Clean and wide empty streets, paved with spotless stone tablets. Occasional manholes that betrayed the canalization system traversing underground. Metal lantern lamps with magic stones to lit the night. Well-thought landscape architecture, various facilities, and two- three- or even four-story tall houses built from milky-white marble and adorned with pale roofs. The entire city glistened brightly, forcing all observers to unintentionally squint.

Not a big fan of the hardcore monochrome palette, but at least it's countless times better than Lesotte. Heh, tho it still somehow portrays a large-scale obsessive-compulsive disorder...

Renata inwardly mumbled, clicked her tongue, and sipped some tea.

This was Weist, unsurprisingly also known as the City of White. Amply worded naming without a speck of creativity. From now on, this city was her, their, new home.

She slightly shook her head and closed her green eyes. When she opened them again, she wasn't looking beyond the second-floor glass window. Instead, she cast her gaze inside and scanned the interior of the rather costly cafe.

The name was Starbugs. A denomination that suspiciously resembled a famous cafe chain from Earth.

Befitting one of the most expensive coffeehouses, the furniture was elegant and simple. Wooden tables and chairs, made of the native to the East - White Willow. They were positioned with a touch of individuality and breathed fresh air to the place. The spacious floor was slightly empty, but it didn't need embellishments to make it chic. The pale-yellow wood was self-sufficient.

As for the menu, it too was more or less unique. Despite its cafe label, Starbugs' most noteworthy products were beverages using rare monster parts. Her tea was an example. It was a rose tea with a catch. The roses in the recipe were Man-Eaters. These monstrocious plants grew out of human cadavers and bloomed enticing red flowers with a peculiar but nice aroma.

Sitted by the window, Renata finished seizing up the place. She gently tucked a flock of bright red hair and shook her head to decline the inquisitive look the waitress shot her. Unperturbed by the lassy's unhidden disappointment, she sipped another mouthful of her tea. Then, placed the cup back, and propped her chin with both her hands distracted by some thoughts.

All in all, this is a good city. It is perfect for the base of our guild. Raven doesn't lack shortcomings, but he is still... barely... an experienced leader with so-so instincts and insight. However, this doesn't mean there are no problems with his choice...

From what she had observed, Weist had flawless infrastructure but lacked another thing - human resources. This matter would be partially resolved when more players passed their tests, but this was only a solution when it came to players. The true problem lay in the decline in the native population. For a city of this size, the natives were too few and far between.

Even at this hour, the cafe and the streets are mostly empty. There are quite a few closed shops as well. Yes, there is a glaring lack when it comes to scholars, artists, craftsmen, and small-sized business owners. This exposes problems well hidden beneath the calm and splendor of the city-state.

From what I gathered, Lord Vincent de Weist is the perpetrator of this cultural decline. Ever since he inherited the viscounty, Weist fell into societal ruin. The City of White now is just a hollow shell of its past glory as the Capital of Craftsmanship...

There are two questions. Why and how? Is it just a problem regarding his management skills, or does the matter go deeper than it seems? My hands are tied. I alone am not that good with information gathering. Yes, I should consider hiring that Popo mouse-ling if he comes to Weist. If not, well, I'll search for someone else...

Ding a Ling, Ding a Ling

Her bracelet flashed up and a melodious ringtone snapped her from her daydreams. She glanced toward the screen and her expression crumbled. Accepting the call, she didn't waste her breath and didn't hide the displeasure coloring her tone by saying, "Oh ho, did our Great Leader finally remember that he had a Guild to care for?"

She deliberately stressed some words and rolled her eyes if by chance Raven missed her point. Before he could rebut, she continued threateningly, "If you dare ditch me all the paperwork again, I will resign from my position as your vice! Do you take me for a joke? Hah, I will go on strike! I demand a pay raise, a 4-days-long working week, a month of paid vacation, and at least ten Unique Items prompto!..."

When she spat the last word and felt slightly satiated, she noticed his appearance. She scratched her head and asked amused, "By the way, why are you so dirty, and what's that red lump in the middle of your forehead? Is this the latest unicorn trend or something? Wanna be a fashionista?"

"..." From the other side of the video call, Raven rubbed his head, wincing slightly when his hand passed above the bump. He felt speechless for a moment, nearly forgetting why he called. After the elf was done with spouting bullshit, he narrowed his eyes, shot her a look, and said in a heavy voice, "Erect a barrier. We'll talk after you are done."

