November 3, 2022
Day 14
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It took a minute before Martin could get a hold of his emotions and speak.
"I can't believe it. Not only did the settlement grow in population and wealth, but our little Inertia has also evolved into one of the rarest intent types. That's only one of the things that wouldn't have been possible if I had dutifully warned you guys about the risk posed by dungeon bosses. Such an expedited evolution must have given you some nice titles."
Martin looked at Ivan, who nodded.
When the steward continued speaking, all mirth was gone from his voice.
"The chronomatic synergy changes everything. We were always going to need a Dungeon Master, but it has now become a top priority. We must start looking for capable and trustworthy Administrators among the residents here and help them gain the specialization. A Dungeon Master is important enough that you may consider opting for it yourself, Neha."
Does she have the administrator class? Well, I guess I never got around to asking her about that.
Rahul thought, a bit surprised.
Not sure how I feel about that. A non-combat class will keep her away from battles, but it'll means she can't defend herself if a fight comes to her. In any case, I'm sure she has thought through her decisions, and there's no way I'll let Martin push her around.
Rahul had been protective of his sister since their childhood, an emotion that was reinforced every time Neha was robbed of opportunities and treated unfairly by society due to her disability.
On this occasion, however, his brotherly instincts proved unnecessary. Neha had grown a lot since Rahul had left for college seven years ago and was quite capable of speaking for herself.
"Zendyr told me about the Generalist Administrator specialization chain, and that's the direction I plan to go. I have already made a lot of progress toward meeting the conditions for Province Administrator specialization, and won't be changing my path. And if we go ahead with the World Capital quest, I plan to set my sights on something a lot higher."
After a pause, Neha added.
"I guess we never got around to mentioning it, but that World Capital quest purchase is the reason we summoned you."
Martin smiled.
"Such an ambitious lot, already eyeing the World Capital quest and the Planetary Administrator specialization. Very well, that's just one more thing for us to discuss today. The quest, the dungeon, and all the preparations for tomorrow. And let's not forget about all your specializations. I'll look into your stats, skills, and titles, and help you out with conditions you need to meet to unlock one of the stronger choices. I just hope none of you messed up your stat allocations."
Rahul thought he saw Martin blink at him as he said that last part.
Then, their eccentric steward added.
"I'm rather curious where the idea of the World Capital Quest came from. Given the impending attack, one would think you guys would have more immediate things to worry about."
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"What's going to happen now, boss?"
Ethan asked Sadiq through the telepathic channel that the mystic had created.
In the absence of an audience, their facades were discarded and the diviner replied plainly.
"Things don't look good. Ajmal's spies have been scrying this settlement for almost a week, but they can't glean information that the targets themselves aren't aware of. Forgetting about those dungeon points saved these dummies. Since regular dungeons don't give any such points, our intelligence machinery too did not notice anything amiss, and none of the stewards bothered to tell us that there is more to tiered dungeons than the quality and customizability."
As the invisible trio watched the conversation unfold in front of them with bated breaths, Ajmal spoke.
"The failure of the intelligence gathering apparatus is understandable. And if we couldn't figure this out, I'm sure any of our competitors here won't have much luck either. But your divining capabilities operate outside of these limitations and shouldn't have been thwarted by the ignorance of these fools."
Sadiq sensed doubt in his banker's voice. Doubt and a hint of recrimination. He decided not to take offense.
"You are right, of course, and that is why I am still hopeful. So far, things have not strayed from my visions, and I believe they will continue to stay that way. Come tomorrow, they will find themselves hidden behind simple but effective walls and towers, and their troops will use your intelligence to optimally handle all the threats to their bastion."
"All but one."
Ajmal completed the thought.
Their quiet telepathic conversations went on as the trio observed the progress of the meeting.
And then Martin said something that filled their faces with relief.
"Hook."
"Line."
"And Sinker."
Sadiq, Ethan, and Ajmal said in their signature style, the fake persona that they had developed to project a mystical vibe silently spilling into their everyday habits and mannerisms.
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After Neha walked him through the events of the day, Martin continued.
"Those characters certainly seem very suspicious, and a combination of a diviner, a spy, and a banker is the last group I will ever trust. Spies are not loyal to anyone, and my experience over thousands of integrations has taught me to never believe the mystic types. Given your planet's history with global recessions, I don't think the part about bankers requires any explanation."
So they were lying to us after all, which means...
Rahul put his thought into words.
"The World Captial item was a trap? "
Martin replied.
"It definitely was a trap and a pretty good one at that. If you didn't have the dungeon points to spare, it's quite likely that you'd have taken the gamble and purchased the World Capital quest. That is an excellent long-term purchase. But in the short term, the quest would have done nothing except terraform this tiny island into a massive one, leaving you with the task of defending an island the size of Singapore with nothing but a single level one castle."
After a pause, Martin continued.
"But your world is still young, and this Order Of Illumination hasn't quite reached the level of intrigue that's required to pull off such heists. Your dungeon points are far from the only thing they missed. The World Congress item has hidden conditions with bonus rewards, and your settlement satisfies one of them."
Martin projected the two dungeon bonuses.
Dungeon Bonuses
Premiere Dungeon I - This dungeon was the first to spawn in a 5000 km radius.
