CHAPTER 56: Loot Calculation at Silas's

The heavy, rune-engraved oak doors of the dungeon’s main entrance creaked open on their rusted iron hinges, admitting a crisp, midnight breeze that swept away the lingering stench of ozone, burnt sulfur, and melted basalt. After the suffocating, three-hundred-degree heat of the sixth decade and the crushing atmospheric pressure of the Molten Abyss on the sixtieth floor, the cool night air of Oakhaven felt like a pristine, deeply refreshing wave across my skin.

I stepped out onto the cobblestone plaza, my hands loosely tucked into the side pockets of my black coat. My modernized Vessel, now permanently anchored by the golden-sapphire furnace of my newly awakened Pyrite Core, hummed with a quiet, motionless density. The energy pathways inside my flesh felt completely unburdened, handling the massive throughput without a single micro-fissure, spasm, or thermal flare. The upgrade to the second-tier core had elevated my operational ceiling by three hundred percent, transforming what used to be a violent, agonizing katorga into a silent, effortless hum.

Shnee walked half a step behind my right shoulder, her Celestial Silver rapier sheathed cleanly at her hip. Her posture was relaxed yet lethal, her pale blue eyes scanning the dark rooftops, moonlit bell towers, and narrow alleyways of Oakhaven with silent, effortless vigilance. On my left pauldron, Kaede perched comfortably in her blue, slime-coated spider form, her small legs twitching as she processed a steady stream of tactical data.

"Czujniki czyste, szefie!" Kaede's cheerful ping echoed in my left ear in our native Polish operational cipher. "Zero gwardzistów Kaelara w promieniu pięciuset metrów! Po tym, jak rozjechałeś ich posterunek pod bramą i przetrąciłeś ten ich śmieszny herb wilka, reszta jego chłystków zaszyła się w koszarach ze strachu! Oakhaven jest czyste jak łza!"

"They aren't hiding out of discipline, Kaede," I replied calmly, my voice barely carrying above the rustle of the night wind. "They're waiting. A regional count doesn't simply absorb a total humiliation at the city gates without mobilizing his primary garrison. Kaelar is consolidating his forces."

"Let him consolidate," Shnee remarked softly, her voice cool and melodious as a crystal bell. "If he brings five hundred men or five thousand, the result will be identical. They are merely minor obstacles to be cleared before our permanent relocation."

We made our way through the quiet, dimly lit streets toward the Golden Griffin. The town of Oakhaven was eerily silent. The news of the gate guard's complete annihilation and the utter destruction of Vane's squad had spread through the district like wildfire. Local merchants, guild masters, and independent adventurers had long since retreated behind locked doors and barred shutters. Nobody wanted to be caught in the crossfire between a ruthless, greedy noble house and a monstrously powerful, black-coated sovereign who walked through fire and steel without breaking a sweat.

When we pushed open the heavy oak door of the Golden Griffin, the warm, comforting scent of roasted venison, baked bread, and rich, aromatic pork-bone broth washed over us. Silas was sitting at his usual corner table, surrounded by towering stacks of parchment, ledger books, iron-bound chests, and brass scales. His hands were trembling visibly as he dipped a quill in ink, his face pale and sweat-beaded under the warm lantern light.

Mina and Elena were behind the counter, carefully packing silver utensils, heavy clay jars, and fine porcelain into padded wooden crates.

"Dave!" Silas gasped, dropping his quill and jumping to his feet so fast he nearly overturned his heavy oak chair. "Merciful heavens, you're back! The entire town is in an absolute panic! Kaelar's senior commanders sent express riders to the provincial capital four hours ago! They're calling for heavy cavalry, iron-clad vanguard units, and siege mages from the regional crest garrison!"

"Good," I said smoothly, walking over to the main table and pulling out a chair. "That saves us the trouble of hunting them down individually across the province. A consolidated target is always more efficient to clear."

"Szefie! Dajesz, pani Eleno! Potrójny ramen i gęsty boczek!" Kaede chirped loudly, leaping off my shoulder onto the polished wooden surface and waving her front legs enthusiastically. "Pięćdziesiąty dziewiąty i sześćdziesiąty poziom roztrzaskane w pięć minut! Reaktor Pyrite Core działa na rześkie czternaście procent obciążenia, a brzuszek pusty jak stodoła na wiosnę!"

Elena smiled warmly, a rare look of genuine relief softening her sharp, experienced features. "It's already hot and ready, Kaede. I knew you'd be back before midnight."

Within minutes, the table was loaded with steaming bowls of thick, pork-bone Tonkotsu broth, tender slices of seared venison, salted pork belly, and fresh, crusty bread. We ate with mechanical, highly efficient focus, replenishing the calories consumed during the descent. My Pyrite Core digested the incoming nutritional mass instantly, converting raw calories into pure, dense energy that circulated smoothly through my widened conduits.

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While we ate, I unbuckled a heavy leather pouch from my belt and tossed it onto the table in front of Silas. The pouch hit the oak surface with a deafening, metallic thud, spilling dozens of glowing purple cores, bars of refined liquid silver, and chunks of runic obsidian across his ledger books.

