The recent disparaging of the ever-increasing growth curve had put a serious damper on my enthusiasm. Although it could be contributed somewhat to the fact that I had been focusing on my tribe and its individuals more so than myself as of late, it was clear as day the steep requirement for my power progression was only going to get more demanding the more powerful I got.

 

However, I did know one way that seemed to always circumvent the increasingly climbing requirements, and that was simply honing myself directly in the thick of danger. Remembering back to my early days in the world, and each time I had gained significant power, it had always been directly tied to my balancing on the edge of a knife - pushing myself beyond my boundaries.

 

It was only then that the system saw fit to reward me with mountains of EXP and skill level gains.

 

But to be honest, the only recent and even remotely dangerous encounter I've faced, was the fire mage and the inner jungle beasts, so that was also another contributor to this slow pace of growth.

 

But if I wanted to start growing at the pace I did before, the problem arose; can I justify myself diving headfirst into danger now that I had responsibility for others rather than just my own well-being?

 

Sighing, I let go of my internal ponderings for now and looked at the scantily clad Mia who was looking out of the window whilst clutching the sheets of our bed to cover her nude form.

 

After having gotten a guide, we were immediately shown to the upper ring, an ostentatious and lavish city block carved into the very walls of Ebongrave itself. Having traveled for more than a week, we seriously needed some proper rest than sleeping in some random magical forest.

 

Of course, with our supernatural strength, resilience, and monster-ous, bodies, sleeping in the cold air of the night and hard ground of the forest undergrowth wasn't a problem at all. But - nothing did beat the comfort of a soft bed and a savory meal.

 

Traveling through the upper ring, which stretched all around the hole of Ebongrave, engraved deep into the ground, I had initially been very surprised at everything I've seen so far.

 

This 'upper ring' was clearly a place of nobility and aristocrats as the various monster races that walked the streets were all immensely powerful beings who also wore clothes befitting their authority and rank.

 

Compared to our motley and ragged band of monsters, we stuck out like a sore thumb in the crowds. However, one glance at the petite drow following suit behind me, not cloaking her identity anymore, was more than enough to quickly have them all holding their tongues with fear and respect.

 

Vash'ajat, the naga receptionist, really hadn't been lying when she said that Mia's evolutionary lineage held immense sway in the monster society, especially as evident when we found an extremely opulent and lavish resort of sorts. We were all, including even the fifteen orcs we brought with us this far, instantly given rooms of the highest class. Completely free of charge.

 

Even the establishment's owner had personally come to welcome us all, and offered to show us around the place and gave his word that if there was anything we needed, we needn't hesitate to call upon him.

 

This of course was quite a pleasant experience, and although the pampering and pleasantries were a tad too much for both my own and Mia's liking, we didn't reject it.

 

Since then, we had our mounts stabled in the resort as it was apparently common for the guests to have monstrous mounts, and then finally we were led to our rooms. Both Mia and I shared a massive and luxurious suite, and even though it was rather medieval-ish, it was extremely lavish and comfortable - and that was even for modern standards that I still remembered quite vividly.

 

As for Bob, he got a similar room to ours where I had already seen him sneak multiple 'service' maids into. Although I was dubious at first at seeing Bob's unrestrained behavior as he already had seven other wives at home, Mia assured me that this was nothing out of the ordinary and, in fact, his wives would be more than worried that his needs would be left unattended in their absence rather than he stayed ascetic until he returned home.

 

I quickly dropped the matter after that, not particularly wanting to dive deeper into that matter at that moment.

 

Getting out of the massive bed of our suite, which was big for reasons that had become clear after having walked amongst the streets of Ebongrave, I gave a satisfied groan as I stretched.

 

Harems here were not an oddity but rather the norm, so big beds were essentially expected by any establishment. Power equaled capability, and it was in monster nature to flock to those who were stronger than themselves. I had even seen multiple harems in the streets, whether they be a dominant male with many women, a woman with a harem of men, or simply a healthy mix of both genders.

 

Joining Mia at the window, outlooking the awe-inspiring sight of the city's wondrous open underground landscape, I let my hand slip over and caress her supple curves, embracing her body from behind.

 

Sharing a kiss, I smiled.

 

"Should we head out?" I asked her with a gentle whisper to her ear.

 

But instead of answering, Mia merely turned around with a look that told me all I needed to know about what she thought we should do first.

 

***

 

A few hours and a very satisfied drow later, Bob, Mia, and I was walking down the streets of the upper ring with our guide in tow. Today, we had only brought the guide with us, a young and chipper amphibian humanoid race that reminded me slightly of a bipedal toad.

 

We had left our orc entourage behind in the resort as we didn't need their help for what we wanted to do today, but if anything did arise though, I could always tug on their connection to me through the power running through their veins, effectively calling them to me from anywhere in the city.

 

But otherwise, our group of four quickly made our way through the upper ring and down to the second ring. If not for our mounts and the platforms that scaled the side of the walls, it would've taken us whole days to traverse the ring on foot as the city was simply that massive.

 

It wasn't long before we had been guided to a very large and populated market, however, it was not a market for selling goods and items, but a market made exactly for the kind of needs we had gone to Ebongrave for.

 

This was a recruitment market, and it had initially surprised me that something like this existed on such a large scale since I doubted the city was willing to get rid of all its abled hands, however, once conferring with our guide, I quickly came to realize that my assumptions had been all wrong.

