This time, Xen stayed mute and let Randy handle it.

  However, unlike the mafia-esque Ether Technocrats and their nonsense scare tactics, the Iron Legion was far more reasonable. The conversation between Randy and their leader was swift, and soon they were on their way again.

  Though something about the conversation bugged Xen. The Iron Legion had been patrolling the area on the orders of the Ether Technocrats and had inquired if Randy had paid the tax.

  "I don't get it," Xen said once they were far out of earshot. "Why do those humans serve the Ether Technocrats? Were they threatened like us?"

  "What? No," Randy chuckled. "One of the Iron Legion's most profitable ventures is serving as hired muscle for the other guilds. The Ether Technocrats guild is one of their largest clients."

  "They don't earn more from clearing dungeons and killing monsters?"

  Randy shook his head. "They possess the most members compared to any other guild, but most of their members are pretty low level and are Hunters part-time while having normal day jobs. Monster corpses from the first few floors of their dungeon are hardly worth the credits to drag to the surface, and there's little loot besides the occasional treasure trove on the third floor. People only really hunt monsters on the upper floors for experience. Once they have the levels needed, safer jobs like this are preferred."

  "Not to mention that if the entire guild only focused on culling monsters, there would be none left to kill for anyone," Valoria added. "A steady paycheck for acting as security or transport for the other guilds is better."

  "So money lets you order people around?" Xen innocently asked.

  Vesper snorted. "It sure does feel like that sometimes. While you can't literally order someone to do something for money, with the right price, people will usually do almost anything."

  "I see," Xen muttered as he was slowly piecing everything together. But he still had many questions. "Randy, you mentioned the Ether Technocrats make those phones. Is that how they make money?"

  "Yes, they are mostly focused on technology sales."

  Technology? Was it tasty?

  "What about the other guilds?"

  Randy pulled out his phone. "There are many parts in this bad boy that have to be sourced from a dungeon. For example, the battery is crafted from mana crystals found on floors below here and can last a whole week because of it. The Stormbringers guild usually handles the defense of those mines and sometimes hires the Iron Legion to assist in the transport of materials to transportation hubs—"

  They were interrupted by a rumbling sound to the left. Randy put out an arm before Xen, stopping him. "Wait a moment."

  Xen did as he was told and watched in awe as a titanic machine rolled by, escorted by another squad from the Iron Legion.

  "That's a Transporter," Randy helpfully explained once it had passed. "A strange mix between an armored train, a tank, and a truck. They are constructed down here and used to transport mana crystals, monster corpses, and supplies to the mines. People still got to eat down here, you know?"

  "It's like a different world down here compared to the first few floors," Xen said as he watched the turret on top of the Transporter in the distance turn and fire a beam of light at a stray Orc that had peeked out of an alley. Two members from the Iron Legion grabbed the smoldering corpse and threw it into one of the many carriages being hauled by the Transporter as if it were trash.

  Randy didn't give the Transporter another look as if he had seen it many times before. "Yeah, I'd say that between floors five and twenty are the most commercialized. After floor twenty, the monsters get too high level, so it gets too expensive to maintain infrastructure."

  Xen winced. He had thought he was prepared to escape the dungeon and set foot on the human lands, but now he was having second thoughts if it was going to be anything like this or perhaps even worse.

  But then Gerald's cat will starve. I have to go. Sigh, perhaps if I get enough of this money, it will be easy?

  "Hey Randy, how does the Titanborn Guild make money?"

  He asked because the money-making methods he had heard of thus far didn't appeal to him. Surely those from the Titanborn guild made money fighting, considering they were all crazy high-leveled.

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  "The guild as a whole doesn't really make money except for being bankrolled by the government for national defense," Randy said after a moment of pondering. "I suppose each member is a celebrity in their own right and has their own money-making ventures. Whether that be movies, social media, makeup brands, etc."

  Xen didn't really know what any of that was and didn't care to ask.

  "They are all rich, rich," Valoria said with a smile, "Especially Seraphine Nyx. She's an S-Rank elven songstress who streams her dungeon raids with the Titanborn guild and performs concerts while fighting against floor bosses. It's so freaking badass and turned her into a global icon."

  Randy and Vesper nodded in agreement.

  "She's a beauty, too," Valoria continued with fan-like enthusiasm. "I mean, most elves are beautiful, but she's another level. I love her cascading moon-silver hair and her eyes that shift color with her tone. Her voice is also just magical."

  "Then you have the other extreme, like Kaelus the Colossal," Randy chuckled.

  Valoria scowled. "I hate that guy."

  "Why?" Xen asked and regretted his curiosity instantly when it sent Valoria into a rant.

