NOVEL NEXT Chapter 67: Will to Follow
Geth gave Hulk administrative privileges of the place and stepped aside so that he could learn to navigate the screen. Hulk nodded in appreciation. It didn't take him long to figure out some of the different functions and he quickly pulled up the Location tab.
:Current Locations;
Guardian Sanctuary (Lvl 1) 0/100,000
Dungeon Inventory (Lvl 1) 0/100,000
Barracks (Lvl 1) 0/100,000
Farm (Lvl 1) 0/100,000
Mine (Lvl 1) 0/100,000
Tavern (Lvl 1) 0/100,000
Tailor (Lvl 1) 0/100,000
Training Grounds (Lvl 1) 0/100,000
Hunting Grounds (Lvl 1) 0/100,000:
An interactive map appeared in front of them, showing them the vastness of the place. It was as if they were standing in an underground forest. What they were standing in was the Barracks. Surrounding the massive trunk reaching towards the cavern ceiling were 5 more massive trees.
Each tree was marked as Training Grounds, Tailor, Tavern, Guardian Sanctuary, and Dungeon Inventory. Hulk tapped on the floating Rune above the Training Grounds.
:Training Grounds (Lvl 1); A multi-floored training facility for the advancement of weapon proficiency. One floor will be added for each Level. Each floor increases proficiency 1% quicker than the previous.
The current floor has wooden training dummies for practicing basic stances and uses of most weaponry. A small archery range is included:
Geth thought that he should send some of the warrior types from the main branch over to practice and spar with Hulk and his men. While he was thinking this Hulk clicked on the Hunting Grounds that covered the entire cavern.
:Hunting Grounds (Lvl 1); This Dungeon is naturally large, providing a vast amount of land. A teleportation formation has connected this area to the surface. This formation activates when small creatures pass over it, sending them to random areas in the Hunting Grounds.
Only typical creatures based on Dungeon owner's species will be transported. At the current level, only rabbits and small avians can be transported. Upgrade Hunting Grounds for larger game:
Harris and Farris both whistled after reading that, they were avid hunters before, though more for sport. They still knew how to prepare and clean most game for meals.
Hulk continued exploring the interactive map, finding that the Mine was off to the southern edge of the land. It happened to be right next to the farm area. Geth then gave him 3 of his Hobgoblin cores, 2 of the higher level Mage cores, and 2 higher level Assassin cores to set up his Guardians.
Geth and Hulk walked over to view the different areas while the rest either lounged around or went exploring. Geth felt that his little cave could be better defended, but overall this section was much nicer.
'You shouldn't have to wait long. As more cores are donated towards boosting the overall Dungeon level, an option should become available for teleportation formations.' Albus' voice resounded in his mind.
He nodded, remembering that Albus had mentioned something before about Dungeons being connected. 'Then we will just have to gather more cores. My intentions still haven't changed.'
'I'll conquer all of the Dungeons the Local Region has to offer.'
****
While Hulk and Geth ventured around the new Dungeon. Harris and Farris set off to retrieve their families after a brief rest. The brothers were currently walking through the woods and talking about the events of the past couple of days.
They wanted to set out immediately, but Hulk had made them get some sleep first. It wasn't a bad idea, the events of the Dungeon Raid lasted more than 30 hours. The entire party was worn out, the brief rest periods leaning up against the cave walls hadn't done much for them.
"I can't believe how gracious Geth is, did you see the size of that place?!" Farris asked. "Do you think that he's actually going to conquer more?"
Harris was walking with his hands behind his head, looking up at the sky. After seeing the beauty of the Mana stones and the formation on the ceiling of the cave, the sky itself had lost some of its natural beauty.
"I believe that man can achieve anything he wants to," Harris responded after thinking about it for a moment. "I also believe that we can trust him as a leader, even if he's only making decisions to better his own family's position."
He wasn't quite as naive as his brother. Harris could tell from overhearing Geth's and Hulk's talks that his main goal was to stabilize the area to ensure his family's safety. Either way, he would follow the man anywhere, he could tell Geth was the type of guy that would protect those loyal to him.
Farris fell silently into his thoughts, thinking about what his brother has said. It didn't matter to him what Geth's reasoning was, he provided an opportunity to protect his family. Farris would do anything he could to pay the man back.
They walked through the woods without saying much. It would be a few hours before they made it back to the Dungeon. Once they reached the camp in the next ten minutes or so, everyone would want to pack up their belongings.
After that, getting the kids to stay still long enough to move them to the Dungeon would take a bit longer. It was fortunate that the size of the place caused their Citizen capacity to increase. It was double that of the main Valhalla branch.
Their group had just over 30 members including the children, and two of the women were pregnant. Hulk had looked for and gathered up as many of their neighbors as he could find after that first day that Geth had helped them out in the plains.
When the duo wasn't too far from the clearing their families were hiding, crying, and yelling could be heard from that direction. Harris and Farris glanced at each other and took off in that direction.
As they came within earshot, the two slowed down and hid behind one of the nearby trees. Harris poked his head around slightly to get a clear view of the situation.