Godfather's System -
064. Establishment - 11
I had just received Speed as my newest stat, but that didn't mean it was the only useful utility I had. I closed my eyes as I remembered a map that I had seen on Zolast's desk, one that showed the most recent outlay of the land, one that included all known breaches, as well as three dungeons that had already been established and working.
One of them was just fifty miles away. It was supposed to be a great distance, but with my new speed, it was less than an hour … and that was with me still trying to stay reasonably concealed and deal with the monsters. At full speed, I doubted it would take twenty minutes.
I even took time to bury my halberd and my sword somewhere safe and worked to change my looks and the appearance of my dagger. Leaving my sword behind was risky, but not as risky to bring to a new town where I could lose it.
The dagger was a calculated risk. It didn't look magical when sheathed, and revealing it might give me some advantage.
The speed was useful, as it prevented me from getting bogged down by monsters… Monsters that were getting increasingly numerous the closer I got to the town, attracted by the dungeon. I knew the establishment of the dungeon would mean more monster attacks, but I didn't expect that much.
Especially since it was supposed to get more intense as time passed. It would be a challenge to handle it the beginning was this challenging.
Speed allowed me to avoid the slower ones, and the faster ones I dealt with my blade.
At a nearby forest, I could see several groups of workers working at the edge of a small forest, cutting trees with a fascinating speed, cart after cart being dragged toward the center of the crowd. They were surrounded by a large guard regiment, a thousand, both killing the monsters and checking the arrivals. Bypassing them was trivial.
And, then, the new dungeon my field of view.
I slowed down, ready to mix into the crowd … and what a crowd it was. A huge mass of people, easily surpassing thirty thousand, surrounded a large town that was being built … but it looked like a movie fast-forwarding.
Maybe it was not a surprise, considering hundreds of super-powered people, possibly with relevant jobs, worked in the town, which was appearing immediately. I could see two layers, an outer layer, made of wood, surrounding the half-constructed buildings and tents, and an inner layer that was made of stone.
The stone walls were already fully-built, and filled with an impressive number of guards. A wild guess, the dungeon entrance was inside.
I ignored that part momentarily, and instead focused on the outer town … chaos was best to describe it. It was clearly being built as fast as they could manage, with little concern about the defensive potential, with a sharp contrast to the inner walls.
I had a feeling that the nobles didn't care about the security of the other occupants. A mistake I wouldn't be doing.
However, the pity I felt toward the eventual occupants didn't stop me from walking forward. The town that was in the process of building was an incredible opportunity, one that I wanted to leverage as much as possible.
At a minimum, silver to fund my protection, but ideally, mana stones.
Hopefully, the sprawling, chaotic marketplace made of thousands of carts, and the surrounding skeleton of the growing town had what I needed. No one stopped me as I approached the chaos that was the market, shouts and cries mixing into each other.
The outermost circle of the market was filled with hawker stalls, independent business owners, shouting to sell their wares, ranging from medicine to weapons … and without an exception, overpriced to a great degree, even by the standards of an exodus.
They were clearly betting on the appetite of the organizations hurrying to take the first bite from the dungeon. Of course, it was not without drama, merchants crying for opportunities, blaming each other, fighting, crying…
I ignored the mess as I walked deeper. If I had time, I would have stayed at the outer ring, the desperation and greed made easy targets … but small fish wouldn't fill my appetite tonight.
Tonight, I was hunting for the big game. The growing chaos was a fantastic opportunity, and I was confident I could find an enterprising businessman searching for juicy targets … and flip the game around.
Though, as I went deeper into the marketplace, the drawback of the deficient financial system of the world became more apparent. Some used silver, the others bartered for trade … a pity that none used mana stones even near a dungeon, showing them to be rare resources.
As I walked, I took note of the prices … and the weapon prices shocked me. They were going for almost five times the earlier price, and even the garbage ones going for ten denicas. Food and medicine were more complicated, but similarly overpriced.
The various types of other materials had incomprehensive pricing, ranging from a fraction of a denica to several derums.
Leveling was another challenge. I saw several tents, separated for promotions. No promotion, five denica, first promotion, fifty denica, second promotion, five hundred denicas.
Though, as I watched them, I realized an earlier mistake about leveling. In the entrance, they weren't testing for the existence of a god, but they were making sure people didn't try to cheat by using a weaker tent … the size and intensity of the glow varied based on the promotion.
Nice to know.
As I walked, I listened to the gossip about the dungeons. Which classes were the most advantageous in a new dungeon, which classes would be lucky enough to have a recipe from the new dungeon, whether it would generate any schemas and blueprints … or, if they were lucky enough, stats.
Higher-leveled production classes were already flocking toward the dungeon, leatherworkers, blacksmiths, alchemists, builders, some even shouting the prices for their services, prices, starting from a hundred denica a day to a derum, also trying to tap into the scarcity.
I rather level them up quickly than pay that much.
The really valuable ones were the fighting classes. Warriors, fighters, rangers, scouts, defenders, lancers, spearmen, archers; those were the names that were being shouted passionately, not by the owners … but by tents of the newly established guilds, each trying to recruit new members. Conditions for those classes were a mystery as they discussed their conditions behind closed doors, but I doubted they would be affordable for our camp.
Not with our fledging guild, supported by a collapsing noble house.
No, we needed to be more creative.
"What a mess," I murmured to myself as I looked around. I needed to find what I needed, where I could not only make some money, but also make contact with the gray side of the business… And most importantly, some information.
Before digging for more, I made some preparation. I purchased some expensive clothes, and even bought some makeup to make me look younger — I even changed my hair color.
Of course, like every disguise, the real change came from the change in posture. Combine all, and I suddenly turned into an arrogant man who did his best to conceal himself, but failed. Of course, that required one last change. I left the town, where I had dug my sword, and wore it on my waist visibly.
A high-quality magical sword with no mark of its maker.
Completing my disguise.
After that change, I walked toward the center of the town, hoping to find what I had been near the walls. The closer the dungeon, the likelier to find some mana crystal. Ideally, I would have entered the inner city, but that was unnecessarily risky. I had no idea just how much power a new noble family could bear.
And I didn't want to risk it.
Luckily, I was confident in human nature. I wouldn't be the only one that would salivate over the business potential of smuggling mana stones. I continued to search … and found what I had been looking for in the form of an inn.
It was an upscale one. Made of stone and marble rather than wood, with a lot of rich people going in and out. It even had two bouncers on the door, looking strong. Probably combat classes, and not weak ones.
However, what alerted me to its true nature was the other four hidden on the roof, observing the street with bows in hand, ready to intervene. The owner meant business. At a minimum, I could use the place as a connection to the underground.
If it wasn't a center already.
The bouncer at the door looked at me with a careful expression, examining me carefully to decide whether to let me in or. turn me away. I didn't say anything to him. I didn't even bother to look him in the eye, just walked forward, radiating smugness.
Like the world owed me everything just for existing, just like a petulant child raised by a terrible mother.
In other words, a flawlessly noble attitude.
The bouncer just took a step to the side, allowing me to pass.
The first step, complete.
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