Chapter 233: The Power of Greed
For them, as scholars, when they accepted the identity of a scholar, they had already accepted that one day they might die unexpectedly. Therefore, when hearing news of other scholars’ deaths, he only let out a sigh.
Scholar Dennis continued, “However, the Association still has some meaningful books. I have already entrusted Senator Puniel. After he sets up the mercenary tavern in the south, he will issue a task to collect the Association’s books. Of course, he will also make a Proclamation, calling all surviving scholars who wish to explore the truth to come to the monastery of York Territory.”
Marcus looked at Dennis. “Do you intend to make this the new Association?”
Dennis shook his head. “No, the monastery and the Association are different. This place is responsible for spreading knowledge. Whether commoner or noble, friend or foe, as long as one is human, as long as the age is suitable, and as long as they can pay the fee of thirty gold coins, we will open all the monastery’s knowledge to them without reservation.”
Marcus asked, “Even ordinary people, those who have no relation at all to noble bloodlines?”
These scholars, even if their families were not noble gentry, had ancestors a few generations back who were inevitably connected to nobility.
Dennis nodded firmly. “Yes, ordinary people as well.”
Marcus leaned back against the chair, sinking into thought.
Dennis looked at him and asked, “Scholar Marcus, what do you plan to do next?”
Marcus shook his head. “I don’t know. If the Senate permits, I would go to the Altlinsmann Empire.”
He then added, “That was my plan before today.”
Dennis laughed and asked, “And now?”
Marcus said, “Now, I wish to stay in the monastery. I don’t know if Scholar Dennis would welcome me.”
Dennis stood up, spreading his arms. “Of course, welcome. The monastery welcomes every scholar.”
Marcus also stood, and after embracing Dennis, asked, “Then, what must I do?”
“You may choose to organize your knowledge and establish a discipline. If you think what you study overlaps with existing disciplines, you may join one of them, becoming part of that field of scholars,” Dennis explained.
“Of course, I would prefer you not to choose the Discipline of Magic or the Discipline of Mechanics. That boy Oscar created them. The Discipline of Magic may have no formally registered apprentices, but who knows how many secretly chose it? I admit the Discipline of Mechanics is indeed great, but there are already too many apprentices focusing on it. Even Scholar Caleb’s Discipline of History has fewer students than Mechanics.”
“Scholar Marcus, you must have heard of Oscar’s name. Even within our Association, he was considered an unusual scholar…”
Dennis rambled on about Oscar’s bad behavior—resorting to fists when he lost debates, using magic to tease the three old men, and abusing his position as dean to provide apprentices in Mechanics with all sorts of development rewards.
Marcus only listened with a smile.
But the sound of the library door opening cut off Dennis’s chatter.
“Dennis, you teach Natural Studies. Do you know what this is?” Scholar Rudolf walked in, holding a piece of vine wrapped in burlap.
Dennis smacked his dry lips and looked toward the vine in Rudolf’s hands.
“A type of vine plant?” Dennis said, stepping closer and frowning. “I haven’t heard of a vine like this.”
Rudolf said, “It was brought by the two Guardian Knights. They found it in a dark creature’s dungeon. It glowed in the darkness, seemed to have its own consciousness, and attacked them. When cut, it bled a liquid like blood.”
“I’ve already examined it. The composition of this liquid is very similar to human blood. If I hadn’t seen it squeezed from the vine with my own eyes, I would have believed it to be human blood.”
Dennis took the vine. “I may need to search the books. There are far too many plants in this world—many known, many unknown. My knowledge is limited; I cannot recognize them all.”
As he spoke and turned to look for books, Marcus hesitated before saying, “This might be Bloodvine.”
“Bloodvine?” Rudolf looked at Marcus.
“Ah, I nearly forgot to introduce you.” Dennis realized, then said, “This is Scholar Marcus. He is still young, so I doubt you’ve met him before, Rudolf.”
“Scholar Marcus.” Rudolf gave a small bow. “I am Rudolf, responsible for the Discipline of Biology in the monastery.”
Then he straightened. “You know of this plant?”
Marcus nodded. “It comes from dungeons, associated with dark creatures. It has a primitive awareness, glows faintly, and its sap is like human blood. This should be Bloodvine, one of the foundations of dungeon ecosystems.”
“Of course, it can also be called Human-Blood Vine. It can grow in darkness and provide illumination for dark creatures.”
“You know well that though dark creatures fear the light of Morning Star, they still have eyes. They need light to see.”
“And many dark creatures rely on blood to survive. Vampires are the most extreme among them, consuming only fresh blood—human blood being their favorite.”
