The moment of inauguration had arrived. I thought it would be a quiet day with few visitors.
However, when I arrived at the dungeon, there was a small line of people waiting, some carrying equipment, others in casual clothes.
Seeing this, I hurried to open my "shop."
"How does your dungeon work?"
Many seemed genuinely curious about dungeon mechanics, as only Awakened individuals with the ability to fend off monsters could access such places.
Or rather, the ability to reach where a dungeon is located.
"I charge $20 per person for a two-hour session inside the dungeon, or until death, whichever comes first."
"Isn't that a bit steep?"
After revealing the pricing, it appeared that some ordinary folks were discouraged.
"Well, whether it's expensive or not depends on your perspective."
"How so?"
"For just $20, you have the chance to become an Awakened as well, without the risk of losing your life. Well, I'm not sure how it works in other dungeons, but in mine, you have the option of using it privately."
Upon saying this, some Awakened individuals clearly showed interest, but with traces of doubt.
"So, you mean you'll only accommodate one group or individual at a time? And anyone else wanting to use it has to wait?"
"Well, one of the functions of my dungeon is that I can use the dimension-splitting feature, which allows me to accommodate three groups at the same time."
"Is there a limit to the number of people in the same dimension? And what monsters are available?"
It became apparent that certain individuals were already considering the dungeon's profit potential. It was to be expected; a good dungeon for Awakened individuals is a dungeon that generates money. Who would risk their lives if not for the sake of money and wealth?
Well, I know a few people who would, but they're crazy, and their number isn't that large.
"As we're just starting out, we recommend a maximum of six people in a group. As for monsters, since I'm working together with another dungeon master, we have four different monster types available: goblins, slimes, wolves, and kobolds."
When Rick installed his dungeon, he received two different mobs from mine. Moreover, he acquired the Transmorf talent, granting him the ability to metamorphose into other species and utilize their traits. For example, assuming the form of a wolf enhances his sense of smell and hearing.
After explaining how everything works, making sure to showcase what else we have to offer for those who are waiting their turn or are here just to look around, the assistant attendants took over the responsibility of receiving visitors. They also collected the entrance fee and granted access to the dungeon.
While I was explaining, the rest of the group arrived.
"Hey, buddy."
"Quite busy. I thought we'd have fewer people due to the name of the place."
"Well, does anyone have a better name idea?"
"If you're keeping the fox in the name, how about 'Fox Shelter'?"
"Sounds better than the current name. Anyone have a better suggestion?"
"Nope."
"Simple and practical."
After a bit more conversation, each of us decided to do something, whether it was attending to people or engaging with the public to gather feedback.
(System, can I change the dungeon's name?)
[Host, please visit the dungeon shop tab.]
I had almost forgotten about this function. There's also the chat option; I accessed the chat yesterday. It's a chaotic place, but with some patience, you can gather interesting information. Apparently, acquiring a hero is achievable either by recruiting an external individual for 500 dungeon coins or utilizing the random hero summoning option for 1000 dungeon coins. However, that's a topic for another occasion.
An extensive list of items and skills, along with their prices, appeared in front of me.
Rejuvenation Pill, Immortality Pill, an elixir that cures everything, Excalibur sword, the ability to travel between worlds, the power to create life—among several unimaginable things. However, each item came with an astronomical price tag.
(System, show me only the items I can afford right now.)
The list began to shrink, and more common items started to appear.
Since I spent money renovating and adding things to my dungeon, I only have 150 coins at the moment.
While looking at the list, a few items caught my attention.
{Name Change Item: Allows you to change your dungeon's name once – 10 dungeon coins}
{Common Contract: Allows you to hire individuals to work for you. Workers perform tasks in exchange for compensation, and the contract allows the individual to receive dungeon benefits – 5 dungeon coins}
{Mana Sense Skill – Enables the perception and manipulation of mana – 20 dungeon coins}
{Evolving Sword – With use, the weapon gains the ability to evolve by killing monsters – 150 dungeon coins}
{Mob Gacha – Unlocks a random creature – 100 dungeon coins}
The advantage of the contract is that if I use it on people, it counts as their participation in the dungeon, allowing them to benefit from my talent as well.
