Chapter – 16

Before proceeding any further, Cyrus took out a sheet of paper and a pencil.

“Professor Oak, before we begin, there is something I need to mention. My class grants me a skill called [Contract], which allows me to create System-enforced agreements. Is the dungeon comfortable with that?”

“And what exactly does that entail?” Professor Oak asked.

“It means the System itself will oversee whether both parties uphold their end of the agreement and notify everyone involved if either side breaks the contract.”

“That’s perfectly fine then. I have no intention of agreeing to anything the dungeon won’t abide by. If I have any issues with your terms, I’ll simply tell you. If anything, this works in my favor as well. The System will inform me if your kingdom ever goes back on its word.”

Cyrus smiled and shook his head.

“Don’t worry. Neither will we. We hold every dungeon within our kingdom in the highest regard and will do our utmost to ensure no one violates one of your rules.”

With that settled, Cyrus lowered his pencil to the paper.

As he began writing, Professor Oak suddenly spoke up.

“Here. Use this instead.”

Cyrus accepted the offered object before looking at Professor Oak questioningly.

“It’s a mechanical pencil. It won’t break as easily, and if you press the top, more graphite will come out. That way you don’t have to constantly stop and sharpen it.”

“You made this as well?” Cyrus asked, examining the strange writing instrument in his hand.

“I did. It saved me a lot of hassle. Charcoal smudges too easily, so I had the dungeon make a custom graphite core for it.”

Cyrus gave an appreciative nod before setting the thought aside for later.

“We can discuss your inventions another time. For now, why don’t we begin with the basics of the dungeon rules?”

He unfolded a large map and spread it across the table.

“This marks the location of the Viridian Forest,” he said, pointing to the map. “Here is the town of Brendon, and these are the borders of the Kingdom of Mati.”

After Professor Oak nodded in understanding, Cyrus continued.

“Since we recognize the dungeon as an independent entity, it is entitled to claim the land surrounding it. However, once those borders are agreed upon, the dungeon may not extend its Authority beyond them.”

“I think you should claim the outer region of the Emerald Forest,” Stella suggested. “That should be more than enough to satisfy the dungeon’s needs, and it won’t encroach on the kingdom’s territory. The deeper you venture into the Emerald Forest, the more Apex Beasts you’ll encounter, so I’d advise against expanding too far.”

Professor Oak shook his head.

“The dungeon has no intention of expanding the Viridian Forest or building more surface floors. It’s having far too much fun expanding its underground caverns instead. I think this should be enough,” he said, tracing a circle roughly ten kilometers around the dungeon on the map. “That should leave plenty of room for anything the dungeon decides to build in the future.”

“That certainly makes things easy,” Cyrus said with a smile.

“By the way,” Professor Oak added, “the dungeon already has a rather extensive underground cave system. I honestly have no idea how large it is or how much larger it’ll become. I hope that won’t be a problem.”

Cyrus chuckled.

“The dungeon is free to expand underground as much as it wishes. That isn’t something we can realistically lay claim to. We only ask that it doesn’t cause earthquakes near Brendon or the surrounding villages.”

“No problem. We can do that.”

“Good. Next, there are a few rules we’d like the dungeon to follow.”

At Professor Oak’s nod, Cyrus continued.

“We understand that dungeons rely on the bodies and souls of mortals to fuel their creation, so we won’t ask the impossible by demanding that the dungeon never kill. We simply ask that it not deliberately harm those exploring its floors. If someone dies through their own mistakes, we have no objections.”

“Don’t worry. The dungeon isn’t exactly eager to kill people either. In fact, I’m already thinking of ways for it to sustain itself without relying on mortal souls.”

That caught Cyrus by surprise.

Before he could ask Professor Oak to elaborate, the man continued.

“In return, we’d like your people not to loot—or even touch—the Pokémon they defeat. Leave the bodies where they fall so the dungeon can reclaim them.”

“We can agree to that.”

