Chapter 16

The morning came, along with around a dozen miners escorted by a party of six C ranked adventurers. After the loss of one adventurer yesterday, the guild was taking no chances with the valuable workman. They set to work stripping the veins of ore on the first floor, while the adventurers easily overpowered anything that threatened the miners. After about half a day of mining and hauling, a group of four C ranked adventurers retreating from the second floor, battered and bruised, reported the higher class ore veins, as well as the new guardians to the mining party. After a round of discussions, the group decided to push for the better veins, and enlisted the other party to help them find the other veins, and to provide some extra backup on the more dangerous floor.

The healer patched them up since they didn’t have one of their own, and they set off for the next floor. After easily passing the first boss, they descended the steps and entered the larger jungle. The miners all stopped in awe, having never seen the lower level, and their escorts all laughed, remembering the floor giving them the same slack-jawed stare.

“You ain't seen nothin’ yet,” called one of the guards, “the second ‘af is even better.”

The rest voiced their agreement, rousing the miners from their stupor, and led them to the ore deposits. The miners quickly set to work, and soon all of them were completely invested in their work, commenting to each other on the quality and purity of the ore, and the potential profits from mining on the floor. The guards weren’t cheap, but even on the first floor they had made a profit in half a day, and this better quality ore would only boost their margins. It wasn't long until they came across the first guardian, a massive copper colored turtle with a comically large underbite. However its beak looked sharp and strong, and they wisely called to their guards, shying away from the brute. It looked at them passively, and surprised them when it turned to the ore vein and took a massive bite out of the rock. Their faces paled when it started to chew, and they knew that it could bite off limbs as easily as they could bite through a carrot, and probably with a similar sound.

Two guards approached it carefully, and it took another bite before turning to face them, still chewing. When they were ten feet away, the four-foot long beast hissed at them menacingly, making one of the veteran warriors to flinch. They took another step forward, causing it to grow visibly more agitated, it stood taller, seeming to grow larger, and when they took another step closer, it surprised them by charging. One swung his sword at it while dodging its bite, but was only rewarded with a dulled blade. The other hacked at its neck while it was turned to his companion, and managed to shave off some of its health, but the scales on its neck were unnaturally hard, and he only succeeded it bruising it. It hissed again, seeming even more menacing than the first, and turned its attention to the first thing that had ever managed to hurt it.

He was rescued when another man charged in with an axe, and hacked off its front foot. It toppled over, not ready for the surprise attack, and retreated into its shell. Each hole was plugged by a perfectly sized piece of armor attached to their shoulders that slid into place when its limbs were in the proper position. They attacked it again, but even the axe-wielding adventurer couldn't penetrate its ridiculously resistant armor. Even a volunteer with a mace was unable to crack its shell, and they had already spent too much time on this one. They all decided that these monsters needed to be beheaded with the first attack, otherwise, they’d turtle up and be unassailable. Perhaps a fire mage could cook them in their shell, but they had no mages with them to test the theory. They solved the problem by rolling it onto its back, figuring it would be unable to bother them, even if it did leave its shell again.

They faced a few more guarding the copper and iron deposits, and managed to kill a few once they learned to attack its head and neck first. They gutted and cleaned the turtles, a difficult task, but the scales and shell had a high metal content, and the miners offered them a good price for each pound of material. On their way back, a few of the adventurers kicked the still overturned copper turtle, chuckling as the inert beast spun a few times with each strike. The tenacious guardian had waited for them to leave, but when the last adventurer in the procession stopped to deliver a blow to the plate that hid its head behind, it opened up, revealing an enraged turtle, lashing out at the man. He stumbled and tripped while trying to avoid its attack, but the kick had already been launched, and his foot was too close. It snagged the offending limb, and removed his foot before he even noticed it had bitten down. It returned to its armored fortress, foot in mouth, and sealed itself away.

The man lay on the ground screaming, and was hauled away by two of his companions, who scolded him for his unnecessary attack on the monster. They all were experienced, but they had assumed an immobilized enemy was no threat, and it wasn't, if they didn't kick at its head like an idiot. The healer saw to the man, stopping the bleeding and clearing it of any potential infection. He would need to receive better treatment if he ever wanted to regain the foot, and that would be expensive, requiring a master healer with the proper perks unlocked. An expert healer could reattach severed limbs, if the cut was clean enough, but they didn't have the foot, so it was unlikely he’d regain the lost appendage any time soon. She admonished him for his stupidity, as well as the others who had started the act, and they had the decency to look sheepish and properly apologetic.

After the eventful finale to the expedition, the group exited the dungeon, and aside from the final mishap, the mining expedition was very successful. They had extracted a large amount of high-quality ore, which would be extremely useful for the growing city. Having a local source of metal would vastly cut down on weapon and tool costs, not to mention the little necessities such as nails, hinges, and other metal fixtures needed in the construction of a city. The guild was especially thrilled since their investment was proving to be better every day. They already had a bustling town, and people were flocking to the area every day. The access to valuable resources was incredible, and they could only seeing the value go up. Happiest of all was Peter.

