Chapter 77: Chapter 5.29 - The New Dungeon

Serin was unsure if it was his luck, or if it was just happenstance, but things seemed to solve themselves more often than Serin having to develop a solution.

The first problem was the very apparent skill gap in adventurers in his nation. There was the middle tier (level 40+) and above which had no issues with the beginning levels of the dungeons as well as most of the adventurer contracts just outside the controlled regions. And there were the recently plated (level <15) that were not permitted entry, who could only find adventurer work in the random taskings around the town. However after the trip Serin had taken there was still quite a few young adventurers who, even in a balanced party, were not able to take on anything past level 1. There were even a few rescues on level 1 that had to be performed, though thankfully no one was permanently killed.

The second issue was the dungeon was crowded. There was almost a 3 day wait for adventurers to enter the dungeon, and requests for guides to approve lower levels was almost a 2 week wait, as the guides were only available so many days of the week.

The third issue was team based training for the protectorate. Edel did his best to train his members to work as a squad, but the issue had to do with real life training. The only levels that had enemies en masse was level 51 of the dungeon and that was too much for the most experienced team of protectorate, and as good of training as it was for them to do mock battle, it was just not as effective.

It therefore came as a surprise that all three of Serin's issues were solved on a single day. Lord Koni had ensured that populations were encouraged to settle between the two regions built for residency. The Biome region was mostly the Gole, Forest Elves (still building their grove) and the Dhamphir. This was because their residences, although not segregated, were specialized with either additional filtration in their private homes or glass built to block the damage of the sun. Although not all of the Gole or Dhamphir lived there, it was enough to attract the other Races as well. The planetouched moved in cafes and restaurants, and the Demis moved in workshops. Although it was mostly the same stuff being sold as the capital region, it was right next door vs. an entire region away.

Finally, with the large influx of humans into the biome region, Serin was given a notification that he could spend Kingdom Points to take formal control of the region. As Serin had no idea what this meant, he accepted.

All of a sudden, the option to select the type of dungeon placed appeared. Serin was under the assumption that all dungeons were the same. As he reviewed the options available, he found out how he was sorely mistaken.

There was the Standard dungeon, just as his capital dungeon. There were also several greyed out options. Then there was a Dungeon called "Realm of the Fearless" and it said "only available after level 100 of a Standard Dungeon is conquered. Higher rewards await those that venture into the depths of this Dungeon."

Then Serin spied a different dungeon. "My First Dungeon", Serin read the description and laughed. "This dungeon is similar to the standard dungeon, except it is built as a training tool. Enemies spawned in it do not have drops, there are no resources to be found, and the difficulty of the creatures present is extremely low. If a user would suffer a fatal injury they are warped out of the dungeon instead."

Serin thought, "why would this dungeon exist? It halved the expected resource output of dungeons?"

Then Serin realized, the resources outputted by this dungeon are training and experience. And without the fear of being swallowed by its depths it could be used by the youngest of our younglings.

Serin smiled, and sent out a targeted message, "I need a few dungeon guides not currently working as well as Lady Eris and Commander Edel to meet me at the Biome region dressed for battle."

***

Serin was surprised to see Jericho, Farrah, Rachel, and Olma among the guides as well as Edel and Lady Eris. Lady Eris was not often engaged with the dungeons, as she focused as the headmaster of the Academy and had other things to attend to.

Jericho was the first to speak, "So why did you bring us here, most of us are still…" then he saw it. Unlike the dark portal of the Capital region dungeon, an opening into the mountain, this portal was bright stone with a few non-native birch trees, a few species of butterflies fluttered around.

Jericho then had his weapon, "you opened another portal? Is there anyway you could have stalled? We are stretched thin as it is."

Serin smiled, "I have a feeling that we will be fine. I brought you here so we could investigate and then decide how to handle this resource."

Serin then explained the different dungeon rules to his group. They stood confused on why Serin would select a dungeon with no resource output, then as Serin explained, it dawned on them. The entire council was aware of their gap in skills. Serin smiled, "This is where we will build a training area for those who wish to follow the path of battle."

