Bastion and the girls left the village of Mushvale first thing in the morning. Given their Rank 2 speed, it only took a few hours before they reached the official border of the kingdom. The unofficial border was at the edge of the Great Forest, which would have killed any creature of Rank 3 and above. The official border, however, was a cave entrance with a dozen heavily armored guards standing beside it, collecting entry fees from the merchants and travelers who wanted to enter.
The line was long, but after two hours of waiting, they finally passed through the cave entrance just in time for lunch. The delay was caused by the entrance fees, which were charged based on rank. Apprentice Rank and normal people had to pay one silver coin, Rank 1 had to pay one gold coin, and Rank 2 had to pay one platinum coin. Bastion paid 5 platinum coins for all of them, which was quite cheap given the profits they had already earned. It was a rate Bastion knew quite well, since he was the duke in charge of the only border entry into the Kingdom of Brilliance.
The cave entrance was about the size of a two lane mountain tunnel, more than tall and wide enough to accommodate their armored carriage, which drew plenty of attention. As a matter of fact, the cave entrance was large enough to allow a pair of double decker buses to pass with ease.
Once inside, however, the tunnel grew significantly wider, allowing for six lanes in total. It seemed the gate was sized that way to show the minimum size of the public tunnels in the cave system. If someone couldn't fit through the entrance, they would have a hard time inside and would likely be rejected from entering outright for the safety of everyone.
While they continued their journey with Steve, the diamond steed pulling the carriage at Rank 2 speed, Bastion and the girls gathered in the main carriage's living room and stared at the Adventurers Guild map. It was a cube placed atop the table that projected a 3D map of the entire underground Kingdom of Spores.
"This is pretty nifty," Lilia said as she studied the glowing projection. "How does it store so much information? Does it have maps of the other kingdoms too?"
"It does," Ariel replied, glancing at the projection. "But the detailed maps only appear when you're inside the kingdom itself. Outside of that, it shows more general layouts of the surrounding kingdoms, along with a continent map that places our current position near the center."
When they first got the map, Bastion quickly discovered that the kingdoms were arranged by designation, with Apprentice Rank kingdoms closest to the center, where the empire was situated. From there, they spread outward like concentric rings, with ranks increasing the farther they were from the center. Most Rank 4 kingdoms were located along the outer edges near the mountain border.
It seemed the empires understood that lower ranked kingdoms provided more resources and tribute, while higher ranked kingdoms were considered competition in production and expenditure. Of course, there were plenty of outliers, such as Rank 1 kingdoms at the border of the empire and Rank 4 kingdoms right next to the center, but they had done their best to maintain this overall structure.
As for their current location, they were in the southeastern quarter of the empire, within the Rank 2 ring. It would take about two dozen more kingdoms before they reached their first Rank 3 kingdom, if they followed the shortest path toward the eastern border of the empire. To reach that border, they would have to travel through over a hundred additional kingdoms, a journey that would take years, even longer if they planned to stop at every single one.
Their current map, however, only showed the underground system of the Kingdom of Spores, which sprawled like a tangled web of tunnels and chambers. At the center sat the capital, a city clearly marked on the 3D projection. A few layers beneath it, red flashing nodes dotted the map, marking cities currently under threat from the ongoing war. The projection gave a clear sense of depth and scale, showing not just the layout of the tunnels but the vertical layers of the kingdom, with settlements, farms, trade routes, dungeons, and key strategic points stacked above and below one another.
"There are about twenty villages, towns, and cities between us and the capital, and some dungeons too," Ariel pointed out.
"Let's visit all of them but avoid entering a dungeon," Bastion said. "I'm guessing the prices of goods will get cheaper the closer we get to the capital, but their buying power will increase just as much. We should keep our prices high and sell our goods as luxury items. It's not like we have the production capacity for bulk sale anyway, and besides, the quality of our goods is more than enough to justify the price."
"Why avoid dungeons?" Seraphina asked. "Shouldn't we be leveling up as much as possible? With the autocannons, we could reach Rank 4 by the time we hit the Magic Empire."
"I highly doubt that," Lilia said. "Reaching Rank 3 will be more than doable, but Rank 4 seems impossible, even with the autocannons. Where are we going to find multiple armies' worth of Rank 4 enemies to gain one hundred levels at Rank 3?"
"Good point."
"As for why we're avoiding the dungeons," Bastion said, "we should save our stockpile of ammunition for the war."
"Right! They're worth far more to us than just levels."
"Precisely."
With their plan set, Bastion and the girls spent over a month traveling across the Kingdom of Spores. They stayed the night at every place they visited, selling their goods at high prices wherever they went, while gradually making their way toward the capital.
Along the way, they began to understand why this kingdom was called the Kingdom of Spores. Spores were its biggest export, and these were far from ordinary. They were magical, capable of transforming into complete products depending on their species.
Some spores could grow fully furnished houses or individual pieces of furniture, while others produced self-cleaning toilets, soft algae carpets with intricate designs, or even food for livestock and people. With a bit of extra magic, certain spores could create Rank 1 and 2 clothing, armor, and weapons, as well as violent plant life capable of mimicking grenades and killing any enemies within reach. There was as much danger in these spores as there was utility.
It was a remarkable specialization, a single resource capable of sustaining an entire kingdom when combined with effort, research, and magic. Its versatility and power made the Kingdom of Spores both prosperous and uniquely formidable.
In terms of architecture, all the houses were made of mushrooms that towered like regular buildings. Each village, town, and city was contained within caverns of varying height and diameter, designed to fit their scale. It was both a marvel to behold and highly practical.
The cavern ceilings were lined with glowing moss that mimicked daylight, providing sunlight for all the plants inside. Mushrooms replaced traditional houses because they were strong enough to withstand collapses and falling rocks while simultaneously providing oxygen and even food for their inhabitants. The entire kingdom was built from this wondrous multi-purpose plant.
Seraphina was so fascinated that she bought up every local spore she could find for her alchemy research. It was wonderful, Bastion thought, to see her so animated and excited, given how overworked she usually was. Lilia had a bit of fun too, experimenting with all the new catalysts and magic materials, while Elyra enjoyed discovering new ingredients for her cooking. In fact, they had been eating vegetarian food for the past few days, yet none of them complained. The food still tasted like meat and had the same rank and nutritional value.
Bastion, meanwhile, didn't have much luck with his purchases. Metal was considered rare due to the ongoing war, as most of it was being used to produce weapons, armor, and siege engines. That was fine, though, because his creations were finally gaining recognition. His exceptionally enchanted armor and weapons were quite popular, though few could afford them at 1 to 10 mithril coins a piece. At most, he had managed to sell a few sets to nobles who didn't dare cause trouble for him and the girls, given their Rank 2 strength. Of course, there were always exceptions.
The carriage arrived in Mycelora, the kingdom's capital and royal seat of the throne. It made its way to the central market, a public space where traveling merchants sold their goods from stalls and carriages. Immediately, it drew a great deal of attention. The carriage was made of Rank 2 metal and moved smoothly without the uncomfortable sway of ordinary vehicles, promising a high-quality, luxurious ride.
Before Elyra could even cast Clean to remove the built-up dust and grime, a young noble approached Bastion, flanked by a dozen guards.
"You! Peasant! Sell me everything you own," he declared loudly, catching everyone's attention.
Bastion realized he had walked straight into a cliché the moment he arrived in the capital, where the flow of goods was most profitable and riches often sat unused for centuries until an opportunity appeared, such as the arrival of the goods he carried.
-----
Support me on Patreon
patreon/babywrath