Thud!
A beer mug slammed onto the table. Amidst the splashing foam, an adventurer pulled out a card of extraordinary quality and slapped it down.
The card was only the size of a playing card, its back featuring a complex pattern of overlapping diamonds.
On the front, within a border formed by diamonds, was a depiction of a skeletal lizard set against a white background.
A white monster card: skeletal lizard!
The monster card immediately drew the eyes of every adventurer present.
Ten days had passed since the first monster card was discovered. By now, these adventurers had long since figured out the purpose of such cards.
Contracting with monsters! By using a Summoning Blessing Mark and consuming mana, one could summon monsters to fight!
Furthermore, the monsters within the cards could be nurtured to increase their power!
According to information purchased from monster merchants, monster cards could even evolve into higher-level monsters!
Some adventurers had already obtained Summoning Blessing Marks from ruins in the desert, successfully contracting and summoning their monsters.
Monster cards were extremely rare, and every single one was currently worth a fortune.
Obtaining a monster card was almost equivalent to finding a small pile of treasure.
“I’m not a mage. 100 gold coins, or 1,000 dungeon copper coins, or 3 magic crystal coins!”
“Whoever can pay, I’ll trade right now!”
The adventurer held up the card.
A skeletal lizard card wasn't particularly precious, yet its price could still reach the staggering amount of 100 gold coins.
Common monster cards discovered so far included undead lizardmen, undead snakes, wood soldiers, and gargoyles.
A more rare and precious white card was the wood armor monster.
Not only were wood armor monster cards scarce, they were in such high demand that almost no one would sell them.
A wood armor monster could augment the holder's strength, heal them, and even resist attacks.
As the wood armor monster's level increased, these abilities would improve accordingly.
Just yesterday, a violent incident had occurred within the town.
A first-rank swordsman had attacked a first-rank mage and stolen a wood armor monster card.
The culprit was currently wanted, but because they had masked their appearance, no one knew what they looked like.
Because of this incident, everyone in town was now incredibly cautious with their monster cards, keeping them hidden and not daring to show them off casually.
This adventurer only brought his out for sale because he had let the alcohol in the tavern get to his head.
“100 gold coins is a bit too expensive.”
“A skeletal lizard's combat ability is too poor; it's not worth that much. 75 gold coins, and I’m a serious buyer.”
Someone immediately stepped forward to haggle.
“Screw you! You say a stealthy scout monster is useless? Get lost, you piece of trash!”
The adventurer snapped back with a curse.
The man who was cursed didn't get angry, instead continuing with a smile.
“A skeletal lizard is only useful in desert regions. Once you leave the desert, it really doesn't cut it.”
“How about this? I’ll take a bit of a loss and offer 80 gold coins.”
“Loss my ass!”
The adventurer insisted on 100 gold coins, and everyone who came forward to haggle was greeted with a barrage of insults directed at their ancestors.
Before long, a row of people haggling had gathered, and the air was filled with the names of grandfathers and grandmothers being invoked in the shouting match.
Just then, the ground suddenly shook, and a wave of chaotic shouting drifted in from outside.
The crowd of adventurers grew tense.
“What’s happening? What was that noise?”
Someone poked their head out of the crude tavern, only to see rows of soldiers running frantically toward the gates of the wall.
If it were a monster attack, the reaction shouldn't be like this.
The town was well-established now, and monsters from the sixth floor were essentially no longer a threat.
“The Caiman Knight Order has been heavily damaged! Report this to the higher-ups immediately! Elves are ambushing the knights in the lower floors!”
“It’s very likely Zeno's subordinates are retaliating against the Grey family!”
What!?
That Zeno had appeared again.
By now, Zeno had become synonymous with disaster in the Northern Territory.
Especially after the events in Gray City more than half a month ago, news of which had long since reached the Well of Eternal Imprisonment.
If it weren't for the Forbidden Fire and the monster cards, Zeno would likely be the only topic of conversation in the tavern.
Zeno and a member of the Horned race named Feiwan had openly stolen important treasures from the hands of the Grey family and the Prince's men in Gray City.
They had even activated a treasure grade magical artifact, the likes of which adventurers only heard about in legends.
Now, half the people in the Northern Territory turned pale at the mention of Zeno's name.
The Grey family had even placed Zeno and Feiwan on a high-priority kill list, dead or alive.
The adventurers peeking out from the tavern looked at each other, their eyes filled with shock and a sudden, inexplicable fear.
The Well of Eternal Imprisonment was likely about to face another upheaval.
However, with the knight order already damaged, what other forces could the Grey family spare?
Currently, the Gray Mist Valley in Gray City was the focus of the struggle between those two giants.
“What exactly happened in the deep layers?”
“Who cares? That’s for the big shots to worry about. Small fries like us can’t do anything about it anyway.”
“It reminds me of Mr. Fete. That alchemist seemed to have gone to Gray City with that Feiwan.”
“Stop talking about wanted criminals. After offending both the Grey family and the Prince, he’s probably long since...”
So, where was the alchemist Mr. Fete Silan now?
Of course, he wasn't dead.
Currently, Fete was right here in the Well of Eternal Imprisonment!
As the saying goes, the most dangerous place is the safest place.
Of course, he could no longer move openly among the adventurers. He had to rely on magic items to hide his appearance, posing as a merchant to buy monster materials.
He would refine them into magic items and alchemical potions, then sell them all to Zeno, not daring to reveal his identity as an alchemist.
He was now completely submissive to Zeno and Feiwan, obediently performing alchemy every day.
He didn't dare ask questions or think too much.
Although he wasn't exactly free, because he had a steady stream of monster materials and received new ones every day, he could focus entirely on studying the mysteries of alchemy.
For an alchemist, the advancement of knowledge and technique was the most precious thing.
He was currently suffering, yet happy.
He even felt a bit of anticipation, hoping Lady Zeno would wipe out the Grey family soon. Then, with no one daring to provoke her, he—having clung tightly to her coattails—would be completely free.
Meanwhile, in Eternal Imprisonment Town outside the well...
While expansion and construction continued as usual, more and more people were arriving at the town.
During this period, the majority of people coming to Eternal Imprisonment Town weren't actually adventurers.
Instead, they were commoners from the North Sea Territory.
As a barren territory in the north, life for commoners in the North Sea Territory was not good.
The land was poor, the climate was cold, and high-yield crops could not be grown.
The appearance of the Well of Eternal Imprisonment allowed a vast amount of resources to flow into the North Sea Territory. The villages surrounding the well had collectively moved into Eternal Imprisonment Town. While building the town, they also began to lead prosperous lives.
Commoners from the surrounding areas who had no land and lived in poverty naturally migrated toward this town.
The town was now flourishing. Under the land reclamation decree of Lord Fenris Grey, the gathered commoners worked even harder on construction.
Farm owners with large tracts of land took the opportunity to buy up more planting land from the migrating commoners.
They saw further than the commoners.
The exploration of the dungeon required resources, and arable land would only become more valuable in the future.
By growing large quantities of grain and shipping it into the Well of Eternal Imprisonment, they could naturally make a killing.
On the road to the Well of Eternal Imprisonment, a man wearing a gray robe walked slowly.
In one hand, he held a magic staff as tall as a person; in the other, he carried a heavy book.
Beneath the robe where others couldn't see, black chains extended from that black book, piercing through his flesh and hooking into his bones.
Like shackles, they bound the book to his body.
“Burn it, burn it...”
As he walked, his sunken eyes stared fixedly in the direction of the Well of Eternal Imprisonment.
Rate on N.U.
