Chapter 165: “Emerald-Flare Forest” Dungeon.
Party Leader
Name: Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor Level: 83 Job: Aggravator
Health: 5143/5143 Mana: 17511/17511 Stamina: 3043/3043
Effects: [Humanized (Moderate)][Damaged Mana Path [Left Wing] (Minor)]
Name: Saori Segawa Level: 80 Job: Dark Mage
Health: 5162/5162 Mana: 3947/3947 Stamina: 3710/3710
Effects: [Humanized (Moderate)]
Name: Tasianna Marina Silverpond Level: 58 Job: Storm Sorcerer
Health: 2208/2208 Mana: 5971/5971 Stamina: 1521/1521
Effects: [Elvenized (Major)]
Name: Ellaine Fiero Helvas Level: 23 Job: Fighter
Health: 539/539 Mana: 781/781 Stamina: 691/691
Ive set the experience share to 20% for Saori, Tasianna, and me while you, Ellaine, will receive the remaining 40%. That should be fair, I stated after closing the party screen displayed on my party bracelet.
Fair would be 25% each, Hestia, Ellaine remarked before shrugging in exasperation. She knew she got the higher share only cause of her significantly lower level.
After showing our IDs and the dungeon permission from the guild to the gatekeepers, we were allowed to enter Cedarailles dungeon Emerald-Flare Forest. Currently, we were descending a set of stone stairs into the depths of the dungeons cave entrance. Numerous adventurers were walking past us, either accompanying us down or returning to the surface for a well-earned break. Just like the city itself, the dungeon was equally crowded and lively.
Ill be honest, Ellaine, when you mentioned that the two adventurer guilds were responsible for the dungeon, I didnt think they would own everything. The gatekeepers were hired adventurers instead of soldiers and the entrance hall was built by the guild. Since the dungeon is in the land of Cedaraille, shouldnt it belong to Duke Greenveil? I asked Ellaine as we were walking down, confused why the duke wasnt taking care of a dungeon, a veritable gold mine of monster materials and resources.
Ellaine nodded, understanding my confusion, and answered, The dungeon does belong to Lord Duke Greenveil.
It does?
Yes. The right of ownership belongs to House Greenveil since the dungeon is in their fief. The reason why the adventurer guilds are operating it is simply because House Greenveil leases the operational rights, Ellaine continued explaining. The main users of a dungeon are obviously adventurers, right? While maintaining full control over the dungeon would be the more financially lucrative method, it would mean that House Greenveil would have to dispatch their soldiers and knights to protect the dungeon and handle the rowdy adventurers as well as appoint administrators and tax collectors to oversee everything. Adventures know their own the best. With this deal, Lord Duke Greenveil will have his dungeon maintained without spending resources on it, while on the other hand, the adventure guilds can benefit from the influx of money from a dungeon. A win-win.
Ahh, I see. With benefits, do you mean all the Quests concerning material gathering for the hunters guild while the mercenary guild can hire mercenaries to guard the dungeon and use them to calm down any problematic ruffians? Saori added, leading to Ellaine confirming it.
Ahh, so thats why there were so many combined subjugation and delivery Quest types at the questboard.
Quest List
[Kobold Meat Delivery]
[I require 15 venom stingers from Gaspar Wasps]
[The Alchemy Guild requests the Hearts of Seven Dire Wolves]
[15 Skorr tusk pairs Delivery to Hevarsons Workshop]
[]
The four Quests I was currently looking at were from a set of 20 F rank Quests we accepted from the hunters guild. Each of them involved hunting a certain type of monster, however, the real objective was to dismantle the monster corpses, harvest the requested parts, and then deliver them to the guild. It was recommended that we hand the corpses to the guild if we werent confident enough in our [Dismantle] level for them to do it without destroying the materials, although that would come at a cost. Luckily, we didnt need it.
While we did only accept this type of Quest it involved monster-hunting, so it didnt matter what the objective of the Quest was in the end there were a few ordinary Quests at the guild involving fieldwork. A monster problem around farms, a nest that needs to be exterminated, an issue in the Cedarailles sewer concerning giant rats and slimes, there was plenty to choose from. We chose our current Quests simply cause we were intending to enter the dungeon anyways.
After some time walking, a bright light appeared at the end of this tunnel. Going through it, my vision was filled with green, brown, and a blue sky.
A forest?
So a dungeon can create a forest, too? Tasianna asked in bafflement, inspecting a nearby tree. Yes, this is real. Although, I cannot sense any fae like spriggans around. I guess the dungeon can only spawn monsters or environments.
