Book of the Dungeon Maker

by Nathan Valerio

  “Please, I am not going under that title by Mother’s order, you can call me by name,” Charlotte said, and he nodded.

  “Anyway, as stated I will need to bump your rank up to C rank, know that the missions at this rank are normally for levels 30-50. I can only give this to you because of her level, her forces, and the fact that I received word that you have something around C or B rank on you besides her,” Vain said.

  “Yes, it’s a puppet minion I got as my first minion,” I said.

  “Right, well you can take B rank missions and so on. I think only that fellow with the longsword has had as much success as you. He is already D rank after taking four E rank missions, and two of those ended up being raised to D rank,” Vain said.

  “Nickelous, I think was his name; he is a strong fighter I can say that,” Charlotte said.

  “Anyway, what do you plan on doing now?” Vain asked.

  We looked at each other.

  “Well, we were going to take missions but as you said, C rank are around levels 30-50 and I saw B rank is 40-60 with just that goblin mission with the red ogre,” I said making him nod.

  “B Rank missions are between level 50 to 100,” Vain said.

  “Now, I think we may take some time. Rest up, train our own forces. I also had a huge burst of information I gained on Runes that I need to start training and understand,” I said.

  “If it's runes then I suggest you head to the Elven nation. I heard their hero has been in a pickle over how to fix the nation since her own world was more advanced. Her magic studies are better, but the rune magic is hurting her,” Vain said.

  “Maybe after Veria does what she needs. We also need to talk with the queen. While we were out, we couldn’t help but think how incompetent the agricultural advancement in this nation is,” I said.

  “Good luck kid, if there is one sour topic in this nation then it's the poor agriculture. Nobles are hardheaded and won’t change easily even with imperial decree. They will screw up your method to make it fail,” he said.

  “I don’t need them to work it, I already have a working field so even if they fuck up I can simply blame their incompetence at following orders,” I said.

  His brow raised and he chuckled.

  “Alright, now hand over your guild cards so I can pass on the order. I will be back in a bit and I will inform the queen you wish to speak with her,” he said.

  “Much obliged,” I said.

  He nodded and left before looking at the beastmaster who was on the ground.

  “Get the blazes up, man! If you are shocked from a simple thing like an ancient spirit taking a human form then you truly will never surpass B rank in your life!” Vain shouted.

  “F-forgive me sir!” he said getting up.

  “Now get these properly sorted, I need to get in contact with the royal family and see if the queen is still within the capital,” he said.

  The beastmaster saluted and walked out with Vain, leaving us to leisurely rest in the room.

  I began to look over all the new runes and found it surprising to find runes for numbers, living creatures, tons of actions, and forms. But not many had actual combat capability that I could use.

  “What the guild master said was true. I really needed to look for someone to teach me to properly use runes. There are tons of runes that I don't see use for, but I doubt they are useless,” I said.

  “We can check with the guild to see if there are missions near the elf border, if there aren't then we can simply go,” Misaki said.

  I nodded and kept looking them over, but part way through the beastmaster came back and handed our guild cards to us updated to C rank.

  He left soon after, and I put the book away and took out two normal books. One had the untranslated runes, the other was a copy of my rune dictionary.

  I began to write the new runes within the book. What the girls didn't know, was that I wrote them all with mana meaning the book could burst into flames. This was so careless mages who would steal my book would get royally fucked by the backlash of so many runes activating. Obviously, this included the idiot hero and the trash king.

  A few minutes later, Vain came in and told us the queen was expecting us so we packed up and used the teleportation table to enter the castle as a means to avoid curiosity from the public.

  In the study room, we found the queen. She first asked about the wolves and we explained the situation shocking her but making a smile appear on her face.

  After that was out of the way, I pulled out a large parchment and rolled it out for her to see.

  “I will be quick and clear. I want you to change the methods of farming within the royal families own farms, the ones you directly control, and use this farming method. Once the crops are gathered, I want you to spread this method to the other noble’s territories,” I said bluntly.

  The queen took the parchment and looked it over.

  “Fertilizer to nourish the ground, straight line fields, crop rotation. Sir Ace, as mighty as these appear, what use do they have?” she asked.

  “I expected as much, first off you probably use some form of earth magic to nourish the infertile fields, right?” I asked, and she nodded.

  “It’s quite expensive though since earth mages aren't exactly numerous,” she said.

  “Exactly, fertilizer is simply compost, put in simpler terms, all the waste goods. Rotting food, tree shreds and dust, bones, and other dead organic matter can be used as fertilizer. When piled high and mixed with dirt, and covered completely with dirt, will slowly be turned into nutrition for the ground. Cow dung or chicken droppings are even better when used on the field because they hold minerals the animals don't absorb after eating but that plants need,” I said.

  “Wouldn't that cause a spread of disease? Rotting corpses and trash indeed spread those,” she asked.

