many trees—perfect for hiding. Let’s start clearing those out. If I have scouts around , they’ll see the bandits coming in well before those idiots even know what hit ‘em."

  He grinned to himself, picturing the bandits being caught en route, their shocked faces as they stumbled into an ambush. ‘Yeah, that'll wipe the smug looks off their faces real quick. Nothing like a preemptive beatdown to ruin someone's day.‘

  "Number four, watchtowers," he continued, pacing with excitement. "Those cheap-ass ones should do. Put them in a circle around the dungeon so the towers can see each other." His grin widened. "Five should do the trick, right? That's two men per tower, so we’re looking at ten more guys. Fourteen total now, instead of just the original four."

  ‘Fourteen guards. A step up from our current 'barely watching the door' squad. But if the bandits attack the watchtowers, thinking they're clever, what then?‘ Atlas rubbed his chin, the gears in his brain turning faster. ‘How would I hit back?‘

  “There’d be groups of hidden scouts,” he muttered, almost enjoying the idea too much. "Their job? Take out anyone causing havoc at the towers. Long-distance crossbows. Snipers, yeah."

  He jotted it down in his notepad: ‘Add ten more for the scouts. Total of twenty-four now.‘ ‘Twenty-four sounds like an army compared to four… But still not enough if they manage to get inside.‘

  Atlas paused mid-stride, his face tightening. ‘But the dungeon… if they get inside past all of this, I’m totally screwed. Gotta think about the fairy.‘ His stomach dropped as he imagined bandits laughing and charging past his defenses, straight into the heart of the dungeon.

  ‘That lazy fairy will probably just sit there, all useless, watching the place fall apart.‘

  Spinning on his heel, he marched back into the dungeon, the heavy door slamming behind him. The fairy looked startled, eyes wide as she fluttered around in front of him. “You’re back! Already?” she squeaked.

  Atlas didn’t break stride. “I realized we need more defensive measures in the dungeon.”

  “Why? We already have skeleton guards,” asked the fairy.

  “Because humans are fuckers,” responded Atlas.

  The fairy blinked rapidly, her wings fluttering a little slower. “Excuse me?”

  “I’m trying to figure out how I’d take down this dungeon if I were an enemy,” Atlas said.

  The fairy fluttered in midair, her face scrunched up in confusion. “Why would anyone want to take down our dungeon? We’re not a bad dungeon anymore!” Her voice had that high-pitched, innocent tone that made Atlas want to groan.

  Atlas gave her a cold, knowing look. ‘Oh, sweet summer child.’

  “Didn’t I already tell you humans are fuckers? Don’t trust them.”

  The fairy tilted her head, her tiny wings fluttering nervously. “But they won’t attack for no reason, right?”

  Atlas clenched his jaw, his frustration bubbling up. “Humans don’t need a reason,” he growled, his voice low and dangerous. “They live on greed and betrayal. If they see something they want, they’ll take it. Doesn’t matter what’s in their way.”

  The fairy paused mid-flutter, her expression shifting from confusion to worry. She twirled a strand of her shimmering hair, her voice quiet. “But… we’re just a small dungeon. What could we possibly have that they’d want?”

  Atlas stopped and turned to her, his towering presence casting a shadow over her delicate form. “Power,” he said flatly. “Resources. Freedom for the prisoners. Hell, even the Mana that flows through this place. They’ll come for all of it the moment they catch wind of what we have. And when they do…” He gestured to the walls around them. “These skeleton guards won’t be enough.”

  The fairy gulped, her glow dimming slightly as she hugged her tiny arms to herself. “That’s… really sad,” she muttered. “Are all humans like that?”

  “Most,” Atlas said, his voice hard. “And the ones who aren’t? They’ll still turn on you if it means saving their own skin.” His eyes narrowed, and his tone softened into something almost regretful. “You’d better start seeing the world for what it is, not what you want it to be.”

  The fairy fluttered closer, her expression hesitant but determined. “But there have to be good ones too, right? I mean, you’re a human…”

  Atlas snorted. “But you and I, we have a system-enforced contract. And even I wouldn’t count myself as one of the good ones.”

  Her wings buzzed as she hovered eye-level with him, her small hands on her hips. “You can’t just assume the worst of everyone. Maybe if we treat people better, they’ll treat us better too.”

  Atlas stared at her, deadpan. ‘Sweet, naive little fairy.’ He sighed heavily. “Sure. You keep believing that. Meanwhile, I’ll be down here fortifying this place so we don’t get murdered in our sleep.”

  The fairy huffed, crossing her arms. “Fine. But I still think you’re wrong.”

  “Great,” Atlas said, already turning away. “You keep thinking that while I figure out how to weaponize the dungeon.”

  The fairy sighed, her wings drooping a little as she floated in place, clearly unsure of how to respond. ‘Of course she doesn’t get it,‘ Atlas thought, muttering to himself now. ‘She’s thinking like a fairy, not like a human. If she doesn’t toughen up, this dungeon and my prisoners are going to be a mess.‘

  “Okay, what would you do if I rolled up with a troop to destroy this dungeon heart?” he asked, snapping her back to attention.

  The fairy crossed her arms, her eyes narrowing as she gave it some thought. “There’s not much we could do once you got past any skeletons we had left. Maybe hold off the first wave, but after that, we’re toast.”

  Atlas felt his pulse quicken. ‘This place is practically begging to be raided.‘ “Can you respawn the boss? That general was a tough son of a bitch,” he asked, his voice sharp with urgency.

  The fairy shrugged, clearly not as concerned. “We could,” she admitted, “but it costs a heck of a lot of mana.”

  Atlas’s eyes narrowed. “Then do it. Instead of wasting mana on spawning the small guys, focus on bringing back that one general. He’s worth a hundred of those weaker ones.”

  The fairy huffed, her tiny hands landing on her hips as she gave him an indignant look. “That’ll take a week—at least—and it’ll eat up all our mana for that whole week!”

  Atlas didn’t even blink. “I’ll have guards posted outside,” he shot back, his voice firm, cutting through her objections. “You won’t have to deal with small groups of bandits attacking. I’m worried about a full-scale attack. Only a general can stand up to that. And he doesn’t need his mount—the dungeon’s not that big.”

  The fairy pouted, her wings buzzing in frustration, but she eventually sighed in defeat. “Fine,” she said, her voice soft but begrudging. ‘She might not like it, but she will soon realize that I’m right,‘ Atlas thought, crossing his arms as he stared her down.

  ‘And when those bandits come knocking, we’ll see who’s really prepared.’