After talking with Alfia, Lars slept. His exhaustion needed good, old fashioned rest and sleep.
The next day, the xenos gathered and it seemed thay they still voted for Lyd, Gros, and Ray to be their leaders.
They were intelligent monsters, but monsters nonetheless. And strength's importance was at their very essence.
"Lars-chi, I heard that people name their cities. What shout we name ours?" Lyd asked him with excitement.
His tail was wagging from left to right. And he was actually raising some dust.
"Lyd, stop your tail from going crazy!" Ray coughed from the dust.
"Ohh, sorry about that." Lyd stopped and Gros snorted with a small smile on his face.
"It's a very human tradition, but I don't mind." Gros was being a tsundere and Lars looked at him weirdly.
'A tsundere gargoyle... It doesn't look cute at all.' Lars deadpanned at the gargoyle.
"Well, how about we keep it simple?" Lars rubbed his chin in thought.
"Monstro, it rolls of the tongue. And in an archaic language, it means monster. A city of monsters." Lars shrugged.
"Monstro..." The xenos started whispering to each other.
And it was a place that they could call home. Their very own community that won't hide against other people.
"Monstro huh? I like it!" Ray smiled and Lyd nodded.
Gros then nodded. He embraces his nature as a monster. And it wasn't some fancy name that humans like.
"So, Lars. What do we do next?" Ranye tilted her head in question.
"First, we abuse the hell out of the dungeon's tendency to regenerate." Lars pointed at the farm lands they made.
And the crops they planted were already ready to be harvested.
"But even if we hoard them, won't they just get spoiled?" Ranye raised a point.
"That's a really good question." Lars smiled at her and he took out one of his favorites, the square tomato.
'Tch, this would be really good with some mozarella, olive oil, salt, and pepper.' He thought of useless things before he gave it to her.
But the xenos just had questioning gazes. "That has been harvested months ago." Lars smiled and they were shocked.
"What!? But that's impossible, Lars-chi. That fruit just lasts for a couple of days at most." Lyd recognized it.
Ranye then bit into it and it was still juicy as hell. Like it was just picked from the vine.
"This is as fresh as it can be." Ranye was confused and she even thought he was lying.
"I have a separate space that can store things. And guess what? Time doesn't flow there." He had a grin on his face.
Everyone was shocked except Alfia who thought that Lars will be the ultimate supporter.
And he doesn't even want payment, you just pay him in goods through drops and magic stones.
"And even if I'm not here, nobody will starve due to the regeneration of the dungeon." Lars pointed once again at their farm.
"But what about our task of getting as many magic stones in the colosseum?" Gros raised his hand.
"That huh?" He looked at Alfia and she shrugged, basically saying he think of a reason himself.
"Taxes..." Lars' face suddenly went stone cold and the xenos didn't understand.
"It's the equivalent of a tribute. This is our place after all. And Alfia will be protecting you guys from unforeseen invaders." Lars explained patiently.
'Not until I speedrun this dungeon and get as much exp as possible though.' Lars squinted his eyes and a yellow light almost formed on his back.
A faint symbol of a toad formed on his back, but it disappeared, for now.
"Ohhh, smart. So you'll be like our storage for emergencies? And there will be tons of food that won't go bad." Ray nodded at his genius.
"Yes, we can also store a lot more than that. For example, I can buy armor and weapons from the surface." Lars smirked.
The xenos started whispering and that would be a game changer. Monsters are already a struggle to fight with natural weapons and armor.
What if they wield and equip armors and weapons made by the smiths of Orario?
They will basically be unstoppable, it's insane how much stronger they will be.
"That's why you guys are also tasked with getting as many magic stones and drops from the colosseum." Lars closed his eyes.
Looking like he was about to say something really important. "We need money! In order to establish a city! We should be rolling in it!"
"To arm everyone, to buy the necessary armor and weapons. To protect ourselves! So that your brethren and sisters won't die to the monsters and adventurers!" Lars hyped them up.
'This guy... He sure knows how to trick people. Well, it's true anyways.' Alfia rolled her eyes.
"And in order to do that, I need to sell drops and magic stones on the surface. Then, I'll buy materials to make a fortress! A home where everyone will be safe!" Lars grinned as another symbol formed on his back.
The sin of greed, Avaritia. The xenos cheered and they were especially motivated now to kill as many monsters as possible.
Now that they know it's for the city, everyone was burning in desire.
"We'll divide it into three parts. One is for taxes, one is for the construction of the city, and the last one is for armors and weaponry." Lars finished his speech and the xenos ate it up.
'Heh, too easy.' Lars felt like a politician. "Won't I be a good politician, Alfia?" He looked at her and she chortled.
"Yeah, you little twerp. How are you so good at riling them up?" She snorted at his skill.
"These guys don't desire to go to the surface per se. They want a home, a place to return to. A place they can call their own." Lars looked at the cheering xenos fondly.
"Monsters attack them, humans will hunt them down regardless of their intelligence... What they want is a place in the world." Lars nodded sagely.
"And who am I to not indulge them? After all, we will both benefit from it. It's a win-win situation." He shrugged.
