Following the end of the family gathering the Dungeon was kicked into high gear, its master keen to expand his domain even further so as to keep his hallowed third position amongst his siblings.
He wasted no time choosing his free 4 star mine after getting Daki's professional opinion. Though the output was the bare minimum for its rank, a paltry 5kg a day it was still access to a material he couldn't get his hands on normally.
With a contingent of muscular ronsos and ice dwarves as its miners (no one else being strong enough to actually retrieve the ore from its solid confines) a vein of polar thulium appeared on the still unfinished 15th floor, far away from investigating adventurers. The mines on the fifth floor had already been discovered by more than a few groups.
In the beginning Frost simply had those that treaded upon his secrets killed but when more and more came across them it was wiser to reveal something that could no longer be kept hidden, to instead openly claim them in his name. Several 2 star mines were already starting to welcome external miners under his rule as lord of the Niflheim Dungeon.
Time continued to pass and the Dungeon of Niflheim continued to grow and develop. Its fame grew, spreading far and wide as the place all manner of adventurers needed to be, and merchants needed to make their mark. Along with Indra's Lightning Grotto and the other Dungeons present on the Yangmir continent the market was shifting.
Monster lairs were already big enough news when they sprung up with five to ten floors let alone Dungeons that rapidly expanded to twice that many in merely a year's time.
The Dungeon of Niflheim's territory was not only a bustling haven for adventurers and merchants but even people with far less dangerous and money seeking careers were being drawn over. The recent and still building turmoil in the Northrend empire was filling many of its citizens with fear.
Large swathes of them were fleeing the realm, escaping to the nearby territories before the sword of Damocles truly fell. The war of princes was always filled with turmoil, but this generation felt different.
"Dad are you sure about this?" One day a family consisting of a father, a son and young daughter arrived at the gates of the Niflheim camp with their belongings in tow. The father sported a determined expression while his children were clearly worried.
"Yes, I'm sure. Northrend is no longer safe and holds no prospects for us." The father under the current storm chose to relocate his family and the business he worked so hard to build to beyond Northrend. He had seen the signs and his intuition told him that if he wished to protect those he loved they needed to leave and leave now.
"But father why here? This territory has only been around for a few months?" The son who was old enough to know the workings of the adult world couldn't understand his father's decision. Moving was fine but why not to the Cleran kingdom or the Lumerian federation well known countries that would likely offer greater business prospects than the Northrend empire did in their prime.
"Hehehe because this place is a true empire in the making, its prospects far exceed that of Northrend's neighbouring countries. It may not be much right now but in the future I can guarantee that the realm of Niflheim will span far and wide.
Us getting here now also means there's far less competition....Please trust in your father's judgement." The man who was in his forties had always trusted his gut instincts. It was how he got the woman of his dreams, won the trust of his master and even succeeded beyond all doubt within the crowded markets of Arkheart.
"....Fine, though I can't see this place in the same way you do your judgement has yet to steer us wrong father. We'll follow your lead as always." The man's son had complete faith in his father, the worry in his and his sister's eyes thus vanished in that moment.
Several minutes later the young family walked through the camp's gate and headed to office of residential registration. This was too be their new home.
As the Harkers battled against an ice revenant on the eight floor, slowly but surely chipping away at it with their well-coordinated teamwork none of them suspected that the master of the Dungeon was eyeing their progress with clear interest.
"Jakka hurry up with your enchantments!" The boss of the Harkers loudly orders as he leaped to the side dodging the ice revenant's mighty swing.
"I'm going as fast as I can, stop moving so much." Jakka their resident mage roared his complaints as he did his best to keep focus. Though he lacked big flashy spells he was quite adept at enchantment magic that greatly improved his team's weaponry and armours.
"That's easier said than done Jakka!" The ox beastman with his Warhammer chided from the side as he took a massive wallop at the revenant's great sword, both of them being launched backwards from the residual force.
"Ah here I'm done!"
"Perfect!"
"Sweet!"
"Now the party can really begin ahahaha!" The Harkers were emboldened by the earth aspected mana wrapping around their weapons and armours with this they didn't have to fear the ice encrusted around the revenant nor their weapon's being damaged by its armour.
"[Grand wallop]"
"[Swallow's pierce]"
"[Sword fang]" With their weapons enchanted the three close combat fighters of the Harkers attacked with some of their most powerful skills all at once instantly forcing the ice revenant to take defensive measures but unfortunately it wasn't enough to endure heavy blows from three different directions.
The ice revenant was severely wounded and quickly fell to their blades a few minutes later, leaving the armour that was its body and a damaged soul core lying on the ground.
"Phew that was close, ice revenants really mean business." The group were clearly exhausted after their battle as all five of them fell to the ground and broke into heavy breathing. This was the third C-rank they'd fought against today and it drained them of all their remaining stamina.
"Let's call it a day and find a place to make camp." The leader who was known as Rindou declared an end to the day as he moved to rifle through the materials left by the ice revenant's corpse.
"Huh what's this?"