Itchiness, stinging pain, numbness—a mixture of various tactile sensations mingled together, causing Ryu to reveal a rather subtle expression.
He forcibly suppressed the urge to scratch, manipulating mana to heal the wound on his hand bit by bit. He watched as the long, narrow, scorched black mark slowly hardened and fell off; the flesh and blood underneath knitted together, finally leaving behind only a faint white mark.
"It's healed! It's healed!"
Watching from the side, Marcille praised Ryu with pleasant surprise: "You learn really fast! To think you can achieve this level even outside the Dungeon!"
"...It's passable, I suppose."
Ryu checked it repeatedly, flexing his left hand a few times. After confirming there were no issues, he nodded in satisfaction.
The healing magic of Delicious in Dungeon was quite formidable. Almost any physical damage to the fleshy body could be repaired; even if limbs were severed or certain parts were completely lost, they could be reattached!
The threshold for resurrection magic was indeed very high, but healing magic could be used as usual outside the Dungeon, merely consuming more mana and being more laborious to treat.
Even without considering the Explosion spell, Water Walk, Feather Fall, and Defense spells he had learned, just this healing magic alone made the ticket price worth it!
"Amazing!" As Ryu's teacher, Marcille was the one who knew his progress best.
"You've become this proficient in using magic in less than ten days. I remember you only just started your training in healing magic two days ago, right? So fast!"
"It is because the teacher taught well."
"Hehe... stop joking~" Marcille scratched her head, feeling embarrassed.
After healing his injuries, Ryu stood up and beckoned everyone over, recounting what had just happened to them.
Of course, he omitted the parts related to the Winged Lion, merely stating that he helped repel the Mad Mage and reached an agreement with the [Canaries]. Once the Elves suppressed the Dungeon, they would leave automatically and would not interfere with other matters.
Mithrun was a rather stubborn and simple person. As long as one did not hinder him from dealing with Demons, he would not pay any heed to things like black magic. Therefore, even if the [Canaries] discovered traces of Marcille's spellcasting, Ryu, as the Lord of the Island, could negotiate with them to keep Laios's squad safe.
Hearing this, Kabru's squad was somewhat confused. Ryu and the others spoke in a veiled manner, so they couldn't understand the specific implications, but the members of Laios's squad instantly relaxed.
It couldn't be helped; the "prestige" of the Western Elves was too great. As adventurers at the bottom of society, they really couldn't imagine what the consequences of opposing the Elf Kingdom would be~
The dark-skinned young man, Kabru, looked thoughtful: "So for the matters following this, we just leave it to the [Canaries]?"
"The Lord of the Dungeon was already very weak. This time he fled with heavy injuries, so even if he returns to the Dungeon, he cannot possibly be a match for the [Canaries]."
Moreover, the other half of the Winged Lion had already sensed the danger... As long as this crazy mage was driven to a dead end and dared to unseal the Winged Lion, he would become a delicious meal for the Winged Lion!
Because in the foreseeable future, the Winged Lion would likely be taken back to the Elven Kingdom and subjected to a long-term seal. Thus, as the final meal before its slumber, it would definitely savor the taste carefully, chewing Thistle's desires thoroughly, and finally spitting out the dregs of a crippled man—just like sugar cane.
Of course, these words could not be told to Kabru~
"Then... is it just over like this?"
Kabru felt a wave of disbelief: "Is the Dungeon of the Golden Kingdom going to disappear?"
"That depends on the work efficiency of the [Canaries], but it will disappear eventually."
"No senseless sacrifices, no unresolvable conflicts, just like that... a large-scale Dungeon has been suppressed?
"Moreover, the Elves will retreat after succeeding, and this island will remain in human hands, not changing the balance of power between the various races... It is simply perfect!"
"Actually, there are still many aftermath issues—"
"How did you do it?!"
Kabru was no longer fake smiling now; there were genuine stars in his eyes: "I can understand every step you took, but how did you come up with this kind of plan in the very beginning?"
Probably because I have the 'money superpower', Ryu smiled but did not speak.
"Can I follow by your side to train?" Kabru requested earnestly. "I want to know how to deal with Dungeons, and how to help those people who are in crisis without knowing it!"
"Of course you can," Ryu responded very seriously. "But I won't stay here forever. You must be mentally prepared to not find a trace of me for long periods."
"No problem~" Kabru smiled brilliantly.
At this moment, Laios walked over, looking slightly bashful. His physique was larger than the average person, which attracted a lot of attention. Consequently, he arrived in front of Ryu and performed a formal greeting without a second word.
"I'll say it again: Thank you so, so much!"
Laios mimicked Shuro's posture, bending his waist and bowing deeply.
"If not for you, we wouldn't have been able to save Falin, nor could we have escaped... Cough, anyway, it is all thanks to your efforts, Ryu. I have nothing to repay you with, so I can only do this to express my feelings!"
"That's right, I think so too!"
"It really is thanks to you; finally, we don't have to be caught by the Elves and thrown into a dark prison~"
"And the food you made was delicious too."
"You killed the Hippogriff, which made things much easier for me."
