After the slave owners went bankrupt, they all wanted to keep me as a mistress.

"If you think no one will recognize you, then go ahead and do it."

The elven woman was too lazy to explain to this big-breasted, brainless dragon girl.

She is a moon elf, Fiona is a dragonkin, and they are both members of the Star Council. Recently, rumors of forbidden books have surfaced here, and once people find out that they have appeared here, all sorts of forces will be eyeing this place.

It's hard to say who will ultimately get their hands on the banned books, but they certainly won't get any.

"Don't forget, I am also a knight. Even without using our dragon race's talents, it won't take me more than three seconds to deal with this kind of minion."

Fiona drew a longsword from her waist and flashed a confident smile.

"...No, Fiona, listen to me, let's follow them first, and then find an opportunity to make our move."

The elven woman remained silent for a moment, then shook her head.

Making a move in public is too risky.

In any case, in this place, gold-level professionals like them are already top-tier, and as long as the other party hasn't left Radiant City, they can make a move at any time.

"I really don't understand you elves."

Fiona reluctantly sheathed her sword. If it were her, she would not have been able to stand it for even a second if she saw her sister being enslaved by a human. She would have drawn her sword and fought the human!

They even kept saying that the Moon Festival spirits were connected by blood...

I'm so tired, so alone

As a result, your own sister became a slave to this human, and you, as the older sister, are still hesitant... Oh well, it's a family matter for your Moon Elf race anyway. Just don't regret it later.

Chapter Nine: If I pretend to hide from my master, will it excite him?

Back in the carriage, Mu Qiu pulled back the curtain and instructed the driver, "Go to the biggest blacksmith shop in your area."

Upon hearing this, the coachman hesitated for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "Sir, if you want to buy equipment, perhaps it would be more appropriate to go to the Adventurers' Guild."

The coachman assumed that this young nobleman was most likely from the capital.

The craftsmanship of the local blacksmiths in Radiant City is unlikely to satisfy this young master.

But the Adventurers' Guild is different.

Adventurers often obtain monster materials from dungeons, and in some key levels, opening treasure chests or defeating the boss monsters guarding the level may also yield some special equipment.

These items may have extremely special effects that ordinary craftsmen cannot create.

The coachman observed Mu Qiu's expression and, seeing that the young master's expression remained unchanged, paused before continuing, "Moreover... a month ago, a riot broke out in the underground city near Blackstone Town."

A dungeon riot?!

Mu Qiu's expression shifted slightly; that was the date he had traveled to this world.

Fortunately, he had spent the past month in the town's bookstores and hadn't paid much attention to his appearance. Now, even if he returned to Blackrock Town, probably no one would recognize him.

"The riot was massive; even the lord-level monsters from the twentieth level of the dungeon came to the fifth level. Almost all the new adventurers in Blackrock Town were wiped out!" The coachman's voice carried a hint of lingering fear. "Fortunately... the 'Crimson Thorn Adventurer Group' from the capital happened to be passing by at the time!"

Mentioning the Crimson Thorn Adventurer Group, a hint of reminiscence flashed in the coachman's cloudy eyes.

"The last time I heard about them, they were just a fledgling Iron-level adventurer group. I never imagined... that in just ten years, they would become a well-known Bronze-level adventurer group in the capital!"

The driver subconsciously touched his right calf, which had long since lost all feeling, his tone full of sighs.

The first mission these gifted young women, fresh out of the capital's top academies, took on was to venture into Blackrock Town to defeat the Slime King of the fifth underground level.

At that time, he was a mid-Bronze Tier 2 Knight. Because he frequently entered and exited the dungeon, he was familiar with the terrain and had the opportunity to serve as their guide once.

That was the closest he ever got to those beautiful women.

After that mission, he was filled with enthusiasm and vowed to work hard to become a Silver-level and Gold-level adventurer, and one day join their ranks!

Ten years have passed in the blink of an eye, and the youthful passion has long been worn down by reality.