I decided to buy five contracts, the name change item, and the mana sense skill. While the other items interest me, I don't have enough coins for them.
With the mana sense ability, I can now perceive particles in the air that I didn't notice before. At the moment, I can't manipulate them; I'll need to practice before I can do that.
After changing the dungeon's name, I decided to use the contracts. They worked for everyone except Rick; it appears the contract is inadequate for his circumstances.
The day passed without any issues. In the afternoon, I visited the dojo.
"Welcome. To start, let's warm up—run for five minutes."
As I was running, I noticed differences in my body. Normally, I would be more tired. After running and performing a few other warm-up exercises...
"Very well. Let's move on to practicing kicks. Stand with your feet hip-width apart, partially flex one foot, and raise the other leg, delivering forward kicks. I want 30 kicks with each leg."
While performing the kicks, the instructor provided instructions, indicating if something was wrong and how to correct it.
"Well, now let's do 3 minutes of jabs and straights. If you're right-handed, left leg forward; if you're left-handed, the other way around. Punch forward with your non-dominant hand."
"Alternate with a punch from the other hand, flexing the back foot and rotating the knee."
After going through some basic movements and correcting them, he began doing shadow boxing with the students, asking them to perform the moves in various sequences.
With each passing moment, I feel that I'm absorbing the movements better, and as a result, the instructor is speeding up his instructions.
"Very well, are you sure you've never practiced anything before?"
"That's right, this is my first time."
"I had originally intended to focus on teach you only basic movements until you got used to them, but since you've shown potential, we can advance your training."
The rest of the class involved him demonstrating various kicking and punching techniques.
"Practice these movements at home. During the classes, we'll see how you perform them and integrate them into combat."
"Thank you, master."
After taking a refreshing shower, I reviewed the dungeon's results for the day.
"Good job, everyone. Thanks for covering for me in the afternoon."
We had a total of 30 visitors that day, with 16 of them being regular folks interested in fighting monsters for the first time. Some did well, others not so much.
As it was their first time experiencing the sensation of dying, some needed psychological support to cope with what happened. Fortunately, no one was traumatized by it.
"Thanks for the hard work, Beca."
"I appreciate it. I'm getting paid for it, and I even got some extra clients."
At the end of the day, I obtained 128 dungeon coins. Of these, 25 came from the daily generated value, 75 from the deaths that occurred within the dungeon, and the rest from the time people spent inside the dungeon.
If things continue like this, completing missions will be easy. Also, this number of visitors wasn't just in my dungeon; reaching 100 visitors won't take long.
"By the way, what do you all think about challenging the dungeon too? I've tried it, and the feeling is exhilarating, especially the sensation of getting stronger."
"Why not? But not today; none of us have equipment, and everyone's tired. Let's plan to go together another time."
The shop itself doesn't require many people to operate; only the assistant attendants are needed to keep things running.
However, due to their small number, besides collecting entrance fees and receiving visitors, they can't perform many tasks.
As a result, the generated profits are somewhat lower. But since we're doing this more for hobby and extra money, we're not too concerned.
Upon establishing working and off-days, we agreed to rendezvous and challenge the dungeon during the weekend.
Using the dungeon coins (DC) I earned, I made some changes to the master's room, making it feel cozier and more welcoming.
To avoid what happened last time, I asked for Livia's help. Together, we planned a bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, and living room. It turned out much better than my apartment.
It turned out so well that I'm thinking of moving and living in this room. After deciding to do so, I brought my things and vacated the apartment.
Since the master's room is in a different dimension, I don't have to worry about space. As long as I have enough DC, I can do whatever I want in there.
You might wonder how I'll use the kitchen, bathroom, and signal while being in a different dimension. Well, magic.
Issues like electricity and water can be solved with magic, simply by converting mana into any of these resources.
This is common nowadays—prominent magical items entail a fusion of technology and magic. Albeit, such products tend to be considerably pricier.
That's because they use monster cores to function. And these cores are one of the available monster loot items.
There are theories that they are the organs responsible for storing mana and enabling creatures to use magic.