Chapter 64: Buisness ideas

Chapter 64: Chapter 64: Buisness ideas

Tolu returned to his room long after everyone else had gone to bed.

The manor had fallen silent.

The corridors that had been filled with footsteps and voices earlier were now still, illuminated only by the dim glow of the lamps along the walls.

Tolu closed his door behind him and leaned against it for a moment.

He was exhausted.

Not the kind of exhaustion that came from fighting.

This was deeper.

His body wanted sleep, but his mind refused to settle.

He had broken through.

He was an Adept now.

And tomorrow, Folami would begin teaching them how to use that breakthrough in actual combat.

It should have been enough to make him happy.

Instead, one thought kept returning to him.

*This can’t be my entire future.*

Tolu walked over to his bed and sat down.

Folami had treated them well.

Better than well.

He had given them rooms.

Food.

Training.

Two gold coins every month.

He had even taken them in as his disciples.

For the first time in their lives, the four of them had stability.

But Tolu couldn’t forget where they had come from.

They had been living in a cheap compound because they couldn’t afford anything better.

They had made thirty or forty silver a month between them.

After rent and food, almost nothing remained.

If Folami ever changed his mind...

If he decided he didn’t need them anymore...

If something happened to him...

They would be right back where they started.

Tolu frowned.

He didn’t want that.

He didn’t want his future to depend entirely on another person’s goodwill.

Folami might genuinely have good intentions.

Tolu believed that.

But good intentions could change.

Circumstances could change.

People could change.

And if Tolu wanted to protect his friends, he needed something of his own.

A source of power.

A source of wealth.

A force that couldn’t simply disappear because someone else decided they were no longer welcome.

His eyes slowly narrowed.

"The dungeon."

The moment he said it, the familiar voice answered inside his head.

"You have finally arrived at the correct conclusion."

Tolu smiled.

"You were waiting for me to say it?"

"I was waiting for you to stop thinking like a poor adventurer."

"That’s harsh."

"It’s accurate. You have been poor this past few months only gaining stability now."

Tolu lay back on his bed.

"Then tell me."

"Tell you what?"

"How do I make money from the dungeon?"

There was a brief silence.

Then the Dungeon Heart spoke.

"You have many options."

"Start with the easiest."

"The corpses and cores of weaker creatures."

Tolu’s eyes immediately opened.

"Monster cores."

"Yes."

He sat up.

"We’ve been selling those already."

"You have been selling the cores of creatures killed by adventurers."

Tolu nodded.

"So?"

"You can produce them yourself."

Tolu stared at the ceiling.

"Of course."

The dungeon was already capable of producing monsters.

Those monsters possessed cores.

He didn’t need to hunt them.

He simply needed to cultivate them.

"And herbs?"

"Yes."

Tolu’s eyes brightened.

"Medicinal herbs."

"Common medicinal herbs can be grown within your dungeon without difficulty."

"And rare ones?"

"That depends upon the species."

Tolu frowned.

"Meaning?"

"Some plants require particular environmental conditions."

"Like what?"

"Cold."

"Heat."

"Darkness."

"Humidity."

"Specific soil."

"Specific levels of dungeon energy."

Tolu smiled.

"But I can change the dungeon."

"Correct."

His mind began racing.

"So I could make separate rooms."

"Yes."

"Small ones."

"Yes."

"Three meters by three meters."

"That would be sufficient for many species."

Tolu’s imagination immediately took over.

A small chamber covered in snow.

Another filled with intense heat.

Another completely dark.

Another permanently humid.

Another with special soil.

Another with glowing crystals.

Another with strange underground mist.

He could grow plants that couldn’t survive anywhere else.

Tolu sat up completely.

"So I just need the seeds."

"Correct."

"Then I can create the conditions they require."

"Within reason."

Tolu smiled.

"That’s incredible."

"It is merely the basic function of your authority."

"Basic?"

"Yes."

Tolu paused.

"What else?"

"You can influence the creatures produced within your dungeon."

His expression changed.

"Influence how?"

"You can alter certain characteristics."

"Like?"

"Physical traits."

"Affinity."

"Temperament."

"Growth potential."

"Resistance."

Tolu’s eyes widened.

"Can I create new creatures?"

"To a limited degree."

"Limited?"

"You cannot simply imagine a creature and expect reality to obey."

"Shame."

"However, you can combine compatible traits."

Tolu frowned.

"Explain."

"A creature may possess dormant traits inherited through its bloodline."

"So..."

"You can encourage those traits to manifest."

Tolu stared.

"A hidden bloodline."

"Correct."

"If a creature has a dormant bloodline..."

"You may be able to bring it forward in its descendants."

Tolu’s imagination went wild.

A seemingly ordinary monster being born with a rare ancestral trait.

A weak creature gradually producing stronger offspring.

