The Martial Unity

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Kane raised an eyebrow.

“It means that if we partake in ordinary measures in the dungeon, and accomplish ordinary results, there won’t be any problem in going the ordinary route,” Rui explained. “But have you forgotten our objective?”

“Clearing the dungeon, right?”

“Right, we want to explore the dungeon and plunder it before everyone else,” Rui nodded. “The other objective is to earn enough money to fund all expenses, some of which are going to be a bit extravagant. However, while we have made sure to equip ourselves to outdo our competition in the dungeon, that doesn’t necessarily mean the same is true for all matters outside the dungeon.”

Kane’s eyes narrowed a bit, as he realized what he was walking about. “You mean Shionel Merchant Guild, and the market for the resources of the Shionel Dungeon?”

“Right,” Rui nodded. “Let’s say we do succeed in achieving our first goal, we make greater progress than our competition and end up plundering all of the esoteric material resources from the dungeon for ourselves, and selling it ourselves, what do you think would happen?”

“…We’d gain a ton of money, and the Martial Artists who would enter floors after we do would gain close to nothing?” Kane scratched his head.

“Right,” Rui nodded. “Do you think all the Martial Artists who have migrated from many places from this section of the continent would simply sigh and shrug in resignation? What do you think they would do if they see us basically stealing all of their success?”

There were too many powers and entities with a personal vested interest in the esoteric resources that were being extracted from the Shionel Dungeon. The sudden supply of high-grade esoteric substances was capable of shifting the economy, industries, and sectors of society that revolved around the supply and demand of those esoteric substances and could shift the power dynamics between the various power blocks competing with each other across the entire section of the continent.

Rui had long known that acting in a manner that was detrimental to these interests was nothing short of a foolish blunder that would get him killed on the spot.

“They would probably take some kind of action against us,” Kane’s eyes narrowed. “But that’s only if they come to know that it was us who managed to bypass monsters and plunder all the resources in the dungeon. With my Void Step, isn’t that basically an impossibility? How would they ever detect and confirm our identities as the ones who are plundering the dungeon completely and leaving nothing for everybody?”

Rui shook his head inwardly. Kane had always been shrewd, but his lack of understanding of how the world worked often held him back.

“There are other ways to trace the identity of people who have plundered a large plunder of esoteric extracts from the dungeon,” Rui replied. “Just because we plunder it, doesn’t mean that’s the end of the story if we choose to sell it in the local Shionel market that has recently spiked in size for the demand of the esoteric supplies of the Shionel Dungeon, then it can be traced back to us. After all, if we do choose to sell it, then at some point, we need to hand it over to a third party in a transaction, be that a customer from the consumer market, a retailer, or a large-scale supplier. That cannot be hidden, and even if we use aliases that were different from what we used to register when entering the dungeon, that would still not be enough to fool the countless intelligence networks that have probably infested the Shionel Dungeon at this point.”

There are simply too many logistical avenues for data leaks to occur if they handled things normally. Martial Art techniques only worked in avenues of physical conflict, they were not useful in the world of business and commerce beyond a certain point.

Kane’s expression grew a little troubled at that. “True…”

“On top of that, we have to submit twenty percent of our plunder to the Shionel Merchant Guild, unless you have plans of engaging in embezzlement,” Rui sighed. “The tax alone makes it a dead-giveaway.”

“It’s a shame that the Martial Union isn’t employing external Martial Artists in a mission,” Kane sighed. “That way we wouldn’t have to be too concerned with backlash as we would have other comrades that would be with us. Any force picking a fight with us would mean picking a fight with the Kandrian Martial Union.”

“Perhaps, but the Martial Union would be too suffocating,” Rui sighed.

“Didn’t you manage just fine on our last mission? You spent ten months as the ambassador of the Martial Union,” Kane raised an eyebrow.

“True, but it’s not quite that simple,” Rui shook his head. “The purposes of the two missions were different as far as my objective went. My desire to explore the Shionel Dungeon is different from the reason that I accepted the G’ak’arkan mission. I do not want to be constrained at all at this time while exploring the Shionel Dungeon as an adventurer, that would largely defeat the purpose of going that far to the Shionel Dungeon. Orders, constraints, and reports. No thanks.”

Rui had accepted the ambassador mission to be exposed to a foreign Martial philosophy, and because he was truly one of the few people capable of succeeding in the mission. To a large extent, he was content observing the G’ak’arkan Tribe and interacting with them.

The Shionel Dungeon, however, was an opportunity for an adventure, and for battle against monsters and power Martial Squires from across a chunk of the entire Panama Continent. He did not want to go to the Shioneul Dungeon for an internal mission of the Martial Union.

“Well, then what’s our solution?” Kane raised an eyebrow. “Do we find a way to conceal our identities as the ones who cleared the dungeon, or do we look to find a way to gain the protection necessary to continue clearing the dungeon?”