 

In fact, Ebongrave didn't only not mind having their workers being taken by others who sought workers, but rather even encouraged it. This was because the city was practically overflowing with workers and jobless monsters.

 

Remembering that monsters had not only much higher maturing rates, but also was a lot more easy-going in regards to matters such as mating, it made sense that there was an overabundance of workers looking for work and a place to stay.

 

It was only as monsters became stronger that their conception rates drastically dwindled, effectively stopping the monster races from becoming exponentially more and more powerful, eventually overrunning the enlightened species.

 

Plus, Ebongrave actually also got something out of setting up a market like this, as they took payment for allowing others into the market and utilize their tools to set up accounts, news, requests, and so-on.

 

Anyways, so not only finding willing hands to come back to the tribe with us was a breeze, but also settling matters regarding what they would get in return.

 

Simply declaring that I would not only provide housing and food for them and any of their immediate family but also gave them an actual wage which I had discussed with Lily and Darkan before leaving for Ebongrave and give them safely guarded passage to my tribe, the market was thrown into a fury wanting to join on.

 

Of course, they were many skeptics regarding my promises, but with Mia by my side, someone of a race respected and feared, and my aura I unleashed to prove my own vastly superior power, the suspicion and apprehensive was quickly dashed for the hopes grasping the opportunity of joining a budding new settlemnt and powerful lord.

 

I originally wanted to take as many hands as I could, regardless of race and qualification, but I quickly came to realize from discussing with our guide, that taking on too many different races could prove troublesome for a newly-budding settlement like mine if unprepared as not all races necessarily got along or were a particularly good choice to have in your tribe in any caliber.

 

As such, I left it to the market's overseers to make a bulletin where anybody could sign-on that met my tribe's general requirements and limitations. With that done, we needed only to wait a few days, then return and figure out the applications with the market staff, and that would be all said and done.

 

With that done, we went to the third ring. Most of the day had already been used for traveling and figuring out the recruitment market stuff, but luckily, the third ring was a much smaller merchant's and craftsman's market than that of the second ring. It could be considered a quality versus quantity type relation.

 

Stocking up on decent but temporary armor as we still lacked proficient blacksmiths back at the tribe, went quite smoothly. With the assets stored in my [Ring of Holding], having taken all the valuables from the caravan and the mercenary group back when I had escaped Maldrak, we had more than enough both liquid funds and items to buy some quite decent equipment for Bob, Mia, and the others back home such as Lily, Grul, Rena, and so-on.

 

Mia had gotten what essentially was a beautiful black dress with white accents, but one made for combat. Not at all cumbersome or flashy, the dress didn't restrict any of her movement and made her look like some warrior princess - which I promptly told her only to receive an annoyed swat on my ass for my teasing.

 

Although it was made like cloth, the actual material was made from the string of some kind of subterranean species of massive spiders that made webs strong enough to even halt the charge of an ogre.

 

I wasn't physically strong compared to warrior-type monsters, but my strength wasn't necessarily something to scoff at. But even with me exerting my full strength, I couldn't get the dress to rip or stretch beyond its bounds in the slightest.

 

Other than that, she also got a very thin vest of chainmail, made from some extremely light and durable metal, that was also custom-fitted in the dress itself so it didn't cause any discomfort.

 

As for Bob, he merely got some thick chainmail, a heart protector with metal plating and some kind of leather straps, light gauntlets of similar make, and leggings to match.

 

I initially thought he would've gone for a lot more heavy armor since weight was practically a non-existent problem for someone as physically strong as Bob, but it was apparently because such heavy and restrictive armor would seriously hamper and even ruin his fighting style.

 

And thinking over it, that did make a lot of sense. Although Bob was practically a walking muscle tank, he was actually a surprisingly limber and agile fighter, using rapid and contorting movements in battles that completely broke the mold of usual brute force and thoughtless brawn.

 

Also, it wasn't really because he was someone that needed protection for his body as that itself was almost indestructible to any normal means of attack. Both physical and magical. Not only was his body beyond tough with his high vitality and racial gifts, but with Corpse Mend, he could heal almost any injury, be it mere flesh wounds or the entire loss of limbs.

 

Anyway, with the modest amount of armor, he actually looked much more imposing than I would've expected, like some undead barbarian, although he wasn't exactly undead from my understanding.

 

I myself only bought some decent apparel for specific situations, such as not wanting to go down the streets with my upper body naked and attracting stares. I didn't get any actual armor since there was practically nothing I could buy that would come even close to the natural protection my own body gave me.

 

In fights of my own caliber, any armor I could afford would merely be destroyed without actually providing me anything, so I gave up on that.

 

All done with buying equipment for Bob, Mia, myself, and some of those home at the tribe, we got on with our original purpose here in the third ring.

 

However, regarding recruiting any experienced and masters of their respective crafts had gone much worse than expected. Contrasting the second ring where monsters were practically throwing themselves at me for the opportunity to join my settlement, the workers on the third ring were many times more arrogant, skeptical, and aloof to my offers.

 

Although the masterful craftsmen showed much respect towards Mia because of her race, they couldn't care less for the power I personally wielded and the empty promises I brought which greatly surprised me. As such, our group returned to the resort empty-handed of any experience or specialized workers.

 

I had to find something that would be not only enough to prove the legitimacy of my words, power, and influence, but also be enough to entice even their lofty selves.