CHAPTER 265: STOMPIRE

"We’ll continue to search for her. She’s a trump card we can’t let go of at the moment.

Tomorrow, we’ll gather more news and then move into town. We still need to travel, as I want to get to the district closest to Umbracrypt Castle as we can," Vacuse said.

Everyone bowed.

And since there wasn’t really much to say after that, everyone was left to do their own thing.

Vacuse sat and closed his eyes in meditation while the moon played on his skin. He had opted to sleep under the moon instead of cramping himself inside the tent.

His first day back in the open, and he should be in the tent? No way!

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The next day, they began making plans.

Kagerou led a delegate into town to see the Overseer of their current district and to know what was really happening in the surroundings. He went with most of the money they had on hand, as they expected to spend a lot to move things.

Vacuse decided to stay behind.

Since he came to the Great Dungeon, some things about the way he did things had begun to change. He realized that he did not have to be in all places all the time to get the gears of his plans working.

And by afternoon, Kagerou returned with those who went with him, and they brought news. They had spoken with the Overseer and paid for the right to move in his district. Not only that, they paid for papers that would move them all the way to Stompire, the closest district they could reach with the money they had.

That afternoon, they began to move.

Everyone changed their clothes to appear less frightening and more like a merchant group. Their journey through their current district was smooth and easy.

The next district they met the second day gave them a bit of trouble, as the Overseer’s administration stalled them for a long time just to confirm their paperwork and ask them lots of irrelevant questions.

But after what must have been close to five hours, they finally let them go.

Vacuse’s plan was simple: get to Stompire as fast as he could, and to achieve that, he dipped his hand into the reserve money of the dragon hunters instead of starting active hunting.

The only thing they gave time for was recruitment, and even that was surprisingly slow, as not a lot of people were willing to join them, even with the mouth-watering pay that Vacuse decided to offer.

Especially when they asked if they had Hunting Rights.

Hunting Rights are the rights to hunt in the Dark Wilderness. The Dark Wilderness is a source of danger and great income. Guilds, as well as Overseers and lords—even merchants—use it to rake in massive amounts of money. And most times, they don’t even have to do anything.

They let the hunters bring the money and resources to them.

Because only they can issue Hunting Rights and the portals to get into the Dark Wilderness.

Just like the Vorrakyn before, and others back in the real world, they have anchors and stationed outposts built in the Dark Wilderness that could be accessed through portals. When they sell Hunting Rights to hunting groups, they also allow them to use their portals to access the Dark Wilderness.

The profit and resources that the hunters reap in the Dark Wilderness will then be cut, depending on the resources and type of contract the hunting group has.

The hunting group gets their share of wealth, and so does the lord and such.

Even the two academies have their own portals.

And that was why, when hunters they asked to join them asked about their Hunting Rights, they mostly turned away when they realized they had none. Not even the promise of getting one when they reached Stompire could move them.

And yes, Vacuse was planning to get one when they reached Stompire. Although he might not be rich personally, the dragon hunters, before they met him, had raked in so much wealth, and combined with what the Bloodoak gifted them, it had made traveling possible and even the promise of getting the said Hunting Rights.

After one week traveling through the different districts, they finally reached Stompire. It was the biggest district they had traveled to yet. It was even walled off—at least a section of it—and the security was tighter.

They didn’t allow the dragon hunters entry until they had thoroughly confirmed their identity through their papers and even checked the token given by Bloodoak. Only then did they allow them to enter.

After their entry, they were directed and mandated to go only to the section cut out for hunting teams and groups. There, they paid for an annual rent for a large building and settled down.

The building was just like most hunting team buildings around them; the only difference was the flags they planted at the top of the buildings.

It was made of stone and built in the replica of a fortress that could be self-defended. The walls were high, and it was attached to blocks of spacious barracks.

The district of Stompire had put great thought into building and accommodating one of their top most lucrative businesses.

Before Vacuse entered the building, he set the team into searching every inch of the structure until he was satisfied that there was nothing amiss. But even then, he wasn’t fooled, as he knew those who built it must have put a foolproof plan in place that could be used in case things went sour.

Only then did he allow them all to begin settling up, immediately putting up scouts and guards while the different teams that made up the dragon hunters began to do their thing.

Vacuse himself went into the building and to the master’s room to have his bath and change into new clothes while he waited for Kagerou to return with news.

At last, he was one step closer.