As it has been a long time since I entered the dungeon chat, I decided to open it up and take a look at what's happening.
[DM Handsome: Looking for a girlfriend, requirements: be pretty and over 5'1", interested, send a DM]
[DM Skeleton: Here he comes again, I bet he's handsome in name only]
[DM Flying Shark: Right? It's not the first time he's appeared in the chat]
[DM Lazy: Anyone in Canada know someone looking to work as a hero in a dungeon?]
[DM Merchant: Selling store items in exchange for money]
[DM Loli: Selling foot pic packs]
Chaotic as always, just a few messages I managed to catch quickly already made me regret opening the chat. Well, I'll keep looking a bit more, maybe I'll find something interesting.
After thirty minutes of procrastination, I mean, looking at the chat, I found something interesting.
[DM Dwarf: Has anyone else unlocked the option to mine and collect in the dungeon?]
[DM Elf Lover: Is that possible?]
[DM Make Love, Not War: I was going to give up on this dungeon thing, but when I saw that you could use the dungeon without having to make the monsters fight, I changed my mind]
[DM Part-Time Worker: What????? And do you guys manage to make a profit doing this???]
[DM Dwarf: I do, I left the mobs defending the locations, so people have to collect while defending themselves]
[DM Part-Time Worker: Do you charge for using your dungeon? How much is it?]
[DM Dwarf: I sell the right to use the floor to companies and the government]
[DM Magnate: Because of this, I don't like the poor, they could use this and sell on their own company]
Interesting, I think I need to study better what can be done within the dungeons.
After thoroughly exploring, I discovered several different functions that I hadn't noticed before, like the collection function, the time distortion function, the ability to choose which floor you've visited before, and some other functions. And that's just a part of what I managed to see.
I decided to buy the time distortion, this function allows me to spend two hours challenging the dungeon while only 30 minutes pass in the real world.
This allowed me to accumulate dungeon coins much faster, enabling me to buy the second floor much more quickly.
I decided to do something different, instead of creating another cave, I took inspiration from Rick's dungeon and made it themed as a forest. However, I made it always nighttime and allowed for resource collection.
For this, I had to buy resource spawns like fruits and some herbs. In doing so, I found different herbs than what we're used to, like herbs of life, herbs of mana, and other herbs with medicinal characteristics.
Also I put the new mobs scattered around the forest, several water elves, skeletons and some wisps. Creating a slightly frightening atmosphere and environment.
I spread them throughout the floor, just waiting for someone to notice and collect them. I'm waiting for Alexandra to finish creating the app so I can talk and announce the specifications offered by my dungeon.
Until then, whoever discovers it first can take advantage of a small monopoly if they want.
*******
"Welcome."
I decided to help out front and found Mateus receiving people and explaining what we have available.
The assistants are showing results from what we were teaching them.
Now they're capable of offering simple massages, helping to cook and preparing simple dishes, as well as providing some emotional support for those facing monsters for the first time or who have had their first death experience.
People's mindset has become quite strong after an almost global crisis.
But not everyone finds it easy to accept the situation.
While I was doing a round in the area to make sure everything was fine.
"Hey, do you work here?"
I was stopped by a man who had a tired and hopeless expression.
"Yes, what do you need?"
"I wanted to know if you're hiring."
"What can you do?"
"A bit of everything."
"What can you do that would make you be hired?"
"I'm a blacksmith, I can create metal weapons and armor."
As he said that, a trace of doubt and strangeness appeared on my face. The profession of blacksmith is a well-paid job and never lacks for work.
Sensing my doubt, he continued.
"I used to be a blacksmith in a fairly large and popular sect. One day, I found one of the main elders cheating on his wife. When he saw me, he got angry and kicked me out. Moreover, he used his influence to prevent others from hiring me."
"Wait a moment."
With my smartphone, I created a forge room and placed all the materials I think are necessary.
"Follow me for a moment, I need to see how your work is."
Leading him to the prepared room, he looked around and told me what was missing and what he needed.
After letting him do his work, I decided to activate the time distortion only in that room.
Meanwhile, I finished checking the entire first instance. As I was returning to check on his progress, I accidentally bumped into someone.
"Sorry, I wasn't paying attention to where I was walking," Alexandra said while fiddling with her phone.
"No problem."
"Jeff, is that you? Look at this, I was looking at and testing the app, see how it's coming along."
Along with Alexandra, I went to the forge room while testing the app. According to her, it needs a bit more time to be ready, but it's already possible to test it.
"Sorry about Luna, and thank you for agreeing to go with her. She was really happy."
"And how about you?"
Alexandra said something very quietly, in an almost inaudible tone, which I couldn't hear.
"Sorry, what did you say?"
"Nothing, nothing."
"Speaking of which, help me evaluate a potential employee."
Arriving in the room, I returned the time distortion to normal when I entered.
There he was, with a focused look, staring at a dagger, as if searching for imperfections. Completely disconnected from his surroundings, so much so that he didn't notice we entered the room.
Deciding everything was fine, he took it to the workbench and began to carve and add details.
Realizing it would take a bit more time, Alexandra and I decided to give him more time. When I left, I activated the time distortion once again.
"Very focused. If the product turns out good, I'm in favor of hiring him."
"Let's wait and see."
We continued testing the app, and in the meantime, I decided to help her and give suggestions.
After a while, the man left the forge room with the dagger he had just forged.
Everyone who was available decided to take a look at his work and the result. After all, it's not every day that we find a blacksmith who supposedly worked for a popular sect.
While we were waiting, I decided to research him to see if I could find any news about him.
After a lot of searching, I found a news article from a year ago, where a blacksmith was expelled from the Order of Fortune sect, but the reason wasn't mentioned.
He was all sweaty, his expression still tired, but improved, with traces of pride.
"I ended up losing track of time, sorry. It's been a while since I forged something."
He said as he handed me the dagger as if he were passing on a treasure.
The dagger looked more like a work of art. At first glance, it seems like a simple dagger, but upon closer inspection, you can see the amount of detail on the grip, which features a rose design. These details, however, don't hinder the grip.
The sheath was made of wood, with various lines resembling petals.
Drawing the dagger from its sheath revealed a gleaming blade with no imperfections.
While we thought it was an incredible piece, we asked for help from an experienced awakened individual to test the dagger.
After testing the dagger in the dungeon, he had nothing to complain about, and even praised it as excellent work. He asked if we were selling the dagger.
"The choice is yours. We've agreed to hire you. Come by tomorrow to discuss the conditions and the contract."
When he realized we were going to hire him, he thanked us and almost cried.
He told us that since no one was hiring him as a blacksmith where he knew, he started doing various different jobs, but they didn't pay well and were exploiting him.
He also told us that as a result, he has very little time with his family, even though his wife is doing everything to help him. He was feeling useless for forcing his wife to work more and burdening her while they have a young child.
When he left, it was as if a great burden had been lifted from him. Instead of a tired expression, his face carried an expression of happiness and hope.
We just didn't have time to explain that he didn't take as long as he thought, nor about the time distortion, as I had forgotten that detail when I was talking to him.
We decided to prepare all the materials he might need during his work.