In an Underground City, the Lord is the absolute core. Alongside the Lord, there are four crucial components: citizens, soldiers, heroes, and Adventurers. Some of these roles can overlap, and within them, further subdivisions exist.
For instance, Adventurers can be categorized as Contract Adventurers, Exclusive Adventurers, Tourist Adventurers, etc., based on their level of cooperation with the Underground City.
Hero units are the rarest. If the Lord is akin to a king or emperor, the heroes are equivalent to ministers or generals. A high-quality hero unit is more valuable than a thousand troops!
Different heroes possess distinct aptitudes, influencing the buffs they bring to the territory. As the saying goes, "A thousand soldiers are easy to find, but a general is hard to come by." Only a select few with special talents can become heroes, and Nancy Lilia, whom Jack encountered, possesses top-tier aptitude.
Recruiting her is key to Jack's medium and long-term plans. Not only does Nancy have immense potential, but her unique identity could be pivotal in controlling the entire Eternal Night Great Forest with minimal cost.
However, Miracle City is still too weak to nurture heroes, and recruiting Nancy won't be easy. She is wary, timid, and distrustful of others. If Jack fails to gain her trust and attempts to bind her with a contract too hastily, she will flee.
Due to various reasons, Nancy's stay in Gloomy Valley will not exceed half a year. If Jack can't win her over in time, she will leave. Despite the challenge, Jack is confident in himself and his territory. However, the time isn't ripe yet, so he must not alert her.
First, Jack instructed the Gnomes to strip the Goblins of their equipment:
- **Goblin Short Sword**: Gray lower-grade equipment.
- **Goblin Sickle**: Gray lower-grade equipment.
- **Goblin Leather Armor**: Gray middle-grade equipment.
- **Goblin Short Crossbow**: Gray middle-grade equipment.
There were fifty-two pieces of graded equipment in total. Other junk held no value. Item grades range from gray, white, green, blue, purple, to orange. Though graded, the equipment was the lowest gray grade. Jack left five short crossbows and knives for the Gnomes for self-defense and recycled the rest.
**You recycled "Goblin Staff," Tier 1 Material Essence +5!**
**You recycled "Goblin Leather Armor," Tier 1 Material Essence +3!**
**You recycled "Goblin Sickle," Tier 1 Material Essence +1!**
Recycling 52 pieces of gray equipment brought 87 units of Tier 1 Material Essence to the territory. Not bad! With these materials, constructing the Trade Hall was simple.
The Goblin camp also yielded 24 red blood fruits and 30 blue moon grass. Red Claw Village, with its two spiritual fields, produced these specialties. Spiritual fields, valuable resources, can naturally or artificially absorb Chaos Tide energy to nourish crops rapidly.
Red Claw Village can produce fifty red blood berries and twenty blue moon grass every ten days. Red blood fruit heals wounds quickly, while blue moon grass restores physical strength. Though common Tier 1 materials, they are practical and valuable, serving as raw materials for refining long-lasting medicines.
Acquiring a resource-producing territory like Red Claw Village is a dream start for a new Dungeon Lord. The resources can be used or sold, acting as a small money tree. Any graded resource has value, even if useless; at the very least, it can be decomposed and recycled to produce Material Essence for construction.
Because Red Claw Village is valuable, the Goblin Lord won't give up easily. He will likely send troops to reclaim the village, posing a threat to Miracle City.
Jack isn't worried. He has "Sekiro" and "Hot-Blooded Legend" ready to be activated. As he upgrades, Crystallization of Inspiration will increase. What he needs is to expand his territory and seize more cores!
Miracle City, only a week old, has a protective field lasting three more weeks. During this time, even a Dark Kind army can't breach the gates, posing no short-term threat.
Jack allocated the Gnome citizens: thirteen remained in Red Claw Village for farming and labor, while two, a male named Arlo and a female named Ava, were brought to the main city.
Arlo, an honest-looking Gnome boy, has some cultivation talent and could be developed into an Adventurer or fighting force. Ava is the elven girl Nancy disguised as a Gnome.
Back in the main city, Jack assigned tasks. Arlo handled chores and errands, while Ava assisted in the Secret Realm Lobby, receiving Adventurers. Jack planned for Ava to serve as a "network administrator," both to help with daily tasks and to understand the territory better.
With Miracle City's potential, Jack believed this little elf would soon recognize its value and promise.
"Th-Thank you, Lord!" Arlo flushed with excitement. Once an ordinary Gnome villager, captured by the Dark Kind, his life seemed over. But today, he was not only rescued but also had the chance to follow a Human Lord!
"Thank you, Lord!" Nancy, too, was grateful, though skeptical. Her eyes swept over the Underground City, frowning slightly. It looked like a refugee camp rather than an Underground City—a new Lord's territory, no threat to her but powerless against the Eternal Night Dragon King.
Despite its weakness, the protective energy made it a safe haven for now. It might be wise to hide here until the situation calmed.
Jack integrated various information through the territory core and sent it to the two: "This information covers everything about the Underground City, including your daily tasks and precautions. Understand it quickly and start working."
"Yes, Lord!" they replied.
With tasks assigned, Jack began building the territory.
**You are building a Tier 1 building "Trade Hall." This construction requires 100 soul crystals, 50 mental power, and 30 Tier 1 Material Essence. Build immediately? Yes/No!**
"Yes!" Without hesitation. The Trade Hall is crucial for territory trade!
Remaining Mental Power: 45.
Remaining soul crystals: 672.
Noticing a surplus of soul crystals, Jack decided to build more basic buildings.
Spent 200 soul crystals to build a "Monster Camp."
Spent 300 soul crystals to build an "Essence Altar."
- **Trade Hall**: Tier 1 Special Building, Underground City reception limit +10, adds territory trade function.
- **Monster Camp**: Tier 1 Basic Building, Underground City reception limit +15, recruitable monsters 0/30.
- **Essence Altar**: Tier 1 Basic Building, Underground City reception limit +10, contractible essences 0/100.
With the Monster Camp, Jack can summon monsters through essence, raising up to 30 territory monsters. Though lacking self-intelligence, they are 100% controllable and obedient, like combat units in a real-time strategy game.
The Essence Altar allows permanent essence imprinting on Adventurers and citizens, granting them monster abilities. As the power comes from Miracle City, they form a closer bond with it.
The more buildings, the larger the territory's volume. Miracle City's reception capacity increased to 160 people.
With only 172 soul crystals left, Jack needed to quickly harvest a wave from the Adventurers!