Tasianna and Ellaine had never entered a dungeon before, similar to Saori and me. This was our first outing inside one, and all we had on dungeon information was what the former two had read in books or heard from people.
From what I understood, a dungeon was managed by a dungeon core and manned by a dungeon master, the one who would control the core to do their bidding. It was like a contract, where only the dungeon master had control over the core, and only once they perished would the ownership of the core become available to take.
Wild dungeons do exist and may appear randomly in the world or, in very rare cases like the one in the Ruins of the Fenrirs Eclipse, be created through extreme mana concentrations. The one we were in was obviously owned by Duke Greenveil and he probably had somebody become its dungeon master, if he wasnt the dungeon master himself.
Dungeon cores can simulate monster spawnings using the mana inside them. While it happens randomly outside a dungeon, monsters can be created instantly or naturally over time, Ellaine explained what a dungeon core could do. Mana is essential for a dungeon, as everything it does is controlled by mana. Unfortunately, the only way for a dungeon to acquire mana is through spellcasters inside it, the death of a monster, or-
The death of a visitor, specifically, adventurers, I finished her sentence.
Ellaine nodded and continued while we were walking through this dungeon forest, The dungeon consumes any lifeless, or soulless for Ilsaphone followers, remains or items left behind in the dungeon at a certain point. This is how it acquires mana. I heard the adventurer guild would donate high amounts of mana filled materials to the dungeon if its mana were to drop to a certain point.
In other words, by going crazy with our mana usage, we can help maintain the dungeon, Saori reasoned.
Yes, that is why a high visitor count is important for the guild. Dungeons with lesser difficulties are the most popular since the risk of dying is lower, which gives the Cedaraille dungeon more traffic than the Griffonpeak one, Ellaine finished.
Then an idea came into my mind as she finished her sentence. What happens to a dungeon that is too hard? Would it be financially worthwhile to maintain it if only a small group can handle it?
It depends, Ellaine started, pondering on the question herself. The dungeon in Griffonpeak is only kept as it is since it serves as a great training ground for our royal knights. But, the materials they may acquire from the dungeon are valued highly due to the average monster ranks inside. A source of money and equipment for the royal family and their knights order.
She then snapped her fingers, seemingly remembering something. Father mentioned this one time when he himself entered a wild dungeon with mother and their party. After defeating the dungeon master, there was a decision to either turn this dungeon over to the adventurer guild or destroy the dungeon core.
Destroy? Why?
The simplest answer is to remove a dungeon, but thats only partially true, since the shards left behind from a core could be used for the creation of manatech. For example, the Orbs of the Divine System used inside guildhalls are made using these shards, which is one of the reasons why they are so expensive to buy and hard to acquire. Uhm, those dueling bracelets that my brother and I used during our duel were also made using these shards.
So the reason why the orb was able to do all those System-related stuff was due to the material they were made from?
However! Please, remember this, as what I have to say next is extremely important. You should never, ever break a dungeon core while it is still blue, indicating that it still has mana remaining. Ellaines eyes widened, looking at us seriously as her words carried weight behind them.
Tasianna moved to Ellaines side and nodded, carrying the same aura Ellaine was exuding. This is not a joke, Lady Hestia, Miss Saori. A dungeon core filled with mana is similar to a what did you call it, atomic bomb? Yes, thats correct! If a dungeon core were to crack while it still had mana inside it, it could completely destroy the area, leaving a mana fallout so devastating that monsters would spawn uncontrollably around it.
The fact Tasianna had to use the word atomic bomb made Saori and me realize how important this information was, as she was trying to paint us a better image of what could happen. And the next sentence really sealed the deal for us how dangerous the core could be.
A divine mandate was presented to us by the Origin Gods, demanding from us to never destroy a dungeon core unless it was completely dry of mana.
Considering we just wanted to get some fresh air and do some hunting inside a dungeon, the discussion got pretty serious. However, I guess knowing this sorta information was the norm for people since an ignorant adventurer could cause massive devastation if they didnt know about this.
Although, that does make me question why the Origin Gods would put a divine mandate on this type of stuff. Tasianna also explained that dungeons didnt exist before the Origin Gods came to Peolynca, meaning this whole place was somehow created by them coming to this world and setting up the System. Is it created by their System to keep an infinite source of experience for the inhabitants, I wonder? Although, why didnt they put a safety net on the core in case people accidentally crack it?
Well, thinking too much about this subject would be pointless. We heard the info. Got warned to not do something. So, its time to rock n roll.
Music on!