“Next, I’ve heard that the Viridian Forest is something of a maze, and I assume future floors will be similar. We only ask that the dungeon not create anything impossible to clear, or at the very least provide a way for explorers to complete each floor in a reasonable amount of time.”

Professor Oak looked genuinely baffled.

“Do you really have to mention something like that? Has that actually happened before?”

Cyrus let out a weary sigh.

“Unfortunately, yes. When dungeon rules first came into existence, we were still learning what we could reasonably ask of a dungeon. It turned out we asked for too little and left many of the rules far too vague. Some dungeons found loopholes and happily exploited them. One even created a floor that looped endlessly, trapping anyone who entered until they eventually died. We had to make quite a few revisions to our treaties after that.”

“That’s actually a pretty interesting story,” Professor Oak chuckled. “What happened to that dungeon?”

“It’s still around,” Cyrus replied. “Though the kingdom it once belonged to no longer exists. The nation that now borders it is extremely cautious whenever they deal with that dungeon, as they should be. The dungeon eventually became known as the Trickster Dungeon.”

“Oh, that reminds me.” Professor Oak suddenly exclaimed. “Could you add one more clause?”

“Of course.”

“Before you officially decide on a name for the dungeon, I’d like you to run it by me first. The dungeon is a little worried it’ll end up stuck with something ridiculous like ‘The Trickster Dungeon’ for the rest of its existence.”

Cyrus couldn’t help but smile.

“This is the first time I’ve ever met a dungeon concerned about what mortals might call it.”

He made another note.

“But that’s hardly an unreasonable request. We’ll provide you with a list of proposed names before settling on anything official.”

Professor Oak nodded in satisfaction.

“And regarding our earlier request?” Cyrus asked.

“Oh, that’s perfectly fine. The dungeon takes pride in everything it creates. It has no intention of making something impossible to traverse. Besides, if no one can make their way through the floor, how are the Pokémon supposed to?”

That was… actually a fair point.

“Lastly,” Cyrus continued, “we ask that the dungeon not ally itself with another kingdom or conspire against the Kingdom of Mati in any way.”

“…That’s an option?” Professor Oak accidentally blurted out.

Seeing Cyrus raise an eyebrow, he quickly amended himself.

“I mean, of course not. First come, first served. Since your kingdom approached us first and has treated me so well, we have no intention of betraying you or acting against your interests.”

Cyrus merely smiled as the scratching of his mechanical pencil continued across the paper.

“Well, those are the standard conditions we request of every dungeon. Now, let’s move on to the more personal matters.”

“Actually, I have something I’d like to bring up,” Professor Oak said, glancing toward Stella, who had remained quietly seated throughout the discussion.

“Stella mentioned that your neighboring kingdoms might try to send people to destroy the dungeon’s core. What do you intend to do about that?”

Cyrus looked toward his daughter.

“When I first learned about the magical berries from Professor Oak, I asked everyone to keep that information confidential. If the dungeon can provide us with a steady supply of magical plants, we could finally free ourselves from our dependence on the Kingdom of Narelia.”

She paused.

“But that also means Narelia may try to retaliate by destroying the dungeon.”

Cyrus nodded thoughtfully before turning back to Professor Oak.

“That’s a valid concern. Don’t worry, Professor. I’ll personally request that Her Majesty station some of her finest soldiers around the dungeon. You can rest assured that no one will harm it while it’s under our protection.”

Professor Oak considered the offer for a moment before shaking his head.

“The dungeon can protect itself. It simply needs more resources. If you can provide those, I think that will be enough.”

Cyrus leaned back in thought.

Sending soldiers to guard the dungeon would certainly be a hassle. Not only would they have to find people willing to be stationed all the way out here, they would also have to provide accommodations and establish a steady supply line.

On the other hand, if all they had to do was provide the dungeon with more resources, that would be considerably easier.

