Dungeon Diver: Stealing A Monster’s Power

I go over the notes with Bri and Rodrigo one more time, updating them on the new progress of the doubles I just sent out to expand the kingdom further west of the 8 Great Regions and south of the Dark Continent.

Once transmissions of large amounts of hunters arriving in the empty entrance hall begin to reach Rodrigo's tablet, orders are sent out for E and D class workers in the Apex base. They are to greet the parties from each region that arrive and escort them to the elevator.

Five to ten at a time, Regional Directors, B and A class hunters are all escorted down to the 18th floor of the facility, the A-Class training rooms.

It's the only room large enough and secure enough to hold this kind of meeting.

As the sun slowly rises, everyone that was invited arrives, and I decide to make my way toward the elevator with Bri and Rodrigo behind me, with Raven watching from an invisible point of view.

I take a deep breath in and out, and wait for the elevator to open with a ding on the 18th floor.

The chatter and small talk in the room go completely silent as I walk out onto the dense mana-shielded floor to see over 200 hunters waiting for me to speak.

All three of our footsteps echo through the silent room as we walk forward.

The crowds of powerful hunters are split into 8 separate groupings. Each region sticks together, and the sizes vary a lot. The Apex, Veridian, and Vice Region groupings are far larger than the others, who have less than 10 in each of them. Smallest of all, the Talton Region's only two people who showed up are Marcie and their leader I met once before when delivering goods.

There are a few other very familiar faces among the groups as I survey the crowd and walk closer until stopping about 10 meters in front of everyone. The old and new A-Class hunters stand in front of the Apex Region's crowd, while the Regional Directors stand in front of the other groupings. I see Dane beside the woman that runs the Silca Region, and even spot Nat next to the Veridian Region's leader.

Then, I release a wave of intimidation in addition to my Heavy Hand skill.

With very fine-tuned precision, I make sure to alter the gravity at which my Heavy Hand pushes down on people depending on the amount of mana control they're letting out of their bodies.

The instant I do, everyone in the room is hit with a wave of energy that frightens them to the core, and I'm the center of their full attention roughly two seconds later once I release this wave and allow everyone to breathe.

"I welcome you all to the Apex Region. As some of you know, I've been battling a very intense energy poisoning illness for many years. It has made me irritable, unreasonable, and paranoid... for this reason, I have kept the 8 Great Regions constrained to only benefit myself..."

There are mixed reactions that ripple through the crowds of people, as this is not the opener they expected.

Some hide their physical reactions very well, but I can sense each and every one of their emotions as clear as day while I continue.

"I've brought you all here today to tell you I've found a cure, and moving forward I will have far more energy to build our nation into an even more powerful kingdom. We will be doing a major restructuring of funds, contracts, leadership positions, and most importantly, the closely guarded rank of A-Class is going to be lifted. All of you in this room today have the opportunity to rank up a second time if you wish after our meeting is over."

The general skepticism and unease from my first statement completely fades when the final words leave my mouth.

I can tell there are many hunters that have been held back at level 990-999 among the Apex Region hunters who have many questions but are afraid to speak up and ask because of the surge of energy I let out when I entered the room. So, I continue and explain further.

"You will no longer be held back from growing stronger due to policy constraints and fear of rogue hunters overpowering regions. I believe we should all grow together, so I will be making the Apex Region's labyrinth below us on the 20th floor available to all B-Class and above hunters."

I smile beneath my disguise, as this forces out whispers among some of the hunters, and confirmation that I'm not scolding them makes for more whispers and conversations to pile up. I allow it to go on for about 20 seconds before I speak again and they all hush instantly.

"I'm sure you all recognize Rodrigo, an A-Class hunter that has been very helpful in all of your regional hunter exams..."

He takes a step forward, and almost everyone in the crowd nods as he looks up from his silver tablet and smiles. Then, Bri walks forward too on my other side, and I continue before any additional questions can be shared.

"This is Ms. Briana. All questions about signing up for time slots in the labyrinth can be issued through them once our meeting is done. These two are the new voices of reason among the 8 Great Regions, the Overseers."

I pause for a moment so everyone can get a good look at them, then add onto my point.

