When the dungeon finally stopped shaking, Moloch looked at the monitor in front of the metallic ball to check available options he had for building things. “Updated blueprints needed before consideration of building,” The monitor displayed its answer.
“Say, if we are still in the building process since this is currently an empty plot of land, wouldn’t we be very vulnerable to attacks?” Jin questioned now that he had seen just how massive the area of land they had been bestowed was. He had asked the Magpie Queen to send a Magpie to fly from one end of the dungeon space to the other. It had been five minutes… the magpie familiar had yet to return to Que Er.
“Ah, don’t you worry. The dungeon core has already set up a barrier to ban hostile forces from coming in. Even if they somehow manage to brute force their way through, they would be randomly teleported to another Dungeon Fortress, Wild Dungeon, or Dungeon Town Fortress.” Moloch replied.
“We have about three months or so before the barrier goes down. In the meantime, adventurers who wish to come here and trade will still be permitted and Monsters that want to live here will be given permission as well.” Moloch added.
“But there are so many administrative things to sort through. Three months is not enough!” Jin questioned Moloch once more but he just shook his head. “Never enough. In any case, you mentioned that you had specific housing requirements?”
“I will introduce you your adviser that will take charge in telling you the things that I want.” Jin beckoned Peppers to come forward and formally introduced her to Moloch.
“Peppers, I know that I have already given you a task to read and understand the weakness of every cultivator as well as how to improve them. Initially, I wanted you to be a teacher like Zeru, helping with the classes, conducting lectures, etc. However, I believe that you are needed as a special adviser here more than anything right now.” Jin placed his hands on her shoulders and gripped tightly. He knew that she had just woken up from the use of her signature spell but life had to move on.
“What do you need of me?” Peppers asked as she rubbed her eyes.
“I need you to learn the various bureaucracy systems on our earth and try to explain to Moloch here that the Feudal System is not as efficient as he believes it to be. After which, I need you to implement a political system here. Also, find the flaws in modern-world political systems and make some modifications before introducing them here. There will be lots of paperwork to do.” Peppers lost it upon hearing paperwork. It meant that she could do research and apply her theoretical work into practice!
“Understood, I will get right to it-” Jin stopped Peppers from finishing her sentence.
“No, rest for today. You have already done great.” Jin said as he asked Milk to bring Peppers away.
“I do not think I can deal with city management alone… It’s not that I do not trust Moloch but the placement of buildings is of great importance. Maybe I should pay ‘her’ a visit too.” Jin thought to himself. He believed it would be better to seek professional help when it came to city management.
“Who are you thinking of?” Yun asked as Jin’s thoughts didn’t specify a name.
“Just an old friend… in the civil engineering and district development sector.” Jin quietly sent his thoughts to Yun and she could feel a sense of loneliness coming from him.
“Anyways, Moloch. I am going back to my world for now. Once you have gathered all your followers that arise from the dead, use this key. It should provide you more solace and comfort in comparison to sleeping on the empty ground of a dungeon.” Jin passed a key to Moloch, which was a time limited access to a guest room in the Sanctum of Worlds since Jin had yet to create a proper space for them to stay. Perhaps, he did not need to create a room for them to stay seeing as housing was soon to be built in the Dungeon City Fortress.
He probably also had a lot going on in his mind for he knew how hard it was to create a city from scratch. Too many simulation games instead of studying or properly planning his life during his university life made him realised the pains of creating and maintaining an actual city. By no means was Jin an expert though, and he recognised that. He knew that with the System backing Moloch up, everything would be fine. He was now glad that he had done what he did by stuffing the phone into Moloch, no matter how unconventional.
Eventually, Jin bid farewell to his new monsters and saw that it was already 5 am in the morning, courtesy of his storage watch. “Perhaps I should get some proper sleep in my own house for once.” Jin thought to himself and then he realised he had yet to thank everyone who had participated in the battle.
Well, sure, he could just go back home and pretend that this was just another day… But no. These monsters were, in a way, his workers and today they had done a fabulous job. Jin knew that he himself could never have hoped to achieve what they had done today alone. Heck, he had even seen how those minotaurs from the Dungeon World had tried to fight against the behemoth and applauded their bravery against such terrifying foe.
So instead of going back to the real world, Jin decided to enter the Sanctum of Worlds and visited each individual room in order to thank every monster personally. Needless to say, the monsters were already ecstatic to receive praise from their master, but having him personally enter their instance to thank them individually? It was an honour for them.
Some even started talking about their experiences against the minotaurs and the bull behemoth. Oh, but the zombies? Jin did not really know how to make them feel appreciated other than turning all the rides on and asking Peppers to throw some fireworks for the zombies to look at in their ever black skies.
While the humanoids and humans had all played major roles in the dungeon fortress, Jin knew that the unsung heroes of this dungeon run were definitely the zombies. They may not be heavy hitting but they sure kept all the enemies, especially the behemoth, occupied.
“You know, technically, you can find more humanoids or humans to aid you, and not just your new city but for the dungeon store too. A blacksmith and a proper maintenance crew for Mechataur are all valid options.” Yun said as she casually talked to Jin alongside other humanoids.
“As if I have the time to find these people when I already have to take charge of the store. I can’t just leave the store because I want to do other stuff.” Jin suddenly had so many things to do that he felt a little overwhelmed.
“Maybe you should start reducing your work hours so that you have more time on your hands,” Yun suggested to Jin but his only reaction to her suggestion was his furrowed brows.
“What do you mean? Won’t that lead to less money earnt? Is that not undesirable for the System?” Jin asked once they were back in the shop.
“If you use it wisely, I think that the time would be well spent. Currently, you are working in the from afternoon 1 to 10 pm, sometimes it even drags till 11 pm. That is roughly 10 working hours, which is longer than most shops’ opening hours.” Yun opened the side gate of the storehouse and held the door open for Jin.
“Not to mention, you have hardly taken any breaks these past two weeks. You have practically been working nonstop and if it weren’t for your cultivation, you would have broken down a long time ago. This is rather unhealthy.” Yun added.
“So you are saying that…” Jin pondered for a while before Yun answered for him.
“That you need better time management. Manage your time, otherwise, there is no way you can manage both your dungeon supplier as well as your new city.”
“Well, that’s kind of true. I’ll see what I can do.” Jin then paused and wanted to ask Yun why he would need a real blacksmith when the System was already selling armour, weapons and general supply items. In the end though, he just continued walking.
“Perhaps, I will do that when I have a clearer head. I am just too tired to discuss anything right now.” All Jin could think about right now was a pillow for his head. The effects of the potions might have kicked in a long time ago but the body still needed rest.
And he did sleep when Jin reached home. Just a bit too long.
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