The next few days passed by. Mostly filled with monotony and boredom.

Which he tried to relieve by spamming the Identify button. While Inventory-shuffling the pseudo bed still laying in the tunnel to the other side of the room, and back. Reminiscent of Sisyphus. This did have a useful effect as the skills leveled up to five and four respectively. Now he can store 20 kg, with a 14% reduction in weight.

He Modded his Int by +3 to 92 and Wis by +2 to 65. His mother close behind with +3 Dex and +1 Tuf. The lowest of her stats, so the one most in need of shoring up. But two daily uses were clearly insufficient for leveling this skill up in such a short time.

Each evening his DP's were replenished. To then be spent buying more of the town. 157, 184, 219 .. It seems the brothel was a waypoint for many of the higher leveled people. The additional territory was lacking in comparison in quality, though not quantity. For that metric, it was a little higher. But nowhere near making up the difference in DP's generated per area.

On the fourth day after, a guild representative stopped by to check the basement. But she couldn't find anything noteworthy. Which was exactly their problem. Two of their better recruits simply vanished after sending a signed contract. In which they stated a mysterious tunnel appeared within the basement storeroom of Madam Jodie's brothel. But now there was no sign there had ever been one. Other than the testimony of the Madam and one of her employees.
However there was a mysterious feeling here, one she hadn't felt in-

"Ah done told ya's ta send a stone mage ta check up in ere. Yer jus wastin aur time."

"Could it have been done by a stone mage?"

"The only other possibility was if it were a dungeon." offered the madam's assistant Jean.

"But a dungeon would never close off its entrance. Even if it could."

"Zactly!"

Though the rep noticed a slight flinch as she said that.

"Then I'll let my higher ups know."

. .

The next street over she still felt the same strangely familiar sensation. So she stopped to think next to a street vendor. "Two skewers."

The cooking cart's owner returned her a bland service industry smile. "That's eight small coppers, miss."

.

As she started on the second, a spark of memory nearly floored her, literally. [That's what the ambient mana feels like in a dungeon's entrance! But I can still feel it out here? THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!! Dungeons can't leave their caverns!]

Why didn't anyone notice this before? Because they were either distracted by their lust. Or they simply didn't have any reference to go off of. Not everyone gets the chance to go dungeon delving after all.

She rushed back to the guild hall so she could confirm her suspicions. Returning with a Compass as quickly as she was able.

When she was right outside the brothel again, she spent some mana to activate it. The Compass' reading was. . not.

When inside a dungeon, the Compass will only point inwards toward the Core. No matter where you are, it will show you the path to go deeper. Which means, it will steadily point in only one way. But the one in her hands was . . wobbling. It turned to point straight ahead into the heart of the brothel. Then back to her right, almost reaching due south. Continuously back and forth. *sigh* [No dungeon here then. But what else could it be?]

[Oh, shit. She just found me out. That thing pointed to both of me in turns. . But by the look on her face that actually somehow convinced her otherwise?]

¤¤¤¤¤

"Why can't you just take us all away? I know you said that you can't. I want to know why."

..{The things I do as a dungeon use dungeon points. Or DP for short. Just like casting a spell uses mana. They don't refill over time as mana does. It only does so in three ways. 1, by essentially eating useful stuff. 2, killing. monsters or people. I've been trying to use both of those as little as possible. That'll get me noticed by those we both need to hide from. But more importantly I really don't like it. And 3, any people just living inside the area I bought up to expand myself. Or monsters I haven't yet tamed. The stronger they are, the better.}

{Since you're worried, I can switch from landslide expansion mode to digging them an escape tunnel.}

"And then we can all get out?"

{Well . . you could go with them. But that would break our connection. You wouldn't have me there with you to help anymore. Unless you settle down somewhere. But if you stay here by yourself, I've already expanded enough to keep you fed and still keep myself growing to build an escape you can use with me.}

"So how do we do that?"

{First, I need to know where the nearest outer wall to this town is. Preferrably far from any gates and watchtowers but close to hills or forests. That any escapees can hide in. And second we need to figure out which way they'll be heading if we do manage to get them free.}

"Well, the nearest wall is a bit over 300 meters west of here. There's a gate on it at the main street, one street south of here. And a watchtower two streets north."

{So due west, at least 400 meters. Preferrably over 500.}

"There are no hills around here though. And they cut down all the nearby forests for lumber and farmland."

"As for where to go. All the tribes roam the plains as they like. I haven't been outside in years, so I don't know who are close. And if anyone in town heard where to find them, they woulda sent someone to raid em for more slaves."

{Yeah, that's kinda the problem.}

"So, I don't know where to send them."

