It's been a few days since I've been left alone with Yasmin and Henrick. As promised, Davic has been able to organize food and supplies for them. It was a bit of a pain creating their rooms. Especially their beds. Henrick warmed up to me pretty quickly so it didn't take him long to voice his complaints about how sore it was to sleep on a stone slab with a few blankets. That led to hours of work over the past few days attempting to shape his bed into something he was content with.

Luckily, Yasmin dealt with her own problems, which was pretty handy. Our lessons have been progressing, but I wouldn't say it's been smooth. Then, there's the locals. A few people have moved into the caverns from the two villages. But, it's only been a few folks, so the people I see from the village are mainly just young folk seeking a better life and a few guards sent by Davic to keep the peace.

I can only hope those people behave while living so close to me. There are a few locals that would probably like to sneak into the ruins, but my golems have been ordered to stop them if they try it. As for Yasmin and Henrick, well, they're adjusting quickly and seem happy enough with their lodgings. After I created a number of things they asked for, like tables, chairs, and shelves.

Yasmin doesn't speak much, which is a bit of an issue. She seems quite focused on her magical studies, and I'm not complaining as that means she's concentrating on helping me learn. However, I find it hard to communicate with her when she won't respond to anything I ask. She says it's for my own good if I figure out the next step myself. So, I've been spending most of my time in my workshop.

As for Henrick, well, he seems to be pretty happy exploring my ruins when he has nothing else to do. He's really taken a liking to Arachea and is always asking for it to accompany him. That said, it's more likely I'll just have to make something for him to play with. Maybe an obstacle course or something? I can't think of any other way to keep him occupied while he's here.

It's been a bit frustrating, to say the least. But, I guess I need to learn to deal with things like this if I want to continue my research and live a peaceful life. It's not exactly pleasant. However, I suppose that's the price of independence. I should try to be more considerate about that.

"Well, it's about time to declare you open to the public," Yasmin says with a sigh as she looks over at the boy, who is looking at me with an excited expression. "The Viscount will be here with the extra guards soon, so you'd better get ready to receive them."

Ah, so it's that time already. So far, Davic has kept his word. Even if I have no way to confirm if what he told me about the kingdom and the different religions is true, I still need to uphold my end as long as he does the same.

"Ah, right," I say as I stand up and quickly shift the piece of wood I've been experimenting with enchanting on to the side. "I'll wait for him in the altar room."

Yasmin bows slightly before she leads Henrick toward my front gate. Well, at least I don't have to show myself to the locals. According to Yasmin, it would freak them out to discover that dungeons have intelligence and can converse with them. It's a national secret that only the nobility, experienced dungeoneers, and court mages know. I groan as my footsteps echo through the metallic hallway on my way to the altar room. This place could really use some furniture and decorations. Perhaps it's because of all the time I've been spending with Yasmin and Henrick, but I'm starting to think having some luxuries couldn't hurt. Maybe a fireplace for when winter comes and the cold nights?

As I look around the altar room, I realize it's a bit sparse. Especially if this is where I'll be meeting important figures in the future. I sigh as I lean against my altar. I guess I can do something for now and work on it later. But, I can't help thinking this room is too large for just this altar. Something tells me the builders knew I would want or need a room like this in the future, so they designed the room to be quite bare accordingly. Hmm, that doesn't really answer my questions. Maybe I can ask Yasmin about it later?

I spend a while manipulating the room to create a metallic throne at the rear engraved with images of my golems and a shining core that looks like a sun above where my avatar's head will be. It's not exactly a time-consuming task, but it still takes up most of my attention. There's not much else to do until Davic arrives. They seem to be taking their time in getting here, probably because Davic is studying my new warrior golems made from wood and stone. Well, they should be suitable for his request. He shouldn't have any issues with them.

I'm actually starting to get nervous now. What if this is all an elaborate plot? I doubt that, but still, the possibility is there. Davic was a bit too quick to leave Henrick here, and his reasoning for it was flimsy at best. I'm sure he has another motive for that. I just can't figure out what it is though. My footsteps ring out on the metallic floor as I make my way to the hallway that leads to the entrance. I want to be ready to greet them when they arrive.

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I check my robes one last time for any dirt as I smooth them out before clasping my hands behind my back. Any moment now. There they are! I smile brightly as Davic, Yasmin, Henrick, and two guards round the corner. It seems Davic left the others at the front gate to manage the locals hoping to delve into me.

