The planning for the secret realm over the next period was complete.
Kanzaki Ren decided to further develop his territory.
At present:
Remaining resources:
Mental Energy: 597
Material Essence: 751
Soul Crystals: 784
After careful consideration, Kanzaki Ren proceeded to construct five basic buildings in succession.
[Watchtower], 50 Soul Crystals, Adventurer Capacity +0.
[Warehouse], 50 Soul Crystals, Adventurer Capacity +10.
[City Wall], 100 Soul Crystals, Adventurer Capacity +0.
[Mercenary House], 200 Soul Crystals, Adventurer Capacity +25.
[Soldiers' House], 200 Soul Crystals, Adventurer Capacity +25.
Defensive and war-oriented facilities such as watchtowers, arrow towers, and city walls did not increase adventurer capacity. Their sole purpose was to protect the territory.
The moment Kanzaki Ren confirmed the construction of the city wall, the surrounding earthen walls were weathered and disintegrated by an unseen force. In their place rose a ring of far sturdier stone walls. The length and width of Miracle City expanded to roughly six to seven hundred meters.
The watchtower's function was quite good.
It could detect the presence of Dark-type creatures within a two-thousand-meter radius.
However, there was no need to build this kind of early-warning structure inside Miracle City.
After all, Miracle City was currently impregnable. It was better placed at the Red Rock Mountain Camp.
That location effectively served as the frontline against the Umbral City.
Kanzaki Ren estimated that within the next day or two, the Dark Goblins would definitely make a move. As long as Dark creatures appeared nearby, he would be alerted immediately and could respond at once.
This round of construction also added a new Warehouse, a Mercenary House, and a Soldiers' House.
The Warehouse was exactly what its name implied.
A place for storage and retrieval.
Not only could it store and retrieve materials, it could also store and retrieve Essence Souls.
A Tier-1 Warehouse could store up to 500 cubic meters of materials and 1,000 strands of Essence Souls, while extending the preservation period of all stored items by 50%.
It was a core unit of logistical infrastructure. All warehouses within the territory were interconnected. Any warehouse could store or retrieve materials. In the future, once their numbers increased, they would form a territorial logistics network. This made it an extremely practical piece of infrastructure.
As for why Miracle City already had a Mercenary House,
why build another one?
A Tier-1 Mercenary House only added 30 temporary worker slots.
Just the assault on Red Rock Mountain Camp alone had mobilized 27 mercenaries!
If an even larger operation were launched, that number would clearly be insufficient. Preparations had to be made in advance.
All of the basic facilities that came with the dungeon core could be built without blueprints. Aside from the Secret Realm Crystals, which were a special case, other facilities technically had no hard construction limit. However, they came with extremely strict hidden conditions.
Among them, functional facilities,
although unlimited in number, would increase in cost.
And with each additional building, the cost doubled.
The first Mercenary House in Miracle City had only cost 100 Soul Crystals, but the second cost 200. Any future upgrades to the latter would also consume double the resources, making the cost extremely high.
Therefore, in theory,
there was no limit on quantity.
But in actual operation, cost-effectiveness had to be considered.
Some mature territories had built more than ten Mercenary Houses, but they usually had a clear hierarchy. Only the main facility would be prioritized for upgrades.
Finally, there was the Soldiers' House!
This was not for ordinary adventurers.
It was a barracks built for contracted adventurers and exclusive adventurers.
These adventurers, deeply bound to the dungeon, were part of the territory's regular forces.
They were different from temporary workers. They could make better use of territorial power, and through the Soldiers' House, they could be converted into city troop units.
There was no quantity limit.
No Essence Souls were required.
And it was completely free.
As many contracted adventurers as there were, that much combat power could be generated every day.
The Soldiers' House also provided resurrection counts. A Tier-1 Soldiers' House allowed up to 10 resurrections per day. Even if combat units converted from adventurers died, they could be resurrected again from the Soldiers' House by consuming a certain amount of resources.
With these facilities in place,
Miracle City was not only more functionally complete,
but its adventurer capacity was also further increased.
The Adventurer Inn plus several major basic facilities raised the population capacity by 100 + 60.
Before this, Miracle City's total reception capacity was only 160. This round of construction effectively doubled it to 320!
Another 100 Soul Crystals were spent.
The number of Secret Realm Crystals increased from 20 to 40.
This wave of construction consumed a great deal. Only 84 Soul Crystals remained, and the financial situation was already extremely tight.
"Very good! Very good!"
Kanzaki Ren swept his gaze across the territory. In less than eight days since the city's founding, and only five days of operation, it had already accumulated a respectable foundation.
Among rookie lords, unless they were born into top-tier families or were second- or third-generation heirs with massive pre-existing resources, it was simply impossible to compare with Miracle City!
Of course.
Even with a background,
the only thing they could bring was a large pile of Soul Crystals.
Resources like Mental Energy were non-tradable.
Whether a dungeon succeeded or not ultimately depended on the lord's own talent and inspiration.
Kanzaki Ren was filled with confidence in Miracle City. Becoming the greatest dungeon lord had always been his dream, and he would continue moving forward toward that goal without stopping!
