Chapter 129: Changing City

A tension so thick it could be felt covered Lagoon Porter City. Fear and uncertainty could be smelt in the air, and production had hit an all time low.

Aura's phantasmal barrier still covered the city even whilst she wasn't present, dying the sky in a faint purple sheen with the viscosity of oil. A group of Third Step rankers would be able to puncture a hole through it, or a collaborative effort by the city's residents could shatter the entire thing, but nobody currently dared to attack it.

Those who had already surrendered to Styx patrolled the streets alongside monsters. Anybody who resisted was met with a death penalty, but just the rumor that Monster Lords were behind the new dungeon lord was enough to quell any organized resistances.

The city guard were no longer found within the city. The former soldiers had either smartly disposed of their official armor and uniforms and gone back to civilian life, had surrendered, or had been directly executed.

Hilda, the barwaitress with a deep cleavage and tobacco pipe in her mouth was the most prominent person currently in the city, utilizing her position as a dungeon wife and controlling the human forces within the city.

A new guard, the Core Guard, had been formed in response to the deconstruction and destruction of the city guard.

"You are now under the rule of Lord Styx!" Hilda announced from a podium in a cleared out space of a market, thousands of people standing or watching from nearby. "We will be doing a major reconstruction of the city and all its facilities whilst giving everyone the opportunity to adapt to the changes."

"You can't do this!"

"What about our lives!!"

"I want to leave!"

Several protests sprung up from within the audience, whilst others bided their time and waited to see what the response would be. If they were able to gain an advantageous position from their protests, they would immediately join in, whilst if they were apprehended or killed, they would hold their tongues.

"Remain calm. The guilds leaders have already come forth and begun talks on cooperate on stabilizing the city. You will be able to find information posters put up in all the guilds and throughout the city as it becomes available. Have patience for now and be aware that anyone stirring up trouble will be appropriately dealt with."

"And who the hell are you to tell us what to do!?"

"I am Hilda, the newest dungeon wife to Lord Styx and in charge of management of this city."

"So you are just a whore opening your legs to a dungeon's breeding? Ptui!"

Hilda smiled and spoke in a friendly tone, but she hinted with a nod and a pair of Third Step tiger beastman, including the evolved female tiger beastman who easily subdued the ranker causing a ruckus before dragging him off elsewhere for re-education on manners towards Styx.

This kind of event happened multiple times all over the city throughout the day. Hilda eventually settled into the former duke's mansion whilst having everything cleared out by the new Core Guard.

The head of the adventurer's guild and merchant's guild soon showed up and bowed politely towards Hilda who was busy directing people on where to move decorations.

"Duche… Mistress Hilda, a pleasure to see you again. Have you given our previous conversation more thought?"

With a bald head, the guild leader of the adventurer's guild stood at seven feet tall; a behemoth of a man. The guild leader of the merchant's guild was only half a foot shorter, but had a very well groomed appearance and walked with a ramrod straight posture.

"Guild leaders, Guild Leader Horace visited not too long ago and the answer of Lord Styx remains the same. All the guilds are welcome to remain within the city, and are even encouraged to do so, but you must fall under Lord Styx's rules."

"Dare I ask when this Styx will actually appear before us? He has been surprisingly absent given his recently acquired city."

"Speaking to me is the same as speaking to Lord Styx."

"Very well," Daniel, the merchant's guild leader pinched his moustache between his fingers and kneaded it into a curl. "As our initial concerns were brought up, the guilds are multinational guilds that span all kingdoms and empires. We are not bound by any country's rule."

"Yet you were born in Maple Dragon Kingdom, were you not?"

"I was, Guild Leader Jack wasn't, but that is beside the point. We have discarded our nationality to join the guild's giant network. We understand that cities and even empires rise and fall, and as a neutral party we do not intervene directly. We can facilitate the organization of guild members and distribute rewards for requests, but we self-govern under our own rules."

"Hun, you are misunderstanding Lord Styx's position. He is not demanding the guilds themselves follow his laws, but your branches in particular. Whilst you occupy our land, you will follow our laws, regardless as to what they are."

Hilda sucked on her pipe and blew out a thick cloud of smoke and directly stated.

"If you wish to leave the city, nobody is stopping you."

"There is a barrier stopping us."

"…When it goes down, nobody is stopping you."