"Viscount Stillwater, it's a pleasure to see you again." A strained smile creeps across my face from the formalities I have to put on in front of his guards. As we discussed, they have to believe I'm subservient to the kingdom's, and the noble's, authority.

"The pleasure is mine." Davic replies with a grin of his own. "I see you've made adequate changes to conform to the kingdom's policies. They'll be pleased to hear that when I write my formal report on you. Is there somewhere we can watch from to oversee the official opening? It's just a formality of course to witness how you run things."

"Of course, please, follow me."

I take a breath and straighten my back as I lead them to what I'm now going to call the throne room. After all, the altar room doesn't really roll right off the tongue, and it would probably give the wrong impression. If I kept calling it that, people would probably think I'm religious, or maybe even believe it's used for sacrifices or something. Although the throne is for me, I offer it to Davic. Got to keep up the appearance of being deferential to him, as his guards stand to his left and right. Once Yasmin and Henrick take their seats too, I begin the show.

I tap into my mana and wave my hands through the air. The metal ceiling turns to liquid and slides back under my control, leaving a gaping hole in the building. For my next trick, I raise the earth under this room while disconnecting the walls from the floor. I hear the guards gasp as Davic and Yasmin struggle to keep a straight face. It looks like they weren't expecting something like this as we rise up out of the building, and further still, until we have a clear view of the maze and wall from above.

"Well, that was... really something." Davic coughs as he clearly tries to calm his nerves. He's shaking quite badly, so I guess I gave him a bit of a fright.

It's just me being petty though, as I want to remind them who holds the power here. I smile as I cast my gaze toward the wall in the distance, checking my golems are in place before the official opening. When I'm happy with everything, I turn to Davic with a smile.

"Shall I begin?"

"Please, go ahead. Don't mind us."

A smile creeps across my face as I turn my attention to my gate. Since I knew this day was coming, I previously smoothed out a section of rock over the top of it and turned it into a closed sign. I thought it was a nice touch, and will be handy in the future if I need to close down to make some renovations to my layout. But, for now, it's time to change it.

I wave my hand and the writing on the sign changes from closed to open as my stone gates open. I can see the crowd of people that have already gathered to watch this event from up here and their cheering fills the cavern. Of course, they're probably all hoping to get in on my mana, and I have no doubt that they'll do everything they can to get it. But, I need to do this so the nobles and the kingdom believe I'm obeying their laws. It's not like I want to be their pet. But, if I want to grow stronger as quickly as possible, then this is a necessary step.

"How long will it be until you can accept more people?" Davic asks.

"Well, we're not opening to the public as such. It's more of a trial period. You see, I want to know what it's like in there for this lot before I start accepting any more people."

I watch as people rush from the cavern into my dungeon and my eyes widen as I see Grix among them. What the hell is he doing here? He looks up and spots me. Well, that's going to complicate things.

"It should be a few minutes now and people will start to encounter the traps and golems. The people are taking their time to look around," I say as I point out the crowd, who are walking around the maze and looking up at my wall.

"Ah, it's already happening," Davic says as he points at the group of guards who are already engaged in combat with my golems. "I'll have to thank you for your generosity with those warriors."

"Ah, it was no trouble. It's what you asked for."

Yep, that's the side route I created specifically for training the Viscount's guards so they don't have to compete with the commoners for resources. It's a hassle having to open up the wall that separates that route from the rest of the ruins whenever they want to enter or leave, but it's a small price to pay to keep Davic on my side. As I watch the guards face off against a single warrior golem, it becomes clear they have it completely outmatched.

Its wooden structure is quite weak compared to my owls and spiders, and they carry rough wooden clubs and shields. Their movements are quite stiff, making it easy to read their attacks and their opponents are only likely to end up with a few bruises when facing them. All in all, they're perfect training partners for those just learning the ropes of combat. I wince as the guards smash the golem to pieces before moving on. Well, I guess I should send in the cleanup crew.

A moment later, small holes open in the wall as my spiders rush out to collect the broken golem. They drag it into the hidden network before transporting it to the spawner to be repaired. Although it costs more to repair my golems than create new ones, the trade-off is I don't waste any materials. No matter how wrecked my golems get, the repair function completely restores them. Hmm? What's this? My attention moves to a section of the maze as a few familiar faces enter my sight.