Chilchuck, Senshi, and the others also gathered around, patting shoulders and poking waists; they had evidently come to regard Ryu as their most trustworthy person.
Ding!
Clatter—
The sound of a massive amount of gold coins dropping rang out in his mind. Ryu's spirit was instantly invigorated, and his eyes emitted an exceptionally confident light, giving everyone a start.
**[Destiny Coins (Laios, Marcille, Kabru, Thistle, Falin, Izutsumi...)]
+27!
The instance's first cycle was thirty days, yet he had arrived for less than fifteen days and Ryu had already completed the ultimate goal. This made his following days feel light and airy, utterly at ease.
The [Canaries] began to conquer the Dungeon. The Mad Mage was powerless to oppose them, but since he had the Dungeon as his foundation, he frantically created new monsters... Unfortunately, he was not a master of monsterology like Laios. He fundamentally didn't know or care about the ecology and habits of monsters, merely relying on massive mana to forcibly spawn them, so the result was half the work for twice the effort.
This guy had the style of a pay-to-win player; he tended to create "powerful monsters," such as the Red Dragon, Golem, and Kraken.
But if it were Laios, he would have chosen more complex and flexible combinations, using the racial talents of different species to hinder the advance of the [Canaries].
For example, Succubus Mosquitoes, Doppelgangers, Dryads, Fairy Rings... the "cost" of these monsters was far lower than dragon types, yet they could harvest miraculous effects when dealing with humans and demi-humans, especially catching people off guard in the Dungeon environment.
The [Canaries] were an organization that possessed powerful martial force but was internally filled with problem children; they were exactly the type that didn't fear a head-on collision. So, the Mad Mage using large-scale monsters to challenge them was purely crashing into their forte. It was only natural that he was crushed in various ways.
As a result, it took less than seven days for them to trample through the Dungeon, forcing their way to the deepest level and taking both Thistle and the Winged Lion's Grimoire into custody!
It is worth mentioning that Thistle himself was not defeated by the [Canaries]. When the Elves found him, this Lord of the Dungeon had already become a walking corpse with no reaction to the outside world, a self-destructive despair lingering around him...
The final battle was actually against the activated Monster House, rather than the Mage himself.
And this was not unfamiliar to the [Canaries], because this was the end of the road for all Dungeon Lords, just like Mithrun back in the day... The difference was that Thistle had no one to vouch for him, nor did he have the opportunity to join a special unit to atone for his crimes.
What awaited the dark-skinned Elf was permanent imprisonment—actually, this was quite superfluous, because Dungeon Lords often chose suicide.
The Winged Lion, having had a "full meal," vanished without a trace. Only its Grimoire was recovered. Even if it lost a book, it was merely the loss of a "channel"; the Demon could still change stations. The main body of this kind of interdimensional creature would not suffer any impact, and mortals simply had no way to deal with it!
The so-called recovery and suppression were more like a game—establishing and abiding by a set of rules that both the Demon and mortals recognized.
After so many years, the Western Elves had intercepted and blocked black magic and Grimoires, yet similar incidents emerged one after another. Even their own core members would still fall despite knowing the Demon was problematic... It showed that they were merely doing their human best and leaving the rest to fate.
The adventurers who had been lured away gradually returned to the island, only to be shocked to find that the Lord had changed, and the Dungeon was on the verge of destruction. They instantly felt as if the world had turned upside down~
To this day, they still didn't know (or refused to admit) that they had been scammed. After all, many people had found treasure chests on the deserted island and made a small fortune, so this expedition was very much worth it for them.
But if the Dungeon was gone, they would lose their direct source of income. It was impossible to live a retirement life relying on the little treasure they had on hand, so naturally, public sentiment was agitated.
—Thus, they pointed their spearheads at the [Canaries]!
Because the timing of these Western Elves' arrival was just too coincidental!
Everyone knew that you Elves had designs on the Dungeon and had been trying to persuade the Island Lord to accept the entry of the Elven army, only failing because of the pushback from multiple forces.
Now, a local tycoon noble inexplicably appeared, and an expedition to a deserted island was inexplicably organized, attracting everyone to another place. The Island Lord, having no other choice, transferred the land deed—
And at this exact moment, you [Canaries] arrived!
Within just a few days, you moved in on a large scale and directly captured the Lord of the Dungeon in one step!
Dare you say there's no connection? Dare you say it wasn't spies sent by you playing tricks?
—The Elves of this world were no peaceful, reclusive race. On the contrary, they were also very adept at political struggle and were extremely cruel, in no way inferior to the nations of the short-lived races.
Cold and cruel—this was everyone's perception of Elves.
Of course, this inevitably involved certain halflings fanning the flames among the adventurers...
Having successfully guided public opinion and concentrated the firepower on the [Canaries], Ryu, the current Island Lord, quietly retreated from the heart of the storm.
However, having said that, while the adventurers were angry, they absolutely dared not make a move. Leaving aside whether they could win, just the idea of gathering a mob of rabble to attack the regular Elven army sounded unreliable!
So the adventurers were destined to swallow this loss; no matter how unwilling they were, they had to endure it...
At this time, Ryu once again became the focus of attention. As the Island Lord, he had to launch negotiations with the [Canaries] to discuss the matter of "compensation."