"In addition to breaking the level 1000 restriction, we're going to change the funding structure among the 8 Great Regions. There is no longer a set amount granted depending on your region's hunter power and results in the B-Class exams. We'll be allocating resources far more aggressively to build up the infrastructure in every Region equally. This entire nation needs to become a well-oiled machine. We are a collective of businesses, and I want us all to grow..."

I pause again but wait even longer because I want conversation to spark among the people on this point.

There is growing hope and curiosity flowing out of all the smaller Region's Directors, and many of the B-Class hunters that surround them as guards and surely work within the financial departments of these Regions.

I've seen the annual reports briefly when looking over Bri's calculations, and the Apex Region pretty much neglects every Region's requests for any funding that isn't the Veridian or Vice.

While it is logical in the short-term growth of the Vice Region's profit, and growth of business relationships between the Regions that are doing well, it doesn't spark any new economy or drive for innovation in the less powerful regions.

The Silca, Raya, Phantom, Talton, and Bedrock regions hardly get any support; and in return, they don't grow much and stay stagnant. Most of the industry in these regions rely on locals to support each other, or the non-magic world backbone of industry like agriculture, farming, and mining raw materials to keep them afloat.

It is a cycle that will continue repeating itself unless something is changed. I can easily bring in trillions of MP to make larger dungeon hubs in all of their cities, and with access to the Apex Region's treasury, and Dark Continent resources, I don't mind reinvesting a large amount of my profits for the benefit of millions of citizens' trust and approval later down the line for making their lives better.

This is a fact that is understood among the powerful, and I can see the glint in the eyes of hunters that grinded from nothing to something in backwater regions looking at me with hope.

However, the angry glares of the Vice and Veridian Directors tell a different story.

They aren't voicing their opinions yet, but my goal is to rile them up a bit more, so I continue.

"I want you to all feel safe asking for anything you want. If it will grow your region, and make it a safer and more prosperous place for all involved, then there is no request too expensive or labor-intensive to ask. We can negotiate terms, and money and labor will be provided for the good of our nation."

I nod and inwardly smile more as the separation of emotions in the crowd grows to be more extreme. Those that have exploited hunters using the corrupt system for years can't believe the sight of their house of cards crumbling in front of them, while those that made it here through blood, sweat, and tears are finally getting a chance to rise further.

"With that being said, if there are individuals with unsavory contracts anyone has been forced or unknowingly signed into, they may all be voided or restructured with no questions asked. The numbers just have to work out for both of us. Please, contact any workers here at headquarters and they will direct you straight to the overseers at any time and things will be sorted quickly. We will be needing more long and short-term contracts for guard duty and dungeon exploration, as we're expanding the 8 Great Regions to the west and southeast soon."

Many of the weaker B-Class hunters in the crowds that don't have a direct say in their region's business dealings perk up at this fact, and I continue.

"That's right. I've acquired new land to the west. A vast forest region full of dungeons. There will be trade routes built, dungeons that need exploring, and Association bases that will need to be manned once settlements are grown out to the western expansion project. This will be available to all hunters, E grade and above; so when you venture back to your home regions just know that high-paying Nationwide contracts will be available to anyone that needs work."

The breaking point is near, as everyone here knows that southeast of the 8 great regions is the Dark Continent.

"Yes, as many of you have pieced together, we are expanding into the Dark Continent. The walls that separate our nation from those that have been exiled will be broken down. Trade routes will be built, and we will be adding 4 new Regions to our empire. This is the final task that I wanted to bring up today: the fact that I have made a partnership with the ruler of the Dark Continent. The Flame Emperor will be a major trade partner moving forward. I've brokered quite the beneficial deal between us, and without the powers there, none of the extra funding and availability of resources would be possible. My cure, our expansion, and all of the growth moving forward is thanks to them."

The room spikes with emotions in two completely opposite directions.

Bri and Rodrigo keep straight faces as an eruption of conversation breaks out.

Two of the loudest voices come from the front of the crowd: the old man that runs the Veridian Region and Brutus from the Vice Region.

The old man from the Veridian Region raises his fist, which still carries the ring that used to glow golden from the Sun God's light, but no longer does.

"I knew it! You've abandoned us! Our borrowed power was taken away and now you've completely forgotten the terms of our agreement! You're not fit to be our ruler!"