The dungeon could already create sapient beings. Creating more of them, this time specialized solely for combat, would allow them to kill two birds with one stone.

The dungeon core would be much safer, and they wouldn’t risk drawing the attention of the neighboring kingdoms by stationing soldiers around such an important location.

Cyrus considered the proposal for a few moments before nodding.

“Very well. We can do that. Though I have one request I’d like you to consider in return.”

“Sure. Let’s hear it.”

“If we provide the dungeon with unique and rare materials, would it be willing to create more of those resources for us and allow us to harvest them?”

“Could you elaborate?” Professor Oak asked.

Cyrus gathered his thoughts before launching into an explanation.

“‘Resource dungeons’ is the term we use for dungeons capable of producing rare resources. Things like rare metals, magical plants, or unique monster parts. In return, we provide them with whatever they require to produce those resources. Usually, that means an investment of mana and samples of the original material. Once a dungeon has the blueprint, it can simply create more.”

“Like the Fae Garden Stella mentioned. The dungeon you want mine to replace.”

Professor Oak tapped his chin thoughtfully before replying.

“That could work, but only if you allow the dungeon the freedom to create whatever it wants, whenever it feels like it. This isn’t some magical factory where you dump in raw materials and expect finished products on demand. The dungeon isn’t going to fill any production quotas.”

“Of course not. That’s not what I meant,” Cyrus hurried to clarify. “You may not know this, but we present every new dungeon with rare materials as tribute. Not because we expect anything in return, but simply to see what it can create. Only a handful of dungeons ever prove capable of reproducing those resources. Those are the ones we invest in further.”

Seeing Professor Oak nod in understanding, Cyrus continued.

“Since the dungeon has already managed to create someone like you, and some of our elders believe it has extraordinary potential, I simply wanted to know whether it would be interested in such an arrangement. Even if it isn’t, we still intend to provide it with useful materials to enrich the dungeon. If it is, however, then we can discuss the details later.”

“If that’s all, then I don’t think there’ll be any problems,” Professor Oak replied. “Like I said, the dungeon loves creating new and interesting things. The more variety you provide, the happier it’ll be. It has no objections to you harvesting whatever it creates afterward. Just don’t expect it to make anything specific.”

“And what about you?” Cyrus asked. “Would you accept commissions for your own creations? Things like Stella’s tablet or this mechanical pencil.”

“Sure,” Professor Oak replied with a smile. “You’ll just have to pay for them.”

Cyrus nodded.

“And what would you accept as payment?”

“Pokédollars.”

“Pokédollars?” Cyrus frowned. “What’s that?”

“Well, we didn’t have much use for your mortal currency, so we made our own.”

Professor Oak explained as he slid a small slip of paper across the table.

“It’s called a Pokédollar.”

Cyrus picked it up and examined it.

One side bore the image of a purple crystal, presumably the dungeon core. The other depicted an unfamiliar yellow Pokémon, along with several strange symbols in the corners.

“And why would the dungeon need its own currency?” Cyrus asked, handing the note back.

“To trade. Why else?” Professor Oak replied matter-of-factly. “The dungeon has agreed to let me open my own store and sell the things I make. Since we don’t have much use for gold or iron coins, you can exchange anything useful for Pokédollars and then use those to buy things from the shop.”

The dungeon still somehow managed to surprise him.

How did it even know how trade and currency worked?

“Could you give me an example of how Pokédollars are valued?” Cyrus asked. At this point, he’d long since stopped questioning the dungeon’s thought process.

“Sure.”

Professor Oak held up a gold coin.

“One gold coin is worth one Pokédollar. Gold isn’t particularly useful to us.”

A familiar blue crystal appeared in Professor Oak’s hand.

“This, on the other hand, is worth ten Pokédollars. Both the dungeon and I have plenty of uses for these.”

Cyrus blinked.

“That’s a mana stone. It’s actually worth ten gold coins in our currency as well. I’m surprised you somehow arrived at the same valuation.”