…
One building after another rose from the ground.
Leaving the two residents living in the city utterly stunned.
The dwarf boy Arno said in admiration, "So this is the power of a dungeon lord? Grandpa mentioned it once before, but seeing it with my own eyes is still shocking!"
Nancy Lia murmured, "Our lord is definitely not an ordinary lord!"
This was a lord with no background or faction support, who had started with nothing but the clothes on his back… yet through his own talent and effort, he had built the dungeon to this level in just a few days!
Unbelievable!
Perhaps this territory,
was the hope she had been desperately searching for.
The light in Nancy Lia's eyes grew brighter and brighter.
She decided to calm herself and observe Miracle City more closely.
More than anyone else, she hoped to see this poor-born lord succeed. She hoped this small Miracle City would rise, because it might become the only hope of defeating the Eternal Night Dragon King!
…
The next day.
Early in the morning.
Upon entering Miracle City.
The Blackstone Hammer King was instantly stunned by the scene before him.
"What's going on?"
"Why are there so many people?"
"This is at least twice as many as yesterday, right?"
In front of Miracle City's gate, heads were packed tightly together. At a glance, there were nearly three hundred people, almost double the number from the day before.
"Lord Kanzaki is incredible!"
"Just yesterday we were complaining that his territory was too small, and today its scale has nearly doubled!"
"I told you Lord Kanzaki has enormous potential. He was bound to develop at an unbelievable speed!"
"Nice!"
"Worthy of the dungeon I chose!"
"With this kind of growth rate, I feel even more at ease about Miracle City!"
"…
Miracle City officially opened.
Adventurers flooded toward the main hall at sprinting speed, once again immersing themselves in the secret realm world. Those who failed to grab a first slot mostly gathered to watch, while a few wandered around the city to learn about the dungeon's new changes.
Pig King: "Holy crap! An inn!"
Nekomi Momo: "Lord Kanzaki really does know what he's doing!"
The Adventurer Inn looked very plain. It was a two-story stone building resembling a fortified residence, with a central courtyard and a total of fifty rooms.
The inn provided lodging services.
Even without returning to the surface world, adventurers could recover their stamina and spiritual energy.
This not only made participating in dungeon activities more convenient, but also spared them from lining up again to enter the city the next day.
"Honored adventurer, welcome to the inn. Would you like to check in?"
Arno had been arranged by Boss Kanzaki to handle reception at the inn's front desk.
Wool Warrior: "How much for one night?"
The dwarf boy replied, "Our prices fluctuate daily. At present, we offer three payment methods: Soul Crystals, Essence Souls, or Contribution Points."
After speaking,
he displayed the price list.
One night: 5 Contribution Points.
Or any 1 Essence Soul material, or 10 Soul Crystals as payment.
Soul Crystals and Essence Soul materials were hard currency on the surface world. That option was clearly for wealthy adventurers. Ordinary people would not even consider it.
Pig King: "Five contribution points a day? It's a bit pricey, but if it guarantees daily entry, sometimes bidding in the queue costs that much anyway. Totally acceptable!"
Wool Warrior nodded. "Miracle City is getting more and more popular. Queue prices will only keep rising!"
"Exactly!"
"Staying in the territory."
"Priority in task selection."
"It guarantees we get missions."
Miracle City's Contribution Points could only be used within Miracle City. The more supporting facilities and services there were, the higher the value of contribution points became. This, in turn, incentivized adventurers to hand in resources and participate in territorial missions.
"Open a room for me!"
"I want one too!"
"I'm staying here tonight!"
"Hahaha, Miracle City is great and all, it's just a bit quiet!"
"Let's get some booze and meat and hold a bonfire party in the inn's courtyard to liven this place up!"
"Great idea!"
"…
[Adventurer "Nekomi Momo" has checked into the inn. You recovered 5 Contribution Points!]
[Adventurer "Pig King" has checked into the inn. You recovered 5 Contribution Points!]
[Adventurer "White Fawn" has checked into the inn. You recovered 5 Contribution Points!]
[…]
At this moment, Kanzaki Ren was resting in the lord's residence. Seeing the notifications, he was a little surprised. Adventurers were already checking in so quickly?
Not bad!
He continued scrolling through the notification panel.
Mental Energy +1!
Mental Energy +1!
Mental Energy +2!
…
Soul Crystals +1!
Soul Crystals +1!
…
Zombie Essence Soul +1!
Zombie Essence Soul +1!
Rider Essence Soul +1!
Exploder Essence Soul +1!
…
Watching the rewards refresh nonstop felt incredibly satisfying.
Today, both the number of Secret Realm Crystals and challengers had nearly doubled, so the resulting gains were naturally higher.
In addition, as adventurers' experience and intelligence increased, their survival capabilities had improved significantly.
Yesterday, everyone had been wiped out in just over six hours.
Today, they fought continuously for ten hours.
At this moment,
a single notification
caught his attention.
[Adventurer "Raging Chick" obtained a "Witch Zombie Essence Soul" from the Frenzy Tide Secret Realm. Your Mental Energy -30!]