Shortly after the discovery of Dragonite crystals and a mysterious dungeon in the mines, the news spread across the nation, reaching every corner within weeks. The news brought much discussion within all of the citizens of Austronesia.
Every broadcasting network was talking about the discovery, and everyone was debating about the discovery of the valuable Dragonite crystals and the news of the dungeon, which spread like wildfire.
The most controversial part of the debate centered on whether they should venture into the dungeon to harvest the newly discovered valuable resources, with the potential to transform the entire country into something great, or prioritize securing it. Many were highly cautious about the dangers, repeatedly reminding everyone of the horrors they endured during the New Year Tragedy.
And that topic is currently discussed in the government.
"So, what exactly is a dungeon?" Emperor Julian Maximo asked as his eyes were wandering around the office of Floria Melian Shelberry they made for her.
The room was a curious sight, filled with oddities that might be found in a museum, haphazardly arranged on the shelves. Ancient tomes and scrolls made from animal hide were crammed into every available space imaginable.
Melian, seated behind her desk, furrowed her brow in thought about the question as she sipped her tea.
Right now, Emperor Maximo decided to not communicate with the Elf Queen through video display, which is getting boring, so he and other government officials decided to visit her in person. Right now, he is lounging on the sofa with his legs crossed while two of his guards, armed with Heavy Machine Guns, stood vigilant by the door.
Though such weapons posed no real threat to a being of Melian's caliber, and despite the fact that she was their greatest ally, the guards remained cautious.
"Hmmm, well a dungeon, or labyrinth, is a construct left behind by the gods," Melian explained, "To be exact, it is an ancient spell the gods used to forge their strongest warriors."
The humans in the room grew alert as they absorbed her words.
"Are there really gods?" one man groaned skeptically. "Or just people with power like everyone else in this damned world?"
Melian's expression remained calm as she replied, "That depends on your perspective and how you define gods or goddesses. We revere Rasera as a Goddess because she's woven into our culture and guards my family's bloodline. Of course, that is unless another deity dares to interfere in our affairs." She dismissed the man's blasphemous tone as she continued, "To give you a brief understanding, there was a civil war among the gods thousands of years ago, vying for dominance over the heavens, you know, all the usual divine drama."
"During the war, the gods split into three factions, those who defended the established order in heaven, the other who wanted change and challenged the old regime, and the neutral gods who simply sat by the fence and watched the show from the sidelines."
"Massive armies, forged from both magic and mortal recruits from the mortal realm, waged war among themselves under the gods' commands," Melian appeared to be giving a lesson in history to the humans. "But what the two warring sides didn't realize was that the neutral gods were observing and learning as they began creating these dungeons and labyrinths to forge the perfect soldiers, capable of advancing from Level 1 to Transcendent-Tier 3 in less than a year."
"And when the time came when both parties were weakened, the supposedly neutral gods attacked with their armies, crushing all opposition from both sides and ending the war, which at the same time, destroyed the whole continent in less than a week as a result."
"So, you're saying these dungeons were created by gods?" one scientist asked, eyebrows raised in disbelief, hearing such things that he would consider ridiculous stories if he heard it back on earth, "Even the people?"
"In a way, yes," Melian nodded. "The magical creatures you see now are the descendants of the gods' armies. As for us, we are the children of the gods, carrying a small fraction of their power."
"Wait, hold up," a government official interjected, "I've heard that during the war of the gods, the Orcs suddenly appeared, and from what I've gathered from one of your elven people, none of the gods in this world created them. So how did they come to be?"
Melian thought carefully, "If my sources are correct, they first appeared after a massive rock from the Celestial Sea, what you humans call a 'meteor' from 'space', crashed into a small unfortunate kingdom. The impact destroyed everything, from the ecosystem to all its inhabitants. Then the Orcs began wreaking havoc, moving from one kingdom to another, then across continents, seemingly drawn to the war as if it was the cause of their arrival."
"Wow," Emperor Maximo spoke up, intrigued by the lore, which sounded like a mix of myth and fairy tale. "But the question is how do the dungeons fit into this? How do they work to create the best warriors?"
"Oh, I'm not entirely sure," Melian admitted with a sheepish smile. "All I know is that it's a maze where creatures constantly battle, and the victor is chosen by the gods."
"Wait, that sounds familiar," a member of the general staff said. "Isn't that similar to the Japanese Kodoku? Or what the Chinese call Gu? Except for poisonous insects, monsters and Magic Beast are used instead?"