Professor Oak shrugged.

“It was just a guess. The dungeon found them in Stella’s bag, so it assumed they were valuable.”

“But if the exchange rate is practically identical, why not simply use our currency?”

Professor Oak sighed.

“It was the dungeon’s idea. It liked the designs on the Pokédollars and wanted to use them instead.”

He looked Cyrus straight in the eye.

Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

“Would you like to try changing its mind?”

No. Cyrus most certainly would not.

“Pokédollars seem perfectly acceptable.”

He removed his coin pouch and placed it on the table.

“In that case, I’d like to make an exchange.”

Professor Oak glanced inside before handing him a thin metallic card.

It resembled a Pokédollar note in shape, except the image of the crystal had been replaced by a real one.

“What is this?”

“A Pokécard. It stores all of your Pokédollars.”

Professor Oak tilted his head.

“Or would you rather carry stacks of paper notes everywhere?”

“No… this should suffice.”

Cyrus turned the card over in his hands.

He’d assumed it was simply another form of currency. He hadn’t expected a storage device.

“How does it work?”

In response, Professor Oak placed a small metal box on the table.

“Tap the card here. Make sure the crystal touches this circle.”

Cyrus did as instructed.

The box immediately lit up.

A large 0 appeared on its surface.

He looked toward Professor Oak expectantly.

“I enchanted it myself. That way no one can tamper with your card except me.”

Professor Oak placed his own hand on the opposite side of the box.

The number flickered several times before finally settling on 156.

“You had thirteen mana stones and twenty-six gold coins. That comes to a total of one hundred and fifty-six Pokédollars. That information is now stored inside your card, and only the dungeon or I can modify it.”

Professor Oak smiled.

“Convenient, isn’t it?”

Convenient?

This wasn’t merely convenient. It was revolutionary.

“Professor Oak… could something like this function outside the dungeon?”

Professor Oak shook his head.

“Unfortunately not. It relies on the dungeon’s magic, so it only works within its Authority.”

No matter.

Perhaps the head of the Enchanters’ Guild could reproduce something similar.

If successful, it could transform commerce throughout the kingdom, much like the invention of the mobile caller had.

“Could I have one as well, Professor Oak?”

Cyrus turned toward the voice. Stella and Arvel were both staring at the card with obvious fascination.

“Of course.”

Professor Oak handed her another card.

“That one already has three hundred Pokédollars loaded onto it. Consider it compensation for your lost bag.”

“Thank you, Professor.”

Stella accepted it with a respectful bow before immediately beginning to inspect it.

“Now then,” Cyrus said, “how much for this mechanical pencil?”

“Five Pokédollars.”

Cyrus nodded before tapping his card against the box once again, watching the number decrease by five.

“You can keep this as well.”

Professor Oak handed him a small bundle of replacement graphite.

“If you ever run out, just come see me. Those are free.”

Cyrus accepted them gratefully.

“And how much for the tablet?”

“Four hundred Pokédollars.”

That was… expensive.

Then again, he’d never expected anything crafted personally by an Emissary to be cheap.

Besides, purchasing anything from a Tier III Crafter usually required far more than simple money.

Even if Professor Oak charged above market price, Cyrus had little doubt there would eventually be a line stretching outside the Pokécenter once word spread, just as there always was for any high-tier craftsman.

Cyrus let out a resigned sigh.

“Unfortunately, that’s all the money I currently have.”

He cast a meaningful glance toward his daughter.

“I had to spend most of it paying compensation on someone’s behalf.”

Stella quietly lowered her head.

“Is there anything else the dungeon would accept besides mana stones?”

“Plenty, actually.”

Professor Oak smiled.

“Books, for starters. Books on enchanting, alchemy, magic, history, geography… anything interesting, really. Depending on the subject, we’d probably value them somewhere between fifty and a hundred Pokédollars.”

Cyrus nodded.

That wouldn’t be difficult.