102: Conducting a Building

Their rigorous training session went on for a solid hour, with Nina finishing things off to not waste any more precious time. The rest of the training could be picked up on top of gaining levels. Of course, that was when Aidan told them that no matter how many times they killed monsters here, they would respawn so quickly it was mind boggling.

Apparently, that much was obvious for anyone who lived in this world. Though Haley and Van were pleasantly surprised at the raw numbers Aidan told, Nina assured them that it was the reason why dungeons are so valuable and why certain countries would gladly go to war if it meant having the most profitable ones under their control.

He recalled the place called the Federation or something doing exactly that, making him wonder if they planned on getting Leafair dungeon due to its expansive second floor. Nina assured that due to the Leafair dungeon being so deeply entrenched within Ghalea, surrounded by major towns and important facilities, the idea of the Federation trying to get to this dungeon was ludicrous. At most, they would risk going after small time dungeons for meager rewards, like the Crystalfang dungeon for instance.

But again, certain risks aren’t worth it even for those types of dungeons. Aidan was starting to get just how valuable these dungeons are, especially since they’re often replenished with treasures that seemingly came out of nowhere.

Which begged the question–where did these treasures come from? Are they truly so easy to recreate, or was it that the dungeon entity made them itself from some far away plane where they come from? He wanted to discuss this sort of thing with them, but realized quickly that perhaps that might be going down a rabbit hole that would be too frightening to consider, even for himself.

On they went to their destination, this time taking in the easy routes Aidan picked up during his all-night slaughtering of the monsters. Thanks to that, they managed to break through the two days in just a single day, eventually reaching the lake that Haley described the big treasure was at.

The lake might as well be large enough to be considered an ocean, but he could still see the limits far beyond the horizon through his Sense Vibrations. He felt multiple hundreds of beings inhabiting the lake, with a river flowing in and out of said lake across the north and west from here. Following the trail where he suspected the giant treasure to be, they found a large empty plain of grass that had no obstructions, no trees or large hills that covered their sights. It was as empty as far as the eyes could see, with a few stringent flower patches that easily played a soothing role to their eyes.

“Wow… it’s beautiful,” Haley said, her eyes glistening at the sight. Aidan had to agree wholeheartedly. It was breathtaking.

“It’s simple, but I definitely wouldn’t mind settling here for the rest of my life,” Van said half-jokingly, though there was that longing in his eyes that Aidan sensed easily enough. This was one of those dream moments every man would have for themselves, following along the dreams of having a super hot harem or being able to take down a horde of zombies by himself in an apocalyptic world as his last stand.

An impossible feat to accomplish back in his old world, but something that every man would dream about having at least once in their lifetimes.

“But there’s something more to this, isn’t there?” Nina said, turning to Aidan. “Mind checking it out?”

“You got it, boss.”

Aidan walked forward to the empty plane, letting his boots expand his senses far and wide with Sense Vibrations. He was trying to see this treasure that was seemingly so big that it caught Haley’s attention. After a few minutes of studying the layout from the surface all the way to the underground, Aidan stopped in his tracks.

“Well… shit. Ain’t no way we’re getting anything out of this one.”

“Explain,” Nina demanded, following Aidan along with Haley and Van.

“It’s not a simple treasure you just pick up. The treasure is the land itself.”

Aidan patted the grass underneath with his boot, simplifying his message. The three looked surprised at that, allowing Nina to let Aidan continue by raising her hand.

“If I have to say it in a simple word, it’s like we found a safe zone. The energy being produced here is special according to my senses. It kinda interferes with the natural mana flow of this dungeon, causing it to destabilize. It’s not dangerous, but it’s kinda like the part of the dungeon where it’s numb to the dungeon itself. It can’t do anything to this place, and just left it there.”

“So… you’re saying no monsters would spawn here?” Van asked. “I never heard of a safe zone inside a dungeon floor. There are safe zones between floors, but that’s pretty rare in and of itself.”

“I’m more surprised why nobody else would take advantage of this,” Haley asked, and to Aidan, it was a damn good question. “I mean, anyone with eyes can tell there aren’t any monsters here. Wouldn’t there be a huge number of people here by now?”

“They probably didn’t realize that this place is special,” Nina surmised. “Think about it–after everything you’ve been through so far, would you trust a place that has no hiding spot around you, and an open plane where anyone can spot you from a distance?”

Van instantly shook his head. “I’d consider it too dangerous.”

“And that’s the right call to make,” Nina nodded. “If I didn’t know about the land itself, I would also treat it with suspicion. For all I know, there could be a monster hiding within this very land, and considering the first floor, is it really that surprising that it would be incredible in stealth? Basically hiding in plain sight?”