"Now that you mention it, it does sound similar," Emperor Maximo frowned. "So we've got an ancient construct from a god sitting in our backyard. Great..."
"Kodoku? Gu? I'd love to learn more about them," Melian said with interest. "And you're searching for more sources of mana stones, yes? Well, the monsters inside the dungeon will drop mana stones after getting defeated."
"What?" The humans cried out in unison. "There's something so convenient?"
"Yes," Melian confirmed. "Each dungeon or labyrinth has a heart, it's basically a massive mana stone that attracts the dead spirits of creatures. It requires a large, abundant supply of magical energy, like a fey line, for this to happen."
"A massive magic formation is created at points where magical energy was naturally gathered, and this powers the dungeon heart," she continued, "Using these energies, the dungeon heart will use the spirits of creatures it gathers, forming bodies and bringing them to life with flesh and blood." She frowned slightly. "As to how it all originally worked, you'd have to ask the ancient gods."
"Does it act as a kind of magnet to attract spirits and souls? That's incredible!" a researcher exclaimed. "I can't wait to study it! Or perhaps possibly inventing soul-manipulating weapons or technology!!"
"I'm not sure that's such a good idea, Doc," a military officer cautioned. "How deep or large might the dungeon be?" he asked the Elf Queen.
"I explored a few dungeons in my younger days," Melian said proudly. "Depending on the magic source, they can range from three or four levels underground to a hundred! In my kingdom, there were a couple of small dungeons mostly used by adventurers for monster hunting."
"For this dungeon, I suspect it should be around 10 to 15 levels deep," she estimated. "We'll know more once we explore it."
"Wait, so the dungeon has creatures inside, what happens if we kill everything?" a staff member asked. "And what if we remove the dungeon heart?"
"Oh, most countries forbid the removal of the dungeon hearts," Melian explained. "Even if all the creatures inside are defeated, they will reappear, usually taking two days or more. Adventurers normally use dungeons to hunt for materials and items from monsters this way, and the country with the dungeon charges an entrance fee."
"So, the monsters respawn?" A scientist's eyes gleamed with excitement. "Does that mean we can continuously farm the monsters for mana stones and other resources?"
"Yes," Melian nodded, "But the treasures and magical artifacts don't respawn once taken out of the dungeon."
"Wait!" Emperor Maximo interrupted, "There are treasures and magical artifacts?"
"Of course!" Melian nodded again. "The gods used treasures and artifacts to entice mortals and creatures to join their armies in the past, so it's common to find them stored inside dungeons."
"As for the heart," she continued, "Removing it will destroy the dungeon. The monsters wouldn't respawn anymore, and the dungeon would become a lifeless structure. So, if you want a constant source of mana stones, I strongly advise against touching the heart."
"Great..." Maximo muttered, glancing at everyone, who exchanged grins. "Should we lock down the dungeon first to prevent anyone from entering until our forces clear it first?"
"Well, you could charge a fee for anyone willing to enter the dungeon," Melian shrugged. "That's how it was done normally."
"How difficult would the dungeon be?" one member asked again. "Do many people die exploring a dungeon?"
"That depends on the dungeon type," Melian replied. "
"Also, it does get harder the deeper you venture into the dungeon, especially if you encounter champions or even bosses inside. Some dungeons are notorious for mechanical traps and devices."
"There were many deaths in the past until adventuring guilds tend to assign a grade to known dungeons, from F-Class to S-Class, with S-Class being the hardest and containing Transcendent Tier 2 creatures or above," Melian continued. "This grading system helped reduce the number of death casualties greatly, as the guilds also assign a rank to each adventurer, so they know the approximate difficulty level they can handle."
"They have champions and bosses?" the same scientist asked, his excitement barely contained as he then turned to Emperor Maximo. "Your Majesty! I request permission to join the exploration team!"
Maximo shook his head. "It's too dangerous, and you all know it."
"I've been in a dungeon myself when I was younger," Melian interjected. "It was alright, my father and I fought against some undead creatures, and one might have been a Lich."
"Your Majesty, you're not helping," Maximo muttered, shaking his head.
"Hahaha," one staff member laughed. "Oh, your Majesty, let the troops assess the danger level first. If it seems manageable, then we can organize a team to enter the dungeon. How does that sound?"
