The next morning, I expected to wake up seeing some cockroaches moving around since the bed was a bit itchy, but I didn’t see that. The morning sun greeted me and I stretched my body. The first night that I woke up away from home hadn’t been half bad. Maybe it was because I was exhausted and fell asleep as soon as I laid down.
‘I wonder if the safety of this place is fine and I can leave my stuff here…’
I didn’t have that many things, but I couldn’t waste time looking for thieves or buying things that were stolen. In the end, I decided to leave my spare clothes behind to get some extra room to carry the materials from the dungeon. This time around, I was planning to reach the lower levels, so I would need to find some decent quests that would pay well enough for the small amounts of materials… it was easier said than done.
After eating the horned wolf soup without worrying about the taste, I hurried to the guild at six in the morning. The best quests are probably picked earlier, after all, and with my rank, my options were already limited to begin with.
Still, much to my surprise, there weren’t many people early in the guild… there were the usual workers and some of the drunkards sleeping on the tables, but very few people aside from that.
‘There aren’t many people with axes here to chop trees… without hunting the horned wolves, it will be hard to get leather for the leatherwork class too. I guess this dungeon is really unpopular...’
In any case, I found a quest that asked for a bunch of horns of the wolves and there were others asking the same… I could only pick one job at a time, but the one that asked for twenty of them was of the copper rank, so I readily picked it and then passed the paper to the guild receptionist.
She studied me from head to toe, since I was fine after entering the dungeon, she assumed that I could do well fighting that much. Once I left the guild, I wondered what I should do… working deeper in the dungeon would make things more efficient if I used my skills. They only leveled up when they were used, after all.
‘I need to make my stamina regeneration become one point zero as soon as possible, then I will be able to use Power Shot in a bind. With some luck, perhaps even three times in a difficult battle.’
You received 01 experience points.
I received that same message three times before reaching the dungeon. Whenever I reached some kind of landmark or place that was recognized by a lot of people, that would happen. Still, for that to work with buildings, I had to enter them.
Before reaching the dungeon, I decided to write down a map of the things I found between my hometown and Pirla town and also got experience. It seemed that the Cartographer class would work pretty well with the Explorer.
Regardless, I put the map aside and then focused on moving inside the dungeon as fast as possible. Aside from taking my arrows back and the horns, I basically jogged all the way inside the dungeon.
As if I had seen them for the first time, the Explorer class granted me experience whenever I found the spawning spots of the monsters… some people say that the monsters are summoned by the dungeon somehow, but no one saw that. The process is as quick as a blink of an eye. At one moment, a spot was empty and at the next, a horned wolf would be growling at you.
You received 01 experience points.
You received 03 experience points.
‘Hmm, It doesn’t seem like things will be that hard here…’
I arrived at the second floor and then killed my first target. The creature was basically the same as the others, so that disappointed me. I wondered if Serpentine-ranked dungeons were that easy, or if I had the upperhand thanks to my four years of preparation.
I slowed down a bit on the third floor to map the dungeon, but the layout didn’t change a bit… I also didn’t find anyone on the way or traces of fighting. At this point in time, I felt that I was missing something, perhaps something big, but I had my own stuff to worry about. Since it was beneficial to me, I decided to just focus on my job and then ask the guild lady what was going on.
I reached the third floor without any issue and then I also realized that the wolves had grown a bit as well. Thanks to that, they granted me one extra point of experience per kill. It wasn’t half bad, but the second floor was two times bigger than the first, so I could tell that reaching the last floor probably would take a day or two also considering the trip back.
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‘I guess it isn't just a matter of skill and equipment. Dungeons and labyrinths are just that troublesome. I am getting stronger, but I will need to save as much energy as possible before reaching the last floor.’
Every ten floors, dungeons also have bosses, so the horned wolves won't be the only problem. In any case, on the second day, I didn't make much progress in my rank upgrade thanks to my luck… I didn't get that many mana cores. Still, I got two and a half Terra coins and one two hundred more mana core points.
“Excuse me, is there a reason why the dungeon doesn't have many people inside?”