  "Kaelus is this nine-foot-tall brute who's the poster boy of the Titanborn Guild's more brutal reputation and is seen as a living embodiment of indestructibility. He walks around like he owns the place, and once he even tried to get with Seraphine! I hate him and hope he dies." She let out a deep breath. "Phew, I got a little worked up there. Besides, Kaelus dying is a pipe dream unless Chronos decides to snap him in two or one of the SSS-Ranks from abroad gets tempted to break the Titanborn's reputation as the strongest in Japan and use him to send an example."

  "I don't think anyone would complain if that were to happen," Randy chuckled. "Kaelus is the embodiment of everything that's wrong with people being given godly powers. I mean, he awakened with a Unique class and three S-rank skills. That's just ridiculous and unfair."

  "Three S-rank skills?" Xen mused and licked his lips.

  "Hey," Randy said, looking at him seriously. "I saw that. Don't even think about trying to eat him. Kaelus is over level 150 and has never lost a fight."

  "Neither have I," Xen reminded him with amusement. "Besides, I think I will reach level 150 soon enough. If Valoria wants this Kaelus fellow gone, I'll be happy to do the deed."

  "Don't make it sound like you're doing it for her," Vesper rolled his eyes. "You just want to devour Kaelus."

  Xen disliked how well these humans knew him now.

  "Ironmaw Clan up ahead," Randy said, changing the subject by pointing to a rusted sign at the end of the street. It had a metal jaw symbol and a warning in a language he somehow understood: Orc Clan territory up ahead. Beware.

  Xen had never seen such an appetizing message before. However, something stood between him and his meal—a lone human wearing the suit of the Guild Association.

  As if their presence was a bother, the suited man approached them with a sigh. "Badges, please."

  Randy, Valoria, and Vesper produced their hunting badges.

  The man stared at Xen.

  "You too," Randy said, elbowing him in the side. "Give him your hunting badge."

  "I don't have—oh, I see," Xen retrieved Ghostwire's hunting badge from his inner pocket and passed it to the man. He had forgotten all about it.

  "Your party meets the requirements for entry," the man said, sounding incredibly bored. "Do not kill more than ten Orcs unless you have permission from the Association." He passed back the badges without another word and returned to sitting on a nearby ledge with a spear resting beside it.

  Xen didn't need to use Appraisal to tell that this man was strong. Walking past the border, he saw a section of the city ahead that was encased in steel with clouds of billowing smoke lurking overhead. He could also sense the Orcs up ahead via Geomantic Perception. There weren't hundreds of them, but certainly enough to be troublesome.

  "I still don't understand why a high ranker like that guy or a guild doesn't come and cull these monsters to extinction."

  "Their populations are carefully regulated," Randy explained. "Kept low enough that they don't have enough members to launch an assault on the transportation hubs, but not so few that there's enough ambient mana to spawn a floor boss. These Orcs serve as good experience points for the likes of the Iron Legion, but a floor boss would be a problem to deal with."

  "Oh," Xen said. That made total sense. As an ex-dungeon mob, he knew how the dungeon functioned. Its goal was to keep the invaders away from its core, nestled in the deepest floor. Its control over mana was also stronger near its core, which is why the strongest monsters appeared on the lower floors. However, that didn't mean the dungeon didn't wish to expel the invaders from every floor, as evidenced by the endless spawning of monsters.

  Once they reached the gates of the Ironmaw Orc's base, Xen realized something. Not all the presences inside were monsters; some were humans.

  He clicked his tongue in annoyance. That meant he wouldn't be able to fight without restraint.

  "I should limit myself to using Ghostwire's skills," he sighed. Annoying, but shouldn't be a massive issue. He withdrew his mithril shortsword as two obsidian-skinned Orcs wearing battered metal plates for armor and wielding forged weapons stepped into the street. Though by far their most notable feature was the replacement of their jaw with metal.

  "Appraisal," Xen said, locking onto them.

  [Ironmaw Skirmisher (Level 27)]

  [Ironmaw Skirmisher (Level 26)]

  "Weaklings," he said, using Ghoststep to teleport forward and decapitating both of them before they could so much as grunt.

  You have killed multiple opponents. Bonus experience awarded.

  Experience split between [Hexreaver Slime] and [Human] form.

  [Human] has leveled up: 45 -> 46.

  "System, update my status to show my new level," he said while flicking the putrid Orc blood off his blade. Now that he had the same level as Ghostwire, he didn't need to fear others with Appraisal anymore.

  But that didn't mean his hunting had to come to an end... after all, Ghostwire could have leveled up during his expedition into the dungeon, and he wanted to reach level 50 in his human form before reaching the surface.

  After making sure Randy and the others had caught up to him, he glanced around. The thud of two Orcs hitting the ground had attracted quite the crowd.

  He side-eyed a nearby building.

  Looks like that includes the interest of a human lurking in the shadows.

  to read ahead!