Much like the previous guild leader, neither guild leaders of the adventurer's guild or merchant's guild wanted to be banished from the city. Just as kingdoms rose and fall, so did local branches of their respective guild.

"I agree, so long as it does not force us out of our neutrality."

"Hmph!"

Both guild leaders agreed to the terms in their own way before assigning staff members to iron out the fine details alongside several of Hilda's helpers who were representing the dungeon.

~~~~~

⠀

Several days passed and the barrier covering the city finally faded away and revealed the clear blue sky with only sporadic tumbling clouds stretching across it.

Daily life in the city had returned to normal, or at least something close to it. People were back at their jobs, bakeries, smithies, tailors and all kinds of crafts. Adventurers were hunting monsters once again, but half the mercenaries had left the city for others now that Styx and the dungeon residents had taken over most of their work.

Breeders were slowly being introduced to the city, but uptake on them had been slow. Styx had begun the process of ingraining a piece of him into all the women, a task he could perform almost endlessly, but too many people in one day forced him into low power mode until his mind could recover.

The humans and other exotic races were highly repulsed by the breeders and being used to create monsters, but the promises of expanding mana networks and raising a person's mana capacity and Max Level quickly won many over.

The first batch of people had sold their body under the hopes of breaking through their limits, but the effects far exceeded what they had imagined. Many quickly jumped on this opportunity, and a culture of breeding monsters was rapidly becoming more widespread amongst the female populace.

Another change within the city was that the local economy was rapidly collapsing due to currency not being used within the dungeon in the same way. Styx had made small tokens, but they weren't a replacement for hard currency.

He was a follower of a united community in which he ensured the people could receive whatever they needed and wanted, whilst they in turn had their own rules to follow, such as being demanded to work.

The tunnel connecting the dungeon and city had become a main passageway, but only registered dungeon residents could use it, something the city's original inhabitants had yet to acquire.

Many dungeon residents freely entered the city and began exploring it whilst filled with curiosity. This included the dark elves, but they severely limited their time outside as direct sunlight was harmful to them. When they wanted to explore outside during the day, they all carried large umbrellas the at least stop direct contact with the sun.

One particular dark elf was Piri, who was escorted by her slave childhood friends, Avora, Felix and Thomas.

"Hurry up, class at the new school starts soon!" Piri stamped her foot and almost dragged the three slaves behind her.

She had just reached adulthood and been granted the class Apprentice Elemental Fighter, a rare and exotic class. Despite this, Styx still refused her becoming a dungeon wife under the premise of her being too young still.

Piri and the others were officially joining one of the human schools within the city, which were much better equipped to teach than Styx's still growing school was. They had a much more solid foundation and knowledge base. Styx was still busy revising the local education system, but the children in the dungeon and even some adults were sent to these schools in the meantime.

"We don't accept your kind in here!" A small group of kids with an older male human child at the helm confronted Piri and the three slaves as they entered the school.

"Hmph, move out of my way."

"No, I don't want to."

Piri didn't bother arguing with him and clenched her fist before punching him straight in the nose.

"What are you waiting for, beat them up!"

Having been officially commanded, the Astora and the other two slaves were helpless and forced to also attack. They had been with Piri long enough that following her orders had already become a second instinct to them.

"You actually hit me!" The kid held his nose, a faint trickle of blood seeping through the seam of his fingers. "Do you know who I am!?"

"I am a future dungeon wife, just for Lord Styx! I don't care who you are, now apologize."

Piri rose her nose towards the sky and looked down upon the other kid, who was both angry and afraid.

"Students! What is going on here!?" A young teacher with brunette hair cut in a bob rushed over to the scene of the incident and quickly helped the student with the bleeding nose, casting a quick healing magic on it.

"He picked a fight, he lost," Piri stated as if it were the most natural thing in the world before strutting past the flabbergasted teacher and students, her large umbrella resting against her shoulder and keeping the sunlight off her skin.

"Are you the new students from the dungeon?" The teacher asked in an uncertain tone.

"Yes."

"Please come with me, I will quickly get you inducted into the school and assess your level of studies so I can place you with others of a similar level."

Piri wanted to roll her eyes, but Styx's voice resonated in her head, reminding her to behave and be respectful towards the teachers.

"Yes… Thank you for your assistance."