"That's a good way to hide your intent of using them." Alfia rolled her eyes.
"Sure, I am. But I'm giving them something that they want. It's a transaction, not a scam." Lars huffed at her.
"Yeah, yeah, keep on going with this pyramid scheme." Alfia teased him.
"Hmph, you better shut up or else." Lars squinted his eyes. "Or else what?" Alfia raised a brow.
"I'll tell everyone here that you like hugging me when you sleep." He had a grin on his face.
They share a bed, it was inefficient to make another one after all. It's also big enough for them to have a spot for themselves.
Except Alfia always reaches out to him and hugs him tightly like a teddy bear. Lars emits a lot of excess energy due to consuming magic stones.
And the dungeon is cold at night. Alfia sucked in a cold breath. "You wouldn't dare..."
"Try me, woman." Lars stood his ground. They stared at each other for a moment and she yielded.
"The great incarnation of talent, defeated by me. Lars Johansson, I've made history." He laughed like a maniac.
"I'll skin you alive if you tell anyone." Alfia squinted her eyes and he started sweating.
"Enough of this, will you go to the surface now?" Alfia raised a brow at him.
At most, he'll just be treated as a disabled kid in Orario. He doesn't look strong, nor capable.
"Nah, I need to accumulate strength and wealth... My arm is slowly combing back as well." He looked at his left arm that was a stump.
"Good choice, Orario is a dog eat dog world. You're too weak to fight against adventurers. At least the 1st class ones." Alfia reminded him.
"I know, thanks for telling me, captain obvious." He rolled his eyes.
"Why you, your noise is getting annoying." Alfia assaulted him once again as she squeezed his fractures.
"Ahh! I give! I give! I'm sorry!" Lars apologized immediately. "That's what I thought." Alfia huffed at him.
"Hah, hah, not the injuries. You're being unfair." Lars rubbed his fractures.
"Hmph, everything is fair in war." She rolled her eyes.
"Hey, Alfia. Do you have a thing here called chemistry?" Lars asked and he thought of that thing that would help tremendously in a siege.
Bullets. "Chemistry huh? It's a field of science no? It is underdeveloped, adventurers and gods prefer alchemy and potions." Alfia got curious about why he asked.
"I know that look on your face... Fine, fine, I'll tell you. See, mixing chemicals will give us a very important thing called gunpowder." Lars had a smirk on his mug.
"Guns? Those muskets? You can barely kill a level 1 who wears beginner gear with that." Alfia remembered that countries outside Orario has something like that.
"No, heavens no. Muskets? Hmph, the thing in my head is like a level 10 mafia boss against a level 1 thug." Lars thought of the higher caliber rounds.
And if upper tier adventurers can get killed by some claws and bites. Then bullets will definitely injure them.
The only problem now, is he doesn't have a fucking clue on how to make them.
What he knows is that their major components is nitroglycerin and nitrocellulose.
But explosives using black powder will suffice for now. He wants to give the xenos an advantage against adventurers.
And having an infinite supply of bombs while controlling a choke point will make their fortress unbreachable.
"I'll need to experiment on how to make them though... You see, I've seen guns work and I think they can improve a lot." Lars quickly gave an excuse.
"Suit yourself, I think it's a useless endeavor." Alfia shrugged.
"Ohh, you'll see. What I'm envisioning can fire spells that can pierce through steel plates. Hundreds of times a second." Lars had a grin on his face.
If some adventurer fuckers want to mess with them, then they'll be in for a grand old time.
"Hey, Alfia. Are there alchemists in Orario?" Lars asked because he wanted to check with them first.
If he could buy ammonia and sulfuric acid first. Because he doubted that they know how to oxidize ammonia to turn it into nitric acid.
And sulfuric acid is a pretty well used solvent. So potion making might use it. Potion makers and alchemists are kind of like chemists. Magical chemists.
"Hmm, there are of course a lot of them in Orario. Especially those who sell potions. It's in demand all the time." Alfia answered.
"Can I go to the surface? Get some ingredients? I need to experiment first in order to make the perfect defense weapon." Lars gave her the puppy dog eyes.
"The guild won't buy your goods for the retail price." Alfia raised a brow at him.
"Don't worry, it's not like I need a lot of money. And I have a story for them. Say that I'm a proxy that's tasked with selling." Lars shrugged.
"And if they still want to get some info, then I'll just dip out of there." Lars explained and she sighed.
"You really want to make that thing in your head, huh?" Alfia rubbed her temples.
"Then let's go. I'll sell all the magic stones and you'll be my supporter." Alfia sighed at him.
"Really? Thanks for that." He hugged her with his one arm and she recoiled. After all, the xenos can see them.
"Get off of me, your noise is annoying." Alfia pried him off of himself.
"Then I'll inform the trio that we'll be fetching things in Orario." Lars ran around to find the first xenos.
To tell them that they'll be going on an expedition.
Lars already knew what to do and he raised his arm. "Come on, my noble steed. Onwards!"
Alfia's vein almost popped in annoyance and she bonked him on the head.
"I'm not your steed, you little punk." Alfia strerched his cheeks like it was rubber.
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Thanks for reading everyone, ciao.