Is it wrong to cultivate in the dungeon?

Chapter 28

I was slightly, mildly panicking. Someone who I had zero intention of interacting with was currently making his way over to me. Someone who could probably make my life a living hell.

I considered my options. Running would make him suspicious, maybe enough to chase me. I also had no idea if I could outrun him. He had about a four-centimeter gap between his skin and the Qi bouncing off in the air. He was the strongest person I had run into since I got to this world, and getting on his bad side seemed terrible.

Running wasn’t an option. If he was coming over here because he noticed something, then it was already too late, but if he was coming over here for some mundane reason, then it would only make him more suspicious of me.

Talking it is. Heavens, I hope my mouth doesn’t get me in trouble.

“Hail, stranger. I hope I didn’t startle you by calling out. I simply had a question to ask you, and I was hoping you would oblige me,” He said happily. Well, at least he was polite.

He was human, a bit on the shorter side for a guy, but not short enough to be mistaken for a dwarf. He had short black hair that messily sat on his head and wine-red eyes that were very bright. 

I’d describe his face as a pretty boy. If he were a singer back home, the girls would be obsessed with him. He was also shockingly pale, to the point where I wondered if this was his first time out in the sun. His clothes were covered by full metal armor that shone in the sunlight, while at his hip was a shortsword.

He also had a huge backpack. It was almost as big as he was, and I am shocked that he could carry it around, considering he didn’t look like he had much muscle. Wait, he’s blessed, of course, he could carry it around.

“H-Hey,” I said, cursing myself for stuttering. I need to push through. “What can I help you with, stranger?”

“I just wanted to inquire as to why you were carrying that potted plant around. Were you going on a journey and worried that it would die without care? Could you simply not give it to someone to look after?” He questioned quickly, getting a little too close for comfort as he inspected the plant.

“Oh, no. I just went out to get some herbs and decided it would be better to bring back the whole plant. I figured I could start a little garden to avoid going out into the wild as often,” I said, repeating what I told the guard at the gate. Sayru, I think.

“How interesting! You collect herbs. What do you use them for? Can you make potions? What familia are you a part of then? What level are you?” He asked in rapid fire, getting even closer, which finally made me take a step back.

“I-uh, I don’t make potions. I just plan to sell the herbs I grow to the familias once I get the garden started,” I said, not sure how to deal with this dude. If he kept asking me questions, then I was going to slip up eventually. 

On the other hand, he wasn’t being rude. Just curious. I could actually see myself talking to him for a bit if the topic didn’t involve me leaving to go through a tribulation, then deciding that the plant could be useful for future cultivation methods. 

“That’s quite a good idea! I am sure they would love to have a steady supply of herbs rather than constantly putting in commissions for adventurers to go get them. Still, you must be very brave to venture out into the wilderness to collect them,” He said excitedly.

“Well, I can take care of myself if some surface monsters come at me. They aren’t that tough after all. Also, they aren’t that common if you know where to look,” I said casually, glancing around and looking for something that could distract him.

“I see. Tell me, which familia do you plan to sell your herbs to? I happen to be acquainted with the Miach familia. If you need an introduction, then I could be of assistance,” he said, and thumped his chest.

I opened my mouth, ready to decline the offer, before closing it as I thought about it more. It wasn’t a…bad idea, per se. It wasn’t a good idea either.

The most obvious problem was that I never intended to grow a herb garden, nor did I plan to interact with a familia to sell it. All of it was a lie. 

However, that did mean I couldn’t make it true. My little fib apparently had the potential to actually make me money if this dude was to be believed.

Interacting with a god was the last thing I wanted to do, but talking with the Ishtar adventurers had gotten me to relax my guard a little bit regarding familias as a whole. Sure, I had a job offer from them, but what's the harm of having a side gig? 

If it does work out,  then I would have to increase my income sources, potentially doubling the money.  And if one didn't work out,  then I had a backup plan ready to go.

Of course, this all hinged on the idea that I can stand interacting with the customers for the Ishtar familia job and stand interacting with the Miach familia. Something that I would not have considered a couple of days ago.

But after interacting with the Ishtar adventurers, I was more open to the idea. I still don't plan to interact with the gods at all,  but maybe interacting with those who have the blessing wouldn't be so bad.