Lady Eris nodded. "I knew our plated were too weak to go into the dungeon, and even with the stat boosts given through adventurer's guild quests, they lacked the experience of our seasoned fighters to brave the perils of the dungeon. I am eager to see what's inside."

Serin had his autobolter holstered on his back and drew a sword, a weapon he had only novice skill with, and walked calmly through the portal.

As the group followed, they were shocked to find a field of wildflowers. Serin reached to pick one and it turned to dust in his hand. He smiled, as he realized that this dungeon would have literally no resource that could be used.

Serin then saw a few creatures in the distance. They were slimes and balloons. Common level one creatures that posed almost no threat to those past adolescence. The group saw the enemy and laughed. Even Lady Eris laughed. Even with the introduction of totems for training older students in combat, she was limited on her summons and also on power. This first level of the dungeon was so weak even unplated children could fight bare handed and have no risk of injury beyond a few scrapes.

After a bit of trekking, they found a staircase down which led to a level with more aggressive creatures. Rats and giant roaches. Serin had also fought these as a child and while they were still dangerous for a small child, anyone with a skill above novice would easily defeat them. Serin looked at the group and they understood. This was a dungeon you could go as far as you wanted and if you bit off more than you could chew you would be ejected with a few injuries but nothing that would threaten your life. And with the size of the floors and constant spawning of more monsters, they had found the perfect training ground. Serin then looked at the group, "If you want to leave, you can do so at anytime through the dungeon information tab of your Status."

Serin pressed it and exited. It informed him that he would have to wait 24 hours to enter the dungeon again. He was followed out by the rest of the group.

***

Lady Eris and Commander Edel decided that the dungeon would not require staffing. Any students or Protectorate entering were required to bring their own healer, and suffer the painful walk to the nearest clinic if they neglected to do so. Serin then realized that since the dungeon did not have resources and would mainly be used by Students and young Soldiers, there was no point in adding a cost for entry.

And with that dungeon groups began exploring the dungeon. Since there was no reward, it was mostly students and soldiers. Changelings were unhappy because the enemies disappeared when they were slain leaving no chance to eat their bodies to get serious bonuses. Regardless, it was still a worthy endeavor since it taught teams to work together, and gave an easy introduction to combat for all of the younglings under Lady Eris.

It also solved a 4th problem. Since some children wanted to sneak into a dungeon, it gave the more adventurous spirits among the youth an outlet for rebelliousness that did not cost them their lives.

All in all it was worth the sacrifice of a 2nd dungeon resource to create this training space. It was also a great training tool. After a few weeks up, someone had made a sign posted next to the training dungeon that read

KNOW YOUR LIMITS!

If this dungeon forcefully ejected you, in the other dungeon that would have been your death.

Although it was a bit threatening, it did make the strong point. Serin knew that his people needed to be raised strong. This world swallowed the week. In the Northern Kingdom they conscripted everyone with talent and most burbs were undefended, simply targets waiting to be hit by monsters. In the Grand Woods Alliance, you were strong or you were a slave.

Serin knew that he could never let his population stagnate and grow weak. He would foster growth and diversity, but ensure that strength and the ability to defend oneself from aggressors was a key attribute towards living free.

***

CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Srinlife

This story is officially Contracted!

That is one step closer to being a #1 All Time BEST STORY EVER!

I couldn't have gotten this far without you, the readers. But we still have so much work to do.

In lieu of charging everyone to read my book, If you have gotten this far, please, Please, PLEASE leave a review for the book. It doesn't get the circulation we both know it deserves and that is because not enough people have taken the time to leave a book review.

As promised, anyone who leaves a review gets immortalized in my story as a member of the town. and should the story ever go to print, there will be a section of every named townsfolk, which is my form of special thanks.

Also, there is a discord. If you join, you can ask questions, give suggestions on what you want to see, and maybe have a hand in shaping a mini-arc or two.

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