From the moment the Black Dragon was slain and the thousand-year covenant fulfilled, the world began turning toward a brighter tomorrow.
The Dungeon still remained. The slumbering Black Dragon that had once lurked at its deepest point had vanished without a trace, yet the Dungeon continued to function as a cradle of monsters, ceaselessly birthing hordes of creatures.
The Labyrinth City stood, as ever, at the center of the world. It was still the greatest lodging place for the gods and the largest producer of magic stones. Even with the Black Dragon's end, the world's gaze never left Orario. One more reason for that: in this very city, an adventurer capable of slaying the Black Dragon had been born.
Ten years have passed.
A decade ago, a group of adventurers from the same familia once again stirred what had been a fading "Age of Heroes." Even if only the afterglow of those heroes remained, that light brought new hope to the world.
Half the city had fallen in that great war, but ten years of rebuilding restored Orario to its former splendor. In fact, the city now pressed forward into a new frontier—research into "magic-stone technology."
Though the gods had come to understand much of the Dungeon's unknowns, they found fresh delight and curiosity in a world that kept reinventing itself. Compared to their past obsession with the Dungeon, their eyes now often turned to the former adventurers who had become… researchers.
The advance of magic-stone technology could not be separated from adventurers' efforts—especially those who, after the wail-filled war that decided the world's fate, grew into scholars and makers. They ceased to be merely "adventurers" and became "researchers," striving to develop new capabilities and directions for magic-stone technology. Many were passionate about mystery, research, and craft. Foremost among them was Asfi Al Andromeda, captain of the Hermes Familia.
As the Hermes captain, Asfi had remarkable acumen in research. Her special Development Ability, "Mystery," made her a natural giant in the field. Using magic stones, she spearheaded breakthroughs across many domains. The clearest fruits were in communications and entertainment: abilities once requiring divine power were now reproduced deeply enough through magic-stone technology to be used widely.
With magic-stone technology rising, demand for magic stones surged. Outside the Dungeon, monsters did not spawn in such extravagant numbers; after those outside were hunted to near extinction, the Dungeon beneath Orario became the world's largest source of magic stones. Because of that demand, Orario, seated atop the Dungeon, secured its place at the world's center and drew even more adventurers from every land.
You could say magic-stone technology gave Orario a second spring.
Rising demand meant a rising need for those who would harvest it—adventurers. The already vast city expanded once more. Using Orario as its hub, satellite cities began to sprout around it.
At first there were only two.
But as development pressed on and demand climbed higher, two satellites were no longer enough. The outer walls around Orario were gradually taken down as multiple satellite cities fused to it. The symbol of this new era was how they moved between those linked cities.
Horse-drawn carriages still rolled, but a new conveyance appeared—"magic-stone trains," engines driven by magic stones. They didn't just move magic stones outward in bulk; they also opened channels between Orario and the satellites. They were fast, but fares weren't cheap… which meant the wealthy rode them, while most of their work became large-scale freight of magic stones.
Commerce crowned Orario at the world's peak.
Once, Orario had been purely a paradise for adventurers; in many ways it still was. But now, rather than pure exploration, the city's pulse beat to the rhythm of gathering magic stones. Even so, the Dungeon's fatal allure endured—its living will called to many who spent their strength within. "The Dungeon is alive," they said. That, more than anything, drew them down its winding throat. The rest were pulled by longing for the heroes who had once saved the world.
At this very moment, a long line stretched outside the Loki Familia's manor.
"Alright, next!"
Adventurers of every race and kind entered one by one, hoping for a chance—not just to apply, but to be chosen.
The war ten years ago had cemented Loki Familia's status across the world. Finn still served as captain, and today, he was handling recruitment.
"Haa…"
From morning to afternoon, Finn had read countless resumes and met more promising adventurers than he could count. It gave him a pounding headache. Propping an elbow on his desk, he pressed his fingers to his brow.
"Why is there always more work? If it isn't recruiting, it's helping with the founding of the Pallum nation. I'm not the Pallum king—so why am I stuck helping run a country?"
Work, work, and more work.
It made Finn want to throw everything aside, slip away to the modern world, and take a real vacation far from the cursed heap on his desk.
He stared around the quiet room. None of his old friends were here. He sighed.
"Because I'm captain, they dump it all on me while they go live long-term in the modern world. I don't want to work either… I want a break too…"
(End of Chapter)
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