Chapter 150

The Princess’s Style of Dungeon Invasion (1)
I continued hunting monsters. Wyverns are the weakest among dragons. And while dragons are strong, their wing membranes are fragile. By damaging the membranes with magic and bringing them down, Helios, Mr. Coote, and Alicia could finish them off. Wyverns weren’t smart enough to dodge, making them ideal prey. Well, a few of them did get dragged into the shadows by Mr. Coote.

"Um… could you refrain from hunting wyverns for a while?"

When I sold twenty wyverns at theGuild, the receptionist sighed and asked me to stop hunting them.

"Why?"

"The price is crashing. There are also other monsters that need to be hunted, so could you take care of those instead?"

Now that she mentioned it, I had been hunting quite a lot of wyverns. They were like bonus monsters—easy and profitable—so I had been hunting them relentlessly. Incidentally, I couldn’t hunt any more. The wyverns around the royal capital were nearly wiped out.

"Well, I did overhunt them, and they’re basically gone around here, so I don’t mind taking other requests. Got any good ones?"

"In that case, we have requests for eliminating an ogre horde or a cyclops."

Ugh, I hate ogres. They almost killed me before.

They’re strong, tough, and a pain to take down. The larger they are, the more annoying they get. However, they probably weren’t a match for me now. I decided to take the request.

As I was about to inform the Guild of my decision, someone called out from behind.

"You’re Hollow, right?"

I turned around to find a group of adventurers grinning at me.

They belonged to a clan called Titans. A clan is a group made up of multiple adventurer parties. They had been trying to recruit me or stalking me from the shadows. This man was their leader, but we had never spoken directly before.

They could try following me all they wanted, but since I moved like the wind while riding Mr. Coote, they never even got the chance to see how I hunted.

"What do you want?"

"I hear you’ve been getting a little too cocky lately."

Ah, so this was one of those bullying attempts aimed at newbie adventurers. Father once told me that high-ranking adventurers wouldn’t bother with such pointless things, but to those who moved in groups, I was probably seen as an obstacle.

"I’m just taking on requests."

I wasn’t breaking any rules. Even the Guildmaster had agreed to overlook the initial Insect Mother incident.

"When someone stands out too much, it becomes a problem. Either join us, or disappear."

"I have no interest in joining. I have my own goals… and I don’t need dead weight."

To be honest, Alicia alone seemed stronger than them. I was starting to get a better sense of people’s capabilities, and I was fairly certain I was right. More importantly, my style was to move fast and take down enemies swiftly. I didn’t need heavy burdens slowing me down. Helios was also heavily armored, but he was fast and had seemingly endless stamina, so it wasn’t an issue.

If I let a bunch of full-plate-wearing tanks like them join, our mobility would suffer. That was a problem in battle, too. Right now, our team was perfect: I unleashed high-powered magic, Mr. Coote guarded me, Helios held the front line, and Alicia took down key enemies with surprise attacks. We didn’t need anyone else.

"You little… you looking for a fight?"

"Your head would roll before you even got the chance."

A sharp *chink* rang out as a short sword, resembling a kukri, pressed against the man’s neck. Alicia had silently moved behind him.

"This is a warning. If you interfere further, I will eliminate you. We have no intention of joining you, nor do we wish to be bothered. It would be in your best interest to stay out of our way."

The leader gritted his teeth, scowling.

In a crowded place like this, Alicia was the worst possible enemy to make. While I forbade her from killing people without cause, her killing intent was unmistakable.

Her kukri-like sword was heavily reinforced, and a visible notch had already formed in his neck armor. That was a top-tier weapon. A slight increase in pressure, and his head would come off.

And, naturally, no one was going to help him. Including both individuals and groups, he was the tenth person to try this. It was a common occurrence. The Guild didn’t intervene in personal disputes.

After a tense moment, he gave up and slumped away in defeat.

"Troublesome things happen regardless of status or birth, huh?"

"People either want to claim what stands out or get rid of it. That’s the same no matter the profession."

Now then, it was finally time for the dungeon expedition.

Ostland had around ten dungeons that were currently unregulated. There were over forty in total, but about thirty were managed by the state and nobility, so they weren’t an issue. The problem was the new dungeons discovered after the recent Stampede. Apparently, people found them while chasing down fleeing monsters.

However, due to the military taking heavy losses during the Stampede, they lacked the capacity to manage them. Both the army and the nobility had suffered significant casualties. In some regions, entire territories had been wiped out, with both lords and citizens slaughtered.

If left alone, another Stampede could occur.

"I need to see the Guildmaster."

"Um… do you have an appointment?"

"No, but he said I could come to him if I had any issues."

Since he told me that himself, it was probably fine.

The receptionist looked a bit troubled but went to check.

After a short wait, I was granted permission and led to the Guild’s third floor.

"So, what do you want?"

"I need permission to enter a dungeon. Also, I’m going to start charging dungeons land fee, so let’s make this official."

I got straight to the point.

Even though I had reached B-rank, I still hadn’t been given dungeon access. I was here to file a complaint.

"You just ranked up, didn’t you? Losing a promising rookie would be a loss for the Guild. And… land fee? Don’t get ahead of yourself."

No matter how much I negotiated, he refused, saying it was too dangerous. As for charging dungeons rent, he dismissed the idea outright.

I had no choice. I would reveal my identity.

Father had already given his approval to reveal myself to the Guildmaster if necessary. He was someone we could trust.

I removed my mask, dispelled the magic, and let my eyes glow with mana, revealing my crest.

"Wha—?!"

"That’s enough. Now you understand, right? I already have the King’s permission."

I cut him off before he could say more and handed over the royal decree. I had followed all Guild protocols to reach B-rank. He couldn’t object now.

"It’s genuine… Are you really serious? Dungeons are dangerous."

"Of course I’m serious. Father did this many times before. And it’s me, you know? Just sit back and relax."

The Guildmaster wiped away sweat before finally sighing and granting permission.

Now, I had arrived at the dungeon!

It was time to make these mysterious creatures—who spawned monsters freely—pay their land fee. This dungeon had no name. None of the ten newly discovered ones did. There hadn’t even been time to name them, let alone investigate them thoroughly.

As for the way to charge a land fee.

First, I sealed off both sides of the corridor with dirt and rock. There was plenty left over from building the docks, so that wasn’t an issue. I left about a third of the space open, where I positioned Soldier Golems and Golem Tanks. In the center, I deployed heavily armored assault golems.

The corridor was about 30 meters long, so there was plenty of room even if monsters started spawning. And since monsters remained stationary until they were fully formed, I could attack them without hesitation. Striking during transformations and summoning sequences was just common sense. There was no reason to wait.

Ten heavily armored assault golems lined the central space, while numerous Soldier Golems stood at the sealed ends as reinforcements.

"Alright, begin the assault!"

The battle to make this dungeon pay its dues had begun.