Silas froze, his eyes bulging as he stared at the mountain of high-tier dungeon loot.

"Sweet mother of gold..." the merchant whispered, his fingers trembling uncontrollably as he reached out to touch a purple core the size of a melon. "This... this is an absolute fortune! This single pouch is worth more than the entire annual tax revenue of Oakhaven! Where did you even get this much refined silver and runic obsidian?"

"Floors fifty-one to sixty," I answered simply, taking a slow sip of cold spring water. "Consider this the initial war chest for our relocation. I want you to liquidate thirty percent of the lower-tier cores through your discrete channels in the capital. The silver and runic obsidian stay with us—we'll need them to reinforce the structural foundation and barrier matrices of our new headquarters in Crossgard."

Silas swallowed hard, nodding frantically as he pulled a ledger closer. "Crossgard... yes, of course! My merchant caravans are eighty percent packed. I've secured forty heavy wagons and hired thirty trusted guards from the local merchant guild. But Dave... Kaelar's men haven't given up. They've set up a heavy military perimeter along the northern trade route toward Crossgard. They've fortified the old toll station at the Iron Gorge with two hundred heavy spearmen, forty arbalestiers, and three heavy ballistas!"

"A toll station," I mused, a faint, cold smile touching my lips as I set my glass down. "How thoughtful of them to construct a bottleneck for us. A fortified gorge eliminates the need for flanking maneuvers."

"Płatność za przejazd będzie w ołowiu i szafirowym prądzie, szefie!" Kaede cheered, crunching happily on a piece of salted bacon. "Żadnych zniżek dla szlacheckich puszkarzy! Przeprofilujemy ich toll station na stertę gruzu!"

"Eat your fill, Kaede," I said mildly. "Tomorrow morning we clear the northern trade route, collapse Kaelar's perimeter, and establish our permanent presence at the gates of Crossgard."

"The caravan will be ready to move at dawn, Dave," Silas added, his confidence visibly returning as he stared at the glowing purple cores. "With this kind of capital, we won't just buy a manor in Crossgard. We can purchase an entire estate overlooking the central plaza and build a private workshop that will make the Royal Academy jealous!"

"Tell me about the political landscape in Crossgard, Silas," I requested, leaning back in my chair. "I prefer to have a complete profile before entering a new jurisdiction."

Silas leaned in closer, dropping his voice to a low whisper. "Crossgard is completely different from Oakhaven, Dave. It's a grand trade metropolis controlled by three primary factions: The Merchant Senate, which dictates trade tariffs; The Iron Guild, which controls the upper dungeon access; and The Shadow Syndicate, which operates in the lower undercity. Count Kaelar has influence here in Oakhaven, but in Crossgard, his noble title means very little. The Senate only respects gold, and the Iron Guild only respects raw martial power."

"A three-faction balance," I observed calmly. "Triangular power structures are inherently unstable. They collapse as soon as an external force disrupts their revenue streams or resource supply."

"Precisely," Silas agreed, his eyes flashing with mercantile ambition. "And with sixty cleared dungeon floors, your team will be the most valuable asset in the entire city. The Iron Guild has been stuck on the forty-fifth floor for six months! When they see the quality of our runic obsidian and liquid silver, they'll fall over themselves trying to make a deal."

"We aren't making deals with guilds, Silas," I corrected him coldly. "We are establishing our own sovereign entity. The Iron Guild can buy our excess loot at market price, or they can step aside."

Shnee placed her glass on the table, her pale eyes reflecting the ambient lantern light. "And what of the dungeon beneath Crossgard itself? Does it connect to the same subterranean network?"

"It's the same abyssal rift," I explained, my analytical mind mapping the geographical data. "The dungeon beneath Oakhaven is merely an eastern entry point. The sector under Crossgard leads directly into the seventh decade—the Abyssal Vaults. That is where the real monster density and ancient mana nodes reside."

"Then tomorrow we sweep Kaelar's toll station, escort the caravan to Crossgard, and claim our place at the top of the food chain," Shnee concluded quietly, a razor-thin smile gracing her lips.

"That is the plan," I affirmed.

After dinner, Shnee and Kaede retired to their quarters to conduct the final checks on our equipment crates, supply packs, and armor seals. I remained in the main hall for a while longer, standing by the tall bay window and looking out over the quiet, dark rooftops of Oakhaven.

My analytical mind processed the strategic landscape with quiet, non-negotiable logic. Oakhaven had served its purpose as a temporary staging ground, resource node, and training facility. The first volume of our campaign was nearing its absolute conclusion. With sixty dungeon floors cleared, a fully stabilized Pyrite Core, and a loyal, lethal team at my side, the regional politics of a petty count were nothing more than minor noise on our radar.

Crossgard was the true objective—a massive, fortified trade metropolis sitting atop the deepest, most dangerous dungeon sector in the kingdom. That was where our true sovereign territory would be forged. And any noble house, provincial warlord, or corrupt guildmaster who attempted to stand in our way would simply be liquidated, removed, and erased from the ledger.

I turned away from the window, my black coat sweeping smoothly around my heels as I headed up the stairs toward my chamber. The shadow over Oakhaven was about to lift, and the era of Crossgard was about to begin.