Unlimited Power - The Arcane Path

Before entering the dungeon, Ren and the others set up a camp near the dungeon. After that, Leon, Ren, and Ryoko moved to a small building nearby. It was the place where they had to inform that they wanted to try to clear the dungeon. Surprisingly, several groups were nearby, and all of them had the same goal.

"Do we have to enter a queue?" Leon frowned.

"That is right," Ren explained. "Even if all groups fail in clearing the dungeon, the materials we can get here are precious. So, such a thing is necessary."

"Awesome... billions of people died, but bureaucracy is still hanging there." Leon scratched the back of his head.

Inside the improvised building, Leon saw ten figures armed with big-ass spears. They barely moved, and thanks to that, they looked like statues, but those were soldiers who used the same Japanese armor Ren and his subordinates used. Although Ren and his friends had red armor, those ten guys were wearing golden armor. It was too flashy.

"Those are the Emperor's soldiers, don't mess with them," Ren whispered.

It looked like the Emperor himself guarded the ownerless dungeons to avoid problems since no one was stupid enough to disobey the most powerful figure of the country. Despite the presence of his soldiers in that building, Leon saw two figures looking at him as if they wanted to pick a fight. They said something and even spit on the ground, Leon couldn't do anything but frown. It was clear what they were thinking of him, but Leon didn't feel anything.

Leon looked around the building as if he was bored, and that enraged those two guys, they stepped forward, but Leon stopped them, and at the same time he looked at the imperial soldiers. Those guys said other things again and left the building.

"Let me guess; they wanted to ask if I watched Dr*g*n B*ll or something," Leon said.

"Hahaha, I wish that was the case," Ren laughed. "Just ignore them, ok?"

"I don't understand their words; I can only ignore them." Leon shrugged.

It looked like those two were there to challenge the dungeon too, Leon saw them talking with a woman, who seemed to be responsible for organizing things related to the dungeon. That woman was pretty too, but she appeared to be around her forties, and she was really a beauty since she wasn't wearing makeup.

Ren said a few words to her; she did the same, but then her eyes stopped on Leon. Ren probably explained the situation, and then she lost interest, that being said, Leon noticed the brief moment that woman looked at the guards. After that, he felt as if he was being watched. Five minutes later, they left the building. Leon had no time to learn Japanese, but it was a pain to be in a country where only a single person could talk with you.

"Translate the contents of the conversation," Leon said.

"... As you may have guessed, those two didn't like you very much, by the way, they have the same position as me," Ren explained. "They are advisors of the Emperor. The manager also asked why an American was with me, I gave her a brief summary of your past years, but as you have noticed, she and the imperial guards will keep an eye on you."

"I never imagined I would be so popular..." Leon said.

"Anyway, those two will hunt inside the dungeon for the next twelve hours," Ren said. "We will only have a chance tomorrow morning. Normally, You could walk around as much as you want, but..."

"I know I have to stay somewhere where those guards can see me." Leon interrupted. "I will meditate until the time comes, so don't bother me."

Ren nodded, and Leon sat in front of the campfire the soldiers made. He had already noticed that most people didn't want to deal with him, so he would be fine until those two dumbasses leave the dungeon. Leon wanted to practice the Fire Bullet, but he refrained from doing so since he was in a place where Ren had little influence, and the last thing he wanted was to cause problems to those who worked directly to the Emperor.

Leon successfully managed to meditate until the next morning. Unfortunately, the first thing he saw after opening his eyes was the angry faces of those two guys again. Leon couldn't help but sigh, he already knew that, but he really was an unlucky guy. Regardless, it looked like they were looking for a reason to attack him, that was why there were taunting him, but their actions were so silly that the best they could was to make Leon yawn. Eventually, those guys gave up, and Leon began to eat his breakfast.

"So, those guys gave up on conquering the dungeon?" Leon asked.

"Yeah. Although they had more influence than I do, they are the type who doesn't take many risks and follow the safest path to obtain power." Ren explained. "It seems a random survivor and his team managed to obtain a magic item in this dungeon that increases water-related attacks by thirty percent, so they came here hoping to have the same luck."

"I see… by the way, do you intend to manage this dungeon yourself after we clear it?" Leon asked.

"No, Ryoko will do that," Ren explained. "I will leave her in Sapporo with ten trusted men, and she will occasionally send the things she obtains to our shop in Tokyo."

"So, once we clear this dungeon, you will be the owner, right?" Leon asked. "That means only the people you want will enter this dungeon?"

"I can give the preference to some survivors, but I can't deny the entry to anyone," Ren answered. "But, anyone who wants to enter will have to give us half of the things they obtain inside the dungeon. It is a decree from the Emperor, so unless someone wants to lose their heads, things will go very smoothly to us."