Screw it. Let's give it a shot. The Ishtar adventurers were nice, let’s hope this random Zeus adventurer and his Miach familia buddies are too.

“I would love it if you could introduce me to them, actually.  I don't have many buyers or ties to potion making familias,” I said after a few moments of thought. Let's hope I don't regret this.

“Great! Then, let us go immediately!” He said before turning around and walking through the crowd. I looked as he got further and further, looked at all the Zeus adventurers, gave a sigh, and then followed after him.

I quickly caught up and walked behind him as we made our way to the front of the group. Some people cast glances at us, curious before going back to whatever they were doing.

The good news is that no one seemed hostile. If anything, some of them smiled and waved as we walked through. At first, I thought it was just the dude leading me, but they also directed some of the cheer toward me.

It was then that I noticed something interesting. All of them were dudes. Well, all of the people who had what I assume was the Zeus familia crest. There were a few people who had different markings on their clothes, but most of them were the Zeus familia.

Hm, didn’t they say that both the Zeus and Hera familias returned? Why am I mostly seeing the Zeus familia then?

“Excuse me, can I ask you something? Where is the Hera familia? I thought you guys returned together,” I called out to my guide and asked after debating for a few moments. The tension that I had was slowly loosening as we walked, so I figured I’d just ask.

“Oh, they went into the city first. We have an order to go in, just so everyone’s not pushing each other to get in. They are first since we are gentlemen,” He said proudly, which made me laugh a bit. Ladies first still exists so far from home, huh?

“I see. That is very nice of you. But if everyone has an order, why are we cutting the heads of people in line?” I asked as we continued to pass people. 

“Well, we do have an order, but that doesn’t mean we can’t change it. The only thing we need to do is ask. As such, we are going to the front of the line and ask if we can go ahead,” He said wisely, as it was simple.

“Ah, makes sense. I hope they let us cut in line then,” I said, nodding along. 

“We shall see! However, I believe that if I tell them about what we plan to do, they will happily oblige us,” He laughed before continuing. 

I gave a small smile as I followed after him, as well as a wave back to a dude we just passed. Maybe the Zeus familia wasn’t all that bad.

After a short walk, we made it to the front of the line. The guards there weren’t doing anything; they just stepped aside and were talking to some of the Zeus familia members as they wandered through.

“Ah, Orpheus! Would you permit us to go in front of you?” My new companion called out to someone who was just about to go in. 

He was a man with long green hair, sunken golden eyes, and tan skin. He wore a robe and supported himself with a staff. He also looked like a stiff breeze would blow him over due to how exhausted he looked. 

Still, the Qi was bouncing off of him about seven centimeters from where his skin was, so I wasn’t underestimating him.

“Ah, Cassius. Why do you want to do that? Also, who is your buddy there?” His voice was slow and lethargic, but he still had a slight smile as he greeted Cassius. 

“Ah, this is…” Cassius began with a smile before pausing as he realized we never exchanged names. Slowly, he turned around and said, “My apologies, it seems my manners have left me. My name is Cassius. May I have yours?”

“You can call me Leon. It’s nice to meet you, Cassius,” I said lightly, trying not to laugh as Orpheus gave Cassius the side eye. Cassius ignored the look that was thrown his way and continued.

“This is Leon! He is interested in selling his herbs to the Miach familia, so I was going to introduce him to them. Hence, please let us go through so we can strike while the iron is hot,” He explained, which made Orpheus give out a hum. 

He turned his gaze to me fully and looked me up and down. I had to suppress the shiver that ran down my spine as I realized I had gotten the attention of someone very powerful, all for the chance of getting some more money.

Greed really is the greatest evil, huh?

“I see. Then I wish you luck, Leon. Please go ahead,” He said after a few moments.

“Great! Thank you very much, Orpheus. I will see you back at base,” Cassius said before gesturing for me to follow along. I followed, ignoring how Orpheus stared at me as we walked through the gate and out of view.

I finally let myself breathe a sigh of relief only after we were well into the city. That was perhaps the second scariest thing I’ve experienced since coming to this world. The way he looked at me… 

I just hope he didn’t figure out that I was a cultivator. If he could tell I was stronger than normal, then let’s hope he just assumes I’m a normal adventurer. Though I’ll try to limit interactions with powerful adventurers in the future.

