Dungeon Diver: Stealing A Monster's Power C.512

Over the next hour or so, more recruits make their way to the small lounge area filled with couches, chairs, tables, and random food and magic items leftover from whatever leisure activities they were doing before I came.

The three elemental squad leaders are here, and naturally, the others split into the three groups they were training and fighting in together.

I pull the skill orbs out from my item storage again and let them slowly rotate around my open palm.

"Today, I'll be giving each of you a chance to permanently add an elemental skill to your status."

I look at each of the squad leaders too.

"-And for those of you that already have elements, I'm going to give you an assortment of skills to choose from, but I have a recommendation I believe would be optimal for each of you."

I explain how the orbs work, and we all set off to the dungeons so each of them can test out the various elements I have available through my temporary skill share.

After about an hour of flying through the air, summoning elements, and destroying large areas of dungeon mass, everyone comes to their conclusions rather quickly.

The majority of fighters are split between earth, wind, and fire. Earth is far more common in the defensive types that already have body hardening or similar skills. Air magic is common for long-range attackers and speed types; it also makes air travel much faster. Lastly, fire is a common choice for those that use close-range combat and want more destructive blows.

The three original elemental squad leaders choose the skill that I recommended to them, self-regeneration. They test out many of the ones I have available, but my reasoning for them being on the front lines and leading attacks and training sessions sticks with them.

If they have the ability to lose limbs or take blows that would normally incapacitate them and get up to keep fighting like nothing happened, it will be a very valuable skill as leaders.

They agree and accept graciously.

All at once, the 37 army recruits swallow the blue orbs and erupt with system energy, adding new skills to their statuses in an instant.

"Perfect. Now, let's get to work."

I bring them all back to the 19th floor of the Vice City Labyrinth where we left off last before the war and share absorption with them so they can collect MCP from every kill.

Bursts of elemental magic light up the dungeon as they head off following their three team leaders in search of Berserker Giants to continue their training.

My Rising Emperor's Domain fills nearly the entire dungeon's volume, so I don't have to stay close to each individual party. As long as I'm in the same dungeon as them, they're still able to farm.

At the rate they're each killing monsters now, they'll be able to gain a few million MCP an hour each.

Once they're a little stronger, I'll bring them to higher floors and their rate of MCP absorption will exponentially increase.

Meanwhile, back in the Crimson City, I've tasked one of my body doubles to begin making detailed signs inside of the guildhall with pricing amounts I'm willing to pay for every kind of loot inside of the canyon of dungeons.

Each item is outlined with the maximum amount needed this month in order to satisfy Bri's crafts, and I split the remaining 12.5% of the total order's revenue, 22.5 Platinum, into reasonable payouts aligning with the rarity and difficulty of farming each item.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

The bulk of the items needed are E and D grade dungeon drops, and thousands of them are necessary, so it's easy to price these out at a few silver per item drop. Most beginner hunters will be able to farm a few of these and make quite a good living.

The C-Grade items are priced far higher, up to a few gold per drop. I don't believe anyone in this town that isn't a part of the army can farm these just yet, but I'll still leave them up for people to try. Most likely, some of the army recruits will go off and fulfill these orders once they have some free time. I'm not worried about it.

This is most importantly to get people used to the system, and stimulate the economy a bit.

Right now, it's technically losing me money, I could just farm everything myself, but it will be far more convenient for me once my trading deals expand and I can't physically farm enough materials myself.

Once all of the signs with pricing are made, I show up to Dan Striker's mercenary bar and tell him to break the news about extra work being available at the guildhall if anyone wants it.

I have my double that is guarding the isolation pod with Ember inside do some extra work, having it wait just above the bunker entrance inside the center room and answer all questions from passersby once a few people come by interested in the details of farming and payouts.

By the end of the night, over 2 dozen people have come by in total.

My second double stays high above the town to do general surveillance, while my third and final double watches over the dungeons to make sure that everyone entering them is able to handle the monsters inside. Some may challenge higher grade dungeons than they're ready for, so I'll lightly regulate the canyon for now to make sure they don't kill themselves just for an extra silver coin or two.

For those that come by, I offer high-grade gear that fits their needs for free as a one-time deal. After the first, they will have to buy it in a basic marketplace I'll be setting up in the guildhall in the upcoming days. Not only will people be able to hand in item drops for profit, I'll be selling crafted gear, mana crystals, and various magic items so they can buy what they wish for personal use as well.

---

Three days pass.

---

As expected, the farming operation starts off slow, but word of mouth spreads, and I even have to go to Vice City to exchange some of the platinum I'm sitting on for gold and silver coins to craft them into the Flame Emperor's coins to keep up with the expected volume in the future.

In just these past three days, almost 10% of the E and D grade items necessary have been farmed. On day one, it was less than 1%, and every day the volume is rising as I give them regen potions to heal their fatigue and more word of mouth spreads.

I'm looking forward to further growth to meet this deadline that now has 27 days remaining, we're right on track.

The members of the army that have been training in the labyrinth all have grown very quickly too.

In just two days, all of them have blown past level 500 and ranked up, making it to the 30th floor, gaining a few hundred million MCP each.

By the end of the third day, all of them managed to clear the 30th floor boss solo, surpassing level 750, and as a congratulatory gift for making it this far, I craft a special blood-bonded piece of gear with the extreme grade element stones they've managed to farm themselves matching with their elements. f𝗿e𝗲𝘄𝗲bn𝐨𝚟𝚎l.com

As we move on to the final stretch of floors, 31 and onward, I see this team of elemental elites becoming an unstoppable army. My goal over the next few weeks is to get every one of them to level 1000 with the mana control and combat ability to match it.

After another long hard day of training, they all go back to the residential area and relax and have their off time while I get more work done.

They all may be rising in mana control drastically, but none of them are near my level where they basically don't have to sleep at all anymore.

Every 30 minutes or so while we were training in the labyrinth, I went up to the 39th floor to collect more firestones. At night while everyone slept, I continued to farm.

After these sessions, I've managed to farm 136 more containment stones and have collapsed 14 more dungeons with them ranging from E to D far out in the solitude of the desert. I have more than enough luminite now to create multiple teleport platforms, so my plan is to see Bri and craft hers while I deliver the first installment of her raw farmed dungeon materials.

Along with this, the construction materials needed to begin phase two for the Crimson City's expansion are ready for pickup.

This order will be enough to build over five times the housing that's available in the city now. It will also expand and fortify the guildhall to look more professional and efficient. More streets and buildings in the outer areas of the town will be made to produce another 20-30 shops around the new apartments, and most importantly, enough materials are being purchased to begin making a road as a proper trade route connecting the nearby sectors and smaller isolated villages.

So, as the sun sets, I hop into a dungeon and teleport to Vice City to get things in motion.