He was wounded in the calf during a mission and retired from the Adventurers' Guild as a Silver Knight. He married the guild's receptionist and then went to work at an auction house, serving as a bodyguard and coachman for the wealthy. His wife also quit her job to become a full-time housewife.

Although the wages are not high, I occasionally receive generous tips, and more importantly, it is safe enough here.

He already had a wife and children, and the adventure in the dungeon had become a distant dream.

Every time he comes home and sees the happy smiles on his wife and children's faces, he feels that this kind of life is not bad.

However, thinking of the Black Iron Adventurer Group from back then, which has now become a big shot he can only look up to, the coachman couldn't help but feel a complicated emotion.

"The Crimson Thorn Adventurer Group..."

Mu Qiu nodded gently.

So that's how it is. Is this the name of the adventurer's group that saved my life?

Although he had never met the Crimson Thorn Adventurer Group, he knew that the reason he was able to survive when he first transmigrated was because the monsters in the dungeon had been wiped out by the Crimson Thorn Adventurer Group.

"It is said that the leader of the Crimson Thorn Adventurer Group is already a Mithril-level adventurer. They originally planned to cross the border to the kingdoms of the mountains to obtain a legendary weapon for their leader in preparation for the adventurer group to break through to the Mithril level."

Mu Qiu clicked his tongue slightly.

Mithril-level adventurers are usually sixth or seventh-tier professionals. As far as he knows, even in the capital of the Orion Empire, professionals above the sixth tier are extremely rare.

The coachman continued, "When we happened to pass by this place, we learned that there was a riot in the nearby dungeon, so we rushed into the dungeon and wiped out all the monsters and bosses on all fifty floors before leaving."

"When they left, they left behind too many materials and equipment dropped by the monsters, which were inconvenient to carry. They simply left them at the Adventurers' Guild in Radiant City. They gave away some of the low-level equipment to the new adventurers there for free, while the higher-level equipment was kept at the guild and sold at market price."

Mu Qiu was slightly taken aback and asked in surprise, "Isn't there an auction house here? Why don't they consign their items to the auction house for auction?"

“Because…” the coachman said with a hint of respect, “although almost all the members of the Crimson Thorn Adventurer Guild are young ladies from noble families, their guild leader is the only one who comes from a commoner background. She wants to sell these equipment to adventurers who need it, rather than letting those noble gentlemen buy it and keep it as a collectible.”

Do you want to help ordinary adventurers as much as possible?

Mu Qiu understood.

The coachman suddenly remembered something and lowered his voice to remind him, "Sir, if you're going to the Adventurers' Guild, it's best not to buy too much equipment at once, otherwise the leader of the Crimson Thorn Adventurer's Guild might cause you trouble when he returns."

He could tell that this noble young master was quite reasonable; otherwise, he wouldn't have told him about the Adventurers' Guild.

"Ah."

Mu Qiu nodded slightly. The leader of the Crimson Thorn Adventurer Group had also saved his life, so he naturally didn't intend to go to the Adventurers' Guild and take all the equipment.

Let's pick out a few of the most expensive mage equipment pieces and buy them for Vera.

Thinking of this, he casually tossed a few gold coins over, closed the curtain, and a faint voice came from behind the curtain:

"Then let's go to the Adventurers' Guild first. Thank you for your hard work."

"It's not hard, it's not hard!"

The coachman was overjoyed and quickly stuffed the gold coins into his pocket.

Inside the carriage, Mu Qiu looked at the elven girl who had somehow sat down next to him and asked, "Vera, how much do you know about the dungeon?"

During this month, he read a lot of books, but his understanding of dungeons was still very limited.

"Dungeon? Why are you asking about that, Master?"

Vera shifted her full, pert buttocks to the side, the flesh pressing against the hem of her cloak, rubbing back and forth on the carriage seat, making a rustling sound.

She had read in a book that these nobles liked to play hard to get; the more she hid from her master, the more her master would bully her.

"We'll be going to go on dungeon adventures in the future, so of course we need to learn about it first."

Mu Qiu turned his head and glanced at her.

I was thinking, why don't you sit in the big empty seat across from me? Why do you have to sit in the same row as me? And then you back away when you see me?

