“They don’t like it, but if it is a powerful kingdom, the Guild can’t really do anything. The Guild can’t be everywhere, and they aren’t going to war with a kingdom just because a kingdom wants a say on who could enter a dungeon. Most kingdoms think it’s only fair that their own people make use of a dungeon in their territory more often than foreigners. Usually, the Guild comes to a compromise with the kingdom, creating some sort of quota system so that foreign adventurers may also enter.” A dungeon core explained.

  “That’s so wrong. Can’t we do anything about that?” As a dungeon core, Xu Han felt offended.

  Mountain River answered. “Not much we can do. Dungeon cores are usually too far away from each other to help. Besides, adventurers still enter, it is just at a slower rate and there is a decrease in variety. Of course, there are some extreme cases. The Undead Zone springs to mind. Never Dead, you’re here?”

  “I’m here,” a dungeon core replied. “Welcome Xu Han, we had never been formally introduced. I am Never Dead, the dungeon core of The Undead Zone.”

  “This humble junior greets his senior.” Xu Han smoothly greeted the old core before asking a question. “Are you under some sort of restrictions, senior?”

  “Ha! I guess you may say that.” Never Dead chuckled sadly. “I am an undead dungeon, located in a kingdom that worships Ner, a Goddess of Light and Purity. The local church prevents any adventurers from entering my dungeon, only occasionally allowing them inside to clear it. It affects my growth greatly.”

  “Can’t you break the restriction?” Xu Han asked.

  “The only way to break such restrictions is to do a dungeon break. Create a horde of monsters, send them out, and hope to destroy anything that is preventing delvers from coming in. Unfortunately, constant clearance by the church prevents that, and it will also keep the Guild off their backs.” Snowy Grief answered, sounding as if she was speaking from experience.

  “That is enough to satisfy the Adventurer Guild?” A surprised Xu Han asked.

  “The Church of Ner allows a lot of foreign delvers into my dungeon to help clear it. That is enough to stop the Guild from going to war with the church.” Never Dead explained.

  “That’s not going to happen. The Church of Ner is very popular in the human kingdoms, the Guild will never risk a war with the church.” Bookkeeper added.

  “And there’s no way to stop this?”

  “Not happening unless you can get someone to take on the church on my behalf. My dungeon is too weak, and my undead monsters are a bad matchup against the church. They got classes like [Paladins], [Priestess], and [Undead Slayers] which are devastating to the undead. My monsters will not break out on their own.” Never Dead explained his predicament.

  Xu Han thought about the problem for a moment and asked. “What if I offer a dungeon quest?”

  There was a moment of silence as everyone tried to absorb what Xu Han said.

  “Xu Han, what is a Dungeon Quest?” The Dungeon Master asked slowly.

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  “There is a connection between me and the adventurer I grant my dungeon technique to, and I found a new use of the dungeon technique. With the connection, I can send messages to him. Today, when I was being attacked by the party of high-level adventurers, I sent a message to him. I told him to stop the adventurers, and I worded my request like a Quest, offering rewards if he managed to stop them.” Xu Han happily explained, not quite able to stop his pride from leaking through.

  There was silence.

  The dungeon chat was quiet. Then, the cores began speaking all at once. Unlike earlier, there was no one stopping them this time. The elders of the chat like Snowy Grief were involved in the discussion, while Xu Han received a DMM from The Dungeon Master requesting for more information about the dungeon quest system.

  Xu Han passed on all that he knew to The Dungeon Master, which wasn’t much. He just discovered the connection and hadn’t the chance to test what the link could do yet. Once he gave everything to The Dungeon Master, the leader of the chat silenced the chat.

  “Quiet! Challenger, Xu Han says he can contact the adventurer with his dungeon technique. See if that’s the case for you as well. If true, issue a dungeon quest to him. Something quick and simple, and offer some appropriate rewards. Once he is done, report back.”

  Although he did not have the right to order any of the cores, the respect they had for The Dungeon Master meant that Challenger agreed without a word of complaint. The Dungeon Master then addressed the other cores in the chat.

  “Everyone, listen up! We now have proof that the dungeon techniques work, so I want everyone to learn it from Xu Han. Do NOT shortchange him. Trade something valuable for the techniques, because they are important for your survival.”

  “I do not understand, Master. I thought it was up to us to decide if we want the techniques or not?” Dancing Green asked.

  “Not anymore.” The Dungeon Master replied with authority. “When it was just a question of giving adventurers more power, it was up to you, but that’s not the case anymore. This Dungeon Quest. If we can get adventurers to do our bidding, we can get them to be our minions in all but name. That will be huge. That changes everything!”

  “Adventurers readily be our minions? They will never go for it.” Mountain River said.

  “Why not? Adventurers want levels and power. We can give it to them. Do you think all of them cares where they get their powers from?” The Dungeon Master countered. “Even if some will be wary of us, many of them would not care. So, I want every dungeon core in this chat to learn the dungeon techniques. Give them out and then issue some Dungeon Quests to the adventurers. This will tell the adventurers that we, the dungeon cores, are more than places for them to level up. We are beings the adventurers would want to keep safe, and more importantly, obey. Because we can handsomely reward those who do right by us.”

  “We should wait for Challenger to come back to us with the results of the Dungeon Quest first. Aren’t we being too hasty?” Snowy Grief cautioned.

  “There’s no need for delay.” The Dungeon Master said. “Even if the quest function doesn’t work, the dungeon techniques itself will give a dungeon core a layer of protection. The dungeon quest function is more like diamonds in a pile of gold. It’s something extra but even without it, the dungeon techniques are worth learning.”

  There was a period of silence after The Dungeon Master’s address. Xu Han was unsurprised by the older core’s analysis. He had thought of most of the points the elder core had raised but felt that it wouldn’t be appropriate for him to point them out to the chat.

  Xu Han quietly waited as the other cores spoke among themselves. His period of silence was soon broken by a dungeon core. Mountain River, dungeon core of Mountain Rest, was the first to approach him.

  “Xu Han, this is Mountain River. Do you prefer Skills or treasures for your dungeon techniques?”

  Xu Han was about to reply when The Dungeon Master interrupted. “Wait. Before you begin, I have a piece of news for all of you. Xu Han, it is about your idea of cores granting Classes to people.”

  “Master, do you have an idea on how to do it?” Snowy Grief asked, her interest piqued.

  “It can’t be done. Dungeon cores cannot grant Classes.” The Dungeon Master replied to Xu Han’s disappointment. “But I found a workaround.”

  “What workaround?” Xu Han asked.

  “Xu Han, tell me. Has your dungeon fairy told you about Sub-Classes yet?”