Renata had spent many years as his right-hand woman and instantly grasped the situation. For him to act like this, the matter must be quite important. She didn't argue and turned serious as well. She scanned her nearby vicinity. Noticing that the waitress was still yawning in the corner, she drooped her eyelids and muttered many symbols, weaving up a spell.

The structure took shape, and the surrounding air trembled like a midday haze.

"Go on." She nodded, giving him the green light.

"Did you build an air shield? One that blocks all sounds?" He didn't doubt her skills, but some matters needed clear confirmation.

"Yes. What happened, and why do we need the secrecy?"

"Wait a second." In turn, he checked his own surroundings. After he was done and didn't notice any problems, he suppressed his voice and whispered softly, "I found a hidden dungeon nearby."

"What?! How? Where?"

His words jolted Renata wide awake. Her heart skipped a beat and she barraged him with a rapid bout of questions.

Dungeons were indispensable assets to guilds, and Euclex wasn't an exception. Actually, this VR world further stressed their worth. As special space-time natural phenomena, each of them bragged unique environments and opportunities. And most importantly of all, after a successful clearance, they could be owned by individuals or groups. For a guild, to grasp a dungeon at this stage meant a certain headstart. They were both a personal training space for their members and a stable material supply for months or years. Dungeons equaled income!

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

Cough

Raven cleared his throat and scoffed at her, "Why are you asking stupid questions when you know I won't say anything out loud? The guild is already established. Have you bought a building for the headquarters, or is the matter pending?"

"Heh, who do you think this beautiful elf is?" Renata felt annoyed. She pushed her spectacles, and answered, "Everything is done, but the building needs some renovation later. I am sending you the coordinates. In the meantime, I will assemble all core members and we will wait for you in one of the conference rooms on the third floor. Come quickly!..." Pausing for a second, she continued, "There was no public announcement. I suppose we have some time to plan. Have you already observed its details?"

There were some things she could deduce even without him deliberately speaking. After all, she was experienced at playing VR games.

When fighting for resources, the most important thing was to keep the information close to heart and secret. It was best if they could hush it until the dungeon fell in their hands. If not, they had to finish all the preparations and gain the upper hand in the imminent dungeon-grabbing contest.

"I have. The system this time showed a bit of kindness. Anyway, I will do the briefing later. Hurry up and call them all! I will be on my way." Raven nodded. Visibly excited he didn't waste more time and checked his DMs. The sole thing he liked about Renata was her skillful multitasking. While talking, her hands were always on the move, sending him the details or messaging the other members.

Perhaps, the waitress watching from the side will think the elf is crazy, waving by herself. Heh... He thought amused but didn't let a smile creep its way and pursed his lips.

"Good."

With a single word, Renata finished up the phone call. She gulped the last few mouthfuls of her tea and clapped her hands. The invisible barrier crumbled. She waved to call the waitress, and soon the bill was settled. With a calm expression, she rushed outside Starbugs and moved toward the center of the city.

An unexpected opportunity had come knocking on their doorsteps. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. One that could push Nemesis ahead of all other guilds inside Euclex. Right now, she wasn't even in the mood to scold the swordsman. She was brimming with new energy and didn't want to rest!

...

Clang Clang Clang

The clinking-clanking sounds resounded in the cavern. They spread from the point of impact, reflected from the walls, and now enriched with moisture darkness, came back and dazed all listeners. In the gloom, their rhythm felt abnormally hypnotic.

Clang

Clunk

A reddish-brown piece was knocked out. Detached from the granite surface, it hit the ground and used its residual inertia to roll somewhere. Midnight took a look and grinned.

|A piece of copper ore.

45.3% copper, nickel 0.1%, silver 0.2%, gold 0.15%|

Clang

He slammed the pickaxe down again but the swing this time left him disappointed.

|A big chunk of granite.|

Getting duds was common. Eight or nine of ten were common rocks.

Narrowing his eyes, he carefully observed the wall. Slightly to the left, he noticed a hint of purplish color. He concentrated, rolled up the leftovers of his sleeves, and tightly gripped the pickaxe. With a measured movement, he brought it down and hit the border rock and color.

Clang Clang Clang

One hit after another rained on the particular location. He slowly chipped the granite, until he finally separated the desired piece.

Clunk Plop

|A large piece of unrefined Amethyst. Rare(B+)|

Hah

A happy gasp escaped his lips. He dropped the mining tool, bent down, and took the walnut-sized geological formation. It was a beautiful raw gem, deep and rich in color. As he shoved it in the bag, he caught the sight of a fat worm, inching closer to the copper ore. It wiggled carefully, as if afraid to attract the half-ling's attention.

