Honestly, getting an elemental spirit contract with the Gnomes was more than a good enough reward for me. I didn't need anything else, except a sword for my brother. Jun Hai's sword was on the verge of breaking into pieces after the fierce battle against the Mystic Demon Sect, and the dwarves were more than happy to forge him a new one.
Myria requested for a bracelet that would boost her water techniques, and Sylvie and Silvia similarly asked for jewelry that would enhance their spellcasting. The were-beasts didn't care for little trinkets because they never bothered with weapons to begin with, though I asked Lionel Jonson if he wanted a claymore. He simply gave me a strange look.
"Why would I need a claymore? I have my claws and my speed. That's all I need."
Never mind. Evidently, he hadn't read the manga or watched the anime adaptation that ended right before the most epic part of the series. Oh, well.
"We should discuss the rewards," Cyrus Crowley said immediately when we reached the palace. I had already sent the request for the weapons and accessories that my brother, fiancée and adopted sisters wanted, but Crowley didn't seem satisfied. "We'll definitely forge the sword and accessories for you, but I'm sure that's not enough to pay back the tremendous debt we owe you."
"What do you suggest we do then?" I asked wearily.
"Payment! I mean, technically, we hired you as mercenaries to help us fight off the Mystic Demon Sect. This can't be a one-sided alliance. We need to provide you benefits too."
If only the nations on the surface thought the same way as the dwarves. I was heartened by the sincerity that they were showing.
"Quite frankly, I don't know the rates. What do you suggest the payment will be?"
"Hmm…I suppose you would want a lump sum of spirit stones. That would be the easiest method if I'm not mistaken."
"Yeah."
"Excellent. How much do you want?" Crowley hesitated, and I could tell that he was worried that I might overcharge him. "Do bear in mind that we also have to pay for repairs and cover the expenses incurred by the war, but we will endeavor to pay you the amount you deserve."
"Sure," I agreed. "How much do you think will be a good sum?"
He gaped at me. "Shouldn't you be telling us?"
"Nah." I shook my head. "I'm not a politician or a businessman. I came here on good faith because I truly want to help, and because the Mystic Demon Sect is a mutual threat. A threat to all of us, not just your dungeons. If we didn't stop them here, my dungeon will be next. That's why…I'm not going to dictate the amount of payment. I'll let you decide what's a reasonable price. How much are you willing to pay us?"
Crowley stared at me in shock for a moment before he burst out laughing. He slapped my shoulder and shook his head in disbelief, looking overjoyed.
"You really are amazing, kid. Thank you. I can't thank you enough."
"Nah…just doing the right thing." I couldn't help but feel embarrassed.
"If only more people are like you." Crowley sighed and shook his head. "I'll be frank…you are not the only dungeon master we approached for aid. We actually sent out envoys and emissaries throughout the Celestial Labyrinth, requesting assistance from all the other dungeons that aren't our enemies. The smaller dungeons refused to help because they were afraid of being wiped out alongside us. They wanted to cower and hide, hoping that the Mystic Demon Sect wouldn't notice them. A fool's hope, I suppose, but I can't blame them for fearing such a powerful enemy. The more powerful dungeons didn't bother because we were beneath their notice. In many cases, our emissaries couldn't even get past the gates. They were turned away by arrogant, condescending sentries who even attacked them, forcing them to flee."
"That's ridiculous," I protested. "Don't they know the consequences of the dwarven dungeons falling into the hands of the Mystic Demon Sect? All that armory, rich mines of spirit stones and ore. If the demonic cultivators get ahold of such resources, it would be catastrophic for the whole of the Celestial Labyrinth!"
"You would think, but no, they don't care." Crowley snorted. "They are so arrogant that they think the demonic cultivators would pose no threat to them, and they care not what happens to us. So long as they can buy our products, weapons and equipment from the Merchants we sell to, they don't care who are the masters…be it us, or the demonic cultivators. They are too blinded by their apathy to realize that the demonic cultivators will cut off all trade and hoard all the weapons and equipment for themselves."
He clenched his fists angrily.
"What's worse is that…we have no choice but to continue selling our weapons and equipment to the Merchants. We aren't a self-sufficient dungeon, as you already know. We are forced to sell our wares in order to trade for other supplies such as food, clothing and other necessities. As you can see, farming land is scarce, we aren't much of hunters despite our guns, and we don't have a steady supply of water."
I said nothing, watching Crowley lower his head in frustration.
"In an ideal world, we would isolate ourselves, cut off all trade with the other dungeons – or the Merchants, since they are the middlemen – and place sanctions on them, but we simply can't afford to. And they know it."
Inwardly, I ran a few calculations, but then shook my head. Even with the algae farm and pumpkin patches, as well as pure water from the rivers in my dungeon, we wouldn't be able to fully supply the dwarven dungeons to feed their entire populations. It was frustrating, but the chairman was right. There was simply nothing we could do in the face of reality.
This was what most cultivation stories ignored, and what the existences beyond the fourth dimension are completely ignorant of. Logistics, resources and materiel. Empires didn't exist in a vacuum, and characters couldn't simply just isolate themselves or place sanctions just because they were offended. Even the largest sects weren't self-sufficient. They couldn't magically make resources appear out of thin air. That was why they couldn't go around massacring villages and offending entire nations for no reason. Sure, conquest was a real thing, but most authors didn't do their research and didn't realize the amount of manpower, materiel and supplies needed to mobilize an army for war. Most readers thought the protagonist could pretty much isolate his clan or kingdom from the rest of the world, but they were ignoring the logistics of reality, geopolitics, the limited resources of the kingdom itself, and other factors in play. The authors often handwaved such "boring" details away and had their God Mode Mary Sue protagonists go around wiping out entire clans and kingdoms without any repercussions, but obviously that simply wasn't possible in reality.