  “Your Highness, I would like to remind you of Cross-san's words. You take all the waste and mix it with dirt and finally cover it with a thicker layer. The dirt will block rats and flies who are the true carriers of diseases from reaching the rotting materials,” Misaki said.

  The queen pondered that for a moment and nodded.

  “I see, I still wonder how we can introduce it without many troubles,” she said.

  “Your Highness, does this world possess gods of elements such as an earth god or a harvest god?” I asked.

  “We have the species god who rules over each sentient race and we have element gods who rule over nature. The goddess of earth is named Terresa.” Charlotte spoke in place of her mother.

  “If you were to say that this came as a message from her, that fertilizer was like an offering to the earth and the earth goddess do you think many people would find reason to object if the crops grow stronger?” I asked.

  At that moment, the queen and Charlotte's eyes widened before a bright glint appeared in her eyes.

  “By saying this, you are ultimately giving the fame you would earn to the goddess you know?” she said.

  “I feel it is better. I have no need for so much attention. It would actually be an annoyance to me and my travels. Also, it can spread faster this way as it will feel like the gods finally taking pity on this nation who has such a pathetic agricultural development,” I said.

  Her brow twitched as I admonished the nation's infrastructure, but she knew she couldn't refute my claims since I was from a world of technology.

  “Then please explain the crop rotation?” she asked.

  “This is easier, crop rotation means that you switch between select crops in different times of years. The reason is that some crops absorb certain nutrients while releasing others. If you take a bean stalk for instance, it should be planted in a spring to be harvested at the start of summer, and afterwards plant potatoes because the beans absorb iron in the ground but release a different mineral while the potatoes absorb the minerals the bean releases, but don’t absorb the ones the bean needs. This allows the ground to recover that specific mineral during the fall
and winter season before the planting season returns. Also potatoes are a great food during the cold making a good crop for winter rations,” I explained.

  The look on the face of the queen and princess were of shock. It was obvious they didn't know these facts since modern science had only recently been able to analyze the actual process of what was happening between each crop.

  “Amazing. All this is amazing, but it will take years to completely implement this,” she said.

  “Mother, we don't need to worry. For now we can have the thirty farm villages under Mother's name do this farming technique. This will eventually alleviate the starvation in the surrounding area of the capital. With this progress, word will spread and commoners from far off villages will surely think of leaving to go where more food can be located. It will force nobles to adopt the technique,” Charlotte said excitedly.

  My brow raised and a small grin appeared on my lips as I considered that this princess was quite open minded, and smart enough to think of what would actually happen for the next few years.

  “Ah, I see. If I simply collect information on the crop gathering and propose it, those nobles who think of others will instantly move to follow while the arrogant ones will eventually suffer for their negligence. I can eventually strip them of their noble titles and give it to my own supporters. Oh my, I shall examine this a bit more before putting this up,” she said with a smile filled with bliss.

  “Don't forget to take the geography and weather into account. Different regions can raise different crops. With all the surplus that will appear being sold afterwards, you will have to think of what to do with it as well,” I said.

  “Of course, now I cannot take your idea without a just reward, but you have already taken the most precious treasure,” she said.

  “If you can pay in gold coin, that is fine. Charlotte was able to get us 1000 off the adventurer’s guild when we sold a river side goblin village that can eventually become a port town,” I said.

  “This will clearly bring much more gold, is there anything else we can give you?” she said.

  I looked at the girls for a moment and remembered my puppets.

  “If you can supply me with 20 sets of knight armor, 20 leather armor, 20 sets of wizard cloth armor, and 10 of swords, spears, low class magic staffs, and other common weapons, plus 200 gold, I can accept it,” I said.

  “This involves bulking up your puppets correct?” she asked.

  “Naturally!”

  “Okay, it may take a few days, so please have at least one of you remain in capital at least,” she said.

  With a nod and handshake, Misaki and me talked with her about the farming of both of our cultures. Misaki spoke of rice fields while I spoke of plantations.

  After that, we had each agreed to stay in the castle.

  For the next few days, the items were gathered and I archived them.

  It goes without saying that I planned to make nature armor out of them, but I went above and beyond and made four field rooms in my farm dungeon, planting weapons in one and part of a second while the rest of the armor was planted in sets under the dirt.

  Once we had gained all the items, we informed the queen I had intentions of going to the Elven nation once Veria had birthed her child. I told her I planned to study their runes and learn magic to a greater degree.

  With that said, we went back to Hermes village and closed the farm dungeon hole and headed into Veria's dungeon.

  The dull moonlight flames were burning bright white as it was the day of the full moon.

  Countless wolves were near the flames, sleeping under the moonlight.

  Eventually, we reached the boss room where we found the giant wolf glowing almost white under the bright moonlight of the main moonstone.

  “Master, this giant moonstone is truly a precious item. With each passing minute it releases stronger moonlight that the blossoms greedily absorb. I feel they have each absorbed more mana than what one would gather within a single cycle,” Veria said as her own body absorbed the moonlight.

