New Earth- The Dungeon of Madness 64 Development of the barbarians

The barbarians who accepted to try forging mostly consisted of those not satisfied with their current living conditions. The glorious hunters would naturally prefer to spend time in the forest where they could vent themselves but not everyone was gifted as a hunter. With the opportunity to try something new that might considerably improve their living conditions, a few barbarians decided to give it a try.

As it turned out, they were actually gifted for this. They faced nothing but failures on the first day and ended up being treated as the ridicule of the tribe but on the second day, the first weapon was successfully crafted.

While the weapon could barely be called a Grade 0 weapon, it was still a weapon! It was the proof that the ancestors' records were real and effective. In a mere two days, someone who never touched a forging hammer before actually succeeded in making a small dagger.

The most impressive was the person who crafted the dagger, who turned out to be a woman. Her name was Elsa. She was a young woman who married into the tribe a few years ago. Coming from a smaller tribe, her life was supposed to be comfortable and easy once she joined the Black Iron Tribe but unfortunately, her husband passed away just one year after they married.

Elsa now had a 2 years-old son and stayed at her in-laws' house. While she was allowed to stay, she was also considered as a parasite as she could not contribute much to the household. When she learned that the Shaman was allowing anyone to practice forging, she immediately volunteered herself to be able to provide a better environment for her son. As it turned out, it was the wisest decision she had ever made.

On the day the first weapon was created, Achi personally came to reward her. He also displayed the dagger in front of the whole tribe saying: "Look at this dagger! This is the first weapon of our tribe created from the craft of the ancestors! Yes, it is just a basic weapon but to us, it represents a milestone! If in just 2 days we were able to make a dagger like this, what would happen in a few months? And so, this dagger is a symbol, the proof that we can achieve great things by using the ancestors' record! The dagger shall from now on belong to the entire tribe, it shall become the relic to be passed on to the next generation!"

The tribe was stunned when they heard that the dagger was becoming one of the relics of the tribe. This was no small matter but since the Shaman and the elders also agreed, they could not object. It sounded like the dagger was forcefully taken from Elsa but in truth, there was no greater honor for her to have her craft recognized to the point to be considered as a relic!

Since that day, she worked even harder; in just one week, she practiced forging as much as she could and was now a peak Grade 1 Blacksmith. Her status soared exponentially such that even the Shaman and Achi stepped out personally to protect her. She was just a woman and they were afraid that her in-laws might try to take advantage of her now that she was important to the tribe.

When they saw her success, many other barbarians also decided to try forging and the result of 1 week of forging was 8 Grade 1 Blacksmith and 23 Grade 0 Blacksmith. It was an extremely good result considering that the village consisted only of 300 individuals which meant that at least 10% of the barbarians had some skills when it came to forging.

Apart from forging, the barbarians also made their first official trade with the townsmen. As they previously arranged, the players brought back a large variety of food and spices that could be stored for long while the barbarians took out furs, necklaces and other items crafted from the animal parts.

Although a group of barbarians went to the mine on a daily basis to collect ores and another group would practice forging, the barbarians still had enough men to bring back a sufficient amount of preys. They also already had a year-long reserve of animal fur and teeth ready to be traded.

Having secured a source of food for the winter, the tribe felt safe and peaceful for the first time. However, it was precisely that feeling of security that sowed the seeds of greed. Many barbarians realized that they were sitting on top of a mine of gold and were still just scratching the surface!

It all happened because of the players' behavior. Initially, the barbarians were unaware of the dungeon and simply asked for some rations to survive smoothly through the winter. But since they wanted to do business, the players brought back a lot of other food that the barbarians had never seen like seafood, special vegetables and even just animals that came from different regions.

They made their own advertisement by sharing some food when they were all eating together at the bonfire and the barbarians seemed to really like it. After one week, they all knew that the dungeon was a source of wealth and if they could just tap a little more from it, then they would be able to eat delicious meals like that every day!

Their reasoning was straightforward and quickly, the barbarians made the request to Achi to go to the second floor. The latter naturally agreed; it was something they would naturally do at some point, exploring early was not a bad idea.

...

And so, during the second week, Five ended up watching the barbarians roam through the labyrinth. They were very careful at first and stayed in groups despite being several levels above the monsters. They were fearful that the undead monster that killed Toba's group would still be lurking in the shadows but after their initial exploration, they concluded that the Shaman was right and that it was just a one-time monster.

The barbarians were too strong for the second floor. Even the shades and the mimics who took the barbarians by surprise at first were unable to kill even one of them.

They quickly adapted to this new hunting environment and mercilessly slaughtered every monster in the labyrinth. Five had to constantly respawn them and after careful observation, he set up specific respawn timers.

The dead skeletons would respawn every 10 minutes while the shades and mimic would do so every 15 minutes.

However, despite the relatively long respawn time of the monsters, Five's income took a severe blow. The barbarians could clear the entire labyrinth in less than an hour if they tried their hardest. They also looted all the treasures scattered in the labyrinth but fortunately, they still did not discover the secret room.

Every day, they would go back with huge bags full of skeleton bones, shade essences, and enchanted woods. These were all items commonly used in different crafting disciplines and with them, the tribe was starting to shift from their traditional hunting habit to crafting and exploring the dungeon, just like the townsmen were doing.

...

Five was calmly relaxing in the common room of the living quarters. After the arrival of the harpies, he realized that they were missing an area where they could spend time together and eat their meals; always bringing these girls to his room was not very appropriate. And so, a common room was built at the end of the corridor where they would all usually chat and relax.

'It had been very calm recently' thought Five. His interface was opened on his side, displaying that it was already 23:59 but he was not focusing his attention on the screen.

He was instead chatting with Ariel. After the 2 weeks, she was now a level 24 harpy while Angela and Alice were still level 23. He asked the harpies about the reason for the difference in their levels and they simply said that it was because Ariel was putting in more effort in her training. As he heard that, Five felt some warmth; these girls were not just carefreely leeching off him, they were also training to be ready for the future.

"It's almost midnight! I need to go and see my sisters," said Ariel as she stood up from her chair.

"Are you going out again tonight? I did not know harpies were nocturnal creatures," commented Five.

"We are not nocturnal but we like to fly in the sky under the moon. It is more convenient since there are no humans that might see us! Did you notice how Alice became a lot more patient these days and how Angela started speaking more?" playfully said Ariel.

"Of course! I am not blind, but what is the relationship between you going out and the change in their behavior?"

"... Nothing... It's just that it is good for us to be free to fly in the wild. No offense but although the dungeon is our home, we cannot really call it home for now..."

Five nodded, he understood what she was talking about. Although it was where they were born and spent most of their time, the environment was not adapted to them. They could barely fly and use their wings; they were basically birds in cages. He knew it was the case but when he heard Ariel, he could not help but feel a twinge of sorrow.

"I know... But in the near future, I will definitely make you a wonderful home!" declared Five. He already had 500000 DP as a reserve but if he were to make something like the Avian Cavern, all that fortune would disappear in an instant.

"I know! I am waiting for that day! But for now, I'll go with Angela and Alice!" answered Ariel as she waved goodbye.

At that moment, the clock ticked and displayed 0:00 and at the same time, a world announcement rung at Five's ears.

Chapter end