The Guild Hall hung in an unusual stillness following Sage’s declaration. It was no longer the shocked silence that had preceded it, nor the explosive uproar that erupted after his initial words.
This silence was heavier, more palpable, as if the very air had thickened around them. Hundreds of Adventurers stood frozen in place, their faces turned toward the man seated at the desk, a complex mix of disbelief, reverence, greed, fear, and sothing far more perilous...hope.
Sage observed them quietly. He noted how so clenched their fists, knuckles turning white as buried ambitions surged to the surface. Others swallowed hard, their eyes flickering with unease as they began to grasp the potential for Noble retaliation.
He recognized gratitude forming among a few, a raw emotion born from the belief that soone had willingly stepped into danger on their behalf.
And he sensed a budding worship in certain gazes, subtle and unspoken yet unmistakably present.
A faint smile tugged at Sage’s lips as he thought inwardly. "Looks like it’s working. Just need to keep playing this saintly and selfless role."
Taking a slow breath, he continued. "First," he said calmly, his voice resonating through the vast hall without strain, "you deserve to know where they are."
Every eye sharpened with attention.
"They are not inside Greyvale City," Sage explained. "None of them. Each lies beyond the urban periter, far enough that ordinary civilians would never stumble across them but close enough that a determined force could reach them within hours rather than days."
A low murmur rippled through the hall.
Distance mattered; whoever controlled proximity controlled response ti, and whoever controlled response ti controlled ownership.
"They are spread apart," Sage continued. "Not clustered together. This alone reduces the chance of any single faction securing all of them at once and ans any attempt to seize them would require dividing manpower."
He allowed that implication to settle for a mont.
"Second," Sage added, "they are not equal."
The hall fell quieter still.
"The three dungeons differ not just in environnt but also in internal structure, monster density, and escalation curve. Their depths vary significantly. Their ecosystems are distinct. The way danger accumulates within each is different."
He paused before adding gravely, "This brings to my most important realization while inside those dungeons."
Sage’s expression hardened slightly.
"There is no real dungeon ranking system in this world."
That statent stirred deeper reactions than any proclamation of conquest could have evoked.
"Think about it," Sage urged. "What does it an when soone calls a dungeon ’dangerous’? What does that term truly asure? The number of deaths? The number of survivors? The reputation passed between rcenary groups?"
He shook his head gently. "There is no unified standard or formal tric, a system that tells a warrior whether his strength belongs within before he steps inside."
He leaned forward slightly, resting his palms on the desk. "This is why most dungeon expeditions fail before they even begin. It’s not due to a lack of courage or skill among the warriors. It’s because they enter blind."
A subtle tension rippled through the hall.
"You don’t know what kind of monsters await you inside. You don’t know how deep the dungeon runs. You can’t tell if the creatures lurking within are re low level monsters or sothing more formidable. You have no idea how their behavior shifts as you delve deeper. Most importantly, you can’t be sure whether your power is relevant to what lies ahead."
His gaze swept slowly across the crowd.
"So you gamble. You gamble with your lives, with your comrades, and with your future."
So Adventurers lowered their eyes.
"For generations," Sage continued, "the danger of a dungeon has been asured solely by how many warriors failed to return."
The weight of his words settled heavily in the air.
"How many bodies lie near its entrance? How many expeditions have vanished without a trace? How many nas have turned into warnings rather than mories?" He straightened slightly.
"That isn’t a ranking system; it’s a graveyard."
The silence deepened.
"I ca to this realization while navigating those dungeons," Sage said, reflecting on how monsters behaved, how they gathered, how their strength clustered, and how their presence thickened as one approached the core.
His fingers curled faintly. "They aren’t random; they’re not just beasts. They exist within layered structures and follow internal rules that define their roles within the dungeon itself."
He gestured lightly toward the hall. "This ans they can be classified. It ans we can asure danger and that death doesn’t have to be our first teacher."
At that mont, Sage turned his head slightly. "Boren, Mina, go to the last cabinet on the left side; you’ll find so books there, bring them out."
Boren startled and hurried from behind the desk while Mina darted after him. They moved toward the tall cabinets lining the far wall. When Boren pulled one open, he froze.
Inside were stacks of slim, freshly bound volus.
For a mont, he simply stared in awe before leaning closer with wide eyes. "When did these arrive...?"
Shaking himself out of his daze, Boren began gathering stacks into his arms while Mina followed suit. Together, they carried them forward.
Sage accepted one book and raised it for everyone in the hall to see. The cover was plain yet sturdy with bold lettering pressed into its surface:
Dungeon Guide Book.
"This," Sage said evenly, "is what I was working on while you wondered where your Guildmaster had disappeared to."
"Within this guide," he continued, "is everything I docunted: structural patterns of dungeon environnts; shifts in monster density by depth; changes in behavioral aggression near the core; increases in mana pressure increases the deeper one travels."
He tilted the book slightly. "More importantly, it introduces the first functional danger assessnt system that these dungeons have ever seen."
A wave of murmurs rippled through the crowd.
"I’ve classified dungeon monsters based on their mana signatures, the roles they play, and the threats they pose in relation to a warrior’s capabilities. I categorized them, tracked their response tis, and observed their spawning locations, guarding behaviors, and concentration patterns."
His gaze sharpened as he pressed on. "Dungeon monsters aren’t just enemies. They’re integral components."
So Adventurers frowned at this assertion.
"Components of an ecosystem that can be asured," Sage elaborated. "This ans we can rank dungeons themselves."
He paused for emphasis. "In this guide, you’ll find classifications of dungeons directly linked to monster composition, floor depth, and escalation behavior. You’ll discover monster categories, strength thresholds, environntal risk factors, and core proximity patterns."
He let his words linger in the air. "With this guide in hand, you won’t step into a dungeon blindly. You’ll know exactly what kind of dungeon awaits you. You’ll understand which class of monsters inhabits it and whether your current strength is sufficient, or if you’re walking straight into your own demise."
The hall fell silent. For generations, warriors had entered dungeons ard only with rumors and bloodstains; the notion of entering with structured knowledge felt almost surreal.
"For the first ti," Sage continued confidently, "entering a dungeon will no longer be a gamble."
At that mont, Gregor stepped forward slightly, his brows furrowed.
"Guildmaster," he said steadily, "there’s sothing you haven’t addressed."
Sage turned to him calmly.
"You ntioned that you conquered these dungeons," Gregor continued. "You claid they are now under your control."
He gestured faintly. "But control alone doesn’t guarantee safety."
"All Noble-controlled dungeons are fortified, guarded and sealed by manpower and authority. Yet even then, people still bleed to gain access."
His eyes locked onto Sage’s with intensity. "You are one man; even with a Guild behind you, you don’t have armies stationed at those sites. If there are no protective asures in place, then those dungeons remain effectively open."
Murmurs began to rise again in the hall.
"Anyone could enter them. Anyone could exploit them. Anyone could take what they want."
Gregor lowered his voice slightly as he pressed on. "So tell , Guildmaster... what is actually protecting your dungeons?"
The entire hall turned its attention back to Sage; even Valeria’s gaze sharpened with interest.
For a long mont, Sage remained silent before breaking into a smile.
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A/N: Everyone there is a competition going on in the discord. You can create a kingdom or nation, character and any race you want and it will be added to the novel, that is if you win.
If you are interested join the discord to create your own character, race or kingdom.
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