Chapter 56 Dungeon Core: “The Eternal Training Ground”

Pov Ace

Finally, I could see the monsters of this room. There were only four deer, but I was now used to not just thinking of these monsters as weak creatures. Instead, I knew them to be deadly if underestimated.

My blood sang as I waited on top of a tree to ambush them. They were walking so slowly, but I needed to wait until they were in the perfect position. If I were to confront them without ambushing, I wasn’t certain of my victory.

On the surface, this creature would be something any human could handle, yet on the 16th floor, they could probably kill an entire village of regular people. My bracelet started to twitch once again, reminding me I needed to return to the surface.

They were quite insistent, and I guess I should go up there after this room. The next waystation was going to be a neutral one, but even if it wasn’t, no one was going to stop me. The shadow guilds still operated and were something that the adventurer guild was not going to be able to stop.

I refocused as my prey was almost in the right position. Just before I jumped, I used my adjust body skill to change how my body functioned as I had slowed down all my functions to conceal me better. Now, I boosted everything but still tried to jump without making any sound.

I had just cleared the tree branch I was on when already the monsters reacted. I could see multiple skills being activated: two defensive ones, at least one must have been active search as one of the deer immediately locked eyes with me, and another one from the leader that seemed to boost everyone.

I activated my offensive skills, empowering my war pick, which allowed me to pierce the defenses of the leader and drive the sharp end of my weapon deep into its skull, killing it instantly. There was no time to recover my weapon as I needed to dodge two wind slashes and get away from the ground that was now trying to swallow me. After the roll, it took me almost a second to use my offensive skills to empower my dagger and then throw it towards the deer that had the ground-type skill.

The flying dagger killed the deer immediately, as one of its arteries was severed, and when the dagger teleported back to my hand, blood started to fly out. Fortunately, the other two monsters were still together, which meant that my shield, built into my bracelet, would be good enough to defend myself as I approached them rapidly.

Multiple air strikes hit, but my feet were firm as I continued to run towards them. They were packing up and starting to separate. I threw out my dagger once again, but this time it just slid off the skin without doing much damage.

I had expected that, and the main reason was so I could safely retrieve my war pick. With it in my hand, I activated heavy blow, quick strike, and distant strike. Using the blunt end of my weapon, I delivered the perfect overhead strike.

When the head of the weapon would do the most damage, my swing didn't meet air; instead, it was stopped, and the damage was transferred to the head of one of the monsters. It didn't kill it; the transfer of power wasn't strong enough, but it was now dazed, so I could focus on the other.

This skill combination took quite a lot of mana, so instead of doing the same thing, I rushed towards the other monster, all while continuing to block its air strikes. When I got close enough, it tried to hit me with one of its front legs.

I angled my shield enough so it wouldn't do any real damage and delivered a piercing strike to its head, ending its life. "Shit!" Even just that strike against my angled shield hurt like hell, but there was no time for a break.

Not wanting to risk a similar situation to what just happened, I delivered two more distant strikes, which allowed me to approach without being in danger and finish off the last monster. Looking at the loot, I was disappointed; there were no expensive pieces of meat, and unfortunately, there weren’t any other drops. "I guess I can’t ignore them forever." Still, I took a few minutes to just recenter myself. I wasn’t going to be able to miss the ceremony, so I should really get going.

Fortunately, this waystation was off the beaten path, so I didn’t have to interact with anyone when I got to the gateway and stepped to the surface. The first floor’s gateroom had become a lot bigger, and there were constantly people moving in and out of the gateways.

Immediately, I was noticed and started to be dragged along. They were constantly talking at me, but I had gotten good at ignoring them. I looked back at the gateway, wanting to go back to the 16th floor. That reminded me of the territory system and the shadow guilds. Usually, I tried not to think about this topic, but currently, it was better than the situation happening to me right now.

The dungeon was vague as ever, but I’m certain that the shadow guilds were the ones responsible for this whole situation. So many adventurers fought for territory that they would eventually grow out of. Why kill each other for momentary gains that will literally mean nothing.

For the first time, I focused on something on the surface. We were walking past the cook’s alley. The wonderful smell of all the food being cooked made my mouth water. There were so many restaurants here simply because so many aspiring cooks had come here so they could learn their profession cheaply.

There was so much cheap meat and high-end pieces of meat that they could practice on. The production of other food items had also increased by quite a lot, so while they were at more normal prices overall, it was still a perfect place to study cooking. It was so good, in fact, that there were plans to actually build a proper school for cooks.

Unfortunately, it didn't take us long to reach my mansion. For the past few months, the kingdom sent me a tutor to get me prepared for my, let's call it, promotion. It has been a miserable time, and the only place I still felt like myself was inside the dungeon.

Entering my mansion, I cringed every time at the opulent wealth shown. I had asked multiple times if this was truly needed, and after hours and hours of lectures, I at least understood why, even though I still didn’t agree.

Inside my room, I had to fight my servants to be able to at least take off some pieces of my armor, but I soon gave up when I saw the letter that was on the table. It was the thing that brought me so much misery.

It was a letter from the king that informed me that I was going to be given the title of count and an even bigger piece of land surrounding this city and dungeon that the neighboring kingdom had actually agreed to.

Not only that, but I would not be joining the regular noble structure. No, my lands would be more independent and completely protected by the crown, so no noble, no matter how justified, could declare war on my county to take it away.

From the lessons, I had learned that it was to satisfy the other countries who wanted me completely independent, like some of the other dungeon cities in this world. What I understand is that if the dungeon keeps getting deeper and deeper, that will eventually happen no matter what.

The question will be, will I still be alive by that time? While everyone who ranks up gains more lifespan, the question is, will the dungeon continue growing fast enough so I would be able to see that future?

There are, of course, other ways I could gain the rank I need to see that future, but that would cost a lot of coin. However, if things continue like this, I would probably be able to afford a boosted delve of the entire royal dungeon. Currently, it would still take me about 50 years to get that much coin, but by the projections of how much this city could start making, that time would shorten by quite a lot.

Finally, it was done, and I looked at the mirror, not recognizing myself at all. I was going to need to get used to this. This place was becoming quite popular with the nobles and so many others. So, I will be invited to many events where I need to show my face.

Remembering how disappointed I was about the meat drops, I now thank them every day because if this dungeon started to drop normal loot like every other dungeon, the flood of adventurers and everyone else that would come here would be unstoppable and unmanageable.