My Dungeon Life: Rise of the Slave Harem - My Dungeon Life – Chapter 1211-1213

Chapter 1211

The path through the dungeon was wide enough for five men to walk abreast. The cart fit through without any trouble. We continued through the dark passage, only lit with lights. I create a few orbs of my own to save on torches, but ultimately the light spell was still the most useful one I had for seeing in this oppressive place. Since I wasn’t in a formation with anyone else, they didn’t get to benefit from my light spell.

Not every dungeon was pitch black. Some had their own eternal light sources. They could replicate the outdoors complete with a sun, or possess torches and scones that remain alight seemingly forever. This was all done with the mana that ran through every part of the dungeon, including the walls. I had to remember that this was a living place and the dungeon could trick us at any moment.

There didn’t appear to be any side passages from which someone could mount a surprise attack, but just because we were walking down a long corridor now didn’t mean that there wouldn’t be openings forming behind or in front of us. This tunnel wasn’t all there was to this dungeon. According to them, it had been around nearly one hundred years.

Didn’t that make it closer to a Great Labyrinth? I suspected it was a lot bigger than it seemed on the surface. Perhaps I was being too careful. Everyone else was calm. However, I had seen too many dungeons and suffered too many setbacks to just accept this dungeon on the surface. I knew that some dungeons did get along with humans. Was this dungeon part of that so-called council? The more I learned, the less I knew, it seemed.

“We’re going to stop here.”

“Huh? Already?”

“It’s nighttime.” The old dwarf raised an eyebrow at me.

I looked back and forth down the dark and unchanging hallways. Was it? I wouldn’t be able to tell without creating a portal out of here and checking. I didn’t want to do that in front of these guys. It was better to keep your secrets to yourself. I wasn’t the one who usually kept time in my party. I didn’t know how long we had been down here, but I wasn’t particularly tired. Then I realized that at this pace, I could probably go a few days.

“I’m beat!” The adventurer groaned, pulling off his pack.

Unlike me who had everything in my inventory, these guys had to still carry backpacks and stuff. Of course, I wouldn’t reveal I had inventory. Instead, I’d pull out a storage ring from my inventory and use that. At least having a storage ring is something they could accept. I kept them in my inventory instead of on my person because I didn’t want to see another set destroyed. I had cleared out every inventory ring in Aberis and destroyed them in the last half-year since I had come to this world. My current ring was the one lifted from the king which had a slow-time enhancement as well as the one that held my boat.

I sighed and helped set up camp. I had gotten too used to portaling everywhere and being on top of things. I guess I’d have to rough it for a few days.

Chapter 1212

“What’s in the cart?” I asked as I began to prepare dinner.

They hadn’t asked me to do it, but I had grown used to such a thing, and just started bringing out ingredients as soon as the fire was made. Once the smells of fresh food started coming out, none of the men complained. Esmore as a country might have better cooking than Aberis. At least, that’s what Pait claimed. However, up on that mountainside, there were limits to the food they could obtain. They all looked forward as I cooked meat and vegetables on a skewer.

The men stiffened for a moment, and the eyes ended up turning to Pait. It turned out this was a question that required a diplomat. I had only been mildly curious. I wouldn’t have asked if I knew it was going to be a big deal.

“Sorry, it’s not that important…” I back peddled.

“No, it’s fine. You might as well learn now. There will be chances to learn later and you might as well find out with the answer.” Pait declared. “The cart is a gift for the Dioshin. It’s what we’re using to ensure we’re allowed to enter the country. Since they’ve closed their borders to us, my superiors were afraid that they might still deny us entry. Thus, we’ve prepared a tribute that they can’t refuse.”

Tribute, bribe, gift… call it what you will, it seemed like the Esmore were determined to get to the bottom of the problems infecting Dioshin.

I licked my lips. “What is it that they request?”

“Dwarvish steel… ahem, weapons.” Pait declared before immediately raising his hand. “Please understand, we’re not looking to support Dioshin in a war with Aberis, but this is the number one product they request from us. We have a strict quota. We have strict guidelines where we won’t sell more to one country over another, but this is technically not a sale.”

“You don’t need to worry, I understand,” I said, allowing him to take a breath of relief.

Friends or not, Esmore and Aberis were two rival nations. Sending weapons to our neighboring country could be seen as hostility toward us. I didn’t know the specifics, but it seemed like traditionally the Esmore only sold a certain amount of dwarvish steel every year. It wasn’t enough to satisfy the demand, but they sold equally to each nation to remain neutral.

