'The trial comes in the form of a quest? The system no longer wants us to simply protect our dungeon; it is forcing us to be more active and attack the surrounding environment,' thought Iris.
'I suppose this is where the competitive side of the game starts to reach the dungeon masters too. With the rewards depending on how much Destruction Points one can collect, people would definitely try to attack everything around them. It will attract animosity but fortunately, there are no other dungeons nearby.'
Iris was about to start planning her next move, but she then realized the presence of the players in front of her. They were still speaking with an accusatory tone. But before she could speak, another series of system prompts sounded.
[System Announcement: A mini update targeting the dungeon masters will immediately take effect.]
[System prompt: We are taking the opportunity that the third trial is starting to bring forward some healthy changes to the game. The following changes will take effect:]
[The system will now distinguish between passive and active characters. A character will be labeled as passive if he/she does not encounter any enemies or use any skill/item for the last thirty minutes after entering a dungeon.
The passive characters will generate less DP over time, half of that produced by an active character: only 5 DP per level per hour.]
[We are introducing a new feature: Scents. The dungeon master can now manipulate the scent of the dungeon and set up different ones for each floor or rooms. Scents are a way to produce additional effects, affecting both the monsters and the invaders.
For example, the scent of the forest will improve all the stats of beast-type and plant-type monsters by 1. The foul scent will deal 1 damage per second to all characters except poison type monsters. The scent of adventure will provide all characters with an increase in experience received of 10%.
The scents can be purchased in the dungeon shop.]
"Hello? Are you just ignoring us?"
Iris was jolted awake by Endless' loud shout. He was looking daggers at her.
Iris frowned as the flow of system prompts was interrupted. She took a deep breath and answered. "You want to void our contract? Looks like you do not even want to negotiate. Here's the contract. Let's void it."
She slammed a piece of paper on the table under the dumbfounded stares of the players. They could not believe she was actually agreeing to cancel the contract and it left them speechless. They thought they would need to deploy Vultex's elite to force her to do so. They were reluctant to, after all, someone who managed to own a town before it was even possible, was not someone to be trifled with.
Players would normally only be able to build their own towns after the second major update but this event had yet to occur.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
"You are agreeing?" mumbled one of the players.
"Of course. What is the point of collaborating with a group who does not trust you? Vultex is not the only large guild out there, nor is Blue Lagoon. I have nothing to do with that guild. You should use your brain; if I was not planning on wholeheartedly collaborate with you, why would I have revealed the location of a dungeon in the North?"
"This..." Endless was taken aback. It was true; Iris did reveal the location of a dungeon. If they managed to take control of its territory, they could use it later on as a foundation for their own town. This information was truly worth a lot and Iris did not have any need to reveal it to them.
"Maybe we were a bit too reckless..." started Endless but Iris would not listen to him anymore. She glanced at Venus who instantly understood what she wanted.
The succubus moved quickly. She dashed toward the table, forcefully taking the contract out of Endless' hands. The latter was unable to resist the strength of the succubus; he could only let go of the piece of paper. At the same time, Venus grabbed Iris' copy of the contract with her other hand.
She brought the two copies of the contract together and as they met, the pieces of paper burst into flames. The contract between the two parties was effectively voided.
"What is the meaning of this?" exclaimed one of the players.
They indeed had the intent of voiding their contract since they believed Iris was in cahoot with their competitor. But now that she was denying the fact, they did not actually want to lose the town they invested so much in.
"Wasn't it what you came here for? From now on, we no longer have anything to do with each other. Vultex is no longer the investor of Venetia," declared Iris with a solemn expression.
The players twitched. Endless remained calm but the other players exploded. "You cannot forcefully cancel our agreement like that. What about the fortune we spent on building this town! We spent almost a quarter of our guild's income in this place, how can we just move on like that? You need to compensate us!"
Iris faintly smiled. "Dream on. We have nothing else to do with each other."
It was precisely what she had been looking for. At first, she was mad at being accused of something she did not do; she had absolutely no contacts with her parents and was not planning on talking to them either. However, she had long been thinking of ways to get out of her contracts with Vultex for a while now; it was precisely why she wanted to get her hands on the Void Contract at the auction.
When she built Venetia, the town was still unknown from the rest of the world. In order to develop, she needed to attract people's attention. She did so by showing herself as a player and speaking to the guilds. They were immediately interested.
The guilds believed they would have to wait for the second major update to start building their town but unexpectedly, a player was already able to do so. Whoever got their hands on the town would have a huge headstart ahead of their competitors. Vultex was the one making the most generous offer. They invested a lot in Venetia and in exchange, they could freely use the town as their base of operation.
They owned 40% of the town; mainly its military part and the commercial area. Iris did not care about those; she was only interested in the DP they generated. However, Vultex became more and more demanding lately. As Venetia developed, they realized its importance and did not want to only own 40% of its shares.
They put pressure on Iris who did not want to reveal her identity as a dungeon master yet. Now that an opportunity presented itself, she naturally did not hesitate to free herself from Vultex. After having already received the initial investment she needed, she was ready to burn the bridges.
Endless lightly coughed, causing the other players to fall silent. "Iris, we might have been too hasty. We did not properly investigate this matter. I believe it would not be beneficial for either of us to go on our own separate ways."
He paused for a moment, allowing his statement to sink through." We will lose our main base of operation while you will lose the town's military side and all the shops in the commercial area will close down. Once we recall our men, this town will just end up like it was before; there would be no traffic. Since you are not receiving any help from Blue Lagoon, how are you planning to resist Count Desmonds without our help? Think about all of these. We both acted on the spur of the moment. Let's take a moment and calm down."
"Let's consider the voiding of the contract as an opportunity for us to come up with better terms for both sides. What do you think?"
Endless was a charismatic young man. He held a high position in Vultex and was confident in himself. When he spoke, he was certain Iris would come back to herself and soon beg them to form another contract. After all, what he said was true. Venetia will just turn into a lawless place without them to keep an eye on the players. Vultex was the one paying all the mercenary guards to protect the town.
They were also the one transporting most of the goods and materials sold at Venetia. As the dominant force of the town, Vultex's players also supplied Venetia with all the loot of the monsters in the surrounding hunting areas.
If they really parted, then the one to suffer the most would without a doubt be Iris. Sure, Vultex would lose its main base of operation but Vultex was a large guild. Losing one base did not mean the end, they could still recover their losses. On the other hand, Iris was a single person. Venetia was all she owned in New Earth. Once it was gone, she would lose everything.
Endless was confident he had the upper hand in this scenario. No one in their right mind would refuse his offer. However, to his surprise, Iris remained unfazed.