Chapter 385: Dungeon Shopping Spree [ 1 ]

With the expansion of the Adventurer Guild across the Evergreen Region finally approaching completion, Sage found himself with enough breathing room to turn his attention toward something he had wanted to experiment with ever since he properly understood one of the rewards the System had given him.

He was sitting behind the desk in his private office inside the Greyvale Guild Hall when the thought returned to him, and after staring at the regional map for several moments, he leaned back in his chair and silently called upon the System.

A familiar translucent screen appeared before him, and Sage moved through his abilities until he found the one he wanted.

He had used it enough times to understand how useful it was in combat and when examining mana, but there was one particular line in its description that had been bothering him for quite some time.

[ Aetheric Insight Eyes: A pair of ethereal eyes that grant the Host the ability to perceive mana flows within living beings, objects, and environments. Provides x10 passive mana regeneration at base level, enables predictive reading of magical attacks, and reveals hidden affinities within recruits as well as dungeon formations prior to manifestation. Perception range expands continuously as the Host grows stronger. ]

Sage’s eyes stopped on the same words they always did whenever he read the description. Dungeon formations prior to manifestation.

He slowly rubbed his chin while reading that part a second time, and the longer he thought about what those few words actually meant, the wider the grin on his face became.

Dungeons were one of the most valuable resources in Eldoria, but they were also notoriously difficult to predict. Most people only discovered a dungeon after its entrance manifested and the surrounding mana disturbance became obvious enough for nearby Mages or warriors to notice.

By that point, word usually spread quickly, and whoever controlled the surrounding territory would begin fighting over ownership.

Sage, however, apparently didn’t need to wait for any of that. If his Aetheric Insight Eyes could detect a dungeon while it was still forming, then he could locate it before anybody else even knew there was something worth looking for.

It was completely unreasonable, unfair to practically everyone else in Evergreen, and Sage saw absolutely no reason why any of those things should stop him from abusing it.

Two days later, Gregor found himself riding beside Sage along a forest road outside Riverdale City while Mina sat comfortably in front of Sage on his horse, humming to herself and swinging her legs as though they were going on a pleasant sightseeing trip rather than searching for one of the most valuable resources in the region.

They had already inspected Riverdale’s Guild branch that morning, reviewed its recent mission records, checked the training of several new employees and spoken briefly with Edwin Hale about branch operations.

Gregor had assumed they would return to Greyvale afterward, but Sage had instead led them several miles outside the city before abruptly stopping beside an ordinary stretch of forest.

There was nothing remarkable about the place as far as Gregor could tell. Trees, rocks, grass and an old hunting trail disappeared between the hills ahead.

Sage climbed down from his horse without explaining anything, and faint mana gathered around his eyes as the Aetheric Insight Eyes activated.

The world changed immediately. What had appeared ordinary a moment earlier became filled with movement that only Sage could perceive.

Thin streams of mana passed through the air like invisible currents, larger concentrations gathered around old trees and underground mineral deposits, while faint veins of natural energy stretched beneath the earth for miles.

Sage slowly turned his head, separating ordinary environmental mana from everything else until he noticed a distortion several hundred meters away.

Mana was flowing toward a single location beneath a rocky slope, but instead of dispersing naturally, it was being compressed inward, layer after layer folding around a growing spatial knot. To Gregor there was still nothing there.

To Sage, the unfinished dungeon might as well have been waving a giant flag and screaming for his attention.

"This way," Sage said as he started walking toward the slope, leaving Gregor staring after him before following with Mina.

They reached what appeared to be a solid rock wall, but Sage could already see the unstable space behind it, and after locating the forming core he followed the System’s guidance until they secured it before the dungeon could complete its manifestation.

The entire process took less than an hour.

Gregor stared at the Dungeon Core in Sage’s hand for a while before finally shaking his head. "That was ridiculously lucky. We came here to inspect a branch, walked into some random forest, and somehow found a dungeon that hadn’t even appeared yet. If you tell Boren about this, he’ll probably start digging holes around Greyvale."

Sage merely smiled and stored the Dungeon Core away. The first time could be dismissed as luck.

The second dungeon, discovered outside Stonebridge several days later, made Gregor considerably less certain. The third appeared near an old mining settlement.

The fourth was forming beneath woodland controlled by another Guild office, and Sage detected the fifth while they were traveling between two towns without even actively searching for one.

By that point Gregor had stopped congratulating him entirely. Mina, however, had become increasingly enthusiastic about the entire process and had started treating every new discovery like something they were purchasing from an invisible marketplace.

When Sage secured the fifth Dungeon Core, she crouched beside him with both hands resting on her knees and announced cheerfully, "Petty Uncle Sage, we’re really good at dungeon shopping."

Sage paused before looking at her, and a pleased smile immediately appeared on his face. "Dungeon shopping. I like that."

Gregor looked between the two of them with growing disbelief. "Of course you do. You’re both acting like we’re visiting market stalls instead of stealing dungeons from underneath everyone’s noses."

"We aren’t stealing anything," Sage corrected as he stood and dusted off his clothes. "Nobody owned this dungeon."

"Nobody even knew it existed."

"Exactly. That’s why they couldn’t own it."

Gregor opened his mouth, thought about the logic for several seconds and eventually gave up. There was absolutely no point arguing with Sage when he had already convinced himself.

Their strange journey continued throughout Evergreen.

They visited Guild branches under the perfectly legitimate excuse of regional inspection, and Sage genuinely did spend time checking operations whenever they arrived.

He spoke with Branch Guildmasters, reviewed problems, inspected training areas and listened to reports before leaving the city and activating the Aetheric Insight Eyes.

Unfortunately for every noble in the surrounding territory, his inspection tours had an increasingly suspicious habit of ending with another Dungeon Core disappearing into Guild ownership.

By the time Sage discovered yet another forming dungeon outside Silvercrest, Gregor finally stopped beside him and stared at the core in his hand with an expression somewhere between confusion and exhaustion.

"Guildmaster, answer something honestly for me. Dungeons are supposed to be rare, right? I haven’t somehow misunderstood that my entire life?"

"Very rare," Sage replied casually while examining the core.