“Then you’ve asked the wrong person, Master. I don’t know much about dungeons either.” Vera shook her head and explained, “In our Eversong Forest Kingdom, there are very few entrances to dungeons, and I haven’t been there many times. We elves prefer to hunt magical beasts in the forest; it’s safer that way…”

"It's okay, just say what you know."

Vera thought for a moment, then suddenly said, "Master, I have a question for you. Do you think the territory of this city belongs to the Orion Empire?"

Mu Qiu paused for a moment, then subconsciously said, "Isn't that right?"

"In a broad sense, yes."

Vera then changed the subject, saying, "But to be precise, only the land territory belongs to the Orion Empire."

"In Astram, there is an unwritten rule—"

"All that is in the heavens belongs to the Council of Stars and the Association of Truth;"

"All that lies underground belongs to adventurous souls who dare to explore."

"On land and underwater are the territories of major countries."

This was the first time Mu Qiu had heard this statement.

"So, if I unearth treasure from the ground, it doesn't belong to the empire, but to me personally?"

Vera pondered for a moment, then shook her head and said, "As for the treasure, if you, master, are a commoner, the lord has the right to confiscate the treasure you dig up in the name of 'territorial law.' But if you are a nobleman, you can use this 'Starry Law' to openly and legitimately claim the treasure as your own."

Mu Qiu touched his chin.

understood.

Does that mean the power of interpretation lies with the nobles?

"This regulation usually refers to the output in dungeons. Adventurers do not need to pay taxes to the local lords or the country for anything they gain in dungeons."

"However, there are many entrances to the dungeons. Some dungeon entrances are located in the city. Local lords need to manage these dungeon entrances and may even set up camps on key levels. Therefore, such entrances often require a fee to enter."

"In order to attract adventurers to explore, those dungeons that have not yet been fully explored often do not set up entrance fees."

"As for the entrances to dungeons in the wild, although there's no fee, you might run into a monster as soon as you emerge from the dungeon, making it quite dangerous..."

Mu Qiu asked curiously, "Are these underground cities all independent?"

Vera shook her head: "Independent, but not completely independent. According to the Adventurers' Guild's classification, dungeons are divided into 'small,' 'medium,' 'large,' and 'extra-large.'"

"A small underground city refers to an underground city with only one entrance and is completely independent. The maximum number of floors in such an underground city is generally between 5 and 20."

"Medium-sized dungeons refer to dungeons with 2 to 9 entrances. The monsters on the shallow side of each entrance will be different, but the deeper you go, the more you will eventually reach the same area. The highest level of a medium-sized dungeon is often between 20 and 50 levels."

She paused for a moment, then continued, "The underground city near Blackrock Town is a medium-sized underground city, with a maximum of 50 floors."

"Then there are large underground cities with more than ten entrances and a maximum number of floors not exceeding one hundred."

"And... there are numerous entrances, with the highest level exceeding one hundred floors. It has not yet been fully explored and is said to lead to a super-large underground city that leads to the abyss!"

Hearing Vera's words, Mu Qiu asked curiously, "You've been to the underground city of Blackrock Town too?"

Vera pursed her lips and nodded gently: "I've been there, but I remember that the highest level I explored was the twentieth floor. Back then, it was just a small dungeon."

"Dungeons can be upgraded too?"

Mu Qiu's expression was strange.

So even other worlds have this concept of numerical inflation?

"It's not an upgrade, but rather that a hidden passage has been discovered."

Vera said softly, "It's a small dungeon with a maximum of twenty floors, yet monsters that only appear on the thirtieth floor have appeared... This kind of situation does happen."

“The underground city’s pathways are very complex. Sometimes, those seemingly independent small and medium-sized underground cities are eventually discovered to be connected to a super-large underground city. It’s just that no one discovered the passage before, so they thought the underground city ended at the twentieth or fiftieth floor.”

"And what is that abyss?"

"abyss......"

Vera's heart tightened as she remembered the forbidden book from the abyss.

I wonder if the dungeon riots are related to the banned books...

A month ago, she found the banned book.