The Castle in the middle of nowhere.

The quarantine centre was sealed shut, hopefully never to be used again. The gates to Avalon have been shut for the last six days since we weren’t expecting anyone anyway. Of course, the main reasons for this were the continued days of darkness and the big packs of winter monsters roaming nearby, so it was better to be safe than sorry in case of attack. Bob received the order to rebuild his dungeon as a reversed tower- an absolutely unoriginal idea, which was probably going to be the main theme in most dungeons under my control. Hell... even the caves of Avalon would end up as some kind of reversed tower.

Anyway... Bob.

The Goblin Dungeon was a monster that I would normally put down, but if I did this, according to Demesne and Hestia, I would have about seventy-two hours to basically use the defeated dungeon structures instead of my old place or take everything I want. Either way, I would lose the dungeon location, which was not a thrilling idea at all. So I begrudgingly spared his worthless life. That's how Bob became a prisoner in his own dungeon and how one of the paladins that failed to become a Praetorian became his warden.

I stored away the report about Bob in the "read" tray and looked at Ragnar and Opal. Opal, very proud of herself, handed me a report prepared by Aurora, confirming she finally completed her Arcanist class quest...

"By the way, Opal," I asked slowly, before opening Aurora's report. "Did Zephyr talk with you recently?"

"He did indeed, my Lord. He probed me, asking if I wanted to be his priestess over and over," she replied, visibly conflicted on an emotional level. "On the one hand, God Zephyr is a patron of not only Herbalists but also he was so gracious to bless me with his incredible skill. But... Your Highness is the champion of Eriar, so becoming a priestess of Zephyr would be very awkward... *sigh*"

"Oh, don't worry about that, Opal. Zephyr, Zeus, Hera and Hestia are allied immortals. Also, I am sure if Eriar was against this alliance, he would somehow let us know already." I waved my hand dismissively. "It's up to you, Opal, just remember you are a resident of Avalon."

"Yes, my King!" She grinned.

I quickly looked through the report and wondered why exactly Aurora felt the need to write it, but I gave up. Out of all my scions, Aurora felt the greatest joy in documenting everything. You would think that would be Stella, who was in charge of the Magic Tower as well as the Library, but no; Aurora would be the real menace to the trees, but fortunately, my trees respawned every twenty-four hours. That being said, Aurora was also very hard-working on developing new potions and healing items.

"Ragnar, if I am correct, you wanted to ask me something about our currency. What was that?" I recalled him trying to ask about that a few times in the past, but we never had time.

"Yes, my Lord! I think you should know we all ignored your intended devaluation of coins."

"Why?" I looked flatly at him.

"Because it makes no sense! One silver coin worth only one hundred copper coins? And one gold worth one hundred silver coins? My Lord, one silver coin should be worth around a thousand coppers and gold about a thousand silvers!" Ragnar seems very committed.

"Ok... But why?" I rested my elbows on the table and slowly I put together my hands.

"Well... All kingdoms have their currency based on the left-over gold, painstakingly guarded in the treasure rooms. So while silver coins are sometimes seen in usage, gold ones are just legends at this point. Gold is not only a monetary base but is one of the most sought-out metals. Only gold allows you to create the highest-grade runes. Gold is the key material used in a variety of crafting recipes and only gold can produce some epic-grade items." Ragnar calmly explained, but I couldn't decide if he was angry or just very concerned. "Realistically speaking, when the news about our "cheap gold" reaches other kingdoms, they will try to buy all of our gold. And while I understand that Avalon technically has an infinite gold source, our gold reserves are not from rubber; they will be depleted very fast."

"So you suggest setting our currency values to be on par with the neighbourhood Kingdoms?" I leaned back in my chair. "But wouldn't that create artificial poverty?"

"With all due respect, King Theon, I don't think so." Opal took out some notes from her colourful, flowery purse. "The main reason for poverty in the Cridian Kingdom is lack of food. Avalon does not have such problems now or, I suspect, ever. On the contrary- with growing territories, food problems will be the last issue Your Majesty would face."

"What would be the problem then, in your opinion?" I asked with curiosity.

"Overpopulation." She responded immediately. "According to Lord Sigismund's estimations, Avalon can accommodate about one hundred fifty thousand people. But that's roughly a third of the population living in the much smaller Kingdom's capital, Cridia City."

"I don't think this will be a problem... Avalon does not need to house so many people. There is enough empty space to build smaller and bigger settlements." I shrugged. "But return to money..."

"Yes, my Lord. But these two are connected. With more people to fuel the economy, you will receive significantly more mana from taxes. So adjusting the money value will benefit you greatly."

"All right, I will adjust money values. But first, we need to win the war." I reminded him, as it seemed that people in Avalon treated that as some kind of formality. I sighed, but Ragnar simply lowered his head.

"We know, my Lord, we just try to look into the future with as much optimism as possible." I could understand them at least. "Anyway, your other idea was taken with understanding, my Lord!"

My eyes widened in panic as I tried to recall what he was talking about. Fortunately, he could refer to only one or two of my ideas and judging by the context, this must be the one about changing loot from my dungeon-type denizens. "So limiting the dungeon drops to money and various grades of potions is acceptable?"