  “Has your power been recovering?” I asked.

  “It has. My strength has reached the barrier of level 95, but does not grow more unless I take moonlight essence. Even now, I feel I still cannot survive,” she said.

  “When will it happen?” I asked.

  “When the moon reaches its highest peak. This will cause enough turbulence in the mana to attract hunters, but Master will have moved by then,” she said. “Has master secured a food source for my mortal kin?” she asked

  “I have purchased several white rabbits and was able to bind them. I have made a large dungeon for them to live in. I will eventually need to make another boss room once I want to create a boss for them, but for now just common rabbits are breeding. I will regularly connect your dungeon and theirs to a third for you to hunt,” I said, and she nodded.

  “Then all that's left is time,” she said.

  We nodded and like her, we waited.

  We waited in the room and talked with her about her past. We were shocked to discover she had been captured several times by demons, but when she was caught, she used almost 30 levels worth of moon essence—equal to 90 moons of her gathering it—to summon her spirit wolves who massacred the demons and set her free once more.

  She had seen the early days, before the demon lord. She told me that dungeon makers were once a noble sect. Remnants still existed, but had long since moved away from the front lines away from the reach of the demon lord.

  I may be the only dungeon maker in this part of the continent. The four nations we knew were but one region of the continent. Beyond were much more dangerous lands that the demon lord himself didn't venture. His plan may have always been to assault the four nations and merge them first before battling the others, but these four nations have always been strong enough to push back after the situation grew desperate. It had left the war at a stalemate.

  The only thing preventing the four nations from advancing was the barrier erected by the demon lord, but the barrier had a flaw. It hindered the flow of mana making the development of extreme demons difficult without the demon lord willingly giving them his own mana which is why his full force didn't amount to much, but with time they still grew with proper management.

  All of a sudden, the moonstone suddenly intensified to a whole new level and Veria obviously noticed because a faint beam of light was descending on the three blossoms and the flowers were starting to move as they began to slowly unfurl.

  “It is time!” Veria said standing instantly.

  AWOO!

  Her ear shattering howl resounded through the entire dungeon. From the corridor, we could see the moonlight torches were burning stronger and releasing a powerful moonlight. Each wolf stared at them while the oldest and strongest wolves ran rapidly into the boss room soon filling it with many wolves.

  Veria stood in front looking at the beam.

  Her body began glowing as a faint white pulse began to emanate from her body.

  As the moonlight beam grew more powerful and looked to be filled with more substance, the flowers opened more and more.

  “This is amazing, the dungeon is focusing so much moonlight into this point!” Veria said excitedly.

  DONG!

  Suddenly, a strange gong like sound was heard as if the air itself rang.

  DONG! DONG!

  Two more gongs sounded, followed by a set of three.

  This happened until a total of seven gongs rang at one time without pause, and at that time Veria howled.

  She howled first making a powerful vibration then the twelve elites further strengthening the vibration. Finally, every last wolf in the room and in the corridors howled at once like a chorus of singers.

  The vibrations in the air were so powerful the effect it had on us was staggering.

  All four of us lost our bearings from the sound as we covered our ears and collapsed in the corner we sat in hoping it would pass.

  When one howl end
ed, another followed in the same fashion. One after another they howled until an almost solid beam of light was formed over the flowers, splendidly opened in their full glory.

  I opened my eyes, and at that time my eyes opened extremely wide. The reason was that within the beam of light was floating one massive rune.

  “Moon!” I muttered and something in me seemed to resonate as my hand left my ear. I drew a ‘Moon’ rune, but the feeling it gave could only be called pathetic and there were many inconsistencies. Another, then another.

  I didn’t stop drawing them because I wanted the same feeling I was getting from the giant moon rune in the light.

  I didn’t even notice until something happened to Veria, but over Veria’s head was a similar rune. It was moving forward and touched that same rune.

  Soon it released a blinding light and spread through the entire dungeon. The moonlight flames extinguished leaving only the moon rune that was floating. It released the same light as its faults were made perfect. Nature’s rune was in true perfection.

  The light also hit me and that feeling from the rune washed over me as I began writing the rune once more, but this time it was more perfect. Another, more perfect still.

  Under this light, these moon runes were made and broken. This almost profound feeling I got from the rune seeped into my bones as I drew more and more runes. My book was open, and with each correction I gained a more profound knowledge of the rune. The moon rune in my book glowed brighter, changing from a black ink drawing into a perfect silver that glowed with power. Eventually that rune lifted and moved to the first page where a section known as ‘Comprehended Runes’ was created while the rest remained black and obscure.

  As I reached a point where the rune no longer improved, I pushed more slowly making more fixes until nothing else appeared yet the rune still wasn’t perfect. But then I heard a powerful but also weak howl.

  It snapped me out of it as I saw Veria howling countless times.

  The light from the flowers was invading her body and pulses were spreading out. The twelve elites were being covered in mist as their gry skin turned silver and they became more transparent.