Chapter 76 Dungeon Core: “The Eternal Training Ground”

POV Ace

I leaned against the railing of my bedroom balcony, looking over the city. I found it difficult to understand what had happened to the few lonely buildings this place started out as, and what it had now become.

Last week, it officially received the designation of a city, as there are more than 15,000 people living here, and from our records, soon to be 20,000 inside the dungeon. None of the original buildings still survive.

The amount of people living here is only possible because of the dungeon and its ample supply of cheap food, and the numerous apartment buildings that have become the standard for most of the people living here.

Looking out on the city, there’s always something moving, and up above, you could always see an airship waiting to be docked or accelerating away. Things have changed, except for me. If I wasn’t an adventurer, I would have already been an old man.

I imagined a different path for my life, one where I quit being an adventurer and became a farmer. I would have a wife and plenty of children, who would possibly already have grandchildren. My bones would already be aching, and I’m pretty sure I would already be quite grey.

Every morning when I look into the mirror, I still see the 20-year-old me, and while there are a few more wrinkles, those are there not because of my age, but because of the dungeon and its never-ending antics.

Tomorrow will be my 55th birthday, and I can’t believe that about two-thirds of my life I have lived near this dungeon. I felt the head servant coming into my bedroom and then walking towards me. Before he could speak, I asked him a question, "Have I been a good ruler?"

His steps halted, but he resumed his walking until he was beside me. "I will be candid, Sir. The beginning was quite rough, and while the dungeon continues to vex us, I can honestly say that you have done better than anyone expected, and better than most nobles who have long lineages.”

“Most new nobles only last 10 years. I believe you have what it takes, but I do recommend, like I always do, that you should find yourself a wife." I stopped my servant there with a quick look.

He's been saying that to me constantly, but I’ve never felt comfortable with that because if I did have children, I would have to marry them off to other nobles of the land. And slowly, they would start to gain more and more influence over what happens here. That was the case up until now, but things will probably change soon enough. I had been in the game long enough to see the writing on the wall.

"All of this has been possible only because of the support of the Kingdom. Do you still think I could do this if the Kingdom were to retract that support?" I watched as my head servant's eyes widened, and he mouthed, "Already?"

I nodded, even though he didn't mean to respond to me. He did, however, eventually speak, "A question of what sort of cake you would like for your birthday came up. I assume it’s still strawberry?"

I gave him a nod, and he started to leave but stopped only after taking a few steps. "You would do excellently. I would just be saddened that I couldn’t see what you made of this place." And with those words, he left.

My head servant wasn't truly mine; he was a royal servant, meant not just to help me but also to keep an eye on me. Soon, he will also be leaving with many other servants and even a few influential people. There was also a good chance that some businesses needed to leave, but that shouldn't be too bad as my city wasn't dependent on any one of those.

A lot was going to happen, but unfortunately, it wasn't going to be a pleasant turnover. This city was now generating profit that rivalled the capital, and the king was going to hold on to this place for as long as possible.

Which meant the nations around here would be quite angry. Sometimes I think I made the wrong choice. I shouldn’t have been so efficient. I should have slowed things down and perhaps even convinced the dungeon to slow down. If I bribed it with new monsters, especially some special ones, I was certain I could convince it. But I cannot change the past, and I will need to accept my mistakes.

Hopefully, this won't happen for another few years, or perhaps even a decade, but eventually, the other nations will march armies here and forcibly take this land from my kingdom. They will not keep it; they can't, as none of the kingdoms would accept others having a say in the running of the dungeon.

Unfortunately, they won’t leave the dungeon to me. My lands would be turned into a new nation with a council-type government that will be independent but will have permanent deals with the surrounding kingdoms that would benefit those kingdoms immensely.

If I’m lucky, I will be able to escape before the armies arrive with enough wealth to live out the rest of my life in luxury. That would be the smart thing to do, but I’m not always making smart decisions. I did have a small opportunity, but I would need to be secretive because if I’m caught, I would be executed for treason.

The plan was actually quite simple: the enemy armies will come, and they will try to take my city, but setting up a siege will take some time, and part of the army will continue onwards to pillage and siege other important locations until the kingdom capitulates.

If I can hold this city for that long, it would mean that I would actually have some bargaining power when I declare independence. After the kingdom capitulates, my independence would be granted, and I’m certain other nations not directly in the conflict will recognize my independence.

Those nations will start to put quite a lot of pressure on the attacking kingdoms, and if I can hold out for long enough, they will need to back off, but I’m willing to give them good trade deals, although not as good as they would get if they could put their own government in charge.

It will be a difficult thing to pull off, but I’m slowly training soldiers in secret, and while the Adventurers' Guild always stays neutral, every adventurer could still volunteer to protect this place, and I hope they will.

Now, I’m not sure about me being in charge of the dungeon, what would happen with that, but I’m pretty sure that the Dungeon Fairy Guild would want to take charge of this place once again. That struggle, however, would already mean that I would have lost, so I wasn’t too concerned about it.

I’m also pretty sure that I could convince the dungeon to help, although that would leave a pretty bad mark for future dealings, and a lot of people would be hesitant to start dealing with us. That reminds people of really terrible time.

Because the dungeon is so large, I should have no problem hiding a lot of soldiers who would constantly be training down there. For that reason, I’m extremely grateful for the 17th floor, as the many raid rooms provide an excellent place to practice for mass combat.

The floor's guardian room is also good, but a little bit too dangerous for now. I wonder what the guild master would say if he found out that I actually have my own shadow guild that owns plenty of territory. Hopefully, he won't be too mad when he finds out, and by that time, the reason for it would also be revealed. But it was time to get back to my duties, starting with a meeting once again.