[Music Resonation (Moderate)] [Various Spell Buffs] inflicted on [Young Sunfang Dragon, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor]
Wha-?! Ellaine exclaimed out of surprise as she wasnt expecting music to suddenly play around me.The debut release of this chapter happened at Ñòv€l-B1n.
While my parallel minds began buffing me up with anything I had, I began explaining to Ellaine why I was suddenly blasting my music with [Aerokinesis], The main reason is to make this grinding session less dull. To me, music is life and a means to keep your spirits up. Oh, and it grants you [Music Resonation], which shares all my positive spell effects with you which our party calls buffs.
And we were off.
Yahoo, little ones~ Taunt! I shouted at a nearby swarm of [Gasper Wasps], agitating them and luring a few drones towards me.
Taunt
A loud provocative cry, which angers and muddles the ability of the target to think clearly. To successfully use it, the foe must be able to hear and see the [Taunt] user. If successful, the status effect [Taunted] will be applied on the target. The strength of the [Taunt] effect is determined by the [Taunt] users Intelligence and the [Taunt] targets Wisdom. Continuous usage of [Taunt] in a short period will significantly increase Stamina cost
Taunted
An abnormal status effect caused by the ability [Taunt]. Increases damage towards the [Taunt] user while decreasing damage caused to other targets unless the [Taunt] user is hit by the same attack. [Taunted]s effectiveness is determined by the stage [Minor/Moderate/Major] of the effect
Back during the grimgarian fight against all those elite units, the ability [Taunt] was the lynchpin of their whole battle strategy, where the black orc knights would taunt me to reduce the overall damage towards everybody else except for them. In fact, it was actually quite easy for me to take a knight down after he taunted me, but before I could land the final blow, I would just be taunted again and my damage towards the downed knight would drop to the point it would have been better to just incapicitate him by breaking a limb or so.
Concerning how the [Taunt] ability from my main Job [Aggravator] worked, the description is pretty much spot on. It traveled through sound, meaning I could technically AOE taunt using [Aerokinesis]. Multiple taunted targets are possible, but I would then be attacked by all of them at once, and with the increased damage they could inflict on me, using it on anything my [Draconic Barrier] or [Panzer] couldnt fend off easily would be suicide.
Luckily, F rank monsters like these drones werent worth batting an eye at.
Oh jeez, they look even scarier from up close! Sanctuary! Raising my arm up, I materialized a barrier of light around me. It was smaller than usual unfit to fight inside but the barriers strength was enough to defend me from the giant wasps stingers.
Gaspar Wasp Drone
A monster wasp at the size of a loopabit. These mindless insects follow the commands of the larger soldiers without question, mentally unable to disobey their Queen. Although far slower and more fragile than a soldier, these wasps can deal substantial damage with their venomous stingers. Rank F
I cant detect a soldier among them. No nest, no queen.
Ok, lets do this everybody! Tasianna! Ellaine! Your turn! And my call was reciprocated by a rain of ice daggers. Hiding on the branches of a nearby tree, Tasianna was hawking the area, cleaning up countless wasps with every dagger.
Wind Slash, on the other side, also hiding behind a tree, was Ellaine, shooting one wind spell at a time. It couldnt compare to Tasiannas killing power; at best, it killed two wasps with one spell cast, but that wasnt what we were aiming for.
[Ok, Ellaine, dont forget to try to delay your spell cast and maintain a magic circle after the spell is cast. We need you to earn [Delay Cast] and [Continuous Cast] as soon as possible,] I instructed her. She would level up anyways with us around, so the best training would be to help her train her skills, saving up on skill points later on for the important buys.
As the two were cutting down wasps, I noticed some of them stopped trying to stab me with their stingers and began flying around erratically. This seemed to cause a chain reaction as the swarm of wasps stopped attacking me and fled.
Grmpphh!!! Ellaine jolted her body forward, covering her mouth up with her hand. Blood was everywhere and was showing; I couldnt blame Ellaine for feeling disgusted. Im alright. Im alright. I-I think
Ellaine had killed monsters and also dissected them, but I guess seeing a human corpse in that state for the first time was too much for her. As I patted her shoulder for enduring it, the land-bats seemed to have noticed us. The four of us didnt move, as Saori, Tasianna, and I were more worried about Ellaine. After all, we had bodyguards.
Groooowwwwhh!!! Uno howled a war cry, signalling the other three garms to appear with him before the land-bats, exuding their murderous auras. The land-bats cowered and attempted to flee, but shadowy tendrils erupted from their shadows and snatched at them, wrapping them up for the looming garms. What happened afterwards didnt need any explanations.