“A new dungeon appeared close to the coast and all the clans have sent most of their strongest members there. The ones that you see here are the members who are just adventurers to live an easy life. They work just enough to fill their bellies and drink like buffoons.”
I nodded… it made sense. Still, while she called it an easier life, some of the guys had some nasty scars thanks to the attacks of the horned wolves. Not having combat classes made fighting a lot more difficult. They probably could gain those by heading South to the new dungeon, but it could be risky too.
The family that rules over the territory of the dungeon gains a percentage of the money produced thanks to the dungeon. However, the ownership of the dungeon comes to the clan that reaches the bottom first. Clans are just a large group of parties working together with the same goal. Their clan leader can become a guild leader if they conquer a dungeon. Still, few of them actually work that way... they prefer to sell the rights of the dungeons, that way, their members can earn a ton of money and retire.
The reason for that is the fact that the mana levels on the dungeons when they emerge are unstable, so killing as many monsters as possible on all floors is the best solution. That is why clans are that important.
‘I would head there if it weren't close to where Rayner is working… a lot of guards and important people will be there for a while, so the next combat class will have to wait for a bit.’
Thanks to the conflicts in the last decade, the empire wasn't in a condition to try to fight ownership over the dungeon… they could always buy it later. If the clan that clears the dungeon refuses that, they can offer pressure in other ways.
If a clan refuses to sell the rights to a dungeon to the empire, the empire could apply a range of pressures to force the clan’s hand. One of the most effective methods would be economic sanctions. By imposing trade restrictions or tariffs on goods from the clan’s territory, the empire could choke off vital resources, making it difficult for the clan to maintain its financial health. They might target industries that rely on dungeon resources or other key exports, cutting off profits and putting economic strain on the clan. Additionally, the empire could withhold trade agreements, which may cripple the clan's long-term growth and stability, particularly if they rely on imperial markets.
Politically, the empire could also isolate the clan by leveraging its influence to sway other powerful clans. If the clan becomes politically ostracized, it could lose key alliances, weakening its position both locally and within broader imperial affairs. The empire might even support rival factions within the clan, encouraging dissent among its leadership. By backing internal rivals or funding opposition leaders, the empire could fracture the clan’s unity, making it harder for them to focus on defending their dungeon claims.
Another potential source of pressure is through military intimidation. The empire could deploy troops near the clan area or establish military outposts in close proximity. While this wouldn’t lead to an outright war, the presence of soldiers would serve as a constant reminder of the empire’s power and resources, forcing the clan to divert its attention and resources toward defense. In more extreme cases, the empire could incite skirmishes along the borders, using mercenaries or neighboring clans to create unrest and weaken the clan’s grip on its territory.
In any case, this was my golden chance… while everyone was keeping their eyes on the new dungeon, I had to gain as many classes as possible in other places. Still, the situation made me realize that I was lacking when it comes to information… The timing was a bit bad, but it would be better if I could find informants on all the places that I would stop. The downside of that is that I will make myself interesting for them as well.
‘Can’t win all the time, I guess… it is time to make that and keep it hidden on my back too.’
On the next day, I reached the fifth level of the dungeon and then I counted my gains. I was barely about to put my plan into action. I walked around the town and bought some parts that I needed for the woodworkers that I found and paid them a bit extra to make some adjustments.
‘I could have made most parts myself with the woodcutter class, but that would have put my plans in disarray… well, I can still carve some of the things thanks to my dexterity’
I didn't plan to make that kind of tool before and had planned to use it that week to get used to the bow… but I decided to speed things up. With that in mind, I made the woodworkers make me a rapid-fire crossbow… the version that had a lever and could only stock ten bolts per time. It was enough for the time being, though. I could even make some money by selling it later and that wouldn't draw that much attention to me.
In any case, I spent the morning of the fourth day in that town gathering some useful twigs in the area between the town and the dungeon and I also carved them into the proper-sized bolts. That was a bit time-consuming, but it was fine. I was storing most of them in my backpack, after all.
Once the backpack was full, I headed to the dungeon without taking any job. I had a plan after I heard something interesting in the town and if things work, I would be able to increase my rank within a day or two in the worst-case scenario.