Effects: +10% additional regular dungeon mob and loot.
Premier Special Dungeon III - This dungeon was the first special dungeon to spawn in your galaxy.
Effects: Three tiers per grade, +50% additional dungeon bosses.
Then the steward continued speaking.
"You encountered four alphas in your dungeon, didn't you? That means that the dungeon was only supposed to have three, and the fourth was a result of the second bonus. That bonus is also what fulfills a hidden condition, one that stipulates that the settlement contains a galactic landmark. Before I explain what this bonus does, let me first give you some background about the World Capital Quest. While I'm at it, I'll also tell you why tiered dungeons are so valuable."
Rahul was confused why Martin was bringing this up again and was about to ask just that, but Maya beat him to it.
"You explained that yesterday."
The steward shook his head.
"What I told you is only part of it, an unimportant part. You know what, tell me what you remember about my explanation, and let me poke holes into it."
Even the bit about the tiered dungeons was one of his half-lies then.
Rahul thought, still salty about Martin's attitude to stewardship that involved throwing his wards into tough situations unprepared and seeing if they could make the best of it.
Maya seemed confused but did as told.
"A normal dungeon has beasts and rewards of a certain level and is therefore only suitable for warriors of that particular level. I think the example you gave us was about how useless a Mid-E grade dungeon would be to someone in the F grade and D grade. In contrast, you explained how a tiered dungeon with 3 tiers such as ours is vastly superior and will allow us to use it at every step of our growth. Case in point, we have already benefited from it in terms of classes and levels. And just a day later, we can use it again to reach our specialization and grind even more levels."
Martin nodded.
"And how valuable did I say this dungeon is? Actually, forget that question. What does the instant creation of a planet-wide system event tell you about the dungeon's value? Keep in mind that the system quest would have appeared even if this dungeon were one with only a single tier per grade"
What's the point of all this?
Rahul wondered as he saw the conversation go on a complete tangent. Maya answered.
"It's likely the most valuable resource on this planet."
Martin agreed.
"Exactly. Now, do you know how many regular dungeons are present on this planet?"
Maya shook her head, and Martin answered for her.
"By now, there must be at least a few hundred of them. Given what you know about probability and statistics, tell me how many of those regular dungeons put together can replace this tiered dungeon. How many would replace a tiered dungeon with just a single tier per grade?"
A few hundred dungeons?
Rahul thought with shock.
That's more than I expected, but what difference does it make? Why is he asking these questions instead of getting to the point? Did he forget that he's here only for an hour?
Rahul was getting irritated now, but seeing that Maya was deep in thought, he decided to ponder on the question too.
Rahul soon realized what Martin was getting at.
If I replace each sub-tier of our dungeon with a regular dungeon, then eighteen would be enough to take its place. Of course, getting eighteen dungeons of the right grade and level won't be easy, but a superpower in control of a continent can easily manage it.
And then there's the fact that only F-grade dungeons are relevant to any of us at present. Even if we look a bit to the future, only F-grade and E-grade dungeons would be relevant for the next few years. Considering that, a single-tier dungeon is only as good as two dungeons, one in each grade. That's well within the power of any large sovereign nation.
All in all, tiered dungeons were powerful.
But 'stop the tutorial and launch a planet-wide system event' powerful?
Rahul didn't think so.
Maya had arrived at the same conclusion, and by the looks on their faces, so had everyone else. Martin was now explaining the real reason.
"Superpowers will soon emerge on every continent, and they will have access to more than enough dungeons to comprehensively cover the F-grade and E-grade grinding. But not even a thousand regular dungeons can match up to a single specialty dungeon, and the reason for that is simple. The special dungeons, tiered dungeons included, are more robust than regular ones and are significantly more adaptable. A dungeon master can only exercise minute control of the loot and mobs of a regular dungeon, while the possibilities with a special dungeon are almost limitless."
Then, with a smile, he added.
"Perhaps most importantly, the boss fights of a special dungeon include skilled alphas and unique mechanics, offering organic opportunities that help you adapt and grow. Regular dungeon bosses are just mobs with bloated stats."
Receiving understanding nods from everyone, Martin concluded.
"There is much much more to special dungeons, but in short, the more your dungeon master levels, and the more bonuses and customizations you unlock, the wider the gulf grows between your tiered dungeon and a regular dungeon. You can already see it with the temporal dilation capability of the dungeon as well as the opportunity to recruit an alpha as a sentinel. None of that is possible with a regular dungeon. A consequence of all these capabilities is that a given planet can only fuel a limited number of special dungeons. Given that it is a regular-sized planet, this tiered dungeon is the only one that will ever spawn on Earth."
Martin thought for a second before continuing.
"I think that is all you need to know about your dungeon. Neha, get someone to find all the administrators on this island and bring them here."
Neha smiled mischievously.
"Actually, I already left a message to my council, and the personnel department has found two Dungeon Masters on the island."
Personnel department?
Rahul thought with an amused smile.
Software engineering may be dead, but I guess human resources is here to stay.
Martin's reaction made Rahul smile even wider.
"How is that possible? I checked the classes and specializations of our entire settlement. No one had that specialization!"
Neha shrugged.
"That's because those two haven't been allowed to join the settlement. They are prisoners."