New system

"Alright. Welcome everyone to our new meeting." Five briefly glanced at the monsters seated around the meeting table. They avoided his gaze, clearly nervous about his announcement. They all knew changes were going to take place and it did not mean anything good. It was the first time they were experiencing something like this.

"From now on, we are going to operate differently. We suffered a terrible defeat a few days ago. Although it is officially a draw, we all know that we were defeated. Our opponent was strong; I understand that they had the advantage of challenging us, but there were still many things that went wrong."

Five let his statement sink into the monsters as he looked at each one of them. They remained rather calm but many avoided his gaze. In particular, the leaders of the crafting department who were well aware of the actions of their subordinates and Harriet who felt guilty of letting down her guard against Ivan. If she didn't, the monsters might have been able to fight back and reduce their losses.

"This new system should aim at making the monsters feel valued and hopefully encourage them to contribute to the development of the dungeon. I want them to gain something by working for the dungeon and to treat the dungeon as their home."

"First, all the monsters shall be given a certain salary based on the performance of their floor. The dungeon interface records in detail how much DP is generated by the dungeon; there is the data about how each floor and race perform. Using this information, we shall come up with a baseline amount of DP that each floor should generate."

"Then, we will simply look at how much DP a certain floor actually generates and will subtract the baseline from that amount. The results of the subtraction are the profit generated by each floor. Then, 70% of that profit shall go to the dungeon directly and be used for general development. As for the remaining 30%, they will be given to the monsters to use as they please."

"Essentially, the more DP the monsters generate, the more DP they would have to use as they please. They can use it to purchase various things at the dungeon shop; the food they consumed will still be provided by the dungeon. I am aware that not all the monsters have wants. And in that case, the monster in charge of those floors shall use the DP appropriately to improve the conditions of the monsters. I expect something like Dreidus did last time. He used the 100 thousand DP to summon the Boss Monsters of the different races; they were all extremely useful during the battle."

"This is what will happen for the monsters fighting to generate DP. A similar system will be in place for the craftsmen. I will set up a quota that the crafting department will need to output every day. This should encourage the craftsmen to work hard and improve their success rate. The funding you will receive for your research will also depend on how much mechs you are able to produce. For now, I expect you to at least be able to meet the demand of the players once they reach Tinyland. Pause the research for now and build stock instead."

"Then, there is the third category of monsters. Those who do not generate any DP for various reasons like not having a floor or being in charge of other internal tasks." Five looked at Harriet and the new leader of the Nosferatu, Raymond. "Generally, the monsters who fall into this category have the ability to level up. Their quota will be in terms of leveling up."

"Aside from the Salary, I will also introduce something called Pension. The monsters shall fight as usual but those who somehow manage to survive for a whole month shall be given the right to retire. Naturally, this offer is only valid if the monster did not actively avoid battle. Once retired, the monsters will stay in an unaccessible area where they will be free to do as they pleased. They shall have three duties."

"First, they will still have to submit the body parts considered as loot by the system every week as usual. Second, in case of an emergency situation or an important battle taking place, the monsters will still have to fight for the dungeon and obey the superior monsters. And lastly, I hope that these monsters will reproduce and allow their offsprings to fight for the dungeon too."

"And that's it. I know these are new concepts to you but they are widely used in the world I come from. Feel free to ask any questions you have. We shall discuss where to put the baseline together for each floor."

Five concluded his long explanation and waited for the monsters' questions. The monsters had different reactions; in general, it was a positive change. Dreidus was delighted by the new changes. So far, the Undead and the Beasts have been doing all the hard work and did not receive any compensation for all the DP they accumulated. Now, the Undead and the Beasts were actually going to be rewarded for their hard work.

Ishan was also very satisfied with these changes. The Volcanic biome has just been opened to the barbarians and the monsters there were already starting to generate DP.

The only monsters feeling the heat were the Elder Gnome, Goblin King and the Elder Dwarf. Although they were not responsible for their subordinates' actions, they were still accountable for it. They knew this new system was targeting them. They would first need to improve their success rate and then, they would need to reduce their wastes.

