Back in Arbor Town, Samuel had finally been fully briefed on the situation with Wiley. He couldn't help but sigh for the umpteenth time. That was because there was no time for him and those around him to grow stronger.
"I need to hurry…" Samuel murmured before looking up.
"Is that all?" He asked confirming. If it was all he was eager to dismiss the two and get to work on contacting Duke Lansworth.
"There is one more thing" The knight said holding up a single finger. He then reached back for something and revealed a small box. The box seemed sturdy yet delicate. It was clearly a box for holding some sort of treasure.
Samuel's eyes couldn't help but light up having thought of something.
"So you all defeated it and this is the drop item, right?!" Samuel asked excitedly.
The knight nodded as he reached over the desk and handed the box to Samuel. The latter took it gratefully and quickly opened the box. It had already been unlocked by the man, so Samuel's eyes were welcomed by the sight of a tusk.
"This is it…" He muttered looking at the common-looking item. At most, Samuel could see an added luster to it when compared to the tusk of a common orc.
"Did you find any special characteristic about it?" Samuel raised a brow and probed.
"Yeah, the tusk seems to be near indestructible" The knight responded causing Samuel to be somewhat shocked. The number of resources it would take to turn such an item into a potion had to be great.
That of course meant that the turnout would also be better. Thought that assumed the alchemists would be successful in their first few trials. If they weren't the material would end up going to waste for sure.
"This is an item of utmost importance…" The issue thus became who Samuel could entrust this item to who could guarantee to hire an expert alchemist. Not just that, but which one would benefit him the most.
The first few people that popped into his mind were the ever so trusty Duke Lansworth. Though to be exact it was the image of Miller. That was because he had dealt with the previous item rather well though admittedly, the aftermath of the mana forge potion was not handled well.
The popularity that had been channeled towards Arbor Town and its special dungeon did not last long and part of it was Khal Lansworth's incompetence. But there was also the extreme rarity of the mana forge bone item. Now however things were different.
There wasn't just a single drop item but two. Outside that, there were many types of equipment they could get from solving puzzles and raiding small outposts.
All of a sudden, a grand picture appeared in Samuel's mind. If he could successfully lure a great number of adventurers from around the continent into the dungeon... Conquering it was not a pipe dream!
As for how to lure them… there was an ongoing war at the moment. If someone were to make great leaps in strength following their digestion of a certain item and single-handedly turn the tide of a battle or even the entire war… that was the biggest publicity possible.
"So, how much do you want for the item?" Samuel asked suddenly. This made the knight become stumped momentarily. That was at least until he had a bright idea.
"Can you create a request for many adventurers to assist the royal knights in eliminating an orc outpost?" The knight said to Samuel who nodded fervently.
"Of course! Out of my own pocket though, right?" Samuel asked the knight who nodded.
The item's value had not been proven yet but Samuel was still willing to buy it even if it was at a premium. In reality, what Samuel was trying to buy was not the item but the mere ownership of it.
How could Samuel guarantee that the person that digested the potion containing the tusk would make leaps in strength? Simple. Fake it. Regardless of the potion effect, Samuel would throw himself into the forefront.
In the end, Duke Lansworth would get a powerful sword and Samuel might be able to rest a little easier with powerful adventurers from around the continent keeping the dungeon in check.
This was the best approach.
"What's your name?" Samuel asked realizing that he had never bothered to ask.
"Faris" The thirty or so-year-old knight replied.
"Thank you, you may leave" Samuel said with a kind smile. He was genuinely happy now.
At last, just Clarys and Samuel were left in the office. Samuel said nothing for a good while, he only enthusiastically sifted through papers.
"Do you want to join me?" Samuel asked Clarys who didn't immediately reply.
She said nothing.
This was the best approach.
***
The wind blew as per normal on a cool night but the atmosphere was warmer than ever in Sanctuary. The settlement was filled with bright fire lights and jovial laughter
Under the supervision of Sharog, Dakgu, Gurln, Yerghug, Romagod, and some newly appointed supervisors all was running smoothly. Ed's plan to introduce the coins was ultimately simple so it made sense that all was working out.