"Come on... Stop it already. If you want to munch more rocks, there is literally a tasty vein inside the walls. Why are you always going for my hard work?!" He stormed at the emboldened monster, but the creature didn't mind his fierce glare. Wriggling even faster, it shot toward the rock. Its razor teeth - about to gobble it.

"Fuck!" Midnight sucked a breath and cussed. Like an acrobat dancing in a circus, he slid the ground and snatched the ore beneath the jaws. He escaped the grinders timely but the sharp teeth slightly grazed his hand drawing drops of blood. Standing up, he felt a tug. Another worm was pulling at his bag in an attempt to snatch it.

"Seriously! Enough!" Furious, annoyed, and tired, he slapped the worm and moved his pouch away. Before he could relax from the corner of his eye, he saw a third one creeping toward his pickaxe. They all had the same featureless expressions, yet this one was very large and looked particularly greedy.

"No! Bad worm!" He cried out but to no avail. It was too late. The worm-like monster wriggled swiftly and devoured the metal tool. It crushed it down and ground it into dust.

"...Damn it!" He cursed and shook his head in resignation. That's as far as my mining went...

He moved his hand to brush his hair but froze noticing the sticky smelly goo. Ah, I forgot that earlier I slapped Gertrude...

Feeling awkward, he looked around, came beside the nearest protrusion, and used its surface to wipe away the sludge. Following, he checked his bag and heaved a silent sight.

After a few hours of hard work and even harder 'playing' with the worms, his bag was rather full. It was getting heavy, but he couldn't stop the greed. Just one more, and then the next. Harvesting materials was too enticing.

I probably have enough to try my hands at crafting. That includes the roughly calculated waste. Unfortunately, I am just a so-so-knowledgeable newbie. To grasp the practical abilities I can only burn more cash. Life is difficult...

My back is killing me. Let's rest a bit. Ah, I should use this opportunity to pad my stomach...

Lost in thoughts, he found a cleaner spot and plopped on it. He used his ex-shirt and current rags to wipe his sweat and clean his hands. Then, pulling out a sandwich from the bag space, he bit on it while gazing at the cavern.

It had a strange gourd-like shape with a wider bottom and narrower toward the top. Many holes dotted up the walls, the ceiling, and the floor. The latter made it rather dangerous to walk, for there was a risk of falling in and getting stuck in them. Unfortunately, he knew it from a personal experience.

As he ate, he observed the swarm of worms wriggling happily around. They ground the rocks or pushed each other. At times, they turned to face him and seized his pouch with pure desire in their jaws. The dripping greenish goo looked like gluttonous saliva.

With a hand above his bag, he finally had the time to analyze the cave.

It is extremely large and stuffy. I thought this previously, but I am amazed it hasn't already collapsed. Indeed, granite is a sturdy, good material. It is perfect for construction work...

However, this hollow is teeming with worms and the shape is too artsy to be a natural formation. I bet it was a regular, unlucky, dead-end corridor or something. Later, because the vein was here, these guys' turned it into their cafeteria. I can imagine how they slowly enlarged the space by chipping the metals from the lower walls...These worms are both a boon and a bane for me.

To recount how he found this cave...

After he got squashed by the worm, later named Klein, he learned some things.

First, his scapula was as fragile as expected. Second, these bastards couldn't care less for him. They ate ore and anything metallic but didn't lust for flesh and blood. The happenstance with Klein was just a random accident caused by its stupidity. And last, they bragged a magical resistance. A concerning fact for mages like himself.

Anyway, when Klein retreated by its own volition, Midnight licked his wounds, chugged a potion, and had an inspiration. The story was similar to how Newton had a light bulb moment after an apple knocked him down but instead of fruit the main actor was a giant worm.

To blindly search the Hole of Darkness was a pain, thus, he followed in Klein's steps. After half an hour, going left and right through a maze of tunnels, the human-monster couple reached this heaven. Since then, about three hours ago, he began his earnest excavation...

Finishing the sandwich, he took a sip of water and appraised the worms again. Unexpectedly, the appraisal of this creature had revealed some interesting information. And the question now was whether he should let his curiosity dictate his future actions, or choose the smarter way and excuse himself to safety.

|Gnoll

Huge, docile, worm-like monsters with high magical resistance. They feed on metals with a clear preference for precious ones. They love burrowing through rocks and creating labyrinths. The Gnolls inhabiting The Hole of Darkness worship a treasure left from ancient times.|

No matter what this treasure was, it couldn't be too simple. And what was an adventure without a treasure hunt?