Peter had been very successful, and after negotiating for some profitable contracts with the guild, he had set himself up for a long life of luxury. He had no intention of resting on his laurels however, and his intelligent mind found itself enjoying the administration of his land. He had skilled people working for him, and he was creating a city that would be the center of the region, perhaps even rivaling some of the southern cities in wealth and importance. As the owner of the land, he had a massive amount of influence over the area, and he was putting it to good use. His insistence in only hiring the best planners and artisans had cost the guild quite a bit of money, but the lucrative contracts he had signed in return had swayed them to his position. He had the final say on all appointments, and after a lengthy interview process he had hired one of the best city planners in the kingdom. The man was just as excited as he was, since city planners rarely got to build a city from the ground up, and were mostly relegated to administrative work in already established cities. The city was well planned, and would be a shining jewel in the forest for generations to come.

His city was attracting immigrants from across the kingdom, and many skilled artisans had traveled in an attempt to set up businesses in the new region, and avoid competition with already established businesses in the old cities. There were even a few farms starting up on the land outside the city, strung out along the new road he had hired earth mages to properly and quickly set up. If he got his wishes, his city would be of the highest quality from the start, and although it seemed a wild fantasy, he wanted it to be the best in the kingdom.

He had a meeting with the guildmaster later that day, to discuss recent changes to the dungeon, as well as a few external situations caused by jealous nobles. He had already had plenty of generous offers to buy the land, and when he refused, a few thinly veiled threats, and some completely unveiled. But he was already a wealthy man, and the nobles would be foolish to attempt to make good on their threats, especially with the might of the strongest faction in the region behind him.

The meeting was in the guildhouse, and when he walked in, the old master smiled and shook in hand while greeting him.

“Peter, it’s good to see you. I see running a city has been treating you well,” he cheerfully asked him with a cheeky grin on his wrinkled old face.

“Come on Jack, you already know how much I enjoy the work. No amount of teasing me about my ‘boring’ hobby will change my mind. I have no desire to don some robes and test the dungeon either, I’m content with practicing my craft at home. I think you’re just hoping I’ll die and you can run the city on your own,” Peter returned with a genuine smile.

The two had developed a strong friendship over the months, with Jack seeing Peter as the son he never had. They often joked about Peter's seeming obsession with perfection in his domain, and Jack’s desire for him to “man up and do some adventuring.” Jack, who had a genuine affection for the intelligent boy, turned more serious.

“Running the city is exactly why I called you here today, there are some new developments in the dungeon, but those can wait. There is a much more important issue,” he said as he handed Peter a sealed letter.

“This is the king’s seal,” he nearly shouted when he saw the elegant mark in the purple wax. He grew worried as various scenarios flashed through his head. The king could strip him of his land, with compensation of course, but no. The guild would be angered since they already had contracts in place, and the king couldn't afford to look like a tyrant. When he looked at Jack, the man only nodded, a serious expression on his face. Peter let out a long breath, and popped the seal on the missive. His eyes widened in shock when he read the all too brief note, in the king's own handwriting. He easily recognized it as such, his grandfather had received a note from the man when he had retired, in thanks for his service to the kingdom. He had read that framed document thousands of times as a child, in awe of his famous grandfather, and the handwriting was unmistakable.

He looked up at Jack, the stunned expression still on his face. Jack only smiled and guffawed loudly. When he stared longer the man shouted cheerfully, “what’s that face for my boy? You’re going to be a duke.”

The next day, Peter set off in an ornate carriage, headed for the capital nine days away to swear his fealty to the king and receive his title. Jack saw him off, and assured him that the city would be taken care of during his three-week absence. Everything after reading the missive had been a blur, and even the news of the chests and ore deposits could not rouse him from his shock. He had prepared for the journey, and was escorted by a squad of the king’s royal guards, all sent with the letter to deliver him safely to the king, since he did not yet have any retainers of his own. He brought some books with him, intending to study his magecraft while away from the pleasurable challenge of city construction.

Pan had run into a minor problem with his dungeon. The chests, while helpful, were not working as well as he had hoped. People didn’t want to carry items out to the better chests, so he was missing out on more expensive items. There was the fear of losing them in death, as well as the inconvenience of it all. He had spent the night planning a solution, and had amended the instructions on his chest. Each chest now spawned unique tokens, one per adventurer in the group. When the token was brought to the first chest in the safe room, and placed in the chest with the item they wished to sell, they would receive coins equal to what they would have gotten if they traveled to the chest they got the token from. This would allow adventurers to trade expensive or unwieldy items without risk, at least while selling them. The wooden tokens were lightweight and easy to carry, about the size of a standard coin. He also hoped they would be sold to merchants or artisans, so people who wouldn’t normally risk the dungeon could trade their items with him. Instead of hiring a party and risking their life, or money if the party was untrustworthy, people would buy tokens and sell their items risk free. He hoped the new system would increase the flow of items, and since they were never in danger, even if the item wasn’t new to him, they weren’t risking their lives for a chance at money.

