14 Fortification and Weapon Crafting

A week had finally passed.

Ein not only earned himself a castle, but he also found several ways to earn DP regularly. Now, his vision of revenge was becoming clearer.

"We need more defense," Ein said.

Now that his DP problem was resolved, he could finally focus on something else. And the next in line of his priorities was the defense of his dungeon.

"We should mount some ballistas and other defense tools atop the walls," he further clarified. "... However..."

The problem was that defensive structures are priced too steeply to even consider. Just a single ballista cost him almost 100,000 DP. A barrier stone wide enough to cover his whole land—the simple one that can prevent simple attacks—costs about 50,000,000 DP. If he were to buy all the fortifications he needs, then the DP he has now wouldn't even be enough for the inner wall's protection, let alone the outer wall, which is much longer.

"We can't do anything but procure defenses locally," Lilith said by the side. "Either buying from a nearby territory or creating one ourselves."

Buying defenses from others would save them both time and effort. However, this choice brings back the risk of attracting unwanted attention from others. In other words, they couldn't pick this choice.

"... No choice but to make one ourselves!" Ein said while bringing up the dungeon core panel.

After the dungeon was upgraded, he had 16 new rooms added under his control. Among these, 15 of them can be equipped with summoning circles. The throne room floor was the only one that couldn't be installed with a summoning circle of any type.

Among the five empty slots on the first floor, Ein selected one and placed a new summoning circle. Although it cost him a pretty good chunk of DP at 100,000, it was surely a worthy investment.

Soon after, inside one of the rooms on the first floor, 10 figures appeared with a flash of light. Each one of them was short, probably a meter tall at most; however, their bodies were wide. Not just that, but they also had well-toned muscles. They were none other than dwarves, known for their skill in both smithing and crafting.

Ein, who quickly came down to the first floor as soon as he summoned them, was relieved to see that they were summoned with their clothes on. Although they wore nothing but rags, they were much better off compared to the naked goblins. Although goblins look more like monsters than humanoids, you can still see the defining parts of their genders swaying around. It was so awkward to look at.

Of the 10 newly summoned dwarves, there were 8 males and 2 females. The males were both stout and bulky, with a beard reaching their rotund stomachs, compared to the females, who look like plump little girls but are not round enough to be called fat.

"Welcome to my dungeon."

Ein greeted the group with wide, open arms.

The dwarves, upon seeing Ein, quickly knelt down on one knee and greeted him.

"It is an honor to be of service to Sir Dungeon Master."

The dwarf that seemed to be the oldest among them spoke.

"I, Drake, the Chief of the Dwarves, hereby represent everyone in greeting your majesty," he introduced himself.

"Okay, Drake. I am Ein, the Dungeon Master. Also, please stop with the [your majesty] thing. Call me something lighter like master or lord or something," Ein added with a wry smile.

"We understand, Lord Ein." Drake quickly agreed.

Ein lightly nodded his head in assent.

"Then, sorry, but I have jobs to assign to your group already."

"We are not worthy of such worry from Lord Ein. Please order us anything."

"Right. First, I would like for you to focus on creating fortifications for the town walls," Ein quickly ordered. "After that, you can make weapons and armor for the other residents."

"We humbly accept the order." Drake nodded deeply. "If I may, can I have permission to ask something, Lord Ein?"

"Of course, what is it?"

"May I know the location of the workshop and forge?" Drake asked.

Ein, hearing this, was a little shaken. He had neither of the two buildings he mentioned. After clearing his throat, Ein spoke.

"Ahem. Sorry, but as of now, we have no such buildings. I give you permission to build one at your own discretion," Ein explained. "Lilith, go with them. While at it, please finalize the planning of the roads and plots of land with them too."

"As you command, master." Lilith quickly assented.

"(Lilith, you can use some DP for their necessary tools and clothes. I give you express permission to use DP for everything related to the dwarves, including forging materials and necessities.)" Ein whispered to Lilith. Hearing this, Lilith just smiled and nodded.

"Then, that's all I ask for now. Work hard!" Ein then quickly left and returned to the dungeon master's room.

...

Ever since the dungeon was upgraded, both Nayta and Melina have been staying in one of the many rooms on the first floor. Although they don't have proper beds other than the ones given to them by Ein, sleeping on the castle's floor was easier than sleeping in a cave.

The slimes, who currently number a little less than two hundred, take turns guarding the prisoners underground. They are the ones to deliver water and food hunted by the elves and wolves. Although food and water were provided regularly, a lot of the old goblins died. Now, their numbers were less than half what they were at the start.

The wolves also increased in number. Right now, there are a little over 30 wolves living in the room next to the two elves. Although they were each over 2 meters tall, they could all fit inside one room with space to spare. However, if their numbers increase further, they will probably not fit in the room after a month at most.

Ein, noticing the two's living conditions, couldn't help but apologize in his heart. He promised that after the necessary defenses were in place, he would prioritize enhancing the living space of everyone in the castle.

Now, however, Ein was working his head on how to properly use the land he currently has.

"Since I now have enough land, maybe I can invite some native species to live in my dungeon?" Ein wondered.

To Nayta and Melina, Ein was something like a god. To be specific, he was arbitrarily labeled as the Demon God, the father of all demi-humans. If he were to use this fact to attract more demi-human species to live in his dungeon, then his daily DP would jump up for sure. Remembering other demi-humans reminded him of something else.

"... That elder flame dragon..." Ein was worried.

The dragon that attacked the elves' territory was somewhere west-southwest of their current location. If that dragon decided to fly around, the castle would probably be discovered with a high probability.

"Before that happens, I need to prepare some trump cards," Ein said as he scanned the catalog of items once more.

[Dragon Slaying Sword Gram: A legendary sword said to have been used by Siegfried to slay the dragon Fafnir. Using it against any Dragon guarantees its death. Price: 2,500,000 DP]

After searching for quite some time, he found the perfect tool to use. Although the description was vague, if it can guarantee you winning against a dragon, it should be pretty effective.

After adding the said item to the "Need to Buy" list that he had, he quickly left and went outside the dungeon master's room.

"It's time to go to the human city!"