[D'sP] Shutting Them Down - Chapter 419

Ace sighs, that had been more of a meeting than he had planned for. Though really, it came back to the same thing it always did these days. Power and the projection thereof.

Ace shakes his head. It wasn’t like things were any different before the system came. The major difference being that the power tended to be purely a matter of political and monetary. Now, personal strength mattered once again.

He ruffled through some paperwork he left on his desk to look busy. Not to say that it wasn’t real paperwork. Ace had simply completed the work already.

Though two pieces attracted his attention. The raccoonkin’s offer to show him around their compound and the “two” dungeon bus companies saying they would like to book the dungeon for an entire day. That offer was easy enough to answer yes to. Ace just needed to schedule when he would go out to see the place.

The second one was a rarity in the fact that it was paperwork that still needed doing. Ace wasn’t an idiot and so easily recognized the hidden monopoly for what it was. The only reason he allowed it to continue with the charade was that it served his purpose.

By maintaining their monopoly, it prevented some slimier things that Jim had already seen forming right before they took over. After all, just because Ace allowed demon worshipers to live in the town, that didn’t mean he was an idiot. There were at least two cults active at this very moment that wouldn’t mind dabbling in some human sacrifice.

And you know what? A pop-up bus service could easily be used to vanish someone without notice. To stop such things would require Ace and his people to vet everyone trying to run such a service. All while still missing underground options. Or, turn a blind eye to someone taking control of things and choking out any attempts to compete.

Except this request was a big turning point. They had been booking blocks of time and on occasion the guards had been permitted to accept bribes for things like skipping the line. However, to book the dungeon for the entire day? That was too much, at least as currently stated. Ace had a solution for this, though.

Later on, Ace stands in front of the revelers. Kellinger stands next to him, channeling a simple spell. The purpose of said spell soon became obvious.

Ace talks to the crowd who find that no matter how loud it is or how far they are from him, his voice comes through clear. “I’m not going to ask you all to stop celebrating the new year. Don’t mind me, I’ll be quick.

“With winter and all, we’ve had a lot of fresh faces. Heh, might have to add another wall with how things are going. Anyway, the one downside is that many of you newcomers aren’t able to easily get to the sixth floor.

“Not the biggest problem, except as all the steakhouses show, our main protein is sourced from there. I must admit, goat might be a wonderful meat, but it isn’t a traditional dish for most of us and so strange. And with so many people having just moved, paying for food isn’t always the easiest.

“So, I want to devote an entire day to getting as many people to the sixth floor as possible. But wait, you say, if you can’t afford food, how can you pay for the bus? Well, I’m throwing open my coffers and in a week, the city will pay the fee. Not only that, but for the entire day, the dungeon will be reserved for this purpose.”

A large portion of the crowd is cheering him. Though there is a minority who clearly dislike this.

Ace gestures for people to calm down. “I know! An entire day? Some of you are celebrating as it means you might actually manage to catch a ride. Others? Well, that’s a day you can’t work.

“Except you don’t seem to be working right now. No complaints about this? Well, we won’t just be opening our coffers to pay for the bus. We’ll also keep the rest of you busy with a party. I know, it won’t replace the meat and money you could be earning, but it isn’t like most of you work every day of the week in the first place. Just move your scheduled day off to that day.”

This doesn’t fully mollify the crowd, but that hadn’t been Ace’s goal to start with. You can’t please everyone. He simply hopes that this was enough to keep those complaining to words instead of actions.

And it did. Well, there were technically a few bar fights. But those stuck to the generally accepted unwritten rules of no weapons or skills, which for adventurers meant basically the same thing. So with only a few broken bones, seven days pass.

Down in the dungeon, Doyle watches as things play out perfectly for him. The moment the town opens the portal for business, people rush inside, one group after another. With a few minutes in-between each group, it takes long enough that the first group can hit the sixth floor and then grab the next customer to go again.

Not that even together, the two companies have enough bus teams to run this many people. They had to hire temp workers and the seven days leading up to this was jam-packed with them testing said workers.

It all worked though and more new people cycled through the first six floors of the dungeon than any other time. And that holds true despite the fact that each team only has a single new delver, unlike normal days when entire teams of delvers might be new to the dungeon.

Doyle’s core couldn’t help but glow brighter as he reread a part of his contract with the Adventurers Guild. The wording was very technical and filled with lawyer speak. However, it had stuck in his mind and once he ignored the words, his instincts translated it.

The condition was simple enough. If a dungeon ever felt that too many people were hitting the same floor with only one or two new delvers to a group, it could be applied. In fact, technically, this condition should have already been triggered. Doyle was purposefully holding off on things until after the rush.