So when the existences beyond the fourth dimension read a story that took into account all these factors and logistics, they started screaming and whining like little bitches, demanding that the protagonist pull off unrealistic stunts and expecting him to be a God Mode Mary Sue who could resolve the crisis with a snap of his fingers and kill everybody who offends him because…well, escapist wish fulfilment power fantasies to the max, I guess?
Unfortunately, I couldn't afford to entertain such nonsense in reality, and so I had no way of helping the dwarves, as frustrating as it was. Even so, there was one thing I could do.
"We'll make sure to have a treaty of alliance, and help each other as best as we can in times of crises," I suggested. Crowley nodded.
"Yes. Thank you. You have proven yourselves in this war, risking your lives to help us. This gesture of friendship will never be forgotten. Our dungeons will have a solid alliance for the years to come."
He was careful not to say forever. I understood. Eternity was a long, fickle thing, and often, unexpected things would occur in the future to undermine what we had built here. Who was to say the next generations would be as loyal or trustworthy? As the saying went, there were no eternal allies and no perpetual enemies. Only our interests were eternal and perpetual, and we would act in accordance to those interests.
There was no point in making promises we couldn't keep, and both of us knew that.
We managed to agree on a price, which was neither substantial nor stingy. Just fair, in accordance to what most mercenaries got paid. And I was to share it with the were-beasts, who proceeded to tell me to use it to pay the rent for the next month or so.
"We fought because we wanted to," Lionel assured me. "So don't worry about payment. We wanted our revenge…and we wanted the enemy to pay in blood. We got it, and we're satisfied."
And with that, we returned to my dungeon two levels below. The dwarves were master builders and consummate craftsmen, so there was little we could do to help. Even my Construction Crabs would get in the way, and so we parted on amicable terms. The were-beasts led the way back, and within a couple of days, we found ourselves back in my Deep Sea Palace.
"What a rough week," I remarked to Jun Hai right after we teleported back to our home. "I didn't think we would win."
"But we did," Jun Hai replied with a laugh. "And against the Mystic Demon Sect, no less!"
"So what do we do from now?" Myria asked thoughtfully. "Surely the Mystic Demon Sect isn't the only demonic sect active in the Celestial Labyrinth or on the surface. Didn't we hear about the Blazing Sun Sect and the Moon Shadow Sect?"
"Yeah. But we have too little information on them. I don't know how to even begin. We should just wait and see until we receive more news."
"Good idea," Myria agreed.
"Speaking of news, there's one piece of information I just saw." Jun Hai was studying his smartphone. "Didn't you hear about the incident at the Lake of Fury?"
"No," I replied honestly. "Lake of Fury? Where is that?"
"It's in one of the inner cities, um, in Dong Jing City." Jun Hai tilted his head before grinning. "There's a rumored sighting of a Red Sea Dragon rampaging in the lake. The authorities are getting nervous because they are worried that it'll leave the waters and destroy the city next to it."
"Oh?" I was intrigued. I did want a Sea Dragon of my own, but they were normally blue. A red one was quite unusual, but it wasn't impossible. It simply fell into the same category as my shiny Charred Dragon, Xiao Huo Long. "I should check it out."
"If you do, please bring me along." Sylvie bowed her head politely.
"Yeah! I want to tag along too!" Silvia was excited. "I want to see what this Lake of Fury is about!"
"Probably a rip off from some pocket monster game," I muttered under my breath. "But we'll leave that plan for somewhere in the uncertain future. For now, I want to take a break."
"After all that fighting that we did this week, we should," Myria agreed.
"Yeah. I want to stop the story here." I stretched my arms over my head and let out an exhalation. "I'm kind of tired, and I think this is a good place to stop as any."
Everyone stared at me.
"Why?" Jun Hai blurted out. "You're…giving up here? But why?"
"Considering that I haven't been offered a contract, it's clear that Webnovel doesn't view this story as having commercial potential, and so it's a waste of time writing it. I might as well dedicate my time and effort to other more…fruitful endeavors." I shrugged. "This story is a lost cause. Most of it is because of my utter lack of skill in writing, and my tendency to erupt into irrelevant rants about cultivation stories, cliché and existences beyond the fourth wall. I recognize that I'm a horrible writer. As such…why should I bother continuing? I should focus my time and energy on something more fruitful…something that will actually bring me benefits, rather than hoping for an incentive that most certainly will not come."
"I heard rumors that you've been blacklisted by the content editors," Myria said sadly with a shake of her head. "Apparently, there have been a lot of complaints about your attitude, and they decided that you're more trouble than you're worth."
"I don't blame them. I'm not a pleasant person to be around, and I'm sure the existences beyond the fourth wall are quite fed up with my ranting and whining." I sighed. "Anyway, I've written more than enough. I'm done. If there's a possibility that I get something out of this…even if it's just a contract and four months of minimum guaranteed sum, then I'll return to my little adventures, but for now…it simply isn't worth the time and energy. I have other writing projects I want to focus on instead."
Turning to the barrier separating my reality from the fourth dimension, I bowed.
"Thank you for following me this far, and I apologize for wasting your time and everything. Still, I hoped you've enjoyed my rambling and nonsense, and…yeah, this is it. Bye!"