The budget allocated to the crafting department has already been drastically reduced. They could no longer be wasteful. In the past, they would simply throw away the low durability tools but now, they would have to actually repair them. It was a task the blacksmiths could easily do but were just too lazy to do.

"No questions? That's fine. I'll let you all digest the information for now. We can discuss the baseline later," said Five after waiting for a while.

"There is another reason for this meeting. The third trial is officially over and I received a few rewards from this. There is one, in particular, that might be useful to you." He took out the Drop of Universal Blood and instantly the monsters all focused their attention on the small red vial.

Five held the vial in front of him and looked at each monster. He mentally asked the system for the chances of success:

[System prompt: If the Universal Blood is used on the Goblin King, the success rate will be 90%]

[System prompt: If the Universal Blood is used on the Elder Dwarf, the success rate will be 40%]

[System prompt: If the Universal Blood is used on the Harpy Queen, the success rate will be 25%]

[System prompt: If the Universal Blood is used on the Flame Belle, the success rate will be 25%]

As he was listening to the system prompts, Five made a small observation, 'The success rate is dependent on the bloodline. I can estimate the purity of the bloodline based on the level cap.'

The monsters eagerly watched Five holding the vial. They felt like he was teasing them.

"Alright. Unfortunately, I only received one drop of the Universal Blood. Only one monster can benefit from this. I want to use this opportunity to make my vision clear. The dungeon shall reward those who worked hard for the dungeon. It is why I shall give the Universal Blood to Ishan. Do any of you disagree with my decision?"

The monsters remained silent. They all wanted the Universal Blood but they did not have any valid argument to claim it. Ishan was excited but before Five could give it to him, the Elder Dwarf asked, "If the Universal Blood shall be awarded based on meritocracy, I believe Dreidus is the most suited. He followed you from the very beginning and contributed much more than Ishan."

Five nodded. "You have a good point but I believe Dreidus does not want it, am I wrong? You don't want to evolve your bloodline; you don't even want to become an elder lich."

Dreidus instantly became the center of attention. He casually explained, "That is right. Although I am attracted to it, I believe the Universal Blood would do me more harm than good. If I consume it, it will be possible for me to become a Necro lich but it will make further advancement harder. I don't know ways to improve the strength of a Necro lich but it is different if I remain as a lich. I can combine my body with other liches and grow in power in a similar fashion to what is done at Necro Valley."

"Sweet. Then, the blood shall be given to Ishan. Consume it when you return to your home."

The meeting came to an end and the monsters left quickly with relieved expressions. It did not turn out as bad as they were expecting it. The new system was bound to change the mentality of the monsters a little bit.

Harriet was the last one to leave the meeting room with Alice and Angela. The Harpy Queen had been morose and silent since she was revived. She felt guilty for letting down the monsters. She knew she caused the death of many monsters but it was too late. All she could do now was to work hard and level up to level 60, her level cap. She needed to do so before one month or if Farsight challenged the dungeon again, the outcome would be the same.

Five remained alone in the meeting room. 'They took it quite well. I was expecting more complaints but the synergy of the dungeon has still been affected by this battle. The communication has definitely been affected. Maybe they were just feeling the pressure from me. I'll wait for a few days and observe.'

'I hope Ishan succeeds in his evolution. His success rate is only 45%. Let's hope for the best.'

He opened the dungeon interface and watched the monsters' actions. He saw Ishan rush back to the Volcanic biome and to the settlement of the Flame Scarabs to absorb the Universal Blood. The crafting department was complaining about the new changes while the beasts were celebrating them.

However, what attracted Five's attention was the appearance of a bird at the entrance of the dungeon. A black raven was innocently pecking the floor at the entrance. The unusual part was that they were in the middle of winter; it was unnatural for birds to roam around.

Furthermore, from the camera angle, Five saw a small piece of paper attached to the raven's feet.