"Yes, my King! Except for the simplest starting gear that drops on the initial areas and random rare-grade items later on, the money drops are actually preferred. People are encouraged to use the services of craftsmen and other services."

"I was afraid people would be unhappy with taking out regular class drops from the general drop pool." I sighed, relieved.

"Oh, for sure some will be. But the majority of people will be glad. Especially the ones who are not active adventurers." Opal giggled. "But as you often say, my Lord, you can't please everyone."

"Indeed," I smirked. "You also wanted to learn something about nodes, Ragnar?"

"I would like to know, my Lord, about the process of turning raw material into a mineable node."

The doors to my office opened without a knock and Luna entered, reading some report. She moved slowly towards her desk without even looking around. Whatever was in that report, it consumed her so much that I had to clear my throat loudly to gain her attention. She looked around with empty eyes but quickly smiled at my guests.

"Hello, Opal, Ragnar." She sat down behind the desk and put the troubling report aside.

"Good morning, our Queen." Ragnar and Opal stood up and bowed to her politely.

"Hmmm... What do you want to know about them, exactly?" I smiled at Luna, but she just smiled back and shook her hand dismissively. Nothing was requiring my immediate attention.

"I was thinking about the process of obtaining a new node... *ekhem* Mithril..." He started.

"It's not very complicated. If I obtain something made of mithril, I can dissolve it and I will obtain a node. But even if I absorb all the mithril in Avalon, I will only be able to create a low-yield node that would produce just a few grams of mithril ore. On top of that, the node would take a few days to respawn to be once again mineable." I explained. "Also forget about absorbing back my own mithril. No matter how much I absorb, I can't use it to upgrade the node."

"Tsk... I hoped it would take just a few shavings from Lady's Amber Valkyrie Armour or I could reason with you, my Lord, about using the remnants of the sword of Marcus." Ragnar sighed, disappointed.

"Hmmm… the reason why I decided to restrict item drops from regular… let's call them monsters, is the fact I need to have these items in the first place. While the armouries of Avalon are vast, I don't think that stocking them with all ranges and quantities of, let's face it, shitty weapons is the best idea. Also, yes, we could train some of my denizens to craft some weapons and armour, but this is going to be bad." I summoned one of my swords and saw the glimmer of joy in Ragnar's eyes. "Yes, Ragnar, this is the first sword you forged for me. I don't believe that my denizens can forge anything half this good."

"But this weapon can’t withstand your Majesty's strength! It's just a rudimentary sword!" Ragnar protested.

"Maybe. But this was the first gift I received in this world, Ragnar. It is much more precious than the metals it contains or even the work you put into its creation." I looked at the slim and beautifully shaped blade. Ragnar worked for a few days to create it. "But it's not just a sword. This is the gift I received from you… and yet we know this is merely a toy compared to the wonders you can forge now."

"Thank you, my King!"

"The same goes for the sword of Marcus. That sword rests in the war room as a reminder to never overestimate my own power and might. Some items have much more value in a seemingly useless form. Remember that, Lord Ragnar Thunderhand."

"I will, my King!" Ragnar smiled.

"Anything else you would like to ask?" I smiled at him.

"Not exactly. But I also wanted to inform you, my Lord, that Scion Stella requested all available gold to be used in upgrading Avalon's runes... *sigh* which is a shame since I wanted to forge a runic sword."

"Unfortunately, that has to wait until she is done. The sheer amount of gold needed for this project is simply mind-blowing. We are talking about a few tons of pure gold here." I shook my head in disbelief.

"That would be all, my Lord." Opal looked over her notes.

"Thank you both." I smiled at them and I took out a small gold ingot. "I wanted to congratulate you and Rubby personally, but it looks like she is constantly busy. Don't even dare to waste this on some runic sword, Ragnar. Better to make some fine jewellery for your Lady."

"Thank you, my King!" Opal smiled brightly and grabbed her brother's arm to tug him away. He accepted the gold and froze in place, thinking what he should forge for his wife, Rubby.

After they left, I looked at Luna, who was this time occupied with something. After a moment, she fixed her own gold jewellery with a smile and looked at me.

"Theon, we might have a problem," she sighed. "According to Sebastian, Josla allied herself with two other dungeons."

"Mhm... Mountain Dungeon and probably Mead Hallow or Dark Forest." I yawned.

"How did you know?" She looked at me, surprised. "Sebastian told you already?"

"No. Mountain Dungeon already helped her on many occasions. Mead Hallow is basically collaborating with her, but its forces are a joke. Twirll and Lance could have subjugated him during their raid. But the Dark Forest was suspicious from the start." I pointed at the dungeon just a few kilometres from the capital. The office map was small, but it would suffice. "It's a dungeon on the very doorstep of the Cridian Capital, but no hostile actions between it and the Cridians were reported. So they had to have some pact."

"Impressive..." She shook her head.

"Not at all... It's just a simple conclusion." I shrugged. "Not that I like the implications, but I'm happy I overruled my previous ban on raising more legions."

"What do you expect them to do?"

"No matter at this point. I am done with hiding, Luna." She looked at me, surprised, when the doors to my office opened with a loud thump, and Amber rushed in, panting heavily.

"Theon! Galahad just prepared Legio Fulminata and Legio Ferrata to march out!" She looked at me in shock. "What's going on?!"

"Spring came early this year."