Only G and F rank monsters have appeared around here. I didnt expect E ranks, but I guess thats the randomness of a dungeon at work.
Rest in peace, you three. Well make sure that at least your IDs make it back to the surface.
Having fulfilled over half of the Quests wed accepted from the hunters guild, we continued deeper into the 2nd floor and eventually found the cave. With Ellaines map, we knew the path back to the 1st floor for later.
As we descended down the set of stairs, the scenery wasnt any different, as we were still in a cave. The third floor was where we finished most of the remaining Quests, as we ended up with just two left after a lot of work. We werent sure how long wed been inside the dungeon, as time flew by for us without any warning or clock, but the moment Ellaine began to inform us that she couldnt move anymore, we decided to take a break.
As we were searching for a place to rest, we luckily found the exit to the next floor. There, we saw a wide area with numerous adventurers making camp and preparing meals. We could see the stairs behind all of them. Our party shrugged and made camp, deciding to sleep inside the dungeon.
As usual, camping for us was to make it as comfortable as possible. I pulled out chairs and tables from our restaurant and placed them on the ground and then brought out Saoris kitchen. Ingredients and utensils were also included and Saori and Tasianna began cooking. Unfortunately, mostly for Ellaine, we did not have any beds or bedrolls prepared, so we had to sleep on the cold stone floor, well, at least it was cold until I heated it.
Naturally, this caught the other adventurers attention. They had to sit on the floor and were cooking with a small pot, while Saori had a whole kitchen fueled with my flames to work with. Despite knowing that void-touched like Saori and I were rare magicians, there wasnt a reason to really hide it. Master Kush explained Peolyncians could become space-time magicians, too.
Uno, Song, Sarasa, Quatre. Dinner time~ I called out to Saoris four garms. They were part of the party now, too. As I was handing them a skorr each to dine on, an idea suddenly came to me. Hey, Saori, do you remember Rajah, my former virigress cub? He was able to become my fan after he left me to return to his mother. Do you think your garms could become my retainers so they can reap the benefits, too?
Hmm? Well, its worth a try. Uno, Song, Sarasa, Quatre. Would your four want to become Hestias retainer? It will give you access to everything we have to become stronger, Saori asked her garms, however, they declined.
[We are the Alphas pack! Nobody elses. We shall not bow to anybody but the Alpha and descendant of Belzac,] Uno answered as the leader of the four. Saori kept asking them, presenting them the benefits, but it seemed they were too stubbornly loyal to her.
Just saying but you arent exactly my retainers. Its just a title which I dont really care about, I urged them to reconsider but it did not affect them.
[We will not, Alphas Master. The Alpha can serve anybody she wishes, but we will only serve the Alpha.] Unos deep voice really sealed the delivery of that sentence.
[Hestias Retainer]s and [The Light]s only worked if they willingly accepted me but, seeing as they didnt, we couldnt force them into a situation they didnt want. It was a shame but there was nothing we could do.
Forgetting about this topic for now, even though it seemed that Saori wanted to return to it another day, we focused on our dinner. Ellaine had never cooked anything before, not even a roast, so she was having some trouble helping out, even with cutting ingredients. Well, a noble didnt need to learn how to cook when their servants could do it, but as a member of Aurora shed better learn, otherwise no food!
As the smell of the stew and curry began to fill the area, a few of the adventurers eyed us with curiosity and greed. Some began standing up and moved towards us. Were they trying to rob us? Numbers wouldnt help and the four garms devouring their skorrs should be enough of a deterrent.
As I had an eyebrow raised at the approaching adventurers, they showed their empty wooden bowls and said, Uhm, could we have some?
Welcome! Saori exclaimed excitedly, almost as if she planned this.
Restaurant Aurora was in business?
A note from AbyssRaven
If you guys want to support me, Hestia and "A Dragon Idol's Reincarnation Tale" (or just read up to 17 advance chapters + any Patreon-only chapters) please check out my Patreon: Rawr!
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Thank you for reading this chapter.
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About the author
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Monday, May 24, 2021 5:32:45 AM Germany [Member of Zard Skwad]
Bio: Hey there, AbyssRaven here. I'm just an avid Light Novel and Fantasy story reader who randomly thought of a story and began writing about it.
I eventually found out that I've been spending a bit too much time with building, planning, and researching for the story, that I've decided to just share it with others.
Writing is mostly a hobby for me, but I would still love any kind of criticism to improve on it.
I'm also german, so please excuse anything that sounds a bit weird...I wouldn't mind you pointing it out though.
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