He needed to add a way for them to know if the item was new to him. He considered a few methods, and finally decided on adding another token system. He added a second chest to the safe room, and if someone put an item inside it, they would receive a token tied to the item, if it was new to Pan. Then, no matter what, the item was guaranteed to be bought if placed inside a chest along with the token, even if someone else traded Pan the same item before then. He also considered offering to buy materials such as metals at all times, but decided against it, for now. He could grow metals easily enough, but he felt that having a massive stockpile of useful metals could only be beneficial.

He was also considering a way to allow people to trade creatures for gold, but everything he thought of would be inconvenient. He did add a note saying potions and potion ingredients would receive an added five percent to the money given, and any new enchantments would get ten percent added, as well as an extra gold coin. Books all received a five percent bonus, and skillbooks got fifteen, plus two extra gold coins. He had no idea if the skillbooks would even be useful to him, but it didn’t hurt to try. Besides, amassing a large library of skillbooks would be useful in the future, although he didn’t know how. That should entice people to give him things he wanted. He was hoping the amendments to his system would help him get what he wanted. It reduced the risk to sellers, without reducing the risk for adventurers trying to reach a chest, and allowed people to be assured of a sale.

The new changes were an enormous success, and the tokens became valuable commodities in the dungeon. A few people were even killed for their token at some of the better chests on the second floor. Pan hadn’t intended to turn the adventurers on each other, but he couldn’t deny the effectiveness of the tactic. He had received many more items that day than he had since he made the chests. There were plenty of new potions and ingredients, as well as a few new enhancements. He now had the basic elemental enchantments covered, as well as a few more advanced ones. The potions were interesting, and he was excited to begin refining them again, but the ingredients were amazing. The variety he got shocked him, and he planted in secluded areas all across his dungeon. The rare plants came from all over, and there were even a few from outside the kingdom that he couldn’t plant since the environment wasn’t right for them. The rare plants even contributed to his mana regeneration, some of the more potent ones gave more than a small rodent would, and his newfound knowledge from the books gave him new insights on using them to create his own potions, not just copy already existing ones. The first potions he wanted to try were rare attribute boosting ones, such as a potion of strength.

Solution of Strength

Quality: Solution

Grade: Rare

Special effects: +5 strength for 5 minutes

He started the process of refining the potion, giddy at the thought of improving it further. He quickly ran into a few problems, however, and no matter how much he tried he couldn’t solve them. When he tried to apply the new principles of alchemy he had learned to make it last longer, the effect grew weaker. If he tried to strengthen the effect, the time grew shorter. He even managed to improve it to the philter quality, the second highest quality of potion, but he still couldn’t make much more improvement on the original.

Philter of Strength

Quality: Philter

Grade: Rare

Special effects: +10 strength for 7 minutes

It was an incredible potion, there was no doubt about that, but it wasn’t what he dreamed of. His salvation came that night when an alchemist sold him a new ingredient. It was a small plant of the mythic grade, the first mythic item he had ever seen, and luckily for Pan, it had strength boosting properties. He immediately started substituting it into his refined recipe, sometimes failing, sometimes improving it. The mana cost to summon a mythic ingredient was not insignificant, and he found that he was actually countering his mana regeneration while he experimented. It was no problem since he could feel that he was close to solving his problem. After hours of work, and reaching journeyman level in alchemy, he succeeded.

Elixir of Strength

Quality: Elixir

Grade: Mythic

Special effects: +10 strength for 20 minutes

Alchemy Level 25, Journeyman

The ability to create potions and poisons out of ingredients found in nature. Effects increased based off of alchemy level.

+1% potion strength per level ten and under

+2% potion strength per level over level ten

+1% chance per level over twenty-five to increase potion grade by 1

The boost to alchemy was great, especially since he had gotten the skill to level thirty-two. He felt that there was still room for improvement, but at his level in alchemy, it was difficult to see how. He returned to studying his books, which unfortunately only went up to journeyman level in alchemy, which was where he was currently. He read through them anyway, hoping that they would help him pass he journeyman rank. His progress was slowing substantially, and he knew that he would need more time to push the skill further. He had reached the point where the skill didn't level from repeating tasks, and he now needed to expand his knowledge of the craft by trying new things. For now, that meant he had to continue his experiments while he waited for new items to reach him.

Dungeon Menu

Level: 10

Type: Sentient Dungeon

Name: N/A

Titles: N/A

Mana: 3,412/25,000 (+0)

Soul Energy: 15.1/500

Rooms: 122

Floors: 2

Animals: 100,000+

Plants: 100,000+

Monsters: 8,351

Skills: [Dungeon Menu], [Dungeon Manipulation], [Dungeon Absorption], [Dungeon Creation: Level 12], [Dungeon Expansion], [Dungeon Summon], [Targeted Evolution], [Monster Imbuement], [Dungeon Map], [Name Bestowal], [Drop Assignment], [Floor Creation], [Environmental Manipulation], [Dungeon Soul Trap], [Alchemy: Lvl 32], [Enchanting: Lvl 14], [Dungeon Ore Vein]

Dungeon Points: 415

Achievements: Evolver, Legend Slayer, Boundless