A species that appeared insignificant at first becoming something entirely different after several generations.

"Can I create something completely new?"

"Eventually."

"Eventually?"

"Your current authority is insufficient for unrestricted creation."

Tolu nodded.

That made sense.

He was only an Adept.

He shouldn’t be able to casually create mythical creatures.

"But even now..."

"You can begin experimenting."

Tolu smiled.

"Good."

He thought for a while.

Then another idea came to him.

"Ore."

The Dungeon Heart went silent.

Tolu sat up.

"Can the dungeon produce ores?"

"Yes."

Tolu’s eyes widened.

"Really?"

"Your earth affinity allows you greater control over mineral formation than most Dungeon Lords would possess."

He stared at the wall.

"Can you make gold?"

"Yes."

Tolu grinned.

"How much?"

"One gold coin’s worth per week."

His grin disappeared.

"That’s it?"

"At your current level."

Tolu thought about it.

One gold coin every week.

Four gold coins a month.

Forty-eight gold coins a year.

That wasn’t enough to make him wealthy overnight.

But it was free.

And more importantly, it could increase later.

"I’ll take it."

The heart continued.

"You should not focus solely on gold."

Tolu frowned.

"Why?"

"Because gold is not the only valuable mineral."

"What else?"

"Silver."

"Fine."

"Jade."

"Good."

"Crystals."

"Good."

"Adamantine."

Tolu’s expression changed.

"Adamantine?"

"At your current level, only small quantities may be possible."

"Still..."

He smiled.

"What else?"

"Different magical ores."

"Depending on their elemental properties."

Tolu immediately understood.

"Fire."

"Yes."

"Ice."

"Yes."

"Lightning."

"Yes."

"Wind."

"Yes."

"Earth."

"Yes."

Tolu’s eyes gleamed.

"So I shouldn’t just produce valuable ores."

"Correct."

"You want me to produce ores with different attributes."

"Exactly."

"Because different cultivators will want different things."

"Yes."

Tolu nodded slowly.

A blacksmith might pay a fortune for one type.

An alchemist might pay for another.

A weapon cultivator might need an elemental crystal.

A mage might want a mineral capable of storing magical energy.

The possibilities were enormous.

"But you said something about putting rare ores into the dungeon."

"Yes."

"What does that do?"

"The dungeon can assimilate certain minerals into its soil."

"And?"

"The mineral can influence the formation of future deposits."

Tolu stared.

"You mean..."

"If you place a small quantity of a rare ore into a suitable section of the dungeon, the dungeon may gradually produce more of that mineral."

Tolu’s mouth slowly curved upward.

"So one small piece..."

"Can become the foundation for a larger deposit."

"How much larger?"

"That depends on the mineral, the soil, the dungeon energy available and the environmental conditions."

Tolu laughed softly.

"So if I find even a tiny piece of something extremely rare..."

"You should not sell it immediately."

Tolu nodded.

"You put it in the dungeon."

"Correct."

"And let the dungeon reproduce the deposit."

"Over time."

Tolu lay back again.

His mind was moving faster than ever.

Monster cores.

Medicinal herbs.

Rare plants.

Monster materials.

Hidden bloodlines.

New species.

Gold.

Precious stones.

Elemental ores.

He had been looking at the dungeon as a place to grow monsters.

But it was much more than that.

It was a factory.

A farm.

A mine.

An ecosystem.

And eventually...

A fortress.

Tolu smiled.

But the Dungeon Heart wasn’t finished.

"There is another matter."

Tolu’s smile faded.

"What?"

"Dungeon wars."

He stared at the ceiling.

"You mentioned that before."

"Yes."

"I thought Level Two meant we could avoid them."

"You can avoid some."

"Some?"

"A Level One dungeon is vulnerable."

Tolu nodded.

"The dungeon is weak."

"Correct."

"And Level Two?"

"More difficult to destroy."

"So we’re safe?"

"No."

Tolu sighed.

"I knew there was a catch."

"A dungeon that grows must eventually compete."

"Why?"

"Because dungeons expand."

Tolu listened.

"When two dungeons grow near one another, their territories eventually conflict."

"And then?"

"They fight."

Tolu frowned.

"Every dungeon?"

"Not immediately."

"Then what determines it?"

"Territory."

"Resources."

"Energy."

"Growth."

"And the ambitions of their Lords."

Tolu nodded slowly.

"So eventually..."

"A dungeon war."

He remembered the first war.

The chaos.

The destruction.

The monsters tearing into one another.

The overwhelming creatures.

The terror.

And then the aftermath.

His first dungeon had barely survived.

He had won.

But barely.

A pyrrhic victory.

Tolu was silent for several seconds.

"What happens when a dungeon wins?"

"It gains."

"How?"

"Territory."

"Energy."

"Resources."

"And depending on the circumstances, it may absorb aspects of the defeated dungeon."