Dungeon of Niflheim

“The second prince was pushing to have you arrested and have Nanna and Loki placed under the royal family’s jurisdiction claiming that the law had been broken but luckily Randolph the crown prince shut him down almost immediately along with the majority of those in governmental positions. They saw your actions as justified and were willing to utilise the so called grey area of the law. Ryuu, Sebastian and my father’s statements helped convince them of your trustworthiness.” Leo’s voice became full of pride when he mentioned the actions of his father and uncles. It seemed as though his family was still well respected in the noble circles.

“When the arguments continued to heat up, with the second prince refusing to back down the emperor spoke out, declaring that what you did was just and that you and all those involved in the act would not be held accountable for their actions and that we’d have the empires gratitude. The discussions were instantly brought to a close thanks to the emperor officially recognising your actions, we no longer have to worry about the consequences of our little stunt.” Leo released a deep sigh as a heavy weight was lifted from his shoulders. He’d worried about this issue for the past two weeks.

Frost on the other hand wasn’t too worried, since the Northrend empire couldn’t really do anything to him, he certainly wasn’t going to offer himself up on a silver platter like that second prince wanted. From Leo’s explanation however he learned a little more about the political situation of the Northrend empire and knew roughly who his enemies and possible allies were.

‘The second prince has it out for me it seems but why?’ Frost pondered what he could have done to anger such a highly influential member of the empire but put it to the back of his mind. The man was all the way in the capital while he was currently in his dungeon and had no plans to visit Arkheart (the capital of Northrend) anytime soon.

“That’s good to know, thanks for telling me, Leo. Anything else interesting going on? Has any signs of the monster stampede shown up yet?”

“Haaaaaaa unfortunately in regards to the monster stampede there has been nothing noteworthy as of yet. We’re definitely overdue and history teaches us that the longer the delay between waves the worst the stampede will be. I’ve already been working closer with uncle Bastion to dish out extra scouting quests for the Glacial Mountains whereas uncle Ryuu has been working with the government in Arkheart to assemble the frost wolf battalion in preparation. Father and Mother meanwhile have been increasing the local guards and setting up the war time defences in Furano and the outlying towns. We’ve even increased the height of northern walls by an extra metre just in case. Tension among the populace has been growing, every stampede even after my father took command is a symbol of fear for them. Given the issues caused by Adam and the underworld gangs it’s been really difficult to keep things from descending into chaos but we’re getting there. Many valiant citizens such as Kathy and Calder have been working overtime to help keep daily life normal.” Leo felt empowered thanks to these brave civilians, although this time would be difficult it wouldn’t bury their great county.

“How’s Douglas doing?” Frost felt the pressure Leo was under from his voice, but he wasn’t in a position to help. He had his own territory to run after all.

“The old man huh? Never better, peak of health living life like a man half his age.” Leo’s tone was rather awkward as he spoke. His father becoming healthy once again was a great cause for joy but his actions especially in the past week were a bit hard for Leo to endure.

.....

“Eh? Is something wrong with him?” Frost asked curious and a little worried, he viewed Douglas as a friend.

“Haaaaaaaaa no nothing’s wrong just just.”

“Just what?”

“Ahhhhhh! I won’t say it I won’t. let’s just put it this way, he and my mother have been making up for lost time.” If Frost could see Leo’s face, he’d see it cringing and pale as though he was disgusted yet happy at the same time.

Frost didn’t quite get what he meant for a few seconds before Maya enlightened him with a rather rude gesture (out of sight of the kids of course).

“I see, perhaps you won’t be an only child for much longer then hahahaha.” Frost couldn’t help but laugh out loud. Poor Leo, he probably ended up coming back to the manor after working hard in the government district and be greeted with the moaning sounds of his parents fornicating. Very disturbing given his age.

“Bleeughhhh please not another word.” Leo almost wretched his guts out at the thought, begging Frost not to mention the act. His parents weren’t exactly young and were fooling around like it was their honeymoon. It was something he really didn’t need to know about with all that was on his plate.

“Hahahaha ok I won’t bring it up. is there anything else?”

Leo took a second to compose himself before replying.

“There is one last thing, it’s probably not that important but it’s sort of related to you.”

“Hoh, go on?”

“That monster lair where we met, the one at the southern entrance to the Glacial Mountains, there’s been some changes to it.” As Leo brought up Frost’s dungeon, he couldn’t help but feel a little nervous.

“A couple days ago I got a report that it grew in size and now there’s a second floor. Not only does this mean a greater degree of profit for the territory but something very rare. Usually, monster lairs wouldn’t expand during their terms of existence, only very powerful ones and ones in rare regions would expand and certainly not so soon after being created. This monster lair doesn’t follow the usual trend.” Leo voice became a little serious, the unknown was always frightening.

“Normally it would be noted as a unique existence that we’d keep an eye on, but this monster lair isn’t the only one showing such unusual traits.” Frost’s eyes couldn’t help but widen with Leo’s words.

‘My siblings’

“Through contact with other adventurer guilds across the Yangmir continent we know of at least 2 other monster lairs that are exhibiting similar traits with another 3 or 4 under suspicion. This is something new and it’s got the higher ups in the adventurer guild filled with curiosity. Uncle Bastion has been ordered to send them reports on any further changes but other than that they’ve not ordered anything drastic.”

“Drastic? What do you mean?”

“Sending in a shock squad to investigate the lair core and determine whether to destroy it or not.” Leo’s reply send a cold shiver down Frost’s spine. That was something he really didn’t want to happen.

“That only happens in extreme cases however, I was just letting you know since you were the first to investigate the place and in case you choose to visit it anytime soon.” Leo spoke with a friendly tone, unable to see that Frost’s face was taught and started to drip sweat.

“I think that’s everything Frost-senpai, enjoy the rest of your day, I have to get back to work, bye.” Leo bade farewell before hanging up the call and returning back to work.

Frost was left with his mind hooked on the phrase ‘drastic measures’ causing him to feel threatened. Maya to the side moved in close and rested her dainty hands on his shoulders before giving him a massage to release his tension. Her young master was not in a position to stop a team of shock troopers so no wonder he was feeling threatened. His recent success with the dungeon expansion and hearing about his possible siblings should have put him in a good mood but now he felt that they were ticking time bombs.

“Haaaaaaa thanks Maya” Frost leaned back and let Maya massage a little rougher. Nanna and Loki joined her and massaged his legs hoping to alleviate his stress a little. This worked quite well, he smiled and relished in their care.

“The two other monster lairs that caught the attention of the Yangmir adventurers guild probably built a second floor like I did so at least two of my siblings have a significant DP income. The others are probably dungeons that appeared at the same time and currently either don’t have enough DP for a second floor, are saving it or spent it on something else. Of course, they could be just simple monster lairs but that’s doubtful.” Frost cupped his chin as he analysed the information Leo gave him. The family gathering was in less than 24 hours and this information could prove very important.

Dark created 100 dungeon cores and Nova contains 5 continents and massive oceans along with innumerable islands. It stands to reason that he wouldn’t be the only one here on the Yangmir (northern) continent. And with two of them likely having a second floor or even more it, showed that he wasn’t the only one to generate a decent level of income. He still didn’t know exactly what the family gathering would entail but felt that comparing their dungeons would be as common as saying hello. His competitive spirit was ignited.