“But it’s impossible for vampires to always have humans to feed on. Thus, this Bloodvine sap serves as their substitute.”
Marcus spoke eloquently, displaying his knowledge. This manner of presenting expertise raised Rudolf’s opinion of him even more.
“So then, wherever Bloodvine grows, it is mostly a vampire’s nest,” Marcus concluded.
Rudolf nodded. “I see. Then, how should it be dealt with?”
Marcus answered without hesitation. “Burn it. Like ordinary vines, burn it clean with fire.”
“Good. I’ll ask Senator Puniel to see if he can arrange mercenaries to handle it.”
Dennis asked, “And the two Guardian Knights?”
“Why do you think I brought this vine here myself?” Rudolf chuckled. “The two of them are already in the Hospital. They borrowed too much of the Lord’s power. That child Agamemnon is caring for them. It will be at least half a month before they can move again.”
…
When Puniel, who was stationed on the dungeon surface, received Rudolf’s message, his first reaction was disbelief.
These mercenaries had barely reached the third layer. But according to the message, the Bloodvine grew on the eleventh layer.
Already at the third layer, mercenaries wanted to retreat, frightened of the darkness. The eleventh layer was beyond imagination.
Next, Puniel thought of the Bloodvine itself. Such a plant seemed wondrous. And as everyone knew, wondrous meant valuable. Puniel was currently York Territory’s—no, the entire Theocracy’s, and even surrounding lands’—largest supplier of items related to dark creatures.
The Bloodvine seemed to be a new commodity. Puniel felt it could prove profitable.
Then he recalled the message hinting that the Bloodvine marked a vampire’s nest.
On the surface, the dark creatures were nearly exhausted. Aside from some reserves of werewolves, his stock of other creatures was running low. This place might be a new source.
After all, the dungeon was so vast that Puniel believed it hollowed out the entire mountain range.
Even though the Church of the Sanctuary knights aimed to eradicate dark creatures, the Church had always kept to its principle of not interfering in politics or daily lives. As long as mercenaries avoided them, this dungeon would remain his stable source of supply.
Finally, Puniel concluded this matter must be done.
So he spread rumors such as:
“Someone found a chest full of gold on the seventh floor.”
“Someone captured a legendary dark elf on the ninth floor and sold it for great wealth.”
On the first day, mercenaries dismissed the tales as drunken jokes.
On the second day, they began to wonder.
On the third day, they remembered—their first earnings as mercenaries had come from dark creatures.
On the fourth day, they recalled slaying werewolves. Dark creatures weren’t that strong.
On the fifth day, stirred by the dungeon’s allure, they formed teams, took torches and marked tools, and rushed in.
On the eleventh day, flames rose in the eleventh floor.
On the seventeenth day, Guardian Knights Leo and Vito returned to the dungeon after recovering. But the place had transformed.
The surrounding rocks and earth had been cleared. A mercenary tavern stood there. Roads had been paved from York Territory to the tavern. Wagons delivered beer, meat, and bread nonstop.
Mercenaries came and went, holding vine-like plants and bloody organs. Seeing Leo and Vito, they panicked, hiding their spoils.
But some things could not be hidden. For example, one mercenary carried a burlap-wrapped bundle that was clearly a vampire.
The two knights exchanged glances. Had they only been gone half a month? How had it turned into a scene as though the vampires cultivating Bloodvine had already been annihilated?
Soon Puniel arrived, inviting them into a room inside the tavern.
“Just as the mercenary emblem bears a cross upon its sword and shield, my mercenaries are all devout believers. Upon hearing of evil dark creatures in the dungeon, they naturally wished to aid the Church in destroying them,” Puniel said.
Leo and Vito exchanged a look. Finally, Vito said, “We are knights of the Church of the Sanctuary, not knights of the Theocracy. We are not biased about the methods of extermination. We only care that the dark creatures are destroyed. Senator Puniel, we are aware of your actions in the northern territories. We approve of this method—making these dark lives yield their final value.”
“We only hope no innocents are harmed or injured.”
Vito fixed Puniel with a serious gaze.
Puniel chuckled. “In just these few days, my tavern has received over seventy vampires and more than twenty goblins. The vampires were scattered, usually caught singly. The goblins are the newest finds. Perhaps the mercenaries have already gone beyond the vampires’ nests.”
“They’ve now reached the thirteenth floor. And the deeper one goes, the larger each level grows. The first floor was only the size of a village. By the fifth floor, it was like a small town. By the ninth, the explored area exceeded a barony’s domain. And the ninth floor is still not fully explored. In such an enormous dungeon, perhaps involving mercenaries is more effective.”
“And mercenaries are greedy. If their greed leads them into danger, that is a price they must pay.”