Brutus' voice echoes out next.

"You have certainly changed. This is not the ideal nation we have been running together for years. Bleeding expenses to help failing regions is not a profitable move—"

Their words are drowned out by the positive conversations of the hunters from other regions, full of hope.

"We can finally renegotiate our contracts, this is a miracle!"

"Eleven years I've been stuck at level 999, can you believe it? Mr. Freeman is finally letting us grow..."

"We can finally apply for funding to rebuild Silca's lakeside dungeon hub, after the surges this past year it's in pretty rough shape..."

"I don't know what happened between him and the Flame Emperor after the exams, but I don't care. This is great! Finally, this nation is going to see some growth in places that aren't just the directors' pockets."

"The Flame Emperor is helping us? Maybe the Dark Continent isn't as bad as the news makes it out to be."

More and more chains of conversation enter my consciousness, and the general sentiment is positive.

The only ones still on edge about the proposed plans are the A-Class hunters from the Apex Region. To them, they've already paid their dues and climbed the ranks; now I'm just giving out what they worked so hard to do for free.

This is in line with how I believed the reaction would play out, but they're smart enough not to cause a scene.

Rodrigo has already found a solution for this, as I plan to make them an elite royal guard with higher prestige than the newer recruits to keep their egos soaring high.

However, the two angry old men that run the Veridian and Vice Regions yelling negatively through the crowd I have far different plans for.

"That's enough." I speak while letting out a wave of targeted intimidation just strong enough to make everyone shiver.

I turn my golden glowing gaze toward the Veridian Region's Director, then use telekinesis to lift him off the ground and forward to stand in front of me.

His face drains to white as I speak up.

"You're right. I have abandoned you."

I turn to everyone else and speak again.

"I would like to publicly apologize for all the wrongs the Apex Region has done over the years. Moving forward, I hope that we can see ourselves as one nation, not one that is divided through hatred, power, and profits."

I turn back to the old man and nod.

"It's odd how only two Regions have anything bad to say about my new expansion plan. The two Regions that exploited and profited off the others for personal gain alone for decades."

My gaze moves away from his and over to the Vice Region's director, Brutus.

I give him an extra strong wave of intimidation that brings him to his knees, then look back at the Veridian Region's director.

"How about this? A new Veridian Regional Director Election sounds like a great idea. I say you have an anonymous Association-Wide vote when you return back to the Veridian Region today. I'm sure there are many candidates that would love to fill that position."

I turn to the crowd of hunters behind him and point.

"Natalie Sterling. A very strong and honorable fighter and healer from the B-Class exams this year. I want you to run the election and make sure everything is fair and just. I can have associates sent over to help if you wish."

There's silence in the room as the director's face pales even more, then Nat musters out a strong-willed reply with a grin on her face.

"Yes, Sir!"

"Good." I reply while using telekinesis to push the old director back to where he started, but now when I set him down he slumps on his knees in a defeated state.

My gaze turns back to Brutus, and after that treatment, he doesn't say a word, but resentment and anger swirl around in his aura.

I lift a finger and motion for him to walk my way. "Follow me."

He gulps, then doesn't move for a few seconds, but eventually starts to come toward me.

At the same moment, I turn around and begin walking toward the exit elevator.

I use my Rising Emperor's Domain interface to grant Rodrigo and Bri 5% of my mana control and base stats each, just to make sure they're the strongest one's in the room, then speak up.

"That is all from me. We will have one of these meetings every 2 weeks from now on. Any further questions, scheduling, or contract negotiations, talk with the new 8 Great Region's Overseers. I have a contract of my own to negotiate."

I slowly walk back to the elevator as the scared Vice Region's Director follows. In the back of my mind, I can still sense Raven's geotag following me as well.

In silence, the elevator door dings open and the three of us walk inside. About half a dozen E-Grade workers step out to help with the paperwork incoming that Rodrigo requested during my speech.

A flood of questions fills the room for Bri and Rodrigo to answer, and the door closes shut behind us.

I put one hand on the Director's shoulder, and feel Raven's hand materialize out of nothing to touch my side. Then, I pull a teleport crystal out from my storage and crush it to bring us to the Crimson City.

This meeting with the Vice Region's Director will be much more productive with a few more familiar faces in the room.