31: A rock of his word

[Year 21 Month 3: Continued]   ​ I sighed with relief. The moment the Umbrian had detected something, I had Osbert and the ‘fake’ guards sprint as quickly as possible. If the elf had decided to cast a destructive spell, there was a possibility that I couldn’t save them, even if the juggernauts stationed outside would be used as shields. ​ It was a bit disturbing how quickly the mage figured out the flaw in my anti-detection fields. So far, no one had the proper knowledge or skill to find out that tidbit. Luckily, I didn’t have to worry about the elf anymore. ​ Anyways that was beside the point. Right now, I am excited to say that these adventurers wouldn’t be an issue for very long. I doubted they would actually be killed by the drop, even if I didn’t install any dampeners, but combining that with several giant T. rexes would likely be more than enough to slay them. ​ Worst-case scenario, I would need to take care of them once again, but it would require a sacrifice of many of my golems, and possibly end with too much collateral damage to justify the cost. ​ So I watched as the platform descended once more, this time though, they didn’t slow before being dumped into the Jurrastic floors of the dungeon and quickly sealing it off behind them. ​ Even through the new and pristine seal in the dungeon wall, I could feel the reverberations as the platform crashed into the environment inside. Unable to see within the walls, I could only guess at what devastation it had wrought. ​ Huh, poor dinos never seem to get a break from high-velocity rocks. ​ Bringing my attention around to the next thing on my list, I looked at Dain, or as I now knew him, Dain, the Chosen Prince. Quite the mouthful if I do say so myself, but alas. ​ With the threat of his own murder out of the way, he was much more willing to open up about who he was. ​ Truthfully, I was already regretting giving him a promise of protection. While I still would have dealt with the two bounty hunters, it would be preferable to let him fend for himself, but I am a rock of my word. ​ For now, Dain would be free to live in Runehold. ​ [Year 21 Month 4: 1 Month has passed] [Blessed: 5574 + 204 – 73] ​ With the proper flow of adventurers returning to the usual rate, both the city council and I agreed to reopen the dungeon completely. Technically, it had been ‘open’ but heavily restricted to specific parties or reduced hours. ​ This flow meant that once again, I was receiving more experience, even with all the culling my golems had been taking care of in my domain; most of the beasts, or even Vexus, gave trivial progress to my next level.   ​ [You have leveled up] [You are level 54]     It brought no observable changes, but any level was a bit closer to the next upgrade or evolution. At least for me. ​ My runic assistants, on the other hand? Those were soon to receive a major boost. It had been just under four years since they had reached their level cap. I had been unable to purchase enough components at the time, considering that our trade routes had basically been eaten by packs of Vexus. ​ Once said routes had been reestablished, I immediately took advantage of the massive amount of minerals I had been storing for several months. Turns out I had forgotten about my [Mineral Pillars]. While I had been using dozens to keep up with my demand for metals, I had left a few within the old cave beneath the tree. If it weren’t for Metis reminding me about the practically overflowing cave that had become a hazard, I probably wouldn’t have thought about it. ​ I need to create some sort of list of reminders, which would be helpful later on. While I have an almost perfect memory, it doesn’t mean I remember everything all at once. ​ Fortunately, my forgetfulness aided me. It meant that I had a literal treasure trove of unaccounted minerals that I could use. ​ I had thought Astrid’s eyes were about to pop when I had several golems bring close to a ton of gold into her office. The look she gave the piles of glittering metal was something I would remember for years to come. ​ Of course, the gold would have to be processed before it could be traded, but that was of little consequence to me at this point, and it took just a little under a day to smelt and create eighty heavy bars of gold. ​ It wouldn’t be enough to pay for everything I needed, but that’s what the crystals were for, and soon enough, I had all of the components needed to upgrade all of my Runic Assistants. Technically, I could have made more for way cheaper, but I felt like I would rather invest in quality rather than quantity, at least for now, when everything was still manageable by the three assistants. ​ Once again confirming I had everything near my main body, I opened up the system tab necessary for the evolution. ​ [Do you wish to upgrade Metis, Athena, and Codex?] [Materials required: 30 kilos of gems, 3 flawed jewel of soul, 3 kilos of manasteel.] ​ Accepting the prompt, I watched as the materials began to dissipate into thin air. Once again, these components didn’t become mana, but still somehow interacted with it. Blaming it on system shenanigans, I watched their runes as they evolved. It was hard to observe when creating them, but upgrading...