Thus, an interesting scene occurred:
The Elves believed Ryu was the representative of the adventurers and islanders. Because public opinion was fierce and they were not in the right, they were willing to give a certain amount of compensation, which could also be said to be remuneration for Ryu's help.
The adventurers, on the other hand, felt that Ryu was the spokesperson for the Elves. Backed by the elite [Canaries], and possessing the title of "Island Lord" himself, he was enough to make the adventurers suffer a crushing defeat on both legal and martial levels... Therefore, they were much more cowardly during negotiations and dared not stand tit-for-tat against Ryu.
The Elf side saw Ryu quickly appeasing the adventurers and judged him to be very sincere;
The adventurers saw that Ryu held all the advantages yet was still willing to give compensation, and unexpectedly developed a great fondness for him in their hearts, seemingly forgetting everything that had happened before.
—The situation on the island settled down in such a bizarre manner, and Ryu's identity as the Lord was solidified in this way.
Kabru now practically revered Ryu as a god!
He had seen everything clearly these past few days, including Ryu's various operations, and he truly had to sigh with emotion at his grasp of the human heart.
In fact, Ryu made the best use of everything and didn't let Kabru stay idle at all.
He utilized Kabru's talent, having him find the guys who were "duplicitous" or "easily shaken" among the representatives of various industries. He specifically bribed them with heavy gold, or threatened them with the law (very few adventurers hadn't committed crimes), disintegrating the organizational power of the adventurers and local residents from the inside.
Otherwise, did you think relying solely on those few hired halflings could guide public opinion?
If you want to control the situation, don't think about dealing with the adventurers as a whole, but rather go and handle the "specific people"!
—This was the benefit of a family legacy, something Kabru could not help but envy.
And what was Ryu doing during these days?
Aside from showing off the traditional arts of the capitalist class in an otherworld, he spent the rest of his time being a diligent and studious magic apprentice, pestering Marcille and Falin with questions all day long.
He even made a very excessive request to Marcille in private:
To teach him Ancient Black Magic!
Ryu was very frank, stating bluntly that he wanted to "demand repayment for his kindness," telling Marcille not to have any psychological burden.
The Elf mage struggled with it at first, but upon hearing Ryu say this, she immediately let go completely and began to tell Ryu everything she knew without reserve~
In the end, she even organized her notes from over the years, mixed with some of her insights and experiences, and transcribed them into a "handbook" to give to Ryu, asking him to study it carefully.
—For the two of them to do this right under the noses of the [Canaries] was truly a case of the skilled being bold.
Just like that, time passed in a hurry. The Elves did not withdraw immediately after recovering the Grimoire, as they still had to clean up the mess of the Dungeon. The adventurers planned to scatter like birds and beasts once the compensation arrived, going to other places to continue making a living.
After all, this world was still very big, and there wasn't just one Dungeon!
Ryu lived a fulfilling life of study day after day, beginning to integrate basic spells into his combat techniques, hoping to fight like a "Magic Swordsman" without letting magic gestures and chanting interrupt his rhythm.
His first goal was "healing magic," striving to be able to recover from injuries while fighting! At that time, combined with [Scene Transition Effects], Ryu would simply be a mini-Hashirama!
...And so, on the last day of this cycle, Ryu specially instructed Kabru, who had already become the "Lord's Aide," to preside over the situation while he went out traveling.
He also invited Laios's squad to stay on the island. He planned to utilize the ruins of the Golden Kingdom to cultivate a semi-natural new Dungeon. He wanted Laios to provide inspiration and suggestions, and Marcille to act as the designer to create the blueprints—this hit right upon both of their hobbies and professions, so they accepted readily.
It was also on this day that the island's coastline gradually "receded," extending continuously toward the depths of the ocean...
Eventually, large swathes of land rose from beneath the sea surface, connecting the several surrounding islands into one piece. The furthest points even connected with the continental shelf, becoming a part of the main continent.
—Ten days after the Lord of the Dungeon was defeated, the Winged Lion's power completely dissipated, the curse of the Golden Kingdom was lifted, and the sunken lands all returned!
In the prophecies of the Golden Kingdom, the one who defeated the Mad Mage and liberated all the bound souls would inherit the throne of the Golden Kingdom.
And Ryu alone had recovered half of the Grimoire, and was himself the Lord of the core land; it was only natural that he possessed a share of the inheritance rights.
Although the [Canaries] also defeated Thistle, the Golden Kingdom was human territory, and they naturally wouldn't be willing to cede it to the Western Elves (not to mention it was Mithrun who took action directly, and that guy could absolutely never be a Lord).
At this moment, among all the various factions, the one who was legally first in the line of succession for this "new land" turned out to be Ryu!
Of course, based on the information propagation speed of this world, it would take ten days to half a month for the various parties to find out. By the time they reacted and made a response, Ryu might have already entered the cycle after the next; he had plenty of time to come back and play with them~
Ding!
[Destiny Coins (Kabru, Yad, Falin, Shuro, Laios...)]
+10!**
—He was also quite satisfied with this parting gift!
________________________________________
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