“Orpheus looks scary, but he is a kind man. Please do not worry about anything; he was just curious. I apologize on his behalf if he offended you,” Cassius noticed my turmoil and tried to comfort me.

“Oh no, he didn’t offend me or anything. I just couldn’t tell if I offended him or not. He kept staring at me, and I was afraid I had upset him,” I explained.

“Please do not worry. Orpheus is the kind of man who likes to watch new things. He most likely got curious about you since I introduced you,” Cassius said, which made me confused.

“Why would he be curious about me just because you introduced us?” I asked, not quite getting the logic.

“Ah, well, it is a tad embarrassing for me to admit, but I do not interact with many people outside of the familia. And I am the weakest member, so they have this weird notion that they need to look out for me,” Cassius scratched his chin and gave an embarrassed smile.

“I see. That makes sense,” I said as the reasoning clicked into place. “I don’t interact with many people either.” 

Why did I just admit that!?

“Truly?” He asked, and I nodded, slightly embarrassed. “Then it is a great boon that we meet. Perhaps we can meet again in the future?”

“If the Heavens allow it,” I respond absently. 

“I shall pray they do! Now, I believe we have arrived at our destination,” Cassius gave a slight laugh and gestured to a small shop with a sign that read “Miach’s remedies.”

It wasn’t as grand as the shops that Meteria took me to, but it gave a nice cottagecore vibe that I found relaxing. That, mixed with what was a very nice mom-and-pop shop feeling, was giving me high hopes.

We entered the store, a little bell signaling our arrival, and I was greeted with a widespread of potions on display with a dog-earred girl manning the counter.

She perked up when we entered, her ears stiffening and her tail swaying lazily behind her as she greeted us with a smile.

“Good afternoon, Cassius. It’s nice to see you are back already. What can I help you with?” She said, her voice was relaxed and slightly sleepy. She wore a blue and yellow short-sleeved shirt and had a blue skirt on. 

I wonder how her tail fits through the skirt? Does she just not pull it up that high, so it kinda just rests on the waistline, or is there a hole she has to thread her tail through?

“Good afternoon to you, as well, Naaza. Is Lord Miach present? We have something to discuss with him,” Cassius greeted her cheerfully, while I went rigid. 

What do you mean, we have something to discuss with him? We shouldn’t be talking to him at all! If I could avoid interacting with a god for the rest of my life, I would be thrilled. Don’t go trying to get us to meet!

“Unfortunately, he was called away to the emergency meeting with all the other gods a few days ago. I am afraid he has yet to return. Though if you have business with him, I would be able to pass along a message,” Naaza said, which let me breathe a sigh of relief. So he’s not around, I lucked out. 

Maybe I should rethink this plan a little. Perhaps set up a way where I deliver the herbs by carrier pigeon, or maybe train dogs to do it for me. Anything to reduce the chances that I interact with a god.

“How unfortunate. I was unaware that there was a meeting called. Do you perhaps know the reasoning?” Cassius said as he stroked his chin in thought. 

I was curious too. What could have happened that it caused the gods to call an emergency meeting so suddenly?

A flash of black and a baneful eye went through my imagination before I lightly shook my head to get the thought out of my mind. Better not worry about that.

“I am unsure. The call went out a few days ago, and from what I can tell, they are still talking about it. Still, enough about that. What is it that you would like to discuss?” Naaza said as she waved her hand in a ‘come closer gesture.’

“Ah, apologies, I got sidetracked. Right, I am here to introduce my new friend, Leon. He is interested in selling you a steady supply of herbs for potions, so I thought I would come and give some introductions.” Cassius smiled and stepped to the side as he gestured toward me with open palms.

I guess that’s my cue. 

“Hey, it’s nice to meet you, Naaza. My name is Leon. I was going to grow a herb garden that would be useful in making potions, and I was wondering if you would like to buy them from me,” I said with a smile and gently placed the plant on the counter.

“This is an example of what I would be growing. I haven’t started planting a lot, so it may take a month or so before I can give you the stuff, but please take a few leaves as a sample,” I reached down deep and summoned up my best salesperson impression.

“Interesting, this is the biggest Hornroot I’ve ever seen on the surface. Usually, stuff this size only grows in the dungeon. And the Blood Ivy is a nice shade of red. Where did you get these?” Naaza’s eyes grew just a fraction bigger as she plucked a leaf from one of the plants that I gathered.

