The Divine Dungeon
Dakota Krout
Cal is a Dungeon Core, a soul forced against his will into a magical stone, growing a dungeon around himself to gain power - while Dale, a sheep-herder turned Noble, pursues ascendance through cultivation and dungeon conquest. Across five volumes the dungeon evolves from a fledgling deathtrap into a floating sanctuary, and both Cal and Dale grow exponentially stronger through staged advancement, facing necromantic armies, madness, and an apocalyptic war that forces the races of the world together.
Progression: Dual-track structured advancement, verified from Goodreads blurbs: (1) Dungeon-core growth ranks - Cal, a soul bound into a Dungeon Core stone, grows his dungeon in discrete stages (larger/deadlier floors, stronger traps and monsters, essence/power accumulation from defeated invaders), progressing toward higher core tiers including a floating dungeon; (2) human cultivation/adventurer ascendance - conquering dungeons and using them to grow is the established path to power (book 1 blurb), and Dale advances through physical and mental training plus rigorous advancement trials (books 3-4 blurbs). Advancement through dungeon conquest and core growth is central and explicit in every volume.
Goodreads