Maximo nodded. "Yes, and your Majesty, no, you don't get to go either. You still have important work to do."
Melian pouted. "Fine. What about Odysseus? He's a strategic genius, and I could send him along with the team."
"I think that's fine," Maximo sighed. "Alright, so to sum it up, this dungeon can provide us with a steady supply of mana stones, along with the possibility of finding treasure and magical artifacts. But we don't yet know what grade the dungeon is."
"How do the guilds grade dungeons?" he asked further.
"By the number of levels and the types of monsters," Melian explained. "Generally, a dungeon less than 5 levels deep is F-Class, a dungeon up to 5 levels deep is E-Class, up to 10 levels is D-Class, up to 25 levels is C-Class, up to 50 levels is B-Class, 100 levels is A-Class, and anything deeper than 100 levels is S-Class."
"So you estimate our dungeon to be D to C-Class?" Maximo asked, and Melian nodded. "Great! So, who wants to form a party?"
"Me! Me!" most of the scientists shouted.
"That's still a no," Maximo sighed, knowing all too well why they were so eager to join. "Alright, onto the next topic, how are the test results on the Dragonite crystals?"
"Oh, I'll say they're beyond what we imagined," one of the scientists explained. "Despite the size of an egg, each crystal holds revolutionary power. Just one could alone potentially power an entire major city for decades, probably far surpassing nuclear energy, though that's still theoretical."
Maximo nodded in satisfaction, "Now we have discovered a new type of energy resource, we need to solve our gunpowder issues."
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Unidentified Location, Unidentified Location, Unidentified Location, Unidentified Location
1st Year of the New Age, Monday, 1st Week, 3rd Month Of Abraham.
Within a thousand-meter-tall meteorite that had rested among nature for millennia, was a hidden city, which is none other than the stronghold of the Orc Horde.
Isolated from other kingdoms, this place was a fortress of terror. Despite the countless attempts by powerful kingdoms to obliterate it using their most powerful magicians, every effort ended in inexplicable failure somehow.
In the vast throne room of the giant meteor, a giant, ten-feet-tall, green-skinned brute sat on a skeletal throne full of pokey bits or spikes.
This was an Orc Warboss, a monstrous killing machine of sheer power and malice, a monster at the Transcendent Tier-2, who had that massive grin that split his face as he reveled in his supposed invincibility.
"MUAHAHAHAHA... *Snort*... HAAHAHAHA!" he chortled proudly that echoed through the chamber. "None kan stop 'da might uv me! 'da mighty Goreaxe Strurruilk! MUAHAHAHAHA!!!"
The thunderous cheers of thousands of Orcs filled the room as they clashed their weapons, sending sparks flying as their war cries reverberated through the fortress.
Meanwhile, the "Weirdmeat Boyz," as they called them, were engaged in unspeakable atrocities, violating countless women who had the misfortune of falling into their hands. Not even the young were spared from their depravity.
Though many Orcs despised these vile acts, knowing they would displease the God of War and their culture only for war and bloodshed, not these things they are committing, they turned a blind eye, driven by the desperate need to bolster their dwindling numbers they somehow notice.
Strurruilk leaned back on his throne, wincing internally from a particularly sharp poke from a piece of metal jabbed into his back, but he kept his face expressionlessly, as befitting a king!
He reached over and picked up a joint of a roasted human male and ripped the juicy flesh off with his teeth as his people had a celebration feast on countless different meals from human flesh, elf, magic beast, their own, and literally everything, which depended on the spoils they got from countless ships and lands they invaded.
Inwardly, however, Strurruilk felt a pang of annoyance. A goblin had just returned with unexpected news. Initially, he assumed the 'Panzees' (elves) had defeated his army again, but what the goblin reported surprised him.
The goblin claimed that while they were patrolling a certain ocean area, they had left briefly before BAM! Only to return and discover a new land where none had existed before.
Strurruilk didn't know what to make of this mysterious land, but he suspected it might be a sign from the mighty War God! If not, perhaps it was related to those other puny 'gods' of this world, that they've been hearing from these little legs for many moon counts. Either way, he felt assured that his people were still mighty!
With centuries of experience behind him, Strurruilk knew when to seize an opportunity. This unknown land could be conquered like all the others by his big army! For even the divine could not kill an Orc blessed by the Mighty War God!
"Send Jiak 'da Skullkrusher! Get 'dat land an' let 'em tell me wot's 'n 'der!!"