They were circumventing this treaty by providing weapons as a gift. This would normally be done secretly, but that secret was out with my presence. Then again, I was a citizen of Aberis that they were sneaking into Dioshin. That could just as easily be seen as an act of aggression toward Dioshin. Pait was walking a line trying to keep both countries happy. It wasn’t easy being a diplomat of a small neutral nation, it seemed. I had my problems to worry about though. The Dioshin getting premium access to the best weapons in the five countries was tomorrow’s problem. I already knew the solution to it too. I needed to get Garnet back, so she could start making Orichalcum weapons. Only then would Dioshin lose their edge.

I finished cooking and handed out the meal. Since I didn’t push things or make an incident, the Esmore seemed in better spirits. After we ate, everyone found their spot and went to sleep. The adventurers hired to protect us would be the ones taking turns on guard. Just as my eyes started to get heavy, I started to feel something off. In the past, this would have been something I wouldn’t notice, but I was more sensitive to changes in miasma and mana these days, and I was able to tell it was getting thicker.

My eyes snapped open and I stood up. My eyes darted to the two men who were supposed to be on guard. They were both unconscious. Worse, a stranger was standing in the middle of the camp.

Chapter 1213

“Alysia!” I called out.

“Hmm? Ah!”

Alysia didn’t need to sleep now that she was a sentient sword. It was for that reason that I was so comfortable going to sleep and trusting in these unfamiliar guards. Even if they failed, she would have been at attention. However, whatever had lulled them to sleep had seemingly managed to obscure his presence from her. As soon as I called out to her, she woke up and noticed him. She appeared in my hand as I leaped to my feet.

The strange man held up his hand. “I’m not here to fight.”

He wore a black cloak that covered his entire body. He had a hood up that kept me from getting a view of his face. He was facing me, but he didn’t have a weapon. Either way, my combat sense triggered and I had a feeling he was a very powerful opponent. If we fought, I wasn’t confident I could win.

Although he said such a thing, I didn’t stop myself from preparing for an attack as I narrowed my eyes. “Who are you?”

“I go by many names.” He spoke slowly, seemingly unconcerned with my aggressive stance. “I suppose the name you would be most familiar with would be Gram.”

“Gram… as in Gram’s Passage? You’re the dungeon master?”

Just because the dungeon was named after him didn’t necessarily mean he was the master, but I guessed this was the case anyway. Who else with that level of power would suddenly visit us like this?

As I said the word, I could feel the miasma thicken in the room, and I could feel the threat he was giving off.

“What do you want with this place?” he demanded, his voice sounding slightly angry.

I frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Don’t play games with me. I know you’re a dungeon master as well. You’ve entered my home without asking permission or providing a tribute. If you plan to take my dungeon, be prepared to die trying!”

“Woah…” I lifted my free hand. “I’m just traveling through. This is a passage into Dioshin, isn’t it?”

The miasma had increased to a thickness where it wouldn’t be surprising if a monster spontaneously appeared in the middle of the camp. The pressure he was giving off was extreme, and I found it even difficult to stand. I had to change my assessment. This was absolutely a guy I could not fight. Thankfully, after a few tense moments, the feeling started to diminish just a bit.

“You’re not here to conquer my dungeon?”

“No…” I responded awkwardly. “Rather, I didn’t even know I was going to enter a dungeon until earlier today. I’m just traveling through.”

He finally dropped his hand, and the pressure dissipated, causing me to exhale. “The next time you’re going to suddenly enter another creature’s dungeon, you should inform them of your intentions.”

“Ah, I’m sorry. I thought you couldn’t tell. I guess I only recently became a dungeon master.”

“I see… I can tell you’re a newbie. Destroying you would have been simple.” Gram declared, causing my mouth to twitch slightly. “Did you have a tribute? If a dungeon master wishes to use the space of another dungeon master, an appropriate tribute is needed.”

Dungeon masters had their politics as well. I didn’t know if this rule was true, or if he was just using my ignorance to bully me. Either way, he was looking at me with expectation.

“Um, I didn’t…”

His eyes brightened as if he just noticed something, pointing at my blade. “I rather like that thing. I’ll have your sword as my tribute!”

I wasn’t out of danger just yet.