I’m glad I was able to fit more than one into the pot. Looks like I’ll be able to really wow her.

“That’s a secret. But, I plan to start growing plants that will have similar quality and size,” I said. I was pretty confident that with a little Qi manipulation, I could replicate something similar to what we are currently looking at. Time would be the only problem.

“Tch, fine. Keep your secrets. Still, if you can provide a steady supply of this stuff, then I would be interested. How about I give you a thousand Valis per order?” She offered, and before I could even say anything, Cassius interjected.

“Naaza, I cannot allow that to happen. Leon is my newest friend, and I demand you pay him a fair wage for this. A fair wage of fifty thousand Valis per order of ten would be fair,” Cassius said seriously, which made Naaza click her tongue again, and me very happy I brought him. 

I was about to get ripped off hard since a thousand sounded pretty good. Hmm, thinking about it, I wonder if I got scammed by the Ishtar adventurers with their pay rate? Eh, I’ll figure it out later.

“I am afraid I cannot afford to pay that price. How about fifteen thousand per order of ten?” She responded, and once again, Cassius jumped in before I could respond.

“Outragous. Simply outrageous, Naaza. I understand that you must save as much money as possible, but you are passing by what is the opportunity of a lifetime. You said it yourself, this is the biggest Hornroot that you have seen on the surface. Surely that is worth at least forty thousand per ten,” Cassius rebutted with the ferocity of a used car salesman.

I do not know why he is so gun-ho about helping me, especially when he said that he and the Miach familia were close, but I am not going to question it.

Naaza retorted, of course, and what followed for the next hour was fierce negotiation with both of them making the smallest compromises possible. I honestly had trouble keeping up with them after a few minutes, but I did catch the deal that was settled on.

“So, that’s thirty thousand valis per order of ten, with a forty percent discount on all low-tier potions, a twenty percent discount on regular potions, and a ten percent discount on high potions. These discounts will be expanded upon if Leon can give you more ingredients or higher-quality ingredients. In exchange, Leon will always sell you the highest quality herbs he has and will always come to you first for sales. He must also supply you with at least one order of herbs per month to maintain this deal. Now then, both parties sign,” Cassius received and handed a bundle of papers over to Naaza.

At some point, he had the time to actually write everything down in a legally binding contract. It would be filed with the Guild, and if any part broke the contract, they could pursue legal action against them.

Cassius was a fantasy lawyer. I somehow lucked into getting a lawyer to come help me do a little side job negotiation. Hell, at this point, I think this would be better paying than the job that the Ishtar adventurers offered me.

Naaza looked rather pleased with the arrangement, though she still grumbled a bit under her breath as she signed. I just nodded along and signed, plans for turning the yard behind the church into a profitable farm forming in my mind.

It mostly boiled down to pumping the plants full of Qi and hoping for the best. Maybe Meteria could offer some help, too? She probably knows about gardening and stuff. She was pretty multi-talented and had a lot of hobbies, after all.

After the negotiations were done, I left a small sample with Naaza before taking the rest of my plants and leaving with Cassius, who was smiling from ear to ear.

“That went swimmingly if I do say so myself. I am glad I was there with you, Leon. Naaza is a fierce opponent after all. I would have hated to miss out on the opportunity to clash with her,” He said, which made me laugh a bit.

“Haha, the only opponents I know about are monsters, but I kinda get it. It’s nice to push yourself and see what you can handle. I guess it’s the same for negotiation tactics,” I said lightly.

“Indeed! Though that reminds me. I never got to hear what familia you were in. Can you please tell me?” Cassius asked.

“Uh, that’s a… secret. I am sorry, but I can’t tell you,” I answered nervously. I didn’t want to make up random gods again and get caught in a lie. Especially since Cassius had helped me out a ton.

“I see. Then no matter! I hope you can tell me later when the time comes,” he said lightly, which made me relax. “Until then, I have another question for you. Would you be interested in dungeon exploring with me?” 

“Eh, really?” I said, shocked. “I am not the same level as you, though. Why would you want to pair up with someone weaker than you? Also, can’t you go with your familia?”

It was Cassius’s turn to look awkward and nervous when I asked him that. He gave a sideways glance and licked his lips for a moment before answering.