{Is it grassy? With rivers or oases?"

"What is oases?"

{New word! YAY! That's the plural form for oasis. Which is when a natural well forms in a desert that's big and strong enough to make a tiny forest around a pond.}

"We don't got nothing like that. But yes there's rivers and plenty of grass."

{So then a horse for each of them, and at least a week of food. Plus weapons and tools of course. And a full kilometer of tunnel. Then let them out at the start of night.}
{Now that that's a full plan, when do you want to do it? I can get started right away. But if you wait just one more day, it should take a whole month off from the time you'll be stuck here alone. Or if you go with them instead of me, there's safety in numbers. Except then the whole town will be chasing after you all.}
{Might as well take all the horses then.}
{No, that's a fool thought. Just gathering them will certainly be noticed.}

"Will you let me get a word in!?"

{Not so loud, you're still hiding from everyone.}

. .

"I just. . don't want them to suffer any more."

. .

{Neither do I. But this isn't a battle. It's a WAR. They just don't know it yet. Surprise and preparation are our two greatest weapons right now. And surprise only works just once.}

. . .

"How long . . until you can take all of us, and yourself too?"

{If it's just to hide? Twelve days, no more. If it's to get out completely? Twenty, no less.}

"What about all the other slaves? The ones outside this hellhole?" she gestured to indicate the room. Presumably meaning the whole brothel.

{I was afraid you'd ask that. If you leave, I leave. If I leave, they're beyond all hope.}

"Then I'll stay. But how do we save everyone?"

{It's not quick or easy. But it is simple. I continue expanding my influence until I've . . 'eaten' the entire town. Not literally of course. The more DP's I get, the faster I grow. The bigger I grow, the faster I get DP's. Like a single falling rock starting an avalanche. Then I set up a network of tunnels. Going everywhere there's slaves kept.}

{I can summon a sleeping potion to knock out the guards. Any freed slaves can use that. Once that's done, you'll go visit them. Or they'll come to you. As the Hero, I can use my Inventory ability to pull off their collars. That was how I got yours off, cause we're connected. Well, at least I think I can. We might have to test that part first. Back to the plan: collars off, free slaves, into tunnels, close tunnels. We'll take the slaves' owners too. Give them the collars like what happened to Jodie. If we get found out and followed, they're hostages. If not, then they're criminals. Either way they're defying the Gods' will.}

{By this point it wouldn't be a problem to make a hidden escape tunnel so long it takes days to use. They won't even know where to start looking. So whatdya think?}

. . "You call all of that simple!?"

{Compared to plan C, yeah. Definately.}

"But how will you get the guards to drink the sleeping potion?"

{No need for that, just pour it on some cloth and cover their mouth and nose. The vapors they breathe in will act in a few heartbeats and can last hours.}

"Oh no, not another new word."

{Yeah, that one doesn't exist in your language. It's a significant fraction of a day. About the time it takes to eat a fancy banquet. Or around four thousand heartbeats.}

"So, it's a bit shorter than a candle. One-twentieth of a day and night."

{That reminds me, how do you measure time in this world? I noticed there's two moons. How does that affect months and calenders?}

"Well, that's simple really. The small moon is full every eight days, so that's one week. The white moon is full every 40 days, that's one month. Then there's ten months in a year."

{Five weeks in a month, fifty a year. Four hundred days a year. Hrm.. and how long does a pregnancy last, on average.}

"Two hundred forty days. Six months."

{Then a day is twenty seven hours. Good to know. Probably useless though.}

[6 months here is exactly 9 months on Earth.]
[18 years Earth = 204 months Earth]
[204 months Earth X (2 here / 3 Earth) = 136 months here]
[13.6 years for 'hollywood standard' maturity]

{How old do you have to be before you're considered a mature adult?}

"Fifteen. They couldn't start raping me until then, or they'd get the Title 'Pedophile'."

[..So she was exactly 19¾ when first raped, last week. Hopefully it stays as just the once.]

{And how long do people normally live? When it's old age that gets 'em, not a war, monster attack or illness?}

"Usually around 60-70 years. But if they're high-leveled or Body focused, they could reach a hundred. With both together, even longer."

¤¤¤¤¤

With their latest plan set in inaction, events related to them happen elsewhere.

The various human kingdoms each sent their own missive across the dividing ocean. Not by ship, but using the magic item 'paired books.' Whatever is written in one, is copied on its twin. Expensive to create and thus use, so only for the most important of news and proclamations.

With these, the twelve coastal cities recieved the news of the coming new Hero on that same morning. They in turn sent riders to the various inland towns. The one sent to the town in question is set to arrive shortly after sunset.