168 Workings of the Dungeon

"What is this exactly?" Jin walked closer to the new table and found a vending machine right beside the interface table to the Dungeon Maker. In fact, the machines looked like they dispensed cards out of the machine.

"The system couldn't find a fancy name for it, but this is where you can buy cards to equip your monsters. You might find it random but I will explain more in a while. Right now, with this new upgrade, the system has also pegged your monsters' power level to your cultivation grade, similar to your Bellators. The upgrade should make it easier for you to track the levels of the many monsters you have." Yun started to lean on the vending machine while explaining the new machines to Jin.

"Yes, I have been thinking about that and how the power level of the monsters and dungeon difficulty actually works. I always assumed that it's just the system's workings since I initially thought that the monsters each had their own grade. Won't that affect the cultivation difficulty of the dungeon?" Jin asked as he placed his hand on the table to support himself as he talked to Yun.

"A classic example would be the recent instance for Ren Wei and Jing Ru. Although Little Miss Buu was just a modified version of a boar knight that I rented, there was no indication of her power level after I modified her. Yet for some reason, she was always used as the last boss against cultivators. Does that mean that her cultivation grade is actually higher? Was she pegged to a Grade 6 difficulty as compared to the Royal Boar Knights like Hamlet?" Jin continued to throw his questions at the half awoke and half annoyed Yun but before he could ask any more, she stopped him.

With a clap of her hands, a porcelain cup of black ivory coffee along with a saucer appeared on her palm. She savoured it with a sip and gave out a breath of relief. "First. I must reiterate that the system will adjust the difficulty of the dungeons to suit the average grade of the party that enters it. And what I am about to tell you in the next few minutes is sort of a 'trade secret' so I will like to emphasise keeping this to yourself and not sharing it with your customers… " Yun started to explain the system's working.

"We will use Jing Ru and Ren Wei as the example since you mentioned them. The system will continue to adjust its difficulty in real time when they are fighting. Little Miss Buu was meant for Ren Wei, a Grade 6 cultivator. Since she was designed to be the last boss, matching what you have created in the Dungeon Maker for the goblin route of the plot. However, it encountered only Jing Ru, Spear Goblin and Mr Oink without Ren Wei in the party. Hence, the system first released a signal. In this case, the release of spiritual force, to notify the higher grade cultivators."

"At the same time, Little Miss Buu's stats were temporarily reduced to Power Level 4 to suit Jing Ru's Grade 3 Peak and her allies, Mr Oink and Spear Goblin, who were at power level 3 instead of power level 3.5. Oh, also, 3.5 is just a more convenient way of saying Grade 3 Peak. Allies are always reduced to 'one level' lower than the participating customers. However, the moment Ren Wei entered the playing field by either defending, attacking or supporting Jing Ru in any way, Little Miss Buu would have its stats inflated to power level 6.5 with the help of the system." Yun finished her explanation and drank some more coffee.

"The system can do that? I know that compressing one's power level is a standard technique that even animals are capable of doing, but inflating power level? I've never heard of that before." Jin was rather confused by the capabilities of the system. If the system is so almighty, why would it still need Jin to be around?

"You are right, the system can buff and debuff a monster anytime it wants. When it does such things, it requires resources though. However, the resources that it uses are quite different from Souls, Matter and Magic that you are acquainted with." Yun wanted to continue but this time around, Jin stopped her by raising his palm angrily.

"Stop right there. If we want to continue this conversation, let's get out of the Dungeon Maker first. I do not want to be influenced by the system again." Jin had a sense of deja vu when Yun started to talk about resources.

Yun could not help but laugh and shook her head. "Hahaha Jin, seeing you being so cautious makes me chuckle so hard."She wiped her tear away before she continued to talk. "I am just joking, the System uses dungeon dollars to buy the buffs. Remember how we only give you a certain percentage of the money you earned because the rest was taken by the System? Yeah, the system used that to buff the monsters. As you accumulate larger customer bases, we will increase the percentage you earn because of the economy of scale, meaning that amount of money is sufficient to buff the monsters."

"So you are saying that if my cultivation goes up, the system is inadvertently getting more money since it does not need to buff monsters as much? How does that even benefit me in any way? That sounds more like a rip-off." Jin felt a little irritated learning something new as he realised the system was cheating him off.

"Erm, maybe it's still the first month and you haven't noticed, but do you know how expensive the electrical and water bill is for this place? How about the payment for building this store? Do I need to go on?" Yun folded her arms as she answered Jin's thoughtless question.

"If that's the case, I would like to have proper bookkeeping done. Is there-" At that instant, the Dungeon Maker screen flashed and a list of accounts appeared. Proper bookkeeping? The system was so advanced with its records that the kind of auditing it did for the accounts put the 'Big Four' accounting firms to shame.

Jin roughly remembered yesterday's sales and took a look at the account only to see that everything was well kept. "But yeah, the system does a little… Hmm... it can do a bit of editing of the accounts to ensure that there is a small amount of savings for you in case of rainy days." Yun added.

"I see, so if I have an inspector check my records...a normal inspector wouldn't really see the difference, but..."Yun shook her head when Jin voiced his thoughts out loud.

"There are no buts! Even the best of the best inspectors will not see the anomaly that the system created. It guarantees the ingenuity and authenticity of the bookkeeping." Yun interjected.

"So… if someone really does pick it up, will the system help since it is so confident about it?"

"Yes, the system will compensate you… in one way or another." The Dungeon Maker suddenly wrote on the interface near him. It was at that time that they realised they had derailed from the original conversation by a whole lot.

"Ehh Yun, how does this reward system work again?" Jin shyly asked and Yun blankly stared at him but did not mock him as she stretched her arm out.

"Just give me your phone! I will show you how it works instead of just explaining."

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