The Ashwood Territory was bustling with shipments of various kinds of alcohol and focus lamps.
Recently, especially, many merchants related to the temple have been coming and going, and it was really crowded.
The development of the Ashwood Territory has been remarkable. The area around the lord’s mansion was no longer enough to accommodate everything, so a village with shops, inns, and entertainment districts had sprung up on the flat land to the north.
That land, being on solid bedrock, wasn’t suitable for farming, so it might have been just right.
My father had been constructing a harbor there, promoting logistics along the River Ryber. The soldiers from the Lightstar Marquis’ family who had attacked me during that incident were being used for the construction. Four able-bodied men were enslaved and forced into labor.
Of course, that wasn’t enough, so they also employed people who had come to Ashwood Territory seeking work to help with the construction.
Once the harbor was completed, logistics would become even more active.
I entered the dungeon with Ben, Charmy, and three temple knights. Lately, I’ve been too busy to visit the dungeon much, so I planned to increase my pace and level up.
“One, two, three, four! Let’s do this!” Ben warmed up with a radio calisthenics routine, a move I had taught him, but he seemed to really enjoy it.
“I’m a bit nervous since it’s been a while,” Charmy said, loosening up. She’s flexible, isn’t she?
The two of them were now fully-fledged explorers. With the money earned from selling monster materials they’d gathered in previous expeditions, they had bought proper equipment.
Ben was equipped with an iron shield, a morning star, and full-body iron armor. He was also using sturdy gauntlets.
Charmy had reinforced leather chest armor, a headgear, gauntlets, boots, and a white mage-like cape. The white cape suited her, the Light Sorceress, perfectly.
I also renewed my equipment. This was all provided by my grandfather, and it’s a bit shiny…
My gear, including headgear, chestplate, gauntlets, shin guards, and sword, was all made of mithril. The silvery armor felt a little ostentatious.
Additionally, my bow was replaced with a new one called the Thunder Tree Bow, which had an impressive name. It’s a magical item, and it doesn’t require strings or arrows. When I pull the string, an arrow appears.
These must be very expensive items, but my grandfather insisted I use them. When I initially declined, he gave me such a sad look that I couldn’t refuse.
“Your gear looks flashy every time I see it,” Ben remarked.
“It looks more like something a Light Mage would wear than me,” Charmy added.
“Please, cut it out…”
The gear sparkled even in the dungeon, so it wasn’t exactly ideal for stealth.
“Well, at least it lights up the surroundings,” Ben said.
“Ahahaha, that’s true,” Charmy laughed.
“Still, standing out isn’t great…”
I’d be the first to be found and targeted.
The first and second floors were crowded with kids hunting slimes. Thanks to them, there wasn’t even a single Long Rabbit to be found.
Long Rabbits were a good source of meat and leather, making them valuable to the kids. The boys and girls from our village are really tough. Though, I can’t really talk.
We moved quickly, fighting monsters a few times, and reached the fifth floor. At the bottom of the stairs, we encountered some soldiers from the territorial army who were taking a break. The area around the stairs was a safe zone since monsters didn’t tend to approach there.
“You’re exploring too, young master?” one of the soldiers asked.
“Yes. Are you all heading back?” I replied.
“Yes, we’ve just come back from the eighth floor.”
The Roxfall Knight family’s army had 30 soldiers, but now there were about 60. I may be biased, but they were a group of elite soldiers.
The newly recruited, relatively low-level soldiers were using the dungeon for leveling up and combat training.
Also, it seemed that by having the soldiers explore the dungeon, they helped deter crime within it. It was difficult to prove crimes in the dungeon, so some malicious explorers would sometimes attack others.
There hadn’t been any such incidents in our Ashwood Dungeon so far, but I hoped it would stay that way.
“The fifth floor is fine, but the sixth floor has much stronger monsters and traps, so be careful,” one of the soldiers warned.
“We understand!” we replied in unison.
After taking a break, we began exploring the fifth floor.
“A Little Buffalo,” Charmy pointed out.
Ahead of us was a bull-like monster. It had already noticed us and was excitedly kicking the ground.
It charged at us, pounding the ground as it rushed forward. It wasn’t as large as an ox, more like a pony, but it had impressive horns. It would hurt if one of those horns pierced us.
“I offer my prayers to the Great Light God, Lightruid. Light Javelin!” Charmy cast a Light Javelin spell, hitting the Little Buffalo in the left shoulder and slowing it down.
“Uoooh!” Ben yelled.
“Bmoooh!” the Little Buffalo bellowed.
Ben collided with the Little Buffalo. The sharp sound of metal clashing echoed down the hallway.
Ben managed to stop the Little Buffalo’s charge with his shield. Luckily, Charmy’s attack had reduced its speed, and Ben didn’t get pushed back.
As Ben and the Little Buffalo wrestled, I saw its flank. I readied my bow, pulling the string to create an arrow.
“Go!” I shot the arrow, which flew swiftly through the air and hit the Little Buffalo in its abdomen.
“Bmoooh!” the Little Buffalo cried out in pain, rearing up on its hind legs.
“Break!” Ben shouted.
He struck the Little Buffalo’s front leg with his morning star. The leg, thinner than the body, cracked audibly.
“Offer my prayers to the Great Light God, Lightruid. Light Javelin!” Charmy cast another spell, hitting the Little Buffalo in the neck as it staggered.
That final blow was enough to take it down. The Little Buffalo collapsed.
“Yes! Meat!” Ben cheered.
He sure loves to eat, huh? Hahaha.
And so, my eighth year ended.