“Ooh…” Haley nodded. “Still, you would think there would be some people who would try to hide out here.”

“Maybe if they were low level and inexperienced,” Van continued. “But at this stage, it wouldn’t be surprising if the parties that visited already had their class upgraded. Without an experienced scout, they wouldn’t risk themselves resting openly in a place like this. Maybe there could be some, but it’s possible that they considered the danger of staying too long and left without realizing anything.”

“Which makes this the perfect place for us to make a place of relaxation and comfort,” Nina grinned. “In other words, it’s all thanks to Haley for finding us a true treasure that nobody else managed to peer through.”

Haley blushed slightly at Nina’s praise, lowering her head despite earning such a thing. Aidan could imagine plenty of researchers doing the same sort of study he did, eventually landing on the same idea that he had. But what they didn’t have was an assurance that this place was safe.

Talents are incredibly hard to come by for people, so having an assurance from a talent that this was a treasured land meant that only Haley would see the potential this small plot of land within the dungeon floor carried. And on top of Aidan’s good senses of piercing through any hidden veils, it only made Nina more assured that this place was perfect for their hotel idea.

And with even a large lake by the side and this comforting ambience, he could only imagine how popular this place would turn out to be. He definitely imagined some trouble along the way, but he supposed that was his job to figure out as time went on, being Nina’s confidant and most powerful combatant.

“Now that we made it clear… Aidan, get to building.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Taking a half-joking measure of cracking his knuckles, he wiggled his fingers around with a huge grin, ready to create his latest masterpiece.

“Also, please follow this design.”

And just like pricking a balloon and watching it burst, Aidan’s ego was drained as he forced himself to pull back and take the piece of paper that Nina was holding up in her hands, probably taken out of her spatial bag.

“You were thinking of getting some payback by making something of your own, weren’t you?” Haley, being the dirty little snitch she was, said with a rising smile on her face.

“Like hell I’ll let him handle anything looks-wise,” Nina scoffed. “I trust him, but not by that much.”

“Where’s the respect? I certainly don’t see it anywhere,” Aidan muttered as he looked at the paper and studied it thoroughly. He knew then and there that no matter what masterpiece he was about to create, a piece of shit would still be a piece of shit.

Honestly, seeing the blueprints for himself staggered him. He wasn’t sure whether Nina had a skill or something, but the way the hotel was drawn here was amazing, even providing details that were so clear, even Aidan could see it clearly in his mind’s eye. Putting this at the forefront of his mind, he gathered up the resource balls and let his Craft work as intended.

The balls shifted and expanded, becoming wider and larger than life itself. Shadows stretched beyond them as Aidan continued his work, building piece by careful piece according to the design. The working process was slow and arduous, but the oohs and awws coming from Haley and Van were enough to put him in a good mood as he kept working.

Finally, after a few minutes, longer than normal compared to the time he made houses for the homeless back on Forontia, the hotel was finished. It was still barren in some places, something that Aidan needed to craft in later once he built the foundations.

What lay before them was a large, almost manor-like estate that carried the homey-sense of modern housing that would fit well with the forest aesthetic around them. Even Nina whistled in content as Aidan led them inside the newly built hotel that they would be staying and working at.

Inside lay the lobby with tiled flooring and calming colored walls, several windows displayed showing the outside. Considering the peaceful location they built the hotel in, the windows were perfect to ease the others in, rather than feeling constrained and trapped within a building inside a dangerous dungeon floor. The more they toured the hotel’s building, the more the siblings were impressed and the more satisfied Nina got.

Meanwhile, Aidan was starting to check the places where they could install some magical arrays that could make their basic necessities, such as making a working kitchen and bathroom for their future guests. So once they finished touring their new workplace, it was decided that they would need to bring in some new people.

Once again, Aidan was on the job. He was certainly going to be busy for the next few hours, that was certain.

…..

Their party was screwed the moment their usual plan failed. No matter how much Kola studied for the floor during their planning sessions, they were never prepared for the extremely vast floor that spanned kilometers far into the distance.

The Leafair dungeon was famous for being the most accessible, yet constraining at the same time. Experienced veterans normally relied on getting maps for the Leafair floors, particularly because their floors were always so damn expansive it was beyond ridiculous. They would buy maps and charted routes meant solely to take them from one end to the other, straight to the next floor.

However, this was with full intention of ignoring to explore the entire place in favor of going for a higher-leveled floor. Considering that the second floor had a high level range before reaching the famous level 50, many average adventurers who knew a thing or two in combat would take their chances exploring it before heading into the third floor and further beyond. That was what Kola’s party intended to do.

