Inside the Dungeon Association stood a young man wearing plain robes with the insignia of a book encircled by a single ring, signifying his status as an apprentice wizard researcher.
The young man stood in front of a desk in a plain room, having just asked an employee for the price of a dungeon located on the outskirts of a local forest.
After a few more seconds a middle-aged man wearing a simple button-up shirt came out of a door located behind the desk carrying a small book before quickly placing it down on the desk.
"Finally found it, the dungeon was marked to be destroyed soon so the purchasing record was just thrown somewhere"
The man carefully opened the book and leafed through a few pages until he came across a simple and rough sketch of a cave. Below the sketch, there was a detailed description of the cave which was the dungeon the apprentice was interested in.
Attention, all concerned parties: The following official documentation details the state of a dungeon recently compromised by a mid-level adventurer, rendering it unable to produce monsters or employ traps. As a result of the adventurer relinquishing control, the dungeon is now available for sale. In the event of remaining unsold for three years, the association overseeing such matters will proceed with its demolition. The physical layout of the dungeon consists of a small cave, fashioned in a manner akin to a wolf's den, featuring a primary chamber and two auxiliary chambers previously occupied by the dungeon's inhabitants. Further within lies a rudimentary "door," constructed of suspended vines. Inside lays another innermost chamber housing the core, positioned on a simplistic pedestal, resembling more of a natural protrusion from the floor. Such descriptions encompass all currently known details regarding this establishment. The dungeon is situated approximately 25-30 kilometers from the fortress town of Draco Ethorian, located on the outskirts of an unnamed forest at the time of this documentation.
The man waited for the researcher to be done reading before asking him if this was indeed the dungeon he was looking for
The researcher looked over the description again before nodding his head
"Alright then, sir. This dungeon is on the cheaper end, as it has been heavily discounted in hopes of enticing someone to purchase it. So, if you are indeed interested, the price will come out to... um, it should be here somewhere." The man kept flipping over the pages of the book, looking for a price.
"Ah, I found it! It's been discounted from the original price of 10,000 gold coins to just a thousand. You can pay immediately, and as a bonus, a retired dungeon hunter will help you reach the dungeon and deal with any monsters that might appear. How would you like to pay today, Mr...?" the man said as he handed over a contract to the researcher, granting him ownership of the dungeon.
"Lutherdrop, No title, and I will be paying with bank notes equaling the required amount. I was wondering, when is the earliest the adventurer will be able to guide us there?" The researcher asked while signing the contract and handing the clerk a banknote.
"Is there more than just one of you, Mr. Lutherdrop?" he said, while looking over all the paperwork, ensuring it was correct before placing the banknote along with the papers in an envelope.
"Yes, I will be taking a construction crew along with me as I plan to stay near the dungeon. Am I wrong in assuming that I also own the land around it?" said the researcher while checking a watch.
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"No, you're correct, sir. An area of one kilometer comes with the dungeon as an additional free add-on. When the adventurer can head out, you would have to arrange that with him. There is contact information in your copy of the contract. Is there anything else I can help you with, Mr. Lutherdrop?" said the young man while pointing at the copy of the contract.
"No that would be it," said the man while standing up and shaking the hand of the clerk before leaving
The young man having just left the building started heading towards the address he was given to find the retired adventurer
This young researcher is Addlington Lutherdrop the third-born son of a mage family
The reason he was purchasing a dungeon in such a desolate place was that he had been banished from his family. They called it "a journey for research," but in reality, it was exile. Fortunately, the family had given him a large sum of gold banknotes in exchange for not causing a scene, which he took without hesitation
Using half of the gold he hired a constuction crew that had a few apprentice mages in its rank wich would make the building of his home quicker than hiring mortals, as he knew the sooner he could start on his research the sooner he would be able to make a profit
After all the reason he came to a fortress nearing the edge of the empire was because no researcher would set up buisness here and as such there would be no one competing in selling magic artifacts, like the ones that would come from his research
But those were plans for the future, for now he needed to get in contact with this adventurer
As he neared the adress he realized it was an inn
Confused he stepped in and headed towards the clerk to ask where he could find the adventurer
"Are you reffering to bates, young man?" the bartender said as he pointed to a table in the corner of the inn
A man with graying hair sat at the table eating while talking with some not-so-appropriately-dressed women
At a closer look one could see the countless scars adorning the shirtless mans muscles
Addlington walked up to the man and set the contract on the table
"Sorry to intrude on your party but you are Bates, no?"
"Aye, do ya got a problem with ah?" said bates while standing up at a towering 204cm looking down at Addlington who was tall in his own right reaching 182cm ignoring the contract that was placed down completely
"The dungeons association told me you would be able to guide me to my newly purchased dungeon, or is that someone else?" addlington said while looking at the man with a stare worthy of someone belonging to a prestegious Mage family even if he had been exiled
"Ah, its one of ya, my bad lil man, this aint the friendliest town out there. Yeah thats me ima assume ya wana head out immediatly judging from ya crew thats waiting for ya outside" said bates while looking outside at the nearly 50 man crew with a dozen or so horse lead waggons waiting outside
"Yes, that would be preferable. I would like them to finish today. The only reason I woke up this early," said Addlington while looking at the barely rising sun outside
"aight then, lemme just grab my sword then we can head out, ya can wait for me outside ill be right there" said bates while putting some money in the womens hands then heading for a flight of stairs
After a few minutes bates came outside dressed in light leather armor holding a flask in one hand and a shortsword in the other
The conversation Addlington was having with one of the mages in the company stopped. Addlington nodded at the foreman before the entire crew started following Bates, who only gave Addlington a nod. Bates then walked towards the gates and took a sip of his flask.
After paying the guards to fascilitate the leaving of the fortress the crew traveled 25 kilometers towards the dungeon not being bothered once wich bates contributed to the large size of the group and the fact that guards and adventurers constantly cleared the outskirts of the forest
Hearing this addlington felt happy to know he wouldnt need to hire security any time soon
After a few minutes of looking around they found the dungeon wich had become overgrown with different plant life hiding it into the surrounding
"Alright ya stay out here while i go and make sure no wolves reapered in there ok?" bates said while using his shortsword to clear the vegetation blocking his path into the dungeon
While Bates was exploring the dungeon, the construction crew started unloading the materials and furniture from the wagons. Meanwhile, Addlington found nothing of interest in the immediate area, so he decided to find a spot to sit and read a book.