Chapter 10

After one month since the start of the dungeons, the number of Awakened individuals had experienced a drastic increase. As a result, changes in society began to unfold.

Many people, feeling more powerful, started to disregard rules and occasionally commit crimes.

As a consequence, stricter measures were adopted; anyone who had ever set foot in the dungeons was investigated.

Awakened individuals without records were detained, and the number of personnel dispatched by the organization to patrol increased nearly tenfold.

Stricter rules, with harsher punishments for the Awakened, were put in place.

Numerous programs and courses were provided by the government for the Awakened.

Since the term "Awakened" is a general classification, an unofficial way of categorizing them emerged.

"Adventurers" were the Awakened who carried out tasks such as monster elimination, resource collection, or earning a living through dungeon loot.

"Crafter" were individuals who used the strength gained from being Awakened to construct things.

"Defenders" were Awakened who protected cities from monsters and other Awakened individuals.

The term "Awakened" itself began to denote those possessing attribute panels without actively engaging in any of the designated roles.

However, this change wasn't entirely negative.

People's health improved, tasks that required great effort were being accomplished much more easily.

The visible improvement in people's performance led companies to consider being Awakened as a job requirement.

Despite the idea, there wasn't a precise way to accurately measure attributes, a fact that wasn't a high priority due to the number of Awakened.

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"When are we going to challenge the dungeon again?"

"I think it's a good idea. Everything is going smoothly now, and the dungeon doesn't need constant attention anymore."

"But what happened, Lívia? We expected Jeff to bring up this topic."

"Well, I wanted to go, but everyone was busy with something, so I was waiting for the right moment to bring it up."

"Have you all disconnected from the outside world? A study just came out talking about the advantages of being an Awakened."

"That's old news."

" This is different. Governments from various countries conducted the study. Aside from improved health, they claim Awakened individuals have an increased lifespan, and believe it or not, makes people look younger and more attractive."

After saying this, a fervor lit up in the women of the group, their eyes gleaming like hunters.

It was decided that we would challenge the dungeons at least three times every three days.

As a rookie dungeon master, there was never a dull moment during this month.

In this first month, I managed to complete all the minimum objectives and am now focused on continuing to improve; after all, the reward depends on the final result.

I decided to make the third floor a cave where mining is possible. Unlike the previous floors, this floor could be considered the simplest, but it's the largest floor of my dungeon. It consists of ten tunnels, each branching into four more tunnels, each with a different difficulty.

Each difficulty level corresponds to what you can gather in that tunnel. In other words, the more challenging the tunnel, the greater the quantity and quality of the resources.

However, all these tunnels lead to the same place, where the entrance to the next floor will be.

The final profit from the dungeon was immense, even after dividing it among everyone.

Incredibly, the areas that generated the most profit were the restaurant and the clinic.

Many people leave the dungeon tired, so many choose to eat here because of that. Moreover, those who have made good money decide to take the opportunity to rest and relax.

If it weren't for the AI assistants, we wouldn't be able to serve everyone or make this much money.

Even after just one week, Bernardo the blacksmith, taking advantage of time distortion, used it to forge various different weapons and provide repairs, nearly surpassing one-fifth of the month's profit.

Throughout all this, I never stopped training at the dojo. I've already learned all their movement techniques, but the instructor convinced me to learn sword attack techniques as well.

Seizing the moment, I went to visit my family with Luna and Alexandra. When we arrived, my mother fell in love with Luna. My mother embraced Luna, treating her as a cherished daughter, despite their first meeting. The favoritism was palpable, as she consistently extended privileges to Luna and spoiling her the whole time.

"I didn't know you were together with Lê. You two have been friends since childhood, I never imagined."

"Mom, it's not like that. I brought her because Luna asked to come along."

"Oh, that's a shame. I remember when you were a child, you used to say you'd marry her."

Alexandra and I have been friends since childhood, always together. However, due to her parents' work, she had to move, and we didn't see each other for four years.

"Go talk to your father."

Pushing me away from the conversation, she continued talking with Alexandra. Occasionally, I could hear some loud laughter.

"Thanks for letting your brother work with you, but if he's doing something wrong, don't be afraid to correct him or even fire him."

"No problem. He seems dedicated and seems to be working hard."

"It seems like he's interested in a girl and wants to save up money to go out with her."

Now I understood his excitement when he received his first paycheck.

"How do you know? Did he tell you?"

"Of course not, but you should have seen how he was when he returned with that friend of his."

"Stop it, Dad."

"When he saw me, he almost turned pale and started acting strange."

As we prepared to depart, during our farewell.

"Son, is it true that killing monsters makes you look younger?"

"I still don't know for sure, Mom, but that's what they're saying."

"Could you let your mother and father participate? And help us?"

"Sure, but I have to warn you, you need to be prepared. Many people feel a bit shocked when they kill monsters or die."

"Don't worry, I've researched how it works and everything. Our neighbor even said that after they tried it, it was tough, but they also said the couple felt really energetic afterward."

"Mom, please, stop, you don't need to tell me. Goodbye."

"Goodbye."

"Goodbye, Grandma and Grandpa."

"Goodbye, and Alexandra, good luck and work hard."

"Goodbye, you can count on it."

The rest of the evening was calm. We walked around a bit before heading back to the dungeon, until three clearly drunk guys were coming our way.

"Hey, hottie, wanna join us?"

"We'll make you feel amazing."

"No, thanks."

Despite declining, they continued advancing, suggesting they had less than honorable intentions.

Before I could intervene, Luna knocked one guy to the ground, not giving them a chance to retaliate, then she took down the second guy.

Before Luna could cause more trouble, I held her back to prevent her from continuing.

"Get out of here now, this is a warning, or I'll let her loose and help her deal with you."

After saying that, the last guy ran away, while the other two tried to get up and flee.

"Thank you both and Luna."

"Hi."

"I know you wanted to help me, but be careful before resorting to violence."

"But I held back."

After scolding her a bit, Alexandra thanked her again for her help but made Luna reflect on her actions.

"Thanks and sorry, Lê. I should probably have been teaching her that."

"Doubt it. Remember that time you punched two boys because they were bullying me?"

"That was ages ago, back in elementary school."

"Well, whenever you need help, just count on me – my protector and also my little heroine."

The rest of the way was without any problems.

The next day, as we were preparing to challenge the dungeon, my parents showed up.

Mom showed up all geared up in armor and holding a baseball bat, and Dad was like a medieval knight with a shield and sword. I couldn't help but chuckle at their enthusiasm.

"Hey."

"Welcome."

"The place is better than I expected. I should have visited earlier."

After chatting for a bit, we decided to take advantage of the situation and challenge the dungeon together.

"Thanks for letting us join you."

"No problem, the more people, the better."

With that kind of spirit, how could things not go well?