Not to mention the fact that the maps were royally expensive, and for a good reason. The maps were made by specialized scouts that had to sacrifice their combat ability for the sake of scouting dungeons, and that took plenty of time and resources to do. Considering that dungeons are often used by adventurers, it was no surprise it was funded by themselves rather than having any official kingdom authorities having their filthy hands on it.

Kola would rather live in a world where the dungeons would actively kill her than to have it be in the hands of nobles and royalty. It was already bad enough that they got their hands on every single thing outside of these, so it was natural to at least let the adventurers have their own thing.

Putting aside any political nonsense that was way beyond her mere commoner understanding, she and her party were too poor to buy any maps for the second floor of the Leafair dungeon. That also went for a multitude of parties, some ranging perhaps 60 to 70% in her best guess. One would think of being kind to adventurers who take the time to clear out the dungeons, but monopolies were always a thing, and one didn’t need to be a noble or any high class to partake in such a thing.

Still, her party was confident in at least exploring the floor partially, then returning back after a few days' time. The levels gained were decent enough, and they often found some pretty rare materials from the monsters they slew. Putting her mathematical skills to work, they were making more bank doing this process than going to other smaller dungeons and competing with other adventurer parties.

This is the part where they got screwed over. It’s not always a guarantee that they would make it out of the dungeon unscathed, especially when their level is in the minimal recommended range. That is to say, to be at the worst state possible before entering a dungeon known to fudge its numbers a little bit.

They were ambushed, and her friends took heavy blows. One of them got separated, forcing them to haul ass and retreat to find him, only to get themselves attacked while their formation was spread apart. Some took near lethal blows while others had to spend more resources just to get by. Kola was the least worst off, but as the leader of the party, it was her responsibility to ensure the safety of all her friends.

They only just managed to get away from the larger than life tiger, reaching eight feet in height and half as wide. Its menacing claws and red eyes definitely left an impression on Kola due to almost taking a claw swipe right where her neck would be. If it hadn’t been for her old friend, a friend of her father’s actually, she would’ve been dead, or maimed to the point of becoming a liability. She knew it was messed up, but she hated the latter idea even more than the former.

Sitting by her a few feet was her male friend who took a heavy blow when he managed to find their separated comrade in time, but she was currently knocked out on the ground, bruised and battered during their time apart. She managed to survive by the skin of her teeth, and it took her male friend the entirety of his strength just to get her out of there. Needless to say, they were a sorry mess.

“Status report,” Kola demanded, her voice tinny and almost child-like, but carried the tone of a hardened officer in war. “I want to know our current resource values.”

“We’re running out of potions, bandages, and salves for recovery,” Her old friend, a larger than life man who carried the traits of a bear beastfolk with round like ears attached to the top of his head, his brown fur everywhere across his chest and arms. His voice was craggly and brutal, carrying hints of desperation and concern. “We also lost a lot of supplies meant for distracting the enemy and giving us some space. We had to use plenty of those just to get away.”

“How safe are we currently?” Kola asked again.

“Personally, I don’t like it. I think we should move as fast as possible out of here and find some kind of shelter,” the bear man continued.

“Jack, can you move? And if so, can you also move Gracia?”

Her male friend, a normal human with a muscled build and a tall physique, groaned in displeasure before showing a hardened stare.

“Who do you think I am, boss? You’re looking at a prime specimen.”

“I expect nothing less,” Kola smiled. While she ached to see him in so much pain because she ordered him to save her long-time friend, seeing him display his usual gusto and jerkward self made her feel at ease. “We move in an hour. Rest and recover your health and mana as much as you can.”

“I’ll do a perimeter check,” The bear man said, taking a stand.

“No, Bello, I’ll do it,” Kola raised her hand, stopping Bello in his tracks. “I’m the least worst off of the bunch. I can do that much.”

“It’s too dangerous!” He nearly growled. “I can’t just let you off on your own.”

“I’m not a little girl anymore. I may look small but you know me. Trust me on this, and do as I ask you. Please, Bello.”

She thought she could keep him under wraps with orders alone, but in the end, she had to plead with him to consider. Seeing her demand so fiercely, Bello reluctantly agreed as she stood up and did as she said, leaving her party behind to scout for any surrounding enemies.

She was the one who insisted on coming here without a map, and she’ll handle the consequences that were brought about due to that. While her party would suggest that they all agreed on this without any arguments, she believed that a leader should be the one to take the fall to make sure to at least let the party live on.

But as things stand, it might be possible that she would have to make some hard decisions. She could only pray that it wouldn’t come to that.