“I would prefer not to answer that. But, I can tell you may not be a level four; you are at least a level three, judging by how well you can keep up with me. That is plenty strong for us to party up,” Cassius dodged the question as I had before hyping me up.

I thought about it for a minute or so, staying silent as we walked along the streets and the sun slowly dipped down into the horizon. 

Alright, pros first. I can get someone to watch my back in the dungeon, someone who is clearly more experienced than me and get them to impart some of their knowledge to me. I also will get to go in the daytime rather than at night if I’m with Cassius. Meaning no more sneaking around.

Additionally, if I give him the monster stones, the ones that aren’t useful to my cultivation, he can go exchange them for me and give me a cut. Also, all the monster parts that I collect can get exchanged too.

Having a buddy, someone who I could maybe, potentially, call a friend also sounded nice. But that was a bit later down the line, so let’s ignore that for now.

Now the cons. The most obvious one being that he is going to be in close proximity with me, which may let him realized I’m doing something different from how normal adventurers fight.

It gives me more chances to make mistakes, more chance to expose myself, since for some reason the gods are freaked out about the lightning, and I don’t want to find out what will happen if Cassius is somehow able to make the connection.

Also, I would have to share my magic stones. Normal adventures just immediately go turn that stuff into the guild, from what I could tell. I might not be able to keep a few of them without raising some questions. And I couldn’t use my ring out in the open either.

Which means if I want to keep a steady supply of magic stones, I may have to go twice just to get the same amount. And I would be going alone the second time.

Hmm, so it's going twice for the same amount of magic stones, in exchange for firsthand knowledge of the dungeon and a sizeable income source. The risk is that he gets suspicious and reports me to Zeus himself, while the reward is possible friendship and access to another income stream.

Ugh, this is the hardest I’ve thought about something in a long time, and I just keep going around in circles. My brain is leaning more towards no; it was just too risky.

But my gut was saying yes. It was worth the risk, and I could trust Cassius. Despite having just met him today, he seemed like a chill dude. Hell, he reminded me of one of my friends back home.

Ah, that’s why I’m having such a hard time with this.

…

Damn it! Screw it! It works out so far, might as well.

“Sure. Let’s go dungeon diving together,” I said quickly, before I could change my mind. There, the dye has been cast, and there is no going back now. I will deal with the consequences as they happen.

“Excellent! This is great news. Then, when would you like to meet? Are you bringing anyone else, or shall it just be us?  What floor do you like to go down to? I was thinking we could go to floor ten and see from there.” Cassius broke into a wide smile and started excitedly talking about the details.

As he talked, I observed him and saw how his shoulders relaxed just a bit as he stood up a little straighter. It seems like he was nervous about this arrangement, too. 

That makes me feel a little better.

We decided to meet in two days, mostly because Cassius remembered he has a familia meeting tomorrow and I was perfectly okay with that. We would meet at nine am in front of the fountain and head down to the tenth floor before deciding how deep we want to go from there.

With that sorted, we bit each other farewell and went our separate ways. He had a noticeable spring in his step as he left, which helped ease my nerves about this whole thing. Maybe everything was going to be okay after all.

I went back to the church and started planting to start my future herb empire. It started small with only three plants, but soon I would take over the whole city with their help.

Or at the very least, I will get a good supply of money from it.

Once that was all done, it was nighttime. I was planning to just get some rest, but I felt the map that the Ishtar familia gave me and decided to strike while the iron was hot and visit them.

I was in the money-making mood, and I had a lot of energy left over. I might as well check out what their job is all about and see if it was worth my while.

So, after changing out the note I left for Meteria, this time informing her I went to the Ishtar familia for a job interview, I headed out into the night with a spring in my step and hope in my heart.

Let’s hope this is as fun as they said it would be!

=================================

All done! Also, happy New Year!

The truth is that the first part of this was done yesterday, and I was going to post it as a two-parter, but then I decided that it would be better for the pacing of the story to wait and post it all together.

So we can finally get to the Ishtar familia next time. Hurrah! Haruhime, we are coming for you.

Also, wanna guess as to who Cassius is in canon? Three guesses and the first two don’t count. 

Anywho, give me thoughts in the comments as usual. I like reading them all, so thank you for that.

Until next time, friends!