They built temporary stands on the outskirts of the settlement and gave anyone looking to join in on the fun coins at the start. These coins could then be used to buy food, games, souvenirs, etc.
"HAHAHA!!! I'm the arm wrestle champion!" An orc who had just won an arm wrestling contest declared.
"Well fought, you have won 100 coins!" The host of the arm wrestling competition, Romagod said to the orc who was smiling like a fool upon hearing this. 100 coins were enough for 100 boar kebabs!
Ed watched this from afar and smiled. With their supply, it actually wasn't enough no matter how many coins he paid.
Fortunately, Ed promoted the kebabs using a variety of different living room-grown mushrooms so Gorgo and the other aspiring chefs weren't using all that much boar meat so he supposed it wasn't impossible to supply 100 boar kebabs.
The main problem was that there was a one per orc rule. Ed implemented this to prevent hoarders. Enforcing this rule relied heavily on the orcs remembering who ate what already but Ed didn't think it mattered too much either.
The main purpose of the festival was to introduce orc coins currency, and they had done it successfully if someone was trying to buy all the stock of a certain delicacy or product.
'Tomorrow morning is bound to come as a shock to the orcs' Ed figured that telling the orcs who had squandered their wealth in food and fun games or sculptures that it was now a crucial part of Sanctuary life would have bad reception.
Even with the potential for backlash, Ed felt hosting a festival like this was the best option. The orcs themselves weren't opposed to the concept of money.
Overall, a stunning success.
Having verified that everything was going smoothly, Ed started to look around himself. Although he had come up with most of the games, he still thought it would be fun to check them out.
"Hey, Sharog!" Ed said finding the familiar figure on one of the outdoor bars they set up around.
"Ed…?" Sharog asked, her head on the counter.
"Do you want to check out the-" Ed's words were cut off by Sharog's sudden action of getting up from her seat and wobbling over to Ed.
"Let's go!" She said almost falling on him. Ed couldn't help but regret coming over. The last person he expected to become an alcoholic was Sharog!
She seemed meek and reserved especially when compared to Shel. Which speaking of was located at a nearby stall looking at an assortment of mushroom dishes. Some mushrooms were fake boar meat but it still counted.
"Sharog, let's go to Shel…" Ed whispered while trying to push her off of himself. She was for some reason grabbing onto him, however. Ed helplessly dragged Sharog as he went on over to Shel.
"Ed!" Shel said suddenly no longer looking at the myriad dishes. Her smile stiffened however once she noticed that Sharog was holding Ed's waist and being dragged around.
"Argh!" Sharog shouted suddenly. Shel came over and tried to have Sharog's hand unclutch Ed's thighs and legs.
Ed looked up at the night sky while Shel and Sharog tussled with one another with him in the center.
'We should probably attack the humans soon' Ed was thinking of the dungeon's wishes for once. Currently, he was still stabilizing things in regard to the currency and overall governance but...
Nothing was more important than thinning the group of humans that had dared to set up a base.
""Ed!"" Soon after both Dakgu and Gurln hurried over to Ed with greetings. They weren't expecting that Sharog and Shel were tossing and turning between Ed's legs however, causing both to sport confused expressions.
"Wha-" Dakgu was about to ask something but was shushed by Gurln.
"Ssshhh, some things you can only learn with age" Gurln said while shaking his head.
"But I'm older than you!" Dakgu retorted, causing Gurln's deep message to miss the mark.
"You- You know that's not what I meant!" Gurln said to Dakgu before the two of them evolved into a fight. To make things worse, facing imminent danger Gurln had started to run circles around Ed, Sharog, and Shel looking to stop Dakgu from pulling any stunt.
"Ed! Teach him a lesson…" The words of Dakgu and Gurln slowly dissipated from Ed's mind as he focused on finding inner peace.