And so as night falls and the never ending cycling of teams does in fact end, Doyle loosens his grip on the condition.

Over in the Adventurers Guild hall, Jim jerks up. The paperwork he had been focused on is now forgotten. “Why did this trigger only now?”

In front of him, a system message informed him of a nasty change. Because of the recent event, the dungeon has been strained and now such tactics would no longer work. Well, technically, it could still work.

It was just that for a person to be considered as having conquered a floor? They needed to provide a decent percentage of the completion. And worse was that they had to have provided more towards the floor completion than the total of those who had already completed the floor.

This made five to one buses instantly unviable. It also included a kicker that would kick anyone back to floor one if they couldn’t actually manage their top floor. Jim rushed over to Ace’s office.

Ace looks up from his paperwork, eyes dull, “What’s the damage?”

Jim frowns, “You knew something would happen?”

Ace shrugs, “I’m surprised the dungeon had enough instances. Now don’t stall.”

Jim sighs and informs Ace of the change.

Ace nods, “Reasonable. I was honestly expecting worse. At least we know what changed. I expected you to have news about the last few groups vanishing or something physical to have changed within the dungeon.

“Now, this is sort of bad. The monopoly was a bit toxic, but they kept things in check. Now the only business in town will be the scammers. After all, they won’t let it not working anymore stop them.”

At the bottom of the dungeon, Doyle cackles. ‘Such a rarity! I actually got to use the guild agreement to my advantage.’

Ally shrugs, ‘Use being the operative word. Most things with deals like that are passive. Though even this is a triggered clause and so not really active either. You simply delayed it for the best effect. Before the conditions were met, you couldn’t activate it. Anyway, with that in place, are you going to make a new floor now?’

Doyle, ‘Hold your horses! Yes, we did a thing, but there hasn’t even been a chance for people to learn of the change. We have no clue how this will end up working.’

Ally shrugs, ‘Fair enough.’

Doyle, ‘Besides all that, it isn’t an instant fix in the first place. While the deal with the Guild will eventually kick people back to the start, it gives them a chance to prove themselves first. Even with the fact it favors me, that doesn’t mean it is one-sided.’

Ally, ‘Well, it is their agreement with us and not the other way around. Not that dungeon cores would likely ever come to such an agreement on their own. Besides cores like you, obviously. A core that was once a human or what have you, is much more likely to work out a deal with those around it. Just, that would be pretty self-contained.’

Doyle nods his core, ‘Even if I was talking to the town, I wouldn’t be making deals with anyone that wasn’t living in Wolf’s Rest. Doesn’t feel right if I think about extending further out, even if only in the political realm of things.’

Ally, ‘A dungeon extending their reach is the first sign of a rogue core. Cores are built from the ground up to extend through ever deeper floors. Always inward, never outward.’

Doyle, ‘What about my influence? That extends out from my core?’

Ally, ‘And has it really extended all that much as of late? Your influence affects the outside world in the same way a planet’s gravity affects the other objects around it. While you certainly have a good bit more control over where it extends, it isn’t like you can spawn monsters in it or deconstruct things.’

There isn’t much else to say. Not between Doyle and Ally, and not with Ace and friends up top. The change would have long-lasting impacts, but it was night and the information didn’t have a chance to spread.

And so night passes, then bright and early a ruckus forms outside of the dungeon. “What do you mean I can’t get carried to the sixth floor? I have the money! You can’t stop me and my five ‘friends’ from heading down to the sixth floor.”

The guard yawns. “Never said they couldn’t. In fact, you want to keep trying after it fails? Keep going! No skin off my nose. If anything, more money in our economy. We’ve simply been tasked with informing you of what happened. Not like we control the dungeon or anything.”

The other guard nods, “Jim got a warning last night. Seems we might have stressed the dungeon too much. You should be glad that we got a warning ahead of time. Would suck to pay for a ride, only to find yourself on the first floor next time you enter and not know why.”

The crowd does not like this response, especially with how it almost sounds rehearsed. Which to be fair, it practically is. The two had been having to repeat this ever since before the dungeon even opened. Those warning signs had been put up late last night and so people had more than enough chances to find out about it.

As far as the guards were concerned, things were actually quite peaceful. The people complaining were individuals and not the two dominant companies. Those people almost seemed too quiet. They hadn’t been warned or anything, so the quietness from them was almost worse. Their livelihood had just gotten snatched out from under them and they were out here yelling about it?

Year 1aa - Chapter 418

Not An Earthquake - Chapter 420