New Twilight Manor!
Chapter 89 - New Twilight Manor!
Just when Luke and the others were attacking the Green Dragon, something happened deep in the dungeon.
"Wind?"
"Ah~! Yes, that's the 'wind'!"
"Wind, wind, wind! It must be Aria's wind!"
Roaring, a monster located in the deeper floors of the dungeon gazed upwards, its sight seemingly penetrating through countless floors, fixating on Ais surrounded by a gentle breeze.
"Ah~ I found you. I'm coming for you, wait for me, 'Aria'..."
On that day, a certain monster located deep in the dungeon began to move upwards.
...
"Hey, look, it's the expedition team of Loki Familia!"
"They're back! Wow, those are huge magic stones; Loki Familia is truly impressive."
Luke followed the expedition team and returned to the surface.
Carrying two gigantic magic stones, they naturally became the center of attention.
"Alright, Finn, I'll take some people to the Guild Headquarters to exchange these. So you guys can go back to the base to rest first.."
Exiting the Tower of Babel and walking a short distance, Gareth, following the pre-arranged plan, left with a few others.
The large amount of resources obtained during the expedition couldn't be exchanged at the Guild office on the first floor of Tower of Babel.
They had to go to the Guild Headquarters on the northwest street.
In theory, it was not allowed to privately trade magic stones obtained in the dungeon, regardless of their size.
Processed magic stones could be made into various magic stone products like 'magic stone lamps.'
These products, including lighting fixtures, ignition devices, refrigerators, etc., had become indispensable in daily life.
Simultaneously, there was a huge demand for magic stone products worldwide.
Undoubtedly, Orario was the world's leading exporter of magic stone products.
It enjoyed the benefits of the 'sole magic stone industry' due to the presence of the dungeon, allowing it to develop faster than any other country on the continent.
Because of this, people referred to it as the center of the world.
The dungeon, which continuously spawned monsters, could produce endless magic stones, leading to enormous profits.
The adventurer guild monopolized the trading rights for magic stones, aiming to amass vast wealth through exclusive control of magic stones.
Although it was not allowed to privately trade according to the regulations, almost all Familia members ignored this rule.
For small-scale and inconspicuous magic stone transactions, the guild won't care and basically turns a blind eye.
However, for giant magic stones like the ones brought back by Loki Familia in this expedition, the Guild would absolutely not permit private transactions.
Even if someone wanted to engage in private transactions, with such large-sized magic stones, there was no other organization apart from the Guild that could effectively utilize them.
Because not only magic stone transactions, but also the craftsmanship of magic stone products was similarly restricted by the Guild.
…
After all, the returns from a single expedition are considerable, and the amount involved is quite humongous, so it is generally handled by high-ranking or core members of the Familia.
In addition to magic stones, there are also drop items from monsters or materials collected along the way.
These materials can be exchanged directly for Valis in the Guild, but the Guild will only exchange them at market prices, known as the standard rate or the lowest price.
While this method eliminates the risk of being deceived, it is safe and reliable; most adventurers still hope to get a higher selling price.
Therefore, many people take them to merchants or familia specializing in commerce for an appraisal.
The advantage of doing so is the possibility of getting a price higher than the market standard, but at the same time, there is also a risk of getting scammed.
Many new adventurers will venture into such places initially, and most of them will face disappointing results.
So, in the beginning, it is safer to sell it to the Guild.
However, this situation generally does not occur with members of Loki Familia, simply because mentioning the name 'Loki Familia' can be quite advantageous in negotiations.
(PS: This clause, "generally does not occur," is added to allude to cases like Luke and Ais.)
Because they are one of the few factions capable of retrieving precious resources from the deep floors, merchants and other familias are afraid to offend them and be put on the blacklist of future dealings.
Gareth, in charge of logistics, is responsible for handling the spoils of the expedition with his team.
Finn, on the other hand, continues towards the familia's base with Luke and Ais.
However, on the way back to their base, some hushed whispers from onlookers caught Finn and Luke's attention.
"Loki Familia, humph, a group of lucky fellows."
"That's right. Originally, when I heard about the news that 'King' and 'Vana Freya' were about to level up, I thought Loki Familia would be overshadowed by Freya Familia."
"Yeah, but now the combat power of the two familias has returned to balance."
"By the way, the next captain of Freya Familia should be 'King,' right?"
Finn listened to the murmurs of passersby, showing a slight interest.
However, he just kept the matter in mind and planned to investigate later.
The group continued on their way back to the Loki Familia's base, the Twilight Manor.
"This..."
"Wow, what's going on here?!"
Upon returning to the familia's base, the expedition team members, including Finn and Riveria, were shocked by the sight of the building in front of them.
Loki, standing at the entrance to greet them, saw everyone's surprised expressions and couldn't help but smile triumphantly.
"Ahahaha, how about this? This is the brand new Twilight Manor I commissioned the Goibniu Familia to renovate while you were on the expedition!"
Indeed, in front of Luke and the others at this moment, there stood a completely different Twilight Manor.
A mansion much taller than the surrounding buildings, long, wide, and large, was situated in front of Luke and the others.
Several high-rise towers overlapped to form the mansion, resembling a group of mountains made of swords, with its copper-colored exterior giving it the appearance of a vigorous and burning flame.
Among the many towers, the highest central tower displayed the clown flag symbolizing the Loki Familia.
This is the Loki Familia's newly renovated base, Twilight Manor.
The new Twilight Manor is a collection of many towers.
The lower halves of the towers are connected, and the upper halves extend to form stone-paved aerial corridors connecting to other towers.
The entire architectural complex appears intricately intertwined in every direction, lacking any semblance of order.
This relatively chaotic style perfectly reflects the nature of the goddess 'Loki.'
"Really, although I'm happy that the base has been renovated, the expedition team has just returned, and now is the time for rest. How are the members supposed to find their rooms in such a complex structure?"
Finn looked somewhat helplessly at the triumphant Loki.
With this new complex structure, it seemed that they would not be able to rest for a while.
"Let's arrange for the members to rest first."
"Loki, you're the only one who understands the details of the new base, so come and help. There's no slacking off."
"After that, I still need to report to you about the expedition."
Thinking about arranging the members to rest first, followed by reporting to Loki about the expedition and coordinating with Gareth about the sales of the spoils, Finn felt like his rest time was slowly slipping away from him.
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